The Gurus (preceptors) of the past taught only from experience; they loved their pupils and sought to correct their faults and failings, that is how their students lead happy and useful lives. When the pupils finally left the Guru's home, he exhorted them to follow two guidelines (Sutras) which were as essential for life as the two eyes (netras) - Speak the truth; Walk on the path of righteousness (Satyam vada, Dharmam chara). The Guru had the faith that the pupil (shishya) would take the advice to heart, for he himself was the living proof of their value and validity. The Guru always takes great care to remove from the heart of the pupil the weeds of evil habits and tendencies, and implant therein the seeds of love. He insists on spiritual discipline (sadhana) for purifying the pupils' minds and to render them strong enough to overcome temptations of all kinds. Virtue and character alone marks a truly educated person.
How were the old Gurus in the past traditions in that so holy culture where everything seems to turn around God only?
The Gurus (preceptors) of the past taught only from experience; they loved their pupils and sought to correct their faults and failings, that is how their students lead happy and useful lives.
We know that masters like the great Shankaracharya had a few disciples only and how do we understand such a school if it is taught only by experience?
Teacher is God and what does that exactly mean? If we identify inside with the teacher the wisdom flows in that inner view in a relationship of inner oneness and in the heart, the teaching is from heart to heart and in the mirror of consciousness and the inner view.
It needs a certain way of focus of the student to get to that inner oneness with his master and an example was Drona, he was a great teacher and the teacher of Arjuna and he was asked by someone else to be his teacher and he had his reasons why he refused to be his teacher, but he went and made a picture out of clay from Drona and thus revering him as his Guru he got all the knowledge and skills he wanted to get. He was worshipping his master and it is said that he became even stronger than Arjuna just by worship. That was for me always the best example of the power of devotion and how we can get self-knowledge and higher wisdom with a spiritual master.
Drona the teacher became to know of it, he asked that student for his thumb and he gave it to him, that way he made sure he couldn't use his skills the wrong way as he was not on the side of the friends, but the enemies. It was about great archery skills, without his right thumb he couldn't fight and use the weapons he got in such a way.
The level of divinity learns in a different manner, it is more by intuition and by inner identification and on the level of the divine we are all one.
It is the heart and the level of love and it is a different level of learning by experience as we might think and there has to be that type of relationship with the inner master to be that experience.
The teachers had to be good examples to correct the faults and failings of the disciples.
What we read here between the words or between the lines is that the teaching is not as we think it is and as we know it from the classrooms. To have such a relationship to the teachers, there had to be discipline and respect, they bowed down in reverence as they do in that culture with the parents, also parents are divine and the guest and they touched their feet as it is still done in that culture.
When the pupils finally left the Guru's home, he exhorted them to follow two guidelines (Sutras) which were as essential for life as the two eyes (netras) - Speak the truth; Walk on the path of righteousness (Satyam vada, Dharmam chara).
What we get between the lines is that the sutras are used as guidelines and the essence is in two sutras, like two eyes, if we keep that in mind it is easier to not forget it.
The sutras are related to the human values, truth and - 'speak the truth' and right action - 'walk the path of right action'.
He said if we want to experience pure love, we first have to understand peace, also a human value and we have to accept truth and if we accept the path of truth, we have to accept right action, only if we have those three things, we are able to get the experience of pure love.
We can see how the human values work together; we know them as Sathya, truth, Dharma, right action, Shanti, peace, Prema, love and Ahimsa, non-violence.
As we are on the path of love, we cannot do it without those two sutras.
We prepare the ground that we can sow the seed of love.
The Guru had the faith that the pupil (shishya) would take the advice to heart, for he himself was the living proof of their value and validity.
The Guru had to be an example. There was lots of respect for the master and not as we do in school teasing teachers and whatever.
If there is love and respect, we take the advice of the master to heart and that is the same with his teaching, we take his advice to heart and only if we take it to heart, he is present and guides from the inside and he also said that he is the man who comes in our dream to awake us, but if we are not ready, he will not come in our dreams, only if we listen to him. Or if he is in our dream to awake us and we ignore it he will be there again. We have to listen to him if he is in our dream to awake us. If we don't listen to him, there will also be no insights.
We have to follow the inner master. As he said once to us in the interview room, 'follow the master, fight to the end, finish the game.'
The Guru always takes great care to remove from the heart of the pupil the weeds of evil habits and tendencies, and implant therein the seeds of love.
The task of the Guru is to plant the seed of love, it is not possible without those two sutras, speak the truth and go the path of right action. By that we prepare the ground that the seed of love can be put in the ground.
He also tell us that in those past times the master had to insist on spiritual practice and discipline to purify the mind. We know that only if we practice meditation, we purify the mind and by that the mind gets stronger so that it can overcome temptations of all kind. Between the lines and in silence and what he is not telling is that if we don't purify the mind, we probably will not be strong enough to overcome the temptations of the mind.
He insists on spiritual discipline (sadhana) for purifying the pupils' minds and to render them strong enough to overcome temptations of all kinds. Virtue and character alone marks a truly educated person.
If we listen to it over and over again we understand that Baba doesn't insist on spiritual discipline like the old masters, but he is telling us what will happen if we don't do it and if we listen to his words, we hear it and if not, we don't hear it. And a lot of people don't listen to him or don't know how to listen to him and even less how to listen over and over again until it gets into action.
We can compare it to today’s markets, it tells us again and again a certain fact, but there are that many others, we don't have the overview and that is the same with the wisdom.
We hear one thing, but we didn't get the other and we lose it. We have to listen over and over again to get there.
If we don't listen over and over again, there are too many details and we hear only part of it and cannot get to the right conclusion. The same with the markets, we don't have the focus on it and we just don't know it good enough and get surprised by it, even though we live in that world and we are all affected by it if we want of not.
We have to listen, we have to think it over and we have to have our focus on something that the wisdom can grow. There is a lot of work done in silence, we hear it and know it and understand it between the lines and not in the words only and if we listen over and over again finally we know what to do.
And if we don't listen, we don't get it as he said before; it has to be done over and over again to make sure it is prodded into action.
That is how we learn, that is how we have to deal with someone who knows and we don't know we listen to that person and we need good company, it needs to be also someone who is focused on the witness and not just on material stuff.
We experience the divine if there is love and peace instead of anxiety and fear.
The good company is essential, it there is good company, we have a mirror and we feel his presence and it is real, as he always said there is no difference between him and his devotees and if we feel his presence it is due to sharing it with good company.
After listening over and over again it makes sense, we listen to Baba's words and it makes sense and it is exactly the same and it will get prodded into action, we know what we have to do and that it is right action and not wrong action, it goes in direction of light and self-realization and not in direction of the dark and self-destruction.
We listen to it over and over again until it is clear beyond mistake, we know there has to be the sutra, (guideline) telling the truth and the sutra, (guideline) of the path of right action and if we know, we also get aware if others don't know, because they don't listen over and over again.
As he said a few days ago:
You are not a despicable creature, born in slime or sin, to eke out a drab existence and be extinguished forever. You are immortal and eternal.
We can hear the call only if we are in silence and only if we hear it in the heart we have to respond with our whole heart. If we are not in silence inside, we cannot hear it and it is impossible to respond with our whole heart.
So when the call comes, respond with your whole heart.
The principle of divinity must be experienced. In our own experience it is silence, but we experience it as the 'I am that'. We know that Baba tells us, 'I am I'. It is the subjective level that cannot be transcended anymore. We prepare the ground to get able to experience the principle of divinity.
It is between the words, it cannot be communicated by the words, therefore, we have to listen over and over, we listen with the heart and we think it over we remember things associations in the mind coming up by thinking it over and that way we get a feeling for it and it becomes part of our own self and can be absorbed.
The richness, fullness and depth of that experience can never be communicated in words. You must feel that it is your highest destiny to attain that experience. You are a mixture of Deha and Deva - the mortal and the immortal.
It is telling us also that inner silence is fulfilling and a feeling of richness and depth and such a great experience, it is impossible to communicate it in words.
We are a mixture of immortal being and the mortal. What do we do with that mixture?
On one side is light on the other the shadow, on one side is truth on the other untruth.
As he said not long ago, if we go for the light, there is a shadow forming behind and we 'follow the shadow'.
How do we understand it right?
How do we follow the shadow? We have to feel it, not avoid it, if we follow the inner master it is just that what will come up, we have to see the illusion in the shadow.
If we follow it and get aware of it, there is shadow and illusion; it falls away, because it is not real. It has not real existence and there is joy, and nothing lost, everything still present as it had been years ago in his Darshan. We are still like sitting in Darshan. And we get aware of love where we would not think that it is possible.
And when love is present, there is also joy, the shadow is removed, it has not reason to be, it is not real, only he is real.
Liberation means stoppage of grief and acquisition of joy. All that you have to do is to place all your burdens on God. It makes you care-free and grief-free.
We learn it between the lines if we listen and when it is joy and not grief?
It is in the silence, it needs as he said not only listening over and over again until it is prodded into action, it needs good company as well to share it, there has to be a mirror.
If we are in not good company and only mind, it is not a mirror and the joy will not be there.
And how do we place the burdens on God?
Whatever we do we can only do our best, afterwards it is up to him, he is the doer, we are not the doer, we just did our best being a good instrument.
Then you will take everything as a divine play of the Lord you love and live in bliss just as He is, when His plans are going through!
If we see it as a divine play of the Lord we love, he is the doer, he is the giver, he is the enjoyer, we also should live in bliss just as He is.
And what is that add on at the end, when his plans are going through, does it mean there is no bliss and no joy if his plans are not going through? There can only be bliss and joy when it is the lord, it cannot be bliss and joy if it is the mind.
What are his plans and what are not his plans? How do we get to know the difference and how do we get enough discrimination to know that we feel comfortable with it and we know that is the right answer and the other is not the right answer.
Is silence his plan, yes certainly and is purity part of his plan, there is no doubt about it and what else is his plan, like he just said that we listen over and over about it to be able to prod it into action? Also the good company is his plan and that we are able to make the right divine experience is his plan.
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