A Dialogue with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (On Selecting a GURU, and, getting Upadesha from him)

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--------------------------Abt Selecting a GURU,

and, getting Upadesha from

him-------------------------- Bhaktha : Swami,

whom are we to believe, whom are we to discard?

The world is so full of deceit. When those, whom we believe are good, themselves

turn out to be bad, how can faith grow? Swami : Well, My boy! Where is the need

for you in this world or any world to grow faith in others? Believe in

yourself, first. Then believe in the Lord, Paramatma. When you have faith in

these two, neither the good nor the bad will affect you.

------------------Bhaktha : Swami, faith in

the Lord too diminishes sometimes. What is the reason for that? Swami : When

one is deluded by the mere external world and when one does not attain success

in such external desires, faith in the Lord diminishes. So, give up such

desires. Desire only for the spiritual relationship; then you won’t become the

target of doubts and difficulties. The important thing for this is faith in the

Lord; without that, you start doubting everything, big and

small.------------------

Bhaktha : But nowadays, some great big persons are granting Upadesa to all who

ask. Are these not Sadgurus, Swami?Swami : I won’t say they are or they are

not. I declare only this: It is not the sign of a Sadguru to grant Upadesa to

any and every person who comes to him with praise, without considering the past

and the future, without discovering the qualifications of the pupil and testing

whether he is fit.--------------------------

Bhaktha : Then Swami, I have committed a blunder! When one great person arrived

at our village, and when all were receiving Upadesa from him, I too went and

prostrated before him and asked him for it. He granted me a good Upadesa. I

repeated the manthra for some time; but soon, I came to know that the great

person was a cheat. Since that day, I lost faith in the Name he gave me. I gave

up the Manthra (sacred formula). Was this wrong? Or, am I right? Swami : Do you

doubt the right and wrong of this? It is very wrong. Just as the Guru, as I

told you now, examines the qualifications of the disciple, the disciple too has

to critically examine the credentials of the Guru before receiving Upadesa.

Your first mistake was that you did not pay attention to this but hastily

accepted Upadesa. Well, even if the Guru gave it without the necessary

qualification, why did you break your vow and stop repeating the Name? That is

the second mistake: Casting the fault of another on the sacred Name of God.

Before receiving Upadesa, you should have taken time and known his genuineness

and developed faith in him. Then, when the desire to accept him as Guru

emerged, you should have received the Upadesa. But once you accept, you must

repeat it, whatever the difficulty. You should not give it up. Otherwise, you

commit the wrong of accepting without deliberation and rejecting without

deliberation. That wrong will be on your head. You should not accept a Name

when you are still afflicted by doubt or a Name which you do not prefer. Having

accepted, you should not give it

up.--------------------------

Bhaktha : What happens when it is given up? Swami : Well, my boy. Disloyalty to

the Guru and discarding the Name of God—on account of these, your one pointed

endeavor and concentration will wither away. As the saying goes, “The diseased

seedling can never grow into a tree.”

--------------------------

Bhaktha : But if the Guru grants the Manthra though we lack the merit? Swami :

Such a Guru is no Guru. The result of his wrong act won’t fall on you. The evil

of that wrong will devolve on him

only.-------------------------- Bhaktha : If

the disciple acts according to the promise made to the Guru, irrespective of

what the Guru may turn out to be, and honours him as before, can he realise the

goal? Swami : Certainly, what doubt is there? Don’t you know the story of

Ekalavya? Though Dronacharya did not accept him as his disciple, he installed

an image and took it as Dronacharya himself; revering as such, he learnt

archery and achieved mastery of all arts. Finally,when the Guru, blinded by

injustice, asked for his right thumb as his fees, he offered it gladly. Did

Ekalavya take to heart the injury done by the

Guru?-------------------------- Bhaktha : Of

what avail was that offer? His education was all a waste, that was all. What

was the net result of his achievement? Swami : Though Ekalavya lost all chance

of using his skill, the character that he earned by that training was never

lost. Is not the fame he acquired by his sacrifice enough

compensation?--------------------------

Bhaktha : Well, what is past is past. Hereafter at least I shall hold fast and

try not to discard the name. Please grant me upadesa yourself. Swami : Your

attitude is just like that of the person who, after having witnessed the

Ramayana being enacted throughout the night, asked someone at daybreak how Rama

was related to Sita! I was telling you that the Guru and the upadesa will come

when your qualifications ripen. It will come by itself. There is no need for

you to ask! Really speaking, the disciple should not ask for upadesa on his

own. He cannot be aware of his being ripe for it. The Guru will be watchingfor

the proper moment and he will himself bless and help. You should not get

upadesa more than once. It is not repeatable. If you give up one upadesa and

take up another, whenever you feel like it, you will be like a married woman

gone astray.--------------------------Bhaktha

: So, what is my fate now? Is there no way to save myself? Swami : Repent for

the mistake committed, but continue meditating on the Name you received. For

Namasmarana (Remembering God through His Name), apart from Japa (Repetition of

the Holy Name),you can use as many names as you like. For Dhyana (meditation),

the Name got by upadesa alone should be used, remember. Don’t change that

sacred Name. Transform yourself by persistent yearning and effort and

proceed.--------------------------

Bhaktha : As you said, upadesa created the doubt. Your Sandesha (message)

dispelled it. If permitted, I will return now to my place and when I come

again, I will bring some new doubts to be cast away in Your Presence in

exchange for Peace and Joy. Swami : That persons like you should rid

themselves of doubts,should grasp the real significance of life and welcoming

the Sandesha with faith and steadfastness, dwell in constant remembrance of the

Name of the Lord. Whenever you come, whatever comes, learn from Me the method

and means of ridding yourself of grief and doubt and worry. Never suffer from

grief. For with that pain inside you, you will not be able to do any Sadhana.

Whatever Sadhana you do will be like rose water poured on ash.

--------------------------Excerpt from:

Dialogue 1. “SANDEHA NIVARINI”CLEARANCE OF SPIRITUAL DOUBTS Dialogues

withBhagawan Sri Sathya Sai

Baba--------------------------