Sri Sadguru Mahime

Author: Charana Dasa

Translator: Shri.Ganesh Prasad

Chapter 107 : Namaskaram

Gurunatha would not let anyone easily bow to him and offer namaskarams. He used to tell some.. “First you offer namaskarams for yourself”. The inner meaning was namaskaram is not just physical activity of bending over to show someone that you respect them. lnstead your feelings towards that person should be pure. Your mind should be free from selfish thoughts, ego or jealousy.

Gurunatha used to bow to everyone who wore a kavi(saffron(Ochre) colored dress, signifying detachment). Of course not everyone deserved it, sometimes he used tell.. “the reason I offered him my respects was to make him aware of his responsibilities and mistakes he was committing so that he can correct himself”. This was not just limited to Sanyasis, it included the seers of maths who were gracing various peethams. His words were “Anyone just cannot ascend to the throne (peetha in a math), it requires good deeds from numerous previous births and also the throne itself would be enriched by the sadhanas(spiritual achievement) of his predecessors. Having said that, the imperfections and mistakes of a creature are decided by his own past deeds. Respect and adulation make that person stay on the right path.

Like this, Gurunatha used different tactics to correct different individuals depending on their degree of purity, mental state and intellect.

Once talking about Sanyasa he had said, ”Wearing Kavi(saffron) is not sanyasa, it is a practice, an experience, it is not necessary that you wear saffron for it, it is not mandatory also. First your mind should become Kashaya(saffron)”. That is not to say this path is wrong. Sanyasa has many forms, wearing kavi is just one of them”.

He had once said “We must keep attachment in detachment. You must be present in everything while not being particularly in anything, while performing your duties.” Some of these statements would not sink into my head; I would just nod as if I understood.

One thing was easy to grasp though.. ”a sanyasi should wear saffron so that it alerts him not to stray away from the righteous path”.

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