MASTER GUIDES DISCIPLES
MASTER GUIDES DISCIPLES – ANGER IMPEDES PROGRESS
Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath.
Thich Nhat Hanh
When young, devout Surdas ji wanted to seek initiation on the pathway to spirituality; he went to a Perfect Holy Master and requested him, “Kindly accept me as thy disciple.”
The Holy Master found out that devout Surdas ji had numerous virtues but unfortunately, he had anger issues, which prevented him from spiritual elevation.
Therefore, the Holy Master decided to help him to shed his anger in prior. Anger is a big impediment to the pathway of devotion.
The Holy Master instructed devout Surdas ji to chant the Lord’s Holy Name while doing all activities for a month and then come to him.
Devout Surdas ji was very eager to evolve spiritually, so he followed those holy instructions zealously. After one month passed by, he returned to his Holy Master for further guidance.
On his way to the Holy Master’s hermitage, a sweeper was cleaning the street when devout Surdas ji was passing. Unknowingly, while cleaning, the dirt spread on his clothes. He lost his temper and scolded the sweeper furiously. Devout Surdas ji went back home, changed his clothes, and then returned to his Holy Master.
When devout Surdas ji came to his Holy Master, the Holy Master told him that he was yet not prepared for further instructions. Therefore, he must continue reciting the Holy Name and come back to him after a month.
Devout Surdas ji followed the holy instructions. Again, after one month, when he was returning that sweeper came in his way, smudging his clothes.
Now, he became enraged; wildly scolding the sweeper he went back home, changed his clothes, and then returned to his Holy Master. His Holy Master said that he was not up to the mark, so, he must engage in the recital of the Holy Name perseveringly and return to him after a month.
One month passed away and the same incident happened when devout Surdas ji was on the way to his Holy Master. However, this time, devout Surdas ji did not get annoyed. Instead, he thanked the sweeper saying, “I am indeed grateful to you as you have helped me to overcome my flaw of anger.”
Now, when devout Surdas ji approached his Holy Master, he saw his Holy Master standing in front of the hermitage. The Holy Master said compassionately, “O, Surdas, now you are qualified to become my disciple.”
A Holy Master knows what a disciple is lacking and how the disciple can achieve spiritual elevation.
As a disciple, one must have faith in the Holy Master’s words and follow them devotedly. We can look at every situation as an opportunity to realize and overcome our flaws. This is possible only through the practice of the Lord’s Holy Name.
The ignorant mind, with its infinite afflictions, passions, and evils, is rooted in the three poisons-greed, anger,and delusion.
-Bodhidharma
DISCIPLINE
Work hard. Through determination and self-focus and discipline, you can accomplish anything.
Kimberly Guilfoyle
In ancient times, in a Gurukul, lived Acharya Sumedha with his disciples. He was an erudite Sage and adhered to discipline.
One day after the end of the lesson, one of his disciples named Vartant asked the Acharya, “Intellectual sharpness is the basis of learning. Despite this why emphasis is laid on tying our whole life in rigid discipline?”
Acharya Sumedha replied, “You shall get the answer when the time is ripe.”
After some days, Acharya Sumedha went out for a walk with all these disciples. Thus, they all reached the bank of the river Ganges. Seeing the river Ganges slowly rippling away, everyone was fascinated.
Seeing this, Acharya Sumedha asked his disciple Vartant, “Do you know from where river Ganges journey starts and where it ends?”
Disciple Vartant instantly replied, “Yes, Acharya! River Ganges flows from Gomukh (Gaumukh) and finally merges into Gangasagar.”
Acharya Sumedha then pointing towards the bank of the river asked, “Alright! If the two banks of the river Ganges are not there, will it be able to travel so far?”
Disciple Vartant answered, “No, Acharya! If these riverbanks were not there then the river Ganges water would scatter everywhere. People can harness benefits that they get from the sacred river Ganges only when it flows within the boundaries of its banks.”
Pleased with disciple Vartant’s answer, Acharya Sumedha elucidated, “This is the answer to your question, which you had asked me earlier.
If there is no discipline in a disciple’s life then his life energy will be scattered and he will not be able to use his absolute potential. The body and mind of such a person would become languid. In other words, one shall be soulless.”
Without discipline, achieving the real aim and objective of life can never be possible for a devotee because expedients ordained by one’s Holy Master can be imbibed only by staying in the discipline.
Live your life while you have it. Life is a splendid gift. There is nothing small in it. Far the greatest things grow by God’s law out of the smallest. But to live your life, you must discipline it.
-Florence Nightingale
SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS
Whenever I am in a difficult situation where there seems to be no way out, I think about all the times I have been in such situations and say to myself, “I did it before, so I can do it again.”
-Idowu Koyenikan
In a district of Rajasthan lived a man, who was always troubled by one or the other problem and was not One day, he came to know that a Holy Saint with his congregation had come to the city.
This man decided to seek guidance from the Holy Saint. In the evening, he went to his place and after waiting for a while, he met the Holy Saint.
He entreated, “O Holy Saint! I am very unhappy with my life. I am surrounded by problems all the time – office tension, health problem, problems at home…! Kindly guide me on the path where I might find solutions to all my problems and lead a peaceful life.”
The Holy Saint smiled and said, “Son, tomorrow morning I will provide a solution, but meanwhile can you do a small work?”
That man agreed to do anything despite he found a solution to his problems.
The Holy Saint continued, “There are a hundred camels in our caravan. I want you to take care of them tonight. When all hundred camels sit down, then you too can sleep.”
Saying this, the Holy Saint returned to his tent and that man went to look after the camels for the night. The next morning, the Holy Saint went to that man and asked, “Son, did you have a good sleep last night?”
That man sadly replied, “O Holy Saint! I could not sleep even for a moment. I tried a lot but I could not get all the camels to sit together at one time. Some sat down themselves but some would not sit even if I tried and if one sat the other would get up on the other side.”
The Holy Saint smiled and said, “If I am not wrong, this is what happened last night? There were many camels, who sat; many other camels sat because of your efforts; others did not sit even after you toiled. Later, you found that some of them sat with time.’
That man replied, “Yes, yes…!”
The Holy Saint exhorted, “Now, do you understand something? Problems in our life are just like this. Some problems will be solved naturally.
Some will be solved with your toilsome efforts. Some problems will not be solved even with your effort; leave these problems on time. They will be solved at the right time by themselves.”
The Holy Saint, further explicated, “Son! Last night you experienced that no matter how much you tried but you could not get all the camels to sit at the same time.
If you made one camel sit down, then the other would stand. In the same way, if you solve a problem then you will see another problem arising. This is life. Problems are a part of life; sometimes they are less and sometimes they are more.” “
“Happiness and misery are an illusion. Problems are a part of life, but this does not mean that you keep thinking about them. Keeping them aside, continue to move forward. Learn to grow towards the real purpose of life self-realization.”
Happiness is part of who we are. Joy is the feeling.
~Tony DeLiso
RECOGNIZING GOD – Do we believe in God? Do we recognize God?