Twam Vichittam Bhavataam Vadaiva,
Devaabhyaavaavotu Bhavatam Sadaiva.
Gyaanaartha Mool Maparam Mahitaam Vihamsi,
Shisyatva Eva Bhavataam Bhavataam Bhagavad Namaami.
It has been mentioned in this hymn that the greatest thing in life is to become a true disciple.
The word “disciple” is the biggest word of this entire universe. Disciple doesn’t mean a person who has been initiated by a Guru. Disciple refers to a person who continuously keeps on increasing the virtues in the life. A child is also a disciple, as he or she tries to attain all the qualities of the mother. The child doesn’t have much capabilities, he or she just tries to mimic the behavior of the mother. If a child sees that every evening the father abuses the mother after coming back to the home, the child will also start to abuse others within a period of eight-ten days, irrespective of the fact that the child is just five years old. The child doesn’t know whether he is abusing others or not, however the nature of father will certainly have its impact on the child. Thus a person remains a child right from the very birth till the time he dies. Our nature of being a disciple might get overpowered by the devilish nature because this entire environment around us is devilish.
Its not that only the current era is devilish, it has remained like this ever since the time of Satyuga. There have always been more sinners; the time has always favored the nurturing of the demonic powers in the society. Only one or two roses emerge in between thousands of thorns.
Shankaracharya mentions that only one or two people out of millions reach to that level of greatness in life. Not all the million people are able to reach to that level, these million people are like people walking on foot path, they are businessmen, or they are quarrelsome people, or they waste their life in drunkenness or they have some sort of hatred towards others and thus can’t rise up in life.
This life will be wasted if we don’t rise to that level. However, this process is a time consuming process. You will need more time to climb a higher step. You will have to climb the stairs step by step, you will have to daily evaluate yourself that whether I am becoming a disciple or not. Whether I am nurturing demonic feelings or I am increasing my virtues? It is certainly the greatness of life to evaluate the quality of life that we are living. This can only be done by a person who can truly become a disciple in life and have the potential to live with his Guru. And Shankaracharya mentions that only such people can become roses in their life who can destroy themselves on a single desire of the Guru.
Tansen was a great singer during the reign of Akbar. His Guru was Haridas and he had forty one disciples, forty one being Tansen. One day Akbar said to Tansen that when you are such a great musician, then your Guru must be greater musician than you.
Tansen replied, “He is just like me, similar body with similar features. However the difference between Him and me is that His voice, His words are million times better than me because He continuously keeps on nurturing His virtues. I am a servant, I eat the food given by you and due to this reason I am with you. However, He is worshiped due to His good traits, He is much greater than me, He has attained completeness in life. However you will not be able to meet Him.”
Now Akbar was a king and kings were definitely short tempered. He said, “I will see how He will not meet me!” Akbar then left for the hermitage of Guru Haridas. On reaching the hermitage, he found that Haridas’ disciples were roaming outside. He said, “I am Akbar and I want to meet Haridas!”
The disciples replied, “You may be Akbar, however we have nothing to do with any Akbar. We just know one name, “Haridas”. We don’t wish to know any other name and neither feel any necessity for that. If you are Akbar, if you are a king, we don’t have anything to do with that. We eat of our own, we are not servants to any other person, we cultivate our lands and feed ourselves and we are disciples. None other than the name of our Guru comes on our lips.
Akbar took out his sword and cut the throat of that disciple. However, the moment one disciple died, another disciple stood at his place. He said, “You will not be able to meet Him. Gurudev has said us that He doesn’t wish to meet anyone right now.” And history is the witness that Akbar killed all forty disciples of Guru Haridas. One disciple died, the second took his place; when the second disciple died, the third disciple took his place and so on. Not for a single moment they thought that this is my life, what am I doing with it? The only thought that existed in their mind is that, “I am a disciple and if I don’t offer my life for the sake of Guru, then definitely death will take me with itself tomorrow and I will die. If not tomorrow, one day I will definitely die. If I give my life for a great person, I will definitely get a rebirth and my name will be inscribed in the history. This will be true because I have followed the path shown by my Guru. Guru Haridas has given us knowledge that we have to become great in life and one can attain greatness only by offering oneself in the holy feet of Guru. Where there is any sort of conspiracy, where there is any sort of fraud, where someone is saying anything about the Guru, the disciple can’t hear it for a single moment.
Akbar said, “I want to meet Him and I will meet Him by hook or by crook.” The disciples said, “You can’t meet Him, we are standing in your path. You can’t meet Him until He wishes to meet you and right now He doesn’t want to meet anyone.” The moment Akbar heard this he cut the throat of that disciple.
All those disciples offered their life just to follow the order of their Guru. Haridas said, “I am Ram’s servant, I don’t have to serve anyone else. Tell him that I don’t want to meet him. I just praise the God and no one else.”
And Akbar killed all the forty disciples in a matter of five minutes. Akbar was then left amazed that what sort of disciples they were? They were all mines of great values, they were all bags of diamonds rather sacks of diamonds. Every disciple is filled with diamonds, they offered their life just for a wish of their Guru. My conspiracy, my plotting, my name, my authority were of no use and all went in vain. I couldn’t do anything. “Akbar the Great” is just a false name given to me; rather these disciples are great because they have just shown their greatness. Those disciples understood that life is a very small thing, it may end today or after twenty years, it won’t make much of a difference. If we don’t safeguard the Guru, if we are of no use to Him, if we won’t be able to appease Him, if we let Him to get entangled in conspiracies then there is no use of this life.
Akbar instantly sat on his horse and came back to his palace with his soldiers. He started to cry deeply considering himself as the greatest sinner. It’s all a different story how he took the help of Tansen to listen to the music of Haridas. The real story is that just to follow a single order, those disciples sacrificed their lives. The names of all those great disciples are mentioned in Aine- Akbari. Even today, the names of those forty disciples are present in the history of India. Haridas couldn’t realize that His disciples have sacrificed their life as He was into His deep meditation.
Shankaracharya mentions that the greatest word in this entire universe is “disciple” and a disciple is a person who is willing to sacrifice his life at any moment. There are two types of people – one who is full of virtues and the other one who is full of conspiracies, one whose entire twenty four hours are spent in thinking what sort of conspiracy I should plan next? How should I tell a lie? How to misguide a person? How to introduce enmity between two people? How to make them fight? How to show that I am the best? However, disciples don’t get distracted by such behavior because they understand “what I am”.
Those who are disciples in true sense, those who are really a mines of virtue, such people quickly understand vices. People who live near to rose flowers can easily feel the slightest foul smell of a sewer. They might not be able to locate it, yet their senses ensure that there is dirty sewer nearby and they quickly get out of that place. Such people don’t become an insect of that sewer. It is better to live for just two days than to survive for several thousand years being an insect in that dirty sewer.
Such a disciple remains eager to fulfill Guru’s order, he always remains eager to even sacrifice his life – this is the measurement of greatness of life. Your life will be a waste if you don’t offer your life in the holy feet of your Guru. Only four to five roses (Sad Gurus) will blossom (take birth) in life. If these four to five flowers wilt, then you will only be left with thorns (darkness/ignorance) in life. Wherever you will go, you will only get thorns. There is no need to live among thorns, if we remove the thorns (hindrance on the path of Sad Guru) then only roses will grow, if we will remove the weeds (societal hindrance) then only flowers will blossom.
This is a matter of great concern to think about whether we have used this life to safeguard the flowers or to safeguard the thorns. How much time of our life have we offered to the Guru? How we have saved Him? How we have served Him? This is the greatest measurement of where we stand in life, this is the greatest measurement of the worth of our life and this level is known as being a disciple.
The word “serve” has been created by the word disciple only. Where there is service towards the Guru, there is a disciple. And to serve means to flourish those rose flowers and for that you will have to stand tall in the path of storms. This is a must because if they fall, then insects from dirty sewer will start to roam all around you. Then this would be a waste of life, then there would be no use of this life.
Continued in next part………………!
SadGuruDev KailashChandra Shrimali Ji
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