At the Feet of The Master

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We  are all children of a great tradition. We all share the unfathomable wealth of a rich tradition, based on dharma. Great Masters showered pearls of wisdom onto every generation. We never looked outside for knowledge, because they always told us to look within ourselves. Before we go any further, let us bow with all humility to the great Masters of all times and their grand teachings that we proudly inherited. We prostrate at the feet of the great Masters, who came forth time and again to show us our real potential.

Just imagine how difficult it would be, if we are asked to wear the clothes that we wore during our school days! It is even more difficult for a completely liberated soul to wear a limited human body, live a whole lifetime with this suffocating limitedness, and exist amongst us. Still they do it out of sheer compassion and sincere love for us, the human kind. They suffer for our sake. They do not want us to “miss the bus” in this lifetime at least.

Yet, we really try our best to miss the Gurus. We try our best to find some excuse to avoid them and go after sensory pleasures. We go for unhealthy fast food, ignoring the rich feast of spiritual knowledge that these Gurus have kept ready for us to enjoy. We choose temporary sense gratifications instead of permanent bliss and liberation.

Why are our choices going wrong all the time, life after life? Why are we “missing the bus” in all our lives? It is the push of the sense related karma. Maybe, we should pay a little more attention to this matter and listen to the great Gurus, who exist only for our sake. They have no private agendas. They have nothing else to do other than to take us to the highest possible level of consciousness in this life.

Divinity becomes unmistakable with enlightenment

Where do you find a true Master? Essentially, within yourself. Your soul. Then, outside yourself, as an the extension of your own soul, is the true Master. A true Master is a true reflection of yourself – Your SELF. The Master who appeared in your life is the right one for you. Whatever you get to listen are the right messages for you. Whatever you read are the right words for you.

You may feel fascination about other Gurus as well. Well and good. Respect all Masters, but, do not ignore your own Master, Guru, whoever it is. Understand very well that the one who appeared to you, is the only one who can take you to the next level. Your class teacher is the most eligible one to teach you in that class, which you have reached by your sincere hard work and hard-earned merits.

Let us not run after the teacher of the next class now. You are not his responsibility at this point of time, be aware. By ignoring your class teacher, you cannot score any merits in your given class too. It is that simple. Be aware of who you are, where you have reached and keep thanking existence for providing the right guide. Existence always does, you see.

A Great Master is well established in the Eternal Truth, the Supreme Father

We have learned to prostrate at the feet of the Gurus. Our elders used to do so. We gracefully inherited this habit. It made us feel better and lighter. Sure, but do we know why we are doing that? We were told that it shows reverence. We are assuming that the Guru whom we prostrate to, is well established in the Supreme Truth, which means He is God realized. We assume that His feet are resting in the ultimate truth, the Supreme Truth. We are prostrating at that stature of the Master, not exactly at the physical image.

The stature of being established in the ultimate Truth. We aspire to be in that state too. We aspire to be God realized. When we prostrate at the feet of the Master, we put our head and heart in one line, which nullifies our ego and intellect, and we express total surrender to the divinity that the Guru is representing or is established in. We cleanse ourselves inside out this way. When Guru’s grace flows as blessings, we burn some of our terrestrial traits effortlessly. Grace is essential for everything including our complete spiritual evolution.

Mental images have no spiritual value

Even though we do not know the spiritual practices that we followed through many life times, we get glimpses of the grace through the proximity of living Masters. This tells us that we have traveled miles to reach here. This does not endorse the false images that a virile mind projects. Mental imageries are only expressions stemmed out of our wishful thinking. Those images have no spiritual value. Nobody gets transferred to the next level by believing in such mental images. In fact, on the contrary, disappointments, disillusionment and depression can happen, in the course of time, if we base our spirituality on false mental images as well as false notions and book knowledge that does not suit our individual constitution.

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The rich tradition that we inherited is essentially the ability to see through fakes, identify true Masters and reach the ultimate truth with their guidance. When our needs are terrestrial, the likelihood of falling into the traps of false masters is much more.

As long as the world exists, Maya will exist. The existence of Maya is as inevitable as our existence. The Father cannot run the divine play without Maya. Maya is the duality. Maya is the visible, tangible or finite face of nothingness or infinity. Maya is the expression of the Almighty. Maya is a challenge for the true seeker.

He will keep asking himself – “is this the truth or is this Maya,” until finally, all experimentations and explorations culminate at one point, and we say – “even I do not exist.” Then, we are home. It is not an expression. It is a deep understanding, a final plunge. That is the time when we actually shake hands with Maya and tell her “Thank you for the journey, it was worth it.”

If we get disillusioned in these seemingly unending trials and errors, we may get stuck on the way and Maya can easily make us take many more detours. Even spiritual practices can become an ally to Maya. Any ritual is Maya. Any sub-consciously induced activity can slip into the realms of Maya. This is the challenge that Maya poses to the real seeker.

Those who are half-hearted will take a break and visit the neighboring pub to cool the burning insides. Those who can stand the fire within and are not afraid to walk alone will continue with the journey. They will reach the destination at the “appointed” time. Again, Maya will pose many hurdles. But, when their vision gets shifted to the space between the eyebrows, they will always see through Maya. Maya is beautiful, but, beyond Maya is the real.

The choice is between the beauty and the real. Many choose beauty because it is sensory. Those who are steadfast in their pursuit will choose the real. This is the wisdom that the great Masters have rendered to us, without expectations. We never bothered to thank them and they were not affected in the least, because, they did not expect anything. Enjoy, grow, this is your game. These are the rules. Play by them, or play beyond them. All the choices are yours. Maya is the referee. Beware!

A True Master is well aware of His disciple’s needs

There is a short cut and an opportunity for a sure shot victory, in this very life – follow the footsteps of a real Master! This does not mean the regular acharyas who hysterically shout variety of book knowledge and lure confused seekers, further confuse them and lead them to lunatic asylums. This means real Masters, who are well established in the “TRUTH.”  

If we surrender to them with complete faith, they will take us to the highest. The best medicine for our disease may not be the most palatable one. But, true Masters will never let their disciples fall. Trust and faith are essential, truly essential. These are the minimum requirements.

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Hanumanji is one of the greatest devotees the world has ever seen. He was the eyes and ears of Rama. He took birth for Rama, lived for Rama and still exists for Rama. He says,  “Oh Lord, by this body, I am your servant. My mind is your mind, your wish is my command. My intellect is yours – you think, I act. My soul is your soul too. We are one.” A great Bhakta indeed!!! True devotion generates immense powers. It is so powerful that it can even surpass the powers of the avatar.

As the great Masters operate from the platform of divine unconditional love, they have no expectations from you. Trust and faith are for your own good, not theirs. Just like the Divine does not need anything from you, because whatever you possibly could give is also a part of Him, a true Master has no terrestrial needs. Whatever you give is accepted for your sake, not for His sake.

So, if you really want to give something to the Master, give yourself. Surrender completely. When ego is thus annihilated, He takes over. The Divine takes over. The biggest barrier between your limited consciousness and the Divine is ego. With a deep and sincere prostration, when the ego gets annihilated, you become Him. He becomes you. The Master who is established in the Supreme Consciousness, blesses you.

You experience His consciousness. The Shiva consciousness. You become one with Shiva. Isn’t that cool? Life is actually so simple, before we decided to complicate it. Understand, simplicity is Godliness. You are God. So, you got to be simple. The great Masters are reminding you of this, with their very existence, life and action. It is up to us to see, feel and experience.

Life is COOL, isn’t it?

I conclude this with my humblest pranaams at the lotus feet of all the Saints and great Masters who showered us with grace, unconditional love and pearls of wisdom. Deepest gratitude to Mother Earth who nourished us and made us grow and evolve. Deepest gratitude to the Supreme Lord, who came back again and again to remind us and guide us back to the Truth, in the form of great Masters.

All great Masters represent the Supreme Lord. All are one and the same. My deepest Pranaams to existence. My Pranaams to the divinity in each one of you who took time to read this. Even I do not exist…