Master and His Function

Realisation cannot be achieved by mere abhyas, for the reason that at higher stages the conditions are such that even if one ascends a little by self-effort he quickly slips down because of the strong push from above. Hence, so far as our entry into the higher regions is concerned the help of Master is indispensable. For the practical aspect of sadhana too, it is essential for everyone to take up the practical course of spiritual training for which we have to seek proper guidance. There have been cases, however, where sages have attained perfection by mere self-effort by surrendering themselves direct to God. But such examples are rare. It is really a very difficult course and can be followed only by persons especially gifted with uncommon genius. Guru is the connecting link between God and man. It is through his medium only that we can reach God. He is the only power that can extricate us from the intricacies of the path.

It is also necessary that the guide we select must be one of the highest calibre and worthy of the task of tearing off the intricacies at a glance with the aid of the extraordinary power at his command. The conception of a guru as mother is in my opinion by far the most appropriate and advantageous to a disciple. A mother is the very embodiment of love and affection. Only a mother's heart can bear with patience all troubles and miseries caused to her by her son, thinking all the while of trying to provide for her son's comfort and happiness. The same is the position of the real Master or Guru who is the spiritual mother of the disciple. As such the guru is always on the look out for the spiritual welfare of the child, the disciple. It is due to the affectionate attachment of the guru with his disciple that the attention of the great Father with whom his spiritual mother (the guru) is so closely connected, is directed towards him, the disciple. The function of a mother and of a true guru are closely similar. The mother retains a child within her womb for a certain duration. The guru too retains the spiritual child within his mental sphere for a certain duration. During this period the disciple, like the baby in the womb, sucks energy and gets nourishment from the spiritual waves of the guru's thoughts. When the time matures he is born in a brighter world and thence his own spiritual life begins. If the disciple enters the mental sphere of the guru surrendering all belongings to him, it takes only seven months to deliver him into the brighter world. But the process is generally delayed for a considerable time because while living in the guru's mental sphere the disciple retains the consciousness of his own thoughts and feeling. Thus we find that the position of a guru is much the same as that of a mother. The conception of guru as a spiritual mother promotes in us feelings of love, reverence and surrender which are the main factors of spiritual life.

The selection of a worthy guru is no doubt a very difficult job. On the basis of my personal experience I may give you an easy method of judging. When you happen to come into contact with one, try to understand whether his association promotes in you a feeling of peace and calmness and silence for the time being at least, the restless tendencies of mind without causing any weight or effect upon it. If it is so you should conclude that he can be a fit man to lead you on the path. There is another difficulty as well. It is that even if such a Master is available and accessible, he is not trusted unless he plays some striking miracle. A raja yogi endowed with the power of transmission can no doubt display miracles but he never likes to do so since that will be derogatory to his real conditions. We have the example of Christ who displayed miracles all his life. But in spite of all that, he got only twelve disciples amongst whom there was even that one who subsequently brought about his crucifixion. That shows that his miracles were of no avail in promoting faith among people. It was, in fact, his noble teachings alone that afterwards secured for him such a large following. It is, therefore, in our best interest, to have our eyes fixed upon Reality rather than upon miracles which are undoubtedly very petty affairs and can be displayed by a person of comparatively inferior attainments and talents. Miracles are no criterion for a saint or a yogi. It is on the other hand, a deliberate fraud played by dexterous gurus upon weak and credulous people to entrap them in the fold of their gurudom. Before deciding about the final selection, one must be fully convinced of a man's capabilities and merits with regard to his practical attainments on the path. For this he must have continued association with him to judge things through perception and experience in a practical way. When he is thus convinced, he must then trust him in good faith and rely upon him firmly. This is very essential for a successful pursuit.

I have a heart ever ready to help anyone who might be in need of it. I take the task only as a humble servant of humanity. There are and have been masterly gurus who work and have worked as masters in their time, but I prefer to be a servant instead and to work as a servant for the good of the people in general. Please do what you are told and inform me of your day-to-day progress and also of the difficulties if any. I may assure you that you can achieve the goal very easily if you go on persistently with constant remembrance.

Learned teachers of religion generally induce people to worship gods and deities. He alone who has travelled the path up to the final point, can guide successfully. Learned teachers are more like roadside signposts which tell you where the road leads to. This is all the purpose they can serve. It is no doubt very strange that one aiming at freedom from materiality should fall upon material forms and grosser conceptions.

We know that it is not royal robes alone that make a real king. Similarly it is not the form or dress that makes a real saint or a yogi. Outward physical features are not the sure indications of the heart within. Gurus of today might conveniently be classified under the following heads:

1. Quacks: Those who go about advising and conducting the worship of trees, animals, insects, diseases, ghosts and spirits.
2. Book-Moths: Those who prescribe practices and methods which they have picked up from books.
3. Practical teachers: Those who prescribe to others that which they do or have done, not taking into account the merits or demerits thereof.
4. Inspired teachers: Those who guide people on the basis of their inner inspirations.
5. Inspired experienced teachers: Those who guide people on the basis of their practical experience supported by higher inspiration.

In the same way disciples may also be classified as follows:

1. Self-seekers: Those who take up the pursuit for the fulfilment of the yearnings of their senses (needs).
2. Time passers: Those who take it up as a pastime (kalakshepaka).
3. Followers: Those who try to follow the guru's directions.
4. Earnest Disciples: Those who try to follow in the steps of the guru and try to copy him.
5. Devout Disciples: Those who become the focus of Master's attention.
   
   

Transmission

By the grace of my Master I shall try to reveal a great secret or mystery which the people in general do not know. It is a great wonder when a great personality like Lord Krishna, Swami Vivekananda or my Master changes the entire course of a man's life. It is absolutely necessary for us to find out such a guide who can lift us higher and higher by his power. This mystery is known as pranahuti ¾ the power of transmission. This is power working through the channels of pure mind. Pranahuti is effected through the power of will which is always effective. If a trainer in spirituality exerts his will to mould the mind of the trainee, it will be effective and yield excellent results. Many swamijis who start the profession of gurudom as soon as they put on the ochre coloured uniform, complain that although their disciples listen to them with interest yet they remain as crooked as the tail of the dog afterwards. The reason is obvious. Either the swamiji does not exert his will or he has got no power. They prescribe many laborious and brain-taxing practices and leave their disciples to their own fates. Neither the teacher knows the result of the practices nor does the disciple care to use his discrimination. The result is grossness and dullness of intellect on the part of the disciple, and corruption, degradation and moral turpitude on the part of the gurus who are only conscious of their right to teach and quite unmindful of their duties and responsibilities.

Some sceptics may say that it is after all due to the person, who wanted to change himself, and the master or guru was the cause merely for name's sake. If Lord Krishna had such power why did he not change the heart of Duryodhana instead of bringing about the battle of Kurukshetra? They may also quote many stories wherein somebody taking a worthless person or even a lifeless object as a guide has become a great saint. But this does not hinder us in trying to find out Reality because God's ways are mysterious. Some are deluded by their own thinking and some are illumined by the Divine Grace.

The worthy trainer by the power of yogic transmission weakens the lower tendencies in the mind of the trainee and sows the seed of divine light in the innermost core of his heart. In this process the trainer uses his will-force which has Divine Infinite at his back. In a way he is conscious of That; and he just focusses it through the lens of his goodwill upon the heart of the trainee. The trainee may not feel anything in the beginning. The reason is that he is accustomed to feel only through the senses. After sometime, however, he may feel the results of such transmission, which also are in the form of subtle changes of the working of his vital parts and tendencies of his mind.

It is a matter of great regret and pity that this age-old process of yogic transmission originated and widely practised by our ancient sages has now gone into complete oblivion in the very land of its origin, where, today, only a few might feel inclined even to believe it. Some people try to ridicule it by misinterpreting it as nothing but mesmerism or hypnotism. The results of mesmerism or hypnotism are contrary to those of pranahuti. In these baser arts the hypnotiser uses his will-force with the backing of material power. The will of the hypnotised person is weakened, and he finds himself dull and heavy-hearted, after he wakes up from the hypnotic trance. A disease may be cured or a particular tendency of minor nature may be suppressed to some extent depending upon the power of the hypnotiser and the submission of the hypnotised. But the effect does not last long. The hypnotic power is developed by some intense mental and physical practices using material things or mental images as objects of concentration. These practices often lead one to mental deformity or insanity and sometimes even physical deformities will be the result. A successful practice may, however, result at the most in the gain of some material power, which is limited and useful only for the gratification of some kinds of desires as long as it lasts.

Here I may assure you, that spiritual training for the attainment of higher stages is only possible by the process of yogic transmission and by no other means.