A master; a guru taught his disciple all that he knew. Having taught all the scriptures, he told the disciple that for the final teaching he would have to go to a nearby ashram. He told the disciple to go to another guru there for the final teaching. The disciple was wondering why his guru would send him to another guru. He was much more knowledgeable than the other guru.
Though in a dilemma; he decided to obey his guru and went to the nearby ashram to meet the other guru. To his surprise; the other guru had stopped teaching. He was engrossed in serving food to his disciples with love, cleaning up the left overs as well as washing the dishes.
The disciple saw this and learnt what it meant to serve out of love. Later he noticed something profound. The guru himself washed the dishes and kept them in order before he went to sleep.
Next morning, he used to take out the dishes, washed them again and started cooking. The disciple was wondering as to why the guru should wash the dishes all over again in the morning while they were already been washed thoroughly earlier in the night and that dishes were not dusty either. He observed all such details and came back to narrate to his earlier guru.
He narrated, ‘I cannot understand this strange fact of why should the guru in the ashram wash the already cleaned vessels again in the morning, why should he do that?”
To which his guru replied, “Yes, this is the understanding that I wanted you to observe and get totally.”
You cleanse your mind regularly but your mind starts collecting dust along the way in the form of a clutter, foggy and unclear understanding. Please do not say that you do meditation once and stop at that. So long as your mind gathers dust it has to be cleansed. It is a constant process of cleansing and purifying our mind.
Essence
Goal of every human is to realize his/her true self and finally merge in Him or the source. When we are so much entangled in our daily duties, relationships and other activities of the world; we seldom have time or even bother to ponder about our actual self. We always associate ourselves with our body and relationships we have built around us. Later when we lose these relationships or even when this body suffers we are so unhappy.
This is because we chase after something which is impermanent. True, it is no easy to understand this and it is easier said than done. But ‘satsang’ or company of good, wise people at least propels us to think about who we are and what is the ultimate goal of life? Without a Master or good company it is not easy for one to proceed into this self inquiry. So company of good is the first step towards the path of self realization. If we begin now; we know not when or in how many lifetimes we will achieve our goal. But we would have at least begun the journey on this path.
For Students
It is said; “Tell me your company and i will tell who you are”. It is very important to have good company and friends from young age. One rotten fruit can spoil the entire basket of fruits. So one must be careful in choosing their friends. The values which children develop at a younger age remains with them throughout their lives. Hence company of good friends and value based education from an early age is very vital
The emperor Akbar told Tansen one day that he would like to meet and hear his guru. He said, "Last night when you left, a thought came to my mind that there has never been a singer greater than you, nor will there ever be. You are the ultimate in music. But then it occurred to me that you must have learned from somebody. You must have had a guru, and perhaps he is even better than you. So I would like to meet your guru and hear him."
Tansen replied, "That is very difficult. I do have a guru who is still alive, but you cannot call him to the court for he does not sing on request. His songs are like the songs of the birds. A cuckoo will never sing at your request. The more you plead the more silent he will become, for it will begin to wonder why the request. You can hear my guru only when he chooses to sing. If you are that eager we shall have to go and hide behind his hut and listen secretly. If we approach him directly he might stop singing."
Tansen's guru, a fakir named Haridas, stayed in a hut on the bank of the river Jamuna. At three o'clock every morning, before dawn, he would sit by the river and sing in ecstasy. His singing was like the song of the birds; his songs had nothing to do with anybody. Akbar and Tansen reached the hut at two o'clock. At three the singing began. Akbar listened as if hypnotized, his eyes raining tears. When they rode back he could not utter a single word to Tansen. In fact he totally forgot that Tansen was there.
As he stepped down from the chariot he told Tansen, "I was under the impression that you had no equal, but today I see the your guru far surpasses you. Is there some reason for it?" Tansen replied, "Is there really any need to ask? I sing for you, but my guru sings only for God. When I sing my eye is on the gift you will give me, for singing is my business. My guru doesn't sing to get anything. In fact, it is the other way around; he sings only when he receives, when he is so filled with the emotion of God from the grace he received from above, when his throat is full, when waves of ecstasy arise in his heart.
When he is flooded with His grace he sings, he flows, he bursts into song. Singing is like His shadow to him. But for me, I sing first, then receive. My eyes are always on the fruits of my effort, therefore I am lowly. You are absolutely right: how can I stand next to my guru? No matter how skillful I become, however practiced my hands or competent my voice, my soul will never be able to enter into my song. I am a specialist, not so my guru. His song is like the song of the birds. I am nothing before him." The singers you hear today are professionals. The listeners sit passively while they do their jobs, so far have we come from the song of God.
Whoever is making love on the screen is a professional doing his job. He acts and viewers watch, nothing more, just glued to their chairs. The realities of life can only be known actively; you must enter into these realities. Just to see a person swimming, how can you enjoy the pleasure? If seeing gives so much pleasure, how infinitely joyful must be the act of being and doing. Sing, dance, but forget the world for it is the thought of the world that prevents you from singing and dancing. Dance, sing – and you stand in the footsteps of God.
