"When the breath is irregular, the mind is also unsteady, but when the breath is still, so is the mind, and the yogi lives long. So one should restrain the breath."
OM OM OM
Om Namo Bhagavate Satgurunaathaaya
Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogaanandaaya
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Om Gurubhyo Namaha
I bow to the Guru
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Om Paramagurubhyo Namaha
I bow to the Guru's Guru
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Om Paraaparagurubhyo Namaha
I bow to the Gurus of the lineage
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Om Parameshthigurubhyo Namaha
I bow to the Supreme Gurus
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Jaya Gurudev!
Greetings, my friends! I have been thinking a lot lately about the Guru-Disciple relationship, and how important it is to our spiritual development. It is very important to always remember that without the Grace of the Guru, we have nothing but pain & suffering, delusion & ignorance, unfulfilled desire & dissatisfied ego. The Guru is the only escape for us mere mortals. Meditation alone can only take you so far, and without the Guru final liberation never comes. No one gets enlightenment by themselves. No one can attain Samadhi. Samadhi is bestowed by the Guru when He/She deems you fit for the experience. Even the great masters and saints, whose Gurus are unknown to us, could not have attained their lofty states without that Grace. Even Jesus received initiation (in the form of the baptism) before he began his ministry. Without the Guru, and the Guru’s Grace, we have nothing. Therefore, Guru Bhakti Yoga is the highest path for the yogi. Remember the old saying:
"If all the Gods and Goddesses praise me and shower me with their blessings, but my Guru is displeased with me, I am truly lost...If all the Gods and Goddesses condemn me and curse me, but my Guru smiles upon me, I have all I could ever need or want."
It is best expressed in this verse from Sri Guru Gita:
Dhyaana Mulam Guror Murti
Pujaa Mulam Guroh Padam
Mantra Mulam Guror Vaakyam
Moksha Mulam Guroh Kripaa
"The root of meditation is the Guru’s form,
The root of worship is the Guru’s feet,
The root of mantra is the Guru’s words,
The root of liberation is the Guru’s Grace."
In 2002, when I was living in my Guru’s ashram, I went on a 9 day retreat in the Anza-Borrego desert with one other ashramite. One night, after a meditation, I looked up at a large picture of Guruji that was in my room, and a thought struck me: "You came for ME!" I had always taken that idea for granted, and never really given it much thought, but at that moment it was very profound. "You came for me." Little old me...who is not even worthy of a glance from such a One. But more than just glance, He actually incarnated into this world of darkness and ignorance! He took on a physical form, with all the pain and discomfort that involves...and He did it for ME! After that, I was swept up in the devotional bhava, and I wrote the following poem for Guruji.
YOU CAME FOR ME
I have nothing to offer you
And you have naught to gain
Yet you have come to hell for me
Time and time again
You say the only thing God wants
Is the Love Divine that's deep inside
Yet oftentimes I feel it not
It is buried under greed and pride
And for reasons I could not hope to fathom
You donned these prisoner's clothes
To live amongst the thorny weeds
As a luminescent rose
You came of your own free-chosen will
To the land where Suffering is sovereign lord
To slay that tyrant, sure and true
With invincible, meditative sword
You have brought with you the master key
To unlock the shackles round our souls
And return us to from whence we came:
The Eternally-Undivided-Whole
"Sit still and breathe;" is that all it takes
To find lasting peace within?
To loose the knots that keep us bound
To this painful world we're in?
So simple, yet difficult a task
To pay attention to the breath
Yet therein lies the power for
To make a slave of Mighty Death
Such a boundless Love you have displayed
In returning solely for my soul's sake
Comforting, preventing my becoming dismayed
As I struggle from deepest slumber to wake
My tongue knows not words enough
To tell thanks of the soul you came to save
So I touch your feet ten billion times
My friend, my treasure, my beloved Gurudev
So, my dear friends, always chant "Om Guru" in the back of your mind (or even better, in the front of your mind!), for it is the greatest mantra, the surest path to the Divine. Chant the Sri Guru Stotram everyday, or at least this one verse:
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu
Gurudevo Maheshvaraha
Gurur Sakshat Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri Guraveh Namaha
"Guru is the creator (Brahma); Guru is the preserver (Vishnu);
Guru is the destroyer (Maheshvara);
Truly, Guru is the Supreme Absolute.
In reverence to that Guru we humbly bow."
OM SRI GURUBHYO NAMAHA
HARIHI OM
JAYA GURUDEV!
Namaste,
Gurudas
