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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

 

Role of the preceptor in spiritual progress

 

CHENNAI, JUNE 15. A person who purses the spiritual path has to

ensure that he has the necessary requisites to make progress.

Besides his effort he must be blessed with divine grace to

realise the goal of liberation. Divine grace is not available

directly and it is through saints and the spiritual teacher

(Guru) that it is channelised. It is for this reason that the

scriptures stress the importance of a Guru in spiritual life and

also the benefit of cultivating the company of saints (Satsangh).

 

In fact, it is often said that the appearance of a Guru in an

aspirant's life is an indication of the descent of Divine grace.

What must a spiritual seeker do to elicit God's grace? He must

remain devoted to God and engage in devotional activities which

enables him to come in contact with devotees and saints so that

his mind does not get distracted from the goal. One-pointedness

of mind is very essential. Dhruva's life delineated in the

Bhagavata Purana highlighted the importance of the preceptor in

spiritual life, said Sri M. R. Nagasubramanian in his discourse.

 

When Dhruva sallied forth to the woods to meditate on the Lord

after his mother, Suniti, advised him not to harbour ill-will

towards his stepmother, the divine sage, Narada, heard about it

and accosted him to advise him about the difficulties of

performing austerities for one so young.

 

Narada pointed out, ``A child as you are, even if you have

developed the sense of honour and ignominy, there are no diverse

causes of discontent for a man other than ignorance; for whatever

he reaps in the world follows from his own past actions. Seeing

the ways of God, therefore, a wise man should rest contented with

whatever is placed within his reach by Providence. Besides, He

whose grace you seek to win by means of the discipline taught by

your mother is hard to propitiate. Sages fail to discover His

path even though they seek for it with the help of abstract

meditation coupled with rigorous self-discipline carried on in a

detached way through numerous births. Therefore, let this futile

pertinacity of yours cease; you may strive for that when the time

for such practices comes.''

 

But Dhruva was not one to be easily dissuaded. He implored the

sage to show him the path that led to the highest beatitude,

disturbed in mind as he was still by the taunting words of

Suruchi. Convinced that he would not be diverted from his

objective, Narada outlined the manner in which he had to meditate

on God and graced the child by initiating him into the Divine

name.

 

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