Sri Sadguru Mahime

Author: Charana Dasa

Translator: Shri.Ganesh Prasad

Chapter 77 : Samsara - Sanyasa

Gurunatha never advised anyone to relinquish/renounce family or not to take up family life and become a sanyasi. Instead, he taught ways of experiencing and conquering each state and moving forward from there. This was his specialty.

Once Gurunatha’s house was brimming with visitors, it was afternoon and lunch was being served to everyone as usual. Gurunatha was sitting on a chair facing the door. Just then a lady who probably was making a living as a laborer walked up to Gurunatha offered her respects to him. “My husband has fallen ill “with folded hands she pleaded to Gurunatha. Gurunatha in a raised voice asked her... “You scold him, you object to whatever he does, then how can he be your husband?” Immediately the innocent woman replied, why would I scold him? He is like a God to me and means everything to me. She took what Gurunatha gave and went away. Later Gurunatha talking to some women among the visitors told them...”See though she is leading a difficult life as a laborer she says her husband means everything in the world to her, though you lead a more comfortable life, you come here with complaints about your husbands isn’t it?

A woman should become a good wife to a husband, a dutiful and affectionate mother to her children and should never complain about them. Together the parents should win over their children’s hearts. On one instance he had said the birth as a woman is the most superior a living being can get.

Similarly to the youngsters among the visitors Gurunatha used to tell.. “Please do not talk lightly of your parents; you have got this body thanks to them. There is no point in serving a feast after their death (death anniversary rituals) you should take good care of them when they are still alive”.

Similarly to the men he used advise, “You need to take good care of your wife and children, which does not mean making properties and leaving them an inheritance. But, nurturing right values in them and taking them along a righteous path and assuring them of peace and tranquility. His words used to resound to each one of those who had gathered as if they were meant for him/her.

Tomorrow is already fixed by the Guru so you should give up your worries about tomorrow and live in the present. Each of your action should be dedicated to Guru, a feeling that ‘none of those actions are yours’ should become stronger by each day as you progress in life.

Guru is not meant for business, publicity he is meant for guiding your journey onto spiritual enlightenment. Everyday you should travel in the path shown by Guru, there should be self introspection at every step, we should move forward only after much thought, that thought and the knowledge so gained should be called as Guru, not any physical body.

Those who have given birth to us and brought us up would have faced so many hardships; we should always think how we shall repay the debt. We should always think twice when using the names of our parents and Guru. With our good conduct we should lead a righteous life not hurting anyone and through that we should show the world who our parents and Guru are.

While doing this to attain a purity of thoughts we should think what all we should renounce, this shall come from samskara(a behavioral inclination towards spirituality spanning many lives) , Guru is the one who will take us in this direction.

A life led in that manner shall be called Bhoga Sanyasa, through that one shall slowly attain Deha sanyasa and Gnana Sanyasa. (These are various stages in the path to eternal spiritual bliss, you start by dissociating yourself with all activities to possess or gain anything in return, later in Gnana Sanyasa you shall renounce the knowledge/feeling of respect/disrespect, world/beyond world, place of living, nation, good/ bad, attachment, love, sleep, intellect, beauty, looks, people, occasion, outside activity, anger, hunger, thirst, death, worry, unhappiness due to ego, habit, argument, differences, trouble, blame, showoff, defect, comfort, sorrow, disguise, sin,-- having any attachment/connection like these.

To summarize all of this in one sentence in Gurunatha’s own words, “Kaliyuga means Kaliyuva yuga(a yuga to learn as can be described in Kannada)”. We should never waste a single moment and strive to learn what we can.

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