Another question to the group - Attachment to the Guru

January 26, 2005

Dear all,

My sincere thanks to the thoughtful responses from the group

regarding "Short Intensive Sadhana or Long Non Intensive Sadhana"

I think we all acknowledge that regular sadhana is the best bet ,

and it helps to break into short intensive sadhana (under proper

guidance) from time to time - to energize ourselves.

So while we continue to chew on this topic, here is another one that

has been on my mind.

We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed to

love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the

Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in

getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

problems?

What do you think ? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

BTW - here is a story that I found on the web- that seems to decry

attachment to the Guru... but I would love to hear your viewpoint.

Jai Maa

Nanda

============================================================

My acknowledgement and thanks to Anthony de Mello, "One Minute

Wisdom "

The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day he

suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there.

"You never leave my bedside, do you?" he said softly.

"No, Master. I cannot."

"Why?"

"Because you are the light of my life.''

The Master sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still

refuse to see the light in you?"

============================================

January 26, 2005

A friend's guru says that *in India*, attachment to the *form* of the

guru is the single biggest obstacle to enlightenment.

The guru also commented on the single biggest obstacle for

Westerners; his observation seemed so obvious to me at the time that

I apparently didn't bother to remember what he said.... aggghhh. So

perhaps we can add a faulty memory (or inability to pay attention

adequately) to my personal obstacle list. :-)

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

> [....]

> We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed to

> love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the

> Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in

> getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

> problems? [....]

January 26, 2005

In a message dated 1/25/05 11:26:52 P.M. Mountain Standard Time, lathananda writes:

We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed to

love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the Guru

? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in getting

over other worldly attachements or will this create more problems?

Namaste Nanda,

This is from Merging with Siva by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

attachments:That which one holds onto or clings to with the energy of

possessiveness, which is a natural function of the inner and outer

ego of an individual. As one unfolds through the chakras, the force

of attachment naturally diminishes through sadhana, tapas and the

grace of the guru.

For me this brings together Sadhana, the Guru and the natural

functioning of attachment.

Om Namah Sivaya

Kanda

January 27, 2005

another good question.

what is the point of attachment to the guru? to be attracted by the

light, by the source of god, and be less bound by the manifestations

of illusion, maya, separate self, or ego.

the guru is wanting to return you to your Self, not to his

personality. this is the highest ideal.

along the way, there are moments of great attraction to the guru. we

might forget our goal is god. there is a razor's edge here we should

be aware of.

we are being attracted to god, but what of the guru's personality?

wwe need to be giving the guru 100% freedom. thus we give it to

ourselves.

always, our minds on the goal. what is the goal? the infinite. the

human guru is the passageway, the ultimate guru is the goal. we need

very refined minds, freedom and courage to understand these

distinctions. the true guru does not want you to honor his

personality, but to turn your heart towards god.

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> My sincere thanks to the thoughtful responses from the group

> regarding "Short Intensive Sadhana or Long Non Intensive Sadhana"

>

> I think we all acknowledge that regular sadhana is the best bet ,

> and it helps to break into short intensive sadhana (under proper

> guidance) from time to time - to energize ourselves.

>

> So while we continue to chew on this topic, here is another one

that

> has been on my mind.

>

> We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed to

> love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the

> Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in

> getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

> problems?

>

> What do you think ? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

>

> BTW - here is a story that I found on the web- that seems to decry

> attachment to the Guru... but I would love to hear your viewpoint.

>

> Jai Maa

> Nanda

>

> ============================================================

> My acknowledgement and thanks to Anthony de Mello, "One Minute

> Wisdom "

>

> The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day he

> suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there.

>

> "You never leave my bedside, do you?" he said softly.

>

> "No, Master. I cannot."

>

> "Why?"

>

> "Because you are the light of my life.''

>

> The Master sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still

> refuse to see the light in you?"

>

> ============================================

January 27, 2005

With love

KalachandraLatha Nanda <lathananda > wrote:

Dear all,My sincere thanks to the thoughtful responses from the group

regarding "Short Intensive Sadhana or Long Non Intensive Sadhana"I

think we all acknowledge that regular sadhana is the best bet , and

it helps to break into short intensive sadhana (under proper

guidance) from time to time - to energize ourselves.So while we

continue to chew on this topic, here is another one that has been on

my mind.We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as

opposed to love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment

to the Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest

in getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

problems?What do you think ? Please share your thoughts and

experiences.BTW - here is a story that I found on the web- that seems

to

decry attachment to the Guru... but I would love to hear your

viewpoint.Jai

MaaNanda============================================================My

acknowledgement and thanks to Anthony de Mello, "One Minute Wisdom

"The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day he

suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there. "You

never leave my bedside, do you?" he said softly. "No, Master. I

cannot.Why?Because you are the light of my life.'' The Master

sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still refuse to see

the light in you?"

============================================Kalacandra

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January 27, 2005

Thank you Steve for sharing this. I find it to be very well stated.

Jai Maa Jai Swamiji Jai Guru

on 1/27/05 6:39 AM, Steve Connor at sconnor (AT) austin (DOT) rr.com wrote:

another good question.

what is the point of attachment to the guru? to be attracted by the

light, by the source of god, and be less bound by the manifestations

of illusion, maya, separate self, or ego.

the guru is wanting to return you to your Self, not to his

personality. this is the highest ideal.

along the way, there are moments of great attraction to the guru. we

might forget our goal is god. there is a razor's edge here we should

be aware of.

we are being attracted to god, but what of the guru's personality?

wwe need to be giving the guru 100% freedom. thus we give it to

ourselves.

always, our minds on the goal. what is the goal? the infinite. the

human guru is the passageway, the ultimate guru is the goal. we need

very refined minds, freedom and courage to understand these

distinctions. the true guru does not want you to honor his

personality, but to turn your heart towards god.

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> My sincere thanks to the thoughtful responses from the group

> regarding "Short Intensive Sadhana or Long Non Intensive Sadhana"

>

> I think we all acknowledge that regular sadhana is the best bet ,

> and it helps to break into short intensive sadhana (under proper

> guidance) from time to time - to energize ourselves.

>

> So while we continue to chew on this topic, here is another one

that

> has been on my mind.

>

> We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed to

> love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the

> Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in

> getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

> problems?

>

> What do you think ? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

>

> BTW - here is a story that I found on the web- that seems to decry

> attachment to the Guru... but I would love to hear your viewpoint.

>

> Jai Maa

> Nanda

>

> ============================================================

> My acknowledgement and thanks to Anthony de Mello, "One Minute

> Wisdom "

>

> The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day he

> suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there.

>

> "You never leave my bedside, do you?" he said softly.

>

> "No, Master. I cannot."

>

> "Why?"

>

> "Because you are the light of my life.''

>

> The Master sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still

> refuse to see the light in you?"

>

> ============================================

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January 28, 2005

Dear nanda and all...

a story..

once there was a fox that had become so infested with fleas. They

were really driving him mad! He scratched and rolled and rubbed up

against trees and rocks. They were so awful! But none of that helped

much. Finally he got an idea, a little wisdom...

He took a hollow reed and held it in his mouth and then began to

walk into the river. At first the fleas just kept moving up on his

body to get out of the water. Eventually they were all on his head,

since that was the only thing out of the water. He kept going. Now

only his snout was above the surface - completely covered with all

thos fleas. And then he even brought his head under, breathing

through the reed. The fleas all either climber onto the reed or

floated away in the water. He then had to let go of the reed which

floated away. He was free!

The Guru is like that reed. As we focus on the Guru we can move

forward and all the difficulties will leave us. But we have to

eventually let go of that attachment, too.

My personal experience is that my Guru's form is gone but he is

living in me and everything and everyone - more present than my own

heart.

Again, Nanda, I thank you, Shree Maa and Swamiji for the the riches

that are pouring through you so regularly. Jai Maa!

jayadeva

, "Latha Nanda" <lathananda>

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> My sincere thanks to the thoughtful responses from the group

> regarding "Short Intensive Sadhana or Long Non Intensive Sadhana"

>

> I think we all acknowledge that regular sadhana is the best bet ,

> and it helps to break into short intensive sadhana (under proper

> guidance) from time to time - to energize ourselves.

>

> So while we continue to chew on this topic, here is another one

that

> has been on my mind.

>

> We all know (atleast intellectually) that attachment (as opposed

to

> love) creates problems for us. But what about attachment to the

> Guru ? Will this attachment to the Guru help us in our quest in

> getting over other worldly attachements or will this create more

> problems?

>

> What do you think ? Please share your thoughts and experiences.

>

> BTW - here is a story that I found on the web- that seems to decry

> attachment to the Guru... but I would love to hear your viewpoint.

>

> Jai Maa

> Nanda

>

> ============================================================

> My acknowledgement and thanks to Anthony de Mello, "One Minute

> Wisdom "

>

> The Master had been on his deathbed in a coma for weeks. One day

he

> suddenly opened his eyes to find his favorite disciple there.

>

> "You never leave my bedside, do you?" he said softly.

>

> "No, Master. I cannot."

>

> "Why?"

>

> "Because you are the light of my life.''

>

> The Master sighed. "Have I so dazzled you, my son, that you still

> refuse to see the light in you?"

>

> ============================================

January 28, 2005

I love this story, Jayadev.

I feel that it really explains the relationship to the Guru.

I particularly love this part: the Guru’s form is gone but he is

living in me and everything and everyone – more present than my

own heart.

The Guru is Brahma, the Guru is Vishnu, the Guru is the Lord

Maheshvara. The Guru is actually the Supreme Divinity and therefore

we bow down to the Respected Guru.

Jaya Guru!