GURU AND HIS GRACE

[Guest guest]

GURU AND HIS GRACE

It is company which makes a man good or bad. It is not th| company of

persons alone that counts; all sense objects with which we come in contact

exercise a wholesome or adverse effect on the mind. Have recourse to good

company and avoid bad company Never listen to evil talks with your ears,

never see bad sights with your eyes, never utter bad words with your tongue,

never perform evil deeds with your hands, never allow your feet to resort to

bad places, never harbour bad thoughts in your mind, and never allow your

intellect to give you a wrong lead. In this way, you will be rid of all

vices.

Playing (musing) on the objects of senses is the root of all evil and

ultimately leads to complete ruin, whereas remembrance God is the surest

road to freedom from misery. Apply yourself with great diligence to the task

of driving out all thoughts of enjoyment from your mind and keep it

constantly fixed on God. I proportion as your musing on sense objects is

lessened or minimized, and remembrance of God becomes more frequent, peace

an happiness will draw nearer to you in divine sphere. Whereas musings on

sense objects drags even a virtuous man into the mire of sin remembrance of

god turns even the vilest man into a saint and devotee. Everything depends

upon the earnest and diligent practice of the sadhaka on the path of

spirituality and that ultimately bless him with sakshatkara.

Trust your master (Guru) fully. Follow up his teachings perfectly in your

life as a true wife follows up the footsteps of her husband. Complete

dedication and earnest sadhana only will benefit the follower to realise

Truth in full (in toto).

Constant remembrance of God with the Japa of His Name on his lips will

surely favour one with the vision of God by Guru's Grace in a very short

time.

So long as you are in the region of pain, you can never be happy however

glibly you may talk of happiness; and once you step into the region of

bliss, you can never experience pain. Dependence on the world is the nucleus

of pain, whereas dependence on God is the nucleus of happiness. This truth

is highly spoken of by saints and seers alike. Hence one on the path of

spirituality should give up dependence on the world and seek dependence on

God. Once the mind thus established firmly, sure it is for them to reach the

goal by the blessings of their Guru.

That sadhaka is wise who keeps all his senses as well as his mind and

intellect engaged in occupations consecrated to God. Keep your ears in

listening to the praises of God, and your eyes in seeing saints and holy

men; sing praises of the Lord with your tongue, serve the Lord with your

hands, frequent places of worship with your feet, think of God with your

mind and reflect on the nature of God with your intellect. In this way, we

will be able to make our life sacred and divine. And that will be the true

offering of ourselves to God.

Offer thy all to Me—says Lord Krishna in Bhagawad Gita, IX—27 and 28.

"Whatsoever thou doest, whatsoever thou eatest, whatsoever thou offerest,

whatsoever thou doest of austerity, O, Arjuna, do thou that as an offering

to Me."

"Thus shall thou be liberated from the bonds of action, yielding good and

evil fruit; thyself harmonised by the yoga of renunciation, thou shalt come

unto Me when set free".

So long as the desire for worldly enjoyments persists, so long as the

transitory things of the world appeal to us as attractive, delightful and

gratifying to the senses, and so long as we relish them, it should be

understood that we have not vacated the heart fully for the occupation of

the Lord.

"Had I got the least attraction for the Lord, all other attractions would

have disappeared", says a great Saint.

The response that we get from God is commensurate with the road we allot to

Him in our heart. So long as we do not keep our whole heart open for His

occupation, so long as the love of our heart does not flow in a ceaseless

stream towards Him, we cannot experience a pang of separation from Him; so

long as we do not pine for the Lord, He too would not pine for us. The Lord

says:

"Howsoever men approach Me, even so do I receive them". Everything needs

Guru's Grace. When Guru's Grace descends, the heart blossoms forth like a

lotus when the sun shines upon him. When thus opened, he feels that his

heart encompasses the whole world of his relationships and shapes his

conduct and destiny, through the promptings of his heart. A kind heart is a

spring of joy to all within its reach. So let every one allow his or her

heart to speak and treat in the patlis of Spiritual life refreshing in the

shades of Truth and Love.

Sri Saipadananda Radhakrishna swamiji

(from Sai Sudha June 1972)

 

(Adopted from Sri SaiLeela Special Issue 1973)