Samarpan Part-II 'The Worship of the Guru and Offering of Obeisance to His Feet'

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'The Worship of the Guru and Offering of Obeisance to His Feet'

 

Guru is the entity who dispels the darkness of ignorance and

illumines our lives with pure knowledge and hence the worship of the

Guru and offering of obeisance to his feet.

A qualified spiritual master is essential to learn self-realisation.

Bhagavad Gita asks one to learn the truth through a Guru or spiritual

master, inquire from him submissively and render service unto him.

The self-realised soul imparts knowledge as he has seen the truth. A

real Guru imparts 'Gynana' (true knowledge) and teaches how to raise

one's consciousness beyond material physical boundaries. He teaches

meditation to attain real peace of mind, true self-knowledge, eternal

happiness, and liberation from karmas, develop true love for God.

Achieving spiritual perfection by oneself through yoga (meditation)

is impractical. One must learn spiritual practices under the guidance

of a genuine spiritual master. We repose our faith in a Guru whose

feet are roots of worship and the root of liberation. He opens our

eyes blinded by ignorance and darkness and guides us to our goals.

Bhagavad Gita gives guidelines and qualities of a genuine Guru. A

true Guru has credentials to impart true knowledge free from

speculation and never claims he is god. He knows god is supreme and

we are subordinate to him. He knows the truth and lives it, is free

from lust, anger, and greed. He exemplifies wisdom, peacefulness,

self-control, austerity, piety, tolerance and strong faith in god.

 

Deeksha (initiation)- It's importance

 

At the time of 'Deeksha' (initiation), the Guru absorbs the past sins

and karmas of his disciples and reveals true spiritual knowledge. The

disciple develops strong love for the Guru who delivers him from the

bondage of birth and death. Bhagavad Gita shows that when Arjuna was

confused about his duties, put his faith in Krishna, regarded him as

his Guru and Krishna showed him the right path. The Guru is a man of

profound intellectual and spiritual sensitivity and compassion.

 

The Guru

Venerable one …

For many years was I hapless and distraught, aimlessly searching

through the gale, but when I sounded the conch of my soul call, in

your divine kindness you responded. Now I inhale the ambrosia of your

nectar each day and know that in Divine Time, I am already Home.

Teachers there are many, but the Guru (one who leads you from

darkness to light) may be just one. A Guru is a spiritual preceptor,

a Master (one who has attained self-mastery). He has definitely

attained emancipation; through his spiritual practices, experienced

samadhi (the highest step on the Eightfold Path of Yoga as outlined

by Patanjali - an ancient exponent of Yoga), and has progressed onto

the higher spiritual states of nirbikalpa samadhi (wherein he

communes with God without bodily fixation; and in his ordinary waking

consciousness, even in the midst of exacting worldly duties).

The average mortal may not recognize his true, ordained Guru even

when in his presence, but the Guru always recognizes his disciple of

many past incarnations. And no man finds a guru unless the Lord

Himself has drawn that disciple to a guru. In the presence of an

illumined Guru, your receptive mind will be lifted into the realms of

the super conscious, so to speak, and a joy hitherto unknown will

flood the whole being. The Guru is obliged to nurture love for God in

your consciousness. He seeks nothing from you except your own

spiritual effort and is stoic to your praise or criticism.

Devotees often wonder about whether it is essential that the Guru be

physically alive for them to be able to receive his blessings and

guidance.

 

Revered Gurudev Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimaliji (known in ascetic form as

Paramhans Swami Nikhileshwaranandji) said and I quote: -

 

" My help will always be with true devotees all over the world,

even

when I am gone, if they keep in tune with me. Never think for a

moment that if I am physically absent from you all, I am not

otherwise with you. I shall be just as deeply concerned for your

spiritual welfare when I am no longer in this body. I am, and shall

be watching every minute over each one of you; and whenever a true

devotee thinks of me in the silent depths of his soul, he will know

that I am near."

 

According to Swami Vivekananda, the soul has no gender, no place, no

country, no concept of time, and it can only receive impulses from

another soul, and from nothing else. Most books that we study all our

lives, give us an intellectual lift, but hardly any spiritual

endurance. We may only delude ourselves into thinking that we are

spiritually elevated. Litmus tests wherein we are required to exude

inner spiritual qualities in practical life, reveal otherwise! To

quicken the spirit, the impulse must come from another soul. The

person from whom such an impulse comes for your inner spiritual

flowering is your Guru. Words of the illumined Guru, spoken or

written, have the power of the Divine behind them and overwhelm your

heart with an inexplicable feeling of peace.

 

Blessed are they with an appropriate knowledge of spiritual practice

who receive the grace of a Guru. Do not believe in a teacher who is

both morally and spiritually deficient, but leave aside your

skeptical reasoning if you find the teacher to be perfect. It may

happen sometimes that a person proceeds without a Master, but that

should be an exception and not made a rule.

A true Guru does not ask you to blindly obey him, but with the

scalpel of your own discrimination, encourages you to fine tune your

fancy driven will with his own divine will and wisdom.

A Guru tests his disciple , and will also keep testing him until the

disciple's resistance is broken. He is trying to teach the

disciple

to efface the ego and to break away from the cords of mortality that

the mind has spun around the body. Only when the ego is continually

humbled will the disciple learn. When the Guru insults and admonishes

you, he is primarily testing the waters to see how far your ego has

been humbled. Never lose your composure. Be calm, thankful, and see

the benefits flow over you. Some feel that the world today needs to

stop trying to possess and adulate saints and sadhus and that it

should instead look for spiritual masters who will possess them

instead.

Only when you surrender yourself in reverence and faith to a true

Guru , can you really ever hope to progress on the spiritual path.

And this statement must not be construed in the narrow sense.

Everybody's karma is different. Surrender to the Guru and be

patient,

giving him time and opportunity to work through your karma and to re-

arrange your life's patterns. As the Guru intercedes between you

and

the Divine Lord, pick up the pieces of your life, and never give up

even if torn to bits. Live the divine bee, suck up a lot of wisdom. A

smooth life, the saints remind us, is not a victorious life.

 

 

Give your Guru your unconditional love

 

He only wants to serve by keeping himself constantly recharged with

God. You may meet him in this life because you have met him before.

In friendship with the Guru, there is no compulsion. All other

relationships may have mental and emotional shackles, but the love of

the Guru is unconditional, eternal, and a spontaneous gift from the

heart. The Divine Lord has no favorites. God gives Himself unto he

who loves Him. But God cannot be known except through communion.

 

The Guru is the one who builds a bridge over the mayic ocean,

connecting your heart with the Divine. Like a divine beacon, he

guides the ship of your life through the storms and the gales. As a

disciple you have only to follow the way as revealed by the Master

with steadfast enthusiasm, loyalty and devotion, and you will realize

that the Master is with you in every moment of existence. Lost in the

bliss of his love, your soul will melt in God; you will perceive the

Great light and in it you will also realize the greatness of the

Guru. May you feel your oneness with Him.

 

Jai Gurudev!