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A new member asked: "I was wondering if you could offer some insight please. The saying--when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Could you please describe a few steps towards preparedness?" MsBauju I am hoping some of our knowledgeable members will chime in with advice and perhaps personal experience. In the meantime, The Power of Mantra and Mystery of Initiation by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait Paperback: 248 pages Publisher: Yoga Intl (January, 1996) ISBN: 188764508X gives Pandit Tigunait's suggestions about what one can do to prepare. His suggestions seem to be geared towards Westerners; if that's not you, you may want to continue to look (or ask) for something better tailored to your circumstances. Nora Now in my opinion, this preparedness should not be like taking exams. We do all that, eh? We study for exams so that we will do well. But spiritualism, or waiting for the appearance of the right guru is not an exam. It should not be. Discipline, sincerity and honesty are what one should have. When I got into this path, I knew nothing about mantra recitation. Nothing about the Lalitha Sahasranama. All I knew was this devotion to Devi. Many then commented that my devotion was fake. But it’s okay--fake to others, but real to me. Actions speak louder than words. Daily prayers without fail and this desire for guidance. This desire must come from within. That, I believe, is the first step towards preparedness. I’m told, "I am here to guide you. I am perhaps 40 Km ahead of you. Now what I am doing is to turn back, hold your hand and show you the way. Once you have caught up to me, I will have to let you go. You must go on your own thereafter." In the Lalitharchana candrika, the first page reads (and I translate as they are all in Sanskrit; this is only an excerpt of it): you shall bow daily to the guru, visualizing ...........being embodiment of knowledge. The very embodiment of consciousness, a celebrated yogi, a doctor for spiritual illness......" I would like to share an excerpt of a conversation with a friend, just to give my opinion about certain issues. This friend of mine is a nice person who allows me to use the conversation for the group if it’s meant to benefit others. Member: I'm a pick and choose person. If there is an aspect I see that is not fit, do I have an opportunity to reject it? Nora: Then if you do that, why need a guru? You’ll be your own guru. It’s like seeing a doctor. You realize you need a doctor; you know you need a doctor. When the doctor prescribes a treatment for you, you reject it. When the doctor prescribes a medication for you, you reject it. You rather choose or use another's treatment. So if I’m that doctor I will tell you nicely, "Go and treat yourself." You do not need a doctor actually. Fair, do you think? The doctor will know better how to assess your medical situation and prescribe an appropriate treatment. No doctor will treat his own illness. The same holds for the guru too. He knows your spiritual mode he is able to look into your mind to see how you are--your strengths and your weaknesses. Do you know your own weaknesses and strengths? Sometimes it’s our ego. This ego just refuses to bow before another. The ego thinks he or she knows better than others. The ego thinks he or she is well-read; he knows it. All that is why we stress the importance of complete faith and belief in your guru, otherwise it’s pointless. Member: My past with my former guru still haunts me. Sometimes feel I need to be careful. I think it’s not ego. Nora: Yes! That's it! Your experiences have made you what you are now. A careful person. Ganpra Well, since it was mentioned that the member is new to the forum and worshipping HER, I will assume (either right or wrong) that he or she is not familiar with any of the spiritual texts pertaining to HER. Preparation to meet a Guru is not like preparing for an exam, as Nora said. But, given the status of the new member whose ignorance (not in a degrading way of reference) is assumed (of course by myself), I will modify Nora's statement, without her permission. So, it might be easier for the new addition to the family understand the preparation itself. Sometimes when the reference to all known quantities are taken out of the reference library (in the mind), everything goes haywire. It is not like preparing for school/university final exams. But it still is like preparing for an exam. Let me put it this way. It is more like attending pre-KG or kindergarten school. One does not prepare for an immediate exam but to prepare themselves for exams some 15 years down the line. Learning alphabets and to count is not going to make anyone pass school finals, but will help them get there in the course of time. Meanwhile, one keeps learning all the necessary skills to do well in exams. And there are several monthly tests, annual exams to pass etc. All these are trainings for the finals. In the same way, preparing oneself for high-gear sadhana is by learning the elementary mantras and pronunciations. Moving forward to more complex slokas and further on. There will be exams at each stage, only the sadhaka will know what they are. It is a very personal experience, unique to the person. Once the sadhaka is ready to take the school finals, he may be bestowed with a Guru. Then higher studies (college) starts. Again depending on the ability of the sadhaka to learn advanced subjects, he or she will be guided through the journey until he or she is ready to face the world on his or her own. This might be the 40th KM mark in the statement quoted by Nora. At each stage there will be a teacher in the form of a book or a friend or parents or siblings etc. All are HER forms which are helping the person. Sometimes to clear up a question, to introduce new/advanced concepts and sometimes to test the sadhaka. Just let go and pray to HER, "I am here as YOU wished. Please guide me!" When SHE decides that the person needs close, explicit guidance for higher studies, SHE will appear as a Guru. |