Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Nearness to the Guru

God has endowed man with the capability to love. By sensible use of this ability to love one can become the greatest of the great if this live is towards transient things like the body, family wealth food liquor and drinks etc. One will be the cause of one’s death and perpetuation of the cycle of birth and death. But the same love if directed towards God and saints becomes a means to salvation inaccessible even to gods.
In respect of shakes who take the path of God realization it is generally observed that by virtue of satsang and of the holy company of Sadguru they become cognizant of the transient nature of this phenomenal world and their love for worldly possessions wanes and in time withers away. And they a glimpse of real happiness. And it is in the nature of love that one wants to be always near of the object o his on matter whether it is in person, a thing or a circumstance.
This is the reason why every sadhakas or devotee wants to be as close to his Guru as possible. But here the sadhakas are led into a common error. They foregut the fact of Guru’s omnipresence and taking a particular body as their Guru they consider that proximity with that body is what means being close to him. A great devotee of the Guru, Swami Muktanadiji says I don’t think the knotty issues in sadhakas mind can be resolved by perceiving the Guru to be a mere body mere body and living near that body. Such physical nearness hardly any meaning. Some old devotees of my Guru, Nityanand Baba were continued to do so till death but they gained nothing more then this physical nearness.
A boy used to stay with him all the time. At times when Baba would call him by his name and enquire where he had gone he was informed that the boy had gone to the river for fishing. So what is the use of such nearness? He used to go to the river to catch fish people who spend their lives struggling to earn livelihood and to get momentary pleasures are doing the same. They are catching the fish of worldly pleasures in the oven of samara.
Baba further says the story of Uddalak Rishi and his son Shwetketu narrated in the Chhandogya Upanishad us in the matter of nearness to the Guru.”
There was a great Rishi and guru by the name of Uddalak. He was a master of samveda. He made the great utterance of samveda Thou Art that he had a son named Shwetketu eut who was also his disciple a very agile intelligent and brilliant fellow. Uddalak Rishi said to him, Shwetketu. In out lineage everyone goes to a Guru for studies so that he may not remain a Brahmin only by names so you should also proceed to acquire such supreme knowledge.”
Therefore his uponayan ceremony of investiture with a sacred thread was conducted when he was just years old and on reaching the age of twenty four he retuned home after having acquired the knowledge of the entire Vedas. Considering himself to be great Jnani self knower, Shwetketu behaved with Uddalak as if Uddalak was an ordinary man. He didn’t have an idea as to how great a jnani Uddalak was. Thus Shwetketu showed little respect towards him. Uddalak on other hand was aware of his superficial knowledge.
He said to him one day dear owing to your pride as regards your erudition and your immodesty I’ wish to ask if you have been enlightened about that becomes of which the unheard becomes heard the unfelt becomes felt an the unknown becomes know.
Shwetketu was taken aback and his pride melted away. He realized that he was not fully equipped with all that should be know. He asked Your Holiness What is that.?
Uddalak replied A lump of mud gives then knowledge of all articles erected out of mud. The different names are only tricks of speech; mud alone is the truth. Some way a single lump of gold acquaints us of all the things made of gold becomes against different names attributed are but a way of addressing. Similarly a mail cutter made of iron imparts the knowledge of all articles of iron being the substance while distance names only a deformation of speech. Instruction of That is similar to the above Truth.
Shwetketu spoke surely my revered Gurudev was not aware of it. Had he known it he would have told me. Now kindly you only explain it. After this Shwetketu father Uddalak enlightened him with the truth Thou Art That.
Muktanadiji says one should not specially endeavour always to come near only to the Guru body. Being close to one should amounts to being near to the Guru inure sense becomes the real substance of the Guru is one soul. Shwetance stayed so near to a self realized Guru since childhood but unity and unless the delusion of dualism was not removed by listening to his satsang on Brahmajanac i.e. knowledge of Braham the Lord he more or less remained very much away form ;Uddalak. But when Guru and father Rishi Uddalak apprised him of the fact Thou art and endowed him with the knowledge of Lord Brahamviday; It was them when Shwetketu realized the meaning of actual nearness to the Guru got the Supremes benefit. The significance of going near to the Guru physically is not ruled out but continuing only this kind of visit throughout the life and not trying to adapt oneself according to one’s Guru’s indications and thus going near to him form within shall not incur him the benefit form the guru.
As I have said earlier, a few people used to be always physically near to my Gurudev. They only achieved that superficial meanness, nothing more. It is not meanness if you are in the room adjacent to the Guru or If you sit near Guru’s feet. The true nearness is being near at heart. You have to sit near the Guru abiding in your heart.
The more of the virtue of obedience to the Guru’s commands you have the nearer you are to the Guru even if physically you are away form him. And to the extent you are careless in obeying Guru’s commands the farther your are form the Guru though physically you may be very to him.

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