GG Verse 156 - Children of the Guru can attain perfection.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your beautiful responses to yesterday's verse. I will

respond a little later. In the meantime here is our verse for today.

 

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

156. The children of the Guru (disciples), though they may be fools,

can attain to perfection in all pure actions such as initiation,

performance of vows, and purifying austerities. Others cannot.

 

What do you think this means? Please share.

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[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SIVAYA

 

flowers must grow through the dirt in order to bloom.

 

JAI MA

 

, Kali Kali

<kaliananda_saraswati> wrote:

> Dear All,

>

> Thanks for your beautiful responses to yesterday's verse. I will

respond a little later. In the meantime here is our verse for today.

>

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

> 156. The children of the Guru (disciples), though they may be

fools, can attain to perfection in all pure actions such as

initiation, performance of vows, and purifying austerities. Others

cannot.

>

> What do you think this means? Please share.

>

>

>

> Sports

> Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football

[Guest guest]

Kalia,

 

This is such a beautiful, mysterious topic. I have been waiting for it

to come. This is, I believe, "the feet of the Guru" that is mentioned

so often in the Guru Gita. This "perfection" is the direct blessing of

the guru and the guru's lineage in the mind and heart of the disciple

- providing the disciple can get out of the way.

 

There is a really wonderful story illustrating this very thing in At

the Eleventh Hour by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. It is rather long and

involved in the original telling, so I cannot quote it here, but I

will try to condense it.

 

After Panditji had been with Swami Rama about four years, one day

Swamiji said, "Don't pretend to be something which you are not, for

hypocrisy is one of the greatest obstacles on the path of

self-realization."

 

Now, up to this time, though he had received many other kinds of

informal initiations from Swamiji, Panditji had never received his

guru mantra, had not had his guru initiation.

 

One day Swamiji said to Panditji "There are some people waiting for me

to give them mantra initiation, you go and take care of it," and he

departed abruptly, without giving Pandit Rajmani any opportunity to

ask him what to do. Guru mantras are special, and each tradition has

its own. One of these is given to each individual depending on that

persons needs. Panditji had no idea what were the correct mantras to give.

 

Going in, he sat before each individual and prayed, "O Lord, Master of

all previous Masters, I don't know what I am doing, and yet I am doing

it because Swamiji said to. I am not sure whether I have fulfilled the

job of being a good student, yet I am sitting at the seat of the

teacher, initiating others. Time is so short that I cannot even pray.

Therefore, I beg you to transform me into a good conduit so that only

the mantra which is appropriate for this student of yours flows

through me. Please rescue me today and prevent me from practicing

hypocrisy. Once this is over I will ask Swamiji how to initiate

properly." At this, his mind would go blank and a simple word would

flash. He said it several times so the student could get the proper

pronunciation.

 

This continued for eleven months, eleven frustrating months, during

which Pandit Rajmani felt frustrated by the feeling he was behaving

hypocritically by initiating students without knowing what he was

doing, and angry at Swamiji for putting him in this position without

teaching him. He was afraid of falling off the path if he disobeyed

his gurudeva, and afraid of falling off the path for being

hypocritical. Every time he tried to bring it up to Swami Rama,

Swamiji would appear to be preoccupied with something else, or

Panditji would sense it was not the proper time to discuss it.

 

This continued until Swamiji agreed to initiate Brunette Eason as a

teacher and initiator in the tradition. He told Brunette that Panditji

would handle it. He said, "Brunette, I told Panditji to teach you

fifty, sixty mantras. He is going to write down those mantras and then

I will discuss with you further."

 

When she ran into Panditji and told him that Swamiji said he was going

to give her fifty or sixty mantras, Panditji thought, "Now I'm being

forced to involve others in this. Good! This way Swamiji will come to

know what I have been doing."

 

I will go ahead and quote the rest from the book, since all the

details are important, and I don't think I can condense it any.

 

"When lunch was over I took Brunette to Swamiji's conference room and

started writing down the mantras I had been giving to students for the

past eleven months. Then, in the middle of the session, I thought of

writing down a variation of a very special three-syllable mantra,

called Bala Tripura, which according to the scriptures is supposed to

remain secret. I had never taught it, but I argued to myself, "Why

keep it secret? Then again, I must not violate the rules laid down in

the scriptures." Finally I decided to do both - violate and not

violate. So I broke the mantra into three parts and wrote each

syllable as a complete mantra. Then I wrote a combination of the first

and third syllables, the third and the first, the second and the

first, and so on. And finally I wrote down all three syllables in the

proper sequence as a complete and independent mantra. Then I continued

writing and explaining the other mantras I had given.

 

At the end of our session Swamiji walked into the room, and I got up

and handed the paper to him. Swamiji looked neither at me nor at the

paper. He spoke to Brunette, sat down quietly, and then started

reading the mantras. Regarding the first few, he commented, "Good.

Very good." Then he crossed out the combinations of syllables I had

created from the Bala Tripura mantra. When he came to the main mantra,

he crossed it out several times. Giving me a sidelong glance, he said

in Hindi, "Do not play with the mantras." I was relieved - the mantras

I had been giving for the past eleven months were the proper ones. But

still I wondered about the origin of all the mantras I had written

down. Did they have a scriptural source?

 

That evening around 10:30, as I walked into Swamiji's room, he asked,

"Panditji, did I ever show you those scriptures?"

 

I said, "Which scriptures?"

 

"The ones I brought from my grandmaster in Tibet," he replied.

 

When I said he hadn't, he asked his secretary to get them, and she

returned with what looked like a bundle of rice paper and handed it to

Swamiji. He gave the bundle to me and asked me to open it. It was

wrapped in a red cloth. I unwrapped it and found a pile of unbound,

oblong sheets stacked between two boards. The thick coating of

sandlewood paste on the top board told me that someone had been

worshipping the scripture.

 

Not knowing where to begin, I picked up a stack of sheets from the top

and carefully laid them aside. I could not believe my eyes; there

before me were all the mantras I had written down for Brunette a few

hours earlier. They were in exactly the same order. Even the syllables

of the Bala Tripura mantra were there, and they were crossed out in

exactly the same manner that Swamiji had crossed them out on my paper.

I was flooded with awe and elation. Swamiji looked at me and said, "So

you think I have not been teaching you?"

 

Spontaneous words slipped from my mouth: "Forgive me, Swamiji, for my

childish behavior and my shallow understanding of you. I have

practiced many of these mantras, but still I wonder: Which one is my

guru mantra? But as soon as I said it, an incident from the past

flashed before me that brought a mantra into my mind. I knew it was my

guru mantra. I was just about to say as much to Swamiji when he said,

"Yes, that's your mantra." Then he asked me to make tilk [chai] for him."

>From this example you can see that even if you are completely

ignorant, you can achieve perfection in these "pure actions," and

without even the awareness that you are doing so. Provided, I think,

that you can keep arrogance out of the way.

 

Jai Maa!

Chris

 

 

 

, Kali Kali

<kaliananda_saraswati> wrote:

> Dear All,

>

> Thanks for your beautiful responses to yesterday's verse. I will

respond a little later. In the meantime here is our verse for today.

>

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

> 156. The children of the Guru (disciples), though they may be fools,

can attain to perfection in all pure actions such as initiation,

performance of vows, and purifying austerities. Others cannot.

>

> What do you think this means? Please share

>

>

>

> Sports

> Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football

[Guest guest]

wow! great story! thanks, chris.

 

 

 

Chris Kirner wrote:

> Kalia,

 

 

--

 

Be Love,

Berijoy

http://www.egyirba.net

 

-=-=-

.... A woman of mystique is fully aware of her flaws and weaknesses, yet

she is strong enough to admit them and not be embarrassed by them." ~

Jean Lush

[Guest guest]

This is truly a beautiful story and a great illustration of the meaning of the verse.

Thanks so very much.

KaliaChris Kirner <chriskirner1956 > wrote:

Kalia,This is such a beautiful, mysterious topic. I have been waiting

for itto come. This is, I believe, "the feet of the Guru" that is

mentionedso often in the Guru Gita. This "perfection" is the direct

blessing ofthe guru and the guru's lineage in the mind and heart of

the disciple- providing the disciple can get out of the way.There is

a really wonderful story illustrating this very thing in Atthe

Eleventh Hour by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. It is rather long

andinvolved in the original telling, so I cannot quote it here, but

Iwill try to condense it.After Panditji had been with Swami Rama

about four years, one daySwamiji said, "Don't pretend to be something

which you are not, forhypocrisy is one of the greatest obstacles on

the path ofself-realization."Now, up to this time, though he had

received many

other kinds ofinformal initiations from Swamiji, Panditji had never

received hisguru mantra, had not had his guru initiation.One day

Swamiji said to Panditji "There are some people waiting for meto give

them mantra initiation, you go and take care of it," and hedeparted

abruptly, without giving Pandit Rajmani any opportunity toask him

what to do. Guru mantras are special, and each tradition hasits own.

One of these is given to each individual depending on thatpersons

needs. Panditji had no idea what were the correct mantras to

give.Going in, he sat before each individual and prayed, "O Lord,

Master ofall previous Masters, I don't know what I am doing, and yet

I am doingit because Swamiji said to. I am not sure whether I have

fulfilled thejob of being a good student, yet I am sitting at the

seat of theteacher, initiating others. Time is so short that I cannot

even pray.Therefore, I beg you to transform me into a good

conduit so that onlythe mantra which is appropriate for this student

of yours flowsthrough me. Please rescue me today and prevent me from

practicinghypocrisy. Once this is over I will ask Swamiji how to

initiateproperly." At this, his mind would go blank and a simple word

wouldflash. He said it several times so the student could get the

properpronunciation.This continued for eleven months, eleven

frustrating months, duringwhich Pandit Rajmani felt frustrated by the

feeling he was behavinghypocritically by initiating students without

knowing what he wasdoing, and angry at Swamiji for putting him in

this position withoutteaching him. He was afraid of falling off the

path if he disobeyedhis gurudeva, and afraid of falling off the path

for beinghypocritical. Every time he tried to bring it up to Swami

Rama,Swamiji would appear to be preoccupied with something else,

orPanditji would sense it was not the proper time to

discuss it.This continued until Swamiji agreed to initiate Brunette

Eason as ateacher and initiator in the tradition. He told Brunette

that Panditjiwould handle it. He said, "Brunette, I told Panditji to

teach youfifty, sixty mantras. He is going to write down those

mantras and thenI will discuss with you further."When she ran into

Panditji and told him that Swamiji said he was goingto give her fifty

or sixty mantras, Panditji thought, "Now I'm beingforced to involve

others in this. Good! This way Swamiji will come toknow what I have

been doing."I will go ahead and quote the rest from the book, since

all thedetails are important, and I don't think I can condense it

any."When lunch was over I took Brunette to Swamiji's conference room

andstarted writing down the mantras I had been giving to students for

thepast eleven months. Then, in the middle of the session, I thought

ofwriting down a variation of a very

special three-syllable mantra,called Bala Tripura, which according to

the scriptures is supposed toremain secret. I had never taught it,

but I argued to myself, "Whykeep it secret? Then again, I must not

violate the rules laid down inthe scriptures." Finally I decided to

do both - violate and notviolate. So I broke the mantra into three

parts and wrote eachsyllable as a complete mantra. Then I wrote a

combination of the firstand third syllables, the third and the first,

the second and thefirst, and so on. And finally I wrote down all three

syllables in theproper sequence as a complete and independent mantra.

Then I continuedwriting and explaining the other mantras I had

given.At the end of our session Swamiji walked into the room, and I

got upand handed the paper to him. Swamiji looked neither at me nor

at thepaper. He spoke to Brunette, sat down quietly, and then

startedreading the mantras. Regarding the first few,

he commented, "Good.Very good." Then he crossed out the combinations

of syllables I hadcreated from the Bala Tripura mantra. When he came

to the main mantra,he crossed it out several times. Giving me a

sidelong glance, he saidin Hindi, "Do not play with the mantras." I

was relieved - the mantrasI had been giving for the past eleven

months were the proper ones. Butstill I wondered about the origin of

all the mantras I had writtendown. Did they have a scriptural

source?That evening around 10:30, as I walked into Swamiji's room, he

asked,"Panditji, did I ever show you those scriptures?"I said, "Which

scriptures?""The ones I brought from my grandmaster in Tibet," he

replied.When I said he hadn't, he asked his secretary to get them,

and shereturned with what looked like a bundle of rice paper and

handed it toSwamiji. He gave the bundle to me and asked me to open

it. It waswrapped in a red cloth. I unwrapped it

and found a pile of unbound,oblong sheets stacked between two boards.

The thick coating ofsandlewood paste on the top board told me that

someone had beenworshipping the scripture.Not knowing where to begin,

I picked up a stack of sheets from the topand carefully laid them

aside. I could not believe my eyes; therebefore me were all the

mantras I had written down for Brunette a fewhours earlier. They were

in exactly the same order. Even the syllablesof the Bala Tripura

mantra were there, and they were crossed out inexactly the same

manner that Swamiji had crossed them out on my paper.I was flooded

with awe and elation. Swamiji looked at me and said, "Soyou think I

have not been teaching you?"Spontaneous words slipped from my mouth:

"Forgive me, Swamiji, for mychildish behavior and my shallow

understanding of you. I havepracticed many of these mantras, but

still I wonder: Which one is myguru mantra? But as soon as I

said it, an incident from the pastflashed before me that brought a

mantra into my mind. I knew it was myguru mantra. I was just about to

say as much to Swamiji when he said,"Yes, that's your mantra." Then he

asked me to make tilk [chai] for him."From this example you can see

that even if you are completelyignorant, you can achieve perfection

in these "pure actions," andwithout even the awareness that you are

doing so. Provided, I think,that you can keep arrogance out of the

way.Jai Maa!Chris, Kali

Kali<kaliananda_saraswati> wrote:> Dear All,> > Thanks for your

beautiful responses to yesterday's verse. I willrespond a little

later. In the meantime here is our verse for today.> >

==============> 156. The children of the Guru (disciples), though

they may be fools,can attain to perfection in all pure

actions such as initiation,performance of vows, and purifying

austerities. Others cannot.> > What do you think this means?

Please share> > > >

Sports> Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football

Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football

[Guest guest]

Also, wherever the attention is there will you reside. Through the

intellect many achievements have been accomplished, yet there is so

much unhappiness in the world today, True knowledge is knowing who

we are without which we are as fools without right understanding.

By sitting in the circle of a Realized Soul, by paying attention to

that Soul and following His/Her instructions (Chandi Chapter 1) we

are given the chance to blossom into those beautiful flowers.

Om Namah Sivaya

ecjensen_us <ecjensen_us > wrote:

OM NAMAH SIVAYAflowers must grow through the dirt in order to

bloom.JAI MA, Kali Kali

<kaliananda_saraswati> wrote:> Dear All,> > Thanks for your

beautiful responses to yesterday's verse. I will respond a little

later. In the meantime here is our verse for today.> >

==============> 156. The children of the Guru (disciples), though

they may be fools, can attain to perfection in all pure actions such

as initiation, performance of vows, and purifying austerities.

Others cannot.> > What do you think this means? Please share.> >

> > Sports> Rekindle

the

Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football

Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football