October 4, 2025
The guru may have to instruct me once, twice, thrice. Usually the holy men restrict themselves to three attempts. My guru would go up to ten - he had infinite patience. If you would still not listen, he would not throw you out, but offer you some tea and coffee, hoping that one of these days, even this banana stem might get dried.
This part of the responsibility is the student's, the disciple's. It cannot be done by any guru. The guru will never prepare me for this burning. I have to be naturally ready and by a certain amount of self exertion, I must at least have graduated to the second stage, the charcoal stage, before I can approach the guru.
It is only when I am able to see how this man functions, that I begin to have a glimpse of what this non-volitional activity is, that I may understand the concept that “I” is a cell in the body of God. Even then, in my understanding, there is bound to be some deficiency.
The guru will put it right, if you let him. I go to the guru, but can I understand the guru? I can see what he does. But do I understand the spirit in which he does it? I can imitate his gestures, his external actions, but do I know what this inner spirit is?
Swamiji's Commentary