HINDU RITUALS AND ROUTINES - Part 59

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HINDU RITUALS AND ROUTINES - WHY DO WE FOLLOW THOSE? !! Guru !! Udupi Krishna The word Guru comes from Sanskrit guru 'weighty, grave' (compare with Latin gravis). It means "with weightage (a big importance)". ‘Gu’ refers to darkness assuming the form of ignorance and ‘ru ’ to the radiance in the form of spiritual knowledge, which dispels this darkness. Thus the Guru is the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. ‘The Guru depends on faith. In one’s faith itself lies the greatness of the Guru. The Guru too depends on your faith. He lies in your faith.' - Saint Bhaktaraj Implied meaning: In “The Guru depends on faith. In one’s faith itself lies the greatness of the Guru†the Guru refers to the Guru’s external form. Only if one has faith in a Guru can He function as a Guru. “The Guru too depends on your faith. He lies in your faith†refers to the Omniscient Guru within oneself.’

The Guru concept is essentially an ancient Indian concept, having no parallel in the spiritual tradition of other societies. In common parlance the term ‘Guru’ means ‘teacher.’ To learn anything in life, let it be material or spiritual, one needs the help of a teacher. The Gurus vary according to the attainment of knowledge and the levels at which they impart guidance. Therefore, one should be diligent in locating and identifying a real Guru. A Guru worth the name should be atmajnani -one who can see the intricacies of your soul and its past, present and future in order to give the correct guidance towards mukti -spiritual liberation. He can guide his followers in their material, emotional and spiritual life so as to lead them to the supreme aim of human life, which is the communion with the Supreme Light. We are living in a materialistic age where all of us are mainly concerned about money, sex, beauty, power and a high status in society. Lust for power, material greed, sensual excitement, selfishness, envy, passion for wealth and lower appetites have drawn man from his true life in the spirit into the materialistic life, forgetting about the existence of the Almighty. Though he can regain his lost spirituality through a fully realized Guru, who can give him the cor him the correct guidance and transmute animal nature into divine nature, leading man to the pinnacle of spiritual evolution -mukti. Guru: leads from ignorance to wisdom, from disharmony to harmony, from hatred to love, from want to fullness, from weakness to strength, from limitation to infinitude, from diversity to unity, from darkness to Light, and from imperfection to perfection. He gives hope to the sad and forlorn, strength to the weak, health to the sick and wisdom to the ignorant. Importance of Guru When Lord Narayan was in the midst of creating universe, Goddess Laxmi ,His consort was very upset. Lord Narayan saw this and asked her what the reason was. To this She replied that Lord Narayan was creating the universe in which He would crerate human beings and the Karma Department, which would be totally independent of anything. Due to the Karma theory, mankind would only suffer due to their own doings,as Karma is totally an independent theory.

No God or Demi God influences what a human being wants to do and all this would lead to misery and unlimited sorrow and sadness.Since humans are no one else but the children of Lord Narayan/Goddess Laxmi it was all but obvious that a mother would cry if she sees her children in misery. So She wanted the Lord to create some method, which could end the misery of mankind. To this Lord Narayan created the following method: He said that any human being,no matter whatever bad karma he has done earlier in this birth as well as his previous births—once he accepts a spiritual leader or Guruji (in the disciple succession of guru Parampara),takes naam daan from the Guru and surrenders himself totally to his Guru(Sharnagati)—this person’s sin would be forgiven and forgotten and he would be on the path to Moksha(oneness with the Supreme Lord) It is very funny that if someone wants to learn music, they look for a good music teacher.if someone wants to learn tennis he looks for a good tennis coach, but when it comes to spiritual life it is basic human nature that he thinks he is good enough on his own and does not need a teacher in this field. We see around that everything needs a teacher so how on earth we enter the spiritual world without a teacher.That’s why a spiritual teacher or Guru is so important. The scriptures also say that a Guru is not only important, but is essential which means that there is no choice, if one wants to head towards self realization, then one has to have a Guru and there is no allowance to this rule

LAXMINATH SAMARAMBHA NATHYA MUNI MADYAMAH ASMADACHARYA PARYANTA VANDE GURU PARAMPARA Lord Krishna himself tells Arjuna that if you want to approach me then approach me through a teacher who himself is self realized and who knows who I am so that He can guide you successfully through this spiritual world and make you one with Me. " God and the Guru are one and the same " The Guru is God's manifest form while the unmanifest form of the Guru is God. A bank has several branches. According to one's convenience one opens an account and deposits money in a local branch. There is no need to take the trouble of going to the main branch situated elsewhere in a distant place, to deposit the money. In the same way spiritual emotion (bhav), devotion, service, sacrifice, etc. are easier to practise in the context of God's manifest (sagun) form, that is the Guru, instead of doing them for the invisible unmanifest God. Just as the money deposited in any branch of a bank finally reaches its main branch so also service rendered unto the Guru amounts to that of God. " Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo MaheshwaraGuru Sakshath Parambrahma Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha "Meaning: The guru is the creator, the guru is the preserver, and the guru is the destroyer. The guru is the Absolute.. I bow before you The human soul, even though initiated in the spiritual path, cannot love an abstract power; and it is for this reason that the scriptures advise us to venerate those who lead us to God and to love their physical presence as the Divine manifesting itself in human form. The Guru's physical body is just a receptacle of the mighty Divine, and as such worthy of the utmost devotion and reverence. God as the abstract Creator eludes our imagination, but when a human temple enshrines divinity we begin to understand through this familiar medium the purpose of our own ultimate destiny. Thus, when God assumes a human form, He establishes Himself as the Guru. Guru is manifested God- this is perhaps the most succinct and satisfying definition of the word, and eliminates the false claims of some so-called Gurus who are ready to assume the mantle of spiritual authority without the true manifestation of the divine principle. The Guru as manifested God soon becomes the Light, the inspiration and the great exemplar. The life of the average seeker, as it is lived on the material and physical level, is barren and unproductive until it finds its focus in the Master. It requires the grace, protection and the powerful push of the Guru to release this imprisoned splendor which lies captive in each and every one of us. The Guru and God are one because the Almighty and His medium of manifestation cannot be different. The Guru embodies not only the Saguna (characteristics) but also the Nirguna(quality) of the Supreme Being, and so to that extent the Guru is approachable and accessible to man's needs and comprehension. Once a contact between the Guru and the bhakta(disciple) is established, the relationship between master and disciple becomes a thing of beauty. This leads us to consider the principle of reciprocity which operates in this relationship. In return for the innumerable demands which a bhakta makes on the Master, it is but natural that the Guru too should impose a few conditions on the bhakta. The Guru expects total surrender, absolute obedience ,and, the last and most important, supreme effort. Guru - Types of Gurus

According to the Deval Smriti there can be eleven kinds of gurus and according to Nama Chintamani there are ten types. According to his function gurus are categorized as

rishi

acharyam

upadhya

kulapati

mantravetta

Vaishnava traditions usually categorize gurus as:

 

vartma-pradarshaka guru (any person who first shows one the path)

shiksha guru

diksha guru

sannyasa guru (who initiates one into sannyasa order)

caittya guru (God in the heart as Paramatman)

In his book about neo-Hindu movements in the Netherlands , Kranenborg distinguishes four types of gurus in India : [21]

 

the spiritual advisor for higher caste Hindus who also performs traditional rituals and who is not connected to a temple (thus not a priest);

the enlightened master who derives his authority from his experience, such as achieving enlightenment. This type appears in bhakti movements and in tantra and asks for unquestioning obedience , and can have Western followers. Westerners can even become one, as have , for example Andrew Cohen, and Isaac Shapiro.

the avatar, a guru who considers himself to be an incarnation of God, God-like, or an instrument of God, or who is considered as such by others, for example Sathya Sai Baba and gurus from the Sant Mat lineage;

A "guru" in the form of a book i.e. the Guru Granth Sahib in the Sikh religion.

Guru Dakshina

The best guru dakshina is to adhere to the guru's words. Once, a guru sent his pupil to collect dry 'useless' leaves from a forest as guru dakshina. The disciple searched long and hard but was unsuccessful. Whenever he tried to gather the dry leaves he would be stopped by forest folk collecting them for fuel to heat water, humus for plants, for making patravalis (plates) or for preparing herbal medicines. He went back disappointed, without the guru dakshina. His guru said that the knowledge he had gained of how 'nothing was useless', was his guru dakshina, and his purpose in sending the student to the forest was to teach him that. GURU PURNIMA THE FULL moon day in the month of Ashad (July-August) is an extremely auspicious and holy day of Guru Purnima. On this day, sacred to the memory of the great sage, Bhagavan Sri Vyasa, Sannyasins settle at some place to study and discourse on the thrice-blessed Brahma Sutras composed by Maharishi Vyasa, and engage themselves in Vedantic, philosophical investigation. Sri Vyasa has done unforgettable service to humanity for all times by editing the four Vedas, writing the eighteen Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. We can only repay the deep debt of gratitude we owe him, by constant study of his works and practice of his teachings imparted for the regeneration of humanity in this iron age. In honour of this divine personage, all spiritual aspirants and devotees perform Vyasa Puja on this day, and disciples worship their spiritual preceptor. Saints, monks and men of God are honoured and entertained with acts of charity by all the householders with deep faith and sincerity. The period Chaturmas (the “four monthsâ€) begins from this day; Sannyasins stay at one place during the ensuing four rainy months, engaging in the study of the

Brahma Sutras and the practice of meditation. Mark fully the deep significance of this great day.. It heralds the setting in of the eagerly awaited rains. The water drawn up and stored as clouds in the hot summer now manifests in plentiful showers that usher in the advent of fresh life everywhere. Even so, all begin seriously to put into actual practice all the theory and philosophy that have been stored up in them through patient study. Aspirants commence or resolve to intensify with all earnestness, their practical spiritual Sadhana right from this day. Generate fresh waves of spirituality. Let all that you have read, heard, seen and learnt become transformed, through Sadhana, into a continuous outpouring of universal love, ceaseless loving service, and continuous prayer and worship of the Lord seated in all beings. Live on milk and fruit on this day and practise rigorous Japa and meditation. Study the Brahma Sutras and do Japa of your Guru Mantra, during the four months following the Guru Purnima. You will be highly benefited. The day of worship of one’s preceptor, is a day of pure joy to the sincere spiritual aspirant. Thrilled by the expectation of offering his reverent homage to the beloved Guru, aspirants await this occasion with eagerness and devotion. It is the Guru alone that breaks the binding cords of attachment and releases the aspirant from the trammels of earthly existence. dil se, Bharath.Krishna Doha, Qatar " Achaaryaath paadam aadatthepaadam sishya swamedhayaapaadam sa brahmachaaribhyasesham kaala kramena cha "

 

It means a person can get only one quarter of knowledge from Achaarya - the teacher, another quarter by analyzing self, one quarter by discussing with others and the last quarter during the process of living by method addition, deletion, correction, and modification of already known aachaaraas or new aachaaraas.

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