Lack of Understanding About Guru

From: "Satiish K Deva"
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Not Just Bhagavan
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:49:28 +0530

Baba

== LACK OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT GURU ==

Namaskar,
Due to a fundamental lack of understanding and devotional feeling, some have written books about our Sadguru Baba that fail to present Him in the proper light. Whether this happens intentionally or not, the problem is that it happens and therefore needs to be addressed.

To begin then we should pointedly remind ourselves of Guru's divine stature.

Baba says, "The one formless, beginningless and infinite Parama Brahma (Supreme Consciousness) is the only entity to be attained by living beings – That alone is Jagat Guru (the Supreme preceptor), That alone has revealed Brahmavidyá (intuitional science) to us through the medium of the name and form of Anandamúrtijii. Unit beings must be made to appreciate Its majesty." (Caryacarya, Part 2, Point #1a)

All sadhakas should have this basic understanding; due to a lack thereof, so many problems come - including lowly books. 

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS

When someone writes a book that reduces Baba to a mere bhgavan, then we should
all take it seriously. Ands more recently, someone else has written a book, "The Jamalpur Years", and that falls to a baser standard.

Alertness is needed, because it is through such books that dogmas get propagated, whether that was purposely intended by the writer or not. That is what history teaches us.

TAKE THE CASE OF THE DOGMAS OF ISLAM

In Islam the propounders wrongly reached the conclusion that one male is equal to three females. In which case females do not have any religious or social rights; hence they are looked upon as being low and mean.

How did such a negative idea get established? First, it took birth in the mind of the one who wrote the Islamic scripture. And then to prove his theory hundreds of pages were written to convince people that this conclusion was proper and meaningful. And when certain people became suspicious of their negative theory, then those religious leaders gave the false justification that, 'This is the voice of the Almighty and everybody should
obey'.

Like this Islamic priests infused the dogma that 3 females are equal to one male.

So various types of dogmas come first in seed form and then they get amplified more and more. In that way people go on rattling off their dogmatic ideas in their talks, writings, and in all kinds of their expression.

Here the point is that all this can be avoided if correct things are written at the outset.

MORE ABOUT THE BHAGAVAN DOGMA

Unfortunately in our Marga certain writers have wrongly written about Baba. One concluded that Baba is just a bhagavan and wrote an entire book to this end, while more recently in his book brother Devashish proclaimed that Baba is Bengali.

Here we shall first review the point about Bhagavan. Why? Because we all know that it is wrongful, hurtful and dogmatic to state that Baba is Bengali. In so many places Baba has outrightly proclaimed that Parama Purusa belongs to all. None can claim then that Baba is of a particular land or community. This most understand.

So let's take a look at the claim that Baba is bhagavan.

As if Baba is like so many of those bhagavans. Because on the Indian soil alone, several hundred bhagavans have come and gone. A few such names I am writing here as example: Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba, Bhagavan Rajaniish, Bhagavan Shankaracarya, Bhagavan Buddha, Bhagavan Mahaviira, Bhagavan Devarahava' Baba, Bhagavan Swami Narayan of Gujurat, Bhagavan Datta'trya, Bhagavan Ram, Bhagavan Meher Baba, all told there are more than 100 or 200 of such bhagavans, including Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba & Bhagavan Rajaniish.

Indeed this earth has seen so many bhagavans. So the term bhagavan is not something unusual, rather it is common-place because there are hundreds or even thousands of bhagavans. Whereas the advent of Parama Purusa as Taraka Brahma is completely unique.

Yet in miscalculated fashion one margii designed an entire book trying to  prove Baba as being only a bhagavan, like Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba and Bhagavan Rajaniish etc. And to illustrate this the margii - Narada of SUVA - wrote several dozens of pages and gave all kinds of cock and bull stories. All done in order to "prove" that Baba is merely a bhagavan, like so many others bhagavans.

So this margii forgot the fact that bhagavan is not a very high characteristic. Being Parama Purusa is far above. If he had remember this fact then he would have spared himself the trouble of writing a book. Likewise, if Devashish could keep the totality of Baba's personae in mind, brother Devashish would not have wrongly labeled Baba as being a Bengali (p. 34) in his book.

MANY BHAGAVANS ARE TOTALLY FAKE

Back to the point of bhagavan, everyone should be aware that most bhagavans are fake. And second, anyone person who does sadhana can become a  bhagavan. For instance Shankaracarya and Buddha did like this. They had to  do sadhana and undergo all sorts of penance in order to achieve their  limited status of bhagavan.

PARAMA PURUSA IS FAR, FAR ABOVE

In contrast Parama Purusa is Parama Purusa. He does not need to do any sadhana. By His own will He takes human form to liberate others. He Himself is beyond all the bondages. So for Him there is not need of any sadhana. He does not need to do anything in this regard.

Baba says, "He needs no sa'dhana', but just to set an example to others, He performs sa'dhana' with the masses." (AV-33)

So the infinite glory of Parama Purusa towers far above the comparatively lowly position of bhagavan. But a few people, including this mixed-up margii, remain terribly confused about this.

So Baba has taken it upon Himself to remove the confusion from the public mind that Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva are not bhagavan like bhagavan Rajaniish etc. Instead Lord Krsna and Lord Shiva are something far higher than that.

BABA DESCRIBES BHAGAVAN

AND THAT IS LESS THAN TARAKA BRAHMA

To achieve this, Baba first describes in step by step manner the meaning of bhagavan. That He did in the discourse titled: Pa'rthasa'rthi Krs'n'a and Pariprashna. In that discourse Baba clearly describes that bhaga means the combination of six attributions: aeshvarya, viirya, yasha, shrii, jina'nam, and vaera'gya.

So first Baba illustrates what it means by the term bhagavan. And then Baba gives an example with respect to the life of Lord Krsna. Baba cites the occasion whereby Lord Krsna proclaims to one and all that, 'I will liberate you from all sins. You have no cause to worry'.

Thus here Baba is revealing the fact that such type of divine guarantee cannot be given by some ordinary being like a bhagavan. Such a proclamation guaranteeing the liberation of one's sins can only be given by Parama Purusa Himself. So Baba concludes that Lord Krsna is not just a bhagavan but something far higher; He is Taraka Brahma.

And in the final section of the discourse, Baba concludes:

Tula' va' upama' Krs'n'asya na'sti...

Meaning: There is no comparison of Lord Krsna. He can only be compared with Himself.

BABA IS DESCRIBING HIMSELF IN NAMAMI KRSNA SUNDARAM ETC

All margiis also know that Baba is talking about Himself in these discourses of the Nama'mi Krs'n'a Sundaram book. The greatness Baba is illustrating about Lord Krsna, that is actually His (Baba's) own greatness. So in that book Baba is expressing indirectly about Himself to his devotees. Just like in Prabhat Sam'giita Baba is indirectly guiding us how we can express our devotional longing for Him.

Likewise when He taught Guru Puja then this same type of approach was done. He taught devotees how to perform Guru Puja-- when we all know that Guru Puja is being done to Him. So He was revealing the technique to us in indirect fashion.

And a similar approach was taken when He taught the devotional concept that, 'Parama Purusa is always with you'. In that case Baba is indirectly talking about Himself. I.e. that He is with everyone, sitting inside their mind and in the heart.

NOT JUST BHAGAVAN

So the conclusion is that when Baba has written that there cannot be any comparison of Lord Krsna then the same is the case with Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji also. Baba also is beyond comparison. Then why should we undermine His glorious status by comparing Him and saying that He is just a bhagavan. As if He is just like all those other bhagavans such as Bhagavan Rajaniish Bhagavan, Bhagavan Datta'trya, Bhagavan Ram, Bhagavan Satya Sai Baba, etc, etc, etc.

WHY THEY WRITE LIKE THIS

The natural question that arises is why do people like Narada and Devashish write like this about their own Guru. Most often it seems that people write Baba stories and books with full sincerity, but because of their lack of understanding and devotional feeling, they do the opposite of what they want to accomplish. Instead of glorifying Baba the opposite occurs.

Why? Some writers are cowards and do not have the courage to tell the truth while others are crude and cannot comprehend that Baba is Parama Purusa. Those with no courage think that public will not appreciate Baba as Parama Purusa so "I should not write this."

You are welcome to think to which category Narada and Devashish belong.

BABA'S BLESSING

Some try to compare & undermine Him and thus  invite their destruction. That is why Baba has graciously warned us ahead of time not to do such things. Rather as His disciples we are to propagate His divine stature and greatness.

Baba says, "The one formless, beginningless and infinite Parama Brahma (Supreme Consciousness) is the only entity to be attained by living beings - That alone is Jagat Guru (the Supreme preceptor), That alone has revealed Brahmavidya (intuitional science) to us through the medium of the name and form of Anandamurtijii. Unit beings must be made to appreciate Its majesty." (CC II p.1)

Namaskar,
Satiish

Note 1: PARAMA PURUAS IS MUCH HIGHER

Here below Baba is explicitly proving how Parama Purusa is far more than just a bhagavan. The following is the incredible scene from the Mahabharata when Lord Krsna uses His unique abilities as Parama Purusa to give victory to His devotees. And Baba Himself emphatically states that no type of bhagavan has the capability to do such things.

Baba says, "Krs'n'a' had covered the sun with His Sudarshana Cakra [His special discus]. Now you can imagine that it was impossible to cover the sun with a discus. Is it possible to cover the sun with a dinner plate? When you observe a dinner plate close up it seems to be about this large. But if you could see the sun from close up, how big it would appear! If the dinner plate could somehow be placed near the sun, it would be a mere
speck. No, the discus could never cover the sun! Though the devotees claim that it did, I take it as a mere story. Then question arises as to how the sun was covered. The answer is that the Lord Krs'n'a willed it so. He had mastery over Praka'mya Siddhi, one of the eight occult powers. He willed the sun to be covered by clouds and so it happened. The sun was covered by clouds and people thought that the sun had gone down. So Arjuna was able to keep his promise and kill Jayadratha."

Here below is the exact section where Baba says only Parama Purusa can do such great works-- not bhagavan.

Baba says, "To perform such a miraculous feat by going against the natural order cannot be accomplished by even a first grade Bhagava'n, not to speak of a second or third grade one. Only Parama Purus'a can do this." (NKS, '97 Edn, p. 208)

Then Baba directly adds how there are numerous examples whereby Parama Purusa shows Himself to be far more than just a bhagavan:

Baba says, "This is only one story. Dozens of similar stories can be found." (NKS, '97 Edn , p. 208)

Note 2: NOT JUST BHAGAVAN

Here Baba is announcing the fact that Parama Purusa is not just a bhagavan. Because only the singular entity Parama Purusa can save people from their sins. No bhagavan can do that. Please read below. Baba says about Lord Krsna:

"Those accepting Me as their final refuge, I will free from the bondage of sin. Their future is certainly glorious. No one need worry about their past. It is senseless to worry about atonement for past misdeeds...."

"Only Parama Purus'a can assure jiivas so unequivocally. This goes to show beyond any shadow of a doubt that He is not bhagava'na, but the veritable manifestation of divinity. He cannot be compared to either khan'da'vata'ra, am'sha'vata'ra or kala'vata'ra. They may be bhagava'na due to their possession of the six qualities, but none among them is the Supreme Entity. "I will forgive your sins. I will free you from all sins, I will take away
your sins." No one but Krs'n'a, the Supreme Entity, has the right to say  this. No one has ever said this in the past, nor will anyone say it in the future. If anyone claims this, it would be only the highest audacity on his or her part. But my Krs'n'a has proclaimed it loudly and openly: Aham' tva'm' sarvapa'pebhyo moks'ayis'ya'mi ma'shucah -- "I will liberate you from all sins. You have no cause to worry."

"After all this can anyone claim that Krs'n'a has any parallel? No, no one can claim this. All will have to fold their hands and say unto Him,"

Tula' va' upama' Krs'n'asya na'sti;

[Krs'n'a has no parallel or equal. Krs'n'a is Parama Purus'a Himself.]

(Source: Nama'mi Krs'n'a Sundaram, '97 Edn, p. 211)

Note 3: HE IS BEYOND COMPARISON

Here it should be understood that Baba is Parama Purusa; He is the Taraka Brahma. His infinite Personality is infinite and beyond comparison. So why should one belittle Him by labeling Him as being just a bhagavan. When in clear-cut language Baba Himself explains that His qualities go far beyond that of only bhagavan. Being the Parama Parama of course He possesses those few attributes of the limited stance of bhagavan, but He also has much more than that. So no one can say that He is just a bhagavan.

Indeed the limited nature of the term bhagavan is insufficient to encapsulate all of Baba's greatness. It falls far short of the mark. The bhagavan term utterly fails to represent Baba. In the same way Lord Krsna is not just a flute player or musician, His Personality is much more than that. So who can say that Lord Krsna is just one simple flute player-- that is an injustice to the inherent greatness of Lord Krsna. Likewise no one can say that Baba is just a simple bhagavan because as the Parama Purusa incarnate Baba's infinite qualities far surpass the narrow scope of bhagavan.

Note 4: TARAKA BRHAMA IS SUPREME

Here Baba is further revealing the uniqueness of Tarak Brahma and that He is greater than all those other lesser entities like bhagavan.

Baba says, "A Maha'kaola is one who makes others kaola by his infallible spiritual guidance. But Ta'raka Brahma is a different Entity, a unique Entity for He is the spiritual preceptor, social preceptor, Kaola, and Maha'kaola, all in one. He is also something more: He acts as a compass in every stratum of society." (NKS, '97 Edn, p.50)

Note 5 : ABOUT THE MISGUIDED BOOKS

The misguided book titled "Bhagavan Anandamurti" written by Narada (SUVA) was done with the negative goal of falsely proving Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji as merely a bhagavan. But Baba is the Parama Purusa; He is far beyond the limited definition of bhagavan.

Thus Narada's book is going against Baba-- in which case Narada's book needs to be set aside - never to be seen again. Because page after page its full conclusion is that Baba is just a bhagavan like Bhagavan Rajaniish.

So Narada's entire unholy premise runs contrary to the teachings of AM. From its very title to its concluding line, his book is way off the mark-- completely devoid of any ideological value, rather harmful.

Note 6: MAHA'PAP (TERRIBLE SIN)

Overall then Narada's approach is no different than the terrible sin (Maha'pa'p) which those idol worshippers commit. Because those sinful  idol worshippers engage in the negative act of limiting Parama Purusa to a piece of stone or rock.

In similar fashion the misguided strategy of both Narada's entire book and at least part of Devashish's book is to bind Parama Purusa to something limited. Of course Baba sternly warns us never to commit such misdeeds (Maha'papa / worst type of sin). (Refer Caryacarya II, p. 5, point 18).

Note 7: SPREAD HIS GLORY

In contrast, by propagating the true glory of Parama Purusa and by following His teachings then certainly we will be able to establish dharma on this dusty earth in a very short time. About this Baba has assured us of victory. 

 

 

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

"A'lora rathe a'sabe tumi a'ja ja'ni nishcaya..." (PS #978)

Purport:

Baba, I know that You will certainly come today riding the chariot of effulgence and make my life successful. You will remove all the darkness of ignorance and avidya maya, and make me fearless.

Baba, day and night, I waited for You with a garland in hand. Times passed like this. At last, the auspicious hour has arrived; all the doubts have been removed. I see that You have come - You are here.

Baba, in yearning for You, I have been ensconced in Your dhyana - in the resonance of Your tune [1] and insurmountable effulgence [2], ages after ages - counting the prahara [3] and tithis [4] for Your arrival. 

Baba today You have come; I received Your causeless grace. O' my Lord, I surrender everything at Your lotus feet. Please accept me...


Notes For Prabhat Samgiita #978:

[1] Resonance of Your Tune: This is a metaphor; When the sadhaka always hears the repetition of their ista mantra mentally, then that is a very grand state. At that point, one's mantra japa continues effortlessly. That is what the sadhaka is experiencing in this song.

[2] Insurmountable Effulgence: Initially when one tries to do dhyana then the image of Guru may not come. Guru's image comes when the mind reaches a higher stage. And finally when dhyana becomes deeper and more intense, then one is ensconced in Him. At that point the image becomes effulgence. In this deeply devotional state, there is no awareness of one's own existence. That is what Baba is describing in the third stanza of
this song.

[3] Prahara: A measurement of time equal to 3 hours.

[4] Tithis: One day in the moon calendar. In the moon calendar, each month is comprised of 28 days.

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Our Family

Baba says, "No entity in this universe exists individually. Ours is a universal family. Each and every entity -- living and non-living, moving and non-moving -- helps others in maintaining not only their equilibrium, but also the equipoise of the entire universe, not only of this small planet Earth. 

We are to move together with all...

"Our family is universal, our abode is also universal. Hararme...

This universe is our homeland." (SS-18, p. 40-41)
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