God is the only Sadguru

2 July 1985, Guru Purnima, Prasanthi Nilayam

Professor Kasturi's English.

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The of ancient times were revered with the utterance of this laudatory verse as by those who approached them for spiritual guidance. This day being , when aspirants for spiritual illumination pay homage to the who lead them to the goal, we shall probe into the implications of this authentic summary of the credentials attributed in this verse, to the or Proper Preceptor.

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The Guru is the embodiment of -Bliss, since he is merged in the which is. It is not imported or acquired or attained. It is inherent in every heart. The world, the cosmos, every particle, is itself but being ever in it, with it, of it and for it, man is unable to be It, on account of the darkness that misleads him and deludes him.

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and Man:

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The attempt to give men a faint idea of the measure of that . The assumes the height of human as the unit for estimation. A person having all the wealth he desires, all the renowned man can earn, all the learning that can be gained, perfect health, perpetual youth, and undisputed sovereignty over the entire globe - his is an understandable base from which to proceed. A hundred times this is the of celestial singers (); a hundred times that is the of the souls of departed beings dwelling in heavenly regions. Hundred-fold of this is the of the divine entities (). A hundred times is the of the gods (); the Lord of the Gods, , is ever in that is a hundred times more than that of the Gods. , the preceptor of , has a hundred times more than ; and , the Lord of Creatures, has a hundred-fold when compared to . (the Cosmic Golden Manifestation) is the source of a hundred times more . The Supremest , the , which is the characteristic of the Guru, is that of .

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Eliminate the "I" to experience the Man has the potency to elevate himself to this . Only he has to get rid of the obstacles that deny this experience. He is and so his nature is . But, he does not know that all he believes he knows is known only as distorted or deluded. His waking experiences are as unreal and self-contrived as his dream experiences. The I-sense, the ego, constructs the world it is after. It shatters the One into many and takes pride in deceiving itself. It reduces the by resorting to polluting desires and actions. When 'I' is eliminated, is experienced fully. One becomes truly and genuinely One's Self when this 'I' does not intrude. 'I' sets one apart and establishes (Duality). No 'I' brings together and establishes Unity, One-without-a-second, (Non-dualism). 'I' sense arises, persists and disappears. It is , liable to deteriorate. The One-without-a-second is , it is symbolised by , the , the Ever-alive. The Guru who is ever in this consciousness has . Such a one is the Guru to be sought.

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The Guru grants the highest joy. What exactly constitutes this joy? Is it physical well-being? Mental poise? Intellectual alertness? Sharpness of the senses? No. The declare that words return crestfallen after attempting to describe that state. Even the mind with its fast-moving wings of imagination cannot reach that state. The highest joy has its source and spring in the , the spark of the Cosmic Splendour. The person who is ever aware of the in him and in all is therefore the .

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Beyond all limitations of time and place the guru is pure , Is-ness; his consciousness is all pervasive; that is to say, God alone is the .

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Embodiment of Wisdom :

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What is meant by ?

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"": the awareness of the One, without a second, is (the supreme wisdom).

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And the is the embodiment of that wisdom, having unbroken experience of the One. Those who are commonly known as are signposts, name boards. They have not travelled the entire journey and reached the goal. But the is with you right through, beside you and before you, smoothing the path until the journey ends in him.

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The is unaffected by the inevitable dualities of life: joy and grief, profit and loss, ridicule and respect.

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The living exponent and experiencer of the four crucial axioms of the Vedic thought - (That Thou Art), (The Self is verily ), (I am ) and (Consciousness is ).

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Eternal, untouched by time, the is eternally pure, aware, serene.

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The Eternal Witness :

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The , which is another name meant for God, knows no change in his primal perfection, whatever form he may assume. The motion picture film projects 16 pictures a second on the screen in the cinema but they give transitory and counterfeit experiences. The is the unmoving screen.

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Who is a genuine guru? The Guru who deserves homage must possess these attributes. This is only another way of saying that God alone can be the guide, the path and the goal. available for aspirants are themselves deluded into foggy paths and faltering faith. The genuine Guru must have overcome and the ego; he must be free from desire and need. When a person yearns for some benefit or profit and is engaged in with that view, he cannot be accepted as Guru.

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The verse which speaks of Guru as , and is quoted often. But, the One has not broken into three, one part in charge of creation, another who fosters and maintains and the third who dissolves and destroys. The is symbol of the One; it is composed of three sounds A (as in far), U (as in push) and M (as in hum). is A, is U and is M and all three are indivisibly united in . The problem this verse poses is whether Guru is God or God is Guru. The answer is - God is Guru, the ever-present, evercompassionate, the Witness who resides in the heart.

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This day is celebrated as , the full moon day dedicated to the memory of sage . There are four full moon days holier than the rest in the calendar - the full moon which occurs in the month of , , and . This is the month of . On this day, the day when the moon (the presiding deity of the mind) is full circle and the moonlight cool, pleasant and clear, Sage completed the composition of the immortal scripture, the . means string. He revealed that the principle interpenetrates and holds together the many in the ONE. That principle does not wax or wane, it is and it projects , in spite of that projection. The passing cloud cannot act on that fullness. This was what , the Guru, taught mankind.

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Just as God projects Himself as Man, Man too can concretise God, and persuade God to become Man by sincere prayer and agonised yearning. 's prayer induced the of . Prayer and personification are complementary, like the positive and negative poles in the electricity. The dark fortnight and the bright fortnight alternate like grief and joy, pain and pleasure, by God's decree to foster equanimity, to lead man towards reality beyond both.

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(give up the company of the wicked); (welcome the chance to be among the good); (do good deeds both day and night); (remember which is lasting, which is not).

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When one does not attempt to transform oneself thus, he is apt to blame God for his sorrows, instead of blaming his unsteady faith! He blames God because he announces himself as a devotee too soon and expects plentiful grace. Grace cannot be claimed by such; God must accept the devotee as his own. One has to use his talent of discrimination to sift the trash and discard it in preference to the valuable. Doing or good deeds means doing selfless service to others. One has to flee from bad persons to search for and win the friendship of the good, who can cleanse us and heal us.

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