Sankara and Totakacharya
From Madhava-Vidyaranya's SANKARA-DIG-VIJAYA, published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, we learn about another disciple who was a gem and grew into a master himself.
A new disciple, Giri, joined Sankara and his followers. He was obedient, industrious, and upheld righteousness. He served Sankara well, anticipating what Sankara wanted and providing it even before he asked. He followed Sankara like a shadow, always walking behind the Guru, stopping when he stopped, listening attentively to what he had to say, and neither did he talk too much in his guru's presence.
One day, he was at the river washing his Guru's clothing. As he was late to return, Sankara waited for him to be present before beginning his discourse. One of Sankara's followers, Padmapada, voiced out his dissatisfaction at having to wait for Giri to return, and said, "Whom are we to wait for? What qualification has a fellow so dull for the study of the Sastras?" That is when Sankara awakened in Giri, by an act of will, the knowledge of 14 subjects. With this knowledge awakened in him, Giri arrived from the river banks singing a hymn.
"On the supporting tree of the Acharya grows the creeper of devotion, taking its root at its own feet and watered by his grace. On that creeper, on the stalk called Totaka, has grown this fruit of a wonderful poem which will for all time be relished by the superb parrots, the men of wisdom."
Witnessing the wisdom and the poetical skill of their comrade, acquired through devotion to their master, the others abandoned their pride of learning and regarded Giri highly. He came to be known as Totakacharya.
Siva and King Ravana
King Ravana was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva. None of us could ever match his devotion towards Lord Shiva. Yet we consider him the bad guy. Lord Shiva, having been cooled down by Ravana's extreme tapas and austerities, and devotion, granted him a boon. But once King Ravana began to understand the vast powers that came with the boon, he became arrogant.
Born in the lineage of one of the most learned and wise sages of all times, Rishi Pulatsya, Ravana had all the bearings which could make him a legend. Not exactly a hero which he could have been, he definitely had the knowledge to be one. But, his ego, his illusion of immortality, and the belief that he would never be punished for his sins made him fall in the battle of Ramayana. Certainly, an interesting character, where on one hand he stopped any kind of animal sacrifice in his kingdom and was pious and ascetic, on the other hand, he had a long list of curses received from many celestial figures including Nandi. That said, Ravana had his own share of sins that he committed, and before he could have had realized his sins (maybe he would have never had), he met his inevitable death when Rama's arrow pierced his navel. (Source: From https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/rise-and-fall-of-ravana/49116).
Realizing our past mistakes is a must before we leave this body. So did the Siddhas choose to reveal our past births so that we would atone for our mistakes. Aging brings with it much time on our hands to ponder and think about the past and atone for past mistakes, making them good if possible, or asking for forgiveness. An electrical engineer, in my previous office, told me once that the Muslims have a practice of asking for forgiveness from those whom they have hurt before they turn in for the night, for you are not sure if you will see the light of the day the next day. The Muslims who intend to go on their Holy pilgrimage or Hajj are required to settle all loans to individuals and ask for forgiveness from family and friends, often calling for a feast before they take on the pilgrimage. The Christians also pray before they go to bed, asking for forgiveness and asking to be pardoned for their sins before the pastors.
Music composer AR Rahman, in a recent article at https://indianexpress.com/ says it beautifully as to why he chose to follow Sufism. Just as Yogi Ramsuratkumar calls himself a beggar, Rahman says, "I may be rich, but I consider myself a spiritual beggar."
When he was asked why he leaned towards Sufism, he said,
"Sufism is like dying before dying. There are screens that will make you self-reflect, and in order to remove those screens, you have to perish. Lust, greed, jealousy, or judgements all need to die. Your ego is gone, and then you become transparent like God. You become part of the light."
“If you believe in God, every breath is a blessing to me, every opportunity is a blessing to me."
The composer stated that as long as someone is spiritually rich, they will reach their other goals. We all need to be spiritually rich because when spiritual richness comes, material richness follows.
Just as Tavayogi told us that our efforts are only till we reach Svadishtana, Yogi Ramsuratkumar, in mentioning that "All your tapas and efforts would make you reach Guru’s Feet," says further that,
Once you reach your Guru your sadhana efforts end here. Thereafter you need not bother about your spiritual growth. The Guru will take care of you. The Guru will see that you reach God. The only thing the disciple should do is remember the Guru and the Guru Mantra all the time. That is sufficient. Do not try to practice any method to reach God. Remember your Guru. That’s enough. Listen to your Guru and have faith in our Guru. Your Guru would take the responsibility of you and take you where you ought to reach. After reaching Guru’s feet, you need not worry about your spiritual growth. Even if you want to escape from the Guru, the Guru will not leave you. Like a frog in the mouth of a King Cobra, the disciple cannot escape from Guru.
If Mahindren had shared a beautiful reminder some days back,
Frank Alexander, in his book "In the Hours of Meditation", Advaita Ashrama, Calcutta, 1993, writes,
"Having done thy task, stand aside. Work to thine utmost, and then to thine utmost be resigned. Know that wherever there is worry and expectations in work, there is also the blindest form of attachment."