To Guru with Love

Yesterday was Teachers’ day and it is a time to think & remember all our teachers – both spiritual and otherwise who have made an important contribution in moulding our character and also helped us in our path to progress. In our school days, we always compare one teacher with another and draw conclusions as to who is better of the two.. Have we ever thought what we could imbibe from these great people ? Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita talks about what a student needs to do to bring the best from his or her teacher.

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥४-३४॥

Tatviddhi Pranipatena Pariprashnena Sevaya
Upadekshyanti Te Jnanam Jnanina Stattwadarshinah

Tat – That : viddhi – Know: Pranipatena – by prostration: Pariprashnena - by questions : Sevaya – by service: Upadekshyanti Te – They will instruct: Jnanam - Knowledge : JnaninaH – The Wise : tattwadarshinah – those who have realized the truth

Understand the true nature of knowledge by approaching an enlightened Guru. If you prostrate at their feet, serve them and question them with an open & guileless heart, those wise seers of truth will instruct you in that Knowledge.

This is explained through the following incident from Shirdi Sai Baba’s life.

There was once a conversation between Shirdi Sai Baba and one of his disciples Nana Chandorkar. Nana was proud of his knowledge of scriptures and once he was reciting Verse 34 of Chapter 4 of the Gita which explains about the Guru and Sishya and Baba asks him about it. 

The questions of Baba and the replies of Nana Chandorkar were as follows:

Nana Chandorkar thought Baba did not know Sanskrit and that he (Nana) having read the Bhagavad Gita several times along with commentaries, knew everything. But when Nana could not give answers to Baba’s questions for even one shloka, he felt ashamed. Then he concluded that however much one might have read, one cannot be equal to a Jnani. His pride had gone. Then Baba in his own style, gave answers to the questions he had put to Nana, as follows:

1) Questioning the Guru should not be for testing the Guru or trying to trap him, but to actually learn and to keep in mind what was learnt, and to put that in practice in life. One should question the Guru with the aim of spiritual progress. That is what is meant by Pariprashna. Sage Vyasa did not use it for nothing.

2) Seva or service which is rendered whenever you feel like doing, is not seva. A person should feel that his body is not his and God had given it to serve the Guru. Persons with such Jnana only can understand the teaching of it by a guru, and others cannot understand. To teach Jnana to such persons would be like teaching Ajnana.

3) However great a person may be, his close associates cannot gauge his greatness, taking him to be as ordinary human being like them. This is the effect of Maya. That was the reason why Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to serve other Tatwadarshis. 

It is only when a Sishya approaches the Guru with such great respect he becomes blessed with knowledge and thus free from bondage.

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