A beautiful gem (Who is a Guru) from Swami Venkitesananda

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Hari OM!Please see below a wonderful article- thought provoking that is- by H.H Swami Venkitesananda. Swamiji is clear and crisp in his concepts and his analysis is thorough. It is a long article, please enjoy- you will be glad you read it.

By the way, the Bhagavatham Nityaparayanam (available at guruvayoor.com) is the translation of Swamiji's work. As you may know, Swami Venkitesananda and Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda are both Swami Sivananda's Disciples. What a school to produce such graduates !!!Hari OM!Sukumar----------WHO IS A GURU?By Swami Venkateshananda of Divine Life Society=====================================He who imparts the theory concerning self-knowledge and guides us inour practice is not a Guru, but an ‘Acharya’, a teacher. From thisteacher you learn about self-knowledge. It is not self-knowledge but aperipheral knowledge, which may be very necessary as otherwise wemight be easily misled.Just as the description is not self-knowledge, a technique is also notself-knowledge, nor does it lead to Atma-jnana; but it is necessary.In the Yoga Vasistha you have a fantastic double negative statementconcerning this. Vasishtha says that a teacher does not give you Atma-jnana, but you cannot attain Atma-jnana without a teacher. As we goon, this will become clear. The Acharya is the person from whom wegain an understanding of the

theory, the peripheral knowledge or adescription about (not of) self-knowledge, self-realisation or Atma-jnana. He guides us in our practice and may even prescribe a practicefor us, and if we are responsive to him he removes theobstacles that we may encounter on the path. He is not exactly ateacher in the modern sense of the word. Here the word ‘teacher’refers to some kind of a person who is aloof, who walks into theclass, spits out what he has not been able to digest and walks out.That is what you see in schools and colleges nowadays. In the Gurukulasystem where the students lived with the teacher, there was thetransmission of theory and guidance in practice without aloofness.There was a certain amount of physical and psychological intimacy, anda certain openness between the teacher and the taught. This is not tobe confused with the modern definition of a teacher in the schools andcolleges of today, where there is no psychological rapport at all.This word ‘Acharya’ to me nearly sounds like the word ‘Achara’.Acharya means teacher, Achara means your conduct, your lifestyle. Soan Acharya is involved in the pupil’s Achara, external behaviour. Forinstance he might emphasise punctuality, so that you come at thestroke of

nine. He might emphasise that you should not look throughthe window, or look here and there.There can be training in behaviour, but no Acharya can compel yourattention, no Acharya can impose understanding upon you, so there mustbe a certain psychological rapport. Only then is there a guidance orgovernance of behaviour. If you are attentive he transmits to youinformation about self-knowledge, and guides you in your practice.That is the only responsibility of the Acharya. So an Acharya is morea teacher than anything else.Apart from the word ‘student’ there is another word,

‘pupil’. A pupilis not only the person sitting in front of the teacher trying to learnsomething from him, but the word ‘pupil’ also means the diaphragmwhich closes and opens in your eyes. When you go in the sunlight thepupils close, and when you are in darkness they open. That is whathappens in the relationship between the teacher and the pupils. If theteacher is brilliant they close up, they can’t take the light anymore.If the teacher is interesting, funny, dark or stupid they open up wide—with the result that it seems to be far easier to learn rubbish thanto learn something worthwhile. If someone sits there anddiscusses a hundred ways of robbing a bank it is interesting, there isnot a dull moment, the pupil is keenly interested in it. But ifsomeone sits there and discusses Upanishadic wisdom not only thepupils but the eyelids close.If there is psychological rapport and if the Acharya is able to governthe pupil’s behaviour then it is possible for some transmission totake place. Psychological rapport is possible only if both the teacherand the taught are on the same wavelength—otherwise you go to sleep.Physical behaviour can be tailored, but the teacher has no access toyour mind, leave alone to your heart. In a

strange way, Gurudev SwamiSivananda understood this. He understood the psychology of the masses,the problems of young seekers—people who are used to the theatre, tofilms and an exciting, fast life. If they are put in a Vedanta classthey would probably go to sleep, so he inventedinteresting methods of transmission. A dialogue from the Upanishadswas enacted here and people who otherwise fall asleep when exposed tothe ideas of the Upanishads sat up and looked and listened andsomething got through. This was Swami Sivananda’s wonderful method—andlater he invented the Yoga museum—audiovisual instruction where youparticipate and try to understand.Still we are at the stage of the Acharya and the pupil. There is meretransmission of information between the two. It is called‘information’ because it creates a form in you—information. Gradually,drop by drop, these bits and pieces fall into you and take form. Ifyou are quite satisfied with the form you are lost, because you buildan image with this information and treat that image as the truth, asself-realisation. In your study of the Isavasya Upanishad you musthave come across a puzzling Mantra: “They who are devoted to ignorancego to hell. They who aredevoted to knowledge go to a greater hell.†How is that? If you aredevoted to the image that has been formed in you when the theory wasimparted you are stuck forever, there is no way out of it.You have devotedly and devoutly built it up and the whole beingresists any change in that image, so you are lost. But once this imageis formed, if you realise that it is only information about Atma-jnana—it is not Atma-jnana itself but merely a description then it ispossible that you are inspired to go further. The ‘Jijnasu’ stage isover and you are creeping into the Jnani stage. Then someone elseappears, and

that is the Guru. If you read the first chapter of theBhagavad-Gita very carefully you will see that Arjuna thinks he is theGuru. He boldly and arrogantly teaches Krishna what is right, what iswrong. When he discovered that Krishna refused to be his disciple (!)he collapsed, and as he collapsed the words ascribed to him are veryinspiring:yacchreyah syannischitam bruhi tanmesyshyas-te ’ham sadhi roam tvam prapannam (II. 7)Arjuna said:Destroyed is my delusion, as I have gained my knowledge (memory)through Thy grace, O Krishna. I remain freed from doubts. I will actaccording to Thy word.Tvam prapannam—“I have surrendered myself at your feet because I don’tknow the truth. I thought I knew, but looking at the way you areunimpressed by my teaching, I feel maybe I am wrong. So I surrendermyself at your feet.†Sishyas-te—“I am your disciple.†yacchreyahsyannischitam bruhi tanme,—“Tell me what might lead me to Sreyas.â€This word ‘Sreyas’ is extremely difficult to translate. It has beentaken to mean ‘your ultimate good or spiritual good, enlightenment,liberation’. That is where Arjuna says: “I am your disciple.†Krishnais still

not theGuru. It is only in the eleventh chapter that Arjuna bursts out: “Oh!you are the Lord of the whole universe.â€What is the state of the disciple when he has found the Guru—not theAcharya? It is beautifully described towards the end of the Bhagavad-Gita:nashto mohah smritir-labdha tvatprasadan maya ’chyutasthito’smi gatasandehah karishye vachanam tava. (XVIII. 73)All these are vitally important. Nashto mohah—“my confusion, mydelusion has gone.â€There was a confusion

to begin with, but that has completelydisappeared. If that happens you are an enlightened disciple, you havefound the Guru. Smrtir-labdha—it is not merely gaining or regainingmemory but... Normally, you remember what others did to you and youremember what happened to you so far, but you don’t remember yourself.You don’t know yourself, but you know everybody else; you don’t knowwho you are, but you know the entire world! Even when you try torecall a past experience all that you remember is what others did andwhat others said. The self is completely ignored in knowledge, as wellas memory. So smrtir-labdha means: “Now I remember who I am.â€Tvatprasadanmaya’chyuta—“By your Grace,†not by your instruction! TheAcharya isgone. The Acharya merely put up a structure within and the studentbecame aware of that structure. The structure knocked down falsenotions and deluded ideas that were entertained before, and createdthe climate for enlightenment.It is the Guru’s Grace alone that brings about this enlightenment. Noamount of theory and no amount of knowledge can ever bring aboutenlightenment. If the cloth is dirty you put it in a bucket of waterwith a lot of soap in it. Has the cloth been cleaned? You hope so.When you take that cloth out it is full of soap. That’s not clean—thecleaning happens afterwards. In order to get rid of the rubbish calledworldly knowledge you may need a spiritual instructor who gives youknowledge about the self, but in order to gain self-knowledge none ofthese would do. It is only the Grace of the Guru that flows directlyinto your heart without the interference of your mind that can bringabout this self-knowledge, Atma-jnana. Gatasandehah—“There is nodoubt,†the mind and the heart arefree from doubt, and therefore whatever has to be done is done withouthesitation. That is what is led

‘spontaneous action’. The shock of thevision of this cosmic form probably brought that about in the case ofArjuna, because a similar expression occurs even at the beginning ofthe eleventh chapter:yat tvayo’ktam vachas tena moho’yam vigato mama (XI. 1)Arjuna said:By this word (explanation) of the highest secret concerning the Selfwhich Thou hastspoken, for the sake of blessing me, my delusion is gone.Who is a Guru?gukaraschandhakarascha rukarastannirodhakah andhakaravinasitvad-gurur-ityabhidhiyate“That light which removes the darkness of ignorance is the Guru.†Hein whose presence you gain this, is the Guru; or that is the Guru.That moment or that event where the scales of ignorance drop away andthis inner structure of theory (which has been put there by theinstructions of the Acharya) begins to grow and is realised—there isthe Guru.When you go round India you will meet dozens of Gurus who say: “I amyour Guruâ€. Gurudev never said that for one moment. Occasionally heused to say “You are my disciple†or “He is my discipleâ€; and some ofthe older disciples here probably have one letter at least whereGurudev said: “I have accepted you as my beloved disciple, I shallserve you and guide you.†But with all respect and adoration toGurudev I may tell you that it was meant more as an encouragement tothe disciple than as a statement of fact. When Swami Sivananda said:“I haveaccepted you as my beloved discipleâ€, you felt that you had a claimover Swami Sivananda, you could write to him more freely. That is whathe wanted. The next sentence is: “I will serve you.†You have neverheard of a Guru serving a disciple, the disciple is supposed to servethe

Guru! So in that formula itself he has cancelled this Gurubusiness. He never regarded himself as a Guru. It was for us, not forhim.It is the disciple’s experience that is the Guru, and the Guru neednot know when that experience happened to you. You may say, “You aremy Guruâ€; it is not for the Guru to say, “I am your Guru.†I can go tothe Guru and say, “I am your disciple†when I am prepared to doexactly what he tells me to do, and not till that stage is reached canI boldly say: “I am your disciple, you are my Guru.â€Till then there is no Guru. It is very important to

remember this,otherwise you can get into all sorts of muddles. Suddenly you go tosomebody and if he scratches your back and says: “Oh, I see abrilliant light around your face and you are going to attainenlightenment in three monthsâ€, you say: “Ah, you are my Guru!†If heasks you to bring a cup of milk from the kitchen you say: “Ach, whatkind of Guru are you? You are no longer my Guru—it is finished.†Thisis a travesty of truth.Gurudev insisted (as does the Yoga Vasishtha) that you cannot attainenlightenment without the help of a Guru, and to Swamis who wanted tobe Gurus he

said, “Be careful, don’t become a Guru.†You should notbecome a Guru, but I must have a Guru. I need a Guru but nobody isprepared to be my Guru! You see the tangle here? What must I do?Swamiji was emphatic there: “Be a disciple! From head to foot be adisciple! Then you will find a Guru.â€Early in 1947 Swamiji was sitting in the office. A young man fromSouth Africa who had stayed with us for about two or three months wasleaving that day. He walked in, prostrated to Gurudev, and startedcrying. With supreme love and affection Gurudev looked at him. Hesaid, “Swamiji, I have to go today, and in Africa where do we

get aGuru like you?†Suddenly Swamiji’s expression changed and with a verybeautiful, meaningful and mischievous smile he said: “Huh, you don’tfind a Guru in Africa?†By this time the man’s grief had gone, histears had dried up. He found the Master laughing and smiling. Swamijithen fixed his gaze on this young man and said, “Ohji, it is very easyto find a Guru, it is very difficult to find a disciple!†If you are adisciple naturally you’ll find a Guru.Disciple means discipline. What does the word ‘discipline’ mean? Notan army drill, but study. The Acharya gave you some information whichproduced a form within you; and now you wish to study this. TheAcharya said that happiness is in you, that it is not in the object ofpleasure—but that is not your experience. You have experiencedpleasure from that object and in its absence you are miserable. Sowhat do you do? You are studying this inner structure, studying theworkings of the mind, the arising of the self, the ego. But it is notclear because you are full of impurities, dirt and filth. Therefore inthe course of the study of oneself an extraordinary discipline arises.It is not discipline which is imposed upon you by others, it is notdiscipline which is goal

oriented, but it is a discipline born ofintense search. When this discipline manifests itself in your heartyou will naturally find your Guru. You go and stand in front ofsomeone and ... that’s it. You don’t need to exchange a word.Some of us came here in 1944 and found Swamiji and some others. He wasradiating bliss, radiating peace, radiating joy. We looked around andsaw that all the things that you and I consider vital to peace,happiness, prosperity and all the rest of it, were absent here. Therewas absolutely nothing. A cup of tea in the morning was almostcelestial manna, ambrosia. Living in such conditions how

were thesepeople able to smile, to radiate joy! What is that, possessing whichhe led such a life? You began to wonder and something clicked. Therewas no need to exchange one single word. Looking into his eyes yourealised that he had found the truth, you had not. That was enough tohumble you, make you collapse at his feet.Truth is not transmitted by word, but is always transmitted non-verbally. I can tell you I am angry with you, but you know the truthbecause non-verbally you have not sensed I am angry with you. Thereare occasions (of which I am sure you are aware) when someone mightsmile, and you sense anger. Non-verbal communication alone is truth,and truth can only be communicated non-verbally. Information you canpass on, so the passing on of the information is the business of theAcharya. Non-verbal communication of truth is by the Guru. I don’tknow if the Guru also knows that his disciple has been enlightened orawakened. Gurudev never discussed this. On a spiritual level it wasmost beautiful to observe how he regarded everyone and everything ashis Guru. (It is very difficult to explain this and probably moredifficult to understand it.) That is, when this discipline becomestotal, there is total awareness of Guru

everywhere.Whether a person wore a yellow, red or green cloth, to Gurudev he wasalways Swami. Everyone was a Swami, everyone was Bhagavan, everyonewas Devi. That is probably the state you will find yourself in ifthere is this total discipline. Then the whole universe becomes yourGuru.

 

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