SRI GURU CHARITRA - DAILY PARAYANA

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

Chapter 2....

The disciple returned to Lord Vishwanadha and said, "As my Guru is not willing, I do not want to ask for anything". Lord Visweswara went away feigning anger. He went to Vykuntha, the celestial abode of Lord Vishnu and told him, "There is a sage by name Vedadharma who is ill, living under a peepul tree at Kasi. He has a great disciple by name Deepaka. I lovingly went to him to grant a boon. He who is absorbed in serving his Guru refused to ask me for anything".

Lord Vishnu, longing to see him, at once appeared to Deepaka and offered to grant him a boon. When the Lord who cannot be persuaded to appear before the devotee even through the eight fold yoga, austerity, contemplation, religious vows and other religious practices, said to Deepaka, "Oh, pious one, in-spite of the severest trials, you are faithfully serving your Master and we are much pleased with it. You ask me for anything you want." Deepaka replied "Lord! The Guru indeed is the God of the Gods. Liberation is possible only through wisdom. Through wisdom one attains mastery over deities like you. What else do I need? If you are not pleased to go away like Lord Viswanadha, bless me that my faith in my Guru shall increase. As all other things are perishable, I shall not ask for any".

Lord Vishnu said, "You already have immense faith in your Guru. Therefore, I grant you the power to save those who yearn for faith and devotion through your fame. By glorifying the Guru with Vedic recitations and total surrender to Him, I am ever pleased. I shall bestow my presence only on such. Even the Lord of death cannot cause any fear to such a devotee. Why else need he fear? The eight supernatural powers serve him. There is nothing superior to it." When Lord Vishnu vanished, Deepaka reported this incident to his Guru. Vedadharma was much pleased and, placing his blessing hand on the head of his disciple made him a Master of all Spiritual Wisdom.

It is only to proclaim the sanctity of Kasi and to test the devotion of his disciple that Vedadharma who was skilled in spiritual wisdom and liberated while living, took on himself the ordeal of illness. A true sage has no more sins to suffer.

Oh spirit of Kali! There are several such stories that speak of the glory of the Guru. They are indeed such as would sanctify those who recount them and their listeners. You go to the earthly plane of existence. But never cast your eye on anyone who is devoted to his Guru!"

As per the command of Lord Brahma, the spirit entered the earthly plane and did as he was ordered. If even a mortal of a Guru is so great, what to speak of the glory of a perfect Sadguru? Whoever serves such, as a Guru with true faith and devotion, shall achieve the supreme object of life. The doubting, however, shall never achieve anything. Therefore, Oh Namadharaka, if you wish for the highest good for yourself, you seek refuge in Sree Guru who still exists in human form and serve him with unwavering faith. Then you shall cross the ocean of misery, viz., and this phenomenal existence."

Jai Sai Ram

Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM
HAPPY BABA'S DAY

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

CHAPTER - 3

"Now I wish to know why Sree Guru is parabrahman (the Absolute) has taken birth as human being on earth" said Namadharaka.

"Son, you are blessed indeed. God’s grace is on you. That is why you are so strongly impelled to know more about Him. This devotion shall eventually liberate you. Your faith does stir up my joy too. Earlier, I roamed the whole of this earth, but no one ever asked me to narrate the stories of Sree Guru. After so long only you have asked me about these. Just as the ocean swells at the sight of full moon, at the sight of an eager devotee like you, my urge to expound the same wells up within my heart.

Now listen attentively," said Siddha and went on: "Sree Guru is infinite and so is his divine sport. One does not know where to stop the narration of his divine acts. That is why, unless you question me specifically, it is not easy to commence the narration. However, it is never possible to express the full significance of his leelas in speech.

The Vedas describe the Supreme as the One, failing to reach whom our speech and mind turn back upon themselves. That is, his divine play can neither be comprehended fully by the intellect, nor its implication conveyed by language. Listening to or reading the stories of Sree Guru’s miracles is like a boat with which one can easily cross the ocean of misery ridden, phenomenal existence. During the age of Kali, men are irreligious. Such do not understand this truth and are therefore lost in this ocean. Incessant cravings for pleasure are the ceaseless waves in it; such passions as lust and greed are the frightening creatures that infest it; the inarticulate cries of pain and sorrow of creatures constitute the roar of the surf.

In order to take us safely across such unfathomable and boundless ocean, the Guru is helmsman. God’s i.e., the Guru’s grace is the favorable wind. Owing to your meritorious actions of your past life, you have got all the means necessary to cross it without much struggle. So make sure, you do so quickly. Now I shall recount the story of Sree Guru".

So saying, Siddha led Namadharaka to the confluence of rivers Bhima and Amaraja, and both of them sat under the peepal tree beneath which long ago, Sree Guru himself lived. As the boon-bestowing Sree Guru sat under it, the tree too acquired the blessed power and hence maybe considered as the veritable Kalpa Vriksha, the wish-fulfilling tree.

Jai Sai Ram

Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

CHAPTER - 3
Continuation....

Then Siddha went on:
"My son Namadharaka, human beings are of three kinds: those given to sensual pleasures, the seekers after Enlightenment and the Enlightened (or the Liberated). The story of Sree Guru (Sree Guru Charitra) is a sole refuge of these. The seekers of worldly pleasures gain them either by studying or listening to it. For seeker after liberation, it is an excellent remedy to cure the illness of ignorance. The liberated one’s derive supreme bliss by listening to it. It is thus their very life. The full significance and efficacy of Sree Guru Charitra is something which transcends our limited powers of intellectual and verbal communication. However much we recount it, there remains much that is never revealed, unless one is spiritually awakened to it by Divine grace.

Once there was a terrible universal deluge and the whole world was submerged by a huge flood of water. Then Lord Narayana, lay floating on the coil of divine serpent, Adisesha (lit., what remains as essence when all forms are dissolved) and was in His yogic trance. Desirous of projecting the world again, he manifested (the creative grace) Maya and originated Brahma the creator from it. In order to promote the creative process, Brahma too, by an act of will created the seven great seers, Mareechi, Atri, Ribhu, Pulasthya, Pulaha, Angirasa, and Daksha. Of these sage Atri happen to be the one to whom Lord Datta was born.

Anusuya, the wife of the great sage Atri, became famous for her devotion to her husband paativratya. Such was her spiritual power that the hard uneven earth turned soft and smooth for her as she walked about. Even the scorching sun and the blazing fire turn cool in regard to her. The God of wind dared not blow as a pleasant breeze for her sake. The Gods presiding over nature’s forces were afraid that they would lose their dignity if they defied her greatness and so sought refuge from Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer of all existence.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 3
Continuation.....

Once Sage Narada who freely moved about the three worlds, visited the abodes of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva and proclaimed the spiritual eminence of Anusuya which was a result of her intense, unrivalled devotion to her husband and of her unfaltering vow of hospitality to visitors. Hearing this, the consorts of divine Trinity, i.e., Saraswati, Lakshmi ad Parvati felt jealous of her. When their husbands tried to console them, they felt that they should find an occasion to curse Anusuya Devi, or trap her in a moral dilemma and see that her greatness does not exceed their own. So the three God’s, went to the hermitage of sage Atri disguised as three random guests (Athitis), Anasuya welcomed the guests with due respect and seated them. As per her vow of dutifulness, she said, "Holy Sirs, you have sanctified our hermitage by your holy visit. I heartily welcome you. Please say what I could do for you. The Master of the hermitage, sage Atri, has gone to the forest to perform his austerity (tapa’s)”.

The guest told her that they were all very hungry and cannot wait till her husband returned home. They wanted to eat immediately. She went in and after making proper arrangements, invited them to lunch. Then the guests said, ‘Holy One! Unless you take off your clothes and serve us food in your nakedness, we shall not eat but go away hungry!’. On hearing their words, she smiled to herself and reflected thus: ‘I am totally purified by the long association with the Holy sage Atri, what harm can the God of lust ever do to me? So I need fear nothing. If I do not comply with their precondition they would go away after laying a curse on me for having failed in my duty and my promise to feed them. As they sought food from my hands, I look upon them as my own children and not as strangers and grown up men!’. Having decided thus, she said to them, Sirs I shall do as you wish. Come and have your lunch!’. Then she did accordingly. At once, by virtue of her superior spiritual power the three divine guests were transformed into infants!. At the sight of them, holy motherly love welled up in her heart so intensely that her bosom experienced lactation. She happily suckled them and the three infants were immensely satisfied. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as though exhausted with their tasks of Creation, Sustaining and Distruction had all enjoyed perfect rest in her lap!.
Then Anusuya realized that they were the holy Trinity and was very happy. She put them in a cradle and rocked it, singing lullaby recounting the whole incident. Sage Atri was on his way home heard the song from a distance and he knew of what had transpired. On reaching the hermitage he glorified the Trinity thus: "Oh thou Supreme Spirit! You are the ultimate cause of creation, preservation and destruction. You are the witness of the whole Universe, the omnipresent, the all-pervading Essence of all existence. You are Lord Vishnu. You are indeed the Reality, but by your divine sport, you manifested yourself as the holy Trinity for your own play. Though the universe is a projection of Nescience of your real essence, it is not distinct from you. Only when perceived through the illusionary sense of ‘I and mine’, it looks distinct from you."

As he sang thus, even while the three infant forms were in front of him, they also appeared before him in their original forms and wanted him to seek a boon from them. He then looked meaningfully at his wife and said, ‘My dear, these holy ones cannot be reached even by the mind. They appeared here only by the power of your devotion. Tell them of your heart’s wish’. She replied, ‘My Lord, you were created by Brahma for the promotion of the phenomenon of creation. Therefore, I shall be pleased if you pray to the One Lord that has appeared as this Trinity to live here as our sons’. Sage Atri did so. And the One Spirit manifest as the trio set ‘Oh wise sage, I offer myself to you, henceforth as your adopted son. Hence I am Datta’.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 3
Continuation.....

Owing to the power of Anusuya’s devotion, the divine trinity continued to live at her hermitage as her children. At the same time, they also left for their celestial abodes in their subtle spiritual forms and by united with their consorts.
As Lord Vishnu gave himself up completely, the sage name Brahma was charming as Chandra, infant Shiva as Durvasa and Vishnu as Datta. The children of Atri are called Atreyas. Thus, in order to denote that Datta was his son, he came to called Dattatreya. He is indeed the Supreme Lord himself, the goal of the Vedas. He is the nature of Reality-Awareness-Bliss. He is the Master of Yoga and wisdom, the wish-fulfiller of his devotees and is ever ready to bless them at the mere thought of him. He wanders all over the creation. Durvasa was choleric in temperament. Still, he blesses others. Chandra sustains the worlds.

The Supreme Spirit, henceforth known as Dattatreya, is indeed unbound by phenomenal existence. Yet, in deference to a curse laid on him, once by Sage Durvasa, he ever abides on earth, assuming different human forms. This he does out of compassion for the creatures on earth and for the Gods. There were Avatars of the Lord earlier too. But all of them after completing their mission left of those forms and returned to their One Essence. In order to bless his devotees the Lord had incarnated as Lord Dattatreya. Yet he did not, like the other avatars to leave the earthly plane of existence after completing his divine mission.

I shall illustrate the difference: The incarnation of Sree Rama was intended for the destruction of demon king Ravana. The avatar of Sree Krishna was intended for the annihilation of king Duryodhana and his wicked train. So, after the completion of those missions, Sree Raman and Sree Krishna had cast off their physical bodies and left for their heavenly abode. But the Avatar of Dattatreya was intended for the welfare of all creatures. As this mission has to be carried out as long as creation exists, he does not lay down his body and leave for his heavenly realm and goes on wandering from place to place". Thus Dattatreya is the eternal Avatar of God’s Spirit of Self-dedication to the salvation of all creatures. He manifests himself perennially as the perfect Saints of all religions of the world.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 3
Continuation.....

As Siddha thus went on enumerating the unique features of the Avatar of Datta, Namadharaka expressed on of his doubts thus: "Sir, Durvasa, by laying a curse on Dattatreya has indeed done good to all creatures! If he was not cursed to wander about for the welfare of all Lord Datta, too would have laid down his physical body like the other Avatars, after the fulfillment of his limited missions. But tell me, why at all, Durvasa cursed him. Besides, how could the curse affect Him who is ever above all manifestation?"

Siddha replied, "Son, the Supreme Lord is indeed ever unmanifest, but when invoked by the power of devotion of the faithful ones, he manifested Himself on earth out of compassion for them. He is full of the Spirit of endurance. Durvasa once cursed King Ambarisha, who was a devotee of Vishnu. Then Dattatreya requested Durvasa to transfer the curse to him, as he was pledged to take over himself the sufferings of His devotees. Durvasa did so. And thereby curse accrued to Vishnu who manifested Himself as Dattatreya. I shall recount the details of the story.

Long ago, there was a King named Ambarisha who honored his guests as the veritable forms of Lord Vishnu. He scrupulously observed the vow of Ekaadasi (the eleventh lunar day from either full or new moon day). The vow consists on fasting on Ekaadasi and breaking the fast before noon on the next day of Dwadasi (lit., ‘the twelfth day’).

Once sage Durvasa wanted to test the righteousness of Ambarisha and arrived at his palace with a large retinue of disciples on the morning of Dwadasi and demanded food for all of them. Ambarisha happily invited them all for for lunch. Durvasa then went to the river for his ablutions and deliberately delayed his return to catch the king in the horns of a dilemma: If in order to fulfill his vow, he were to break his fast without waiting for his guest, it would amount to disrespecting the latter, according to the religious law. As a way out of the dilemma , Ambarisha sipped a little holy water (teertha). For, the act may be interpreted as breaking the fast without insulting the guest.

The next minute Durvasa arrived and was  wild with rage. He said 'As per the letter of the holy law, you have taken the holy water as food, leaving us the holy guests'. and cursed Ambarisha thus, "May you in every one of your births, wander about without an abode! " .The co-relation  between the curse and the error committed to deserve it is that Ambarisha, could not wait , in patience, the arrival of the guest and the curse ordains that it's victim should like wise be deprived of any stability and comfort in all his future births.

Ambarisha being an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu, the latter appeared on the scene and said " Oh Durvasa, you being a great rishi, your curse cannot go in vain. But my devotee Ambarisha cannot stand it either. And it is my promise that I shall bear the burden of my faithful. You modify the curse so that I could suffer it in his stead. " Durvasa pondered for a while ; 'This lord Vishnu is not easily accessible to devotees on earth. Hence it is good for all if He, instead of Ambarisha, should wander about this earth.' So he modified his curse accordingly. It is for this reason that Lord Vishnu as Dattatreya has been wandering about in different forms all over this earth.

The same lord, as described in the Puranas, manifested Himself earlier as the Divine Fish, the Divine Tortoise and others. Even in this age of Kali, he manifested himself twice. Even though these two avatars cannot be seen by the naked eyes of ordinary mortals in this wicked age, they respond to the call of devotees even today.

In this age of Kali, even the good which is conceived of in the mind bears fruit within a limited time, whereas in the case of Sin only when it is acted upon, does it produce its fruit. It is only because in the age of Kali, this facility exists that the Lord did not prevent the Spirit of Kali from manifesting Himself on earth. How blessed are those, Oh Namadharaka, who lives in a virtuous manner without allowing even a single evil thought even in this, Kali age!".

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 4
 
"Once King Yadu, the son of Yayaathi, saw in a forest, a recluse saint (Avadhuta) and addressed him thus: "Sir, every human being is impelled to strive and act by a longing for anyone or all of the goals of life - righteousness, wealth, fulfillment of desire and liberation from ignorance and misery. But your attitude is quite different. You do not strive or act at all. I dare not say that you abstain from all action owing to lack of ability, skill or understanding. You are indeed quite capable, energetic, and wise. Such as you are, why do you live in the forest, free from all desire? Even though you have neither kith and kin nor even a family, how could you be so blissful and self-contented?"

The Avadhuta replied, "My bliss and contentment are the fruits of Self-Realization. I have gained the necessary wisdom from the whole of creation, through 24 gurus. I shall elaborate the same for you:

All creatures in accordance with their previous store of karma, assume different physical forms and live on earth. People plough, dig and tread on earth. They light fires on it. Still, the earth does not swerve from its course even by a hair's breath. On the other hand, it feeds and houses all creatures. Seeing this, I learned that the wise one should never swerve from his vow of patience, love and righteousness under any circumstances. Besides, the many mountain peaks on earth are the abodes of holy shrines and of dense forests which usher timely rainfall for the well-being of all creatures. The many caves in them shelter different creatures. Several rivers, which are indispensable for human weal, have their rise in mountains. Stones and mud that are needed for building our houses, palaces and forts are afforded by mountains. Their peaks are most congenial for a life of contemplation and meditation, which alone can ensure fulfillment of human life. Thus, as it were, the mountain exists for the welfare of all, materially and spiritually. From this I learned that the wise One should dedicate his life for the welfare of all living beings. The earth with its mountains, was thus my first guru.

I observed that air is pure and odorless in itself. And it blows on both sweet and foul-smelling things without any discrimination or preference. Though it momentarily takes on the smell of its surroundings, in a short while, it reveals its pristine quality. From this I learned that the individual also should live in a like manner. That a spiritual aspirant should live in the world, unaffected by the dualities of life like joy and sorrow and by the objects of the senses. He should keep his heart's feeling and his speech unpolluted by vain objects. As the wind takes on only very few of the qualities of the object it contacts, a yogi should eat only what is just necessary to keep his body and soul together. Air blows for a short while and seems easily agitated, but soon regains its calm. So too, a yogi should ever strive to retain inner calm, though living in the thick of the battle of life.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 4
Continuation....

I have noticed that sometimes the sky (or space) gets thickly overcast, or filled with dust or smoke. At sunrise and during night, it apparently takes on different colors. But in fact, it ever remains its colorless self, and it is never touched or stained by anything. From this I learned that a true sage should remain ever pure like the sky or space, untouched or unaffected by anything in the phenomenal universe in time, including his own physical processes. His inner being is totally free from emotional reaction to things and events, even like space. Though many things appear in the sky or space and seem to demarcate and divide it into zones, it indeed ever remains an indivisible continuum. The Real Self too is indeed such. Again, like the Self the sky or space is omnipresent. Thus I accepted the sky or space as my third teacher.

My fourth Teacher is the element of fire, Sometimes, it manifests itself as blazing flames; sometimes as smoldering embers, covered by ash. But it is always present in all objects as latent heat. In the latter form, it is omnipresent. When dry twigs are rubbed together for the fire-sacrifice, it manifests as ordinary fire, which is said to burn down the sins of those who offer oblations. The god of fire accepts the offerings of everyone, irrespective of his moral worth and burns down his sins; but it still remains the ever pure divinity as the fire- god: he is untainted by the sins of such devotees. So too, a sage of prefect Realization should accept food of everyone, burn down his sins and bless the giver.

Though fire has no specific form of its own, when it is associated with fuel that burns, it assumes such apparent forms. So too, the true Self, though formless in itself, appears in the forms of deities, human beings, animals, and trees when it is associated with the respective physical structures. The source of all forms in the universe, as also their end, remains ever mysterious. All the things are manifest only in between their origin and their end. Their source and end is the true Self, which is eternal, unchanging, unmanifest and omnipresent. The nature of the element of fire is such. By reflecting deeply on this truth, I have realized the Self. The manifest fire transforms the various things it consumes into the same ash. So too, the wisdom of Self-Realization rejects the manifest forms and properties of things as illusion and realizes their One original Essence as Itself. Thus the element of fire is my fourth guru.

JAI SAI RAM

contd....

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 4
Continuation....

My fifth guru is the sun. Though the sun we see in our daily life is one, it appears as many when reflected by water in different vessels. Similarly, the One Real Self manifests itself as the many selves of living creatures when reflected by their physical structures. Again, in summer, the sun draws up the water on earth as vapor and again casts it down as rain in the proper season. So too, the sage gathers a lot of wisdom through his senses and imparts it to his worthy disciples at the proper time. Still, like the sun, he does not egotistically feel, 'I have gathered such wide knowledge and imparted it to so many!' Just as the sun illumines the many forms in nature to our vision, the sage too illumines the true nature of all the things to his true devotees. The self-same sun makes the lotuses bloom, but makes the water lilies close up. So too, human beings receive wisdom from a sage according to their receptivity but he blesses all creatures alike.

I have gained wisdom from a pigeon too. Once a pair of pigeons lived together on a tree. They bred their young and were bringing them up with deep affection and love. One day, a hunter caught the young fledglings in a snare. The lady-bird which returned from the forest with food for its young ones saw their plight and, unable to leave them, herself leapt in the snare to share their fate. Shortly after, the male pigeon turned up and, unable to bear the separation from its sweetheart, it too jumped in the snare and met its end. Reflecting on this, I realized how, even after being born as an intelligent human being, man is caught in the coils of possessiveness and brings about his own spiritual destruction. The Self which is originally free, when associated with the body, and the senses, gets identified with it, and thus gets caught in the endless cycle of birth, death and misery. Thus the pigeon was my sixth guru.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 4
Continuation....

The python is a sluggard, unwilling to move out briskly for its prey. It lies in its lurch and devours whatever creature it comes across, be it sufficient or insufficient to appease its hunger. From this I learnt that the man in search of wisdom should refrain from running after pleasures and accept whatever he gets spontaneously with contentment. He should live, ever contemplating his true Self. Even he should trust God and fast. Like the python, he should shake off sleep and wakefulness and abide in a state of incessant meditation on the Self. Though endowed with a sturdy body, he should refrain from all actions, which are characterized by a sense of agency and by a desire for the results of action. He should withdraw the power of perception from all his senses and center it on the unmindful of both purity and important of both purity and impurity. Like it, he should keep off from human haunts and be ever immersed in the purity of inner contemplation. Thus the python was my seventh Teacher of wisdom.

Contemplating the marvelous nature of the ocean, I have gained much wisdom. Any number of overflowing rivers may join it, yet the sea maintains its level. Nor does its level fall even by a hair's breadth in summer, when all the rivers dry up. So too, the sage of wisdom does not get elated by the joys of life, nor does he get depressed by its sorrows. Just as the sea never crosses its threshold on the beach, the Wise One never transgresses the highest standards of morality under the pull of passions. Like the sea, he is unconquerable and cannot be troubled by anything. Like the unfathomable ocean, his true nature and the depths of his wisdom cannot be easily comprehended by anyone. The sea never casts out its pearls and it never allows any useless stuff to remain in it for long. So too, a sage never does surrender any of his natural virtues, nor does he allow even a single error to creep into his nature. The ocean, which has taught me thus, is my eighth Teacher.

I often observed that the moth (or, more precisely a grasshopper) is tempted by fire to jump in it and get burnt down. So too, the unthinking man is enticed by the illusory pleasures of the senses and thus get caught in the ceaseless cycles of birth and death. The power of his evil deeds draws him down to the bottom of the spiritual ladder. On the other hand, the wise One, when he catches even a glimpse of the fire of Wisdom, leaves everything aside, leaps in it and burns down the illusion of being a limited self. Thus the moth was my ninth Teacher.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURU CHARITRA

Chapter 4
Continuation....

The elephant was my next Teacher. The human beings raise a stuffed cow-elephant in the forest. The wild tusker mistakes it for a mate, approaches it and is then skillfully bound in fetters by cunning human beings. So too, the unregenerate man is tempted by the opposite sex and gets bound by the fetters of infatuation. Even when the bull-elephant succeeds in finding a mate, it is soon challenged by other male elephants in heat and it often gets killed in the fight. It was in this fashion that wicked kings like Ravana and Duryodhana were annihilated by their infatuation for the fair sex. The seeker after liberation should learn to be free from lust. The elephant was thus one of my Teachers.

The ant stores up lots of food materials which it neither eats nor gives away in charity to any other creature. In consequence, other more powerful creatures are tempted to plunder the ants. So too, the man who lays by treasures of merely material things becomes a victim of robbery and murder. But the ant has something positive to teach us, too. It is a tireless worker and is never discouraged by any number of obstacles and setbacks in its effort to gather its treasure. So too, a seeker after wisdom should be tireless in his efforts for Self-Realization. This noble truth has the little ant taught me.

The fish greedily swallows bait and is at once caught by the angle -hook. From this, I realized how man meets his destruction by his craving for delicious food. I learned that wise one should eat only wholesome food in order to sustain his life and health. It is truly said that when the palate is conquered, all else is conquered. Besides, there is a positive feature in the fish: It never leaves its home i.e., water. So too, man should never loose sight of his true Self, but should ever have his being in it.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

Chapter 4.
Continuation....

The thirteenth guru that has awakened my spirit is a prostitute named Pingala. One day, she eagerly awaited a particular client in the hope that he would pay her amply. She waited and waited till late in the night. When he did not turn up, she was at last disillusioned and reflected thus: "Alas! How stupid I am! Neglecting the divine Spirit within who is the nature of bliss eternal, I foolishly awaited a debauchee who inspires my lust and greed and who is most likely to inflict on me the most unbearable torments. Henceforth, I shall expend myself on the Self, unite with Him and win eternal joy. Through such repentance, she attained blessedness. Besides, reflecting on its obvious purport, I also realized that a spiritual aspirant should likewise reject the lure of lesser spiritual powers, which are mere by-products of Sadhana. I learned that desire on either of the planes, and the temptation to secure things from other's hands are the seeds of misery; that renunciation of these is the sole means of realizing infinite joy.

Jai Sai Ram
Contd...

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

Chapter 4.
Continuation....

Once I observed an arrow-maker who was totally absorbed in molding a sharp arrow. He grew so oblivious of all else that he did not even notice a royal pageant that passed by. This sight awakened me to the truth that such single-minded, all-absorbing contemplation of the Self spontaneously eliminates all temptation for the trivial interests of the world. It is the sole secret of success in spiritual discipline. Thus the arrow-maker is my fourteenth guru.

Similarly, I noticed that little boys and girls are playful are and carefree. They know neither honor nor dishonor. They cannot nurse a grudge or a prejudice against anyone. They do not know what is their own, or what belongs to others. They do not need any external objects or conditions to be happy. Their happiness springs from their own selves, their innate creativity. I realized that the sage of perfect enlightenment is also such. A playful boy thus happened to be my fifteenth Teacher.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd....

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

Chapter 4.
Continuation....

Of all things in nature the moon is unique: It appears to wax and wane during the bright and dark fortnights. In fact, the lunar globe ever remains the same. While a man appears to pass through the stages of infancy, boyhood, youth, maturity and old age, his real self remains unchanged. All changes pertain only to the body and not to the self. Again, the moon reflects the light of the sun, but has no such of its own.

So too, the soul or mind of man is only a reflection of the light of awareness of the real Self. Having taught me this truth, the moon came to be my sixteenth guru. It bestows joy and cool to all the creatures. Similarly, the sage of perfect wisdom propagates the grace of God and thereby quenches the fire of misery. Yet, like the moon, he does not expect any reward or recognition.

Jai Sai Ram
Contd..

[Kavitaparna]

OM SRI SAI RAM

SHREE GURUCHARITRA

Chapter 4.
Continuation....

While wandering about in search of wisdom, I observed that the bee is lured by the sweet scent of the lotuses, at sunset. It sojourns in the lotus, as the later close up for the night, and thus gets imprisoned. So too, a wandering monk, if he  is not wise and wary enough, is tempted by the same objects and dainty dishes offered by householder devotees as tokens of their regard for him. Such a one easily yields to their persuasion to linger and finally, stay on in their houses, and is enslaved by their luxuries. Therefore, a monk should be careful to accept of them only what is just necessary to keep his body and soul together, and should not bother the householder devotees much. He should make it a principle not to live with them.

Besides, the bee wanders from flower to flower and, without hurting them in the least, draws honey. So too, a spiritual seeker should study all the Holy Scriptures practice, and discard all claims to mere scholarship. The honeybee neither consumes its rich store of honey, nor does it give away to anyone. In consequence, it tempts the honey-vendor to rob it off its store. The instruction is clear: The wise one does not store food for the next meal or even for the morrow, but accepts only what his hands and stomach can hold for the moment. Such is the Teaching I imbibed from my seventeenth Teacher, the honeybee.

JAI SAI RAM
Contd...