Guru-Chela. Who chooses whom?
[Pictured:Guru Nanak]
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Day 1018
Devotee asks: Does the guru [spiritual preceptor] choose the chela [disciple] or the disciple chooses the guru?
Swamiji: I sometimes begin to wonder who chooses who – it's just a natural attraction. I was thinking about that. The scripture says, according to one of our Swami speakers today, that 'the Self is not got by learning, the Self is not got by wealth, the Self reveals Itself to whomsoever it chooses'. My mind thinks that 'Self' is referring here only to the Lord with form. Because the [formless] Self [Brahman] can never choose. Because then it's implying action. I dare not contradict that, but once you say it's 'Absolute' [unconditioned] – then where can it move, what can it do?
When you clear the cloud away from in front of the sun, the sun does not try to shine out. It's natural – the sun shines. You remove the obstacle and it just happens. The sun doesn't give you its darshan [audience/vision], the Self doesn't give you darshan. What you have done – you have only removed the obstacle. Like water is flowing, there are some obstacles there and the nature of the water is to?…flow. You just remove the obstacle and what happens? But what they're talking about, my mind it's always told me, is they're talking about Ishwara – God with form. It may sound all cockeyed [peculiar] to you but this is what the mind says.
Devotee asks an inaudible question:
Swamiji: If you think that 'guru' means a person then one person will be black, one person will be white. Or one like Ramakrishna will be very thin or like some other Swami [monk, sadhu, holy man] may be very fat. So you may not like that person – it's only a personality clash. But if you take the teachings of both people back to scripture – and test their teachings according to the scripture…whatever is verified through the scripture, then take that teaching. But you can't force me to accept the particular person – which I may not be prepared to do.
Example: Person A will come here and say, 'God bless you.' Person B will come and also tell me, 'God bless you.' But I know the character of Person B is rotten and Person A's character is pure. Now how can you force me, because A said 'God bless you' and B also said 'God bless you', to accept them both? So it's personality – persons – it's not the teaching, not the principle.
1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time.
2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.
There are currently available, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:
Sri Ramakrishna Sri Sarada Devi Swami Vivekananda
Swami Nischalananda Swami Shivapadananda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online
Reference websites – please mouse over the name and click to connect:
Ramakrishna Math and Mission Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa Ramakrishna Dham