According to the ancient Indian scriptures there are two type of vidyas (knowledge), known as apara vidya and para vidya. We need teachers for both. Apara vidya is related to material knowledge while para vidya is the experience of spirit or consciousness. All the information about the world around us that comes in through our senses or intellect, as well as the branches of science and philosophy which we develop to organize and interpret this information (including scriptures), falls into the category of material science. The para vidya , on the other hand, is the science of spirit, the science of consciousness. Satguru is the one who triggers the quantum leap in consciousness. He reveals the know-how, the living technique of linking the mind with the all- permeating consciousness - the soul - within. All the masters have proclaimed that scriptures by themselves cannot reveal the divine within us. For that we need a living master who can open up the inner channel which leads to that level. He shows us how to refine our awareness so that we can tune into the eternal vibration, the cosmic engine which is the source of all creation. Invariably the scriptures of all religions eulogize the divine master and emphasize his important role in spiritual realization.
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'Satguru' means 'the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance and reveals the Inner Light'. Spiritual Masters or enlightened souls come into the world to transmit to others the knowledge of the Self. They come to liberate us from the restrictions of our materialistic vision. Satguru is therefore called 'the deliverer'.
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Shri Hans Ji Maharaj gave Knowledge to the Raja of Simla. Every day that Raja’s gardener used to stand by the door and listen to satsang. One day he asked Shri Hans Ji if he could receive the same Knowledge as the Raja had. Shri Hans Ji said, “Yes, you can receive it if you wish.” The poor gardener started crying and said, “But it’s only for the rich people. How could it be for the poor also? So Shri Hans Ji explained that the Name of God is within everyone, rich and poor alike. So that gardener asked for Knowledge and received it. When the Raja found out that now he and his servant had the same guru, he was very displeased. Shri Hans Ji knew what was upsetting him. The next morning, just as the sun was rising, he said in a loud voice, “O Sun! Only shine on me! Don’t give any light to this Raja or his gardener!” The Raja exclaimed,. “Shri Hans Ji, why are you talking like this?” Shri Hans Ji answered, “This is the answer to what is bothering you.”
The great souls come for one and all. The same water quenches everyone’s thirst. All babies in the womb are human beings and nothing else. At that time they don’t belong to any religion. All people are born in the same way. We are all the same. We have to get rid of all feelings of difference and realize the Holy Name. People of different religions went to Guru Nanak and became his followers. People of all religions took the shelter of Lord Buddha. Realized souls never get caught up in sects and religion. They see everyone as human beings and nothing else. They reveal the secret of universal religion. There has never been a time when a great soul was not living in this world. You can receive the same Knowledge which Lord Krishna revealed to Arjuna. Only some one who has realized knowledge himself can reveal it to others. Only people who don’t have Knowledge will tell you that it is impossible to get it in this day and age or that it doesn’t exist at all. But that’s not true. The seed is never destroyed. Great Powers definitely take birth in this world.
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People spend their lives in tension and anxiety. Where can we find peace? Within ourselves. So you have to follow the teachings of the great souls. They themselves made great sacrifices for the sake of others. I’m not telling you to change your religion, but you should also remember the thing which will protect you. Draupadi protected herself by remembering the Holy Name. Sita was held captive by demons in the middle of the forest, but she protected herself by remembering this name. Spirituality protects those who practice it. What power protected us when we were in the womb? And after you die, which religion will you practice? God did not make Hindus or Muslims. He made only human beings. We are all humans, and the same life-force is present within each and every one of us.
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There is a story that a poverty-stricken man was walking along a road. Shiva and Parvati also happened to be going along that road. Parvati said, “Lord, look how poor that man is. We must give him something.” Lord Shiva said, “It’s his lot to be poor. Forget about it.” But Parvati, out of compassion, said, “No, Lord. Put a bag of money in front of him. He’ll see it and take it.” So Lord Shiva put a bag of money a little further along the road. Just as the poor man approached it, a strange mood came over him and he started stumbling and carrying on like a blind man. He missed the money and went on his way. Then Shiva said, “See, Parvati! At this very spot he started acting crazy! If he had seen the money his poverty would have been removed for life.” This is mankind’s situation. Great souls definitely do come into this world, but people are caught up in religions and class-consciousness, and waste their lives.
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The knowledge is revealed by the Guru.Lord Krishna gave Knowledge to Arjuna, who then addressed Him as “Yogi of yogis” . Arjuna said ,”Please forgive me for calling you my friend and being familiar with you.” He only said this after he had received Knowledge. Many people think that they can get Knowledge just by reading scriptures. You can feel temporarily peaceful from scripture reading, but you can’t get the practical Knowledge of God from them. Only a realized soul can impart this Knowledge. So you must search for one. If you seek, you will find. If you have already received Knowledge, you must meditate and remember the Holy Name.
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Namdev was a great saint. He didn’t have Knowledge, but God used to appear before him and talk to him. One day God said to him,”Namdev, I come to you because of your love, but you can’t progress spiritually until you receive Knowledge.”So Namdev went and received Knowledge from Saint Gyaneshwar.So even someone who could make the Lord appear to him needed Knowledge.
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Concentration is a function of the mind. People go to movies and the theatre. They travel far for sightseeing. They say, “Oh, I had a wonderful time today! I feel very happy!” Why? Because when the mind is concentrated we feel happy. However, the saints have always shown the inner, not the outer road to bliss. The living God is within you. Direct your love to the inner light. This divine light is shinning of its own accord within all of you, but without Knowledge you don’t know it, because it doesn’t announce it own presence. Saint Tulsidas said that even the impossible, such as extracting oil from sand or butter from water, may become possible, but without Knowledge no one can cross the ocean of mortality. So you must search for this Knowledge. It can be found. Don’t think that it can’t. If it couldn’t be had, then all the scriptures would be false. Lord Krishna told Arjuna, “I am always in the world.” If God is not omnipresent, how did He appear to rescue Draupadi? Prahlad’s father intended to tie him to a red-hot iron pillar. Prahlad prayed to the Lord for rescue. At that very moment the column burst open and the Lord appeared as the Narsingh Avatar-half lion and half man. The saints say that God dwells within very particle of the universe.
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When we construct a building, we lay the foundation first. Once it is firmly in position, we can erect a huge building on it. The same applies to us. First we must have a proper object of meditation, then we can meditate and be devotees. But the mind is very unsteady. The mind flies around in all directions, so how can you meditate? How can the mind be brought under control?
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This human body has been called the gateway to liberation. So now is the time to wake up, because it will be too late when you are on your deathbed. Mira Bai said, “Why should I marry a husband who is going to die anyway? I prefer the Beloved who can make me immortal.” In Arti, a devotional song to the Master, we sing, “You are my mother, You are my father, You are my brother and You are my friend; You are my all, my Lord, to me.” For the devotee, God is everything, and this love takes him to God.
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There was a man named Shishupal who found 101 faults in Krishna, and on the other hand there was Arjuna to whom Krishna was the Lord, the ‘Yogi of yogis.’ The Gopis, the milkmaids of Vrindaban, also regarded Him as their Lord. They loved him so much that He appeared to each Gopi in the form which please her most. The same Lord of the Universe, whom even advanced yogis can’t see in meditation, used to play with Gopis and eat the butter and milk which they offered Him. Nowadays, people wonder when Lord Krishna will come again. Who knows how many times He has come already! There has never been an era, there has never been a time, when the Great Powers didn’t come into this world. One saint said, “Don’t befooled by the external appearance of a teacher, but ask about the Knowledge that he gives. Find out the value of the sword and don’t concern yourself with its sheath.” You’ll find all kinds of sadhus, including those who live at cremation grounds, but they are not true yogis. A yogi, a person who can reveal spiritual Knowledge, is very rare.
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When a small child first starts school, he makes excuses not to go, but his parents send him anyway because they are thinking of his future. They hope he’ll grow up to be a professor or an engineer and earn high degrees. They are prepared to go without for the sake of his education. Realized souls are also like that. They endure joy and suffering, heat and cold, for the sake of others. A river quenches the thirst of people. It doesn’t drink its own water. Saints are like that. They come into this world to explain the Truth to humanity and give Knowledge to those who love God.
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As soon as there is realization (awakening to the fact) that we are not separate entities but Consciousness Itself (with sentience acting as the means for cognizing the manifestation), the illusion of separateness— the cause of our suffering and bondage— disappears. There is then the clear apperception that unmanifested, we are Noumenon, and while manifested, we are appearance— no more separate than substance and its form (gold and the gold ornament). Manifestation arises from the Unmanifest and in due course sinks back into the Unmanifest. The human beings as individuals are really quite irrelevant, except, of course, as illusory characters in a dream play which is known as “life.”
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Every thing or object in the manifested universe is a product of Consciousness, both during the illusion when the manifestation appeared to be “real” and after the realization of the Truth.We are nothing but Consciousness, and never have been anything else. Perhaps it would be easier to “understand” the Truth if it is conceived that there never has been any “we” at any time, and that all there is— and has ever been— is Consciousness. “We” think of ourselves, consciously or unconsciously, as sentient beings and therefore as separate from the manifestation: “we” are the subject and the rest of the manifestation is the object. The reality is that “we”, as manifested phenomena, are actually nothing but a part of the one manifested universe. What makes us think of ourselves as separate is the fact that the apparent universe becomes known to us, as sentient beings, through sentience operating through congnitive faculties. This “sentience,” as an aspect of Consciousness in Itself, is a direct manifestation of the whole-mind. And it is for this reason that we cannot get rid of the deepest feeling that “I” am other than the manifested appearance. And so indeed we are, but the illusion (the maya) consists in the fact that instead of collectively considering ourselves as sentience which enables us to cognize the manifestation (including sentient beings) which has appeared in Consciousness, we consider ourselves as separate individual entities. And therein lies our suffering and bondage.
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Every event, every thought, every feeling concerning any “individual” is a movement in Consciousness, brought about by Consciousness.
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With the ego having been destroyed the sage does not get proud; the sage does not feel guilty; the sage does not hate or envy anybody. So the absence of guilt, pride, hate, envy makes life peaceful. And that is what the search has all been for— peace during the waking state which exists in the deep sleep state. My concept of all spiritual search is to have that peace which prevails during deep sleep even during the waking state, during your ordinary working life. And that kind of peace prevails in your daily life if this happens: there is no ego to feel guilt, pride, hate, or envy.
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The compassion of a sage may take any form. Finding someone hurt he may bandage them, or seeing someone in need he may reach into his pocket and give some money. So the compassion arises and takes its own course, but the sage is never involved in that action as “his” action. The sense of personal doership has been erased forever. He just witnesses things happening not as “my” action or someone else’s action. If an action from some other body-mind organism hurts the sage, the hurt will be there. But knowing that no one does anything, Consciousness is all there is, the sage cannot hate anybody. Whom will he hate? All actions are God’s actions. Or if your wish to put it another way, all actions are the impersonal functioning of Consciousness. So “whom” will the sage hate? Consciousness? God?
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If the body-mind organism of a sage has the programming to be quick of temper, then that sage before liberation happened got angry very quickly. And after enlightenment the sage continues to become angry very quickly. The programming is for anger to arise. The only difference is that earlier the sage used to say, “I shouldn’t get angry with my friends. My friends don’t like it. And I’m told I must not get angry because my blood pressure will rise, therefore I’m told that I must control my anger.” All that was the involvement of the ego, which used to happen before the ego was destroyed. What happens after the ego has been destroyed? When anger arises the sage does not say, “ I am angry. I shouldn’t get angry.” He doesn’t say that. The anger that arises and the effect of it is merely witnessed, including the consequences. On the other hand, if something is happening and compassion arises, earlier the ego would have said, “I am a compassionate man and people should respect me.” But after the ego is destroyed there is no such thinking. The sage does not think like this. All he sees is compassion arising and taking its course.
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What remains in the case of a body-mind organism called a sage? The programming remains. That’s why you may have ten sages, and in each case the sense of personal doership has been demolished, but they differ in life. Why, because the programming is different. In other words, even though the ego is destroyed, the Source continues to use those body-mind organisms of the sages in the same way the Source uses other body-mind organisms— to put in an input and bring out an output. So the body-mind organisms of the sages continue to function exactly like before but without the sense of doership and separation.
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Remember, the Source having created this ego, or Divine hypnosis, is in the process of removing the hypnosis in a few cases, not in all cases. So the ego— the sense of separation, the Divine hypnosis, the sense of personal doership— basically has been destroyed by the Source in the case of a few body-mind organisms called sages.
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So the ego has also come from the Source. That is why I call the ego Divine hypnosis. The hypnosis is— “I” consider myself a separate being with a sense of doership. Why has the Source created the hypnosis of separation, because without separation interhuman relationships won’t happen. It is only because of this separation that we have friendship and enmity, love and hate. All that arises only because each individual considers himself or herself a separate being. And without interhuman relationships life as we know it would not happen.
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Every religion tells you to get rid of your ego, but the “one” to whom the religions tell to get rid of the ego— is the ego! The ego is told to get rid of the ego! But the ego is not going to commit suicide. Therefore the question really is, Who created the ego? That the ego has to be got rid of— agreed. But who created the ego? You didn’t create the ego. Where could the ego have come from? Where could it have come from except from the Source! Whether you call that Source Consciousness or Primal Energy or God or Awareness makes no difference, so long as you understand that it is the Source— One without a second.
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What is ego? Ego is that which separates me from the total. The feeling that I am a separate person with free will and responsible for my actions creates the sense of ego. The ego is the false (ME) created by the identification of consciousness with mind and body. The ego is therefore, the cause of bondage.
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Suppose you want to purchase an acre of sky. Can a real estate agent sell it to you? No, because the sky is not for sale. It has no boundaries. However, if you purchase an acre of land, the air above it is automatically yours, too. The Master is like that acre of land. When you find him, the infinite Knowledge, like the sky, becomes yours. The Master is the medium which makes the Unmanifest manifest. He turns an ordinary person into a spiritual being. He makes us realize what we really are and helps us let go of what we are not. There was a saint named Dharamdas who said, "I bow to the holy feet of my Guru, who revealed God's Name to me. Its sound awakened my mind which had been slumbering in ignorance for lives together. Darkness prevailed and nothing was visible until my Guru lit the lamp of Knowledge in me. His Nectar stilled all desires, which used to arise like poisonous waves in my heart. Deep and unfathomable is the river of life. Master, please sail my boat across it."
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Not everyone who calls himself a guru can give you this. The true Master is not a dead weight; he is a living reality who can show you the Truth. He can pull you out of the swamp and put you on the right path. And not only you, but thousands. A magnet has the ability to attract not one, but countless iron filings. Its magnetic field draws all kinds of metallic things and they attach themselves to it. A spiritual man, a realized soul, is like a magnet. He attracts one and all - he doesn't discriminate against anyone. The magnet transfers its magnetism to the pieces of iron. St. Kabir attributes the same quality to the Guru: "Prostrate yourself to your Guru countless times, because he can make you like himself, just as the bhringi wasp turns other insects into its own shape." This wasp is supposed to carry off the larvae of other insects, enclose them in a cocoon and, by emitting a certain humming sound, transforms them into its own shape. The Guru is like this. Through the Knowledge he gives, he can make a disciple as enlightened as he is.
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God is infinite and our senses are finite. How can something infinite be grasped by the finite? How can the ocean be poured into a jug? That is why Krishna told Arjuna, "I will give you the Knowledge which is itself infinite, in which the whole universe is contained." So Knowledge is something very great. You cannot enter the door to God without the key of Spiritual Knowledge.
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We can travel all over the country finding out by trial and error which road goes where, but why go to all this trouble? Simply ask someone the way! After all, life is not very long. It is not long enough to investigate all the possibilities. That is why the scriptures say, "Meditation starts from contemplating the Guru, worship starts at his feet. His word is the basis for controlling the mind and liberation comes through his grace." If you have the address of this house, you can reach here by asking along the way, but if you don't know the address, how can you ask for directions? People wonder, "Where should we fix our mind? On what should we meditate?" That is why you need the Master.
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Why do we need a Guru? Just think about this - whatever learning or skills we have now, we learned through some kind of teacher. You need someone's help to learn how to read. Children are sent to school to learn something. Even when we started walking, we needed someone to hold our hand and guide us. When a child learns to ride a bicycle, someone has to hold it for him and show him how to keep his balance. He falls over several times, but through practice learns how to balance and then has no difficulty at all in riding. And when it comes to spirituality, to getting the Knowledge which leads to salvation, a Teacher is essential, too. The scriptures are quite firm on this point.
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A saint can bring the devotee close to God. But people go on pilgrimages to shrines and then go home. Why do they put God so far away from themselves? If He is omnipresent, why go only to a certain place to see Him? If the Lord is omnipresent, if He is the indwelling Reality, why have we enshrined Him so far away? Why isn't He close to us? So saints give the spiritual knowledge which brings the devotee into the presence of God.
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Why is the Knowledge secret? Because cheap things are rarely pure. Goods sold in the market can be adulterated. Similarly, this Knowledge is kept secret so that it won't get contaminated or diluted, so that only a true seeker, a sincere aspirant, will find it. And the spiritual Master holds the key.
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So why is a Spiritual Teacher necessary? When something is written down, many people study it. When you study something, you understand it according to your own IQ, according to your mental capacity. Words can be twisted and changed. If spiritual knowledge could be transcribed on paper it could get twisted and perverted. That is why Knowledge has to be given by a living soul to another living soul. Only a living Master can convey that Knowledge to another living soul, and that makes it a living Knowledge. It makes the Knowledge alive. If you transcribe anything into books, you make it dead.
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