SADGURU’S UNIQUE ORIENTATION - CARVING THE PATH TO PERFECTION

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Sri Mata Kamalambika was Para Brahma Incarnate who descended on earth as MATRUKA ROOPINI out of sheer compassion for the people suffering from worldly afflictions. The atma (or) human soul actually transcends the three gunas. But the Jiva fails to recognise this truth due to Maya. He attributes doer-ship (Kartrutvam), entangles himself in miseries and does not know the way of deliverance (Kaivalyam). When he cries for liberation after completely realising the temporary and unstable nature of the world, the Lord descends in the form of a Sadguru to cut asunder the chains of bondage.

                                  Mata Kamalambika was such a Mahaneeya Dayamurthy who proclaimed Motherly Compassion - VATSALYA as Her Ideal and led the people to Mukthi along the path of bhakti, karma and jnana. She gauged the spiritual involvement and capabilities of Her sishyas and guided them according to their inherent nature and Karmic bondage.

                          Human beings are bestowed with three important apparatuses – the body, mind and intellect, so that they conduct the experiment of life and realise the final aim or goal of life! When students of science assemble in a lab they are first made aware of the aim of the experiment. Now the student is Convinced and Believes in the validity of the experiment. He trusts the correctness of the instructor and the instructions; executes the procedure with complete Faith and Devotion. He uses the apparatus with utmost care to reach the goal. As a result he acquires Skill and Proficiency which fructifies into the desired result in later years of life.

Similarly a sadhaka starts his spiritual journey with the aim of attaining Kaivalya or Moksha. The procedure is laid down by his Guru. His belief in the Guru matures into Faith and Devotion. This evolution is not an easy, single step process except for very few people like Sage Valmiki, Adi Sankara, Bhagavan Ramana.  Spiritual evolution is a multi-fold, multi-staged process which may extend too many years or many births depending on how we use the apparatus given to us – without misusing, under or overusing them!

At this juncture, it is very important for us to distinguish spiritualism from religion. Spiritualism deals with the quest for Absolute Reality and transcends the realms of rituals, beliefs and deities. It is purely based on introspection and the knowledge of the Inner Self! Religion is a belief system firmly based on faith, prayers, rituals and deities. We belong to some religion or sect by birth. Though the origin and practices differ from one religion to the other, they aim at making a person SPIRITUAL i.e. orient them towards the SELF!

A Sadguru acts as a bridge to connect us from our existing state to the ABSOLUTE or PARAMATMAN. Since the disciples vary in their basic nature (vasanas and samskara balam), the Guru chalks out different paths for different sishyas but their Ultimate Goal is the same! The Guru identifies the correct path for a sishya depending on the latter’s belief system and religious practices which he/she has already been following. Thus the Guru is an encouraging and assuring guide. The disciple’s faith is further strengthened when he experiences certain miracles in his life. Now his path and goal is made clearer by his Guru. Hence the religious practices like chanting mantras or doing poojas transcend from mere mechanical activity to a higher plane of purifying Karma. Thus a sadguru prepares the ground for imparting the higher wisdom of SELF, by making the mind of the sishya completely Pure and Clear. This is like cleaning a vessel carefully before filling it with milk. Let us now observe and understand Mata Kamalambika and Her various modes of initiating the sishyas into spiritual practice i.e.  Deeksha!

SPARSHA DEEKSHA: - Smt. Durgamba was in great despair and grief when she lost her husband quite early in life. Such a grieving mind quickly drowns into depression, the life is torn apart by the miseries created by the mind and the person loses sight of his/her purpose of life. That is when a Sadguru quickly acts by transmitting intense divine power that restores confidence and faith in the person, makes their life meaningful and initiates them into intense spiritual practice.

Sri Mata Kamalambika placed Her boon bestowing hand (Abhaya Varada Hastam) on Durgamba’s head and restored her mental equanimity. Now the devotee’s mind calmed down and was prepared to receive the Guru’s instructions regarding her way of life and sadhana. Here our Paramaguru prepared the sishya through Hastha Masthaka Samyogam and led her along the path of spiritual sadhana!

SWAPNA DEEKSHA: - Sometimes Gurus appear in the dreams of their sishyas; correct, instruct and lead them along the spiritual path. When a person is awake, his mind is engaged with the objects of the world and the five senses. Hence the mind’s receptivity and efficiency in terms of spiritual matters is less. When the person is in deep sleep, the mind loses its body consciousness and merges with the intellect. The intellect also slowly merges with the PRAGNANAM or CONSCIOUSNESS in very deep sleep. Now the Guru imparts ATMA BODDHA which helps the disciple to understand and overcome the shortcomings and completely assimilate the Power of the Guru’s Upadesam. This happened in the case of Kota Janakirama sarma garu. Mata Kamalambika appeared in his dream and gave him Mantropadesam.

PRATYAKSHA DEEKSHA: - In some cases the Guru appears voluntarily in front of the sishya and fore warns about some impending danger. The Guru also initiates a Sadhana which strengthens the forbearance and endurance of the sishya. Thus the sishya faces the test of life and progresses spiritually with reinforced faith. Mata Kamalambika has led some sishyas in the sadhana marga in this manner also. Smt.Varalakshmi was thus cautioned about an accident and was later saved by Guru’s grace. But the net result was that the sishya gained a path for her spiritual sadhana. This incident helps us to infer that a sadhaka should not always seek divine intervention to alleviate his miseries; instead he should reinforce his faith in the Divine and his Guru and walk the path with greater perseverance.

PRASADA DEEKSHA: - There are instances when Mata Kamalambika set the doubts to rest in the minds of Her sishyas by giving them kumkuma or panaka prasada before showing them the path of sadhana.  She removed the doubts and anxieties from the mind of Sri. Prakash Rao garu by passing on Her Anugraha through panaka prasadam, instilled devotion and the spirit of Sadhana in his mind!

              Thus a Guru purifies the mind of his Sishyas in various modes, designs a suitable sadhana marga and leads them to the Ultimate Goal of MOKSHA. The Parabrahmam – the Immensely Compassionate Mother praised as AVYAJA KARUNA MOORTHY also operates as GURUMOORTHY and GURUMANDALA ROOPINI to uplift the Jivatma to attain BRAHMAIKYA sthithi!

                                                                            JAI SREE MATA….