THE COMPASSION OF THE GURU

It is nice to have a guru. You know he is there for you 24/7. When we earn his respect he gives us responsibilities. His task is all for the good of the masses. He involves us in contributing towards humanity and giving back to nature. He teaches us in subtle ways to give always. Then he begins to provide for us. I was blessed to have three gurus, "Mother" tells me. She mentioned them too, beginning with Tavayogi (Kallar Ashram), Supramaniar (of Tiruvannamalai) and Agathiyar. She assured me that they are here to guide us further. I felt blessed. I was happy for the AVM family too. When Dhanvantri came he told us that Tavayogi would continue to guide us in the jhoti form. Supramani Swami asked me to continuously keep the flame (light from a lamp) alive as he did, as he would watch over me through the flame. The flame has a significance in our lives. 

The soul of our dear ones and gurus linger around us ever protecting us from harm's way. They communicate with their lineage if necessary. Yogi Ramsuratkumar came knocking on Supramania Swami's door one night, handing him a physical copy of his picture after his Samadhi in 2001. The Yogi came again to chant with Supramania Swami and me in 2005. Supramania Swami came to our home after his Samadhi too. We had the aroma of tobacco in the air followed by a miss call from his number. There was another call from his number a few days later. What surprised us was that the number was surrendered back to the Telco upon his passing away.

Tavayogi who went into samadhi has made contact with us too, is with us and continues to guide us. 

Both Bhagawan Nithyananda of Ganeshpuri and Yogi Ramsuratkumar of Thiruvannamalai consoled their followers moments before they went into Samadhi that they could do a better job in the subtle form compared to the limitations of the physical form. They promised to continue to guide them too. Although Bhagawan Nithyananda and Yogi Ramsuratkumar at their deathbed have mentioned to their followers not to mourn their death as they would continue their work in the subtle form and plane, and in fact attests that they can do more in that plane, the followers still could not bring themselves to accept the departure of their beloved Guru.

When Srinath Raghavan found himself boarding a state transport bus aimlessly after having fared badly in answering the Grade X examination papers, he alighted and found himself having arrived mysteriously at the Samadhi Mandir of Bhagawan Nithyananda for the very first time.

Out of the hall quite early, I decided to catch a State transport bus and go where it takes me to and come back in the next bus heading home. I caught a cranky old bus, fully battered by the hands of time and man, and after a couple of hours of back breaking journey, I finally landed in a far off sleepy village of Vasai, named Ganeshpuri. That was my very first time and it was to change my entire life thereon.

I still remember, the bus then dropped me right in front of a beautiful temple, which had a small pond nearby, exuding fumes of hot Sulphur. I got down, washed my feet and hands in the pond and went into the Samadhi Mandir of a great Saint, I knew nothing about. The temple was relatively empty, as it was noon and a working day too, with the Board Exams still going on somewhere else.

A huge beautiful golden statue of a smiling Saint welcomed me to come in, as I sat on the carpeted floor, tired from the travel. The temple was a simple and unassuming one, resting within it, the mortal remains of a Saint and Seer by the name of Baba Nithyananda. I watched at the golden replica of the Saint and without my knowledge, tears began streaming my eyes. Maybe it was due to the guilt and disappointment of not performing at the Exams or it was an overwhelming feeling of something stirring down deep within, unknown to me.

Someone from the temple, came and offered me the holy Prasada of stirred and sweetened semolina, which I gladly partook, as I was hungry and did not have much cash on me, to afford a full meal. I remember getting up and going to the person who offered the prasada, entreating him to give me some more of it. He, apparently the caretaker of the Temple, smiled and gave me another handful, which I consumed immediately in gratitude. He came and sat near me and asked me where do I come from and was this my first time there. I replied in the affirmative and he took a small photo of Baba and gave it to me as a gift.

He said, "From now on, you are His responsibility! He has called you here and He shall take you where ever He deems fit. Your job is to simply follow Him faithfully."

I nodded my head in consent; and from then on, I am following where ever He leads me - Up the hills and down the valleys, without ever questioning his credibility.

Finally I reached home safely (pun intended) and also flunked my Grade X exams royally. But that one spurt of despondent adventure, led me to my Master unknowingly, who still walks with me in blood, bones and spirit.

As the stranger told him that from then on he was the masters responsibility, "From now on, you are His responsibility! He has called you here and He shall take you where ever He deems fit. Your job is to simply follow Him faithfully", that is total surrender to one's guru. Our life transforms the moment the guru comes in, the light comes in. Darkness vanishes. We gain physical and mental strength. The spirit is elevated. The soul rejoices. There is total transformation. We become the image of the guru. The guru if departed lives in us. 

All the prayers, tavam, tapas or austerities done by us contributes towards the evolvement of the guru too. Supramania Swami constantly reminded me to do tavam for only then can he reach higher states he said. Velayudham Karthikeyan Aiya shared a beautiful message when he told me that when the late Sri Hanumathdasan Aiya passed away, his soul was placed in the Pothigai hills and that he was engaged in Tavam. It was amazing to know that the soul that is used to performing Tavam, upon leaving the mortal body, continues with the Tavam.

"From now on, you are His responsibility! He has called you here and He shall take you where ever He deems fit. Your job is to simply follow Him faithfully" This statement made to Sri holds a lot of truth. Agathiyar says this relationship between a Siddha guru and the disciple does not come about all of a sudden but is carried on from the past. When a devotee of Agathiyar who had some medical issues saw the Jeeva Nadi read by Tavayogi in Malaysia in June of 2016, Agathiyar mentioned that her guru of past birth was pleading with Agathiyar to help his child (the devotee). How compassionate of him to still worry about his disciple, even after his demise. 

Then there is another story shared by Velayudham Karthikeyan Aiya about Muniandy Swamy who had to take birth again after a long lapse of 2,000 years to serve his guru again. In his past birth 2,000 back he had failed to listen to his guru. He also failed to carry out his obligations to his guru. But the most compassionate guru waited patiently for his disciple to take rebirth. Muniandy Swamy had to finish his obligations towards his guru and the guru too had an obligation towards his disciple. He had to save his disciple from this cycle of birth. Since both their karmas were interconnected the guru waited patiently for his disciple to join him.

Similarly we are told about how Ramalinga Adigal after having merged with Arutperunjyothi Aandavar in 1874, came back to redeem his disciple Kalpattu Aiya 28 years later in 1902. Ramalinga Adigal appeared in a physical form to Kalpattu Aiya who after seeing his guru appear again, passed away in bliss. Ramalinga Adigal did the last rites for Kalpattu Aiya before leaving. This astonishing revelation was made by Gnanabharati in his book "Tamil Mannin Thanthai."

That is the magnitude of the guru and his hold on the disciple, crossing over several births. The compassion of the Guru is boundless. As Sankara says of the human birth: first among the three rarest gifts obtained through God's grace are the human birth; followed by the longing for liberation; and finally discipleship to an illumined teacher, the guru is a gift to us. Treasure him.