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Gospel: Guru and Saints
Swamiji, How to decide which path we should follow?
There is no effect without a cause. If a person truthfully seeks the God,
if he wants the liberation sincerely, the almighty leads him to a liberated
personality who can guide him properly. So the best path for a seeker is
the path followed by his Guru. By that he can feel oneness with the Guru also.
When we go to have the darshan of Mahatmas, we are asked to take off our shirts.
Is it necessary?
Though you should follow the tradition, actually it is Kama, Krodha,
Rivalry and Jealousy that we should take off before going to Mahatmas.
There is no difference in their state. Both could be Gyanis.
Both act according to the will of God.
Will there be a separate mission for each Gyani, as given by God?
Yes, Indeed. Everything happens as per the wish and will of God.
Is there any necessity to take Namajapa through a Guru?
We need curd to make the milk into curd. Likewise, it is a must to be initiated by a realised person to get ourselves realised. The initiation is commonly known as
It can be in other forms also.
Can we understand a Mahatma using our intellect ?
No. You can never understand a Mahatma using your intellect.
If it is not possible to understand a saint using intellect, how to identify them ?
If we are truly devoted to God, he himself will take us to a suitable Guru.
Truth prevails in this world. So if we truthfully seek God, that truthfulness
itself would take us to the correct place or the person.
Some Gyanis are famous; while some are unknown to this world.
What is the reason for this ?
We can broadly categorize Gnanis into three.
In any case, all these are as willed by God.
Are all heads of Mutts , Gyanis ?
No. It is not necessary that a head of a mutt is a Gyani.
In some cases, a gyani may be the head of a Mutt also.
Is being a head of a Mutt conducive to spiritual life?
A Mutt would have a good tradition. It would be helpful to perform solitary spiritual practices. These are the favorable aspects. The negative sides of it are, the comforts, the fame,
the necessity to do administrative work, to take care of the Mutt's devotees, etc.
It appears to our mind that some Mahatmas have Kama and Krodha?
Kama (lust), Krodha ( anger) and attachment towards Kirthi (fame)
are dead enemies of a Mahatma. If these are found in a person,
he cannot have Bhagavat Darsanam (Vision of God). When we have
understood a person to be a Mahatma, and still if these things
are apparently exhibited, it will be a drama or a leela (play acting)
for some reason.
Why do you repeatedly insist that a person should have only one Guru?
Some people go to Saints to get their problems solved or to gain
Punya (blessings for a better life). Nothing wrong with that. But
if a person is aiming for spiritual enlightenment,
it is a must for him to stick to one Guru,
and totally surrender himself to his Guru.
What about people who do not do a total surrender?
If he even partially surrenders to a guru and earnestly
prays for a total surrender, he will definitely attain it.
Our sorrows are the results of our past actions (Karma).
A particular problem may be due to a sin committed by us
in the past. If the power of a Mahatma's penance (tapas)
is more potent than that of our sin, the problem gets solved.
If the power of Mahatma's penance (tapas) is less potent than that of our sin,
there is no good result.
What is the easiest way to control our mind?
Seek the company of Gyanis who have totally destroyed their mind.
This is the easiest way to control your mind.
See.., Ramakrishna Paramahamsar, who lived in the recent past, was the very incarnation of Vishnu. Even he had to struggle hard to have the vision of God - in the way of severe penance. This, you must have read in his biography. All great saints and Mahatmas , who were incarnations of God
had had a vision of God , only after severe penance and sacrifice.
So it is not that easy to just-like-that have a vision of God, as they say.
If they still insist that they did really talk to God, then to
whoever they spoke to, is definitely not God.
Is Guru bhakthi alone sufficient? Can this solve all our problems ?
Guru Bhakthi alone is very much sufficient. This should be with total surrender to Guru's will. All cannot get the mental maturity for total surrender that easily. The extent of smooth sailing in our life directly depends on the extent of surrender to the chosen Guru. To a person who has totally surrendered to his Guru's will, life would be a bed of roses. For those , who have not fully surrendered, life would be a mixture of thorns and roses.
Only unshakable devotion to one's Guru, can ensure smooth sailing in the journey of life.
No.. surrendering to a Guru is definitely not an act.
It is dedicating ourselves whole heartedly.
Ok Swamiji.. But if we surrender ourselves to a Guru, who is not a Gyani,
what will happen to us ?
If you surrender with supreme, unshakable faith, still your surrender
would yield the results.
What is the difference between this, and surrender to a Gyani ?
If a person - even if he is having a lot of shortcomings-
surrenders to a Gyani and the Gyani accepts his surrender,
due to greatness of the Gyani, his way of life would take a
wonderful turn, Godward.
Will one Upadesam (spiritual instruction) suit all ?
No.. It will not. If a person is very cowardly , he would be advised to be courageous and brave .If a person is extremely daring and mischievous, he would be advised to remain calm. If a person is inherently very intellectual, he would be shown the path of Vedanta (path of knowledge and reason). To persons who have ardent faith as their nature, the path of Bhakthi (devotion) would be advised.
So.. it all depends on the nature of the individual.
(Mentioning the name of a famous Swamiji)
Is he a Jeevan Muktha?
What is the use of knowing whether that person is Gnani or not..?
We should question ourselves to see if we got the
"Gnanam'. If not, we should strive to attain it.
Unless we know whether a person is Jeevan Muktha or not, how can we follow him?
If you are a true sadhaka, to help you progress in Sadhana a saint will incarnate.
God himself will lead you to him. It is enough if you take refuge in him,
with steady devotion.
What is state of affairs of people today?
A few, go in search of saints here and there,
have darshan and prostrate to all, saying
"All are forms of God, afterall !".,
thereby advertising their apparent broad-mindedness.
Another group is at the other extreme who are skeptic of
all Swamis and makes mockery at them all.
Using their discrimination and by God's grace, they should reach
the feet of a Guru, and utilise him properly...
Utilise him, Swamiji..? I don't understand..
Just do as he says...That will ensure your well being in all respects.
It is a well known fact that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, showed God to Swami Vivekananda. But Paramahamsar did not do the same to all those who came to see him. Why? This is because Vivekananda had such great preparedness and maturity to see God.
Similarly, so for some, their Karma(fruit of past actions) which obstructs
their way from getting what they want, would be of mild potency. This would be
destroyed just by Darshan of a Saint. So they get what they wanted immediately.
For others , depending on the potency of their Karma, to nullify its potency,
the individual's effort and repeated darshan of the saint are required.
This is why they get delayed results.
Why do most of the saints prefer to remain in silence ?
We find great difficulty in freeing our mind from thoughts.
It is as difficult for a saint to get a thought in his mind !
That is why, most of the saints remain silent.
Yes , man can be possessed by a deity. It is certainly possible.
But seeing so many of them claiming to be divine mediums, creating
quite a scene when "possessed" and all that, doesn't appear credible.
Earlier, saints used to convince and actually make the people
to adopt their chosen spiritual path. But, most of today's Swamijis,
tend to do such things which can earn them fame and acclamation amongst
the people. They have compromised their spiritual path with the worldly.
This, I feel is not a very good change.
Is it necessary for us to keep the portraits of Saints and Mahatmas
in our Meditation room ?
It is good to have the portraits of saints especially that of
your Guru's, in your meditation room. From the picture itself,
divine vibrations emanate and spread in the room, encouraging
you on the spiritual path even further. At the same time,
we should not show disrespect or burn or throw the pictures
of saints who were worshipped by us before . We may dispose it
off it in a ocean.
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