Although we had been claiming that Tavayogi was our guru, he never claimed we were his disciples until in 2016 when he was here in Malaysia to attend my daughter's wedding and when we arranged an event "An Evening with Tavayogi" in the home of Bala Aiya and Shantima, where he uttered those magical words for the very first time. Although he addressed all as son and daughters, it took us some 11 years to come into his good books and be acknowledged as a disciple.
As the Deccan Chronicle wrote of Ruzbeh N Bharucha, "The author, journalist and documentary filmmaker, whose latest book The Aum of All Things was released recently, feels one can’t “get into” spirituality. “You can’t find your master, your master finds you,” he remarks", it is true many of us claim to be a follower of a saint, guru or mentor. But they have to acknowledge us.
Srinatha Raghavan wrote just moments ago on fb the following episode of a guru and his disciple.
Baba Nanakdev ji was a hard task master, who wouldn't stop at nothing to drill a lesson into the minds of his chosen disciples. He would often say, "There are many Admirers, a few more Followers, but only one true and worthy Disciple."...and to become a Disciple was the most challenging and grueling of tasks. Once an unsuspecting follower was taken to task by Baba Nanakdev ji, when He was asked to build a roof over a shed, in pouring rains. The follower followed the orders of the Guru and did what was asked earnestly, but Baba Nanakdev ji dismissed it all with a wave of his hand saying, "Do it again!"The Disciple did and redid the roof and did a lot more, for nearly a Hundred times, without losing his cool, even while all others were getting piqued by Baba Nanak's unrelenting attitude. On the Hundredth time, Baba Nanakdev rushed to the exhausted Disciple, hugged him like a loving Mother and proclaimed to the world, "Ah! I have found my Angad (My own limb)!"~ Remember to follow a Master is your choice, but to be accepted by one as a Disciple ain't really yours.