AvadhootaDatta Peetham

Translations of Pujya Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji’s daily explanation of Sri Guru Gita on ETV from Datta Jayanthi in Dec 2013 onwards in Telugu

Episodes 301 to 334

Listen to Sri Guru Gita episodes on vimeo:
Observe the parrot from Shuka Vana. Find out of the species it belongs to and make a note.
Visit for photos of parrots and information on the different species.
A parrot first listened to the secret knowledge about Guru while Siva was explaining it to Parvati. Later Sage Suka (Parrot) gave this knowledge to his father Veda Vyasa. It was revealed to humanity through Srimad Bhagavatam and Skanda Purana.

At end of the year 2014 during Datta Jayanthi in December, there will be held a competition.

Episode 301

Tests. What does that mean? Tests in the classroom? No. As soon as they hear about the Guru’s tests, some people get scared. “That is why we are not even going to the Guru, he keeps testing”. Out of fear, a lot of people do not even take refuge with the Guru. Lot of people do not worship Lord Anjaneya. “He is Brahmachari (celibate). If we make a mistake, he will beat us with the mace he always holds in his hand or with his tail”. They do not even worship Ganapathy. “He is also Brahmachari. Why bother”. They do not worship Lord Rama. “He was always in difficulties. We will also run into difficulties. Why bring that upon ourselves. He went in search of his wife.

Why bring that upon ourselves. We may also run into the difficulties he did. We don’t want to worship him”. Lord Krishna. “Krishna is very bad. He had so many wives”. They don’t want to worship Krishna. Mother Goddess. “Mother Goddess has a very big tongue inside, she sucks everybody in. We don’t want to worship her”. There are people who give these reasons.

Will you worships stones and rocks then? Who will you worship? “Why worship stones and rocks? There is no God in them. Why worship them?” Will you bathe in the river? “We’ll catch a cold in the river. Also, we may catch an infection from the water”. They give a reason for everything. It may be okay to give a reason for all these, but there are people who say, “We don’t want to go to a Guru, he tests us”. Okay, will you take Mangala Harati (the auspicious light from wicks soaked in ghee or camphor that is offered to the deity)? “We don’t want Mangala Harati, it causes heat in the body”. Alright, take some teertham (sanctified water offered to the deity).

“Teertham makes our body cold”. So, what will you take? “If there is crystal sugar or sweet pongal (sweet dish made during festivals with rice and lentil), we can take that”. There are people who talk like this. Good.

Some people question, “There is nothing that the Guru does not know. So, why is it necessary for him to again specifically test the disciples? He knows everything. He is immanent and omnipresent. Why then does he test the disciples that come to him?” Those who question like this are forgetting one important thing. The Guru’s tests are not meant to destroy the disciple. You must not think that he is destroying the disciple. It is not such an attempt at all. Guru is not one who competes with the disciple at all. Jealous he is never. Even more, he is not an enemy. The Guru does not enjoy seeing the disciple struggle either. “Then why the tests?” you may wonder.

Guru has a problem. “Oh, why does the Guru have a problem?”. That is, the disciple has faults/deficiencies. The disciple is unable to identify these and recognize them on his own. Enabling him to recognize them, he has to create opportunities/situations for the disciple to recognize them. Those situations may not seem very favorable to the disciple, they may seem like tests to him. However, for his benefit, that unfavorable instance cannot be avoided. Causing a little grief is inevitable. If anybody receives a bruise/injury, we immediately apply tincture as part of first aid so that it does not cause infection. It singes immediately. We are very angry with the doctor. The doctor administers an injection to reduce the pain. That injection is painful. But all this is done to reduce the pain. Therefore, sometimes the disciple finds these tests unpleasant, not favorable. ”Why is he testing me so much?” This unpleasant experience is inevitable. Sometimes, one has to have bitter experiences with a Guru. We should never think of them as bitter. I am saying it like this only for you to understand.

Such instances are Guru’s tests. Sometimes we feel, “Why is the Guru who always speaks so lovingly, speaking so harshly today?” But, to extract the deficiencies in us, he has to roar, and threaten and do as if it hurts us. But, that is not pain or grief. Let us see what he does.

Episode 302

We discussed so far that the tests the Guru gives us are sometimes harsh, they are not pleasant. That is because the Guru is doing all this to drive away the disciple’s faults and deficiencies. When such instances arise, we discussed that they are the Guru’s tests. To understand this well, we can take a situation from our daily life as an example.

A little child who is just learning to walk often gets out of the house and walks into the street. The child does not know. He is just excited. As he walks, he gets excited. There is some new feeling in him. As he takes his steps, as he learns to balance, he feels that he is going somewhere on his own. That is why when he gets out of the door, he does not think about whether this is the street, whether this street has cars and buses running. He just runs onto the street. He keeps walking on the street. He has no fear that if he gets onto the street, he may be run over by a car, that he would fall down. He does not understand even if he is told. Moreover, he gets angry and cries. Then the mother sits at the door and smacks him *** his *** every time he gets out of the door. A lot of mothers, unable to bear this, tie up the child. The poor mother is by herself, she also has to cook food.

Some people set up a small gate at the door. Like this they do many things - whatever is needed to stop the child. They even hit the child.

After receiving many such smacks, the feeling that he will be hurt if he crosses the door will be firmly established in his mind, “They will beat me”. After that, regardless of how much one encourages him to, he will not get out the door, “Mother will beat me”. He feels like he’s already being smacked, that is he why he’ll be careful not to get out the door.

The Guru’s test are like this smacking. Tests are those situations that give you the experience for things that cannot be explained or those that cannot be understood even after explaining. Here, we can never say, even by mistake, that the mother has hatred for the child. How can that be? How can she have hatred for the child? It is only so the child understands that she smacked him. In case a mother spoils her children and lets them go on to the streets, we cannot appreciate that mother, can we? If something happens to the child, it is the mother that is cursed and criticized, not the child. Similarly, a Guru who is responsible uses various ways to extract and show his disciples their deficiencies and faults. Even then, disciples that cannot learn from that have to be smacked. That is the Guru’s test. It is by no means a trick played by the Guru to hide knowledge.

If the disciple is unable to understand the teaching that’s given to him subtly, as a principle, the Guru thinks about why the disciple was unable to understand, identifies the bad characteristics that are obstructing him (the disciple) and gets rid of those characteristics. This is why the Guru gives tests.

Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta

Therefore now we understand that the tests the Guru gives us are only out of his infinite compassion and not because he is harsh.

Episode 303

For self-realization, devotion to God or Guru is more important than great scriptures. As an example, let’s look at a short story. Srirangam is a very sacred location for Lord Vishnu. The Lord’s name there is Sri Ranganatha Swamy. Once, there was an ignorant/illiterate man among the group of priests there. To him, Ranganatha Swamy was everything including mother, father, Guru and God. The work of this Vishnu devotee was to tend to the garden everyday and using the flowers from the garden offer Thomala Seva (elaborate service that includes offering of garlands to the Lord) to the Lord. With utmost devotion and dedication, he would carry out this task with more love than he had for his own life.

While this may be, the king there had a great desire to learn the principle of the Absolute. He wanted to see the miracles of God. He invited many great scholar and listened to their teachings. He organized conferences and held discussions. There was no end to the debates between the scholars. The debates went on and on, the scholars continued to talk endlessly. The king however could not get closure on the principle, “What is this, the scholars are debating a lot but the result is still unknown”.

While this was going on, Ranganatha Swamy felt compassion for them. Immediately, he appeared in front of the illiterate and ignorant Thomala Seva priest and ordered, “You have to go the royal assembly today. Finish off the discussions of the debating scholars there and clearly teach them the principle of the Absolute”. Thrilled to bits, the innocent devotee who was ecstatic with the vision of divine and auspicious form of Ranganatha Swamy, got worried, “What is this? How can I debate with them?”. He was very worried and afraid. He raised an uproar, “Lord, I am illiterate. I have no education. How can I get the ability to debate in the assembly? I don’t know how to debate or discuss or argue. I don’t know any kind of debates or arguments. I am not educated”. He pleaded, “There will be disrepute to you on my account owing to the fact that they kept an illiterate person in the kingdom. Why should I unjustly go there? I cannot do this, Lord”

The Lord insisted, “Why do worry about all that? Do as I say”. The Thomala Seva priest did not say another word. He went to the royal assembly the next day. Miraculously, as soon as he sat in the royal assembly, he had the vision of all Vedas and scriptures and the principles propounded by all the seers. Everything that happened thus far, all principles, flashed in front of his eyes. He had a clear vision of the principle of the Absolute. With that divine knowledge gained by the grace of the Lord, he enunciated the principle of the Absolute and received everyone’s praise.

Among the stories of Lord Vishnu’s devotees, this is an important one. In this, there are aspects that devotees, disciples and seekers should learn.

The priest who was doing Thomala Seva recognized his own ignorance and constantly served the Lord to earn his grace. When the Lord Himself appeared and asked him to teach the Principle of Truth in the royal assembly, the disciple still did not lose the feeling “I am ignorant. I do not know anything”. When he was asked to go and debate in the royal assembly, he said he was incapable of doing so. Because he had not yet experienced the bliss obtained from true knowledge, he was afraid that he may bring disrepute to the Lord. Let’s see what happens ahead.

Episode 304

We were talking so far about the priest doing Thomala Seva (elaborate service that includes offering of garlands to the Lord). Recognizing that he was ignorant, he constantly served the Lord to earn his grace. The Lord himself appeared to this devotee, who believed he was ignorant, to tell him he was knowledgeable saying, “You teach them the Principle of Truth in the royal assembly”. We discussed that the devotee said he was ignorant and he knew nothing. We discussed that because he had not yet attained the pure bliss that comes with true knowledge, he was afraid that he would bring disrepute to the Lord. He went to the assembly (upon the Lord’s command). There, even though the Lord was not physically present, all knowledge took form in his heart and he was able to see it all by the Lord’s grace. The supreme essence of all that knowledge - the Principle of the Absolute - manifested itself.

At that point, the sorrow that he was ignorant was removed. Until then, he would lament everyday - he was a great devotee, no doubt, but internally he would lament - that he was ignorant and that he had no knowledge at all. At that point though, that sorrow as removed. What had he learned? He was not educated. The moment the Lord’s grace flowed on him, he attained all knowledge. He experienced unbounded bliss from the knowledge. Due to that, there were no doubts left in his heart. With supreme bliss and without any hesitation, he taught everyone the Principle of the Absolute.

Contrary to this, the scholars in the assembly had considered themselves subject matter experts and knowledgeable scholars and had got down to debating earlier. They all thought, “We are very well versed in the Vedas, we are very knowledgeable”. That is why they got down to debating. They felt that way due to their own ego. In that state, they were not even able to see God. They were such great scholars, but they did not even know the nature of God. They did not know devotion towards God.

It is clear that the Lord was not satisfied with their debates. Still, since they were lesser mortals attempting to gain the Principle of Truth and out of compassion for them, he encouraged the Thomala Seva priest and taught them the Principle of Truth. He had infinite compassion for them. These scholars were fighting so much, each one trying to outdo the other, “Our scholarship is greater, there is no scholarship greater than ours”, they were unnecessarily fighting. Through the Vishnu devotee who was ignorant and knew nothing, he blessed them with knowledge to show them his Principle of the Absolute. Instead of a scholar, he used an ignorant/illiterate man to give them knowledge and show them that for self-realization, the Lord’s compassion was the only way, not large heavy, voluminous scriptures. Big scriptures are not what teach you the Principle of Truth, it is only when you have real devotion that you will understand it.

In this story, the truth we need to learn is:
One who thinks that he is knowledgeable will not be able to inculcate proper devotion. Remember well.

When one recognizes that he is ignorant, even if such a person does not immediately attain knowledge, he will be able to inculcate devotion to God. We can see clearly that hence, the Lord’s grace will be showered on him and by the time he’s ready, pure knowledge will itself take shape in his mind.

Devotees pining for knowledge should recognize that they are ignorant and should serve the Lord like the Thomala Seva priest did. They should not go about thinking they learned a lot. How was the Thomala devotee? “I don’t know anything. I am ignorant”. He kept serving the Lord with devotion. By the grace of the Guru, knowledge will itself come to them.

Episode 305

The devotee should be able to do his Sadhana/spiritual practice without getting deterred by difficulties. A lot of people give up their Sadhana when they run into difficulties. Saying, “I have been going to the temple, that is why I have these difficulties”, they stop going to the temple. “I have been serving the Guru, I should just stop going to the Guru”. We discussed earlier what those people say about the kind of difficulty that comes with praying to each deity.

Vayu/Air is one of the Gods. You are breathing that Vayu, so you may now have difficulties or diseases. Immediately stop breathing, that’ll make you feel better. You are living in light. That light belongs to God.

Because you are moving around in God’s light, you may have difficulties. Sun is God, he will burn you. Therefore, die immediately. Does this kind of thinking work? Hence, the disciple must be able to do his Sadhana without getting deterred. He must not think that any Sadhana he is doing is bringing difficulties. It is enough for the Guru to have the faith that the disciple will work hard and do the Sadhana he recommends. There is no limit to how hard the Guru will work for such a disciple’s sake.

In reality, it is not the disciple who is working hard, it is the Guru. It is not the disciple doing Seva/service, it is the Guru who is doing the service. He is always watching over you. “How is he doing? What is he up to? What is his difficulty? What is his worry/desire? He’s always on the road”. Like this, strangely, the Guru is always thinking about us. While we believe we are doing service to the Guru, here’s it is topsy turvy. It feels like the Guru is the one doing service to us.

If the disciple can make all the effort the Guru asks him to and can gain the great fruit of spiritual success, that is enough. The Guru is very happy. The student learned so much. The Guru considers that (learning) as his Guru Dakshina (repaying one’s teacher or Guru after completion of education) and is very pleased, “Even after going through so many difficulties, he is still gaining his education from me. He is learning the Guru Principle.

Despite all his worries and anxieties, he is still taking refuge in me”. Once he (the disciple) understands the Guru Principle, the Guru is very happy. This is the characteristic of a spiritual Guru. Pleasing the Guru in this manner is the characteristic of a good disciple.

To understand this clearly, there is a small story. In Sri Rama’s lineage, there used to be an emperor called Raghu many generations before Sri Rama. He was very brave. In his journey of victory, he won over all of earth and amassed boundless wealth. He earned so much, he accumulated so much wealth, it was boundless wealth. Immediately, he started a great Yagna called Viswajit. This Yagna was such that at the conclusion of this Yagna, the doer of the Yagna had to donate everything he had. That is why kings never do this Yagna, because they would have to give away in charity, everything they have.

Raghu concluded the Yagna and gave away all the wealth he had earned with so much effort. He would cook and eat in earthenware utensils. He demonstrated to the world that everything one earns is only to donate to those in need. When one has so much wealth, what quality should one have? Charity. Only when there is charity does wealth have meaning. Even the Gods were amazed at his magnanimity and charity.

While this was the case, in the forests that were under his rule, there was a small school run by a great sage called Paratantu. A young boy called Kautsa completed learning all fourteen kinds of knowledge under his tutelage. He went to the Guru and prayed, “Gurudeva, I learned all knowledge from you. I wish to you give you some Guru Dakshina. Please tell me how much you’d like. Even if I have to toil hard, I will earn it and offer to you”. The Guru said, “I do not need anything. You can go your way”. A lot of people keep asking their Guru, “Tell me what you like, I will bring it for you”. If you ask me I will of course ask for something you cannot get.

Okay, let’s talk about that later.

Episode 306

In a certain place in the forests that were under king Raghu’s rule, there was a small school run by a great sage called Paratantu. A young man called Kautsa completed learning all fourteen kinds of knowledge under his tutelage. He went to the Guru and said, “Gurudeva, I learned all knowledge from you. I wish to you give you some Guru Dakshina. Please tell me how much you’d like”. It was as if he was bargaining with the Guru. “Even if I have to toil hard, I will earn it and offer to you”, he prayed. The Guru kept saying, “I do not need anything. You can go your way”, but the disciple did not listen. The Guru then thought for a second and suddenly said, “You learned 14 kinds of knowledge, get me 14 crores (140 million)”. The disciple tested the Guru, so the Guru gave a fitting response. “Get me money worth 14 crores”. The disciple did not know what to do.

Yet, he recovered within seconds, saying “As you say, Gurudeva” and went away. He agreed. Sitting under a tree in the forest, he thought about what he should do. Finally, he remembered king Raghu. Believing that the virtuous king would surely help him, he set out for Ayodhya city.

When he finally arrived, he saw the king who was cooking and eating from earthenware utensils. Kautsa’s desire watered down. Unable to say anything, he began returning. The king stopped Kautsa who was walking away, found out what his desire was and asked him for one day’s time. Kautsa was amazed. When the kings learned about this, they began trembling in fear. Since he already won over all the kings on earth, Raghu did not like to wage a war against them again. Yet he thought for a little while and decided to wage a battle against Kubera (Lord of Wealth). The worried Kubera who knew about the king’s valor had it shower gold so the king’s treasury filled up overnight.

The king had those gold coins loaded onto carts, called for Kautsa and asked him to take them.

Out of happiness, Kautsa asked, “King, how many might there be?” “Why do you care about how many there are? I earned all this for you. Therefore, all this for you. Take them”. When he heard this, Kautsa’s face changed. “King Raghu, I only need 14 crores. I don’t want a penny more. Please have them counted first”. King Raghu said, “It is okay, give the 14 crores to the Guru and keep the rest for yourself. Or, give everything to the Guru. How can I retain some for myself from what I got for you?” Kautsa and king Raghu, both insisted on their respective stance. Kautsa insisted that the money be counted first and king Raghu insisted that he would not. The matter was not resolved even after a long time.

Episode 307

We were talking so far about king Raghu and Kautsa. You heard the story. Although king Raghu gave Kautsa wealth worth 14 crores that his (Kautsa’s) Guru asked for, the king actually ended up giving Kautsa in excess of the amount. While Kautsa was insisting that the king count the wealth and give him only 14 crores, the king was insisting that Kautsa take the wealth and either keep the remaining (that is in excess of 14 crores) himself or offer it all to the Guru. They were both insisting on their respective positions. The matter did not get resolved even after a long time. The people were surprised. “What is this? Instead of giving to the Guru the 14 crores and keeping the rest, or counting the wealth himself and returning the excess to the king, why are they arguing like this?”

In the meanwhile, Paratantu Maharishi arrived. “Now, the issue is going to be resolved”. Everybody thought that the sage would take all the money. However, quite unexpectedly he said, “King, by your grace, our school is running well. I was able to successfully teach Kautsa the 14 forms of knowledge. He studied well, but he had a little desire for wealth in his mind. That is why he was hankering after me to offer me money. Unless he loses that desire, he cannot grasp the essence of knowledge completely. It is to get rid of that, that I had to give you some trouble. Because I had the courage that you were there, I asked him to bring the 14 crores. Otherwise, where would he bring 14 crores from? We live in your kingdom. He would anyway come to you and ask you. I knew you will definitely give him the money, that is why I did this. Even though you are the king, due to association with you, a noble soul without any desires, he gained the pure state of selflessness. The moment he said that he only needed 14 crores and nothing more than that, he obtained the essence of knowledge. The 14 forms of knowledge that I taught him now have a meaning. He gained the state of complete selflessness. That is why, he refused to take even a few grams of the gold, he refused even a gold coin. Now, as a Guru, my responsibility is fulfilled. His mind is transformed. He has now gained the knowledge he needed. This is what I wanted, I wanted him to gain this knowledge. I wanted him to attain perfection and he did. The education I have given him has a meaning now. We do not want this wealth. Please use it for public service. What do I need so much money for? That would be the right duty for both you and us. You are here to serve people, that is your duty. My duty is also to give you, that is all”. Everybody was bound by his command.

This lovely story tells us about what Guru Dakshina is like between the spiritual Guru and the disciple. Here, the disciple himself created the opportunity for the Guru to test him. “If I wanted to test him, it may have happened a long time after. I asked him to leave, but instead of leaving, he kept asking me how much money I wanted as Guru Dakshina. That is why, he created an opportunity himself for me to test him. Otherwise, I don’t know how long or how many years it would have been before I tested him. For him to get this spiritual bent of mind, I don’t know how many years it would have taken. You enabled him to immediately develop that inclination.

You helped me well. My disciple has benefited greatly”.

Did you see how the Guru’s tests are...how many different ways he test.

Episode 308

Seelam/Character. Character means having good/noble behavior. This is very important in the spiritual field. Gurus make a lot of efforts to build good character in their disciples. Some Gurus pine a lot and go through much difficulty to give initiation to some stubborn disciples. A story from an earlier time comes to mind.

The Guru follows some disciples birth after birth, he does not let go regardless of how many births the disciples take. For some reason, the Gurus have unbounded compassion and mercy on them and want to bless them. Whenever and wherever they take a birth, in whatever form, the Guru is always with them. Benefiting them, the Gurus make a lot of effort to give them liberation. We are talking about spiritual Gurus here. There are many worldly Gurus.

They’ll of course teach you education, teach you business, teach you about money as well. Let that be. They are also Gurus.

But, spiritual Gurus do whatever is needed to get near the disciple, whatever birth they (disciples) take, wherever they are.

There is a good disciple. He did good Sadhana/spiritual practice. He lost his life after sometime, that’s normal.

He was born somewhere else. The Guru understood, “My disciple passed away. He is born somewhere else, he is growing up somewhere”. With his divine vision, he saw what state the disciple was in. The Guru found out that he was relatively wealthy and engaged agricultural farming in a village. Thinking “This is a good time. The disciple is doing quite well, he is growing his crops well, he is happy and comfortable. I must somehow give him initiation and get him liberation”, he went straight to the village, asked for Bheemayya’s location and went right up to him. He said, “I want to give you initiation”. For some unknown reason, the disciple who was engaged in agricultural farming got a little annoyed as soon as he saw him.

“Yes sir, what you are saying is very good. Giving initiation is very good. I don’t know why but when I see you, I am a little irritated on one hand and feel love on the other. That is why, since I am newly married, let me have a little baby boy. Since I have so much wealth, I can bequeath all my wealth to him and because I will have had an heir, I will take initiation as soon as you come”. “Okay, so be it, so when do you want me to come?” “Come after the boy is born”. As if he knew that a boy was surely going to be born. As luck would have it, a boy was born. The bearded man came again, “Bhemayya, I want to give you initiation”. “The boy is just born, he did not even open his eyes, he did not even see his father. After a few days of feeding him food, watching him learn to walk, seeing him happy, I will call you, then you can come and give me initiation”. As if there was a telephone.

Saying, “Okay, so be it, let it be as you wish”, he went away.

As agreed, after some time, the boy ate food, learned a lot of things and began walking. The bearded man came right away. “Hello Bhemayya, are you ready?” “Not now sir, the boy is 5 years old. My wife is in the third month of her pregnancy. Let me see the child we give birth to and then I’ll call you”. “Okay so be it”. The old man just would not give up. Saying, “So be it”, he went away. He was so obstinate. After sometime, the man had another baby boy. Let’s see what happens.

Episode 309

We were talking about a story yesterday - the story of Bheemayya, the story of the stubborn Guru. That Guru visiting again and again offering to give initiation each time - may be he did not have other disciples, who knows - but this man refusing to get initiation each time, the man waiting for the birth of his child and then waiting for the child to learn walking and then waiting for the next child to be born, like this, it kept going on and on. The second boy also was born. Soon after, the bearded man appeared. The older son gained a little awareness of his surroundings. He kept seeing the bearded man. He thought, “They talk about something, that man comes and says something and my father responds with something”. The man said, “My second son is still very small. Please come back once he grows up a little”. Saying, “Okay, so be it“, the bearded man went away again.

Let’s see how long this goes on. Will there be four more children that will be born, we don’t know.

The second boy also began growing up. The bearded man got ready. Time flew. Bheemayya said, “I am very satisfied, Swamy. It is true, I have two good sons. Once they grow up a little bit more, I will teach them how to plough the fields, I’ll straighten up all the activities for them. Before you come next time, I’ll be ready”. By then, the boys had already grown up. They both kept seeing the bearded man who would come often and say something to the father. The father would refuse and the bearded man would go away. They did not understand what was going on. They were puzzled, “What might the secret be here?”

A few days passed. Bheemayya passed away. When that happened, what could one do? Who could he give initiation to? The bearded man appeared again. The two sons were there. They thought the man man would talk to them, but instead, saying, “Tommy, Tommy”, he began talking to their pet dog. The dog shook its head and said something.

The man heard that and went away. After a few days, the dog died. The dog Tommy that the two sons loved was no more. They thought, “Alas! Let the bearded man come back, we’ll fix him”. The sons thought Tommy died. They did not know it was their father. Soon after, the bearded man appeared again and enquired about the dog when the sons told him, “The dog died, we were waiting for you”. Saying, “Oh is it so?” he went straight to the fields.

Bhemayya who was born as the dog was now born as a bull in his fields. Not only was he born as Tommy before, but he was now born as a bull and was ploughing the fields. “You are here? Let me give you initiation at least now”.

The bull shook its head in refusal. “I am watching over their fields. They don’t know anything. They keep going out a lot. I have to watch over their house. I have to guard the money. How can I do this? If I take initiation now, I will die. Therefore, I don’t want it now”. “Okay, as you wish. So, what will you do?” “After some time, when they understand things better, one of them will get old and will guard the house. Then, I will take initiation”. At that point, the sons were annoyed, “What is this, what are you doing?”. In the meanwhile, the man went away. No sooner did the man leave than the bull died.

The sons were enraged. They searched for the monk, but could not find him. After a few days, he appeared again. “This bearded man is stuck to this house like the inauspicious Saturn. Every time he comes, someone dies. Let us see what brought him here this time”.

Houses in the old days used to have a little garden like open-air arrangement in the center of the house. The bearded man went straight there and was looking around. A small snake emerged from there. He said something to the snake after which the snake went away to its pit. As soon as the sons saw that, they felt, “Now is the right time”. They caught hold of him. When they caught hold of him, he said, “Wait a little. I was telling your father all along that I would give him initiation. Your father kept refusing. He wanted to wait till you both were born.

You both were born, you look strong now. Good. After that, because he could not stay away from you, he was born as a dog here. Again, unable to stay away from you, your father was born as a bull. Again, still unable to stay away from you, he was born as a snake in this pit. I asked him why he was there. He said that he kept all his wealth there. It is your wish, why do I care”. He then went away.

The sons felt that what the bearded man was saying seemed like the truth. They thought, “Let us see. If this is the truth, we will bring the bearded man and get some rituals done. Otherwise, we will find him and beat him up”.

Episode 310

We were discussing the story where the Sadguru keeps going to the disciple birth after birth to uplift him. There used to be a man called Bheemayya. When the Guru went to give him initiation, he refused and said, he wanted to take it later, after his children were born. When the Guru came back after the children were born, the man was no more, he was born as a dog and then as a bull. Now, he was born as a snake.

After the bearded man left, the sons dug the pit. When they dug the pit they could not see anything initially. Then the younger son said, “It looks like there is something inside”. The older son said, “Okay, first kill it”. They almost killed the snake and threw it away on the road. They took out all the money that was hidden there. In the meanwhile, the bearded man arrived again. As soon as he came, he began talking to the snake. The snake with its life ebbing, began talking. It was telling its sons, “You fools, come here”. The sons came. “You are big fools. He is my Guru. He had come to give me initiation. I asked him to come later after you were born.

Subsequently, I took birth for your sake as a dog and then as a bull. Again, to guard your wealth, to guard over the wealth that was hidden in the pit, I took birth as a snake. To get that money, you did even heed him, you almost killed me. Fie on you! This is bad. What you did is very bad”. He then prayed, “O Great Lord, I made a mistake. O my Guru, please protect me. I am neither there nor here now. I cannot die, nor can I live”.

Then the Guru came close to him and said, “I do not have time now, I will come later” and quickly walked away. What a turn the story took. The bearded man who chased them down like the inauspicious Saturn, is now walking away from Bheemayya who had always escaping saying, “Not now”, “Not now”, “Not now”, but was now begging the Guru in his half dead state to give him initiation. How do we feel now? Whose fault is this? Is it the bearded man’s fault or is it Bheemayya’s fault or is it the children’s fault? What fate is this?

The one thing that the Guru did was to wait for the disciple’s mind to be ripe/ready. It just started. The half dead snake just began to find out what the Guru really is. It would not die just yet. The Guru’s view was to increase the devotion towards the Guru. Even if he had given initiation right now, the disciple never experienced devotion to the Guru. “He’s been seeing me a lot, but he does not know to pray to me. It is me who has been coming to him all the time. I myself kept coming, I myself kept saying, I myself offered to give you initiation, I myself offered to help do worship”. Now, he found out for himself for the first time. He understood. He has to pine for me. That was the Guru’s intention. The Guru keeps doing that. The half dead snake would pine and pine and pine, the Guru would come at some point and give initiation.

Even though this story may sound funny, did you get it’s intent? The Guru principle is very important. No amount of explaining is enough. Gurus make a lot of different efforts to build good character in their disciples. This is what we understand from this story. Why should the Guru himself come? Why should he be get criticized and beaten by the children, tell me? That is because the Guru wanted to uplift the disciple. Seelam/character is the good behavior to work towards everyone’s good. That is what happened here too. In the previous story we saw the Guru say (to king Raghu) to give away all the money to people. That is what is character. If everyone should benefit, Dharmas such as truth, non-violence, compassion, charity should be observed with purity of thought, word and deed (trikarana shuddhi).

Episode 311

Seelam/Character. Character means having good/noble behavior. This is extremely important in the spiritual field. Good behavior. A lot of people frequently get angry, they get annoyed. In addition to that, they have laziness. In addition to that, they have a lot of interest in unnecessary activities too. Two or three people get together to talk about unnecessary matters. If all these are controlled, one can build character. Gurus make a lot of different kinds of efforts to build good character in their disciples. We wonder why the Sadguru is making so many plans, why he is saying so many things, why he is working so hard, why he is doing this, why he is doing that. It is because he is continuously working hard to teach someone the right lessons.

Character is the noble behavior that strives to do good to everyone else. If everyone is to benefit, virtues such as truth, non-violence, compassion and charity should observed with purity of thought, word and deed (trikarana shuddhi). In other words, it is not enough to just not speak lies. A lot of people do not speak lies. They speak like they are saying the truth. They speak like they are saying it as it is. They say, “I am speaking only the truth”. But they have a lot of untruth, jealousy, envy, greed etc filled in their hearts. One must have truthful disposition even in the mind. Speaking the truth externally, but having jealousy on the inside, being intolerant of others, wanting everything to oneself, obstinacy that everyone follow his command is wrong. “I am the only one speaking the truth, no one else is”, “I am the only truthful one”, okay be truthful, but be like that on the inside too, that is when what you say is meaningful. Those who are like that (truthful) on the inside, do not say it externally. In other words, you should be truthful on the inside too. The behavior with which you live and help ten other people live, the behavior with which you progress and also become the reason for the progress of others, the behavior due to which you are happy and are letting everyone else be happy, is good behavior. That is Seelam/character. If you do not have that, all the great Tapasya/meditation you did, all the powers you gained are futile. Those will only bring you danger. This was stated by Bruhaspati, the Guru to the Gods himself. Let us learn that story.

We heard many stories about the battles between gods and demons. Every time we hear the scriptures, we keep hearing about the battles between gods and demons. In those battles, the gods would usually emerge victorious. Once, the demons got together and thought, they discussed why this was the case. The demons learned that pleased by the gods’ Tapasya, Yagnas etc, the Trinity was pleased and was helping them out. Immediately, what did they do? They secretly began observing what Yagnas the gods were doing and what mantras they were chanting. The demons too did similar Tapasya and Yagnas and earned many weapons and powers. With great enthusiasm, they waged a war against the gods.

While they were thinking, “What’s left? Victory is ours this time”, the Trinity appeared and again made the gods victorious. Paramatman is always siding with the Gods. He always sides with Sattvic (pure, uncontaminated) behavior. People with Rajo guna (excitable quality) swing between the two states (Sattvic/pure and Tamasic/demonic). Demonic behavior or Tamo guna can never win. People with this behavior will always lose. That is why, they torture those with Sattva Guna. They are overcome by jealousy, to win the battle. They did not realize that gods are worthy of respect. It is because many demons realized this that they became great devotees. Prahlada is a demon after all. But he is such a great devotee. Like this, there are many demons. Gajasura is one of them too. Even if they waged a war in the beginning, they all became devotees of Vishnu. Why go that far? Of Ravana’s two brothers, Vibheeshana and Kumbhakarna, Vibheeshana was such a great devotee. Demons always want to trouble others, they always want to win.

Episode 312

While the demons were thinking, “What is left? Victory is ours this time”, the Trinity appeared and contrary to what the demons thought, made the gods victorious again. The Lord gives the demons a lot of time. Is there a rule that demons should not win? Is there a rule that demons cannot gain divinity too? Is there a rule that demons should not practice Sattva Guna (purity and equanimity in behavior)? The God does not at all wish that demons not have noble behavior. But, demons somehow don’t get that noble behavior. We may feel that, that’s because they are demons (that they do not have good behavior). That’s why here, what we should observe carefully is that, Sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) should not have demonic behavior internally. A lot of people have demonic behavior. “The other person must somehow be defeated. The other person must be made to admit his mistake”. But, they don’t stop there. They also want that other person to acknowledge that this person is right. Okay, have the other person admit that he is wrong, but wishing to have them acknowledge that you are right is difficult/unnecessary. Demons are like this.

So, what happened to the demons this time? They were perplexed. “We followed the same Yagnas, the same mantras and the same Tapasya”. They stole from the gods, the mantras, Yagnas, method of worship etc. They stealthily observed carefully and learned. Still, why did they lose? After much thinking, “Why the Trinity help only the Gods? Why did we lose?” when they still could not understand, they went to Bruhaspati, the Guru to the Gods and asked him. They had to finally seek refuge with the Guru himself. Whether they are gods or demons or those with Rajo guna (excitable nature) or Tamo guna (dar/inert nature) or Sattva guna (pure and equanimous nature), they all need to seek refuge with the Guru. People of all three gunas have no other way but to seek refuge with the Guru. Everyone has a Guru. We should observe and learn. We should not think, “Why do I need a Guru?” People who think, “Why do I need a Guru” will never have the problem resolved.

The demons approached Bruhaspati, the Guru to the gods and asked him, “What can we do? Why do we keep losing?” Bruhaspati said, “There is no big secret here. You think there are secrets. You think there are other mantras that the Gods used above and beyond what you know. Don’t think that the gods used mantras that you do not know of. In reality, there aren’t separate entities called gods and demons. They are all children of the Maharishi (great sage) Kasyapa. Everybody studied the Vedas. They performed all actions in accordance with the Vedas”. Did you see, they are all children of the same Maharishi. Some were born with Sattva guna, some with Rajo guna and some with Sattva guna. There were so many different kinds even within the demons, even though they are all the same. Each one’s behavior/practice led them to who they are. The demons were not born specially from a demon’s ***. They are all children of Maharishi Kasyapa. He had everyone study the Vedas. He had everyone perform actions in accordance with the Vedas too. They even did so. The Gods and the demons both performed their actions in accordance with the Vedas. Nobody gave it up. Demons were doing good karma. So were the gods.

“However, the gods were carrying out their actions with Brahmacharya (control of the sense organs), with truth, with sincere devotion to the Guru and with humility. They were carrying out their actions for the purpose of universal welfare. You, on the other hand, are carrying out your actions for your own selfish reasons, to gratify your senses. In other words, you are doing it with ego. Gods are doing it with a lot of discipline, faith and Brahmacharya. Do you observe Brahmacharya? You do not eat Sattvic food, you eat impure food, you think bad thoughts, you torture people, you have no restraint on your sense organs. Look at you all, each of you has six, seven or eight wives. Look at the gods. With truthful conduct, they observe the vow of having just one wife once they get the her hand in marriage.

Second, when they are carrying out worship and other such programs, they do not even talk to women or other people. You? You do your Yagnas while indulging in pleasures. And your fickleness? You have so much fickleness. You have fickleness in your sense organs. Due to that fickleness in your sense organs, you want to eat tasty food. Once you eat tasty food, the other sense organs get agitated. Then, you satisfy that fickleness of other sense organs in other ways. Moreover, you get into little fights. Additionally, you torture those with Sattva guna. Further, the Yagnas and other programs that you undertake, you do not do with selflessness, you do out of selfishness. You do them with ego and jealousy. That is why you are always defeated.

Episode 313

The gods are carrying out their karma with Brahmacharya (control of the sense organs), truth, sincere devotion to the Guru and humility”, advised Bruhaspati to the demons. “The gods are doing their karma for universal welfare. Oh demons, listen carefully. Because they are doing good karma, they are achieving good results. Even if it is a little delayed, they are getting the results. But, you are in a hurry to achieve results. If you want to earn it in a hurry, you may earn it sometimes, but the results will not last. So, what will people with a little weakness in their mind, with a little sickness think? “Unrighteousness always wins”. But remember that it is only transient victory for unrighteousness.

Dharma/righteousness always has eternal victory. However, righteousness sometimes wins while also giving a little grief, a little anxiety. You must withstand that.

You have envy. Kauravas were like that too, they acted out of jealousy.

In that great kingdom, they could have simply just given away five villages. The Pandavas said, “Okay, we don’t need any kingdom. Just give us five villages, that is enough. Each one of us will live in a village do some agricultural farming and live happily. Did the Kauarvas agree? Greed. “We want to keep those five villages too”. Let alone five kingdoms, they wanted to keep the five villages too. What greater misfortune than that can there be? The Kauravas were living in such luxury. They had demolished even a luxurious mansion. How can they still not be content? Further, they had many brothers born. On the other hand, there were only five Pandavas, thin and emaciated. They would be blown away in strong wind. They only had God on their side, nothing else. Kauravas had so many warriors, so much strength, the power of so many kingdoms.

Both Pandavas and Kauravas were educated by the same Guru. They learned all education, all skills in weaponry and warfare with the same Guru. Pandavas and Kauravas had the same Guru, Dronacharya. Both were even born in the same lineage. They of course eventually met in the same battlefield. God was occasionally giving them darshan (i.e., appearing to them in his divine form). He was giving the Pandavas darshana in a Sattvic form because they were Sattvic. So, they had his darshana in a Sattvic manner and attained eternal happiness.

What about the Kauravas? The Kauravas too would occasionally see Krishna. But, they did not attain eternal happiness. Even when they saw Krishna, i.e., even when they had darshan of Paramatman, their mind was filled with jealousy. They even accused him and criticized him, the Paramatman. Then, how can they achieve victory. But occasionally in the interim, they would appear to be victorious.

“It’s almost over, he is winning by a margin of 2 votes”, “He is winning by a margin of 3 votes”, “the other party is leading”, the party personnel stress out assuming the opposition candidate will win. Such a scenario too played out in the battle between Pandavas and Kauravas when it sometimes seemed like the latter would win, “It is clear that Kaurvas will win”. Not only in the war, but even prior to the war, at every instance, it seemed like the Kauravas would win. Hoping they will correct themselves, God himself went as a messenger. Did they correct themselves at least then? No. Okay, may be they did not correct themselves, but they humiliated the messenger who went to them, they tied him up, in full view of the assembly. The way they humiliated Draupadi, they humiliated Paramatman who was himself Lord Vishnu, the protector of the worlds, the same way. Puffed up with short-lived pride and haughtiness, they all laughed.

The Lord lowered his head and returned, “Not now, they will learn later”. The people with Sattvic nature wept, “They tied up the Lord, what is this. He (the Lord) just came back quietly. He could have destroyed them all by just flicking the edge of his fingernail”. A lot of people even criticized Lord Krishna, “Did Krishna lose all his power?” they wondered. “Not now, I will teach them a lesson later”.

Episode 314

Some people even asked, “Did Krishna lose all his power?” They assumed he did. Lord Krishna thought, “Not now, I will teach them a lesson later”. Prahlada chanted the Lord’s name so many times. Even though Prahlada was a demon (Rakshasa), he was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Even though Vibheeshana too was a demon, he was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. It is because he was a devotee of Lord Vishnu that Lord Anjaneya Himself went to Vibheeshana to give him the vision of his divine form. When Vibheeshana traveled along the sky and approached Rama, the Lord gave him refuge and even kept him with him. Similarly, in Prahlada’s case, subjecting him to many punishments, his demon father chanted, “Krishna”, “Rama”, “Narayana”, “Govinda”, even without the son chanting those names himself. “Chant my name, you cannot chant “Narayana’s name”. What happened eventually? After a long time, Lord Vishnu’s incarnation tore apart and killed the demon and granted liberation to Prahlada. Why could he not come earlier? The time has to be right.

Similarly, the time has to be right for Kauravas as well. We will talk about this story later. Bruhaspati continued, “You are filled with jealousy. That is why you are only paying attention to their actions/karma. You are not paying attention to the character/nobility in their heart. You must observe their noble nature. Pandavas were victorious because they were of noble nature. Kauravas were also doing karma, they did more karma than Pandavas, they did more charity and donations, yet they did it with jealousy. That is why, your Yagnas did not give you victory. You lost.

The Trinity’s task is to make sure that all powers in this creation promote the welfare of the world. That is why, they helped the gods. Why would you work hard? Whatever karma you do, you should offer it to the Lord, “Krishnarpanamastu”. You did not do that. You did all karma and all Yagnas with the desire that all merit accrue to you. There is small difference. They chant the name of God during sankalpa (declaration of purpose during worship), then they offer all merit to God. Then God himself protects. If we offer all our karma to God, he will somehow protect us. If we keep all the good karma and only offer him the karma when we are in danger, it will not be enough. We cannot protect ourselves with any amount of merit accrued. That is why, if you say, “Whatever I earned, I offer at your feet”, he will protect you during difficult times. When difficulties increase, he will stand by you and protect you. But if you say, “No, let us take care of it. Let us hide it or keep all the mantras in a bank”, in times of great difficulty, the Lord will say, “You have it your bank, keep it for yourself”. He will say, “You seem to have hidden it away. Take care of it”. But, that will not be enough for us.

That is why here, it is the Trinity’s task to make sure that all powers in this creation promote the welfare of the world. The Trinity’s task is to protect those who work selflessly. Since this is possible only for those who have noble a nature, the Trinity helps only such people. They do not help based on (external) work that is visible, they help when their mind on the inside is just as noble. The Trinity punishes those who, instead, just increase their own power. You keep collecting and collecting and collecting, but it has no value for the welfare of the world. Nobody benefits. Neither is another person able to use it, nor is another person able to eat it. Only when you act out of a desire for welfare of others, whatever you earn, whether it is money or Yagnas, have meaning. Whether it is for Sadhana/spiritual practice or for Tapasya, character is most important.

By the grace of Datta Sadguru may all you have an increase in noble nature.

Episode 315

Sadguru teaches all students the same way. He does not discriminate. He teaches everyone the same way. We discussed that Pandavas and Kauravas had the same Guru. We discussed that along the same lines, demons and gods had the same father. The Sadguru has no bias at all whatsoever. He teaches all disciples in the same manner. But, we should be able to absorb it quickly. The more intelligent students keep getting ahead although the Guru is teaching everyone in the same manner. How can one help if a student is not studying. Therefore, there is no inclination for any kind of bias. The Guru did not give one set of lessons to one group and a separate lessons to another group or provide chairs to some students.

King Dasaratha sent Rama, Lakshmana and the rest of his four sons to Sage Vasishtha’s Gurukul (hermitage where students live and learn). Unbeknownst to King Dasaratha, mother Kausalya and the other mothers sent cartloads of things for convenience along with the sons. They sent good beds, good mosquito nets - it was a forest, there were going to be mosquitoes - good sweaters to stay warm in since it would be cold there, good pants, jean pants etc.

They sent cartloads of all of these items. We call them jean pants now, but they existed a long time ago. They sent everything. The four sons arrived and got off the chariot at the hermitage. There were 10-12 carts arriving after them. Sage Vasishta noticed. “It is good that these children are here. But, what are these carts behind them? Why are the carts filled with things? The forest now seems to be filled with things - ten.. eleven..twelve..fifteen...eighteen...twenty...there seem to be up to a hundred carts lined up here. They brought things to last them 12 years. Who asked them to bring this? I asked them to send the children. The king prayed that he would send the children. That is why I agreed to educate them. But, what is all this stuff in the carts? There are cooks, washermen, all kinds of help, singers, dancers, there seem to be more carts arriving.

Sage Vasishtha got very angry. “Stop. Where are you going? You think all these carts will fit in the Ashrama? Why did you bring all this? Who asked you to bring this? I only asked for the four students. Why are you sending all this?” the sage asked the minister. The minister said, “I do not know. The king asked me to send all this, so I brought them”. “Why, why did you not just hook the entire city of Ayodhya to the chariot and bring it? That would be have been good. The entire city of Ayodhya seems to be here. Did the students come here to learn from me? Or did they come here to have a picnic with me in the forest? What is my job here? Are they going to use the beds and enjoy the dance and water sports? Did you come for excursion? What did you do? Will they gain anything from what they learn here? You are unloading something else there, what is it?” Those were television sets from those days. “Ohh, those have come too? Good. Very wonderful”. If we see all this, what do we feel? Can we gain anything from our education?

Here, in the Ashrama too, there are many who enroll their children as students in the Veda school so they can learn all the Vedas. With great difficulty, even when they are asked not to, they join the school after getting through all the exams. They study diligently. But the parents spoil these children who are studying. Making phone calls to the children frequently, coming to the Ashrama for all the good functions, giving chocolates to their children, talking to them secretively, sitting close to them and kissing them, the parents used to do all this once upon a time. “If you are going to do all this, take them home” their Guru would say. Swamiji did not have to say anything, the teachers/Gurus were taking care of it. “You can take then, we don’t need them. If you are going to make phone calls to them, we don’t need those students”. Their mind will get corrupted. Why did you send your boys who were so dear to you, then? You could have put them in a regular school and educated them there, given them worldly education. You want them to know the Vedas, you want them become the best of scholars, you also say, “After gaining such scholarliness, who cares about worldly education, Swamiji? We don’t want. We can get such education later”.

Because once your intellect is developed, worldly education is absorbed much faster. You pleaded, “We want to have good traditions”. Now what you are doing? You are frequently coming to the Ashrama for functions. You would not coming earlier, but you are coming now because your son is here. You are telling your son about all the progress at home, “We got this constructed”, “We got that constructed”, “We got your sister married” and so on. What will happen to his mind? “We made crispy snacks for you”, “We got crispy snacks for you”. You give those snacks only to your son in the prayer hall. He would be the only one eating those. You ask him to eat it all himself and not share with his friends. Is this not a bad habit? Will he gain education? He will not gain education.

“Aye demons, I feel like you learned that kind of education, Yagnas and other rituals that are done with selfishness. That is why you did not gain victory” he said.

Episode 316

We discussed that the Sadguru teaches disciples the same lessons in the same manner. We also interspersed it with a few stories. You heard a little about the story of Pandavas and Kauravas and why the Kauravas were unable to attain fulfillment. You also heard the story of Prahlada - I really like the story of Prahlada. Paramatman knows when to appear to the devotee. Along the same lines, you heard what sage Vasishtha had to say. Bruhaspati is telling the demons, “Look, God has no bias of any kind whatsoever. Neither does the Sadguru. Bias is not possible here. The Guru will never have more love for one and less love for another. The Guru wants to impart good lessons to all disciples. However, the reason why disciples do not all see the same results is their own mind”.

For the reflection of the image to look good, the mirror needs to be clean. We need to wipe the mirror clean. Sometimes the mirror looks foggy. If we look at our face in the mirror, it will look like a ghost’s face. We get angry with the mirror, “My face is so beautiful. What do you think? I’ve become Miss Akividu” (town in Andhra Pradesh) or “I’ve become Mr. Vijaywada (district in Andhra Pradesh). What do you think of me?” The mirror should be clean. Similarly, for power of knowledge given by the Guru to reflect well in the heart, the disciple should have a clean mind. For the Guru himself to appear in the heart, for the knowledge to be absorbed while the Guru is teaching, we the students or disciples should have a pure mind. It is only then that we can see God reflect in our heart, we can see all our impurities. Then, the mind inside will shine like a pure crystal. That is what is meant by Shuddha Sphatika (shudda=pure, sphatika=crystal). We hear the phrase, “Your mind is pure as a crystal”. When someone is doing a lot of charity, we say, “You are like the daana veera shoora Karna (i.e., charitable, courageous, brave Karna. Karna was the first born of Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas). Like that, if you have a pure mind, the reflection of God as well as all knowledge will be perceptible in the heart. That is why they immediately absorb each and every teaching by the Sadguru.

But the others are unable to. A lot of times, Swamiji sings the same bhajan. He may sing that bhajan on many occasions. Some people keep listening to it. One day suddenly, they will say, “Wow, what a bhajan! I never heard this bhajan. I never heard Swamiji sing like this with that wonderful voice”. A lot of people are surprised, “What is this? Every day, he sings “Pranava Svarupam”, but how come they are saying that it sound so good today? They are always listening to the bhajan “Pahi Pahi Gajanana”, they are always listening to the bhajan “Krishnam Vishnum”. Why are you raving about it today and giving a certificate of excellence?” That is because your mind is not here during every bhajan that is sung. Your mind is on your house, your phones, your sleep, hunger, jealousy etc. You are just seated here. Your body is here. You are watching like an owl. You are also hearing it. Yet, your mind is somewhere else. Your mind is not here. This is not good. You must change your mind, it’s a must. Only if you change your mind can you experience. Your mind is extremely fickle. That is why today, only because you steadied your mind does this bhajan sound good to you.

The heart of man without virtues is like a foggy mirror. We discussed that we cannot see our face clearly when we look at a mirror that is foggy. That is why, when our mind is muddy when there is jealousy, knowledge will not be absorbed, it will not be recorded.

It is only when you press the right buttons on the recording device that you can record it. When you use the right buttons in the body - intellect, dedication, the faith/discipline need for it - can you record it (knowledge), otherwise you cannot. If you just sit for two or three hours and assume it will get recorded, how will it get recorded? It will not. Everybody else was able to record. They pressed the right buttons. We did not. We bring the tape recorder and expect it to record. How will that happen unless you press the right buttons? That is how our story is. If we just come and sit thinking, “The Guru teaches everyone the same way, let him teach me too”, but have no interest in it, how can we absorb knowledge? We cannot. There are too many stray thoughts. In other words, the heart of one without virtues is like a mirror that is foggy. It will grasp the gross form of the knowledge, but it is unable to distill the essence.

Episode 317

The heart of one without virtues is like a mirror that is foggy. It will grasp the gross form of the knowledge, but it is unable to distill the essence. Such knowledge can, in some instances, even lead to danger. Once, Drona decided to test them both on their knowledge (gained so far). He took them both to the forest. There they saw a strange sight. A small boy was being chased by a powerful Yaksha who was trying to catch him. The boy was running to evade capture. Bheema and Duryodhana approached the Yaksha and asked him why he was chasing the boy. The Yaksha answered, “His father pronounced a curse on my father”. What is this? He said, “His father pronounced a curse on my father. Due to that curse, my father died. That is why, I need to catch him and kill him. Only then will my revenge be fulfilled. This boy is evading capture even after a lot of chasing. If either of you two can catch the boy for me, I will give you a huge fortune. I will also give you the power of Mantra”. All Yakshas have the power of Mantras.

Greed took root in Duryodhana. Immediately, he started chasing the boy to capture him. The boy had Duryodhana run through the entire forest, but still evaded capture. Bheema though, just stood still and watched. “What is going on? Why are you standing still? Don’t you want any fortune?” the Yaksha asked Bheema. “Don’t you want fortune? Don’t you want the power of Mantra? Don’t you want to know the tricks of warfare? Then why are you standing like this?” “What can the poor boy do about the curse that the father gave? Why kill the young boy? I don’t need anything, it’s okay” said Bheema. Bheema had the ability to catch the boy, in fact both of them had the ability to catch him. But, Duryodhana went and Bheema did not which is when the Yaksha asked him. Bheema said, “I do not need anything. Why unjustly kill the boy? If his father killed your father, that is the enmity between them, not between you and the boy. That is why, I don’t want anything. This is not good. It is not right”.

With the greed that he would earn great fortune, Duryodhana chased the boy, ran after him and eventually, unable to catch him, returned exhausted. While they were talking, he came back with empty hands saying he was unable to catch the boy. The Yaksha was none other than Lord Vishnu himself. He then gave them darshana of his true form and said, “Did you see how much difference there is between the two of you? Bheema was satisfied with whatever God gave him thus far. Duryodhana desired wealth that was earned unrighteously”. He then went away.

“Did you see the difference between the two of you? You thought, “Why am I different? Why is he different?” Both of you are educated. Good. Did you see the differences, though? Both of you have the same Guru. You were born in the same lineage. So, why did you turn our different? There is a difference between you. Duryodhana wants fortune, he wants Mantra. Bheema said, “I am happy with the fortune I have, I am happy with the Mantra I have, I am happy with the knowledge I have gained. Why should I capture the boy?” Both Bheema and Drona gained their education from Drona. Yet, did you see how much difference there is in their thinking? Drona never gave special instructions to Bheema. It was his Sattvic nature that led him to behave that way. It was not just practice of Sattvic nature. He was perhaps born with Sattvic nature, that he nurtured and practiced in the meanwhile. That is why he was filled with that Sattvic nature. He had a lot of strength. Yet, he trusted the Sattvic qualities. That is why he was able to have darshana of the Lord. Because Duryhodhana had those wicked traits, he was unable to catch the boy. Duryodhana’s vices and greed made him act contrary to Sattvic nature. The greed in Duryodhana, the vices in Duryodhana acted against him which is why they prompted him to run and catch the boy. This is not good.

Episode 318

Satyakama. The Guru Gita says that one should see the peaceful form of the Guru who is an embodiment of God in all of God’s creation - in the animate as well as the inanimate. Since the Guru is all-pervading, he grants knowledge to the eligible disciple immediately without a second’s delay wherever the disciple may. Satyakama’s story clarifies this.

Satyakama was the disciple of sage Gautama. He seeks refuge with the Guru for knowledge. In order to test Satyakama, Gautama gives him 400 weak and emaciated cows and asks him to go to the forests. If he nurtures the cows well and increases their count to one thousand and then returns to Gautama, he would, at that time, give him knowledge of the self. Of the 400 cows the Guru gave him, half could not conceive. They would not contribute to the increase in count. They would only keep grazing, it is only the remainder of the cows that would useful. Some people who heard about this said, “What kind of test is this? Go to another Guru. If you do this, you will never attain self-realization. What is this business of taking care of cows? When will these cows give birth? Increasing their count to one thousand seems no where in sight. These cows do not even have the strength to give birth. That is why, go to another Guru. You will never attain self-realization here. You will get it elsewhere”. Everybody discouraged Satyakama.

But Satyakama who had firm devotion towards the Guru did not care for their suggestion. He set out to the forests as per the Guru’s command to serve the cows until the count grows to one thousand. “No matter what, I have to get to one thousand cows from these cows”. With great faith, Satyakama would feed the cows in the forest while meditating on the Guru. Some time passed like this.

Once, Gautama went there. Satyakama was very happy that his Guru gave him darshan even while he was still serving the cows. He was happy, “I am still serving the cows, the Guru himself came here to give me darshana, I am so fortunate”. “Stop all religious rituals and focus only on serving the cows. No more meditation, worship etc. You must give up all this. If you really want to serve the Guru, then with a focus on duty, give up all these for now and only take care of the cows”. Gautama ordered him and went away. As per the Guru’s command, Satyakama spent his entire time taking care of the cows and considering the cows as Parabrahman. That was it for him. He treated the cows as Guru, as Parabrahman. “I do not need to observe any religious rituals. Taking care of the cows itself is my religious ritual. That is my meditation”. He had no other thoughts.

After some time, the count of the cows crossed one thousand. But Satyakama did not even notice. He was just continuing to serve the cows. One day, a bull near the river spoke in human language, “Why are you still here? You approached the Guru for knowledge of the self. Our count crossed one thousand. Take us to the Guru’s hermitage. Learn knowledge of the self”. Then, Satyakama set out for darshana of the Guru. The bull spoke, “Prakashavaan” or one who illuminates and saying, “The God of Fire will teach you the next verse”, joined the herd.

Satyakama learned the first line of the teaching in the Principle of Truth. After walking a little distance, The God of Fire taught the second line “Anantavaan”. That means, God pervades the earth, the sky, all the worlds and all the seas, he is infinite. After walking even further, a swan taught him the third line, “Jyotishmaan”. That means, fire, sun, stars, moon etc are all powers of God. Finally a waterhen taught the final line, “Aayatanavaan”. Energies such as Prana, eye, ear, mind etc are caused by God’s grace.

Episode 319

Satyakama reached the Ashrama and entrusted the wealth of cows to the Guru. Very pleased, Gautama said, “You look like someone who has gained knowledge of the Absolute. Who taught you?” Satyakama related the happenings to the Guru and humbly prayed, “Gurudeva, knowledge that comes directly from the Guru is of the highest order. Kindly bless me with your teachings. I want initiation directly from the Guru. I will be very blessed”. Pleased with his faith and steadiness and his devotion to the Guru, Gautama taught him the same principles of the Absolute.
From this story, there are some truths that disciples must learn. It is devotion to the Guru alone that leads to knowledge. Guru is the Paramatman who pervades the animate and the inanimate. Knowledge gained directly from the Guru is of the highest order. It means that even though the animals taught him the principles, even though they took the form of gods in teaching him those principles, it is only when the knowledge comes directly from the Guru that it leads to fulfillment.

Yasya deve parabhaktih
Yatadeve tatha guru

One must have utmost devotion to God. One must have as much devotion to the Guru as he has towards God. Such a person is a great soul.

The story of Aruni in Mahabharata is an example of such devotion to the Guru. In the Gurukul of the great sage Dhaumya, there were three disciples called Aruni, Paila and Upamanya. Gurkul is the Guru’s home/residence. In the ancient days, there were no separate colleges. The Guru’s house itself acted as college and hostel in those days. The students would be dependent on the Guru for accommodation and food. Therefore, the students had a lot of humility. In the Gurkuls, Gurus with knowledge of the Supreme would also teach the ordinary sciences in those days. Therefore, there was no place there at all for knowledge not related to the Principle of Truth. Although such knowledge is common now, it was not taught in the Gurukuls. There was also the method where disciples were made to practice humility for a long time and finally given knowledge through Shaktipat (transmission of spiritual energy).

First, the disciples were taught good humility, good intellect and good Yoga. Once that was complete, they would gain knowledge within an instant through Shaktipat.

The Ashram of the great sage Dhaumya was one such. The sage would have them do a lot of labor for him, but would not give them education. He would eventually teach them at some point, but he wasn’t now. He was just getting them to do a lot of labor. This went on for a long time. One day, the Guru called Aruni and asked him to channel water into the fields. The disciple went to work on it. In the meanwhile, the wall of the canal leading to the field broke. Aruni hurriedly placed stones and sand to plug the hole. He was trying to channel only the required amount of water into the fields and channel the rest elsewhere. But, there was now a hole that he was trying to plug with sand. He placed stones, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Not only was the water going waste, but the crops were getting destroyed. Seeing this Aruni risked his life and laid down against the flow of water. He could not bring any more stones or sand. By the time he would bring more stones and sand, the hole was getting bigger. The fields were getting destroyed. “Since I am not able to place a lid on this flow, my body will become the lid”. He entered into the pit and laid down blocking the flow of water. The required amount of water was flowing into the field, but the water was not getting wasted.

When the disciple did not get back even after dark, Dhaumya came in search of him, “Why is he not back yet, what is he doing?” He could not find the disciple. He shouted out Aruni’s name. This is the work that Aruni was doing with real devotion.

Episode 320

We discussed that Guru Dhaumya set out for the fields in search of his disciple who did not return even after darkness fell. He did not find the disciple there. The Guru called out, “Aruni”. In response, he heard the moans of life ebbing out. Worriedly, the Guru immediately went and pulled the disciple out. The Guru’s heart wrung at the disciple’s devotion that had reached its peak. Immediately, he transmitted the 18 forms of knowledge through Hasta-Mastaka Samyogam (energy flow from the Guru’s hand to the disciple’s head). How long does it take once the Guru decides? Similarly, Guru Dhaumya would test the other disciples too until the time was ripe and would all of a sudden transmit knowledge in the path of Yoga when the time was right. Disciples should try to inculcate great devotion towards the Guru like Aruni did and not wander about cursing the Guru, “He still did not come”, “He still did not come”.

Knowledge without Guru is not knowledge. Some people do not like pleading humbly with the Guru or serving them for a long time in order to gain knowledge. “We should gain knowledge quickly, but not keep serving for days on end like this”, they think. They want to gain knowledge in a hurry and want to earn great reputation. I wonder if they think such earning can be kept forever. However, it is impossible to gain knowledge without Guru. It is like putting a ladder up to the sky. The story of Avakrita explains this.

The great soul who performed intense penance for Devendra, had him appear three times, increased his own lifespan and studied the infinite Vedas is Maharishi Bharadwaja. He saw God so many times. He increased his own lifespan so many times. He took so many births. As if all those were under his control, the great soul who won with his own strength and studied the infinite Vedas is Maharishi Bharadwaja. There is no other Maharishi like him. He had a friend called Raibhya. Bharadwaja and Raibhya set up their Ashramas close to each other and were immersed in spiritual practice and penance.

In due course, Raibhya had two sons named Arvavasu and Paravasu. Arva, Parva, nice names. Bharadwaja had a son called Avakrita. Raibhya’s sons got all their education from their father and gained fame as great scholars. Avakrita however had more interest in Japa (chanting the divine name), Dhyana (meditation) and Tapasya (penance). He would never try to gain any knowledge. He argued that everything could be gained with Tapasya. Desiring to gain knowledge without listening to the Guru is ego, is it not? Service to the Guru itself is great penance. Bharadwaja tried to explain to his son in many different ways that knowledge gained from such service (to the Guru) is what protects a person. Yet, Avakrita would not give up his stubborn nature. Avakrita could not tolerate Raibhya’s sons. He was even envious of their scholarliness. Bent upon becoming greater than them, he did intense penance for Indra like his father did.

Indra appeared and asked, “Son, why are you doing such intense penance?” “Lord, you are an epitome of compassion. After holding your divine feet, I cannot hold the feet of ordinary humans. Without having to study with Gurus, I must immediately perceive the Vedas, Shastras and all other knowledge. I cannot do service to the Guru. Gurus test terribly. Moreover, they do not at all provide initiation. That is why I am here. That is why I am doing this Tapasya. Please bless me”, pleaded Avakrita with Indra. Listening to this Indra said, “Son, your thinking has gone astray. Immediately go to your father, listen to him and learn the Vedas and related knowledge.
Jaya Guru Datta. Did he learn? Let us see ahead.

Episode 321

Avakrita performed intense penance for Indra. Indra appeared and asked, “Son, why are you doing such intense penance?” “Lord, you are an epitome of compassion. After holding your divine feet, I cannot hold the feet of ordinary humans. Without having to study with Gurus, I must immediately perceive the Vedas, Shastras and all other knowledge. If we just keep serving the Guru, we don’t know when they’ll have mercy on us. They will not give us initiation until then. They will not tell us about the principle of the Absolute. Moreover, they are humans. I don’t want to hold their feet. That is why I’m holding your feet. Please give me knowledge without fail. That is why I am doing this Tapasya. Please bless me”, pleaded Avakrita with Indra. Listening to this Indra said, “Son, your thinking has gone astray. Immediately go to your father, listen to him reverentially and learn the Vedas and all related knowledge. Knowledge gained by reverentially listening to the Guru grants humility, discrimination and even self-realization. Wishing to steal knowledge through Tapasya, will only increase your ego”.

Deciding, “I must do more Tapasya”, he began intensifying his penance. A few days passed. One day, Avakrita went to river Ganga for a bath. There he saw an old man picking up fistfuls of sand from the shore and throwing it into the river. Avakrita watched for a little while. The old man, who had no strength was struggling and out of breath. Still, he did not stop throwing the sand into the river. He would just not stop. He would keep picking up sand and throwing into the river. Witnessing this, Avakrita took pity on him, went up to him and asked, “What are you doing, grandpa?” “I am building a bridge across river Ganga”. Oh oh. He’s throwing fistfuls of sand into the river to build a bridge across the river. Hearing this Avakrita laughed and said, “Grandpa, you have advanced so much in age, but without any knowledge, you are embarking on an impossible mission. Will that ever happen? Will you build a bridge across river Ganga with this sand? As soon as you throw the sand in the river, it’s getting washed away. Is it possible to build a bridge with this sand on this great, rapidly flowing river?”

The old man replied, “There are some people who, without a Guru and without trying to gain knowledge are doing Tapasya. There are many who do this. They claim they don’t need a Guru. They say they can achieve anything with Tapasya. That is not possible. But, in case that were possible, why is it not possible to build a bridge with the sand. If that is possible, this is possible too. They are trying to achieve an impossible task. Let’s assume that I am trying the same”. Then Avakrita understood that Indra himself had come in the guise of the old man. Indra drilled some sense into Avarkita, “Learn Vedas and other knowledge from your father. You will soon become a scholar”. Yet Avakrita did not let go and got down to Tapasya again. This time, Indra granted him knowledge. But, that only led to his destruction. Subject to various severe difficulties, Avakrita eventually realized his mistake. Like in Avakrita’s story, we should not ask for knowledge without Guru. We should realize that there is no greater penance than service to the Guru and that, that alone leads to knowledge.

Episode 322

When one is in the presence of the Guru, when one is doing Sadhana in the path taught by the Guru or when one is residing in powerful divine places, the Arishadvargas (the six passions of the mind) calm down. If we assume then that we have achieved something, that means we are fooling ourselves. We should be happy that we were successful due to the Guru’s grace. The source of passions like desire, anger etc is carelessness. Some people have over-confidence. They exhibit the courage that they can face anything. But they finally fail. Confidence is good, but over-confidence and pride are not good. They derail the duty and lead to the man’s destruction. They lead Sadhana down the wrong path. Someone as great as Narada himself once had this experience.

Maharishi Narada during his wanderings once reached the place where Kama Dahana (kama = desire, dahana = burned) took place. In other words, that was where Manmadha (Cupid) was burned to ashes. The divine tranquility of that place was very appealing to his mind. He decided to do some penance there for some time. Narada’s penance was progressing uninterruptedly. At that time, a few celestial maidens tried to disturb his penance. However, all their attempts were unsuccessful. Narada was not even angry with those who tried to disturb his penance. Happily, he completed his penance and went straight to Kailas. There, instead of keeping quiet, he proudly bragged that he gained victory over desire and anger. Shiva heard everything, laughed and kept silent. He did not say anything. He thought, “Is it so? Okay” and did not say anything. He did not even say, “That is not right”. He just laughed and kept silent. Later, Narada went to Brahma and again boasted in a similar manner. Brahma too maintained silence. He did not commend Narada. Finally, he went to Vaikuntha, stood before Vishnu and said, “Lord, I gained victory over desire and anger”, as if he alone did Sadhana.

In reality, there is a big reason why the celestial maidens did not get their way with Narada. We discussed that the place where Narada did penance was the sacred place of Kama Dahana. That is the place where Lord Shiva did penance, therefore, there will be no perversions or distortions of the mind there. It is due to the greatness of that sacred place that Narada’s penance had no disturbance whatsoever. His penance continued uninterrupted. Vishnu who knew this very well tested Narada in order to remove his ego.

As Narada was on his way back, he saw a beautiful royal mansion. It belonged to a king called Ambarish. His daughter was Srimati. She was extremely beautiful. As soon as Narada sees her, he falls for her and wishes to marry her. He wishes that he gain the handsome form of Vishnu. At the same time, Narada’s nephew Parvata arrives wishing to marry Srimati. Ambarish says that he will marry his daughter off to the person that she chooses during her Swayamvara (practice where the bride would choose a husband from among a list of suitors). Narada and Parvata, unbeknownst to each other, approach Vishnu and pray that the other person become monkey-faced. Let us see how they become monkey-faced.

Episode 323

Both Narada and Parvata came to the royal assembly, each one vying with the other to wed Srimati. Unbeknownst to each other, they approached Vishnu and prayed that the other person become monkey-faced. Sri Hari fulfills the desire of both. What does he care? He fulfilled them both. Then, both of them turned monkey-faced. Sri Hari too participated in the Swayamvara. In the Swayamvara, Srimati weds Vishnu. Narada gets angry and curses Vishnu, “Since you deceived me and gave me the form of a monkey, may you be born as a human on earth and suffer separation from your wife. Eventually, may it be with the help of the monkeys that you get your wife back”.

Narada who thought he had gained victory over desire and anger had succumbed to both without even realizing. He fell prey to desire and succumbed to anger. It was his desire to marry the daughter of king Ambarish. His anger led him to curse Sri Vishnu himself. Did you see? Afterwards, he realized his mistake and prayed to Vishnu for forgiveness. “You created all this play…it’s unfair. Please forgive me.” Therefore, in the matters of Indriyas (sense organs), in the matters of desire and anger, one must constantly be cautious. We never know when it will hit us. We never know what kind of fickleness of mind it’ll give way to. The feeling of ego, “I achieved” is not good. Without the Guru’s grace showing us the path, it is not possible for anyone to gain victory over these passions of the mind.

It is to benefit the Sadhana that God, out of compassion, creates a favorable environment for the seeker. If one can understand this and utilizes it properly, their Sadhana will progress even better.

Moving ahead, Indeevaraksha. These days, it is very common for students in universities and colleges to make fun of their teachers. Just as older students “rag” (haze) new students, the students rag some lecturers every day. It does not happen very much these days because the government has woken up to this truth. For those who are in the business of making cinema, this has become a funny theme. They weave a story out of just students making fun of teachers and make a movie out of it. The main reason for this is that we are forgetting our own culture. We have forgotten our real culture. We forgot our traditions and our Dharma. Disrespect even towards teachers teaching worldly subjects is not good. They should not be poked fun at, they should be tormented.

But, if one challenges a Guru that grants knowledge or pokes fun at him, the Guru Gita says that such a person will be born as a ferocious demon spirit in a jungle without water. Let’s talk about a story from Markandeya Purana in this context.

Those were the days when there was free movement between the world of Gandharvas (celestial musicians) and the world of humans. The residents of Gandharva Loka lived in a pleasure-centric world. Indeevaraksha was a Gandharva. Visiting the hermitages of Brahma Rishis on earth was a pastime for Indeevaraksha. Let us talk about the story of Indeevaraksha.

Episode 324

We were discussing the story of Indeevaraksha. Visiting the hermitages of Brahma Rishis on earth was a pastime for the Gandharva/celestial being, Indeevaraksha. However, he did not have the sense to be humble when he visited them. Seeing his rogue like demeanor, the Brahma Rishis would not really give him much consideration. Nor would they bless him. Nor did he really know that he should try to get their blessings. But that did not mean that he was very young. He was already married by then and had a little daughter called Manorama. One day, he went to the Ashrama of Brahmamitra, a Brahma Rishi. By the time he went there, the sage was imparting knowledge of Ayurveda to some students.

Indeevaraksha who thought that great sages only had knowledge of Vedanta was amazed at the depth of knowledge Brahmamitra had in the sciences. He was even impressed. He had the desire to learn this knowledge himself too. Immediately, he went to the sage and in a tone that conveyed humility only for humility’s sake said, “Please teach me Ayurveda too”. Then, Brahmamitra looked at Indeevaraksha from head to toe again and again. The sage saw a golden crown on his head, mouth chewing betel leaves, fragrant perfumes and scents on him and a pair of golden footwear.

The sage was disgusted. He said without any hesitation, “Oh man of pleasures, Ayurveda is knowledge that is given to those with sacrificing nature. It is of no use to rogues like you. Go, go”.

Indeevaraksha felt like he was beheaded. Thinking, “Fie, this sage has no knowledge of worldly affairs at all whatsoever. He does not even know how courteously he should talk to residents of the upper worlds like me. I know how to teach such people a lesson”, he went away. But, he did not leave the place. He hid behind some trees and with his mystical powers, made himself invisible and went back to the Ashrama. The Maharishi too had divine vision, of course. Yet, he did not pay much attention to Indeevaraksha who now came in an invisible form. The Maharishi just thought that Indeevaraksha would leave after sometime.

But Indeevaraksha who had magical powers did not at all leave. He stayed there for a few years and learned all Ayurvedic knowledge with his magical powers. On the final day, he had uncontrollable joy on account of having learned so much. Due to the deficiency in his nobility, he had arrogance of victory instead of gratitude. He regained his form puffed up ego and dramatically laughing and clapping said, “Hehehe, Maharishi, you think I cannot learn if you do not teach me? Did you know that I stayed right here and learned all Ayurveda?” The students there were surprised. They did not understand how he was right there, learning everything. They are of course afraid to speak in the presence of their Guru. They thought, “On one had he is claiming to have learned everything from the Guru, on the other, he is speaking with arrogance”.

In the meanwhile, the Guru whose natural state was always supreme peace burned with anger said… what did he say?

Episode 325

The Guru whose natural state was supreme peace suddenly burned with anger and said thus, “Aye, you inferior Gandharva! The Dharma Shastras (scriptures on Dharma) state that gaining knowledge by deceiving the Guru results in birth as a Rakshasa/demon. I had ignored you and let you be because you were hiding out of keen interest in knowledge, but you are so boastful and conceited. Deceiving the Guru was mistake one. I knew you were hiding and listening. I knew very well that you were here with your magical powers. Still I kept quiet thinking, “He is making a lot of effort for knowledge, let him learn, what’s the big deal.” I kept quiet. But, rather than be quiet yourself, you insult me? Deceiving the Guru was one mistake. After that, going against the Guru was another mistake. Finally, contempt in the presence of the Guru was the biggest mistake of all”. “As a result of these mistakes, may you become a rakshasa/demon right away”, cursed the sage.

We discussed earlier that his name already had “Rakshasa” in it. Hearing the curse that fell like lightning, everybody froze. Indeevaraksha trembled with fear. Recovering quickly, he begged the sage in various ways to forgive him for his mistakes and to withdraw the curse. Brahmamitra, who was naturally very peaceful immediately softened and said, “Despite all the mistakes, you are my disciple too. I do not like you to become a demon. But, it is inevitable that you pay for your mistakes. Your intellect itself is flawed. For that to be removed, a brave warrior will need to use the Agneyastram (fire weapon) on you and purify you with fire. That day will come soon. In the meanwhile, be careful not to indulge in too many demoniacal acts. Go!”

Indeevaraksha was satisfied. He was very repentant. He lost his pride. Soon, demonism took over him. Therefore, he made it a habit to wander in the forests, far away from people, because it would have been difficult if he were close to people. Many years passed like this. One day, by divine intervention, his own daughter Manorama came to the forest he was in, during her recreational travels. Indeevaraksha could not recognize his daughter who had grown up into a young woman. He pounced on her to torment and eat her. Manorama began shrieking in fear. At that time, Svarochi, the father of the very pure and very close friend Svarochisha Manu, had set out hunting and was in the same forest. Svarochisha Manu was very pure and very friendly. He was a good friend of everyone. Svarochi heard the screams of Manorama. He started fighting the demon to protect her. After a long fight, he finally invoked the fire weapon and used it on the demon. As soon as the fire weapon hit the demon, his curse was lifted. Indeevaraksha’s original form was revealed. After that, Indeevaraksha spent the rest of life making good use of his medical knowledge, his ego was removed.

Did you see the great sin incurred on account of disrespecting the Guru? Did you notice how many disasters it led to? Here, since the Guru was a Brahma Rishi, he had him experience the inevitable outcome of his sins early by way of the curse. All Gurus may not have this kind of power. This story is teaching us and clearly showing us that even if they (the Gurus) tolerate and keep quiet, rogue disciples will have no way than to pay for the grave sins in their future births.

Episode 326

Anandam/Happiness/Bliss. Some people say, “We are so happy and comfortable. Why do we need a Guru?” It may be true that you are comfortable. You are leading a contented life owing to the strength of your previous merit. When that punya/merit gets exhausted, difficulties again are inevitable. The wheel of happiness and sorrow is unavoidable for living beings. However the bliss the Guru grants is beyond all of this. That is not something that gets exhausted. It is eternal.

That is why, the Guru Gita sings glories of the Sadguru, “Brahmanandam Paramasukhadam”. That means, he is an epitome of Brahmananda/Supreme Bliss and provides Paramasukham/Absolute Happiness. Let us observe the difference between ordinary happiness and Absolute Happiness.

Man desires to always be happy and constantly strives for the same. As far as we know, all these kinds of happiness come to us based on our Indriyas/sense organs. The joy experienced by Gods is much stronger than the joy experienced by humans. Whatever it is, it is not possible to experience one kind of happiness while experiencing another kind. For example, it is not possible to experience simultaneously the happiness that comes from relaxation when one is in solitude and the happiness caused from being felicitated in an assembly of distinguished people. The happiness caused by one sense organ often adversely affects another of the many sense organs. If one eats to satisfy his tongue, the stomach hurts. That sense organ hurts. All happiness that we experience is of this kind.

Happiness that comes from knowledge is greater than the happiness that is caused by the sense organs. All these (caused by the sense organs) keep vanishing slowly. It is the Sadguru alone that can grant happiness from knowledge. If we assume that the joys we experience are like little droplets of water, the happiness caused by knowledge is like a great ocean. That is why all these joys are described as aspects of bliss.

We discussed that the Sadguru is regarded as Brahmananda Swaroopa (epitome of Supreme Bliss). That means, when compared with the bliss that the Sadguru revels in, the bliss experienced by the gods too are little particles of dust, let alone the happiness experienced by humans. Therefore, if we are able to earn the grace of the Sadguru he will grant us such bliss. That means, we will begin to experience the great ocean of bliss ourselves. Then, you will have the experience of those little droplets of happiness all at once. That means, all our desires would be fulfilled at once. Not only that, happiness caused by sense gratification gets exhausted, but happiness from knowledge is unlimited. That is the state of Supreme Bliss. The Sadguru alone has the power to grant us that state.

He alone has the power to give us that supreme bliss. Transient happiness can be induced by ourselves or by friends and family. But, eternal, supreme bliss can be granted by Sadguru alone. Therefore, when we worship the Guru with devotion, even while experiencing small joys by his grace, we will eventually reach the state where we can attain Paramasukham/Absolute Happiness.

That is why here, Brahmanandam refers to the complete and Absolute Happiness. Absolute Happiness gives us the state of eternal and supreme happiness.

Episode 327

Satyatapa. Saduguru’s grace transforms even a cruel person into a Maharishi/great sage. Did you see? Even a hard stone melts. A hard-hearted person is transformed. Cruel nature changes. It helps overcome even the most difficult moral predicaments with ease. The story of Satyatapa is an example.

Satyatapa is a title that he earned. In the beginning, he was a big wayside robber. His occupation was to lay siege in the forest routes, *** people and loot their money. One day, as he was wandering the forests, he encountered a sage called Aruni who was immersed in penance. Wanting to loot money from him, he screamed aloud and pounced on the sage. Sage Aruni opened his eyes and looked at him once and then calmly immersed himself in penance again. The cruel man was very surprised. Unbeknownst to him, his mind changed. Immediately, he offered obeisance to the saint and said, “Sir, I attacked many people, I killed many people, but I have never seen someone that is as fearless as you. Seeing you, there is some change in my mind. I will not commit any more sins”. He prayed, “Please show me the path to liberation”.

Without responding to the man, the sage got up and left. Pitifully praying to him, the cruel man began following the sage wherever he went. As he kept following, one day, all of a sudden, a tiger came out of nowhere and was about to pounce on the sage. The cruel man who noticed this bolted like an arrow, fought the tiger and killed it.

Pleased with the man for saving his life, the sage said, “Son, today onwards, speak only the truth. I bless you. Since you saved me from the tiger, I give you this boon. However, do not use Shakata tree for food”. Somehow, the sage gave a boon, but also advised of a rule he needed to follow. Normally, some sages provide initiation and then prescribe rules to follow. But, we are remembering this man’s story, this man’s transformation. Merely by Darshana, by the pleasing Darshana of the Guru, through the actions of the Guru each minute, the man gained transformation.

He who had initially wanted to attack the sage is now transformed by the sage. So, the sage is saying, “You must speak the truth. But, do not use the Shakata tree for food. This is your initiation”.

The man was overjoyed with just this. With the Guru’s permission, he sat in a spot in the forest and began doing penance. Strangely, everywhere he looked in the forest, he could only see Shakata trees. He had come to such a forest. Bound by the Guru’s command, he continued his penance without eating, because everywhere he saw, there were only Shakata trees. The Guru forbid him from eating from that tree. Therefore, he undertook penance without any food.

One day, the great sage Durvasa came to this man’s Ashrama for food. The cruel sage prayed to Lord Shiva. Immediately, a gem studded bowl appeared with the food he desired. Durvasa got a great meal. Pleased, Durvasa said, “Your devotion to the Guru is wonderful. You are living with truth as your penance”. Congratulating him, “Therefore, from today onwards, your name is Satyatapa”, the sage left.

Episode 328

One day as Satyatapa was cutting twigs to feed the sacrificial fire, he accidentally cut his finger with the knife. The finger detached and fell. But, by the power of his penance, the piece of finger that was lying on the ground came back to its original position and attached itself to the hand again. Indra found out about this strange event through some Kinnaras/celestial beings. To test his adherence to truth, Vishnu and Indra came in the guise of a boar and a hunter respectively.

As the hunter chased it, the boar feigned fear and ran into Satyatapa’s Ashram. The hunter came right after and asked, “Swamy, which way did the boar go?” Satyatapa was in a bind. If he spoke the truth, the boar would lose its life. If he lied, he would have violated the Guru’s command. What could he do? If he admitted that the boar was hiding inside, the hunter would kill the boar. If he did not, he would have violated the Guru’s command.

Just then, the following words rolled out involuntarily from him, “Sir, it is the eye that saw the boar. But the eye that saw cannot talk. The mouth that speaks did not see. How can mouth that did not see say that it did?” He spoke these strange words. Pleased with his adherence to truth and compassion, Vishu and Indra revealed their divine forms to him, “Good. You are only speaking the truth. But, you are also speaking without causing any hurt. Good”.

He said that the eyes could only see, but not talk and that the mouth could only talk, but not see. So, he neither denied nor admitted to the boar being in the Ashrama. Did you see how the Guru’s grace transformed such a cruel man into such a sage? When one has the Sadguru’s grace and when one adheres to truth in even in the most difficult situations, the energy/power will automatically flow. The power to protect that adherence to truth will come automatically.

Now, Maharishi Bhrugu. As children grow up, they keep learning new things. Owing to that, they feel some satisfaction. Each time they learn something new, they are happy they learned something. So far so good, but some people pick up the habit of bragging about what they know. It is okay to learn and be silent, but some people keep boasting. Gradually, they become egoistic that they know more than everyone else. But without stopping there, they even think that no one else but him knows anything at all. They do not, at their age, understand that all these are aberrations caused due to ignorance. To help them understand and to impart wisdom, Sadgurus go through any amount of humiliation. Maharishi Bhrugu’s story is a great example.

In the ancient times, great souls who adhered to a life of austerity and penance would not easily come into towns. They could not stand the town, their mind would not take to it.

People in the town are drowned in illusion and do not seem to act in accordance with Dharma. If a great soul ever entered town, all denizens of the town would serve him with great reverence. If a great soul came into town, everyone would offer their respect. Contrary to this, a young man by name Nidhaaga went to Maharishi Bhrugu who had come into town and posed Vedantic questions. He demonstrated his scholarliness to the sage. Only when one has a sincere desire to learn do the elders whole-heartedly provide answers. Otherwise, they will not. They think about how one is asking the question and how they should answer that question. They comprehend the disciple’s nature. That is when they will provide an answer, otherwise they will not. If the disciple is posing the question for fun or to kill time, they will not answer. That is the nature of great souls.

So, Maharishi Bhrugu stayed silent and inert. He did not say anything. He did not speak even after being repeatedly asked.

Episode 329

We discussed that a young man by name Nidhaaga went to Maharishi Bhrugu who had come into town and posed various questions. He demonstrated all his scholarliness to the sage. Only when one has a sincere desire to learn do the elders whole-heartedly provide answers. Otherwise, they will not. That is the nature of great souls. So, we discussed that Maharishi Bhrugu stayed silent and inert. With that Nidhaaga got extremely charged and demonstrated all of his Vedic scholarliness. He demonstrated every bit of it.

In the meanwhile, Nidhaaga noticed the king’s procession coming that way. He stopped talking immediately, stepped aside and stood in humility, fear and devotion. Maharishi Bhrugu though saw the procession and began shouting, “What is that? What is that?” Nidhaaga said, “The king is going on an elephant. Do not shout!” “Between the two of them, which one is the king and which one is the elephant?” the sage asked innocently.

Nidhaaga said, “The one with the crown is the king and the one that is fat is the elephant, isn’t it?” The sage whispered in his ear, “Which one has the crown?”

In the meanwhile, the king’s procession passed. Furious, Nidhaaga immediately climbed up the sage and sat on him and shouted, “The one that is below like you, is the elephant and the one that is on top like me is the king. Do you understand?” The sage very calmly said, “But what I am seeing below and on top is only me”. As soon as Nidhaaga heard that, he felt his head spinning. This was the Vedanta he had been talking about all along – that “I” am all pervading. That is what the sage was asking from experience, “Who is the king and who is the elephant?” He gave the message that the same consciousness pervades everyone. Without comprehending that, Nidhaaga was the sinner who turned arrogant and climbed up and sat on the sage.

The moment he realized this, Nidhaaga immediately jumped off sage Bhrugu, held on to his feet and prayed for forgiveness. As soon as he touched the sage’s feet, as soon as he came in contact with the Guru’s feet, the grace of the Guru flowed and knowledge turned into experience.

We discussed earlier that to impart knowledge to the disciples, the Guru goes through any amount of hardship. He will tolerate any number of humiliations. The sage was in the situation where he had the man sitting on his head. This story demonstrates that the Guru will do anything to impart knowledge to his disciples. Jaya Guru Datta.
Next, Trishanku. Regardless of how powerful one is, if he does not have the grace of the Guru, if he disregards the Guru, he cannot escape destruction. Trishanku’s story is an example for this. Trishanku was the son of the Aruni, a king in the Sun dynasty. His original name was Satyavrata (Satya=truth, vrata=vow).

His name was Satyavrata, but his nature was not very good. He once abducted a Brahmin bride during her wedding. He suddenly took her away. Enraged, Aruni banished him from the kingdom.

Episode 330

We were talking about Trishanku. We discussed that Trishanku was the son of the Aruni, a king in the Sun dynasty. His original name was Satyavrata (Satya=truth, vrata=vow). His name was Satyavrata, but his nature was not very good. Once, he abducted a bride during her wedding. Enraged, Aruni banished him from the kingdom. Satyavrata went to the forests and was wandering around with the tribals. He wondered why Guru Vasishtha who knew the codes of righteousness did not interfere when his father gave him such a big punishment for the small crime he had committed. “Maharishi Vasishtha was right there, but he did not say a word”. He was angry with sage Vasishtha. His anger for Vasishtha turned into affection for sage Vishwamitra. Even though he was wicked, he had a few good traits.

In those days, when Vishwamitra had gone away for penance, his wife who was unable to fend for the children attempted to sell off one of her children. Satyavrata noticed this. Satyavrata took pity on her and stopped her, “I will tie a sack of food to the tree in your Ashrama every day. Please eat that. Do not sell your children”. From that day on, he would hunt the animals in the forest, tie up the meat in a sack and hand them over to Vishwamitra’s wife. One day, he was unable to find any animal to hunt. When he was wondering about what he could do, he spotted sage Vasishtha’s cow. Owing to his anger for Vasishtha, what did he do? He killed the cow, ate the meat and also gave the meat to Vishwamitra’s family in the usual sack. When Vasishtha found out about this, he was furious, “Aye, wicked man! You abducted a woman. You were subject to your father’s wrath. Now, you even killed a cow. These are three blots on you”. He cursed him, “Therefore, you will have the name Trishanku and wander about as a ghost that everybody can see”.

While this may be, Satyavrata who was in the form of a ghost got the Mother Goddess’ Navakshara Mantra from the son of a sage. He chanted the mantra intensely. After he chanted the mantra a lot, he decided to do Japa Shanti (shanti=peace) for which he invited priests to do Homa (ritual that involves a sacrificial fire). The priests rejected the invitation saying, “You who turned into a ghost due to curse by Guru, have no right to study the Vedas. We will not be your priests”. Humiliated, Satyavrata decided to give up his body. He made a pyre and before jumping into it, meditated on his favorite deity, Goddess Parameshwari. Pleased with his devotion, Mother Lalita Parameshwari appeared in the sky and said, “King, do not commit suicide. Your father has gotten old. He will call you the day after tomorrow and coronate you king”. She even removed his ghostliness. By the grace of this event, Trishanku became effulgent again. King Aruni learned of these happenings from sage Narada.

Aruni had Trishanku come back home, handed over the kingdom and went away to the forests for penance. Trishanku became the emperor, did many rituals for Mother Goddess and ruled over the kingdom righteously for a long time. However, in later times, he insisted with sage Vasishtha that he wanted to go to heaven with his body, despite being repeatedly told not to. Unable to achieve this, he got stuck in between. That is what is called Trishanku Swargam (swargam=heaven) that Vishwamitra built for him by pouring the entire power of his penance. He had gathered all his power and wasted it. He created an entire heaven.

Did you see how one who does not have the power of the Guru’s grace or has violated the Guru’s order gets destroyed due to the intellect going astray even if he has had the vision of the Mother Goddess by his own worship. This story shows us.

Let’s talk about his again and again so we can understand it even better.

Episode 331

The actions of the Guru in relation to King Shakunta sometimes seem very strange and unrighteous. We are talking about King Shakunta. But that does not mean we can hastily attribute faults/sins to him. If we did that, we would be sinners. The world does not know what such people’s divine determination is until the result of such actions completely plays out. King Shakunta’s story explains this to us.

Normally, people criticize the Guru a lot. Even those considered disciples sometimes through their words, actions and the way they lead their life criticize thinking they see some fault in the Guru’s behavior. It is only later we understand. We tell ourselves, “Why is he doing this?”, “Why is he doing this?”, “Why is he doing this?”, “He should not do this”, “He should not say this”. However, whatever he (the Guru) does and whatever he says is very correct. Here is an example for that.

A long ago, Sri Rama started a great Yagna (ritual sacrifice with a specific objective) for universal welfare. Even though he was an aspect of the Paramatman, even though he was Paramatman himself, Sri Rama had taken on a human form, so he had to follow human actions and activities. In the process of observing such actions, he once decided on a Yagna.

King Shakunta who had come to witness the Yagna saw sage Vasishtha outside the place of Yagna and prostrated to him right there. As he was proceeding to go inside, he received news that some danger struck the kingdom. He immediately turned back. He did not even enter the place of Yagna. He learned of the imminent danger to his kingdom before he stepped in. Vishwamitra who was inside the place of Yagna noticed this. Enraged thinking that Shakunta deliberately did not pay respects to him, Vishwamitra ordered Rama to bring Shakunta’s head and throw at his feet. See how this turned out. “How arrogant is he? He offered salutations to Vasishtha and left right away. Bring his head and throw it at my feet”.

Bound by his Guru’s order, Sri Rama sent Lakshmana to capture Shakunta and bring to him. In the meanwhile, Narada slowly conveyed this news to Shakunta and said, “O King, at this time, only Anjana Devi, Anjaneya’s Mother can save you. This unfortunate event has happened to you. Rama is bound by the command of his Guru who asked him to bring your head and offer at his feet. So, they are coming here with their armies. You must go seek refuge with Lord Anjaneya right away. But, since you cannot directly get Lord Anjaneya, you must go and seek refuge with Anjana Devi. Anjana Devi is the only one who can save you. Go to her, but do not tell her all the details. If you do, I don’t know whether or not she’ll agree. Promise to her truthfully, “I did not commit any mistake” and beg her to save your life. Tell her, “I am not a criminal. I did not commit any mistake”. Pray to her to save you.

King Shakunta did as told. Anjana Devi even promised to save his life. Afterwards, when she found out the details, she got worried and prayed to Lord Anjaneya. Anjana Devi learned all the details later. Once she did she thought, “What a big deed has happened here. Now, he has to oppose Rama. I promised to save his life without knowledge of all the details. What should I do? Anjaneya is my only refuge”. She prayed to Anjaneya. As soon as Anjaneya arrived, she said, “Son, he is innocent. Moreover, he is a devotee of Rama. He came to my house and begged me to save his life. To him who came home and begged for life, I promised to save (his) life”. Let’s see what happens after.

Episode 332

King Shakunta did as he was told to, he sought refuge with Anjana Devi. Anjana Devi even promised to protect his life. Afterwards, when she found out the details of what actually happened, she got worried and prayed to Lord Anjaneya, “Anjaneya is my only refuge”. As soon as Anjaneya arrived, she said, “Son, he is innocent. Moreover, he is a devotee of Rama. I promised to protect his life. But this is going to bring enmity with our beloved Lord Rama. You may decide what should be done”. Anjaneya thought for a second, “Mother, Lord Rama is the epitome of Dharma. My duty is to uphold my mother’s word”. He built a fort around King Shakunta with his tail and sat on top of the fort chanting Lord Rama’s name thinking, “Come what may, Lord Rama himself will protect me”.

After some time, Lakshmana arrived and asked him to hand over King Shakunta. When Anjaneya refused, a battle ensued between the two. You all know of the battle – the Rama Anjaneya battle that is to follow. Defeated, Lakshmana returned. Rama got angry and came down himself to battle, “What did my devotee do? He violated my command? He did not hand over Shakunta?” He came down himself to the battle. Anjaneya prostrated to Lord Rama and said, “You are the true representation of Dharma. I am standing here to protect my mother’s vow. I promised to protect my mother’s vow of truth. If you wish, please kill me and take the king. I give you permission for that. I am yours, I am eternally yours. You may take the king once you kill me”. Rama got furious and showered arrows on him, “What? You are opposing me? Instead of handing over Shakunta as asked, you are asking me to kill you?”

Hanuman closed his eyes, prostrated and began singing Lord Rama’s name. “Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama, Rama”. He continued, “Sri Rama, Rama, Rama…” Strangely, all of Rama’s arrows bounced back and fell at Rama’s feet. It was all very mystical. Rama worriedly thought, “Deva Rishi, Rama’s arrows have also gone in vain”. In the meanwhile, Narada appeared, “Why are you both at war? What is happening?” Rama said, “Narada Maharishi, what can I say? To whom can I say? Rama’s arrow is very great. You know that it does not care about who is at the other end. Even the arrow turned back and fell here. Now, my life is a waste. If Rama’s arrows have turned back, there is no use of doing anything else. Therefore, my life is a waste. Please tell me what I can do now”.

Narada laughed happily and said, “Lord, your play is unparalleled. There is nothing you do not know. Yet, since you asked, I will tell you. This is not a defeat for you. It is victory. Vishwamitra enacted such a big drama to tell the worlds that Rama’s name “Rama, Rama, Rama” is more powerful than Rama’s arrow. Rama’s name is so wonderful . Rama Rama, Rama, Rama. The king asked for Shakunta’s head to be thrown at his feet, but he did ask for the head to be detached from the body.”

At the beginning of this story, we felt that Vishwamitra was petty, “He got mad, he was angry. Does he not know? Can he not use his divine vision to find out what happened to Shakunta?” We went through all those thoughts and see what it has come to now. It can also be said that he used the king to find out the extent of Hanuman’s devotion. So here, eventually, we find out how broad-minded he was, how much he was bound to universal welfare, how selfless he was. That is why nobody should hastily criticize the actions of great souls. We should accept the Guru’s actions with reverence and happiness, but not criticize them.

Episode 333

Gurorati gurubhaktih visishyate
Devotion towards the Guru is more important than the Guru. What’s more important than the Guru is the devotion towards the Guru. The method of education differs in each Yuga. The disciple gains knowledge based on his faith and devotion, his past karma, the parents’ upbringing, environment etc. But, everybody needs devotion towards the Guru which is more important than all of these. There is nothing that cannot be achieved when one has devotion to the Guru. Devotion towards the Guru is more powerful than the Guru. Ekalavya is proof for this.

We know that Dronacharya was Guru to Pandavas and Kauravas. He taught them archery. In the surrounding area, there lived a tribal king’s son Ekalavya who was also very interested in learning archery. He had a very keen desire to learn archery. He knew very well about Dronacharya. With a mountain of desire to somehow seek refuge and learn archery from him, he approached Guru Dronacharya. Ekalavya prayed, “Sir, please teach me archery too”. Dronacharya looked at home and said, “You are the son of the forest king. Your occupation is to commit violence. If I teach you archery, you will kill other living beings. This skill is limited to the Kshatriyas (warrior/royal class). Why should I teach you? You will kill and eat other creatures with this knowledge. That is why, I cannot teach you archery”. Dronacharya refused to teach Ekalavya.

Dronacharya said that this was limited to the princes because he knew the future very well. Ekalvya decided to somehow learn this skill. He observed Dronacharya’s face carefully. He returned home. He created an earthen replica of Dronacharya. He placed that statue in front of him and thinking that the Guru himself was teaching him, he learned archery with immense concentration. With that kind of education, he gained good expertise. He learned more than the princes did.

With a view to testing their skill in archery, Dronacharya once brought the princes to the forest. He pointed to a bird in a tree and asked each one to take aim carefully and shoot. Each one got ready to do so thinking, “Oh, that’s it? This is easy”. Before each one took aim and released the arrow, Guru Drona asked, “What do you see now?” In response each one variously said, “Tree”, “Branches”, “Leaves”, “Bird”, “Bird’s head” etc. Arjuna alone said, “I can only see the bird’s eye”. We can see that Arjuna’s concentration was that great. Dronacharya said, “Arjuna, I had promised you once that I would teach you archery so there would be no one greater than you in that skill”.

At exactly that moment, the hunter dog they had started barking. Immediately, an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the dog. It was clear that someone had used “Shabda vedhi” to shoot the arrow (shooting the arrow following the source of sound). The arrow appeared just as Guru Dronacharya was speaking. The arrow hit the barking dog exactly in its mouth.

Episode 334

Drona had once promised, “Arjuna, I will teach you archery so there would be no one greater than you in that skill”. At exactly that moment, their hunter dog barked. Drona was praising Arjuna, “You said you could only see the eye of the bird. We saw what everyone else said. Your aim is so great. Your concentration is so good.

Otherwise, you would have also seen what the others said they saw. They said they saw branches, they saw the wings of the birds and so on. That is not archery. You said you could only see the eye of the bird. That means you can see your target and aim for it”. No sooner did he say this than their hunter dog barked. No sooner did the dog bark, than an arrow came out of nowhere and hit the dog. He realized that someone used the knowledge “Shabda Vedhi” to shoot the arrow (shooting the arrow following the source of sound).

Amazed, they walked in the direction the arrow came from. What did they see? Ekalavya was sitting in meditation. Near him was a replica of Dronacharya. Everybody was surprised to see that replica. Ekalavya was very pleased to see the Guru himself come. He welcomed Dronacharya with due honors, worshiped him and humbly said, “I treated your replica as verily you and learned this skill with concentration”.

When Arjuna saw Ekalavya, he felt envious. He felt that Ekalavya gained more skill than he did. Drona comprehended Arjuna’s feelings. The Guru contemplated with a lot of foresight. He arrived at a conclusion and said to Ekalavya, “Son, isn’t it my boon to you that you learned this skill?” “Yes Gurudeva”, said Ekalavya. “Then, you need to give Guru Dakshina”, said Drona. (Guru Dakshina is the offering made to Guru in gratitude for the knowledge given by the Guru). “Please let me know what you want”, said Ekalavya. “Nothing much, you need to give me the thumb of your right hand”, said Drona. Before that sentence was finished, Ekalavya cut his right thumb and gave it to the Guru.

When Arjuna saw this sight, his mind was filled with sorrow. “Alas, it is because of me that he had such a big loss”, Arjuna felt very remorseful. Ekalavya’s devotion to the Guru is extraordinary. But, there is an inner meaning to why Drona asked Ekalavya to cut his finger and give him. As soon as Ekalavya felt that the dog was disturbing his meditation, he unjustly shot an arrow at the dog. Knowledge in the hands of one without restraint is not complete. One must remember this. When one does not have restraint, any knowledge or skill, however big, is never complete. It is also very dangerous. Such a person will have to bear the repercussions of all the disasters caused by it. Out of compassion for the disciple, to protect him from this, Drona in the name of Guru Dakshina took his finger. See how much secret there is here. Drona knew fully well that this would bring him disrepute. However, in order to protect his disciple, Guru who was in the form of Drona, was ready to bear that insult.

When we see this story, we may also wonder if it is fair that such a big Guru as Dronacharya ask for the thumb of the disciple who learned great skills in archery with immense concentration even though Drona did not teach him personally. But, this was necessary for universal welfare. Secondly, he had also promised Arjuna, “There will no one equal to you in archery. You will the best”. He had to protect this promise. That is why, we have to observe carefully that the Guru in order to protect his disciple was even ready to take humiliation. The Guru’s sacrifice is always like that.