Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshvarah
Gurur Sakshaat Param Brahma Tasme Shri Guruve Namah
Salutations and Pranam to the sacred lotus-Feet of the Guru whose feet are to be adored & meditated upon, whose words are most holy truths and whose Grace grants us supreme Divine beatitude!
Guru is one who has controlled his mind and who knows how one has to control it. The only thing that stands in the way of our spiritual realization is our own mind and it is to remove this obstacle that one comes to the Guru and surrenders himself unto him. But, then, Guru-Kripa has not only to be bestowed, but it has also to be received. We must be ready to receive it. But, then, how can we receive it? How should we conduct ourselves if we are to receive this Grace?
Carry out the teachings of the Guru; and this should be our Sadhana day in day out. There may be certain inner qualifications which are necessary for the full and effective reception of divine grace; we have to yet wait in humility and in patience. If we have become willing servants and obedient disciples, then it is natural that Guru-Kripa may come.
“Help me in trying to follow thy instructions. Help me in trying to mould myself upon the pattern set up by thee”; this must be our constant prayer. And, by this alone shall we be able to draw the Kripa of our Guru and make our life fruitful.
When an aspirant becomes voluntarily affiliated with a Master, he is said to have become a disciple. The relation between Master and disciple is primarily a relation between the lover and his Divine beloved. From the spiritual point of view it is the most important relationship in a person’s life.
The Master is the Divine beloved, and when the disciple meets his Master, all that he has to do is to love him. He should love in spite of his weaknesses and not rest till he can purify his own heart. The Master is the very source of purity, and to set one’s heart on the Master is the beginning of self-purification. When the disciple has whole-hearted devotion for the Master without any reservations, all his weaknesses are consumed in this fire of divine love of which he thus becomes the recipient, and thus attains incorruptible and infinite purity.
Complete self-surrender and unquestioning love becomes possible when the disciple achieves unswerving faith. Till this state of realisation is attained, the faith which the disciple places in the Master is his most reliable guiding light and is comparable to the steering wheel of the ship. Thus, disciple’s actions should also be steered by faith.