For rapid spiritual
progress, the seeker should undertake the spiritual practice of the next level
of spiritual maturity that follows the one he is at presently. This principle
is elaborated in the following table:
| Spiritual Level % |
Spiritual Practice |
| 20 |
Absent |
| 30 |
Physical Worship - such as Ritualistic
Worship (fasting, performing sacrificial fires, attending mass service in church,
offering namaz, etc.), visiting places of Worship, reading Holy Texts. |
| 40 |
Mental Worship - chanting* the Lord's Name |
| 50 |
Remaining in Satsang |
| 55 |
Service to the Absolute Truth (Satseva)
and being blessed by a Guru’s grace. |
| 60 |
Sacrifice of wealth (Tyag) |
| 70 |
Spiritual love (Priti) |
| 80 |
Stance of a spectator (Sakshibhav) |
| 90 |
Mission after Self-Realization |
When one does Satsang,
Satseva, and Tyag, one is blessed
with a manifest Guru.
The Guru
Every seeker in the primary stage has read that,
in Spirituality, the ultimate means of salvation is a Guru, whereas a seeker
in the advanced stage actually experiences it.
Importance of having a Guru
Without the Guru, a seeker doing spiritual practice
on his own can only progress at the maximum rate of 0.25% per year. Also, his
progress will discontinue once he reaches the spiritual level of 50-55%.
With the guidance of a Guru a seeker progresses at
the average rate of 2-3% per year and with the Guru’s grace can progress
up to 5-8% per year and will continue to progress till he has reached the Final
Liberation (100%).
Definition of ‘Guru’
‘Gu’ refers to darkness assuming
the form of ignorance.
‘Ru’ refers to radiance in the form of
spiritual knowledge. This radiance dispels the darkness of ignorance.
Thus, the Guru is one who, with His radiance, dispels
the darkness of ignorance in His disciple.
The function of the Guru
-
To dispel a disciple’s ignorance.
-
To guide the disciple to undertake the correct spiritual practice in order
to make rapid spiritual progress.
-
To bestow spiritual experiences upon the disciple.
-
To actually get the required spiritual practice done from the disciple, by
His grace, that is, by His resolve or Divine presence.
Only when a Guru makes a resolve that, ‘May
this disciple progress spiritually’, does the disciple make real spiritual
progress. This is the true meaning of the Guru’s grace. Much of our energy
is wasted in thinking or catering to the many impressions of the mind. When this
energy is not used, it gets accumulated. Saints, constantly being in the thoughtless
state, have so much of this accumulated energy, that when they do think of something,
it comes true due to the enormous power backing the thought. A Paratpar Guru,
that is, a Guru at the highest (90 to 100%) spiritual level has so much energy
that His mere presence brings about His disciple’s growth. This is akin
to the mere presence of the sun that is enough to make the flowers bloom.
The Unmanifest Guru
Since the Guru Principle is very subtle and is beyond
the perception of an average seeker, the seeker in the initial stage is not in
a position to recognize a true Guru. Hence, a seeker in the initial stage should
resort to being a disciple of the unmanifest Guru, that is the Lord’s Name.
By continuing spiritual practice and being a disciple of the unmanifest Guru,
the illusion of considering oneself to be separate from God becomes apparent
to the seeker. However, to answer his question that, ‘If I am not distinct
from God, how is it that I do not experience this non-duality?’, a manifest
Guru is required.
The Manifest Guru
It is only through the grace of a manifest Guru that
one can experience non-duality with God.
The Path of Guru’s Grace (Gurukrupayoga)
Gurukrupayoga is the spiritual path where a seeker
learns how to acquire the Guru’s grace in the shortest period possible,
surpassing all other paths. This way, the seeker will not have to spend several
years or even births, following various other paths of spiritual practice. |
