Guru Purnima is the special day every year when we invoke the presence of Sri Guru Babaji, Maheshwarnath Babaji. It is celebrated as a commemoration, and also an occasion to pay your respects to the Supreme Teacher. The Supreme Teacher is Parabrahman, the Supreme Being; therefore, the Guru mantra: Brahmanandam paramasukhadam kevalam jnanamurtim;
Purnima means a full moon; the full moon is free of all clouds when it shines. Then, it’s like the fullness of the divine experience that is the Guru. Therefore this relationship between a teacher and the taught, the so-called Guru and the so-called disciple is something to be studied carefully. First, if you come to a spiritual teacher, don’t accept immediately. If you decide to have this teacher, you should observe carefully and make sure you don’t have a relationship and judgements you would have with a normal human being.
Yes, you can stand in judgement, but when you judge, you must also consider the fact that this is not a silhouette, a two-dimensional or a three-dimensional silhouette but that this covers multiple dimensions. Therefore, the relationship between each student and the teacher is an individual one, something vital to understand. We love everybody, want to help everybody but with each person, the relationship is different. Everyone comes after many births — if you believe in births — after many experiences in this life also, we have many births. When you’re a child, you are something. When you grow up, you are something else. Then you are born into married life, then into old age. People are different, depending on their age and their various backgrounds, experiences, so you can’t give a general formula and say —you can give a general formula like tat tvam asi — but not a formula for them to practise commonly, it’s not possible.
Yes, you can give kriya to repair some things which may not be okay. Fine, but for the guidance in life, you can’t tell everybody the same, it’s not possible. This is the special relationship between the teacher and the student. If the teacher is genuine, he studies the background of every child — I’m sorry every student that comes, you can say child also — comes with so many backgrounds. Somebody who is born in such and such a family and has got some specific background, you have to teach that person differently. You can give kriya of course, which is a common practice, but you have to deal with that person. You can’t deal with a man and a woman in the same way. You have to approach in different ways because they have different ways of registering and therefore, whenever you see that the student is moving out of his or her individual path, you should be ready to correct it no matter what the student thinks about it.
So, each person has to be dealt with in a different way. Some people have what you call the dasya bhava — they are ready to do anything, they want to be servants. Others think, ‘oh, we are equal to you. I know everything but with such people, you have to deal with in such a way till they begin to understand that they have not understood anything. Some come with a scriptural background. When such people come, you need to approach them through a scriptural understanding.
When I deal with you, please do not think that I deal with everybody in the same way. This is Guru Purnima, so I’m telling you about how a Guru should be. I may be dealing with each one in different ways. Some people may keep on bombarding me with messages. I don’t answer. Why? Because I don’t want them to get caught up in this message business. Some may send one message in ten years, and I might reply in a long, elaborate way. Not because I dislike or like somebody but because I see the pattern in which it operates. I want to break that pattern first and make it into clay, so that it can be moulded differently later. Now it’s hardened, you can’t do anything with it. You need to break it, there’s no way out.
We have different ways of making people change.
So when a teacher says something, it’s not the words that are important but the effect it has on you. Something to watch carefully. Thus, I’m just giving you some of the little, little things that go on between a teacher and a student, so that you can understand where you are, which part of the journey you’re in, which way you have to move. If you get extremely emotional, it’s possible that the teacher may cut you off if you get emotionally attached. If you’re too dry and there is no emotion, he might do something to change that. What we want is a fully developed human being, developed in all ways, and only such a person can touch the Reality.
Also, there should be no time limit given for this. You can’t say — three days, ten days, one day. Sometimes, you can’t even say one life. The man sitting before you today who’s talking like it’s a big deal, like a teacher, had to go through many experiences in many lives before he e gained some kind of a steadiness. Read ‘The Journey Continues’.
The other thing is if you are really trying to do sadhana, you should also learn to be efficient in whatever you are doing. Sadhana and absolute realisation of the Truth are not for the lazy. Please, let me put it in golden words, it’s not for the lazy. Laziness comes from tamo guna, it’s not sattva guna. However, it might be mistaken for it because even in sattva guna, one is quiet. Laziness is inertia.
So, here are a couple of insights I shared with you on the Guru, the relationship between teacher and student, and the nuances of the individual relationship with a teacher.
And, a teacher should be happy to say that — if you are not interested in the way that we are trying together to bring it about, you’re free to leave. Go to somebody else. We neither lose anything, nor do we gain anything. Yeah, we are sad of course that the person couldn’t understand what was being said. Apart from that, there is no heartburn.
I have this to say that even though you’re not here physically, we are together in this, and I’m praying that all your minds shall shine like a full moon on a cloudless night. On this beautiful night, if your hearts can all blossom and shine like a full moon, then I’m satisfied. Now, if that takes ages and ages and ages, many births, I’m ready to do that. So, even if I go, I need to come back again and again, that’s the fact. So, if we agree, there’s a covenant between you and me — the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ between you and me. So, we can walk together; this togetherness is very important. Sangachadwam: we move together; samvadadwam: study together; samvo manamsi janatam: with our minds put together, may we understand.
So, this covenant between the teacher and the taught — where we overlook each other’s weaknesses, and instead look at the bright side and walk along. Forgive, forget, move forward. This is the best message one can give on Guru Purnima. I don’t care if someone worships me. What I care about is that they listen to the words and try to understand what is being said. Please don’t make the person more important than the teaching. Although, because of a certain blooming inside, people might be attracted. But decide that we also want to reach that stage where we bloom. That should be the main and I’m sure at some point — this life, next life, some point — you’ll all come to that beautiful stage of experience and share it with others because you feel you can’t enjoy the ice cream only for yourself.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
