When the Divine inspires then and only then we turn inward and meditate upon His silent presence as the eternal Light within. Without His Will and until His Divinely Destined Moment comes we simply remain clouded and confused. But once He removes the clouds, the Sun of Divine Knowledge becomes visible to our own inner vision.

The scriptures say we must make an effort to raise the Self. But the Inspiration to make the effort, the first step towards Light, the first time we are even able to think, ‘see’, speak and do are By His Will. The presence of the Invisible Hand in every minute movement of the molecules, the life in each cell in all of creation, in the preservation of life, in the confusions and clarity of the mind, in the celestial explosions near and far, and in the dissolution of earthly life is the reason behind all and every show in the universe.

Surrender to Guru

“Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara,

Gurur Sakshat ParaBrahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah!”

Trnslation: Guru is the Creator, the Preserver, and the Dissolver of the manifest Universe,

I Bow and surrender to my Guru, My God!

Total Surrender to Guru’s feet makes it not only possible, but easier to let go of the ego that could otherwise so subtly creep back into the mind of the spiritual practitioner and infect the awareness of even a skillful yogi. Until we have lost awareness of ‘I’, including the ‘I’ in each of us that says I can climb on my own this Mount Everest of spiritual evolution, we better remain in complete surrender to the Oxygen that even enables us to think ‘I can…’, without which that mind that thinks would cease to exist and function. Guru is that Oxygen. Every human being has an assigned Guru who appears at a particular predestined moment in life when He has prepared the disciple enough to ‘see’ and accept Him. Until then the Guru works from behind the veil.

Baba says… COME WHAT MAY, NEVER LEAVE YOUR BOLSTER. OTHER GURUS MAY SAY MANY GOOD THINGS BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER AND FOLLOW YOUR GURU. DO NOT GET INTO DEBATE OR DISCUSSION.

For those who have been pulled to Shirdi Sai, (or to their own Guru), in this lifetime SHIRDI SAI (or your own Guru) IS THE JOURNEY, THE MANTRA, THE UPASANA AND THE DESTINATION.

Even dissolving HIS EARTHLY FORM and giving us each CONSCIOUSNESS OF HIS FORMLESS SELF is up to HIS DIVINE WILL.

If we try to use the mind to develop it, we are bound to fall back into the clutches of MAYA again without us realizing it. When the time comes, HE will dissolve HIS form in our awareness and enlighten us with consciousness of THE NAMELESS FORMLESS GURU TATWA.

Until then, as Baba says in Sri Sai Satcharita, we need Him our Guide our Guru every step of the way no matter how high or low we are on the spiritual ladder, to walk us safe, to dispel darkness and merge us into THE ONE BEYOND LIGHT, THE UNMANIFEST ABSOLUTE!

How do I know Sai is my Guru?

Baba says, “I PULL MY MEN TO ME LIKE SPARROWS WITH STRINGS ATTACHED YO THEIR FEET.” If He is the One meant for you, He will let you know at which point all doubts and questions will disappear. rendering peace and a sense of complete protection, relief, inner confidence, power and courage that can neither be accounted for nor verbalized.

SIGNIFICANCE OF GURU

In high security zones there is a single entry point, one gate, but many password combinations, each assigned to an individual or a certain group. That password must be borne to heart and remembered at all times no matter what, to get entry into the secure zone. No other password will give safe entry so borrowing someone else’s is of no use.

Similarly, in the realm of spiritual awareness too there is One Divine, One Light, One Self, but each along this journey has been assigned One Guru who is his/her unique entry password into the realization of Truth during this lifetime. We hold on to that Guru. It is through Him/ Her/ It that we enter the State of Higher Consciousness without having to care about getting lost, diverted, consumed or wounded. He takes us safely to It, directing us away from ditches and falls, demons and darkness, into that Light. He puts us through lessons and snaps our ignorance step by step. By the end of our journey, the Dwaita consciousnesses (sense of duality as I, you, he, etc.) ceases to exist as by then He has dissolved the ego completely. And what remains is One in All. There, no question no doubt no analysis arises in the mind because the mind too has dissolved and the Guru, the God, the Disciple are merged in One.

Baba also says, one who sees  difference in Guru and God is yet to ripen spiritually for there is no difference between Guru and God, or between the Guru and the Disciple (shishya). But when that Oneness is to manifest and removal of ignorance is to happen is as per the Guru’s Divine Will alone.🙏🌼 He alone knows what’s best for each one of us. Thus each is given a different life path, a different set of experiences and a different timeline. He alone can guide us the right way.

Baba reminds us that in Bhagwad Geeta Sri Krishna says… “Removal of Dwaita(duality), oh Arjuna, is Adwaita(Oneness). When sleep and dream state cease to exist, you are yourself. Removal of darkness is Light.”

Sai explains, “Why should the Guru impart Gnyan? He simply removes the veil of Agyan in the disciple. The removal of Agyan = Gyan. Gyan does not have to be imparted. It is all there deep within each one. The difference between the Guru and the disciple is that the One is Aware and the other unaware of this Divine Truth. The Guru removes the veil of ignorance and then the disciple ‘sees’ the real Self , and realizes that He is the Light, the Truth. Each one of us must hold on to our Guru’s feet all lifelong. When the time comes, He will remove our ignorance and snap our attachment to His Form when each one is ready.

Sai says…

COME WHAT MAY, HOLD ON TO YOUR BOLSTER WITH COMPLETE SURRENDER

You do not need any other mantra or ritual or path, complex breathing techniques or eight fold yoga. See Sai in all human beings and creatures, all Gods, all pilgrimages, chant His name and remember Him all day and night. This is the greatest path/ worship/ religion/ upasana that will snap the bondage of Maya and ultimately lead each one of us to our Divine Destiny!

The need for the Guru is therefore not to be debated.

Guru alone can show us who we are!

It is by His Grace, after much ‘sadhana’/practice, having earned much spiritual credits that we have been blessed with this Sadguru Sai who is the Divine Incarnate Himself. In this lifetime, for each of us devotees, the gate to the Seventh Heaven opens with this unique password alone… our Guru, Sri Saibaba. Let us always keep Him deep in the heart and in our thoughts, through sleep and waking hours, no matter what we are engaged in.

Om SaiRam! Victory be to the Divine Guru, the Dispeller of Darkness!

With love, light and Reiki…

Sunetra basu