How a Disciple should be

January 29, 2004

Hari OM! OM Amriteswariye Namaha!

Blessed all,

Following is the artcile by Swami Sivanandaji on how a disciple

should be it will be a great guideline for all of us.

With Love & OM!

Om Amriteswariye Namaha!

Om Nama Shivaya!

Krishna Prasad

INTRODUCTION

A disciple is he who follows the instructions of the Guru to the

letter and spirit, and who propagates the teachings of the Guru to

less evolved souls in the path till the end of his life.

A true disciple is concerned only with the divine nature of the Guru.

The Guru's action as man is not the disciple's concern. He is totally

oblivious of it. To him, the Guru is Guru even if he acts

unconventionally. Always remember that the nature of a saint is

unfathomable. Judge him not. Measure not his divine nature with the

inadequate yardstick of your ignorance. Criticise not your Guru's

action which is done on universal vision.

True discipleship opens the vision. It kindles the spiritual fire. It

awakens the dormant faculties. It is most necessary in one's journey

along the spiritual path. Guru and disciple become one. The Guru

blesses, guides, and inspires the disciple. He transmits his

spiritual power to him. He transforms and spiritualises him.

WHO IS QUALIFIED TO APPROACH THE GURU?

To approach a Guru, you must be a proper Adhikari (qualified person).

Correct understanding, non-attachment to worldly objects, serenity of

mind, restraint of the senses, absence of base passions, faith in the

Guru, and devotion to God are the necessary equipment with which the

aspirant has to approach the Guru.

The Guru will impart spiritual instructions only to that aspirant who

thirsts for liberation, who duly obeys the injunctions of the

Shastras, who has subdued his passions and senses, who has a calm

mind, and who possesses virtuous qualities like mercy, cosmic love,

patience, humility, endurance, forbearance, etc. Initiation into the

mysteries of Brahman will fructify only when the disciple's mind

becomes desireless, and will produce Jnana in it.

GURU-SEVA

Aspirants should direct their whole attention in the beginning

towards the removal of selfishness by protracted service to the Guru.

Serve your Guru with divine Bhava(feeling). The cancer of

individuality will be dissolved.

The captain of a ship is ever alert. A fisherman is ever alert. A

surgeon in the operation theatre is ever alert. Even so, a thirsting

hungry disciple should be ever alert in the service of his Guru.

Live to serve the Guru. You must watch for opportunities. Do not wait

for invitation. Volunteer yourself for the Guru's service.

Serve your Guru humbly, willingly, unquestioningly, unassumingly,

ungrudgingly, untiringly, and lovingly. The more your energy you

spend in serving your Guru, the more the divine energy will flow into

you.

He who serves the Guru serves the whole world. Serve the Guru without

selfish ends. Scrutinise your inner motives while doing service to

the Guru. Service must be done to the Guru without expectation of

name, fame, power, wealth, etc.

OBEDIENCE TO THE GURU

Obedience to the Guru is better than reverence. Obedience is precious

virtue, because if You try to develop the virtue of obedience, the

ego, the arch-enemy on the path of Self-realisation, slowly gets

rooted out.

Only the disciple who obeys his Guru can have command over his lower

self. Obedience should be very practical, whole-hearted, and actively

persevering. True obedience to Guru neither procrastinates nor

questions. A hypocritical disciple obeys his Guru from fear. The true

disciple obeys his Guru with pure love, for love's sake.

Learn how to obey. Then alone you can command. Learn how to be a

disciple. Then alone you can become a Guru.

Give up the delusive notion that to submit to the preceptor, to obey

him, and to carry out his instructions is slavish mentality. The

ignorant man thinks that it is beneath his dignity and against his

freedom to submit to another man's command. This is a grave blunder.

If you reflect carefully, you will see that your individual freedom

is, in reality, an absolutely abject slavery to your own ego and

vanity. It is the vagaries of the sensual mind. He who attains

victory over the mind and the ego is the truly free man. He is the

hero. It is to attain this victory that man submits to the higher

spiritualised personality of the Guru. By this submission, he

vanquishes his lower ego and realises the bliss of infinite

consciousness.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY DISCIPLES

The spiritual path is not like writing a thesis for the Master of

Arts degree. It is quite a different line altogether. The help of a

teacher is necessary at every moment. Young aspirants become self-

sufficient, arrogant, and self-assertive in these days. They do not

care to carry the orders of a Guru. They do not wish to have a out

Guru. They want independence from the very beginning. They think they

are in the Turiya Avastha (the state of superconsciousness) when they

do not know even the A-B-C of spirituality or truth. They mistake

licentiousness or "having their own ways and sweet will" for freedom.

This is a serious, lamentable mistake. This is the reason why they do

not grow. They lose their faith in the efficacy of Sadhana and in the

existence of God. They wander about in a happy-go-lucky manner,

without any aim, from Kashmir to Gangotri, and from Gangotri to

Ramesvaram, talking some nonsense on the way, something from Vichara

Sagar, something from Panchadasi, and posing as Jivanmuktas

(liberated beings).

SURRENDER AND GRACE

If you want to drink water at the tap, you will have to bend

yourself. Even so, if you want to drink the spiritual nectar of

immortality which flows from the holy lips of the Guru, you will have

to be an embodiment of humility and meekness.

The lower nature of the mind must be thoroughly regenerated. The

aspirant says to his preceptor: "I want to practise Yoga. I want to

enter into Nirvikalpa Samadhi. I want to sit at your feet. I have

surrendered myself to you". But he does not want to change his lower

nature and habits, old character, behaviour, and conduct.

One's individual ego, preconceived notions, pet ideas and prejudices,

and selfish interests should be given up. All these stand in the way

of carrying out the teachings and instructions of one's Guru.

Lay bare to your Guru the secrets of your heart. The more you do so,

the greater the Guru's sympathy, which means an accession of strength

to you in the struggle against sin and temptation.

The aspirant, before he desires the grace of the Master, should

deserve it. The supply of divine grace comes only when there is a

real thirst in the aspirant, and when he is fit to receive it.

The Guru's grace descends upon those who feel utterly humble and

faithful to him. Faith is confidence and trust in the Guru. Faith is

firm conviction of the truth of what is declared by the preceptor by

way either of testimony or authority, without any other evidence or

proof. The disciple who has faith in the Guru argues not, thinks not,

reasons not, and cogitates not. He simply obeys, obeys, and obeys.

The disciple's self-surrender to the Guru and the Guru's grace are

interrelated. Surrender draws down the Guru's grace, and the grace of

the Guru makes the surrender complete.

The Guru's grace works in the form of Sadhana in the aspirant. If an

aspirant sticks to the path tenaciously, this Is the grace of the

Guru. If he resists when temptation assails him, this is the grace of

the Guru. If people receive him with love and reverence, this is the

grace of the Guru. If he gets all bodily wants, this is the grace of

the Guru. If he gets encouragement and strength when he is in despair

and despondency, this is the grace of the Guru. If he gets over the

body-consciousness and rests in his own Ananda Svarupa (the form of

bliss), this is the grace of the Guru. Feel his grace at every step,

and be sincere and truthful to him.

HOW THE GURU TEACHES

The Guru teaches through personal example. The day-to-day conduct of

the Guru is a living ideal to the disciple who is observant. The life

of the Guru is a living sermon to the sincere disciple. By constant

contact, the disciple imbibes the virtues of his Guru. He is moulded

gradually. Study the Chhandogya Upanishad. You will find that Indra

stayed with Prajapati for a period of a hundred and one years and

served him whole-heartedly.

The Guru alone knows the spiritual needs of his disciples. He will

give Upadesha (spiritual advice) according to the disciple's

temperament and evolution. This Upadesha should be kept a secret.

Discussion among disciples will lead to criticism of the Guru and

slackness in Sadhana. There will be no spiritual progress. Follow the

Guru's Upadesha to the very letter. Remember it is meant for you

only. The other disciples have received Guru- upadesha, too. Let them

follow it. Do not impose the Upadesha you have received on others.

The student can imbibe or draw from his teacher in proportion to his

degree of faith. When the Guru comes to the aspirant to give

spiritual instructions, if the aspirant does not pay any attention,

if he is self- sufficient and heedless, if he bolts the door of his

heart, he is not benefited.

HOW THE GURU TESTS

The Sadguru communicates the secret knowledge of the Upanishads to

his trusted disciples only after repeated entreaty and severe

testing. Sometimes, the Guru may even tempt his disciple, but the

latter should overcome the temptation by firm faith in the Guru.

In days of yore, the tests were very severe. Once Gorakhnath asked

some of his students to climb up a tall tree and throw themselves,

head downwards, on a very sharp trident or Trisula. Many faithless

students kept quiet. But one faithful student at once climbed up the

tree with lightning speed and hurled himself downwards. He was

protected by the invisible hand of Gorakhnath. He had immediate Self-

realisation.

The Guru tests the students in various ways. Some students

misunderstand him and lose their faith in him. Hence they are not

benefited.

FOUR CLASSES OF DISCIPLES

The best disciple is like petrol or aviation spirit. Even from a

great distance, he will instantly react to the spark of the Guru's

Upadesha.

The second class disciple is like camphor. A touch awakens his inner

spirit and kindles the fire of spirituality in him.

The third class of disciple is like coal. The Guru has to take great

pains in order to awaken the spirit in him.

The fourth class of disciple is like a plantain stem. No efforts will

be of any avail over him. Whatever the Guru may do, he remains cold

and inert.

Two things are necessary for a beautifully finished idol or image.

One is a perfect, faultless, good piece of marble; the second is the

expert sculptor. The piece of marble should but unconditionally

remain in the hands of the sculptor in order to be carved and

chiselled into the fine image. So too, the disciple has but to

cleanse himself, purify himself, and make himself a perfectly

faultless piece of marble, and placing himself under the expert

guidance of his Master, allow to be carved out and chiselled into the

image of God.

January 30, 2004

Dear Brother Krishna Prasad:

Thank you for the outstanding treatise by Sri Sivanada. I am graced by this

post and humbled by the Mahatma's instructions.

Amma has many discussions about Guru-Disciplehood and if I may please peruse Her

Divine guidance on this crucial dynamic..

Amma says in Awaken Children!:

“Through created circumstances, he [the Guru] first attracts and binds

the disciple with his person. Once the Guru is fully aware that the

disciple is totally attached to him, the next step is elimination of the

ego. For that to happen, the Guru again creates situations, working with

both the gross and the subtle ego. Once the ego is removed, your inside

becomes empty. All the old stuff has been removed, and you can now fill

yourself with love. The removal of the old and the filling with the new

happens simultaneously." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4, p64

.."The circumstances created by the Guru are so powerful, so precious

and alluring, that the disciple will start cherishing and memorizing each

moment that he spends with the Guru, and he will start loving the Guru with

his body, mind and intellect. The disciple's love will flow both to the

physical and the spiritual forms of the Guru. When he comes to know that

his Guru is the very Consciousness that shines within and through all

objects, the disciple starts to love everything." - Ammachi, Awaken

Children, Vol.4, p65

"The Guru's words and deeds are beautiful. Through His beautiful

words and deeds, He creates unforgettable moments and events in the

disciple's life. The Guru's love intoxicates the disciple. His desire to

love and to be loved by the Guru becomes like a blazing flame." - Ammachi,

Awaken Children, Vol.4, p65

.."Slowly, in due course, the Guru removes the disciple's craving to be

loved by Him, and he develops in its place the craving to be in loving

service to Him. Again, in order to make the disciple understand and

realize that the Guru is not the body but the all-pervading Self, He

creates circumstances for the disciple to see Him in everything and to

serve Him through every action. For this love to take place, the disciple

must empty the mind of all its desires. That is why Perfect Masters always

insist on the importance of sadhana." - Ammachi, Awaken Children, Vol.4

p65

Pranams,

George

Krishna Prasad <rkrishp99 wrote:Hari OM! OM Amriteswariye Namaha!