Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are
about!
The Narada Bhakti Sutra is our guide for a while… the
nature of Love (with the capital 'ell') and a full exploration of it. As
always, you are encouraged to seek out the full text from Chinmaya Publications
(links in side-bar); but for those who prefer e-readers, this version is recommended. Whilst awareness and interest can be
raised by these posts on AV-blog, they cannot substitute for a thorough reading
and contemplation...and practice!
Having
looked at methods of engaging with Bhakti, the text now flows to what else aids
the application and maintenance of Living in Love. This is Chapter three,
section two of the NBS.
muOytStu
mhTk&pyEv _agvTk&palezaÖa.38.
Mukhyatastu
mahatkRpayaiva bhtagatkRpaaleshaadvaa ||38||
Indeed, primarily it is gained through the grace of
great souls, or through a little of the Divine Grace.
In
some ways this may also be considered as a continuation of 'method'; here it is
advised that in order to truly benefit and build Bhakti to its fullest, one
would best sit in the presence of those who have travelled the path and proven
their worth - or have done enough oneself to bring down sacred blessings in the
form of 'direct assistance'.
When,
even in the material world of activities we often find the we require the
assistance of our seniors in order to better our position and gain promotion,
how can we expect to traverse spiritual life without the same?! How often has it
been the case that we have read instructions and thought that we could build
the item alone, only to discover that we had mis-read, misunderstood, had the
instructions back to front, misplaced a piece of the kit somewhere… then along
comes someone who has built such a kit before and they show us with their
expertise the better method of getting the thing built? There is no shame in
this. In fact, to sit and fume over how difficult the thing is, we can tend to
start blaming the kit or the instructions and not take responsibility for our
own errors.
It
is often debated among novice seekers as to whether Divine Grace
(Iishwara-kripa) will help, or whether the path must be built up by one's own,
independent and deliberately planned self-effort (purushartha). The shastra
itself provides the answer; through
self-effort, when the mind of the seeker is purified, the Grace Divine shall
rush in to flood life with light and joy. Purushartha brings Iishwara-kripa…
"God helps those who help themselves"! All scriptures hold similar
promise. In Matthew 7:7 we hear, 'Ask and it shall be given to ye; seek and ye
shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto ye." Purushartha is ask,
seek, knock; Iishwara-kripa is given, found, opened.
As
a grammatical point which adds also to the argument of the sutra, the closing word
is 'va', meaning 'or'. Sanskrit being what it is, this not only means there is
the alternative of 'slight touch of God', but we are to understand and accept
that by being in the presence of the great souls (mahatmas) pointed out at
first, we are, by default, anyway gaining that grace; in this tradition, Guru
is God walking the earth.
Sri
Narada acknowledges however;
mhTs'gStu
dulR_aae=gMyae=mae"í.39.
Mahatsangastu
durlabho-gamyo-mochashcha ||39||
To come into contact with a great soul is indeed
extremely difficult; it is impossible to know them fully; yet it is infallible
in its effect.
How
to meet a mahatma? How would we know one even if we were walking beside him or
her? These are questions often raised by novices. Narada-ji reminds us that
such folk are few and far between. If we are one of the lucky band who does
receive this privilege, when we do come into contact with such a mahatma, it
can be very hard to recognise their greatness and attune ourselves to that soul -
for we are looking through our eyes, tainted with the world, knowing not how to
weigh the character before us. Indeed, history is full of the tales of mahatmas
(blessed souls/ saints) who have suffered as a result of the people around
misreading their intentions; such masters have been stoned, hung, crushed,
whipped...crucified.
Fortunately
there are enough great masters and sufficient numbers of genuine, attuned
seekers to ensure that the history is not forgotten and the that teachings
continue to flow. For those who come into the care and guidance of a mahatma,
they cannot but feel the Grace flow to them. However, it is important that we
do not see every orator as a 'guru' and rush to be a 'follower'; we must at all
times have our 'thinking caps' on and our inner antenna tuned up to ensure we
are not being led further astray. Doing this, with patience, whilst attending
our personal saadhana as best we can, the true teacher for us will appear.
Gurudev
puts this nicely in his narration; "In
short, an individual cannot, purchasing a ticket and travelling North, reach
the Himalayas and phone up the teacher, fix an appointment and meet him on the
dot of the appointed hour. The more we search, the more we are apt to come
under the influence of a false one, because what do we know, in our present
state of imperfection, about the super-subtle qualities of a great teacher?
Even if we meet one, we may insult him in our stupidity. Therefore our
aahchaaryas advise each seeker to remain where s/he is and, with true devotion,
progressively purify, keeping constantly a deep inner demand for a teacher. To such a seeker, living the honest
life of a sadhak, the teacher will appear!...
When the right type of student, who is fit for the Knowledge, meets a true
teacher, the transformation that takes place in the student is almost
miraculous. After reaching a teacher, if
you are feeling no inspiration and discover no change in your life… understand
that either s/he is not the teacher for you - or that you are not pure enough to
be benefited by the master."
