Thus Spake the Divine - Absolute Surrender is Most Important

Thus Spake the Divine

Absolute Surrender is Most Important

I have spoken a lot about qualifications of a Guru. I said the most important characteristics of the Guru are possessing virtuous characteristics, discipline and Bhakti towards God, be it in the initial Guru, who imparts Jnyana to the student (Vedavid), or the ultimate Jnyana Guru, who connects our Atma to that of Paramatma (Brahmavid). I also said that if you are fortunate enough to get a Sanyasa Guru, who is a great Jnyani fi lled with absolute compassion, is impeccably pure and has an agile and relentless mind as that of Ishvara Himself, then, you don’t even need God! Yet, I have my own doubts whether everyone will be fortunate enough to get a Guru of such high stature. Of course, Shastras say that if one really has an unquenchable thirst for Jnyana and moksha, God Himself will send the most appropriate Guru to him.

That is why Ishvara himself transformed into a Guru and gave upadesha to Manikyavachagar. The saint himself has mentioned this aspect in many places in his Tiruvachagam. Though we know all these, our mind is still disturbed as to how to get the right Guru. How do we ensure that our Guru is genuine and pure? What if he is a fake one? To our own eyes, a Guru might appear perfect and pure but, in reality, he may be the opposite. If we then have to find another guru, what is the assurance that we will not be disappointed again? We are totally confused in this erratic world.

People talk whatever comes to their mind as per their own will and wish. There are times when even a genuine Guru may fall prey to gossip. Then, people may become apprehensive about the genuineness of even that Guru. What is the solution for such a state of affairs? Of course, it is not a serious issue when it comes to the Vidya Guru. We anyway don’t expect exceptional traits in him. All we expect from him are basic traits expected in an ordinarily virtuous person. Generally, such characteristics will be present in him anyway.

Since being in his Gruhasthashrama with a family, he is in a much better position than Sanyasa Guru in terms of potential damage to his dignity. Moreover, a student studies under the Vidya Guru from a very young stage. A young mind does not engage in judgement of others. So, the student would not intend to judge his Guru. More so, as a strong view is imprinted on his mind that a Guru is like God, he continues to be devoted to that Guru. The problem arises only for the Sanyasa Guru, who is expected to ingrain inner purity and Moksha within a student.

How do we trust that the Sanyasa Guru is perfect? What can we do if we later find some fl aws in him? On identifying flaws, if we disown him from the status of Guru, will it not be an act of betrayal or disloyalty towards that Guru? Isn’t that a sin? What if our impression that he is imperfect itself is wrong? Let me tell you how to handle such an embarrassing scenario. Let me withdraw all the characteristics expected of a Guru, which I mentioned earlier.

Let me put it very simple. Don’t look for any traits in the Guru at all ! What I am trying to say is, as how a young shishya behaves with the Vidya Guru, all grown up shishyas too should behave so with the Sanyasa Guru! I mean to say one must have absolute faith in the Sanyasa Guru. Some might call it a blind act, but it does not matter. Imagine this scenario. We were in search of a Guru. We trust in one as being perfect and pure and follow him. When we went to him, we did not think of him as impure or imperfect.

However, having gone to him, if such thoughts erupt in our mind, what do we do? In case we change our Guru, what is the guarantee that the new Guru will be better? Moreover, there is an anxiety that disowning the Guru halfway will be an act of betrayal, as a devoted wife would feel betrayed after losing her chastity. The solution at such a juncture is: “Accept a Guru in full, whatever his virtues or defects. Do not assess or judge the qualifications required in the Guru”. When we went in search of him, he was the one we got. We dedicated ourselves to him. Does that not mean that Ishvara Himself has sent him to be our Guru? When we look at him as mere human mortal, we get clouded with apprehensions of imperfections or flaws.

Once we trust that he is God-sent or God himself, then there is absolutely no question of any doubts. Will we ever doubt God? Is there a God who is defective and faulty? Even if there is some fault, could it not be only an optical illusion? Similarly, we should treat Guru on par with God. Once we place our Guru on the pedestal with God, there is no other person we must look for. Ishvara is only one! Isn’t it ridiculous to disown one God and seek another? Therefore, once we have accepted someone as our Guru, we should relentlessly espouse devotion towards him. Then, it eventually becomes God’s prerogative to confer on us Jnyana and Moksha through our chosen Guru. Whether our Guru reaches Moksha or not, we will certainly attain Moksha! World may mock us for worshipping a supposedly wicked, evil-spirited guru. Let it.

We are not at any loss at all because of their opinion. Ultimately, at the end, we will defi nitely be blessed with the expected rewards. Once we surrender ourselves to our Guru with a unidirectional focus, Ishvara will confer on us the Atma Jnyana, which is the ultimate reward. There is no permanent gain or loss in this world. It might appear so for some time. You might be calculative anywhere else but not with the Guru. You should absolutely surrender yourself at the feet of Guru. The greatness of Guru is expressed in the following verse: It is our predominant duty to seek a Guru. We need to take shelter under great souls to maintain an unwavering and steady mind.

Once we decide to surrender our mind, how does it matter to whom we surrender? What is great in adoring a Guru who possesses virtuous traits? Only if we surrender ourselves to a Guru, who is not so seemingly great or possessed with virtues, then our mind automatically turns highly matured. We should have strong conviction that God himself has put us in such a situation of being under not-so-great a Guru. God has done so only to strengthen our maturity level.

If water is drawn through a bore well in the Mahamaha Pond, it will give clean water and even a foreigner will take bath with that. Whereas, even though there is muddy water in the Mahamaha Pond and if still one takes bath with that water, it means that the person has true Bhakti. This is the acid-test for our own selves. Our lethargy in putting our mental maturity to test is the only reason for us wanting to search for a great soul as our Guru.

It is just not enough that they are great; our devotion also has to play a role. Let us assume that the priest of a sacred temple is untidy and dirty; do we keep away from worshipping the God of that temple? What is only important is our dedication and willingness to surrender. Irrespective of the characteristics of our Guru, if we are strong in our devotion, we will get more punya. Let our mind not wander or go astray; let us focus it on one single point and surrender at the feet of our Guru with the hope that we will be rightly guided and well protected. If we are strong in our conviction that we will be saved, and remain with the same Guru without wavering, our mission will be accomplished, whether through the blessings of the Guru or God !

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.