July 14,2013 -50th Anniversary of the MahaSamadhi of our Gurudev Swamiji Sivananda Maharaj
OM NAMO BHAGAVATHE SIVANANDAYA
HARI OM
Guru Bhakti and Guru Seva
Divine Life
Society Publication: Guru Bhakti
Yoga by Swami Sivananda
The Need for Guru A Guru is necessary for every aspirant in the spiritual path to awaken the hidden divine power in the innermost core of disciple’s heart. The disciple will achieve results in proportion to his faith in his Guru. It is the spiritual teacher who will show the way and finally lead one to God. Guru is none but God Himself in human form.
Guru-Bhakti and Guru-Seva are
like the two oars of the boat of Sadhana that takes the disciple across the
torrential stream of Samsara. One who has surrendered himself to his
Guru, one who serves the Guru whole-heartedly, one who has marvellous
Guru-Bhakti, knows no grief, no sorrow, no fear, no pain no misery, no
ignorance and he instantly attains God-realisation. Guru and God are one.
So adore him. One of the greatest souls that ever blessed this universe
with his presence is the radiant Sankaracharya who is Adi Guru and
Jagadguru. If the disciple gets the shelter of the Lotus-Feet of a Guru,
one who has known what has to be known, one who has attained what has to be
attained and who is in a position to show the way, he must think that he is
really thrice-blessed. To get rid of selfishness is most difficult. Only
if a disciple makes a firm, fiery determination to uproot selfishness and
follows this determination by constant grinding, then alone selfishness will go
by the Grace of the Guru. Obey the orders of your Guru and be very
persevering in it. Obedience should be very practical, whole-hearted and
actively persevering. Then only the prescription of the Guru for attaining
Moksha will be fruitful. If the disciple tries to fulfil the dictates of the
Guru in the fullest possible practical manner with perseverance and determination,
he will realise God. Of all the virtues which a disciple must have the
greatest virtue is obedience to his Guru.
Obedience is precious virtue,
because if you try to develop the virtue of obedience, the ego, the arch-enemy
on the path of Self-realisation, slowly gets rooted out. To have complete
obedience to Guru is a difficult task, but by trying with sincerity it becomes
easy. Even ordinary action requires great pain, so in the spiritual path,
one must be prepared to subject oneself to some sort of discipline and try to
cultivate obedience to the Teacher. Far more than worship, garlanding,
and other outward manifestations of one’s inner Bhava of adorations and
worshipfulness, obedience to Guru is greater. Obedience to Guru shows
true reverence unto him. Obedience means trying to act in the way in
which the Guru would like one to act. Supposing one finds that Guru will
not like a certain thing, then one must not do it. It is also obedience. Even
if one possesses all the things that are greatly valued upon earth, one
possesses nothing if his mind is not fixed upon the Lotus-Feet of his
Guru. The Truth is Unity no doubt, but through the vast stretch of dual
experiences one has ultimately to reach the pinnacle of Unity, consciousness
and in this process of attaining it, devotion to the Lotus-Feet of the Guru is
the greatest desideratum and it is one of the greatest of Sadhanas. Again
and again to establish oneself in Guru-Bhakti he should try to employ various
methods. Each Guru administers his medicine (instructions) in the form in
which it can be assimilated by the disciple. ‘Cling on to the Lotus-Feet
of Guru.’ Here underlies the secret of Sadhana.
Continue to read:
Guru Bhakti
Yoga by Swami Sivananda
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