A TRUE GURU
A person does not realise he is a Guru. But all his actions are such that they become those of a teacher. It is not something that someone switches on or off, that “Oh, now I have passed my final medical exam and now I am doctor, or I have passed my final law exam, and now I am a lawyer.” It does not work that way. It is a build-up over ages and ages and ages, where the soul goes through various transformations on the path of evolution. I am not talking of myself; specifically, I am speaking of a guru; let that be remembered because there are gurus and gurus and Gurus. Some Gurus are born to do a certain kind of work, and there are Gurus that, through the progress of ages, through the evolutionary progress, eventually becomes teachers.
In many countries, we have a false saying, and that saying is this, “I had a calling”. It is false. A person might have a glimpse of something, like many of you in your practices, you have glimpses of this or that or the other which are not necessary, but that they regard to be a calling and yet they are so unfit to teach the word of God. The person best qualified to teach the word of God is he who knows the word, and by knowing the word, he knows God.
A true teacher does not rely on books. He might use them, in the beginning, to stimulate his intellect through reading various philosophies and things, but in the end, that is of very little help to him. His greatest help and source of inspiration is the practical experiences he has gained. For the true Guru has a direct link from his conscious mind to that Superconscious level, to that Universal level, the storehouse of all knowledge. He develops this by spiritual practices and by his very evolutionary status, where he at any time and at will can draw upon this vast computer, and he presses a button. Everything he needs to know is there.
A true Guru, a Spiritual Teacher, will not tune his mind to ordinary, mundane things because he realises that these are all transitory. The present form of existence is but a dream-like existence, that is real within its dimension, but beyond the dimension of this present so-called existence, beyond that dimension and into another dimension, this is all but a dream. His mind is always filled, absorbed in Divinity.
The mind and heart of a true Guru is always absorbed in that which we call Divine, and because of that absorption, everything he sees around him assumes the form of Divinity. Suppose he feels himself one with Divinity and everything he sees around him is Divine. In that case, a total identification occurs that you are totally identified with the object of your sight. In this identification, the subject and the object become one.
That is why you feel so strongly about the power of Gurushakti. That is the secret behind it. The Guru can identify himself totally with his chela, and that is not a physical identification. That identification is on a different dimension, on a subtler level.
DARSHAN – GURUSHAKTI
Reading your progress forms, I see that practically all of you experience this, where you, as you say in your progress forms, you could see or feel the presence of that. This proves that in that other dimension, there is no space and no time. It is all there, all here and now. But it is always beneficial to be in the presence of one’s Guru, in the physical.
There is a word in Sanskrit, called Darshan, which means “to see” but its symbolic meaning is “to be in the presence of,” because the man of God, the man that is absorbed in God, emanates a certain force, a spiritual force that would have some effect upon you. Therefore, all meditators normally, when they write to me or on the forms, say, that “I was on a Nottingham Course and I came to different realisations, and different understandings and so many things have changed.” That is why the officials in our organisation always insist or try their best to tell people to attend courses. Those four or five days could be very, very valuable and could even be the turning point in one’s life. Remember one thing very clearly; it is not I that does anything; it is the Divine force that does it all.
MAN REQUIRES A MAN TO IMPART THE IMPULSE
When does the Guru realise that he is a Guru? No realisation dawns all of a sudden. It is a gradual build-up from childhood; although he is unfolded, even the true Guru, even an Avatara, an Incarnation has to unfold.
For an average person, an ordinary person, going through all the various stages of evolution, it would take millions of years to reach the stage of man, while the Avatara, the Incarnation coming through this vastness of the universe, from the formlessness into a formed being, would do it in a split of a second because there is no time in that dimension. Yet, he has to go through all that process. When this full force descends on earth, that Incarnation still has to go through the mineral kingdom and the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom and then to man.
I have said before that in the stage of man, one requires a man to impart the impulse. This impulse is greatly imparted on courses, and that is Darshan. The Guru keeps on developing and unfolding himself until he comes to some form of realisation. This realisation is not something that happens overnight. He comes through the realisation that all this transitoriness of life, of what use is it, let us try and find the permanency of life for life is permanent.
CHANGE MUST TAKE PLACE GRADUALLY
The self-realised man or the true Guru is beyond the laws of change. He becomes a law unto himself, and that does not mean a licence to kill. It does not mean that. But he becomes a law unto himself because knowing the entire universe and what constitutes the universe, he could manipulate where necessary the various energies, where various imbalances are, he could create balances. He has not the ability, and neither has God the ability to add one ounce of extra energy to this universe, and neither has he the power to detract a single ounce of energy. But what can be done and is done through Gurushakti and spiritual practices is that where there is an imbalance, a greater balance is brought about so that life becomes harmonious.
This too, for chela is not an overnight thing. Like I have heard of Gurus here in England that says, “you attend a Satsang, and in two hours you would be enlightened.” This does make no sense to me whatsoever. You have built up, you are what you are through all the ages you have lived, and you cannot change overnight. The change must take place gradually to have some value, which applies to everything in life. For example, a doctor gives you a bottle of medicine – three teaspoons a day – why not take the whole bottle simultaneously, and you will be cured. You would have to phone the doctor again who would give a certificate which would be taken to the undertaker!
There is this gradual healing process like the doctor does not cure you. He only gives you the required medicines to stimulate the powers within you to cure yourself. A doctor is a doctor of the body. A true Guru is a doctor of the spirit. He gives you the medicines to cure yourself. He cannot take any of your karma away. Whatever you have sown, you have to reap. But because of the power of spiritual medicine, the reaction to the actions that you have performed become smoother, and you do not feel that great impact of a two-ton boulder falling upon you. You will feel it in the form of tiny pebbles that does not hurt you very much. You will feel cold, but it is snowflakes; it is not hailing. That is how spiritual forces work.
MAN HAS TO LIGHT THE FIRE HIMSELF
Having realised the mechanics and forces in the universe, the Guru can send forth those energies which will create a balance in man, and that is also if the man is receptive to it, for the man has to light the fire himself. You can hire the finest chef from the Dorchester or one of your better hotels, but if you do have not the stove here or the heat required to cook, that chef will not be able to do anything.
Here is a two-way relationship, and the chela has to do things for himself, which we call self-help; he has to open the doors of this Divine force to enter him or let the Divine force that is already there to be activated. You can have the finest seed, but that seed will not grow if the ground is not tilled.
THE SCEPTICS KEEP THE WORLD TURNING ROUND
In our organisation, we have people that come with the utmost scepticism, real sceptics. I remember receiving a form in the early stages from this man who is an author, he has written a few charming books, and he studied various philosophies. He is a senior lecturer or professor, I think, in literature and poetry. “I do not need a guru, and I do not need a teacher, but I am curious; therefore, I am sending the form.” I said, “That is very good, very good, very good, nothing wrong.” We need all kinds of people. We need sceptics, too; actually, sceptics are the ones that keep the world turning around. We need those doubters; we need them. They are the ones that push. Today, this very man is a very devout follower of our practices, and he is devoted. He now feels that “oh, I have put all my literature aside, and I just want to experience the power and the glory of God.”
Then you have some chelas going to a Guru who is just ripe to meet their teacher. As the saying goes, when the disciple is ready, the Master appears. There is some truth in it, not total truth, but some truth. Then some people are just ready, and immediately they start realising themselves, realisations dawn. They have these experiences within themselves. By experiences, I do not mean the flashy ones of seeing lights and stars and things like that. I do not mean that, but an experience inside, an opening, an awakening. That is the real experience, warmth, and love that one feels inside towards oneself and others. Those that are just about ready are ripe; they feel it more quickly. Others again have a yearning but have done nothing so far to appease that yearning for peace within themselves. They are trying, and they come along to the Guru, and the Guru has to make them ready, with their help, of course. The Guru cannot do anything on his own. He needs two forces; the true Guru needs two forces. He needs God, and he needs man for him to be able to operate. Those that are not so readily take a bit longer. Again, it is a gradual process, depending upon the amount of imbalance. You might have to go to hospital and stay for three days, and another person with a more severe problem might have to stay in hospital for three months. But everyone is affected to a specific measure according to his capacity towards greater integration.
A TRUE TEACHER SHOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF THE TEACHING
This process also applies to the Guru, the ordinary good teacher. When he finds that integration within himself, then he becomes automatically non-attached to the mundane changing world. He sees everything changing, changing all the time, and have come to a realisation, he knows the permanence of life and the impermanence that is superimposed upon it. Then, without any goading or pre-planning, he just starts teaching. He does not need to go to theological colleges and things like that. Like I have told you many times, I have never read the Bible because I know if I do read the Bible, I will be influenced by someone else’s thoughts, while my thoughts have to be original and on the spot. I teach of creative intelligence, which is another word for Divinity. I teach of creative intelligence in man, and I should be an example of it. Therefore, when they have questions, I say, “Please do not tell me anything about them, I do not want to know about them. Ask me when I am in the Satsang room.”
A true teacher, he is normally and should be an example of his teachings. If he teaches creative intelligence, let him display that creative intelligence. A true teacher will never tell you to do that which he does not do himself. I enjoy a cigarette now and then. It is fun for me. It keeps me down to earth instead of floating away into meditation all the time. That would be fine if I were living in some Himalayan cave. The difference between someone else who smokes and I that would light a cigarette is that that person requires refinement, and stopping to smoke perhaps will help him refine himself better. I need grossification, to be down to earth, to be able to relate to you, to do the actual work that is required to be done. It is a pretty full day, and every moment is a joy in its fullness, for if we live every moment in its fullness, then your full day is filled with fullness. You see, how beautiful and everything becomes enjoyable.
IN THE LIFE OF THE GURU, THERE IS ALWAYS A DIVINE FORCE PUSHING HIM ON
When the person, the Guru comes to, finds that integration and finds the permanency within himself, finds the permanency that I am immortal, that I am one with the Divine. All the happenings in his life would be geared in such a way that automatically he just cannot help helping. All the circumstances would be such that he will do the work that he has to do. That same work that he has to do is a joy to him.
Yet, certain moments come in the life of the Guru; there is always a divine force, a divine finger, pushing him on. Because of certain family and political situations in India, I left India. There was a purpose for it, but at that time, I did not know. The goal was this, that I was a teacher for the West, primarily, and by living in a Western country, I learned the Western world’s ways. I learnt how their minds work and all various things connected with a person who is brought up in the West. That was one finger pushing, pushing me to South Africa, and with the injunctions of my Guru, he wanted me to enter the householder’s life and get married and have children.
A VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
That was an experience, a very, very valuable experience for me today. A person that has lived as a householder would be in a better position than a monk to be of assistance, to be able to guide and act as an adviser to householders. If a husband and wife come to me with some problem, I will know immediately, and I know what their problem is; I could see it because I have gone through it all. If a person comes to me with any other material worldly problem, I will know about it. I do not only try to help in spiritual matters but also if someone comes to me with a business problem, or with a legal problem, because I have had training in all these various aspects, and they come with all those problems and these problems are real for the person involved. I see the unreality and transitoriness of it. But having gained the experience as a householder, I know that this problem this person talks about is real for him at the moment and because of the experience I have gained, I am in the position to advise the person what to do.
I qualified as an accountant; that is how I started life and then went into business. So, if a person has an accounting problem with his books, I could advise him. I was a director of about 28 different companies, so I know the various facets of business and things, so if a person has business problems, I could advise on that. If there is some area that I do not know of, I would have the sense to refer that person to a person who is an expert in that particular area. If a person wants to have a haircut, I will not cut it myself, I know nothing about haircutting, I will send him to Gina.
THE AIM IS TO BECOME A PRACTICAL PERSON
The whole aim is to become a practical person by having gained these experiences. I was so involved in business, with all those various companies and making two trips a year to Europe for business. I was so engaged for business that my yearning was to throw up business and teach. I felt I was now ready through this build-up, build up and coming to certain realisations and knowing what this business is all about. The real business is living. Life is the real business, not dabbling in finances and textiles and films and film productions and distribution and all these things.
So, another finger pushed me, and this time it pushed me very hard to have a heart attack. Working 20 hours a day in business is no joke, and having your finger on the pulse of everything, that any department or from any area of the business world, one of the managers could phone me, and I could tell him offhand without referring to anything, “do this, do that, do that, do that” and having the pulse.
The body is limited. The body has its limitations, and if you overstrain it, naturally, you would feel the consequences. If you are capable of running for a mile and you try and run five miles, your body will feel it. So, I was pushed to have a heart attack. That is a great thing that happened, I am grateful. Do you see how attitude plays such an important part?
Lying there in the hospital, they did this open-heart surgery, and in three days after intensive care, I was up and about, cheering up patients. When I used to meet Chris Barnard and Marios and Professor Sanchez and all these guys, the heart team, Professor Beck and all these fellows in the passages, they would say “What are you doing?” and I would say “I am fine, fine, having a walk around”. They would say, “why do you not rest”. I would say, “what do I need a rest for? I am rested as it is. Can I go home?” They would say, “ah, we are not going to let you go home because as soon as we send you home, you are going to start working again”.
So, they kept me for a month, and I had a whale of a time. It was lovely. Because most of these cardiologists and surgeons, as soon as they had free time, they used to sit on my bed and sit around, about eight or nine chairs permanently placed around my bed. They used to come in and we used to talk about this, that and the other and had tons of fun.
But during those quiet moments, I concluded that this is not my life, I have been through it all. I had the best of everything, everything you can . I used to be the biggest playboy in Cape Town. I am not ashamed of it because I am past that now. When you pass a thing, you can talk about it. That is a sign of having gone beyond it.
STARTING THE TEACHING
The biggest playboy in Cape Town. It was nothing for me to jump onto a plane for a long weekend and come to Paris and attend a party, some film party and fly back – things like that. But here, the realisation dawned, and I made up my mind that no more business, nothing at all, and I have to do the work I want to do. So slowly, we started in someone’s home, and we used to meet regularly every Saturday afternoon. They used to listen to me, and we used to talk, and the crowds started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It was pretty out of town, and people used to travel distances to come. Then they all felt that look we should have a centre, in the centre of town which could make it convenient for people. That is how IFSU/FISU started and from there BMS and AMS and the Australian and the Rhodesian and that is how it started.
WHILE YOU ARE SICK, YOU WILL FIND A COMPENSATION IN SPIRITUAL ENERGIES
Although the true Guru or a guru has that build-up in his life, undergoing and going through various experiences, he can by a Divine force be made to lie down. Do you know it is good to be sick? Those few days or a week you spend in bed, you can do a lot of thinking about yourself, you know, really analyse yourself and say, “wait a minute, what is wrong?” Analyse yourself, and if you act upon your discrimination, which at that moment could be very powerful because even while you are sick and depleted of physical energies, you will find compensation for spiritual energies.
There is always a balance. Doctors have not verified this yet, I suppose they will take one day, but when the body becomes weak or ill, it has its mental counterpart. But one thing happens, and that is sure, that the spiritual force is temporarily more awakened. That is why you find in the case of death, when a person is dying, just a few moments or a half an hour before the person leaves the body, he becomes strong before he leaves his body, and he could give so many instructions and what have you. There is a resurgence of that spiritual force within man.
NO MORE BUSINESS, LET ME TEACH THE WORD
To repeat, lying in a hospital, I decided there and then that no more business and I am dedicating my life and the abilities given to me by Divinity, knowing Divinity, being one with Him, let me teach the word. I that have found integration, why should it not be shared with others. Because once that integration is achieved, all the selfishness goes. You become selfless.
Being in big business, I had five other partners, and I thought, “Look, financially, I could be independent because of my shares in the company; they will pay me out”. But the film business is the most crooked game globally, believe me, and up to now, the thing is still dangling, and my shares have not been paid out. Yet, I do not care. Selfishness is gone. Someone else would say, “Oh I have been caught by over two million Rand”. But to me, it is nothing; let it happen. Perhaps I should live a life of poverty so that I would also know the poorness of poor people.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUSINESS GURUS AND SPIRITUAL GURUS
If gurus are meant to do their work, if they have the necessary build-up and the training they themselves have achieved, it will lead them to do the work they do. Of course, I am talking of true Gurus. Then you have shams all over the world who would start-up movements and trade on the gullibility of people. They do that and amass millions. I have no objection to that but do not put it away in your name in a bank account, use it for good purposes.
There are so many things required in this world today that will, even if it is temporary, alleviate many people’s misery. We have countries where there are famines and plagues and all these things. After all, it is not the money of these gurus, it is public money, and it must be used for the public.
The true Guru will constantly forever shift energies; money is an energy, it is a force, it is nothing else but an energy, and it could be shifted to the areas where it is required most. That is the difference in between business gurus and spiritual Gurus.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang UK 1980 – 24