Hari Aum.
It was Guru purnima around a week ago-- a day to celebrate the presence of the Guru in our lives. This is just a short post in praise of the Guru, to affirm the living presence of the Guru, to declare that (in my experience at least), the Guru is the most beloved manifestation of the Divine.
If I repeat my mantra daily today, despite all the karmas (both good and bad) that I have endured, it is due to the grace of the Guru. If I have a family today, a job, health, wealth, everything both material and spiritual that has been given to me by the universe, there is no doubt at all in my mind, that this is exclusively and solely due to the grace of my Guru Sivananda.
There is no end to the compassion of the Guru. Humans are unreliable, the demi-gods are unreliable, even God (as Krishna especially!) can sometimes be unreliable, one's own mind may be unreliable. Only the Guru is consistently reliable, only the Guru can be completely trusted.
Sivananda is my spiritual father, mother, relative, friend and everything combined. I trust only him. I do not want any darshan of any form of God any longer-- I am satisfied with my mantra (given by my Guru) and my Guru himself. The appearance of my Guru in dreams in recent years tells me that he is with me through thick and thin, that he wants me to continue upon the spritual path-- and with his grace and my self-effort (which also feels like his grace), I am hopeful that I will continue sadhana until the end of my life.
I dedicate my life, including the fulfillment of all material and spiritual duties, to my Guru alone. If he is happy, then I am happy. In this sacred month of Shravana, that began after Guru purnima, I re-dedicate myself to the 'Twenty important spiritual instructions' given by my Guru to all his students. I will re-assess how well I am following these and attempt to improve upon this.
I would also like to point out the key message of my Guru and all Gurus since time immemorial-- ethics is everything in life. As Sivananda says "If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. But if character is lost, everything is lost".
He also said "You sow an action and reap a habit. You sow a habit and reap a character. You sow a character and reap your destiny." He said that we alone can make or mar our own destiny based upon our own actions and character. So, while the grace of the Guru is everything in life, we also need to take responsibility to open ourselves up to receiving his/her grace-- and the key way to do that is sadhana (practice of ethics and japa, meditation, karma yoga and so on).
I am on holiday currently, visiting family in the sweltering heat on the continent of Europe, and doing mantra sadhana in this state is not particularly pleasant (especially as the heat has triggered a couple of migraines). Nonetheless, as the Gurus say, "Jis haal mein, jis desh mein, jis vesh mein raho, Radha-Raman, Radha-Raman, Radha-Raman kaho!", meaning "Whatever condition, country or apparel you find yourself in, repeat the name of God!"-- and that is exactly what I am attempting to do. By the grace of Guru, I am managing to stick to daily mantra japa (regardless of the level of concentration or quality, which can vary from day to day, it is getting done and I am grateful for this).
As Sivananda said, "Obedience is better than reverence". May he bless us all so that we may walk steadily upon the spiritual path.
I will conclude by sharing a link to the incredibly beautiful 'Guru paduka strothram' composed by Adi Shankaracharya:
https://shlokam.org/gurupadukastotram/ (the Sanskrit text with English translation)
Om Sri Gurave Namah. Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
P.S. I would like to comment on a couple of twin soul videos recently released by Pradnya Pandit called the 'marriage-monkhood matrix' and 'breaking out of the marriage template' (I would like to clarify that I have no judgements or negative thoughts at all related to this but would like to share my personal views on this subject).
My thoughts on these videos respectfully are that there is only one template in life-- the ethical template (and there is no other, second, template). The ethical template involves living a life based on ahimsa/non-violence, truthfulness and control of the senses.
Any template that contradicts this ethical template is unfit as a basis for spiritual life. One may call oneself anything one pleases (a soul, twin soul, triplet soul, soul mate, karmic soul, whatever soul), based upon one's life experiences, but the firm and rigid adherence to these fundamental spiritual tenets forms the very basis for the foundation of spiritual life.
Without these three spiritul values, there is no progress towards God, no pleasing the Guru and no knowledge of the Higher Self. All 'twin souls' would do well to remember these 'triple values' of spirituality. There is no escaping them under any circumstances. These are essential for the experience of peace and happiness both here and hereafter.
Krishna called this world a 'dukhalaya', or 'an abode of sorrow'. The only way to navigate this place is by practicing the triple values of ahimsa, satya and brahmacharya. These reduce the pain of this dukhalaya, and without them, the pain only intensifies. Let us therefore pray to our Gurus to enable us to firmly and rigidly stick to these spiritual values in all circumstances in our lives.
Om Sri Gurave Namah. Om Sri Durgayai Namah. Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
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