Grace is Guru

Messages from a Himalayan Mystic Series

These messages are meant to be contemplated upon. A casual reading may impart some benefit or some inspiration. However, each message is meant to shed light on the deepest aspects of our inner selves - on life. Hence, contemplation, sometimes, word to word, line to line, can transform our understanding on the subtlest levels and awaken an entirely new perspective on life. Through this new awareness, we can re-orient ourselves, our thoughts and emotions, and our actions towards a more purposeful and fulfilling life. This message “Grace is Guru” builds on the premise of ‘Love is Life’ which was shared earlier (please click here to read the earlier article) - it is given to the world on the sacred occasion of Guru Purnima (an auspicious full moon). It seeks to lay to rest the esoteric significance of both what Grace is and what/who a Guru is. As one will realize from this message, a Guru is the most significant bridge in our journey from the known to the unknown. A Guru is the bridge upon which we walk - merging on the other side with Truth. This bridge leads to the doorway of ultimate freedom. And yet it is only Grace that allows us to make that final journey on that bridge.

Dear All - Accept the Existence or Expect the Resistance. Perceive your Guru - Grace is Guru.

The word Guru finds itself in the very poor company of a host of other words that have been rendered meaningless. After all, one can find a plumbing guru, a coding guru, a meditation guru and of course, a guru guru. Of the guru gurus, one will find the fake ones, the ambitious ones, the celebrity ones, the political ones, and occasionally, if one is lucky, the real one. Here, we attempt to touch upon that timeless human pursuit of a genuine and awakened master of life - the real Guru. There is an ancient Buddhist saying that speaks to the rarity of finding an ‘enlightened master’ or a Guru - something akin to the same likelihood of finding a rescue tube in the middle of the ocean. Today, we find them on Instagram. They even have apps. Perhaps an app will also enlighten us someday. That last part is a joke. Or perhaps the joke is on us that spirituality has been diluted so much that it is almost impossible for a seeker to find any meaning in mainstream narratives. It seems as if the spiritual domain has been pulled down to the material realm where people are now able to partake in all manners of esoteric entertainment. Rather, we should have been pulled up to the spiritual dimension. Thrill seekers - be forewarned - this message has no entertainment value. Here, we are no longer content to only admire the appearance of the fruit. We have removed all the peels of the fruit. Instead, hungry for knowing, we eat its flesh, relishing its taste while being nourished simultaneously - in the same manner that a Guru nurtures us with their Grace once we set on that sacred inner journey. So this message is intended for that thirsty seeker who can trace the nectar of grace even in a diluted pond of spiritual water. It is for such a seeker whose thirst can no longer be quenched by drops of spirituality - for only the ocean will suffice. It is to relay to such a seeker - the eternal and existential truth of the phenomenon that is the Guru. To lay bare, once and for all, the first and final truth - that we come from Grace and we go back to Grace. And the force that is all along that journey with us is the Guru. This message is as much about what a Guru This message is as much about what a Guru is not as it is about what a Guru as it is about what a Guru is.

DEAR ALL

The first quality of a Guru is all-inclusivity - something or someone that belongs to everyone. If a Guru distinguishes, they cannot be a Guru. The moment one distinguishes, they are out of divinity - out of Grace. This is because a Guru is not a limited identity - it is not a person or a community leader. The Guru is also not a reflection of an ideology or someone who professes a particular doctrine. It can take on the form of a person, but it is something far beyond the realm of personality. A Guru encompasses the entire existence. We can refer to existence as absoluteness, oneness, emptiness or wholeness but they are all referring to the same phenomenon. A Guru is an existential potency that pervades the entire existence. As seekers, our potential moves us towards oneness - from one to all. On the other hand, the Guru is the very expression of wholeness - from all to one. Hence, the Guru is an equalizer between us and the existence - unifying these two aspects. So the Guru covers the whole, encompasses the whole, perceives the whole and reflects the whole. Therefore, the So the Guru covers the whole, encompasses the whole, perceives the whole and reflects the whole. Therefore, the Guru’s first message is always ‘Dear All’ - waiting infinitely, indiscriminately, with arms extended - for us to reach out.

ACCEPT THE EXISTENCE

However, if we relate to a Guru as either a person or a limited identity, then it will not lead us to freedom. If we start worshipping such a person or relating to such an identity (no matter how beautiful or enchanting), if we worship the image of a Guru, or follow such a person, it will only lead us to confusion or delusion - not clarity. This will not work for us as seekers. Likewise, if a Guru is only interested in nurturing a community or picking or elevating personalities, then they are not a complete Guru. If their teaching is not for the entire existence, if they are not sharing their wisdom for the benefit of the existence, than they are not a complete Guru. After all, we are not meant to be in herds following a shepherd without question. We are meant to be nurtured and guided intimately all along the way to freedom. The Guru is a complete spiritual phenomenon and a message of the divine. An enlightened Guru, a primordial guru - one who always was - always proclaims ‘accept the existence’ because the entire existence is Guru. This is not a person exclaiming an existential principle, rather, acceptance is the very nature of what a Guru is. So the message of the Guru is to accept that absoluteness which is the existence for absoluteness is the taste of life. In every day life, in every moment, we need to act and perceive that Grace. We need to accept that which is eternal because that alone is reality - that alone is the truth that will set us free - not identification with a limited idea of what a Guru is. Acceptance is the only way to live unconditionally. And unconditional living is being in freedom.

EXPECT THE RESISTANCE

If, however, in the manner we approach our lives, we do not contemplate on the existence, if we do not surrender to absoluteness, if we do not accept reality - then the whole process of living will become resistance. Our life force is tugging us towards Grace but our mind force is pulling us towards the material - towards the dual. Resistance stems from conditionality - from partiality - as it creates a dichotomy within us which can be very unsettling. Resistance can only grow in the absence of Grace. The more that Grace is absent from our lives, the greater our resistance. And this is the root of suffering. But as much as we move away from Grace, its compassionate clouds still hover above us, at times, still provide us cover from the scorching sun - as we are tested from the heat of life’s harsher lessons. Resistance is like the stubborn child in front of a loving teacher - simultaneously upset with and attracted to the teacher. So we are in the way we deal with life. However, the same resistance can also be used as fuel, as motivation, to tread on the path of the divine. After all, most people come to spirituality when every other aspect of life has failed to satisfy them in a meaningful way. When resistance in living reaches a certain threshold, we are automatically pulled towards an inner path - because that is the orientation of freedom. That is the inner balance we desire as we are aligned more resolutely towards Grace. Resistance can be transformed into motivation to contemplate on the existence, to help us steer towards our origin, and to awaken a new understanding of life. And as we reorient ourselves towards freedom, we are sure to find our Guru also on that inner path, cloaked in Grace.

PERCEIVE YOUR GURU

We must learn to perceive the Grace behind our life as Guru. Hence, first, we need to clarify our understanding. The Guru is eternally there - as absoluteness, as existence or as the taste of life. So we have to start the journey towards reaching out to the existence with the mystery that is ourselves. We are the ones who have to learn to perceive the truth or the existence. We have to realize that the innermost part of ourselves is also the Guru - the seat of our heart is also the Guru. As this understanding gets rooted in our heart, as we contemplate on this, and start to perceive the same reality, then we start to earn the privilege of a Guru. And hence the Guru within us starts to seek the Guru without. As this seeking ensues, the Guru may not materialize in front of us immediately. After all, the Guru waits and tests our sincerity. Are we just flirting with the truth or are we determined to find it? The moment our intention is assured, our determination is steadfast, and we are firmly on the inner path, then the alignment with the external Guru happens automatically. Then it is a matter of time before the Guru materializes in a form that we will accept - but not necessarily as a person. In life, the arduous part of seeking is that treacherous period where we are incessantly tested to establish how thirsty we are for truth - for freedom. However, once a Guru arrives at our doorstep, then they will fulfill all our eternal longings and allow our struggles to transform into a new ease of living. Such a Guru also completes our desire to know, reveals and enhances our perception, and finally delivers us to the threshold of freedom. This is the Guru we must seek - we must perceive - for they will liberate us. Otherwise, a Guru is just like a sticker or statue for us - something to relate to - but not something that takes us closer to life, to grace, or to radiance. And when that Guru finally accompanies us on that ultimate journey, we fall into our oneness and the Guru completes us with the wholeness of their existence. That is the real function of a Guru - to harmonize us with the existence - not just to impart teachings or gather a following. This understanding is critical in establishing what the role of a Guru is for us - so perceive your Guru.

Sri Maharshi with his Guru Brahmarishi Mauni Baba at the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013

GRACE IS GURU

As our Guru harmonizes us with the existence, we fall into the lap of Grace. We are enveloped in Grace. Grace everywhere. We realize then that the primordial is in Grace, that the middle is in Grace, and the dissolution in the end is also in Grace. We realize that in between seeking and life is Grace, in between existence and life is Grace, and in between a Seeker and Guru is also Grace. And all that Grace converges to one point - the primordial Guru, the Guru as Self, and the Guru as person - all three being the same phenomenon. The Guru is a representative of Grace. Then, as we stand on the threshold of Truth, life’s greatest mysteries are revealed to us. What is Creation? It is clarity. What is Clarity? It is consciousness. What is Consciousness? It is the Self. What is the Self? It is the match in front of us as Guru. Grace is Guru. So what is the Self demanding? That a perfect reflection of our inner Grace, in the form of a person, bring us light, grace, love, absoluteness, and divine taste. This is the Guru we realize complete intimacy with. This is the Guru we realize complete intimacy with - for it is us. Otherwise, a Guru is just an idea, an identity, an external source - not reality. So Grace is Guru. And once this intimacy is realized, we live our Guru - there are no two - for the Guru has become a completely merged living reality in our life. The Guru’s light has graced us eradicating all lingering darkness. Enlightenment has graced us. And thus the purpose of Guru is fulfilled. Far from being an idea or person, the Guru has become an experiential and existential reality for us. We have mastered the master. We have become the Guru - we have folded into Grace. July 5, 2020

Guru is the Ultimate Reality - Living Piousness and Dignity Incarnated - Sri Maharshi