A teacher will never pamper his students. So too the guru. That is the only way to send the message across that the students need to adhere to his teachings and he means business. Tavayogi has been harsh to me, not that he scolded or shouted, but discreetly sent the message in a normal tone. There were many times he apprehended me in this manner. But today I understand and appreciate what he had done. He moulded me into a better person, and prepared me to do Agathiyar's work. Agathiyar too, in short, wants us to build tolerance and focus on our task at hand instead of dissipating our energy on what was going on around us, as he apprehended a devotee.
When a devotee was outpouring the full script that he had heard from another regarding another devotee, Agathiyar asks him to stop, reminding him that even if the world were to go into destruction, he needed to maintain his cool and carry on his assigned work. That was an eye-opener to us as to how we should regard negative talk that would upset us, and deviate us from our goal.
Daya Mata quotes her master on this subject too.
"Be absolutely untouched by what someone says or thinks of you. If the whole world is pleased with you, but God and Guru are displeased, you have failed in life. But if the whole world turns against you–criticizes and blames you–but you have won the praise, the approval of God and Guru, know you have succeeded in this world.”
That is truth! Look at the world; study it. The very people that lift up a man and adore him, in the next instant become disenchanted and cast him down.
Many come to an ashram or organization in search of help and guidance to further their spiritual conquest, but sadly, along the way they start to take notice of the day-to-day running of the establishments and its numerous problems.
Daya Mata too speaks of this problem.
Most of our problems in life are caused by the fact that we keep missing the point. Patanjali refers to this pitfall. We start toward some goal–whether spiritual or material–but the first thing we find is that somewhere along the way we have missed the point. (Source: https://yoganandasite.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/the-gurus-discipline-the-dunce-cap-story-daya-mataji/)
Where there are mankind there are bound to be problems, be it in the material world or the spiritual world. I came to learn this truth too, initially thinking that the spiritual world is that of pure souls, I came to know otherwise, that it has its own share of idiots, cunning foxes, selfish, dishonest cheaters, self-centred inconsiderate and mean, close-minded unreliable and arrogant, rude, hypocritical and short-tempered, ignorant non-emphatic and immoral, entitled racists and greedy, aggressive or lazy and immature, superficial, annoying and stupid, condescending, vengeful and moody, critical, impatient and inconsistent, boring, vulgar and jealous, homophobic, stubborn and flaky, unkempt, bossy, troublemaker and manipulative jerks. Phew! Let me catch my breath for a moment here.
But we at ATM were spared from these characters who could ruin an establishment easily.
Since day one Agathiyar and my gurus have been carefully knocking and working on us, moulding us into a better person. Even today after leaving his mortal body, Tavayogi is looking over our shoulders and guiding us, much as Supramania Swami and Agathiyar do. The guru's work is never done.
Daya Mata describes this relationship beautifully.
What a divine relationship! founded upon reverence, respect, justice, and, above all, unconditional love. To me, the relationship between guru and disciple is the sweetest and most pure that can exist between souls. As the teacher, it is his duty to probe deep within the consciousness of the disciple and remove all “tender spots” of flaws, so to speak.She goes on to describe an incident where she was sent to stand in the corner just as a class teacher would do with her students at https://yoganandasite.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/the-gurus-discipline-the-dunce-cap-story-daya-mataji/
She shares some memorable quotes from Paramahansa Yogananda.
…Master used to say, “The duty of the guru is to see and heal the psychological sores deep within the consciousness of the devotee.” The ordinary doctor removes disease from the body through surgery or medication; the divine doctor removes spiritual and psychological disease through his wisdom and discipline…
Master once said to us: “I have given you all such training that you will never, never have to bow down to any individual.”Daya Mata says of the right perspective followers should have, exactly what Tavayogi instilled in us too.
As I say to devotees all the time, if you would win Daya Ma’s love, love my God. That intoxicates me. When I see devotees who love my Beloved, I am drunk with joy. Nothing else can reach Daya Ma’s heart, in that sense–nothing personal. I love those who love my Beloved; I love those who are seeking my Beloved. I love those who are striving on the path.