Godmen 101

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I was just back home from my one week stay at Chinmaya Vibhooti, Kolwan, when the news of the now infamous and self styled Swami Srihari from Kerala hit the headlines. It was very saddening and disgusting that these so called Swamis and godmen again and again exploit the purity and the piety of the saffron robe for power, position, money and sexual thrills. It is because of men like him that the word "ashram" itself has taken a lewd connotation in today's parlance and Swamis are looked down with sneer and mistrust.

In my own case, when I tell people that I am going to stay in an ashram for a week, mostly they raise their concern about my safety -my actual physical safety and my psychological safety..."what if they brainwash you and make you a monk? what if they hypnotize you into one of their mad fanatic followers? What if they make you sign over all that you own for their ashram? what if...what if..." the questions go on and on.

Having been closely associated with  not one, but two ashrams, I feel very frustrated when I come across so much fear that is associated with ashrams and Swamis. It is such a shame, because going to ashram often proves to be one of the most uplifting experiences that I can have -a place where I apply myself to studies, meditation and worship. It is a place where I get to spend my time fully with myself in an atmosphere of peace and serenity, charged by so many fellow seekers who are doing their Sadhana. Added to that, if the Master is there at the ashram, it becomes heaven on earth.

The base or the focal point of any ashram is the Master (alive or not). Ashram is thus the place where the residents and disciples can practice the teachings of the Master. Many ashrams now have branches in many different geographical locations but still, the Master remains the same. It all boils down to the Master and His teachings.

So what are the qualities of a true Master? How can I identify Him / Her?

To begin with, Self -Realized Masters are Gods themselves. I am not talking as a blind devotee or a superstitious person here. I am talking from the point of logic. As I have been repeating here again and again, when we lose our identification with this body and mind, we understand that we are God ourselves -a part of Him, but complete and whole.

The Masters are reveling in this state of Godhood. Full of pure love and bliss, being in their presence itself will engulf one with grace. But, to even know that they are Masters, we also need to evolve a little. Hence, to even attempt to categorize / analyze the Masters is often beyond our capacity and something that must not be undertaken in the spirit of testing the Master or undermining their greatness.

But here are some pointers of a true Master...this is purely in the context of being cautious in today's world of bogus Godmen.

A True Master
  • Never emphasizes His / Her Godliness. Makes the devotees / disciples turn towards God.
  • Is not a one stop solution for all our material / day to day problems
  • Never promises overnight self-realization.
  • Never promises wealth / health / material success by practicing His / Her teachings
  • Never asks one to forgo his / her duties. In fact, emphasizes on performing the duties to their best capacity -as a mother / father, husband /wife, son /daughter, employee /employer etc.
  • Never has any unnecessary physical contact with others
  • Never encourages the use of any mind altering drugs / medications for deepening the practice of meditation. Strictly abhors them.
  • Their teachings and practices are often in line with those of other great Masters  -because the Truth that they are preaching is one
  • Emphasizes the necessity of their disciples leading a simple, truthful and devoted life
  • Discipline, universal love, brotherhood, patience, kindness, acceptance, dedication, devotion are some of the mainstays of their teachings
  • Is there to guide. But it is upto the self efforts of the disciple / devotee to reach his / her own Truth.
  • Their method for reaching the Truth falls in one of the 4 paths -bakti , gnyana, karma and raja yoga. But all the 4 paths are practiced in tandem, with a primary emphasis on one path
These are some of the pointers, listed with all due respect, love and gratitude for all the great Masters.

The path of spirituality is a lot of hard work and effort. It is not an excuse to escape from our duties and responsibilities. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise :)

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