Discourses on The Philosophy of Sri Ramchandra's Rajayoga - Lecture -16

Now the next point that is discussed in this work is the kinds of the disciples and the kinds of teachers that we are now having in this world. I do not want to speak very much about this because most of us know that there are different types of disciples and different types of teachers. We can generally say, 'as is the student so is the teacher and as is the teacher, so is the student'. We can decide that aspirants are of four stages or four kinds as Gita has stated: "Artharthi, Jijnasa, Jnani and Mumukshu (seeker after liberation). Arthi is one who is an absolutely depressed and therefore he wants some help and he seeks God to help him. And that is a man who is anxious to get release from the immediate suffering. It is 'immediate suffering' and not a very long suffering because, our urgency comes due to its immediateness. If a man is suffering from a chronic disease, I think, the need for going to a Doctor is very much minimized. Therefore, we who suffer from long disease, ignorance and family and so on, I think do not seek God with that earnestness with which a man who has been stung by a scorpion. So, as soon as that particular distress is removed, he forgets God. He forgets everything. So, God must be in that particular condition of constantly inflicting suffering to him, so that he can come to Him. It is a soothing desire. So that is the Arthi. There are many disciples who want wealth. May be, economically they are bad and therefore they require a minimum means for living. If that were so, God is prepared to accept that also. "If you constantly remember Me, I shall look after your worldly-affairs" - this is what God says - "Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham".

But there are people who go to many of these great Gurus or even God for the sake of becoming millionaires and so on. They want more money, property, more power and all the rest. Or, when they have lost them, they want to regain them. People who have been deposed like our princes who were given assurances and now denied the assurances in the name of "public will" or "People's Will" - whoever the 'people' are such people must really go to God. And I do not know whether Vox populi is more than 'Vox dei'. The will of the people is stronger than the will of God. So, there are many people who are in that world and most of our Gurus in the modern world are compelled to cater to this need of their disciples, much more that their soul's need and hope that by fulfilling the material needs, they will ask one day, out of the three hundred and sixty five days, for the other one also, as a concession to the teacher. With such people, I think there can be no progress at all in spirituality. I remember a particular example of a man who came to me and asked for my help and when I was hesitating about it, he said "I will join your Mission, Sir". Now, that is the Artharthi. I think nothing can be more shameful for a Guru than that the word Guru, be agreed as a concession for the spirituality whereas the main thing that is wanted is materiality. This is the most degraded doctrine.

There is a Jijnasu. Most of us are great intellectuals. We know intellect makes us enter into several systems, not for deciding as what is true, but to have a common knowledge "about all the systems. I have been there, I have been there, I have been there ... So, I know everything about them" - Yes. He may be a master of knowledge. He knows nothing in particular actually. But he has knowledge or information about everything. So that is the Jijnasu. Everybody is expected to have Jijnasa - intellectual curiosity but actually not committed to Realization.

A Jnani is one who is committed to the decision for Realization till the experience is over, either successfully or negatively. And Sri Krishna says "He is the first whom I like most. He is verily My own Self".

Master has given in the same way - the on looker, the passive looker, the money getter, and devout disciple. Now, we have all these kinds. We can find out where we are. There is no difficulty in finding out our status.

Correspondingly, we have got the Gurus. No Guru is in Artha condition. May be some Gurus are so needy that they are anxious for disciples just to look after the minimum wants and they may be attached to other people. Usually there is competition. In ancient times, murder was very common even with them. Sadhus killed Sadhus very nicely, or, saw to their extinction or extermination in the village where they lived. So, we have got such competitive gurus. We have also got Gurus who want to amass lots of wealth in the name of great Mutts and so on. There are a few Gurus who actually want to transmit whatever knowledge or capacity they have with them. But they might have no competence. The anxiety may be there. It is good. It is very much like a Jijnasa. They are anxious to help. They know perhaps in a way. But actually they cannot transmit. We get a first-grade man who does this work. He knows how to transmit. He can certainly take us by transmission. If we are lucky to have such a teacher and we are lucky to have enough good disciples, true Jnanis, I think there can be perfect growth. Or else, we find that many Missions, many Mutts, many institutions, fall.

If the proportion of real disciples is greater, that Institution survives, weeding out the wrong elements. But sometimes, it so happens that wrong elements take charge of the main Institution. It is usually stated about Islam that the enemies of Muhammad took charge of the entire organization in the second generation itself and, instead of being the simple religion that it was in his time, it turned out to be a very 'prosperous' religion - a religion of conquest and so on. So, we have a lot of show, not reality. Most religions end in show or make-believe not in reality.

In our system, we must try our level best to avoid the pitfalls of these gurus and disciples and if they combine, as they do normally, the institutions collapse. This we can study in the history of the world. That is why, we are expected to be devoted to the Ultimate Goal, also, to use discrimination, constantly and vigilantly, to watch how our own progress is taking place. If, in an institution where the major percent is perfect, it does not follow that all the rung downwards and the intermediaries are also perfect. Many of the second hand, third-hand, and fourth grade people are under the shadow of a great man and want to sail under his name. We want in our system to avoid those pitfalls. From the bottom to the top we must see that we fulfill the purpose of Realization which we have taken up as our Goal. If certain centres are dormant it is because, we have not checked up ourselves of this kind of test about the teacher and about the disciple.

We are here to see in spiritual life the modification of the person and taking him up specially to make him harmonious with the others. This harmony is very important, because if we want a harmony of the entire universe, we must have the harmony of every individual. If people think that Satsang is merely a place where we meet every week, it is no use. It is a dynamic state in which each one is watched and helped, without his knowing. Therefore, the Guru has to be very vigilant, and the Abhyasi has also to be vigilant. Then alone you will be able to find out where we are developing in this system. That is why in the last chapter we have taken up the question of levels of our approach.

One more point I would like to mention: "Transmission" as stated in our system, it is a unique phenomenon. Master has stated that many Gurus do not know what Transmission is. The only transmission they know is the transmission from word of mouth-certain literature, certain Mantra. That is a kind of traditional knowledge transmitted from mouth or from mouth to ear and from ear to mouth. That particular continuity is called transmission. Now, this has been taking place in our country and every other country. That is knowledge in transmission. Heredity is also transmitted. We use transmission there also.

But what is the transmission that we are doing? This transmission is of the Highest or the Divine Mind, without any diminution or adulteration, into the men and for the one purpose of finally replacing our mind with That Mind. In other words, our mind is dragged slowly into the Highest Mind. First, the Highest Mind goes on doing the work of the lower mind, keeping slowly modified its entire functions. This activity of transmission is unknown to the teachers of several religions. Therefore, the quality of the teacher must be of the order that he can and in fact does and not merely hope to introduce into the heart the Supreme Force. You can recognize that it is Supreme by one or two tests which every disciple has to make. The Gurus have to test the disciples and the disciples have also to test the Gurus. And, in fact, we do. There is no question of doubt about it. We test every doctor to get information about him, so we gather our information before we risk ourselves to a doctor. And we take some caution or precaution when we go to Guru and it is good.

Now, what is the test of transmission. First thing is, there is a Detension (de-tension). I used to say that the tension condition is removed, whatever the tension be. The tension may be physical or sexual or even moral tension. Those tensions are removed or rather laid down, calmed. Now, the second thing that we experience is a positive calmness that is coming into us. Even in a lot of noise and a lot of disturbance, we feel calm. The third test is when we go on doing our work and yet find that we are getting transmission. And we can always demand, not only at certain times i.e., the Master is continuously 'committed' to the disciple's work in this system. A Guru who is just so called, initiates disciples and there upon forgets him after that till the next round of visit, is not a Master at all. A Master is a Constant Companion of the Soul.

Two birds which are inseparable, are sitting on the same tree, one eating the fruit and the other looking on like that, when we are enjoying the world, and the Divine looks on. But here, I want to compare these two to the Master and the disciple. The disciple is permitted to eat and made to realize that he is doing it only by the support and guidance of the Master, till finally he comes to the very same condition of the Master, when he begins to go on merging in the Master rather than the fruits of the worlds. That is constant watch, vigilance. That is why some of us can experience even at moments when Master is not with us suddenly we are reminded. He is with us. If this could be constant and continuous for improving us to the Highest levels, not merely saving our body or saving something else but carrying us on the Dhyana and "super-Dhyana", we will find that He is the real Guru. But such a Guru is very difficult to get, as I told. It is our good fortune to have Shri Ram Chandraji with us. But, should we not give Him the happiness of being good disciples? Now that is our condition. That is why Master is interested in saying that we are to be worthy of our Master. In the history of the world, only a few people are being worthy of their Masters. That is why Sri Krishna had to say: "Of the many people, there are hardly a few who want to be Jijnasu, and amongst them, there are hardly a few who seek Me. They seek other people rather. But even amongst that handful of people there is hardly one who wants to know Me as I am in Myself. They want Me for their purposes". They say: "I want you to come in this form". The Gopis wanted Him in His beautiful form and they wanted Him in that form. Somebody wanted Him as a warrior and a third person wanted Him as a charioteer. But nobody wants God as a God. "What is that You want of Me?" I would like to say that such person who says "What is it that you want of me?" Is a greater disciple and is the best one. That is why in Kathopanishad it is beautifully stated "When my father offers me to Yama, what does Yama want of me?" He has no need of anything in this world. What does He want of me? Of what use my going to Him?" And when he was asked "what you would like to know", he said, "I would like to know what you are in yourself?" Now that is the way of approach. I would like to know Him in his infinite and not in his finite. Our modern religions are inverted. All bhaktas have inverted with very best of intentions. They want God to be in their ways and demand that God should oblige them and His greatness is being made finite. Now, I consider that is reversal of the entire spirituality.

So, I only pray that we should be worthy of the Master and try to know the Master as He is himself and it is not such an impossible thing as some people try to say. It is the most easy thing to know the Master in Himself. But we are very much interested in the relationship of God as between us and Himself rather than the Master.