Guru-Bhakti YogaHis teaching on the Guru
THE STRUCTURE OF GURU-BHAKTI
Essentials of Right Conduct
1. Do not make thoughtless remarks on the action of Guru.
2. Do not give thoughtless advice to Guru. Be silent always.
3. Do not hurt the feelings of Guru consciously or unconsciously.
4. The dust of the Lotus-Feet of Satguru is the bestower of Immortality.
5. Sacred dust of the Holy feet of Guru is a real boon to the disciple.
6. It is the greatest fortune to apply on the forehead the sacred dust of the Holy feet of Preceptor.
7. The greatest and rare privilege in life is to touch the Lotus-Feet of Master.
8. Guru’s grace and women’s face (lust) belong to opposite poles. If you want one renounce the other.
9. The very sacred dust of the Guru’s holy feet brings prosperity to the disciple.
10. The sacred dust which comes from the life-saving feet of Satguru is fit to be worshipped.
11. The greatest wealth of the disciple is the sacred dust of his Sat-Guru’s Lotus-Feet.
12. He who wears the holy dust of the Lotus-Feet of the master on his forehead gets purity of heart in no time.
13. The glory of the dust of the Guru’s Lotus-Feet is indescribable.
14. Life on this earth plane is an opportunity afforded to us to do the service of Satguru and obeying him to the best of our ability and with ever-increasing devotion to him, in the core of our heart.
15. The foundation of Guru-Bhakti Yoga is based on absolute faith in Guru.
16. Disciple will find that he is more united with Guru during personally serving him than when he meditates in the solitary cave of Himalayas.
17. Perfect unconditioned self-surrender to Guru is the sure way to attain Guru-Bhakti.
Above Life’s Turmoil
18. When you are in difficulties and trials, beg for Guru’s grace. Pray fervently from the bottom of your heart. Everything will become easy.
19. Think of Guru as soon as you wake up and just before you go to sleep. Completely surrender yourself to him.
20. Think of the mistakes you have committed while serving the Guru during the course of day, just before retiring to bed, viz., disobedience, insincerity, etc.
21. Reduce your wants. Save the money, and offer it to the Lotus-Feet of the Guru. Where there is a will there is a way. This is a test of your Guru-Bhakti.
22. Neither art nor science nor erudition is necessary to approach the Lotus-Feet of Brahma-Nishtha Guru. What is wanted is pure heart with full love and devotion to Guru, a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to Him alone, for His sake alone and to love him alone, without expectation of anything.
23. Peace of mind and joy is the fruit of self-surrender to Guru.
24. The test of true devotion to Guru is inward peace and a willingness to obey his commands.
25. Through the service of Guru, grow in wisdom and attain freedom.
26. Blessed are those who are endowed with Viveka and Vairagya by the Grace of Guru. They will enjoy supreme peace and everlasting bliss.
27. The knowledge which is imparted by Guru will not bear fruit unless the disciple gives proper Guru Dakshina to his Guru.
28. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is control of mind and its modifications through the service of Guru.
Classes Of Disciples
29. The best disciple is like petrol or aviation spirit. Even from a great distance he will instantly react to the spark of the Guru’s Upadesa.
30. The second class disciple is like camphor, a touch awakens his inner spirit and kindles the fire of spirituality in him.
31. The third class of disciple is like coal; the Guru has to take great pains in order to awaken the spirit in him.
32. The fourth class of disciple is like a plantain stem, no efforts will be of any avail over him. Whatever the Guru may do, he remains cold and inert.
33. Listen! O disciple, be not like plantain stem-like disciple; try to be petrol-like disciple, or at least the camphor-like disciple.
34. When you surrender to the sacred feet of your Guru, beg not of him worldly needs nor aught else. But beg for His Grace, only that you may have true devotion and lasting faith in him.
35. Guru is the way, the life and the goal ultimate. No one shall attain to the supreme beatitude except through the Guru.
36. Guru is the Moksha Dwara. Guru is the embodiment of grace.
37. Die to live. Die at the Lotus-Feet of thy Guru, give up thy ego and die, only that you may live again the True Divine life. Life is no life if not enlivened and made Divine by the transforming Grace of Guru.
38. The true relationship between Guru and Chela cannot be described or written or made understood. The true seeker of truth have to approach a Brahma-Nishtha Guru who is an embodiment of compassion with faith and devotion, and must serve and live with him for a long period.
39. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is a Yoga by itself.
40. Disciples have to be patient when the Guru presents them for the sake of testing.
41. Disciple should not give up service of Guru when he comes across some difficulties and troubles.
42. Self-sacrifice in the cause of service of Guru is the best medium to develop devotion to the sacred feet of Guru.
43. Peace of mind comes from prayer, Japa, Kirtan, meditation, service of Guru, good and sublime thoughts and understanding.
Approach to Guru
44. Approach the adorable feet of Satguru. Take shelter under the Lotus-Feet of Satguru. Worship the sacred feet of Satguru. Meditate with humility on the holy feet of Satguru. Offer the valuable gifts on the sanctifying feet of Satguru. Dedicate your life in the service of glorious feet of Satguru. This is the secret of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
45. Disciple must be very punctual while serving the Guru.
46. Disciple must be very pure in thought, word and deed in the cause of Guru’s divine mission.
47. Cultivate in the garden of your heart the flowers of sincerity, simplicity, serenity, sympathy, self-control and self-sacrifice and offer it to the Satguru.
48. Disciple should take care of the properties of the Guru. He must ever keep his eye upon the same.
49. There is nothing in the three worlds that cannot be attained by the grace of Brahma-Nishtha Guru.
50. It is not possible for an aspirant to enter in the spiritual path that leads to the union with God unless he practises Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
51. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is the master key to open the realm of elysian bliss.
52. The avenue to the supreme Peace begins from the practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
53. Self-surrender to the sacred Feet of Satguru is the very foundation of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
54. You are bound to succeed in the practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga if you have a firm faith and devotion to the life-saving feet of Satguru.
55. Mere human effort alone will not suffice to practise Yoga, the grace of Guru is absolutely needed.
56. It is very easy to tame a wild tiger, lion or an elephant. It is very easy to walk over fire or water. But it is very difficult to surrender to the Lotus-Feet of Guru unless a person has real aspiration to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
57. The practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga bestows on the disciple the supreme peace, joy and immortality.
58. The goal of life is to obtain the benign grace of Satguru by practising Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
59. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga bestows liberation from the wheel of births and deaths.
60. Guru-Bhakti Yoga confers immortality, eternal bliss, freedom, perfection, perennial joy and everlasting peace.
61. Now then an exposition of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
62. The mind is at the root of Samsara or world process. The mind is the cause for bondage and freedom, pleasure and pain. This mind can be controlled only by practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
63. Nine terms of Guru-Bhakti Yoga are viz., (1) The real lasting aspiration to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga. (2) Absolute faith in the thoughts, words and actions of Satguru. (3) Perfect obedience in carrying out Guru’s commands. (4) Doing Namaskar with humility and repeating his name. (5) Doing personal service to Satguru without expectation of fruits. (6) Daily worshipping the Lotus-Feet of Satguru with Bhava and devotion. (7) Self-surrendering or dedication of Thana, Mana and Dhana in the cause of divine mission of Satguru. (8) Meditation on the holy feet of Satguru for obtaining his benign grace and mercy. (9) Hearing his holy Upadesa and sincerely practising it.
64. Disciple must exist to glorify his Guru’s Glory.
65. Whether the owl believes or not in the existence of the light of sun, the sun always shines. Even so, whether the ignorant and fickle-minded disciple believes or not, the benign grace of Guru works wonders.
66. The Satguru is one who is released from bondage. He shines with knowledge of his self. He is ever blissful. He radiates joy and peace with one and all.
67. Approach the adorable feet of Satguru. Serve him without crookedness. Love him without any expectation of fruits. Get initiation. This is the secret of Sadhana or ‘be’ and ‘end’ of all spiritual practices.
68. Trust your Guru as God. Take shelter under him. Be initiated into knowledge.
69. Guru is pleased with pure devotion and devotion alone. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga gives peace and steadiness of mind.
70. Death flies away from that disciple who has taken shelter in the sacred feet of Satguru.
71. The practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga induces non-attachment and dispassion for worldly objects and bestows immortality.
72. Devotion to the life-saving feet of Satguru saves even the greatest sinner.
73. Nothing is unattainable to that noble hearted disciple who has taken refuge in the sacred feet of Satguru.
74. Whatever may be acquired by asceticism, by renunciation, by other Yogas, by charity, and by auspicious acts etc., all these are speedily acquired by practising Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
75. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is an exact science that teaches the method of overcoming the lower nature and attaining the supreme bliss.
76. Pray to the Guru from the bottom of your heart, for obtaining his benign blessings. Such prayers can work miracles.
77. Evil company is an enemy of a disciple who wants to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
78. Serve your Guru. Be devoted to your Guru, obey him, have implicit faith in his teachings, you will grow in spirituality. You will attain Self-realisation in this birth.
79. He who practises Guru-Bhakti Yoga without ethical perfection, devotion to Guru etc., cannot obtain the grace of Guru.
Benefits Of Guru-Bhakti
80. Unshakable faith in Guru gives mysterious power to the disciple to overcome any difficulty.
81. Unflinching faith in Guru puts the aspirant in tune with the infinite.
82. The disciple who has faith in the Guru argues not, thinks not, reasons not, and cogitates not. He simply obeys, obeys and obeys.
83. Disciple’s life becomes dreary waste when he loses faith in his Guru. Life loses its effulgence when an aspirant loses faith in his Guru.
84. The water of life is firm faith in preceptor.
85. Know that everything is lost when faith is lost in the words of holy preceptor. Have perfect faith in the Guru.
86. Prayer to the Lotus-Feet of the preceptor lightens the heart of the disciple and fills his mind with strength, peace and purity.
87. Wash the sacred feet of preceptor with Bhava and sprinkle the water on your head. This is the great purifier.
88. It is a rare privilege in life to become the dust of the sacred feet of divine master.
89. Prayer to the sacred feet of spiritual teacher is the key of morning and the bolt of evening.
90. A life destitute of faith and devotion to the feet of Satguru is like a sapless tree in a desert.
91. Prayer to the sacred feet of the master should spring from the core of the disciple’s heart. It should not be a lip-homage.
92. Fervent prayer that comes from the sincere, pure heart of disciple, is at once heard by the Brahma-Nishtha Guru.
93. Pray to master sincerely, fervently and whole-heartedly from the bottom of your heart. Then alone will master listen to your prayer.
94. Pray not to holy preceptor for relief from suffering, but for strength and endurance to bear it.
95. Pray to the Lotus-Feet of Satguru for strength to overcome all the defects.
96. Everybody wants to serve Guru in his own way but nobody wants to serve the Guru as Guru wants him to do.
97. Disciple wants to serve his Guru but does not want to under go any difficulty.
Source Of True Happiness
98. True happiness lies in service of Satguru.
99. Disciple can rise above the body-consciousness through the service of Guru.
100. Have true, perfect, living and unswerving faith in your Guru, in his grace and the power of his name.
101. Complete self-surrender to Guru is an essential requisite in Guru-Bhakti.
102. Unless you have an absolute faith in Guru you cannot expect the Guru’s Grace dawn upon you.
103. Disciple should not attach much importance to the relative actions of the Guru, who is a liberated one.
104. A true knowledge of God, man and universe is to be obtained from the Guru.
105. The Guru is the hull of the boat of Sadhana but the aspirant will have to do the rowing himself.
106. Guru-Bhakti is the base of all the spirituality.
107. Devotion to Guru is the smooth pleasant road to God.
108. Guru-Bhakti is the essence of religion.
109. Devotion to the Lotus-Feet of preceptor gives a real meaning to life.
110. Guru-Bhakti is sweet in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. It gives the highest and undecaying bliss to the disciple.
111. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga is opened to one and all.
112. Love for the Guru cannot co-exist with the love for the world.
113. Guru and mammon cannot be served simultaneously.
114. Faithlessness to Guru amounts to faithlessness to God.
The Meaning Of Devotion
115. Devotion to Guru is the foundation of spiritual edifice.
116. Emotional excitement is not devotion to Guru.
117. Devotion to Satguru’s Feet alone will enable you to obtain God’s grace.
118. Love of flesh is denial of love to Guru.
119. True and sincere surrender unto the Guru is the essence of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
120. Do perfect self-surrender to the will of the Guru.
121. Surrender completely unto the Guru. He will become your charioteer on the field of life. He will drive your chariot well. You will reach the destination, the abode of eternal bliss without fear.
122. Nothing is impossible to be achieved through Guru’s grace.
123. The only remedy for the cure of aspirant’s evil nature is the service of Guru.
124. The first step of Guru-Bhakti is annihilation of ego.
125. Self-surrender to Guru is indeed the highest rung in the ladder of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
126. In the path of Yoga of Guru-Bhakti, self-surrender is very essential.
127. Guru demands nothing less than complete ungrudging, unreserved self-surrender. Self-surrender should not be verbal profession as generally disciples do nowadays.
128. The more the surrender to the master, the more the grace of the master.
129. The degree of decent of Guru’s grace depends upon the degree of surrender.
130. The duty of a disciple is to love and to serve the Guru.
131. Guru is the mariner in the tempest of life.
132. Grace of Guru is the end or goal of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
133. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga offers a clear, definite path for the realisation of the highest end of life.
134. Where grace of Guru is, there is righteousness, and where righteousness is, there is prosperity and immortality.
135. Worship your father, mother, the school teacher, guests, and your Guru as the veritable gods by without regarding them as mere human beings. Pray to them with due reverence. Serve them with great respect and devotion.
136. Name of the Guru is a potent, unfailing antidote, for those who are bitten by the serpent of worldliness.
137. Pray to Guru for purity, devotion, light and knowledge.
138. The spirit of Guru-Seva must deeply enter into your very bones, cells, tissues and nerves, etc. Be fiery in the spirit of Guru-Seva. The reward is invaluable.
139. Serve the Guru without any sort of selfish motives, and feel the effect–purity and inner strength. What an expanded heart you will have by serving the Guru! It is indescribable. Practise! Practise! Practise! You will enjoy supreme eternal bliss.
140. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is only the best Yoga.
141. Cultivate a very strong faith in Guru and in his teachings.
142. Faith in Guru is the gate way to God.
143. No faith in Guru’s actions means no devotion to Guru, or God.
144. Some disciples keep a show as great Chelas of a Guru but they have no faith in his words, or actions.
145. Surrender completely to the Almighty Guru who is the one without a second.
146. Guru-Bhakti Yoga takes you to God steadily, unshakably, firmly and surely in this very birth.
147. Guru-Bhakti Yoga starts and ends in the annihilation of ego and attainment of bliss immortal.
148. Guru-Bhakti Yoga teaches the way to wipe out all pains and sorrows in life.
149. The practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga will enable you to get rid of fear, ignorance, pessimism, confusion of mind, disease, despair, worry, etc.
150. Guru-Bhakti Yoga is the only unfailing remedy for the ills of the life.
151. The path of Guru-Bhakti Yoga brings fruits quickly only for a worthy disciple.
152. First understand the philosophy of Guru-Bhakti Yoga, then put into practice, you will succeed.
153. Seek the immortal, all-blissful Atman within, through practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
154. Practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga, and go beyond all that causes duality and sin.
155. Take recourse to Guru-Bhakti Yoga and regain your lost divinity.
156. A blind man cannot lead another blind man, a prisoner cannot liberate another prisoner, even so, one who has sunk in the mire of worldliness, cannot liberate another. Therefore Guru is absolutely necessary to practise Guru-Bhakti Yoga.
157. Make the Yoga of Guru-Bhakti the only purpose, aim and real interest in life. You will reach supreme happiness.
158. Without devotion to Guru there can be no spirituality.
159. Continue the practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga without any interruption.
160. Practice of Guru-Bhakti Yoga alone can make one fearless and ever happy in all walks of life.
161. Give up sensual life if you want to practise the Yoga of Guru-Bhakti.
162. If you really want God turn away from worldly enjoyments and take recourse to practice of Yoga of Guru-Bhakti.
163. Live to serve the blessed Acharya, you will be blessed.
164. Dispassion and discrimination dawn in the heart of disciple by the grace of Guru.
165. Disciple should pray to Satguru in the hours of meditation to grant him an unswerving faith and ever-increasing true devotion to his Lotus-Feet.
166. He who repeats Guru’s name gets not only Moksha but worldly prosperity, health and long life and divine Aisvarya also.
167. On the birthday of Guru, disciple should fast and meditate on the Lotus-Feet of the Satguru, to grant him real devotion to his Lotus-Feet.
168. Disciple should observe the birthday of his Guru on a grand scale.