I was reflecting on the Guru principle of the Universe recently. What it is from a disciple's perspective.
It is difficult to truly understand the Guru. Because the Guru is God Him/Herself.
However, as a disciple, one has to be able to recognise and follow a true Guru. To be able to make genuine spiritual progress.
Many say the Guru finds the disciple. Not that the disciple finds the Guru. And also that the Guru never abandons the disciple even if the disciple abandons him/her. The relationship between Guru and disciple is the deepest strongest bond- one that lasts lifetime after lifetime.
I feel the Guru represents the purest rays of God's Grace. If God is the Sun, then the Gurus are the rays of the Sun that touch the Earth and provide light in our lives. We experience the Sun through it's rays. Similarly we experience and know of God through the presence of the Guru in our life.
Words that come to mind when one thinks of Guru are: pure, holy, sacred, stainless, infinitely loving, truly selfless, true devotee of God, wise, merged with God, God Himself.
Gurus whose sacred feet have walked over the Earth have always been infinitely compassionate and loving. The hallmark of a Guru is this terrific compassion that they have for others, to the point where they do not care about any suffering they have to undergo to serve others.
Swami Sivananda showed this on numerous occasions in his own life. For example when he stayed awake all night with ill patients without charging them a penny, when he cared for sick people lovingly. And famously, when as a monk, he carried a very ill Swami suffering from diarrhoea on his shoulders for miles to a local hospital in Rishikesh. Even when immersed in sadhana, he cared for the sick and suffering.
The Buddha famously in his previous incarnation (before becoming the Buddha) gave up his own life to appease a hungry tigress who was about to kill and eat her own cubs.
Swami Chidananda (Swami Sivananda's disciple and later President of his Master's ashram) built huts for people suffering from leprosy in the grounds of his family home before he became a monk. He lovingly cared for them at a time when most people would run away from them- as proper medical treatments/cures were not available then. Swami Chidananda was less concerned about his own health and well being, and more concerned with the welfare of these unfortunate people. His ishta devata was Sri Ram, and he served them seeing Ram and only Ram within them (he later taught his students to serve seeing God in all). He felt he was serving God himself, not doing people with leprosy a favour. It was a sacred puja for him.
Contemplating the goodness, purity and holiness of beings like Swami Chidananda simply fills one's heart with delight. Where I see Swami Sivananda as my spiritual father, I see Swami Chidananda as my spiritual mother. He has such a compassionate heart. The effect of reading one of his works is to immediately want to do sadhana with even greater interest and vigour. Glory glory to Swami Sivananda, glory glory to Swami Chidananda.
This compassion, extraordinary love, love that can only be described as Godly, in fact no less than the love of God Himself- this seems to be the hallmark, the feature of true Gurus.
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Sivananda, Vivekananda, Anandamayi Ma- all these great saints and others- declared that all paths to God are one, and that humanity must live divinely knowing that God exists in all beings. When God exists in all beings, how can we dislike anybody or any thing? As disciples we do have these dislikes, and have to keep working on ourselves to remove them - by various techniques such as repetition of the Name of God, a potent method advised by the saints.
It is extremely sad therefore to see numerous individuals today, styling themselves as the sacred Guru, who have no such qualities of a Guru. In fact, many of them instigate violence and negative thoughts about other religions/nations in their followers. Devoid of compassion, devoid of humility, devoid of decency and good sense, full of pride and enjoying the fawning compliments of their followers, filled with pride and the spirit of sermonizing- they sit on the pedestal they have created for themselves. There are numerous people today who, calling themselves Gurus, lead their blind followers into greater and greater darkness. It is really very sad.
Not least because these people go against the teachings of the true Guru. Where the true Guru promotes love and tolerance towards all races, religions and basically everybody and everything- the false teacher promotes violence, negative thinking and dislike of other races, nations and religions. Where the true Guru says, the world is of duality- good and evil have always existed here- mend yourself, correct your defects, be indifferent to the faults of others- the false teacher denounces others, stirs up dislike of others in their followers, and causes more harm than good in the world. The true Guru is a force of peace and harmony- the false teacher is a force of chaos and disharmony.
May God in the form of the true Guru ever protect and guide us. May we always aspire to be perfect disciples and devotees. May God transform us into the devotee He wishes to see. May Guru transform us into the disciple He wishes to have. May we desire only to be true disciples (instead of being the next Guru!) and true devotees that are pleasing to Guru and God.
May our internal enemies be destroyed, may we be indifferent to the faults of others. May we keep the Name of God ever by our side as our protection, as the bestower of blessings, and to protect us from all negativity within and without, to bring all auspiciousness into our lives.
Swami Sivananda's writings on the Guru Principle in the Universe
http://www.dlshq.org/download/gurutattva.htm
Adi Sankaracharya's Guru Ashtakam slokas in praise of Guru set to beautiful music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqCji-oDTlA
Prostrations again and again to all true Gurus, to the Guru who is God Himself as Teacher.
Om Sri Gurave Namah. Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya.
Om Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum.
It is difficult to truly understand the Guru. Because the Guru is God Him/Herself.
However, as a disciple, one has to be able to recognise and follow a true Guru. To be able to make genuine spiritual progress.
Many say the Guru finds the disciple. Not that the disciple finds the Guru. And also that the Guru never abandons the disciple even if the disciple abandons him/her. The relationship between Guru and disciple is the deepest strongest bond- one that lasts lifetime after lifetime.
I feel the Guru represents the purest rays of God's Grace. If God is the Sun, then the Gurus are the rays of the Sun that touch the Earth and provide light in our lives. We experience the Sun through it's rays. Similarly we experience and know of God through the presence of the Guru in our life.
Words that come to mind when one thinks of Guru are: pure, holy, sacred, stainless, infinitely loving, truly selfless, true devotee of God, wise, merged with God, God Himself.
Gurus whose sacred feet have walked over the Earth have always been infinitely compassionate and loving. The hallmark of a Guru is this terrific compassion that they have for others, to the point where they do not care about any suffering they have to undergo to serve others.
Swami Sivananda showed this on numerous occasions in his own life. For example when he stayed awake all night with ill patients without charging them a penny, when he cared for sick people lovingly. And famously, when as a monk, he carried a very ill Swami suffering from diarrhoea on his shoulders for miles to a local hospital in Rishikesh. Even when immersed in sadhana, he cared for the sick and suffering.
The Buddha famously in his previous incarnation (before becoming the Buddha) gave up his own life to appease a hungry tigress who was about to kill and eat her own cubs.
Swami Chidananda (Swami Sivananda's disciple and later President of his Master's ashram) built huts for people suffering from leprosy in the grounds of his family home before he became a monk. He lovingly cared for them at a time when most people would run away from them- as proper medical treatments/cures were not available then. Swami Chidananda was less concerned about his own health and well being, and more concerned with the welfare of these unfortunate people. His ishta devata was Sri Ram, and he served them seeing Ram and only Ram within them (he later taught his students to serve seeing God in all). He felt he was serving God himself, not doing people with leprosy a favour. It was a sacred puja for him.
Contemplating the goodness, purity and holiness of beings like Swami Chidananda simply fills one's heart with delight. Where I see Swami Sivananda as my spiritual father, I see Swami Chidananda as my spiritual mother. He has such a compassionate heart. The effect of reading one of his works is to immediately want to do sadhana with even greater interest and vigour. Glory glory to Swami Sivananda, glory glory to Swami Chidananda.
This compassion, extraordinary love, love that can only be described as Godly, in fact no less than the love of God Himself- this seems to be the hallmark, the feature of true Gurus.
Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Sivananda, Vivekananda, Anandamayi Ma- all these great saints and others- declared that all paths to God are one, and that humanity must live divinely knowing that God exists in all beings. When God exists in all beings, how can we dislike anybody or any thing? As disciples we do have these dislikes, and have to keep working on ourselves to remove them - by various techniques such as repetition of the Name of God, a potent method advised by the saints.
It is extremely sad therefore to see numerous individuals today, styling themselves as the sacred Guru, who have no such qualities of a Guru. In fact, many of them instigate violence and negative thoughts about other religions/nations in their followers. Devoid of compassion, devoid of humility, devoid of decency and good sense, full of pride and enjoying the fawning compliments of their followers, filled with pride and the spirit of sermonizing- they sit on the pedestal they have created for themselves. There are numerous people today who, calling themselves Gurus, lead their blind followers into greater and greater darkness. It is really very sad.
Not least because these people go against the teachings of the true Guru. Where the true Guru promotes love and tolerance towards all races, religions and basically everybody and everything- the false teacher promotes violence, negative thinking and dislike of other races, nations and religions. Where the true Guru says, the world is of duality- good and evil have always existed here- mend yourself, correct your defects, be indifferent to the faults of others- the false teacher denounces others, stirs up dislike of others in their followers, and causes more harm than good in the world. The true Guru is a force of peace and harmony- the false teacher is a force of chaos and disharmony.
May God in the form of the true Guru ever protect and guide us. May we always aspire to be perfect disciples and devotees. May God transform us into the devotee He wishes to see. May Guru transform us into the disciple He wishes to have. May we desire only to be true disciples (instead of being the next Guru!) and true devotees that are pleasing to Guru and God.
May our internal enemies be destroyed, may we be indifferent to the faults of others. May we keep the Name of God ever by our side as our protection, as the bestower of blessings, and to protect us from all negativity within and without, to bring all auspiciousness into our lives.
Swami Sivananda's writings on the Guru Principle in the Universe
http://www.dlshq.org/download/gurutattva.htm
Adi Sankaracharya's Guru Ashtakam slokas in praise of Guru set to beautiful music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqCji-oDTlA
Prostrations again and again to all true Gurus, to the Guru who is God Himself as Teacher.
Om Sri Gurave Namah. Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya. Om Namo Bhagavate Chidanandaya.
Om Krishnam Vande Jagat Gurum.
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