There are enemies within, who can ruin us if we do not resist them. One of these deadly enemies is excessive desire. Desire, the Buddha taught, is like fire. Our rishis taught too, that from desires arise grief and fear. And desire is not a single tree — but a whole forest! The question is, how can we make friends with God? How may we become worthy of receiving the grace of the Guru?
We believe that God comes down to the earth in the form of the Guru to guide wandering souls back to their true Homeland. Therefore, we see God in our Guru; we see God through our Guru; we reach God with his help; we are united with God, when we merge our being with the Guru’s being, submitting to his will. He is the living presence that inspires us, kindles the light of faith and devotion within us and cleanses our souls so that we are worthy of him — and God. The Guru is the great dispeller of the spiritual darkness in which the world dwells. He is the giver of enlightenment.
If truth were to be told, many of us are abject slaves of our own desires, vanity and ego. If you wish to attain victory over the self, surrender to the Guru is a very necessary, preliminary step. But remember, he who conquers ego is a true hero. He is truly liberated and free. It is to achieve this victory, this freedom that a disciple surrenders to the will of the Guru. Our wise sages have taught us that here are two ways to live: one is through strife: the other is through surrender. Strife leads to anguish and suffering. There is no way you can achieve worldly ‘victory’ without loss and defeat which are inner. But the way of surrender is the way of spiritual conquest, and leads to lasting peace and joy. We must not attempt to practise surrender because the scriptures tell us to, or because someone tells us to do so. You must surrender to the Guru only if you want to – only if your inner voice prompts you to do so. Once you surrender – the rest is in the Guru’s hands. He will assume the responsibility: he will take care of everything!
(July 3 was Guru Poornima Day.)
.avif)
Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader
