DEEKSHA or Spiritual awakening by a GURU by Swami Vivekananda

The Power of a Noble Guru in the  Initiation of Spirituality ( Deeksha and Shaktipata):

Most of the great sages and seers of the world had little or no formal education. The status of the spiritual evolution of the inner self is independent of formal  education or the regularly measured text book Intelligence quotient of the person.
The transmission of spirituality/ spiritual knowledge from Guru to disciple takes place at the level of the subconscious and unconscious cores of the mind and self (Chitta and Ahamkara). Therefore, an interaction between Guru and the disciple on the wisdom of spirituality is not an exchange of knowledge through word of mouth as in the case of regular text book knowledge that is communicated via the intellect.

The sacramental rite of ‘spiritual initiation” or (Deeksha) has been assigned a great status amongst all religions. In the process of initiation, a noble Guru uses his awakened spiritual power to interact with the disciple at great depths of the subconscious levels. He transmits bio-electric currents of his own spiritually activated life force into the sub-conscious life force of the disciple. These seeds of bio electric currents of the Gurus life force when nourished by the disciple can grow and fructify in a short time.

The wisdom of spirituality given by a competent Guru is never wasted. A noble Guru bestows “Shaktipata” (extra sensory transmission of spiritual power) upon deserving disciples. The secret process of “Shaktipata” can bring a metamorphosis in the entire personality of the disciple. Many Yogis in India are aware of the awakening of “Kundalini” (also known as serpentine fire or the source of miraculous vital spiritual energy) of man by simply touching the persons head. The author here has personally come across great spiritual masters and Yogis , who can electrify their bodies by activating the hidden force of the tremendous soul power(Atma Teja).In this state ,touching the bio electrically charged body of the sage gives you a shock like that of touching a live wire.

In our day to day living, we must not miss opportunities of interaction with spiritually evolved and virtuous persons. They bring to our lives the “Midas touch” –turning metal to gold OR in this case enabling the common man to communicate with God. 

Qualities of real Guru

Swami Vivekananda further elaborates on the theme of what defines a real spiritual Guide, Teacher or Guru ?

"Now in intellectual development we can get much help from books, but in spiritual development, almost nothing. 

In studying books, sometimes we are deluded into thinking that we are being spiritually helped; but if we analyse ourselves, we shall find that only our intellect has been helped, and not the spirit. That is the reason why almost everyone of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual subjects, but when the time of action comes, we find ourselves so woefully deficient. It is because books cannot give us that impulse from outside. To quicken the spirit, that impulse must come from another soul.

That soul from which this impulse comes is called the Guru, the teacher; and the soul to which the impulse is conveyed is called the disciple, the student. In order to convey this impulse, in the first place, the soul from which it comes must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the object to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. 

The seed must be a living seed, and the field must be ready ploughed; and when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of religion takes place. "The speaker of religion must be wonderful, so must the hearer be"; and when both of these are really wonderful, extraordinary, then alone will splendid spiritual growth come, and not otherwise. 

These are the real teachers, and there are the real students. Besides these, the others are playing with spirituality — just having a little intellectual struggle, just satisfying a little curiosity — but are standing only on the outward fringe of the horizon of religion"

How are we to know a teacher then? In the first place, the sun requires no torch to make it visible. We do not light a candle to see the sun. When the sun rises, we instinctively become aware of its rising; and when a teacher of men comes to help us, the soul will instinctively know that it has found the truth. 

Truth stands on its own evidences; it does not require any other testimony to attest it; it is self-effulgent. It penetrates into the inmost recesses of our nature, and the whole universe stands up and says, "This is Truth." These are the very great teachers, but we can get help from the lesser ones also; and as we ourselves are not always sufficiently intuitive to be certain of our judgment of the man from whom we receive, there ought to be certain tests. There are certain conditions necessary in the taught, and also in the teacher.

In the teacher we must first see that he knows the secret of the scriptures.The whole world reads scriptures — Bibles, Vedas, The Koran  and others; but they are only words, external arrangement, syntax, the etymology, the philology, the dry bones of religion. The teacher may be able to find what is the age of any book, but words are only the external forms in which things come. Those who deal too much in words and let the mind run always in the force of words lose the spirit. So the teacher must be able to know the spirit of the scriptures.

The second condition necessary in the teacher is that he must be sinless.The question was once asked me in England by a friend, "Why should we look to the personality of a teacher? For the knowledge that the physical sciences require is simply intellectual and depends on intellectual strength; a man can have in such a case a gigantic intellectual power without the least development of his soul. But in the spiritual sciences it is impossible from first to last that there can be any spiritual light in that soul which is impure. What can such a soul teach? It knows nothing. Spiritual truth is purity. Therefore in the teacher of spirituality, purity is the one thing indispensable; we must see first what he is, and then what he says. 

To give a simile: If a heater is hot, it can convey heat vibrations, but if not, it is impossible to do so. Even so is the case with the mental vibrations of the religious teacher which he conveys to the mind of the taught. It is a question of transference, and not of stimulating only our intellectual faculties. Some power, real and tangible, goes out from the teacher and begins to grow in the mind of the taught. Therefore the necessary condition is that the teacher must be true. 

The third condition is motive. We should see that he does not teach with any ulterior motive, for name, or fame, or anything else, but simply for love, pure love for you. When spiritual forces are transmitted from the teacher to the taught, they can only be conveyed through the medium of love; there is no other medium that can convey them. Any other motive, such as gain or name, would immediately destroy the conveying medium; therefore all must be done through love. One who has known God can alone be a teacher. When you see that in the teacher these conditions are fulfilled, you are safe; if they are not fulfilled, it is unwise to accept him. There is a great risk, if he cannot convey goodness, of his conveying wickedness sometimes. This must be guarded against; therefore it naturally follows that we cannot be taught by anybody and everybody.

Dealing with major negative attributes, First the "EGO"

The ego is a kind of absence. Because you don’t know yourself, hence the ego. The moment you know yourself, no ego is found. The ego is like darkness; darkness has no positive existence of its own; it is simply the absence of light. You cannot fight with darkness, or can you? You cannot throw darkness out of the room; you cannot take it out, you cannot take it in. You cannot do anything with darkness directly. If you want to do anything with darkness, you will have to do something with light. If you put the light on, there is no darkness. try to see where the ego is. Look deep into it; try to locate it, where it exists, whether it exists at all or not. Before one can sacrifice anything one must be certain about its existence. Be alert, watchful. Watch the ways of the ego, how it functions, how it manages at all.  The word self-respect may create doubts in your mind because self-respect seems to again mean the ego. It is not so. You have to understand both words, self and respect; both are significant.

 

Self is that which you are born with. Ego is that which you accumulate; ego is your achievement.Self is a gift of existence to you. You have not done anything to earn it, you have not achieved it; hence nobody can take it away from you. That is impossible because it is your nature, your very being.

 

Ego is all that you go on accumulating through education, manners, civilization, culture, schools, colleges, universities… You go accumulating it. It is your effort, you have made it, and you have made it so big that you have completely forgotten your real self.To know the real self is enough: the ego falls flat on the ground without any effort to surrender it. Unless the ego falls on its own, without your effort, it is not going to leave you..The light comes in, the light goes out; it has positive existence. You can light a candle and there is no darkness; you can blow out the candle and there is darkness. To do anything with darkness, you will have to do something with light. The light of knowledge from masters  Especially a living Master. 

Osho

Guru Purnima its Importance

Guru poornima is the day to witness completeness of the Guru. The Guru gets his completeness or reaches his peak by spreading the messages and practices of his Guru and when Guru devotes his life completely for the spiritual upliftment of humanity, he himself also reaches his full potential. On this day we surrender to this completeness of the Guru. On this day , one must serve and convey gratitude to all such Gurus who are imparting knowledge and are trying to remove the ignorance.  This poornima is known as Vyas Poornima. Maharshi Vyas belongs to a lineage of great ascetics and from his own experience, he himself started Guru poojan so that common person also should get the same divine experience. This is a rich culture of India where we worship those who give us knowledge or help us to serve Divinity. On occasion of Guru poornima, the disciple must perform three duties. First, Guru darshan, spending the day with Guru, being in his company, meeting him physically. Second is Guru poojan. While doing Guru poojan, one must have maximum mental purity, love, and only thought of how can I spend more time with my Guru or hear his divine discourses. Rather than just seeing him from a distance, we should try and meet the Guru personally and spend some time in his presence. Serving Guru selflessly is considered greatest Guru worship. The disciples who await eagerly for this day, who are eager to touch Guru's feet with complete surrender and devotion receive immense benefit.

There are many benefits of Guru darshan, but there is much more benefit in listening to Guru upadesh and trying to follow it. This is the third duty that a disciple must perform on this day. This is the day to make the rule to implement Guru's teaching and how you can follow this rule all your life. 

Guru Parampara

A day to celebrate the beautiful relationship between a Guru and a Shishya. All other relationships are mere bonds of karma, roles in a play of life. Except the relationship between spiritual Guru and Shishya.Its divine love, its divine help, its divine guidance, its divine support and its purest of pure divine concern for all the souls living life of pain, suffering and ignorance.

Guru parampara is an ancient tradition in India. Its said that after creating the creation and humanity, when the divinity felt the need to guide humanity, the divine forces incarnated as Gurus to guide humans out of ignorance. Since coming of avatar to guide is not possible all the time, hence  not only the Incarnations of Divinity took role of Guru, but also accepted and surrendered to some or other Guru themselves, reinforcing the importance of a Guru for spiritual enlightenment. This divine tradition was started by none other than Lord Shiva himself. And since the entire Guru parampara started with Lord Shiva, it got the honour of Guru poojan. All those Gurus who belong to some parampara or lineage of Gurus should be considered as image of SHIVA Himself. Hence Gurus ANUGRAHA should be respected by holding it in very high regards. Many Avatars, siddhas and realized souls have kept this ancient tradition of guru Parampara alive.

Every real disciple actually belongs to some or other Guru Parampara through his/her link with a "Living Guru" there is nothimg like stand alone Guru. The Guru is actually an active divinity on planet and belongs to GuruTatva a specialized branch of Divinity. This Parampara is started by DIVINITY especially for those who have faith in divinity , have devotion, have inclination to sadhana or practice to improve themselves, have liking for worship, so that they get guidance, feel  relief,  feel assurance, and gain confidence. Those who do not accept Guru, do not have Guru, who do not worship or devout to Guru will struggle to get lasting peace, happiness or balance.

To accept or decline this help is completely matter of free will of a person,  the opportunities will come, the help will come in the form of a living Guru, to recognize a genuine Guru an then to surrender to him are two extremely difficult tests that a genuine seeker has to give. If you miss its completely your loss, if you delay its completely your own ignorance, if you land up with a crook its completely your bad choice.

Whatever the Guru Prescribes is Sadhana

Let me tell you in a nutshell what paramartha is. It is, in essence, going through worldly life without having a sense of attachment for any worldly thing or matter. We remain unaffected by pleasure and pain when we realize that what we call our prapancha really belongs to God, who gave it us. This can be easily achieved by constantly keeping on the lips the nama given to us by the sadguru.
That person alone can be called a sadguru who himself has and will lead us to, a permanent sense of contentment. This applies to all sadgurus in all places at all times. Do not attach value to his look and physique, but judge him by his teaching. The sadhana he prescribes should be carried out diligently. To do so is, indeed, paramartha. If you make an alteration in the prescribed thing, it will only mean that your ego still persists, and anything done egoistically is doomed to failure. So first bury your ego and place complete trust in the sadguru.
True paramartha does not consist in empty prattle or lofty preaching to others; it is for one’s own sake. In fact, the less known it is to others the better. Public esteem is of no use, actually harmful. To be misled into feeling false greatness is injurious to our purpose.
One person opens a confectionery shop, another may sell coal. What difference does it make, so long as the business is profitable? Similarly, worldly status is of no count; what matters is the advancement in paramartha.
Any worldly situation can be put to use in paramartha, so long as our approach is same and steady. Control of mind coupled with strong devotion is what is of real consequence.
Paramartha, in fact, is easy to achieve. The fun is that it is neglected, not seriously attempted, merely because of its very simplicity. Remember that prapancha is by no means an impediment to paramartha; it can, in fact, be turned into a good aid. All that a sadhaka has to do is to accept his duties as prarabdha and carry them out to the best of his ability, and apply the mind devotedly to God. Let Him be ever in your heart, His name on your lips, and the body employed in doing your duties in prapancha: this, is, in essence, paramartha.

Obey the Sadguru Implicitly

A pure motive is that which looks for neither return nor reward. That is what true devotion must be. Building temples, worshipping, and similar service, japa, and such other things, do not of themselves constitute true devotion if there is the least thought of any return. It should all be for its own sake. With most people devotional duties are merely routine, mechanical acts, carried out by practice, or because of tradition; they should spring from genuine, burning love for God. Action without genuine feeling is as useless as feeling not put into action. We try to carry out whatever is prescribed by the scriptures or the sadguru without imbibing the spirit of them. Such things, therefore, fail to wear out the ego; on the contrary, they feed and fatten it. We should, therefore, implicitly and honestly, carry out the sadhana prescribed by the sadguru. Merely doing something out of the way is of no avail.
Spiritualism does not mean giving up normalcy of conduct; it simply means not getting mentally or emotionally involved in worldly matters. What did Arjuna do? He took Lord Krishna not only as the chariot-driver, but as a guide and mentor; and wherever He took the chariot, Arjuna simply shot arrows at the target indicated. So, too, should we do; we should hand over the reins of our life and being to the sadguru, and thenceforward do nothing more than obey him.
Remember that one who expects nothing from the world, neither money nor recognition, will always stand distinguished from the rest. When we pick up a coin, we have both the obverse and the reverse in hand; so, when we take up prapancha, following paramartha becomes obligatory. Paramartha pre-supposes faith in God; this the sadguru grants and confirms by giving us nama. chant the name given by the sadguru. It is essential that we repeat this nama with perseverance and faith. Paramartha is brought to fruition by ceaseless nama-smarana; it gives contentment in prapancha, and fulfils the very purpose of human life.

True Service to the Guru

What after all, is the object of meditation, prayer, religious mortification, rules, sacrifices, etc. ? The attainment of God, or guru. If He Himself comes to you, where is the need for all the effort of sadhanas? Not only is all that not required but, if undertaken, it may only lead to pride of doership, which will actually injure the purpose. Now that you have submitted to guru, accept with gladness whatever happens, treating everything as his doing and will. See my hand in everything that happens, everything you do.
What do you think is real devotion to the guru? It does not consist only in bodily service, but, in implicit obedience to him. Of those who come to me, most have in their mind some worldly object –like financial betterment, a child, cure from illness, and so on. In effect, they come not to serve but to be served. You should come not for having a worldly desire fulfilled, but to seek the true fruition of human life. Occasionally I may grant a little of what a disciple desires, but it may be only like beguiling a child with candy to make it take a medicine.
That you ascribe omniscience to me is only superficial; if it were earnest, you would take care to do nothing underhand or sinful. Only he who has completely identified himself with me can really feel that I am truly omniscient. Surrendering yourself to the guru implies, nay, necessitates, that your mind completely merges with mine; if you achieve that you are in effect with me even if you are physically away, at a distance. I would like you to be free and frank with me, like a child with its mother. Open your heart to me. What trouble and expense you undergo to come here to meet me! And yet, when you return ‘home’, you go with empty hands; and it is this that pains me most. What you have really to pick up from me is love for God; and this is what you cannot obtain elsewhere.
Shri Gondawalekar maharaj

What the Sadguru Does for the Disciple as told by Gondawalekar Maharaj

What does the guru do in reality? He asks you to wipe the dust off the face of the mirror, to cleanse the mind; he makes us aware of our misconceptions and mistakes. If a man dreams that he is drowning in a tank, he shouts for help; he becomes quiet when he is woken. The guru wakes us up from our painful dream of ignorance and makes us aware of the Reality.

Only he can be said to have truly found a sadguru who feels that he has reached the end of his quest and that there is nothing more to be achieved. A man in good worldly circumstances may feel there is nothing more to be desired, but there is no real respite for a mind which continues to hover over and hanker after one worldly thing and another.
The guru, after all, is what the disciple thinks of him. If the disciple approaches him in unreserved surrender, he takes the disciple under his unreserved guidance and protection. The guru is, indeed, the divine name Incarnate. True sadhana consists in obeying him implicitly, literally.
No saint lives in the body for all time. What is important about a saint is his yearning for God. Many people do meet a saint, but derive no benefit because they fail to understand the importance of association with him. Duty performed selflessly leads eventually to complete annihilation of all expectation. The sadguru indicates to us what our duty is.
You may own a motor car, but, if it is without a proper driver, it may run into trouble. Even a simple bullock cart cannot be driven by a raw novice, even if he owns it. Man conducts his worldly affairs without proper guidance, and lands himself into trouble. If you place the sadguru at the helm, he steers you safely, clear of all obstructions. All you have to do is to keep yourself constantly absorbed in consciousness of God, and rest carefree with trust in the sadguru; then you will be protected by him from danger. You will come to realise that whatever you are destined to get will automatically come — no more, no less; and this will eventually destroy all desire to have or not to have. Thereby you will realise that everything happens by divine will and dispensation. This will give you complete contentment. But all this can only happen if you are pure at heart.

Gondawalekar Maharaj

Scrutiny should not be Done beyond a Limit

You should try to make God your own. If you continue this effort dispassionately, you will certainly receive the grace of sadguru. If you try to practise under compulsion the sadhana advised by the sadguru and if the thoughts continue unchanged, then how can you experience the love of God? We complain that, after having worked hard for some five years and keeping away from the temptation of sense-objects, we still find no experience. Then the tempo of the sadhana slows down and faith gets diluted. We must have profound faith that whatever happens is according to the sadguru’s will and inspiration only. We forget that God alone generates love in sadhana. The whole effort will be of no avail, if we start feeling proud that from the earlier stage of doing nothing, now we are practising at least some sadhana. Some people achieve success immediately on dedicating themselves at the feet of the sadguru. But how can we allege that the sadguru is partial? One must examine where one has gone wrong. Till now we wished to take to nama but could not do so. Now that we have started the practice of nama-smarana, why should we not regard even this change as His grace?

Man must have patience in prapancha. We should have no fears if we are in continuous remembrance of God. Too critical scrutiny results into a loss. What is the fruit of entire learning? Whatever we like, we follow without scrutiny, and whatever we don’t want to do, we scrutinize it hyper-critically! Critical scrutiny should be only upto a limit. If continued beyond it, we do not understand what we talk.

Bramha chaitanya Gondavalekar Maharaj.

Importance of nama Japa

That way one can chant any name of God for spiritual progress, but few know the truth that

Nama Imparted by a Sadguru becomes powerful due to energy of the Guru.

The question is often raised if one may begin to repeat a nama of one’s own choice, or must one be first initiated by a sadguru and assigned a specific nama which he should then repeat? Nama is self-existent and complete in itself, and needs nothing else to make it perfect. And yet, nama imparted by a sadguru certainly is something very special, distinctive, in that it is reinforced by his spiritual strength and support, and consequently there is no scope for pride of doership to rise in the sadhaka’s mind. When a sadhaka repeats nama imparted by a sadguru, he gradually develops a relish, a zest for it, and in due course, derives a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. It is therefore highly desirable that nama should be obtained by initiation by a spiritual master, a sadguru. However, till we meet a sadguru we must keep on repeating the nama of our choice; for, this itself will expedite our meeting the sadguru.
It may happen that the sadguru initiates you in the nama that coincides with your own choice; it is then possible that you may feel that the sadguru has given you nothing new, for you were already repeating the same nama. Now, being initiated by the sadguru has the distinctive merit that it precludes the rise of ego, for the sadhaka thereafter does nama-smarana at the sadguru’s behest, and not on his own. This elimination of ego is most important, for even a vestige of pride or ego may vitiate the very purpose of meditation, just as even a grain of salt suffices to turn a pailful of milk sour. It is therefore of the utmost importance completely to renounce pride of’ doership’.
Bramha chaitanya Gondawalekar maharaj.

SHIVARATRI

That way one should offer prayers, love and gratitude to divinity every single day. But special days have certain importance. Whatever knowledge I have recieved from my Guruji Naushir gives this festival a deeper meaning.

 Shivratri is celebrated in remembrance of Lord Shiva. It is this day when Shiva ji saved the world from the harmful effects of  the poison called HALAHAL that emerged as a result of Samudra Manthan. Keeping the story part aside Guruji Naushir explained that , Shiv ji is one of the entities that are constantly absorbing negative energies and maintaining balance on Earth. The Humanity is constantly throwing huge amount of negative energy in the form of negative emotions, thoughts, words and deeds, this huge force of negativity can harm the world. paying gratitude and reducing the negativity within will be real worship and tribute to this divine form.

When a spiritual seeker worships shiva by chanting Om Namah Shivay, Shiva Ji absorbs his negativity too, and helps the soul to progress faster. The SHIVA is actually the Destroyer of negativity and hence worshiped by even Gods and referred as MAHADEV.

 One can observe fast and chant Om Namah Shivay on this day, and keep the mental process pure. 

CHAPTER VIII DEVOTION TO GURU , Kularnava tantra

*
Therefore worship him, worship his feet,
cherish the sandals which house his feet, the
paduka. Just as the essence of Speech is there
below in the basic centre, muladhara, just as the
lowest in the rung - the sudras and the like - are
the effective instrumentations, similarly in the
Ocean of Kula all knowledge is founded on the
paduka. Remember and cherish this paduka
which yields infinitely more merit than any
number of observances, gifts, sacrifices, pilgrimages,
mantra-japa and rituals of worship. It is
that which, remembered, protects in times
of distress and danger and calamity. Study,
remembrance, knowledge, donations and sacrifices
and worship are truly done by him who
ever remembers on the tip of his tongue the
Mantra of this paduka. Look towards the direction
in which the lotus feet of the Guru lie and
bow to it every day with devotion. There is no
mantra higher than that of the paduka, no god
higher than the Guru, no initiation than that of
the Sakta and no merit higher than the Kula
worship. At the root of dhyana is the form of
the Guru; at the root of puja is the feet of the
Guru; at the root of the mantra is the word of
the Guru and at the root of all liberation is the
grace of the Guru. In this world all holy actions
are rooted in the Guru; therefore is the Guru to
be constantly served with devotion for fulfil,
ment. All fear of distress, grief, avarice
delusion, bewilderment, exists only as long as
one does not take refuge in the Guru All
wanderings in samsara fraught with grief and
impurity last as long as one has no devotion to a
holy Guru. The beautiful mantra of the paduka
whose root is in the grace of the Guru, loaded
with the fruit of all fulfilment purifies and leads
to the supreme Truth. As the boon-giving Guru
gives the mantra in contentment and beatitude,
try to please him with devotion, wealth, your
very life. Indeed, it is only when the high Guru
gives himself to the disciple that he becomes
liberated, free from birth. The disciple should
wait upon him till he gets pleased, for once he is
pleased, all the sins drop away. These lovers
of the devoted get for their dependents what
they may not even hope for. When the Guru is
pleased, even Gods like Brahma, Vishnu,
Mahesha, sages and yogins, bestow their grace.
Directed by the compassionate Guru who is
pleased with devotion, the disciple attains
liberation from karma and becomes eligible to
both freedom and fulfilment.
Hence shall the disciple do what is pleasing
to the Guru, by his mind, speech, body and
action. When the Guru so pleased says, 'You
are freed,' indeed, one attains to liberation.
From his transcendent station, the Lord in the
form of the Guru frees one from the bonds of the
pasu. Devotion to the Guru is the one main
truth; without that all learning, all austerity,
family status, observances are useless; they are
only decorations pleasing to the worldly eye.
Whatever one's station is in life, if he be devoted, DEVOTION TO GURU 79
he is dear to the Lord and as adorable as the
Lord Himself.
The fire of devotion to the Guru burns awayall
taint of bad thought. With devotion even a
cooker of kine is laudable and a learned man
without it is an atheist. He who has complete
devotion, steady and constant in the Guru, what
has he to worry about dharma, artha etc.?
Moksha is in the hollow of his palm. For him
who devotedly remembers, "M y Guru is Shiva
Himself who grants liberation and enjoyment",
fulfilment is not far off All objects fructify in
him who has supreme devotion to the Lord and
as to the Lord so to the Guru. As to Narayana,
to Mahadeva, to one's own mother and father, so
is devotion to be had to one's own Guru. Look
upon the Guru and his wife as your parents, as
the very Narayana and Lakshmi, as Brahma and
Saraswati, as Shiva and Girija. Not by sacrifice,
gifts, askesis, pilgrimage are all siddhis obtained
in the manner they are by devotion to the Guru.
As the steady devotion for the Guru grows, so
grows one's knowledge.
Why the pains of long pilgrimages? Why
the observances that emaciate the body? All the
fruit anticipated from such austerities can be
easily obtained by motiveless service to the
Guru. The Sruti declares that for those who
seek for fulfilment and liberation, who aspire to
attain to Brahma, Vishnu and Isha, devotion to
the Guru is the Path and no other. Like fire
consuming a whole heap of cotton, this devotion
burns away in a moment all inauspicious karma
and great sins. Glory to that faith in the Guru,
giver of all fulfilments, by which even mud,
wood and stone yield fruit without fail. Neither 80 KULARNAVA TANTRA
yoga nor tapas nor ritual of worship attain;
here in this Path of Kula, free from Maya, only
bhakti excels. When the entire universe is
looked upon as pervaded by the Guru, what
Mantra can fail to fructify in that field of the
devoted ? To perdition he goes who regards the
Guru as human, the Mantra as mere letters and
the Images as stone. Never look upon the Guru
as a mortal. Should you do so then neither
Mantra nor worship can give you success. Do
not associate the holy Guru with the ordinary
folk either in your remembrance or in talk.
Otherwise all the good that is done turns into
evil. The parents are indeed to be adored with
all effort because they are the cause of your
birth. But the one to be worshipped especially
is the Guru who shows what is Dharma and
what is not.* Indeed, the Guru is the father,
Guru is the Mother, Guru is God Maheshwara
Himself. Even when God Shiva is wroth, the
Guru is the saviour; but when the Guru himself
is angered, there is none to save. By mind, by
speech, by the body, by action, do what is helpful
to the Guru; to do what is contrary to his
well being is to invite a precipitous fall. Death
follows the forsaking of the Mantra; wretched
poverty follows the forsaking of the Guru;
forsaking of both the Guru and the Mantra leads
to the very hell. Bear the body for the sake of the
Guru; acquire wealth for the sake of the Guru;
exert yourself for the Guru regardless of your
own life. If the Guru speaks harshly take it as
* The parents give only a human birth in this world,
but the Guru ensures a birth in godhead in this world
and the next. DEVOTION TO GURU 81
a benediction; even a beating from him take as
a gift. Whatever objects of enjoyment there be,
offer them first to the Guru and take to them as
his leavings.
When the Guru is present no tapas is
necessary; neither is fasting nor observances;
neither pilgrimage nor purificatory bath. To
the Guru, you shall not command nor talk in the
singular; with the Guru you shall not transact
any business of purchase and sale or borrow and
lend.
Do not enter into argument with the deniers
of God nor even talk to them; avoid them from
afar; do not sit in their company at any time.
When the Guru is present, do not proceed to
worship another; that worship will prove
fruitless When you hold the lotus of his feet on
your head, you have no burden to carry. You
have only to act as per his command; for the
Guru is indeed the command.
What you hear elsewhere regarding Mantras
and Agamas report to him and accept only what
is approved by him and reject what is not.
What he speaks from his own knowledge, do not
speak of that secret to others; to talk of it is to
break the understanding. Feel one with the
Guru and not as another; and do good to all as
your own.
Service to the Guru is fourfold: service by
self, service by means, service by honouring,
service by happy feeling Please the Guru with
your mind dedicated to his service. The fruit
obtained is the same as from great sacrifices like
the Ashwamedha Such service invites the Grace
of the Divine Mother. If service is accompanied
with a happy devotion it brings in its train all
4949-6 82 KULARNAVA TANTRA
fulfilment; the sins dwindl e awa y and merit
grows by leaps and bounds. Whateve r is conducive
to yourself tur n tha t conducive to him.
Service done with devotion according to one's
means ha s th e same merit whethe r little o r
much, whethe r by the rich or th e poor. Even if
you give th e whol e of you r wealt h to the Guru
but without devotion, then the fruit wil l not accrue
to you. For indeed devotion is the onl y cause.
If the Gur u desires an y wealth , do not
partake of it ; whe n necessary a t all do it wit h
his leave If yo u wer e to utilise even a sesamum
quantity or half of it, of wha t belongs to the
Guru, eithe r by greed or delusion, tha t will
fructify in perdition. Do not appropriat e even a
fragment of wha t is his unless it is given to you;
you wil l slide downward s wit h disastrous
consequences Cast not you r ey e on anythin g
that belongs to the Guru. Breaking of his
command , stealth of his wealth , disagreeable
behaviour - thes e ar e treacher y to the Guru, a
great sin. Even you r own wealt h yo u shall utilise
only after offering to the Guru. He wh o
damage s the position of the Guru, his Tradition ,
his Dharma , is to be ostracised by the Gurus; he
merits punishment. Ruin follows from the
anger of the Guru ; sin from treacher y to the
Guru ; bad death from criticism of the Guru ;
catastrophes from the displeasur e of th e Guru.
It ma y be possibl e for a ma n wh o ha s entered
the fir e to remai n alive ; possible also to be alive
after drinkin g poison or even whe n caught in
the hands of Death; but not if he ha s offended
the Guru.
Do not lend you r ea r to an y censur e of the
Guru : wher e such criticism occurs, close you r DEVOTION TO GURU 83
ears, come ou t an d remembe r his name t o
counteract. Do no t disrespect the retinu e of the
Guru ; do not criticise his tradition s - whethe r
based on Vedas or Scripture s or Agama s Th e
sacred sanda l of the Guru is th e ornament ;
remembranc e of his name is japa ; carryin g out
of his command s is duty ; service to him is
worship .
Whil e enterin g the home of the Guru, be
calm of mind, devoted in the extreme ; leave out
you r vehicle, sandals, umbrella , fan and the
like, betel, collyrium and make-up, an d ente r
slowly. Whe n yo u see the sandals of the Guru,
his seat, cloth, vehicle, umbrell a an d fan, bow to
them but do not desir e them for yourself. In
the presence of th e Gur u of the yogins, and in
great centre s of realization and pilgrimag e and
Ashrams, tak e car e to avoid washin g of feet,
bathing, anointin g wit h oil, cleansing of teeth,
micturition, vomiting , shaving, sleeping, sex,
conspicuous sitting, hars h speech, ordering,
laughter, weeping, loosening of th e hair, of the
turba n and the cloak, nudity, stretching of the
legs, debate, acrimony , casting of blame , contortion
of the body, producing of musica l notes
from the body, strikin g of th e hands, dice,
amusements, bouts of wrestling an d the like and
dancing. The y brin g the curs e of th e Deity.
In the presenc e of the Guru, stand wit h due
form; d o not ente r wit h desire ; serve him
looking a t his face ; do wha t he says. In the
service of the Gur u - whethe r expressed or unexpressed
by hi m - do not bo unmindful ; honou r
whole-heartedly wha t he says an d do it withou t
questioning. Th e Gur u is the cause of all checks
and all sanctions. Wha t come s out of his mout h 84 KULARNAVA TANTRA
that is the scripture. Intensely devoted to the
Guru, do not commission others for his work if
you yourself can do it even though you may
have any number of attendants.
Whether moving, or standing, sleeping or
waking, doing japa or offering oblation, or
worshipping, carry out only the injunction of
the Guru with your inner being dwelling in him.
Do not be proud because of class, learning or
wealth; be always in service of the Guru, ever
in his presence Giving up desire, anger, humble
and devoted, lauding in spirit, stand on the floor
and do his work. Whether engaged in your own
work or in the work for others, knowing the
mind of the Guru, be by his side humble and
cheerful of countenance. Should you do anything
in the presence of the Guru what is
normally prohibited, it is extremely blameworthy.
Do not, out of disregard, hear with the
face turned away what the Guru says, whether
it is beneficial or otherwise. To speak falsehood
before the Guru is to commit the highest sin. In
the absence of the Guru who is away and in
distress, do not leave him; go wherever he
commands. When he stands below do not yourself
stand above, do not walk in his front, do not
sit when he stands up. Cross not the shadow of
the Shakti, the shadow of God and the shadow of
the Guru; do not let your own shadow fall on
them. Do not sleep in his presence. Unless
directed by him do not speak, do not read, do
not sing, do not eat there; do nothing without
bowing to him Never fail to carry out his
injunction. Without his command do not believe
on other's word Do everything by the command
of the Guru: do not comment on his spouse. DEVOTION TO GURU 85
Bow down with devotion, hold the palms together
and stand up. Thereafter, bowing down
move out of his residence on foot. Never sit on
the same seat as the Guru with his colleagues. Do
not be seated in the presence of the Deity and the
Guru. The highest seat shall be given to the Guru
and good seats to the elders; to the younger
give the alloted seats and to others the same as
yours. Whether you are endowed with class,
learning, or wealth, seeing the Guru from afar,
prostrate yourself with joy and circumambulate
around him thrice. Observe due priorities of
the Guru and the Guru's Guru etc in offering
your obeisances. Give due honour to the elders.
In the presence of the great Guru, bow to
your own Guru mentally.
Bow to everything, from the Divine to a
blade of grass, as to the Guru, but do not bow as
to God to the idol made of iron or earth. Three
prostrations to the Guru, one to the elders,
joining of palms to the honoured, to the rest
verbal greetings. Bow to the Gods, the Guru,
the Teachers of the Kula, the old in know ledge,
the rich in tapas, the highly learned, those who
are steadfast in their Dharma. Do not bow to
the hated of women, cursed by the Guru, the
learned heretic, the dunce, the doer of wrong,
the ingrate, the transgressor of the ordained
steps (ashramas) in life. While staying in the
same place, should you eat food without offering
to the Guru, that becomes impure. Staying in
the same place, prostrate before the Guru thrice,
during the three sandhyas. If you are away,
prostrate as prescribed.*
* the occasions and periods varying with the distance. 86 KULARNAVA TANTRA
Do not approach royalty, the Deity and the
Guru empty-handed. Offer in the measure of
your capacity, fruit, flower, cloth and the like.
Regard the Shakti of the Guru, the Guru's
son, his elder brother as the Guru himself. The
knower of the self shall look after the younger
brother of the Guru as his own son. Bow to the
Teacher of the Kula, to the eldest and the
youngest of the Guru, to one who is almost like a
Guru, as to your own Guru. Elder in the sacrifices,
elder in order, elder in Kula, the eldest of
the Guru's sons, these are the four elders.
Respect them in that order, in the prescribed
manner.
To the elders like your father, mother and
other worthy relations, express your sentiment
by getting up, prostration and so on But should
you pose to be a teacher yourself, then these
acts become ill of you.
Attained to the status of the Lord, pati, do
not bow down to any in the grade of the animal,
pasu He who attains to the status of the Guru
by meditation on the Mantra of the Padukat
 he
is to be esteemed as the Guru. 

Qualities of the shishya as mentioned in KULARNAVA Tantra

The disciple shall be one
who is
endowed with auspicious features; of good qualities
and culture; clean of body and apparel; wise;
devoted to Dharma ; pure of mind, steady in
observances; of truthful practice; gifted with
faith and devotion; diligent; sparsely eating;
deep-thoughted; serving without motive; scrutinising;
heroic; free from poverty of mind;
skilful in all action; clean; obliging to all;
grateful; afraid of sin; approved of the holy
and the good; believer in God; liberal; engaged
in the good of all creatures. He shall be one
who has trust and modesty; who is not given
to deceive in matters of wealth, body etc.,
achieves the impossible; is brave, enthusiastic
and strong; engaged in favourable activities;
not intoxicated; able, helpful, truthful, limited
and smiling in speech; not given to blaming
others; who grasps what is said but once;
clever; expansive in intelligence; averse to
listen to his own praise and genial to others'
criticism of himself; master of his senses;
contented with himself; intelligent; celibate;
free from worry, disease, fickleness, grief,
delusion and doubt.
He shall be one who is enthusiastic in
meditation, praise and speaking of the Guru,
worship and prostration to the Deity; well
devoted to the Deity Guru; worshipper of the
Shakti; ever in the proximity of the Guru;
pleasing the Guru; constantly well engaged in
his attendance by mind, speech, body; carrying
out the command of the Guru; spreading the
glory of the Guru; knowing the authority of the
word of the Guru; occupied in the service of the
Guru; following the mind of the Guru; functioning
as a servant; free from pride of class,
honour, wealth in the presence of the Guru; not
coveting the wealth of the Guru; aspiring for his
favours.

The inner connection

Sri Chinmoy: Physically, the Master cannot be twenty-four hours a day with the disciples; it is impossible. The Master has many, many disciples and also the Master has many, many things to do. Again, a disciple may stay with the Master day and night, but he may not get anything from the Master. Ramakrishna’s nephew served him for many, many years, but he got practically nothing from Ramakrishna. Again, look at Vivekananda. In the beginning, he used to come once in two or three months. And then how many days did he stay with his Master; So, it is not the physical proximity that counts most. It is the inner awareness of one’s relationship with the Master. Where is the Master? Is he in New York or is he inside your heart? If the disciple feels that the Master is something very sacred and secret, and that the Master is something essential in his life, then he cannot stay without the Master. If he feels that the necessity of the Master is of paramount importance, if he feels that he cannot exist without the Master, any more than he can exist without his heartbeat, then only the relationship between the Master and the disciple is secure and complete.

If you go back to Venezuela, you have to feel that you are carrying me inside your heart, not that you have left me in New York. Do not feel that my existence is only in one part of the world, no, you have to feel that my inner existence is everywhere. My outer existence, my physical body which is five feet eight inches, can stay only at one place; but my inner existence can roam about many, many places. So you have to feel the necessity of the inner relationship, the inner connection with my heart and soul. Then only will you be able to make the utmost progress.

Again, if a disciple has already established his inner connection with the Master, if he has established a secure, most intimate and most surrendering and surrendered relation, then if he stays with the Master, then naturally he will be able to get more benefit. In his case, inside he is already one with the Master; now his outer self is crying to become one with the inside. So naturally he will get a double push and progress infinitely faster if he is physically near the Master.

But, very often, familiarity breeds contempt. When you stay with the Master, cutting jokes and all that, immediately you will say: “He is also like us.” But he is not like you. He can do many, many things in the inner world that you cannot do. But in the outer world he eats the same food and takes ice cream and does everything as you do. But the only thing is that he can do quite a few things in the inner world which you cannot do. That is why first of all his inner existence has to be approached and adored. And if inwardly you have pleased the Master, then rest assured that it is only a matter of a short time before you please the Master in the outer life; not vice versa. In the outer life, if the Master says: “I want to get some stamps,” immediately you will go to the Post Office and bring some stamps. But this kind of connection will not help you considerably if your inner connection is not complete. If the inner connection is complete, and if I say, “Please take me to the beach,” if you take me and make me happy, then you are pleasing me on all ends. Already you have made the inner connection with me. You have pleased me most, and now the outer connection also you have made by listening to me.

But if you had not made the inner connection with me, then what would have happened? During the two hours that you are driving me, our outer connection gives you peace or joy or harmony or some kind of gratification. But at the end of two hours all vanishes again. But in the inner world, when somebody meditates and thinks of me for five minutes and offers me his life breath, then this lasts forever. Then you have fulfilled me and I have fulfilled you.

Sri Chinmoy, God, Avatars And Yogis, Agni Press, 1977

How can a disciple best please his Master?

  

Sri Chinmoy: A disciple can best please his Master if he does not expect anything from the Master. He will give and give and give and offer himself totally and unconditionally. Only then will the Master be most pleased with him. At that time the Master will give him infinitely more than he deserves.

Right from the beginning, the disciple’s devoted, dedicated action should be absolutely unconditional. The disciple feels that his time, his effort, his capacity and his dedication are all his treasures. When he has given his treasures to the Master, he thinks that he has a legitimate right to expect the Master to give him Peace, Light and Bliss, which are the Master’s treasures. But there should be no bargaining in the spiritual life. If the disciple gives something of his, he immediately expects something in return, because he is living in the world of give-and-take. But the Master knows what is best for the disciple and also when it is best to give it. If the Master gives some thing untimely, instead of illumining the unlit consciousness of the disciple, he will just break the inner vessel. The power of the Master is bound to illumine the disciple if the disciple has receptivity. If the disciple has no receptivity, then the Master’s power will be of no use. On the contrary, it will be harmful. Very often when I touch and bless someone, I get such resistance or unwillingness to accept what I have to offer. And at that time what happens? I can force Light or Power from above into this adamantine wall of resistance, but it would only break.

So if you want to please the Master in a perfect way, then the word “expectation” should go out of your vocabulary. If you expect, you will expect in your own mental way: “I am doing this for the Master, so the Master will do something for me, or I will be his favourite.” There are so many expectations. But beyond expectation is the divine Truth. The Master knows what to give and how to give. But the disciple has his own way of expecting something from the Master. So there is a conflict between the Master and the disciple.

By giving something to the Master, if you feel that you will be able to please the Master, to some extent it is true. But you can really please the Master by not expecting anything after you have given him something, for then the Master will be able to operate in the disciple in his own way. The Master will feel “He has given me his treasure, but he does not want anything from me. Now it is up to me to decide what to give. So I shall give him the best, the very best.” But if somebody gives the Master something and then thinks that the Master will favour him in something, or say something very nice about him, then he has already begged for something in the inner world. So naturally the Master will try his best to give him that. But if he had left the choice to the Master, if he had given the Master the opportunity to give what the Master wanted, at that time the Master could have given him abundant Peace, Light and Bliss.

The best way to please the Master is to give what you have and what you are, but without the least possible expectation. In that way you get every divine thing in infinite measure from the Master and, at the same time, the Supreme in the Master can utilise you for His own purpose.

Sri Chinmoy, God, Avatars And Yogis, Agni Press, 1977

The Distance Between Truth And Falsehood

According to the minister, these two eyes see the truth, but these poor ears do not hear the truth. I wish to disagree, however. When we use our earthly eyes, we need not always be right. When we see something, we interpret it according to our human capacity. Again, if we hear something from others, that does not mean that it is all falsehood.

If a great artist has seen a painting and I, who am not an artist, have seen the same painting, his appraisal of it will be infinitely more correct than my own human judgement. I have used my eyes, but what do I know about painting? If a great artist sees a portrait and tells me about it, the truth I hear from him will be infinitely greater than the truth I get by using my eyes and my poor human judgement.

When we enter into the spiritual life we see that the vision of the physical eyes is very limited. We can see only a very short distance. We cannot see the past, we cannot see the future. We cannot see anything that is beyond the range of the physical eyes. But if we can open the third eye, then we can see far beyond ordinary human limits. With the third eye, past, present and future are at our command. We see everything.

With our human eyes sometimes we see a thing but we do not see it properly. We see it but we do not actually know what it is. But if we use the third eye, not only do we see the thing properly, but also we know immediately and exactly what it is.

With our human ears we hear things that are false and also things that are true. The outer ears receive everything: truth, falsehood, rumour, gossip, opinion and all kinds of useless or harmful information. But if we open our spiritual ear, then we will always hear the right things, divine things, fulfilling things. The inner, spiritual ear does not allow anything undivine, unprogressive or unfulfilling to enter into our being from the outside. It allows only messages of Truth, Light and Bliss to enter into the being. The spiritual ear listens only to the dictates of the soul. It hears only the message of Divinity from within us.

But ordinary people do not use their spiritual vision or hearing. When we see something with our eyes, we do not always give proper value to it. If we hear something with our ears, we may not give full importance to it. Why does this happen? It happens because we are trying all the time to perceive the world in our own way.

When we look at someone with our own eyes, we try to see that person in our own human way. If we see a beautiful person right in front of us, and if we have jealousy, even though we see that the person is beautiful our jealousy will tell us, “No, he is not beautiful. Far from it.” Although we know that he is beautiful, our inner jealousy will take away our sense of appreciation. And when we hear that somebody has stood first in running or jumping or that somebody has done something extraordinary, our jealousy will immediately try to diminish the importance of his achievement.

But jealousy will never actually be able to diminish a person’s beauty or the importance of his achievement. No matter how jealous we are, that person is not going to lose his supremacy. But our jealousy will immediately diminish our own power to know the truth. Even if we have the organs necessary to see properly and to hear properly, our internal jealousy will not allow us to see the truth in its own way, to hear the truth in its proper way.

Since this is the case, we have to use not the mind, not the vital, but the heart. The vital, out of jealousy, will try to destroy the truth. If the vital in us is jealous of somebody’s capacity, it will try to destroy that person so that he cannot achieve. “Let him break his legs so that he cannot run,” it will pray. The mind, out of jealousy, will simply say, “Let me close my eyes. If I do not see him run so fast, then no matter what anybody tells me, I don’t have to believe it.” The mind acts like a crow. A crow thinks that if its eyes are shut, then nobody in the whole world can see it. If it cannot see, how can others see? This is the intelligence that the crow has.

In the spiritual world also, if you keep your eyes shut, immediately you will think that nobody else can see either, that everybody is blind like you. With your eyes shut you find that the whole world is dark, and naturally, if others are also in your world of darkness, how can they do anything or be anything? But no! You have shut your eyes, and you have made your world dark; but the other fellow has kept his eyes wide open so he can run, and he will win the race.

See with the heart. The mind plays foolish tricks, and the mind tries to destroy. But the heart will immediately identify. The heart will immediately identify with a person who has accomplished something, or with an object that is embodying something. If there is a beautiful flower before us, when we see and feel with the heart, immediately we identify with the fragrance, beauty and essence of the flower. When we use the heart as our eye instead of the mind, we see the flower as all beauty, all purity. But when we receive the beauty of the flower with our mind and vital, jealousy and destruction come forward.

When we use the heart to receive the messages that others give, we will be the real winners. If somebody has won a prize or done something extraordinary, immediately that person’s joy enters into us. Our heart identifies with his joy and his joy, his achievement, becomes ours. If that person is proud of his success, our heart also becomes proud. The heart values the achievements of others because of its identification, its oneness.

When the son gets his Master’s degree, the mother is proud. The son has earned the degree, but the mother feels that it is her son, a part of herself that has received the degree, so she feels as proud as he does. She identifies fully with her son. The heart that enters into somebody else or allows somebody else to enter into it acts like a mother. The mother receives the honour, the prestige, the glory of the son simply because she has become one with him and accepted his accomplishments as her very own. The heart, too, can do this.

Sri Chinmoy,

No one can fool the Master

Once when I was practising for Sports Day a Connecticut disciple who has a very bad character, a very bad consciousness, kept hovering near me. Whenever I removed my sweater, he tried to take it. If somebody wants to take my things from me and I don’t like the vibrations of that person because of his bad consciousness, I feel very sad. I can’t give my garment to him because immediately his bad consciousness will ruin its consciousness. And yet if I don’t give it to him, others will say that I hate that person. I don’t hate anyone, but at the same time, why should I give my clothes to someone who is not pure enough? If I have one or two disciples who are extremely pure, naturally I will give my clothes to them. They deserve this privilege because of their purity, because of their aspiration, because of their spirituality, because of their devoted and surrendering consciousness. Those particular disciples deserve to have this divine opportunity, and they will benefit from it; whereas this other disciple did not deserve it at all. He was living an animal life, and he only wanted to show everyone else that he was carrying my sweater.

For everything, one has to deserve what he receives. Then only can one appreciate the blessing or the opportunity that he gets. You people are crying for God-realisation. Naturally, one day you will deserve God-realisation, and on that day I shall certainly give it to you.

Those who are trying to serve the Supreme in me with purity, with sincerity, with devotion and with surrender will naturally come forward, and not those who are just trying to grab me, pull me and show off in front of others that they also can become close to me. One must always make an inner sacrifice to achieve inner oneness. One has to pray, concentrate, meditate and cry for inner oneness. Then one will see that in the outer world as well as in the inner world he has become very near, very close and devoted, a truly effective instrument of the Master.
Sri.Chinmoy

THE SOURCE

One of the palace dogs was hungry, so the King’s favourite minister placed some food before him and the King did the same. The dog did not touch the food offered to him by the minister, but he ate all the food given to him by the King.

The King asked the minister, “How is it that the dog did not touch your food, whereas he ate up all of my food?”

The Minister’s reply was, “Your Majesty, you should know that even a dog wants to remain faithful to his caste.”

Spiritual Comments

In the spiritual life also, if a disciple gives something to another disciple, and if the Master gives him the same thing, there is a vast different between the two gifts. One disciple may try to inspire another disciple, and the Master may also offer inspiration to that disciple, but there is a great difference between the height of the Master and the height of the disciple offering his inspiration. When the Master enters into his full spiritual height, his inspiration will be infinitely more powerful than the inspiration that one disciple can offer to another.

The King and the minister offered practically the same food to the dog, but they each had a different consciousness. It is not a matter of pride or vanity or ego, but just because the King was the King, he had more light — let us call it dignity or divinity, some regal quality. The dog felt something special, something more significant in the food from the King. That is why he ate the King’s food, and not the minister’s.

A thief may tell you that you are not supposed to steal. A liar may tell you not to tell lies. But their words can never give you real inspiration, because they are coming from the wrong people: a liar tells hundreds of lies a day and a thief steals as often as he can. The thief and the liar are like parrots. Their words have no strength, no significance, because there is no inner conviction behind them. But if a spiritual Master tells you not to tell lies, immediately he injects strength and inspiration into you, so that you don’t tell lies, you cannot tell lies. And if he asks you not to steal, he will give you enough inspiration inwardly so that you will not want to steal anything.

I tell my disciples that they can help each other. If a man is low today, he can go to his wife and she will encourage him. And if his wife is low tomorrow, then he has to inspire her and uplift her. This is how it should be between husband and wife, and between brother and sister disciples.

But I don’t tell my disciples to go out into the street and start beating their drums and trying to inspire ordinary people. No! That is not inspiration; that is stupidity, trying to convince people that our belief is by far the best. The Centre is like a shop. Here we have Peace, we have Light, we have Bliss, we have divine Power. If people want these things, they can come to my shop and I will give them as much as they want. But if we go out into the street and try to drag people into the shop, even if they come in they will not appreciate what we have.

If I tell you to go and inspire people, then go. You will have my inner help. But if you try to inspire people on your own, without my knowledge and approval, they will laugh at you, they will ridicule you, they will insult you, abuse you, perhaps even strike you. In the name of spirituality you will only be consciously or unconsciously encouraging your own stupidity, and not your sincerity. And for that stupidity you will naturally be punished.

Everyone has a soul. If the soul is really trying to realise the Highest, to achieve the Goal, then it will always try to do what will enable it to make the fastest progress. Those who really want Light will take it whenever it is offered, and in as large a quantity as possible. No truly sincere and dedicated aspirant will prefer to make his spiritual journey alone without a guide to help him reach his destination sooner. He will take as much help as he can, both from his spiritual brothers and sisters and from his Master. And this Master, if he is a real Master, can offer the seeker inspiration, guidance and Light in boundless measure.

Sri. Chinmoy