Sep 13, 2009, 12.00am IST
SHRI SHRI NIMISHANANDA.
The external world is only a reflection of our inner world. Our thoughts and feelings dictate the way we perceive and experience life.
People and the environment only respond and correspond to the kind of vibrations we generate. Trapped by emotions and mood swings, we suffer and make others suffer. Though controlling the mind may seem as impossible as harnessing the whirlwind, through the grace and guidance of a guru we can gain complete mastery over it. The guru can totally transform our inner and outer worlds and fill it with bliss, contentment and peace.
In the Guru Gita, Shiva tells Parvati: "It is the existence of the guru that lends reality to our inner world; it is the radiance of the guru which illumines 'That', the Cosmic Consciousness; it is the ananda of the guru that makes all beings blissful. Therefore, offer your salutations to the guru with utmost reverence." The guru is not a vyakti or personality. He is the shakti or energy that connects our soul to the Supreme Soul. Ever one with the Universal Consciousness, he enfolds the cosmos in his being. He is the all-encompassing power of love, the fount of compassion. The guru always propels our minds towards peace and Self-realisation and anchors us in total stability. The brilliant searchlight of his wisdom illumines the hidden recesses of the mind, revealing both the filth and wealth we have accumulated over lifetimes. His grace strengthens our power of discrimination, ignites our willpower and enables us to discard vices and nurture virtues.
To the guru each Soul is precious. Even if we forsake Him, He does not forsake us. Many people relate to us through our body, mind and intellect, but it is only the guru who is interested in our soul. Whether others value us or not, the guru accepts and cherishes us. For this we have to invoke the guru through our love and devotion. If we already have a guru, we start feeling his grace intensely and instantaneously. In the Guru Gita, Ishwara says: "Though the devoted disciple of a Guru may be a fool, all his actions like initiation, vows and penance bear fruit because of the immense Grace of his Guru."
The guru's grace offers refuge to our body, mind and soul, giving us complete protection. Selfless service turns to reverence and this helps us to identify our ego which is preventing us from attaining Self-realisation This reverence dawns with the knowledge that the guru's word is the truth. In the Guru Gita, Shiva says: "The Vedas and scriptures are scintillating jewels at the lotus feet of the guru. His wisdom is the Sun that illumines the highest truths. The word of the guru is the source of all mantras and the grace of the guru is the source of Self-realisation." When we surrender completely to the guru, He balances everything inside us and brings out the sweetness of bliss, the essence of the Soul. He liberates us and shows us how to expand our constricted world into an endless expanse of joy so that we become one with the One with love.
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