Guru Bhakti: A Lesson in Love

VIII

In the Gurbani it says: 

A seer of Truth can lead you to Truth, and from death can take you to Life Eternal.

This then is the purpose of the prayer that the ancients were never tired of repeating time and again:

Oh God, lead me from darkness to Light, from untruth to Truth and from death to immortality.

And now we have seen how we can make this time-hallowed and time-honoured prayer fruitful.

Gurbani says:

He who links you with the Power of God take Him verily to be God.

For who else but God can lead you to God? That is profound Truth and you can verify it for yourself when by mighty good fortune you find a Godman, or a Godman picks you up, for we all are engaged in the game of blindman’s buff:

Satguru Himself is doubtlessly the immaculate One, despite the human garb in which He appears.

Again:

Godman is but Godlike in spite of the human cloak He wears.

In crystal clear words Maulana Rumi declares:

When you approach a Godman, you approach God and when you move away from Him you are farther from God.

Why? Because Godman is a deputy of God Himself on the earth plane. When we sit near a Living Master with a vacant mind, we are filled with His Divine Vibrations which penetrate through the very pores of our body. This is the sign of His greatness and goodness. It is very rarely that we get a Real Satsang, i.e., by a really God-intoxicated person. If we do get an opportunity, we hardly take full advantage of it. Unless we go to Satsang with faith and receptivity, we do not feel the effect of the radioactive rays that emanate from His person. When even a stone lying in water gets the cooling effect of water, there is no reason why a person, howsoever ignorant he may be, should not get intoxicated in the presence of a Divine Being. He will surely breathe the exhilarating fragrance of the Satguru provided his mind is blank – free from worldly preoccupations. A Living Master is Word made flesh and the atmosphere around Him is highly charged with Spiritual Vibrations with the result that one begins to feel their effect and experience blissful calm within. Once one tastes this, one grows indifferent to all the pleasures of the world.

After all there must be some specific Spiritual Gain in the company of a Saint that all the scriptures of the world have spoken so highly of the value of Satsang and its necessity for progress on the Spiritual Path. But a Guru must be a Perfect Guru and not a half prophet laying claim to the whole Truth. It is not a matter of acting or posing but one of revelation of the Life-Principle within. The bitter experience of fake masters compel the people to disown even the greatness of the Real Teachers and they prefer scriptures to direct experience. Once bitten, twice shy. But without the aid of a really Perfect Master, there is no way out for a soul to escape form the shackles of mind and matter in order to enter into Spiritual Realms beyond, to regain the Kingdom of God now and to enjoy Life Eternal. Love of, and obedience to, such a Master unlocks the portals of Heaven and the soul is lead by the ever-loving spouse and Radiant Guru Dev safely from plane to plane and becomes eternally united with the Satguru – Sat Naam or Sat Purush, the True One.

As the water of a river in spite of the enclosing banks remains water, so does the power of God manifests at a Human Pole as Truth itself.

Guru and Satguru are but synonymous terms being just two phases of reality. Outwardly, He is a Guru for imparting Spiritual Instructions to the disciples, but inwardly He is a Satguru for in Him is working manifestly the power of Sat or Truth. He is in brief Word made flesh and dwells among us for revealing to man the lifelines within each individual:

Guru Nanak says,

Oh Lalo, I speak nothing on my own, I open my mouth only at His bidding.

A Guru is One Who has become the mouthpiece of God. The devotion to the Guru then is the first stage in Spirituality and it consists in implicit acceptance of His commandments. 

If you love me follow my commandments, 

was the exhortation of Christ to His followers.

When you come across a Real Guru forget everything else and listen attentively to what He says and even if you do not fully understand His language, it does not matter much. His radiations will of itself have a soothing effect on you. His magnetic rays have an unimaginably long range. If you sit quietly and listen, it will be to your benefit. Try to live up to what you hear, your life will take a change for the better. 

The sage Lukman used to say:

When you go to a Saint sit quietly before Him and listen attentively to what He says on His own.

But do we do so? We keep talking either with others or keep interrupting the Saint by useless questions, with the result that we return empty handed.