Guru diksha , Anugraha, Guruvakya and Gurukilli
This article explains various ways in which a Guru imparts vision ( Guru diksha ) and advises spiritual practice to His disciple.
Guru
One who imparts precise knowledge on appropriate spiritual practice for acquiring peace of mind and Ānand (Bliss) and how to perform it is none other than the Guru. Saint Tukaram Maharaj says, without the help of a Sadguru, we cannot find our path to Moksha (Final Liberation); hence, we should first hold the Guru’s feet, that is, we should make efforts to obtain His grace. In the life of a disciple, the Guru holds supreme importance; because a disciple cannot realise God without the Guru.
Physical sciences and the science of Spirituality
One may ask, why in this age of scientific research and progress, are we ignoring the modern physical sciences and going in the supposedly reverse direction to the study of the science of Spirituality? According to the saying ‘Old is gold’, to make spiritual progress it is the eternal science of Spirituality alone and not modern physical sciences which is useful.
Obstacles faced when studying Spirituality
Spirituality is not a subject to be understood at an intellectual level; instead, we need to practically follow it and obtain spiritual experiences. The individual undertaking spiritual practice and the God-realised soul acquire spiritual knowledge initially from the Guru and later within, that is, from the soul.
Importance of Spirituality
Every living being, from the smallest insect to the more evolved human being wishes to acquire supreme quality of happiness continuously and constantly. Every moment he makes attempts to acquire it. Happiness which is everlasting and of supreme quality is called Ānand. The science which teaches how to acquire Ānand is termed, ‘the science of Spirituality’.
Misconceptions about Spiritual practice ( Sadhana )
Some feel that if they chant God’s Name as sādhanā, they will not be able to fulfill their other worldly duties. Such a feeling is absolutely ill-founded. Nowhere in the history of mankind has there been a case in which one has incurred a loss by chanting God’s Name.
Misconceptions about Spirituality
Most people, especially the younger generation, have a lot of misconceptions about Spirituality. Therefore, let us understand what these misconceptions are and ‘What Spirituality is not’.
Qualities essential for Spiritual practice ( Sadhana )
Qualities essential for sādhanā are belief in sādhanā, expressed bhāv (Spiritual emotion), faith and unexpressed bhāv.
Why are we born?
Why are we born and what can we do to fulfill the purpose of our birth for this must read
Limitations of Physical Science
Through physical sciences, only the gross can be understood. That which is beyond the five sense organs, mind and intellect is the subtle. Ability to understand the subtle is developed through Spiritual practice. Physical science is only able to impart us object related happiness, however Spirituality is capable of imparting supreme Anand (Bliss) and Omniscience.
