Hari Aum.
God alone is the true Guru. And God resides in each of our hearts according to the Gita. Therefore, the Guru, our spiritual guide resides within us.
An external Guru points the way to tune into the inner Guru. An external Guru is one who has discovered the inner Guru within him/herself and shows the way to others.
An external Guru may share with others what he/she did to discover the inner Guru. However, it is up to others to take the necessary steps to experience the same result.
Many of us endlessly run here and there looking for external Gurus. However, we neglect the inner Guru, who is with us here and now. Our true Guru. Our well-wisher and guide who is ever with us.
Those who have discovered their inner Guru, the God within them, tell us that we can do it too. For this, we need to take up some spiritual practice to cleanse the mind. The darkness of the mind in the form of pride, anger, craving, greed, jealousy and delusion obscures our experience of the Guru within, stops us from receiving guidance from the Guru within.
The Guru outside gives us a tool to clean the mind and experience the Guru within. Such spiritual tools include mantras and other spiritual practices. Through these, we clean our minds and experience the Guru within. The Sanskrit word "Guru", means the spiritual light ('Ru') who removes ignorance/darkness ('Gu').
The spiritual path is made up of many experiences. There are many mini-experiences on the path that give encouragement to the seeker to keep walking until the experience of the final experience of liberation.
People mistakenly think that spiritual life is like a long dry spell until the final rain of liberation arrives. There are many mini-showers on the way until one experiences the final experience of liberation.
If one has been doing a spiritual practice regularly for some years, one becomes aware that there is an Intelligence in the universe that is in charge of everything including oneself. One has mini-experiences where this Intelligence reveals itself, for example, an earnest prayer is immediately answered, an encouraging spiritual dream takes place, circumstances become conducive to spiritual practice.
And most importantly, one begins to feel the presence of God within oneself and others. This becomes a deep, unshakeable feeling that is nurtured by daily practice of the mantra. One talks to God, one walks with God, one thinks of God, one longs for God. Sivananda and other Gurus say that these mini-experiences help us to stay motivated on the spiritual path.
Many people worry, "What if I spend my whole life doing spiritual practices and attain nothing?". I will have given up material life and not achieved anything in the spiritual field either, will be neither here nor there!
This is a false worry created by the mind to stop one from starting out on the spiritual path. Every action produces a reaction- Newton's third law does not only apply to the physical world, but to the mental and spiritual world too. No recitation of mantra or other sadhana can go without producing a result.
And the sadhana of chanting the names and mantras of God are very powerful and particularly suitable for Kali yuga. As one chants these names, one soon begins to feel the reassuring, protective presence of God, which helps one face the many worries and anxieties of life. Eventually this practice grants one the highest spiritual bliss, so say the Gurus.
Anyone who has done regular spiritual practice for even a year will be able to feel something positive in their lives.
I was reflecting that my Guru, Sivananda, woke up day after day and did endless amounts of japa of the "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" mantra while standing hip-deep in the very cold water of the Ganga at Rishikesh. He did this daily for 12 years. What faith he must have had- in the mantra, in himself, in God. He had faith that God would come, and He did. After 12 years of daily practice, Sivananda got the darshan of Lord Krishna. His efforts bore fruit.
We lament that we have many sins, but forget that the name or mantra of God is more powerful than these. A single recitation of "Narayana" by Ajamila wiped out the sins of a lifetime, according to the Puranic story. As Ramakrishna Paramhamsa said, we should say, "I have chanted the name of God, how can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?".
The intellect cannot fathom the power of the name of God. And it does not need to be able to for us to enjoy the benefits of reciting the name of God. The eye cannot convince the ear of the existence of sight, of vision. Because the ear is designed only to hear, not to see. Equally, the ear cannot make the eye understand what sound is, because the eye is not designed to perceive sound, only light.
Similarly, the intellect is not designed to understand the effects of the name of God. Our inner being is designed to experience this however. The human being is said to be the only species that can experience God, hence this birth is regarded as very precious.
There are said to be four goals of human life: 'dharma' (goodness, the basis for the other three), 'artha' (wealth), kama (sensual enjoyment) and moksha (spiritual liberation). The whole Earth is filled with beings motivated by kama and artha. Every animal, every bird, every insect, every creature wants somewhere to live and to have a mate. The majority of human beings are the same. We build a home and find a partner and have children.
The Earth is filled with people driven by desire for 'artha' and 'kama'. The numbers interested in 'dharma' and 'moksha' are relatively few. If you are reading this article, chances are that you are one of the few interested in dharma-moksha, not just artha-kama. This interest in dharma-moksha is a blessing from God, according to the Gurus. We should be extremely grateful for this.
So, let us keep up our spiritual practice. We may have been walking on the path for 1 year, 5 years or 10 years, it does not matter. Let us keep walking until we reach the goal. And let us cleanse the mirror of the mind, so that we can see the face of the inner Guru who guides us on the way.
Prostrations to the outer and inner Gurus everywhere (who are all manifestations of the one God of the universe).
Hari Aum Tat Sat
God alone is the true Guru. And God resides in each of our hearts according to the Gita. Therefore, the Guru, our spiritual guide resides within us.
An external Guru points the way to tune into the inner Guru. An external Guru is one who has discovered the inner Guru within him/herself and shows the way to others.
An external Guru may share with others what he/she did to discover the inner Guru. However, it is up to others to take the necessary steps to experience the same result.
Many of us endlessly run here and there looking for external Gurus. However, we neglect the inner Guru, who is with us here and now. Our true Guru. Our well-wisher and guide who is ever with us.
Those who have discovered their inner Guru, the God within them, tell us that we can do it too. For this, we need to take up some spiritual practice to cleanse the mind. The darkness of the mind in the form of pride, anger, craving, greed, jealousy and delusion obscures our experience of the Guru within, stops us from receiving guidance from the Guru within.
The Guru outside gives us a tool to clean the mind and experience the Guru within. Such spiritual tools include mantras and other spiritual practices. Through these, we clean our minds and experience the Guru within. The Sanskrit word "Guru", means the spiritual light ('Ru') who removes ignorance/darkness ('Gu').
The spiritual path is made up of many experiences. There are many mini-experiences on the path that give encouragement to the seeker to keep walking until the experience of the final experience of liberation.
People mistakenly think that spiritual life is like a long dry spell until the final rain of liberation arrives. There are many mini-showers on the way until one experiences the final experience of liberation.
If one has been doing a spiritual practice regularly for some years, one becomes aware that there is an Intelligence in the universe that is in charge of everything including oneself. One has mini-experiences where this Intelligence reveals itself, for example, an earnest prayer is immediately answered, an encouraging spiritual dream takes place, circumstances become conducive to spiritual practice.
And most importantly, one begins to feel the presence of God within oneself and others. This becomes a deep, unshakeable feeling that is nurtured by daily practice of the mantra. One talks to God, one walks with God, one thinks of God, one longs for God. Sivananda and other Gurus say that these mini-experiences help us to stay motivated on the spiritual path.
Many people worry, "What if I spend my whole life doing spiritual practices and attain nothing?". I will have given up material life and not achieved anything in the spiritual field either, will be neither here nor there!
This is a false worry created by the mind to stop one from starting out on the spiritual path. Every action produces a reaction- Newton's third law does not only apply to the physical world, but to the mental and spiritual world too. No recitation of mantra or other sadhana can go without producing a result.
And the sadhana of chanting the names and mantras of God are very powerful and particularly suitable for Kali yuga. As one chants these names, one soon begins to feel the reassuring, protective presence of God, which helps one face the many worries and anxieties of life. Eventually this practice grants one the highest spiritual bliss, so say the Gurus.
Anyone who has done regular spiritual practice for even a year will be able to feel something positive in their lives.
I was reflecting that my Guru, Sivananda, woke up day after day and did endless amounts of japa of the "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" mantra while standing hip-deep in the very cold water of the Ganga at Rishikesh. He did this daily for 12 years. What faith he must have had- in the mantra, in himself, in God. He had faith that God would come, and He did. After 12 years of daily practice, Sivananda got the darshan of Lord Krishna. His efforts bore fruit.
We lament that we have many sins, but forget that the name or mantra of God is more powerful than these. A single recitation of "Narayana" by Ajamila wiped out the sins of a lifetime, according to the Puranic story. As Ramakrishna Paramhamsa said, we should say, "I have chanted the name of God, how can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?".
The intellect cannot fathom the power of the name of God. And it does not need to be able to for us to enjoy the benefits of reciting the name of God. The eye cannot convince the ear of the existence of sight, of vision. Because the ear is designed only to hear, not to see. Equally, the ear cannot make the eye understand what sound is, because the eye is not designed to perceive sound, only light.
Similarly, the intellect is not designed to understand the effects of the name of God. Our inner being is designed to experience this however. The human being is said to be the only species that can experience God, hence this birth is regarded as very precious.
There are said to be four goals of human life: 'dharma' (goodness, the basis for the other three), 'artha' (wealth), kama (sensual enjoyment) and moksha (spiritual liberation). The whole Earth is filled with beings motivated by kama and artha. Every animal, every bird, every insect, every creature wants somewhere to live and to have a mate. The majority of human beings are the same. We build a home and find a partner and have children.
The Earth is filled with people driven by desire for 'artha' and 'kama'. The numbers interested in 'dharma' and 'moksha' are relatively few. If you are reading this article, chances are that you are one of the few interested in dharma-moksha, not just artha-kama. This interest in dharma-moksha is a blessing from God, according to the Gurus. We should be extremely grateful for this.
So, let us keep up our spiritual practice. We may have been walking on the path for 1 year, 5 years or 10 years, it does not matter. Let us keep walking until we reach the goal. And let us cleanse the mirror of the mind, so that we can see the face of the inner Guru who guides us on the way.
Prostrations to the outer and inner Gurus everywhere (who are all manifestations of the one God of the universe).
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Hı
ReplyDeleteFirst of Allah Islah would to thank You gör this wonderful article. If I don't find any external guru to take correct mantra What would You reccomend us? Because unsuitable mantra can be harmful for one and looking at some experiences that can be proven.
Namaste,
ReplyDeleteSorry only just seen this comment. My blog post dated Aug 14, 2017 provides some information on how to select a suitable mantra.
Best wishes