GURU AND HIS GRACE ** Devotee : What is Guru Kripa (Gurus Grace) ? How does it lead to Self-Realsiation ? Sri Bhagavan : Guru is the SELF.....Sometimes in his life a man becomes dissatisfied with it, and, not content with what he has, he seeks the satisfaction of his desires, through prayer to God,etc. His mind is gradually purified until he longs to know God, more to obtain His Grace than to satisfy his worldly desires. Then, Gods Grace begins to manifest. God takes the form of a Guru and appears to the devotee, teaches him the Truth and, moreover, purifies his mind by association. The devotees mind gains strength and is then able to turn inward. By meditation it is further purified and it remains still without the least ripple. That calm expanse is the SELF. The Guru is both external and internal. From the exterior, He gives a push to the mind to turn inward, from the interior. He pulls the mind towards the SELF and helps in the quieting of the mind. That is Guru Kripa. There is no difference between God, Guru and the SELF. D.: In the Theosophical Society, they meditate in order to seek the Masters to guide them. Sri Bhagavan : The Master is within. Meditation is meant to remove the ignorant idea that He is only outside. If He be a stranger whom you await, He is bound to disappear also. Where is the use for a transient being like that ? But, as long as you think you are separate or that you are the body, so long is the Master without also necessary, and He will appear as if with a body. When the wrong identification of oneself with the body ceases, the Master will be found as none other than the SELF. D.: Will the Guru help us to know the SELF through initiation,etc. ? Sri Bhagavan : Does the Guru hold you by the hand and whisper in the ear ? You may imagine him to be what you are yourself. Because you think you are with a body, you think He also has a body to do something tangible for you. His work lies within, in the spiritual realm. D.: How is the Guru found ? Sri Bhagavan : God, who is immanent, in His Grace takes pity on the loving devotee and manifests Himself according to the devotees development. The devotee thinks that He is a man and expects a relationship as between two physical bodies. But the Guru, who is God or the SELF incarnate, works from within, helps the man to see the error of his ways and guides him in the right path, until he realises the SELF within. D.: What should the devoee do then ? Sri Bhagavan : He has only to act up to the words of the Master and work within. The Master is both withn and without, so He creates conditions to drive you inward and at the same time prepares the interior to drag you to the Centre. Thus, He gives a push from without and exerts a pull from within, so that you may be fixed at the Centre. You think that the world can be conquered by your own efforts. When you are frustrated externally and are driven inwards, you feel : Oh ! There is a Power higher than man ! The ego is like a very powerful elephant which cannot be brought under control by any less powerful than a lion, which, in this instance, is no other than the Guru, whose very look makes the elephant-like ego tremble and die. You will know in due course that your glory lies where you cease to exist. In order to gain that state, you should surrender yourself. Then, the Master sees that you are in a fit state to receive guidance, and He guides you. ____________________________________________ ** from MAHARSHIS GOSPEL , pp. 26—27 The three states come and go, but you are always there. It is like a cinema. The screen is always there but several types of pictures appear on the screen and then disappear. Nothing sticks to the screen, it remains a screen. Similarly, you remain your own Self in all the three states. If you know that, the three states will not trouble you, just as the pictures which appear on the screen do not stick to it. On the screen, you sometimes see a huge ocean with endless waves; that disappears. Another time, you see fire spreading all around; that too disappears. The screen is there on both occasions. Did the screen get wet with the water or did it get burned by the fire? Nothing affected the screen. In the same way, the things that happen during the wakeful, dream and sleep states do not affect you at all; you remain your own Self. Call it by any name, God, Self, the Heart or the seat of consciousness, it is all the same. The point to be grasped is this, that Heart means the very core of ones being, the centre, without which there is nothing whatever. The Heart is not physical, it is spiritual. Hridayam equals hrit plus ayam; it means `this is the centre. It is that from which thoughts arise, on which they subsist and where they are resolved. The thoughts are the content of the mind and they shape the universe. The Heart is the centre of all. That from which beings come into existence is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads. That is the Heart. Brahman is the Heart. ASTRAL PATHS — HIGHER WORLDS This morning after reading an article in the newspaper about paths beyond the sun and the higher worlds, Bhagavan said, “They write a lot about the paths beyond the sun and other planets, and the blissful worlds above them. All those worlds also are like this world. There is nothing specially great about them. Here, a song is being transmitted over the radio. Last time, it was from Madras. Now it is from Tiruchirapalli. If you tune again it will be from Mysore. All these places are in Tiruvannamalai, within this short time. It is the same way with the other worlds. You have only to turn your minds to them. You can see them all in one moment. But what is the use? You merely go about from place to place get tired and disgusted. Where is shanti (peace)? If you want it, you must know the eternal truth. If you cannot know that, the mind will not get absorbed in shanti.” Similarly someone enquired of Bhagavan some time back, “People talk of Vaikunta, Kailasa, Indraloka, Chandraloka, etc. Do they really exist?” Bhagavan replied, “Certainly. You can rest assured that they all exist. There also a Swami like me will be found seated on a couch and disciples will also be seated around him. They will ask something and he will say something in reply. Everything will be more or less like this. What of that? If one sees Chandraloka, he will ask for Indraloka, and after Indraloka, Vaikunta and after Vaikunta, Kailasa, and so on, and the mind goes on wandering. Where is shanti? If shanti is required, the only correct method of securing it is by Self-enquiry. Through Self-enquiry Self- realisation is possible. If one realises the Self, one can see all these worlds within one’s self. The source of everything is one’s own Self, and if one realises the Self, one will not find anything different from the Self. Then these questions will not arise. There may or may not be a Vaikunta or a Kailasa but it is a fact that you are here, isn’t it? How are you here? Where are you? After you know about these things, you can think of all those worlds
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 02:33:08 +0000