Swami SivanandaHis autobiography and his teaching on the Guru
THE CALL OF THE IMMORTAL
Dawn of a New Vision
“Is there not a higher mission in life than the daily round of official duties, eating and drinking? Is there not any higher form of eternal happiness than these transitory and illusory pleasures? How uncertain is life here? How insecure is existence on this earth-plane, with various kinds of diseases, anxieties, worries, fear and disappointments! The world of names and forms is constantly changing. Time is fleeting. All hopes of happiness in this world terminate in pain, despair and sorrow.”
Such were the thoughts constantly rising in my mind. The doctor’s profession gave me ample evidence of the sufferings of this world. For a Vairagi who has a sympathetic heart, the world is full of pain. True and lasting happiness cannot be found merely in gathering wealth. With the purification of heart through selfless service, I had a new vision. I was deeply convinced that there must be a place—a sweet home of pristine glory and purity and divine splendour—where absolute security, perfect peace and lasting happiness can be had through Self-realisation.
I frequently remembered the Sruti Vakya: “Yadahareva Virajet Tadahareva Pravrajet—The day on which one gets Vairagya, that very day one should renounce the world.” I constantly thought of: “Sravanartham Sannyasam Kuryat—For hearing the Srutis, one should take Sannyasa.” The words of scriptures have great value. I gave up the life of ease, comfort and luxury, and reached India in search of an ideal centre for purposes of prayer and contemplation, study and a higher form of service to the whole world.
In 1923, I renounced the life of ease and money-making and took to the life of a mendicant, a true seeker after Truth. I left my luggage in Malaya with a friend. A School Master in Malaya who came to the Ashram in 1939 told me: “Mr. S. is still keeping all your articles intact, awaiting your return!”
As a Wandering Mendicant
From Singapore, I reached Banaras and had Darshan of Lord Siva. Then I proceeded to Nasik, Poona and other important religious centres. From Poona I walked to Pandarpore, a distance of seventy miles. On my way I stayed for a couple of days in the Ashram of Yogi Narayan Maharaj at Khedgaon. Then I spent some four months in Dhalaj on the banks of Chandrabhaga. During my incessant travels, I learnt how to adjust and adapt myself to various types of people.
I learnt a lot from the lives of Yogins, Mahatmas and great men. The spirit of service ingrained in me enabled me to lead a smooth life of peace everywhere. The life of a mendicant during pilgrimage helped me to develop in a great measure Titiksha (forbearance), equal vision and a balanced state of mind in pleasure and pain. I met many Mahatmas and learnt wonderful lessons. On some days I had to go without food and walk mile after mile. With a smile, I faced all hardships.
How to Benefit by Pilgrimage
Mahatmas and devotees go on pilgrimage and visit sacred places as a part of spiritual Sadhana. They have different objects in view. Mahatmas come in contact with sincere devotees at various centres and impart their knowledge and experiences, and guide them. They select suitable places for meditation where they find inspiration and facility for intense Sadhana. They clear the doubts of the householders, give their blessings and guide them. Devotees who take to pilgrimage get Darshan of Mahatmas and have their doubts cleared. They receive inspiration by seeing holy men and sacred places and develop various kinds of divine qualities by mixing with various types of people. They are trained to adopt a simple living and bear hardships.
There are some who spend their entire life in pilgrimage by wandering frequently from Kadirkamam (in Ceylon) to Mount Kailas (in Tibet), Puri to Dwaraka, Amarnath (in Kashmir) to Allahabad, Banaras to Rameswaram. I have seen many persons repenting in old age that they had so wasted their youth in such a wandering life. I led the life of a wandering monk, just for a short period, in search of my Guru and of a suitable place charged with spiritual vibrations, for spending my life in seclusion and to do rigorous Sadhana.
Necessity of a Guru
The spiritual path is beset with many obstacles. The Guru will guide the aspirants safely and remove all sorts of difficulties they have to face. He will inspire the students and give them spiritual powers through his blessings. Guru, Isvara, Truth and Mantra are one. There is no other way of overcoming the vicious worldly Samskaras of the passionate nature of raw, worldly-minded persons than personal contact with and service to the Guru.
In search of a Guru, I reached Rishikesh and prayed to the Lord for His Grace There are many egoistic students who say: “I need no Guru. God is my Guru.” They change their own robes and live independently. When difficulties and troubles confront them, they are bewildered. I do not like the rules and regulations of the scriptures, sages and saints to be violated. When there is a change of heart, there should be a change in the external form also. The glory and the liberty of a Sannyasi can hardly be imagined by the timid and the weak. From the sacred hands of Paramahamsa Viswananda Saraswati, I received Holy initiation on the bank of the Ganga on 1st June, 1924. The religious rite of Viraja Homa was done for me by my Acharya Guru, Sri Swami Vishnudevanandaji Maharaj at Kailas Ashram.
A personal Guru is necessary in the beginning. He alone can show you the path to attain God, who is the Guru of Gurus, and obviate the snares and pitfalls on your path. Self-realisation is a transcendental experience. You can march in the spiritual path only by placing implicit faith in the words of sages who have realised the Truth (Apta Vakya) and attained knowledge of the Self.
Guru’s Grace is needed by the disciple. This does not mean that the disciple should sit idle and expect a miracle from the Guru to push him directly into Samadhi. The Guru cannot do Sadhana for the student. It is foolish to expect spiritual attainments from a drop of Kamandalu water from the Guru. The Guru can guide the student, clear his doubts, pave the way, remove the snares, pitfalls and obstacles and throw light on the path. But it is the disciple himself who has to walk every step in the spiritual path.
Spiritual progress requires intense and unswerving faith in the teachings of the Guru and the Sastras, burning and lasting Vairagya, yearning for liberation, adamantine will, fiery resolve, iron determination, unruffled patience, leech-like tenacity, clock-like regularity, child-like simplicity.
If you have no Guru, take Lord Krishna or Siva or Rama or Christ as your Guru. Pray to Him. Meditate on Him. Sing His Name. He will send you a suitable Guru.
The Journey’s End
I came to Rishikesh in June 1924 and found it my destination. My Guru gave me initiation and enough spiritual strength and blessings. Gurus can do this much only. It is the student who has to do intense and rigorous Sadhana. Rishikesh is a Railway Station in the District of Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh, in the Himalayas. It is a holy place with many Mahatmas. There are Kshetras (alms-houses) to provide free food for all Sadhus and Yogins and aspirants. They can stay in any of the Dharmasalas or Kutias or have their own thatched cottages and huts in any place. Near about Rishikesh, there are many charming places like Brahmapuri Forests, Nilakantha, Vasishtha Guha, Tapovanam. Sadhus who stay in such places get their dry rations once in fifteen days and prepare their own food.
The scenery of the Himalayas is charming, soul-elevating. The Holy Ganga is a blessing. One can spend hours in contemplation, sitting on a rock or on a sand-bank by the side of the Ganga. There are some Libraries from where we can get authoritative works in Sanskrit, English and Hindi on Yoga and Philosophy. Some learned Mahatmas conduct regular daily classes and give private tuition to deserving students. The climate of the place is fine—slightly cold in winter (November to March) and slightly hot in summer (April to June). There are allopathic and Ayurvedic Hospitals to attend to the sick. Thus I found Rishikesh an ideal place for intense and undisturbed spiritual practices true for all seekers after Truth.