Failing to Surrender to the Guru
On the way to spending a few weeks with Sri Mahaprabu I decided to first go to the Himalayas and spend 3 days in solitude. All plans were made for travel and stay. But at the last minute, strange circumstances prevented me from taking the detour and I ended up straight at the Resthouse with Mahaprabu. He spoke to me then.
Feeling towards Guru
Mahaprabu: There is a primary ignorance that I am a human being. Clearly there was a time when people did not know they were humans. Yet, they had a feeling of their Existence. That same Existence feeling is still there today. But they felt it more than us. This is because today, the ‘I am a human’ thought masks it. Is this thought necessary?
Going to special places or pilgrimages only strengthens it. Once having surrendered, planning should not be there. Surrender means body, mind, and Spirit have been surrendered. Since you did not ask Sri Mahaprabu’s permission, nature intervened in various forms. If you had asked Mahaprabu, I would have said No. While you were describing your intentions for the trip, I could feel a strong No. But surrender still worked! Guru’s energy will help you make the right move. By thinking of Guru as a mere name and form, your energy is limited because the opening in you is small. But when you think of him as a supreme power, even though it is a thought, you will find a larger opening in you. In fact, it is the supreme power in you that is opening up. Therefore, the Unarvu (feeling) of Guru as a supreme power is good for you.
SC: The mind moves towards unimportant things even though I understand well in theory that it is the wrong thing.
Mahaprabu: For example, A great leader e.g. a president, might have thousands of employees but it is impossible for him to know each one of them. That is why they have a hierarchy from top to bottom where each layer knows the layer below. But it is not like that with the Guru. Whoever thinks of the Guru, whether or not the Guru thinks about him they are blessed. They are connected. You are connected to Mahaprabu. That’s why even though you did not tell him you are going, nature intervened since you had signed the ‘MOU’ (using Memorandum of Understanding as a simile). Similarly also, Mahaprabu has signed the MOU, that at all times, without expecting anything in return, without compromising your situation, his only goal is moving me towards enlightenment. You might violate your side of the agreement, but Mahaprabu will never.
More on Surrender
Spend every minute with Mahaprabu, as much as you can. You are coming to Chennai. Spend maximum time with Guru when you are there.
GR: Yes, this was my intention and I knew it conflicted with my desire to be in solitude on the banks of the Ganges.
Mahaprabu: Nature has guided you to the Master. You have found water in a place. Will you not continue to dig there? Only then will you add to what you have got. Instead will you move away and try somewhere else, then somewhere else? You don’t have much time. Use it vigorously. At every instant think of the Guru. That’s why in earlier days they had Namavali so God will be in the mind of the chanter always. Always think that Mahaprabu is with me. I am only here for Jnānam. Only for that, each day has been given to me. For me to learn that I am the nameless, formless being. You have only two choices: a) You can take on more janmās and add to your karmās or b) Leave all your karmās and return home by attaining Jnāna. Study of books, wealth, relations, none of these got you happiness this far. Mahaprabu is trying to wake you up. He came in your way, and stopped you from going in that same direction, e.g. East, and made me turn Westward. You need a strong decision sense, that you will no longer go back East, because if you do, you will have to track backward, all those steps. Mahaprabu knows what is East and what is West, because he also at one point was traveling East.
On Mahaprabu’s behalf watch nature every minute. You are already attained. You don’t need to gain Ātma. You only need to lose your false identity.
Constantly yearn to serve the Guru
Stay with Mahaprabu. Think about how to Serve Him. That thought itself will unite you with him. Opportunities for service will open up. (GR lives very far away physically from Chennai). For example, when a boy A yearns for girl B and tries to woo her really hard. But B is not interested. He does not get B, but in the end gets C without any effort. Here C was the right choice for him. All his efforts for B would not have gotten him B, but those efforts will never go waste. It is those efforts that got him C! Therefore, it is the yearning that is important and not the person!
Similarly, yearning to serve the Guru is important. Those who long for it will get the opportunity. In that yearning, Surrender goes up and ego goes down. Service to Guru leads to spiritual maturity. Therefore the 1st step is yearning to serve. Forget trying to attain Ātma. It is already attained. Try to lose yourself. And where can you do that? Only at the feet of the Master. That is why Surrender is strongly recommended.
Related Topics
Attention, Love and Life
What is Attention? Why it is extremely important to be Aware of Attention. Are Attention and Love related? Can they be separated? How does one become Attentive continuously? All these topics are shared by Sri Mahaprabu. ...
ABCDs
Using the four letters A, B, C, D to denote the various components of our natural system, Sri Mahaprabu gives a clear-cut understanding of the problem we are in, and the solution to come out of it. A must-read for all seekers. ...
Love, Awareness, Feeling of Existence
A disciple was serving coffee. Sri Mahaprabu noticed that she was doing it mechanically, without awareness. That spurred this beautiful talk about how we live entire lives without becoming aware of ourselves, aware of the feeling of Existence. How this is related to Love. And what is the only way to regain this awareness: Through Surrender. ...
Where the ego dies
In this in-depth discussion, Sri Mahaprabu describes how we have made the primary mistake of taking on a fictitious separate identity and therefore only we can reverse it. He then shows us how Surrender is the only way the Ego can die. That too, when you Surrender at the feet of a living Master....
Nature and Surrender
Sitting under an Almond tree, Sri Mahaprabu showed us the greatness of the Supreme Power and how insignificant we are. Being in unity with Nature is very important. As the Guru is in union with nature, be in unity with the Guru, he taught us. ...
Being a Witness
Who is a Disciple? You will be surprised to find out the answer. When does one need to be a Witness and when should even Witnessing disappear? Why the proximity to a living Master is crucial. How it all happens. Sri Mahaprabu describes the role of the Witness by using a beautiful example. A short and powerful talk. ...
Worry: An in-depth dialog
In this fascinating dialog with a seeker, Sri Mahaprabu exposes the nature of worry and goes on to answer many questions including the common one: What is the purpose of man?. This talk is a must-read for all seekers. ...
Boss and the Servant
Mahaprabu shares in detail how he meditated. How he keenly observed what was going on inside him. Like us he assumed there was a Person who was the Boss. But soon found out there was a real Boss inside, and the Brain who actually serves the Boss had mistakenly taken itself to be the Boss. He shows us what the path to healing and freedom is....
About Meditation
These are a collection of messages from Sri Mahaprabu regarding the topic of Meditation. He has never taught meditation as a technique. Techniques are for the mind. 'The meditator needs to disappear' he says. And 'Not even meditation is needed for Unarvu (Feeling of Existence) to exist. Only IT exists.'...
Acceptance vs. Achievement
The Feeling of Existence is the only original feeling. The true identity. And yet we keep missing it continuously. And we look for it outside, through various Achievements. This short and beautiful talk contrasts the solution: Acceptance, with the problem: Achievement....