Posted on: 18 Jul 2008
[Guru Purnima Message] GURU means the preacher, who removes ignorance-darkness by emitting knowledge-light. The field of the context is important here. If you are ignorant of mathematics, a teacher may remove your ignorance about mathematics by teaching mathematics. Such a teacher cannot be called as Guru. Guru is the preacher, who diverts you towards God by removing your ignorance about God. This is the most important field for any human being because it is the basis of every aspect of life here as well as there after death. The final knowledge of God is to know that you are always ignorant of God because God is unimaginable or ever unknown. Thus, to know the ignorance about God is knowledge. Whatever you know relates to the item of creation only because the Creator is always unknown. The Veda says that in the case of the subject about God, ignorance is Knowledge and Knowledge is ignorance (Yasyaamatam Tasya Matam…). Shri Saibaba suggested to Nana Chandolkar about the possibility of introducing the word ignorance (Ajnanam) in the place of Knowledge (Jnanam) in a verse of the Gita. By this, the verse means that the spiritual preachers will preach the ignorance and not the Knowledge. Even the awareness of Advaita philosophy is only a very subtle form of energy and is not really unimaginable. It is almost unimaginable. The Gita says that only Scholars (Scientists) can visualize it. It is certainly unimaginable to the majority of human beings. Any human being can understand it by extensive effort of scientific analysis. Therefore, it is not unimaginable always for all people.
An unimaginable item for an ignorant person may become imaginable to a Scholar. This does not mean that there is no really unimaginable item. A magic trick may become imaginable for a scientist even though it stands as unimaginable for all the ordinary people. By this, you should not draw a general conclusion that there is no really unimaginable item. A divine miracle is always unimaginable for all at all times. You may not touch the roof of your house by high jump. But, an expert in high jump may touch the roof. Even you may touch the roof after long practice in high jump. By this, you should not conclude that there is nothing, which cannot be touched by high jump. The sky can never be touched by any one in spite of hectic practice for any long time. Therefore, you have to accept the existence of divine miracle, which is really unimaginable indicating the existence of the really unimaginable God.
Prove or Disprove the Miracle Logically
I will give a small example for this. Once upon a time, Lord Datta did certain miracles through My human body. Sometimes, when I preach about God, marvelous scent of divine flowers was spread in the audience. Some devotees went outside the room to see whether a scent was coming from outside. Such possibility really exists and in that case, you may be foolishly thinking that the scent is created by God and in fact it is coming from outside. When people could not notice scent outside the room, they concluded that it was created by God. Again there was a second doubt that I being a professor of Chemistry might have hidden certain chemicals in My body to create the scent. This is also possible and in that case you will be again foolish to think that the scent is created by God. Then, some devotees experienced the scent and in the same room a few did not experience it. This is not possible if the scent is generated by some chemical hidden in Me. Then, the devotees believed that the scent was really created by Lord Datta. In the above event, the two possibilities to suspect it as a false miracle can disprove the really unimaginable possibility of the miracle. But, when the two possibilities were disproved, the existence of the really unimaginable miracle and there by the existence of the really unimaginable God must be accepted. Hence, the Guru is that spiritual preacher, who preaches to you regarding the full ignorance about God. Whatever you know, however much it may be subtle, it must be a part of creation only and can be the medium of God. God enters only a particular item even though several other similar items exist. For example, God might have charged a particular bit of awareness. Such bit of awareness becomes God just like a metallic wire charged by electricity becomes the very electricity itself. This does not mean that every metallic wire is electricity. Hence, every bit of awareness is not God. A specific bit of awareness charged by God alone becomes God and hence, it alone can create, control and destroy the universe. If every bit of awareness is God, the awareness present in every human being must create, control and destroy the universe. Awareness in any ordinary human being cannot create even a sub-atomic particle not to speak of an atom. Any bit of awareness (human being) is eligible for the entry of God and this does not mean that God has entered every bit of awareness. The first verse of ‘Eeeshavaasya Upanishat’ clearly explains this. The word Vaasyam there means that any bit in this world is eligible for the entry of God and this does not mean that every bit of the world is already pervaded by God. If you say that the Veda says that everything in this world is God (Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma…), the word Brahman means greatest and not God.
O Advaitin, Realize the Truth from Hanuman!
God comes into this world through human form to preach the absolute and real knowledge of Himself. Such a Guru is called as Satguru. The word ‘Sat’ means absolute reality and indicates God. The word Sat also means cosmic energy, which is the topmost plane of the entire ladder of relative realities. With reference to the entire world, energy becomes the absolute reality or Sat, but it cannot be Sat with reference to God. You have to derive the proper meaning of the same word based on the context. The awareness alone is the real medium into which God enters. This means that God will never enter the inert material alone like a stone. The Veda says this clearly (Nedam Tat…). Inert material will stand as a representative model for worship in the case of beginners. When God enters the human form, the inert material also exists in human body but it is associated with awareness. When it is said that God is awareness, it means that God charges only the awareness and never the inert item without awareness. A person is indicated by ‘that red shirt’. It means that the person always wears the red shirt. This neither means that the person is red shirt nor vice-versa. Similarly, when you say that God is awareness, it means God enters the awareness always and not any inert item without awareness. This clearly means that neither God is awareness nor vice-versa. Therefore, every human incarnation is Satguru because every human form of God is invariably associated with the spiritual preaching. Hinduism is blessed with three such Satgurus i.e., Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva, who stressed upon knowledge (Jnana), devotion (Bhakthi) and action in service (Seva). To know the details about Bombay is the first step of Knowledge. To develop the interest to reach Bombay is the second step of devotion. To implement the action of journey to Bombay is the third step of action. The action alone gives result. But, the action without knowledge and devotion will not yield the correct result. You may know the correct details of Bombay and its path, but the action of journey will not start without the interest or devotion. You may have lot of interest but if the knowledge is defective, you will not reach the correct goal even through action. Hence, each one of these three is indispensible and equally important. Hence, all these Satgurus are equally important and are the subsequent steps. These three are the three human incarnations of the same God, Guru Datta expressed as Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in these three forms. The final step is service as preached by Madhva through Lord Hanuman. The Advaita Philosophers are unable to create even an electron but claim to be Brahman!!
Hanuman alone could become Brahman. He became Brahman by sticking to just two points. The first point is catching the contemporary human form of God and the second point is doing service to Rama. There is no third point in His effort. Advaita philosophers missed these two points completely. The practical service alone pleases God. God is not available in human form for everybody in all times. What is the alternative to please God? If you do the practical service to devotees, then also God is equally pleased. In fact, He is more pleased because God gives more value to His devotees than to Himself. Therefore, the entire essence of the spiritual effort (Sadhana) is only to please God by doing practical service to devotees available in the society. The service must be pinpointed to the relevant problem of the devotee. Rama lost His wife and was searching for her. That was the relevant problem and Hanuman concentrated all the practical service to solve the relevant problem of Rama. This is the entire content of the sacred Sundara Kanda. Therefore, if you render practical service to the devotees in the society to solve their burning problems, God is pleased with you because the devotee is pleased. If a devotee suffers due to lack of employment, put all your efforts to fetch a job for him for his livelihood. Hanuman solved the burning problem of Rama through practical service and did not adopt useless methods like worship, singing, chanting the name, fasting, etc., Hanuman never did any single act of these hypocratic methods of worship as per Valmiki Ramayana, which alone is the competent authority.
The major part of the Veda gives stress on action (karma). Yajna is the practical service to be done to a devotee or human form of God. The Yajna deals with preparation of food to be served to the devotees. If the fruit of the Yajna is given to the really eligible devotee or at least a hungry human being, the Yajna becomes fruitful. The preparation of food is karma and serving the food to eligible devotees is karma phala tyaga. If an undeserving person is served due to your ignorance or blind affinity, such action is simply called as karma. If the eligible devotee is served, the same action becomes karma yoga. Yoga means the attainment of fortune of pleasing God by pleasing a deserving devotee. Such karma yoga is greater than knowledge and devotion as said in the Gita (Karmibhyashcha Adhiko Yogee Jnanibhyopi Matodhikah…). But, if the receiver is undeserving, the karma yoga is simply reduced to karma. Doing analysis to find out the truth (Jnana Yajna) is far better than such karma as said in the Gita (Shreyaan Dravyamayat…). The reason is that by doing such analysis, at least you will realize the truth and do carefully karma yoga. The present rituals in Hinduism are simply reduced to karma only and not karma yoga. Due to lack of analytical knowledge, the priests do the rituals without knowing the meaning of the recited text. Both the priests and doer of the ritual are ignorant due to lack of the knowledge of the Veda recited in the ritual. The Sage Yaska condemned this by stating that such a ritual is useless and does not yield any result (Anagnaviva…). If you take other religions like Christianity and Islam, the text is self explanatory since it is in the mother tongue. Hinduism has lost its life because the text of the ritual is in Sanskrit, which is neither known to the priests nor to the doer. It is the responsibility of the priest to explain the text to the doer and improve the devotion on God. The entire aim of the ritual is dead.
The ritual is an occasion to introduce and improve the devotion of the doer on God. The aim is totally lost. This defect on the part of the priests resulted in the paralysis of the entire society regarding spiritual development in Hinduism. If the brain is paralyzed, no activity in the body can be done in proper way. Of course, a few spiritual preachers in Hinduism are improving the devotion in the society but since their number is very less, individual attention is lost. Imagine, if every priest becomes such a spiritual preacher and if every ritual develops the devotion to God with individual attention, what will be the spiritual development in Hinduism!!! Therefore, it is high time for all the Vedic schools to change their curriculum in training the priests. You should not train the priests by mere recitation of the Vedic text. They just become the moving tape recorders. There is no need of recitation. Veda Adhyayana never means recitation of the Veda. The Veda means knowledge or to know. The word Adhyayana also means to know the meaning of the text as per the Sanskrit Grammar. The prefix ‘Adhi’ to the word ‘Ayana’ means the process of knowing the meaning and not the recitation at all.
I wonder to think about the forced meaning of the word Adhyayana. Some ignorant person, who is unaware of the fundamentals of Sanskrit Grammar, linked this stupid meaning to this word. Of course, the process of recitation of the Veda existed in the olden times because the text had to be preserved in the absence of printing technology. Today, there is no need of preservation of the text by recitation because it is already preserved through printed books. Unless this activity is done, the special position of Hinduism will be reduced more and more in the future. The practice of the priest is just contrary to what he recites in the ritual!!! The Veda says that no trace of food is to be wasted (Annam Na Parichakshita…). The priest does not know the meaning of this and throws away lot of food. The result of this is that these priests suffer with poverty and also suffer for earning their livelihood. Every priest must become a Guru and take the opportunity of the ritual to preach the spiritual knowledge to every doer of the ritual and remove the ignorance-darkness by emitting knowledge-light. Sage Vyasa, who is born today, demarcated all the four Vedas and explained its meaning through several books like Puranas and Brahma Sutras. Compare the present priest to the sage Vyasa. He never recited the text doing the rituals for petty amounts of money. Every priest must realize this on this day of Guru Purnima to become a Scholar and spiritual preacher like Sage Vyasa so that the entire society of Hindus is divinized.