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Question: On obtaining a guru does a disciple immediately know how great his guru is?
There was a yogi who had the custom of visiting all his followers and disciples. He had disciples in villages that he would only visit once a year. He arrived in one such village where a great satsang was being held in his honour. A peasant came to the satsang who, up till that point, had not been bothered with things spiritual. The yogi spoke about how human life is a precious diamond, about what a guru means in one’s life, about what a successful human life is. The peasant was very moved and when it all finished he approached the yogi: “Can I take you as my guru?” he asked. “Yes, of course,” the yogi answered. They then prepared a ceremony for the receiving of mantras. The yogi was of a fuller figure and, noticing that the peasant was thinking about his appearance, the yogi asked: “What do I remind you of? What do you think of me?” The peasant thought for a minute. “Well Sir, I have a very strong bull in the field, you look like him to me.” The people who heard this were astounded. How could one say such a thing to one’s master?! They told him he was mad and they made a great commotion. “Leave him be”, said the yogi. “He actually paid me a compliment. In his life a bull is the most highly valued and most useful animal. If he compares mw with one, then I know we are on the right track. Just repeat the mantra I’ve given you in the manner I have instructed,” the guru told his new disciple. A year passed and the yogi returned to the same village to see his disciples. Again they organised a great satsang, and among the arrivals was the peasant. The guru immediately turned to him: “I see you have worked on yourself. What do you think of me now?” “Well, we all work back-breakingly for our daily bread. But you are smart, you just talk and go from village to village getting fed the best food.” “Thanks!” laughed the guru. “In any case, I’ve improved in your estimation from a bull to one who is cunning. Just keep repeating your mantra.” People couldn’t believe how the peasant could say such things to his guru and that the yogi didn’t lose his temper at such idiocies. Another a year passed before they met again. Both young and old showed up at the satsang – a few showed up just to see whether the peasant would again disgrace himself. As expected, after the satsang the guru turned to his disciple, the peasant: “Have you meditated and repeated your mantra?” “Good. What do you think of me now?” the yogi asked. “Have you changed your mind or do you still consider me as cunning?” “Well Swamiji, we are peasants, we are regular folk, and you’re a spiritual man and you do good in the world.” “There you go,” said the yogi, “from being one who is considered ‘cunning’, I have become a ‘spiritual man’. Continue meditating.” After yet another year, the yogi returned to the same village and asked his honest disciple the same question. “Master, we are only mortal beings, you are a Gurudev – you have been set free.” When the yogi returned the following year, the peasant went to meet him with palms together and greeted him with respect: “Gurur Brahma, gurur Vishnu, gurur devo Maheshwara, guru sakshat Parabrahma, tasmai Sri Guruve namaha. You are the Creator, You are the Protector, You are the Liberator, You are God Himself and to You I bow.”
The consciousness of this peasant gradually developed to such a level that he was able to see the essence. Above all he could see that in life a master is one who creates, who preserves, who liberates. The greatest principles in the universe are incarnate in the Gurudev: creation, preservation, liberation. But it is not easy to come to this realisation. This is why even the most celebrated masters have but a few great disciples who are able to recognise their divine essence, and recognise this principle of the transfer of knowledge from master to disciple, and to open themselves completely to it. Of Jesus’s twelve disciples, not one of them recognised him in this manner. Neither did Buddha have such a great disciple. In order for a disciple to have the knowledge necessary to understand the true greatness of the guru, he or she must travel a long road; this is a long, long process. It lasts until one’s internal eternal being is liberated from the shell in which it is wrapped, and with which one travels through this universe of uncountable aeons changing bodily forms. When one frees their internal self, when his consciousness rises towards the Light, then a disciple becomes a guru and is able to have his own disciples. ‘Guru’ is not a title one gets at university, nor is there a course where one can quickly master the art for a handful of cash. Alongside the mercy and blessing of the guru, Guru Kripa, only diligent hard work on liberating the internal self can lead one to this point.
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Taken from the publication: "From the Darkness into the Light", a book of satsang stories from the Masters, as told by Sri Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, available for sale at Seminars or online here. |
