Daily Readings from the Works of Swami Venkatesananda


Venkatesa Daily Readings Vol 2 - More Thoughts On The Guru

July 5, 2023

guru     My Guru, Swami Sivananda, was once asked, "Since You did not live with your Guru, since You led an independent life during your sadhana, what were the obstacles that you encountered and how did you overcome them?" Gurudev smiled and said, "I had no obstacles at all." How is this possible? Perhaps the key lies in the fact that whatever discipline He undertook was natural to Him. It wasn't forced upon Him either by others or even by Himself. It was the natural fruit of an inner vision. If the inner being sees a truth, then there is no struggle.

    "I must know the Self and be free. I must realize the Self now." With this as the uppermost thought, all obstacles were wiped away. There was no struggle, no temptation to revert to a life of ease and status. His sustaining power was, "I must realize God now." He was determined to realize God here and now, and whatever He did was based upon this. With the inner direction fixed, all the disciplines like asana, pranayama, japa and diet were natural and bore fruit. Minus this basic direction, carrying on some practices will never yield fruit.

    This is what is called burning desire. Not fireworks which flare up and disappear, but a wood fire, burning silently, constantly, giving warmth and illumining everything around it. In our case, in the beginning our zeal and enthusiasm are overwhelming. But in six months it is gone; and we swing to the other extreme when the reaction sets in. In his case the burning was constant, without noise, without show or fuss. Such a fire burns itself out completely. The fire, "I must realize God now" was all there was. There was no looking back. 'Back' had been burned and there was only forward.

    In His own words, "When shall I be free? When 'I' ceases to be." When 'I' is burned in the fire of enquiry. He does not use first person, but third: when 'I' ceases to be. Here there is no identification with ego but simply active observation, observation in itself. Light that shines without a source, because this light is omnipresent. These were not just words, but truth, and truth that emerged from the crucible of life. Living truth. And when truth becomes living truth, that living truth experiences no difficulty whatsoever, no obstacle whatsoever.
 

 

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