“The Vedic scriptures and the acharyas, or saintly teachers, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shri Ishopanishad, 3 Purport)

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It was a long weekend. Lots to do. Lots of people. Lots of moving around, going from one event to another. It was nice to see everyone, after such a long time. It was nice to be around smiling, friendly faces. Well-wishers. Supporters. Sharing stories of the past. Remembering people who are no longer here. Recharging the batteries, so to speak, to reset for dealing with the daily struggles of work and maintaining a family.

To unwind, to settle in before falling asleep at night, you decide to scroll through social media. You need to catch up. You are not proud of this habit, but then what can be done? At least it is not consuming the entire day. If only indulged for a few minutes late at night, perhaps the harm is negligible. One particular post grabs your attention. It is one of those visual tricks, like an illusion for the eyes. It shows a series of ceramic bowls arranged on a table. The bowls look upright. They are empty.

Except the description to the image asks you to look closer. They want you to notice that the bowls can also appear upside down. They are inverted. The description warns that once you see the bowls as inverted, you cannot go back to seeing them as right-side up. If not for this suggestion, you would never have noticed.

There are similar images, which might depict an eagle or a bird. They ask you to look closer, to see something much larger. What you originally thought to be true was not. If being honest, most of the time you cannot tell the secret. You have to read through the comments. You need hints and suggestions. Even then, it takes someone else directly pointing to a location in the image for you to see.

The goal of self-realization, within the culture of Krishna consciousness, as described by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, involves similar exercises. The difference is that the images are not still. They are always changing. That is the nature of the individual in the manifest sense. We think we know someone based on how we identify them, but we are asked to notice something that is not obvious.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

You see, the individual is the same from when they were in the womb. When they had no visible features. When they were only identifiable through a tiny image shown through a medical machine. They are the same individual when learning to walk, when crawling across the kitchen floor. They are the same individual when in peak athletic form, playing sports on a professional level. They are the same individual when they later retire, when their abilities begin to diminish. They are the same individual at the very end, at the moment described in Sanskrit as “anta-kale.”

अन्त-काले च माम् एव
स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्
यः प्रयाति स मद्-भावं
याति नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

The individual departs, leaving the body behind. That body never identified them. We only thought it did. The relationships the individual formed. The friendships. The associations due to blood. The mother and the father. The brothers and the sisters. The colleagues. The classmates. The clashes with adversaries. The comradery with well-wishers.

None of it was real. The entire experience can be washed away, like wiping a slate clean. All the variety and distinctions, vishesha, can be abstracted into a giant collective of energy known as Brahman. It is this Brahman we are asked to notice. It is this pattern we are told to recognize. Apparently, in so doing we will no longer be subject to the same distinctions. We will not be forced to take birth again, wherein the consciousness carries forward. That consciousness will no longer trigger the formation of different parts of the body.

श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च
रसनं घ्राणम् एव च
अधिष्ठाय मनश् चायं
विषयान् उपसेवते

śrotraṁ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṁ ca
rasanaṁ ghrāṇam eva ca
adhiṣṭhāya manaś cāyaṁ
viṣayān upasevate

“The living entity, thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, tongue, and nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.9)

You see, upon noticing the pattern, upon finding the source of everything, in seeing a singular energy, we will have a consciousness of the same nature. Our consciousness will finally be purified, and we can say that we have succeeded in the mission of life. Of many lives, indeed. Whatever we previously considered spoiled is now rectified, due to this recognition.

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

In our hypothetical story, we needed assistance in seeing through the trick of the images posted on social media. This begs the question. What if we cannot notice Brahman? What if we are not equipped to see beyond duality? What if we reluctantly but regularly focus on that offense from childhood? What if we cannot forget the bullying endured at school? What if we are eager for revenge against that offender? What if we want to enjoy with the people we consider to be friends?

“The literal meaning of the word guru is ‘heavy’ – heavy with knowledge and authority, because his knowledge and authority come from Krishna.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Journey of Self-Discovery, Ch 2.2)

Just as others may assist in our identifying the pattern to the digital image, so there is the ocean of mercy in the representative of the full transcendence. This person is the spiritual guide. They are the guru, due to the authority they hold and the importance of the information they carry. They are generally not restrictive in their association. They do not mind if we lack the intelligence to notice Brahman immediately. They are willing to keep a steady presence, to allow for consultation, repeatedly, after seeing our eagerness, enthusiasm, and respect.

बहूनां जन्मनाम् अन्ते
ज्ञानवान् मां प्रपद्यते
वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति
स महात्मा सु-दुर्लभः

bahūnāṁ janmanām ante
jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ

“After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.19)

If comparing to an examination, this would be the “open-book” variety. We can keep the words of the guru next to us. We can ask questions. We can continue in service, such that the truth will eventually be revealed to us. Even if we run out of time, if we are not successful in this life, we get to continue in the next birth. There is no loss or diminution.

नेहाभिक्रम-नाशो ऽस्ति
प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते
स्व्-अल्पम् अप्य् अस्य धर्मस्य
त्रायते महतो भयात्

nehābhikrama-nāśo ‘sti
pratyavāyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trāyate mahato bhayāt

“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.40)

In Closing:

Assisting in image to see,
So merciful is he.

Fortunate the guru I have found,
Travel from mundane to profound.

That distinctions wiping away,
With steady presence to stay.

Of Brahman and also its source,
Best recalled at departure’s course.

Categories: spiritual master

Tags: dailyprompt, guru, poem, poems, poetry, spiritual master, teacher