“bhavāraṇyapraviṣṭasya diṅmōhabhrāntachētasaḥ ।
yēna sandarśitaḥ panthāḥ tasmai śrīguravē namaḥ ॥“
“I was lost in the dark forest of emotions and confusions created by attachment. I bow down to the Sadguru who has shown me the way out.”
Lost In The Forest of Samsara
This verse from Sri Guru Gita describes the condition of every human as “bhavāraṇyapraviṣṭasya”, lost in the dark forest of emotions. Regardless of nationality or race, every mind is a victim of its attachments and ignorance, unaware of the true Self. People try to gain some good moments, peace and happiness from the external world – dreaming of idyllic moments in the bosom of their lover, a warm family, wealth and health. But life always throws challenges in the form of death, sickness, separation or losses, to take away your dreams. The pain of losing someone dear can put people into severe depression and nervous breakdowns. Scenarios are different, but the suffering is universally the same.
On the other hand, there will also be some happy moments, such as getting a new watch, earning your first salary, graduating, or going on vacation. These sparks of joy are like fireworks in life, but too much excitement can also lead to imbalance. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that while sorrow can cause illness, so can excessive elation. I call humans emotional animals, not rational ones, stuck in the whirlpool of their feelings. Your own desires, ambitions or relationships steal your peace and you cannot let go.
Therefore, the verse continues with “diṅmōhabhrāntachētasaḥ” – bhrant means confusion, a lack of clarity due to attachments. Imagine, a person contracts malaria, and then, running a 104-degree fever goes back to the mosquito and says, “Please bite me, I loved it! Your bite was like a kiss, and I need more.” A mind intoxicated by sensory pleasures finds it difficult to leave them. Diseased by ego and greed, people race after worldly desires, and finally die. Abrahamic religions do not believe in rebirth, but Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus do. Somebody said that I should better get converted to end the cycle of life and death, but then, they would waste this one life without a second chance. At least, Hinduism gives you another opportunity – “No problem, come again.”
How will someone reach home without a map if they are lost in a dark forest, infested with wild animals and snakes? “Yēna sandarśitaḥ panthāḥ” – only the Guru can show you the way, “tasmai śrīguravē namaḥ” – thus, I bow to my Master. Without the Guru, there is no wisdom in life. Without wisdom, you are a victim of your mind and ignorance. The Guru leads you by example, teaching you the way and thus becomes the lighthouse in your life.
Someone asked, “What is the role of a true living Master in self-realisation, and what part does being in love with the Guru play?” Take a dog as an example. He may be playing or chasing a cat, but show him a sweet treat and he will forget everything else. A person without a Guru is like that dog racing after cats or foolishly trying to catch his tail. Dogs can be so silly, you cannot make them understand. But I unfortunately feel the same when I talk to humans, although I speak their language. But show this dog the treat and he will be very focussed on your hand, because he knows its taste and how much joy he will get. Your mind behaves like a dog, always doing things that will not gain you anything, like pleasing others, or collecting possessions. You might have a billion dollars on your account, but that cannot eradicate the pain of ignorance, agyana. Without attaining truth, whatever you acquire will not give you the tranquility you want.
A True Master Makes You Think
Amidst all these futile pursuits comes the Guru. Initially, a naïve mind will not understand what a Guru really is. Hence, most are not interested. People say, “The world is so nice, are we stupid to leave our enjoyments to sit and do ‘Ram, Ram’, for an unseen God?” And they mock those who do.
Only one pained by ignorance will seek answers, a heart tormented by questions about life, death, God and Self. If such persons will read or hear something, it will strike them profoundly. But this will not happen to everybody. Thousands of people will be there in my sessions. They will come, listen, enjoy, go back and forget. But some will not be able to forget the face or what they heard, and begin to question. Without encountering the Guru, it does not happen. Just see the people around you, never seeking anything, happy with their mundane lives. “Work Monday to Friday, party Saturday and Sunday, go back on Monday. Have two vacations, maybe three. Have three children, maybe four. Earn money, educate the children and get them married. Be head of some company and maybe retire at 70.” And then, what will you do? They say, “We will play golf.” Or they go for a cruise – only retired people will be found on cruises. And that is what life is for people, always trying to have more: more wine, more food, more friends, more parties. The world can give you pleasures, but not paramananda, that supreme bliss.
When the Guru comes into your life, they make you think and tell you there is something much higher than what you know. And if the mind connects with the Guru and relishes their presence and words, this will be like that treat, stopping the mind from hankering. Again, it does not happen to everybody, only very special hearts and minds can sing this divine song of pure love. Not all will understand this or know its precious value.
Sant Maluk Das says in one of his beautiful couplets, “Kaun milawe jogiya ho… Who will bring me to my jogi, who opens the doors to divine love? I am thirsty for my Lord, and my mind sings His song. My prana should leave this body if I do not meet my Guru. He is like the hunter, and I am the deer, which wishes to get hunted by the hunter. Only one who has been pierced by this love arrow knows what it is, others cannot understand the longing and love in my heart for my Guru. And because of His grace, I have found the One within me so easily – sahaj. I have found my beloved, the paramananda.”
If such love for the Guru arises, the heart will move inwards. Pursuing Truth cannot be done just intellectually. There are many subjects to satisfy the intellect, but spirituality is not one of them. It must be lived. “Guru” also signifies gyana, knowledge, and paramananda, inner bliss. You need another person for physical intimacy, some delicacy to relish taste, and money or power to feel proud. But the Guru teaches you how to be joyful within yourself. The concept of Self-realisation is revealed to you by the Guru, not the world. Without the Guru, how will you come to know about this?
See, the priestly class of any religion does not want you to be realised, they want you to be a fool to sell “godly” promises. They say, “Come to this holy place, make an offering and you will get salvation and a golden ticket to heaven.” But the Guru takes away all this stupidity and gives you insight into Truth. The Master says, there is nothing “out there”, no heaven awaiting you. And God is not custodian of the priests, imprisoned inside religious walls. If He was imprisoned himself, how will He give you moksha? Not realising your real Self is the root-cause of misery. So, if you are unhappy, nobody else is responsible but you.
Necessity Of A Living Guru
Life is a mix of thorns and flowers. Yet, the Guru gives you the ability to remain unperturbed despite all difficulties, by imparting the highest knowledge – gyana. Gyana is not just a bunch of words. Sometimes people ask me, “How many books have you read? Can you give us the titles so we can read them too?” I say, “Sure. But in books, you will find words, not the meanings. Theories, but not experience.” Experience can come only in association and presence of the Master. Something beyond words transpires, it can only be felt.
The Guru does not merely teach knowledge like any professor or expert on Vedanta. Such knowledge would be just bookish, devoid of essence – like a plastic flower. It may look fine, but lacks the lustre and fragrance of the real one. A Sadguru is not a plastic flower; only a living flower can give you the sweet scent. Similarly, only a living Guru can give you the essence of Truth. A dead one, no matter how great, is of no use to you. Unfortunately, many are content with dead gurus, because they will not yell from the photo, “Hey, you fool, what are you doing?!”
One Swamiji shared his story. He became a sannyasi at a young age and lived with his Guru on riverbanks for nearly fifteen years. Every morning, the Guru would wake up at 3 am – not only would he wake up, but he would also walk to all his students, yelling, “Get up!” The students were just sixteen, an age when sleep is so blissful at 3 am. Once, a brother-disciple slept deeply, completely oblivious to the Guru’s repeated calls. The Guru banged his wooden staff on the ground near the disciple’s head, who exclaimed, “Broken, broken, my head is broken!”, until the others assured him it was not. Then they would go to answer nature’s call – there were no western toilets, just the jungle. Sometimes they would doze off even while squatting there, and Guruji would yell, “Hua nahin?” (“Are you not done with pooping?”)
When Swamiji recalled these memories, tears welled up in his eyes – tears for the Master’s compassion, who not only taught and cared for them, but constantly reminded them, “You must not waste a single minute of your life – do not sleep, get up.” Reflecting on his time serving and being with the Master, Swamiji said, “Whatever I am today is the grace of my Guru.”
The mind is inherently lazy and foolish; it needs the Master’s rebukes and motivation. But nothing of this sort can happen with a dead Guru. Dead Gurus are convenient, as they will not challenge your ego or shake you from inertia. A living, true Guru will do exactly that. From being lost in the dark forest of attachments to stepping into the light of self-knowledge, this is the transformative journey an aspirant undergoes in the benign presence of a Sadguru.
