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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] disciple accrue to the Guru. Therefore be on guard and carry out his behests faithfully, lest your sins of omission and commission recoil upon the Guru. CHAPTER VIII DEVOTION TO GURU * Therefore worship him, worship his feet, cherish the sandals which house his feet, the paduka. Just as the essence of Speech is there below in the basic centre, muladhara, just as the lowest in the rung - the sudras and the like - are the effective instrumentations, similarly in the Ocean of Kula all knowledge is founded on the paduka. Remember and cherish this paduka which yields infinitely more merit than any number of observances, gifts, sacrifices, pilgri- mages, mantra-japa and rituals of worship. It is that which, remembered, protects in times of distress and danger and calamity. Study, remembrance, knowledge, donations and sacri- fices and worship are truly done by him who ever remembers on the tip of his tongue the Mantra of this paduka. Look towards the direc- tion in which the lotus feet of the Guru lie and bow to it every day with devotion. There is no mantra higher than that of the paduka, no god higher than the Guru, no initiation than that of the Sakta and no merit higher than the Kula worship. At the root of dhyana is the form of the Guru; at the root of puja is the feet of the Guru; at the root of the mantra is the word of the Guru and at the root of all liberation is the grace of the Guru. In this world all holy actions are rooted in the Guru; therefore is the Guru to * Ullasa 12 78 KULARNAVA TANTRA be constantly served with devotion for fulfil, ment. All fear of distress, grief, avarice delusion, bewilderment, exists only as long as one does not take refuge in the Guru All wanderings in samsara fraught with grief and impurity last as long as one has no devotion to a holy Guru. The beautiful mantra of the paduka whose root is in the grace of the Guru, loaded with the fruit of all fulfilment purifies and leads to the supreme Truth. As the boon-giving Guru gives the mantra in contentment and beatitude, try to please him with devotion, wealth, your very life. Indeed, it is only when the high Guru gives himself to the disciple that he becomes liberated, free from birth. The disciple should wait upon him till he gets pleased, for once he is pleased, all the sins drop away. These lovers of the devoted get for their dependents what they may not even hope for. When the Guru is pleased, even Gods like Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesha, sages and yogins, bestow their grace. Directed by the compassionate Guru who is pleased with devotion, the disciple attains liberation from karma and becomes eligible to both freedom and fulfilment. Hence shall the disciple do what is pleasing to the Guru, by his mind, speech, body and action. When the Guru so pleased says, 'You are freed,' indeed, one attains to liberation. From his transcendent station, the Lord in the form of the Guru frees one from the bonds of the pasu. Devotion to the Guru is the one main truth; without that all learning, all austerity, family status, observances are useless; they are only decorations pleasing to the worldly eye. Whatever one's station is in life, if he be devoted, 79 DEVOTION TO GURU he is dear to the Lord and as adorable as the Lord Himself. The fire of devotion to the Guru burns away- all taint of bad thought. With devotion even a cooker of kine is laudable and a learned man without it is an atheist. He who has complete devotion, steady and constant in the Guru, what has he to worry about dharma, artha etc.? Moksha is in the hollow of his palm. For him who devotedly remembers, "My Guru is Shiva Himself who grants liberation and enjoyment", fulfilment is not far off All objects fructify in him who has supreme devotion to the Lord and as to the Lord so to the Guru. As to Narayana, to Mahadeva, to one's own mother and father, so is devotion to be had to one's own Guru. Look upon the Guru and his wife as your parents, as the very Narayana and Lakshmi, as Brahma and Saraswati, as Shiva and Girija. Not by sacrifice, gifts, askesis, pilgrimage are all siddhis obtained in the manner they are by devotion to the Guru. As the steady devotion for the Guru grows, so grows one's knowledge. Why the pains of long pilgrimages? Why the observances that emaciate the body? All the fruit anticipated from such austerities can be easily obtained by motiveless service to the Guru. The Sruti declares that for those who seek for fulfilment and liberation, who aspire to attain to Brahma, Vishnu and Isha, devotion to the Guru is the Path and no other. Like fire consuming a whole heap of cotton, this devotion burns away in a moment all inauspicious karma and great sins. Glory to that faith in the Guru, giver of all fulfilments, by which even mud, wood and stone yield fruit without fail. Neither 80 KULARNAVA TANTRA yoga nor tapas nor ritual of worship attain; here in this Path of Kula, free from Maya, only bhakti excels. When the entire universe is looked upon as pervaded by the Guru, what Mantra can fail to fructify in that field of the devoted ? To perdition he goes who regards the Guru as human, the Mantra as mere letters and the Images as stone. Never look upon the Guru as a mortal. Should you do so then neither Mantra nor worship can give you success. Do not associate the holy Guru with the ordinary folk either in your remembrance or in talk. Otherwise all the good that is done turns into evil. The parents are indeed to be adored with all effort because they are the cause of your birth. But the one to be worshipped especially is the Guru who shows what is Dharma and what is not.* Indeed, the Guru is the father, Guru is the Mother, Guru is God Maheshwara Himself. Even when God Shiva is wroth, the Guru is the saviour; but when the Guru himself is angered, there is none to save. By mind, by speech, by the body, by action, do what is help- ful to the Guru; to do what is contrary to his well being is to invite a precipitous fall. Death follows the forsaking of the Mantra; wretched poverty follows the forsaking of the Guru; forsaking of both the Guru and the Mantra leads to the very hell. Bear the body for the sake of the Guru; acquire wealth for the sake of the Guru; exert yourself for the Guru regardless of your own life. If the Guru speaks harshly take it as * The parents give only a human birth in this world, but the Guru ensures a birth in godhead in this world and the next. DEVOTION TO GURU 81 a benediction; even a beating from him take as a gift. Whatever objects of enjoyment there be, offer them first to the Guru and take to them as his leavings. When the Guru is present no tapas is necessary; neither is fasting nor observances; neither pilgrimage nor purificatory bath. To the Guru, you shall not command nor talk in the singular; with the Guru you shall not transact any business of purchase and sale or borrow and lend. Do not enter into argument with the deniers of God nor even talk to them; avoid them from afar; do not sit in their company at any time. When the Guru is present, do not proceed to worship another; that worship will prove fruitless When you hold the lotus of his feet on your head, you have no burden to carry. You have only to act as per his command; for the Guru is indeed the command. What you hear elsewhere regarding Mantras and Agamas report to him and accept only what is approved by him and reject what is not. What he speaks from his own knowledge, do not speak of that secret to others; to talk of it is to break the understanding. Feel one with the Guru and not as another; and do good to all as your own. Service to the Guru is fourfold: service by self, service by means, service by honouring, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |