17th October, 1995
Chapter 2 - The Path To The Goal That Is You
Day 89 - The Spiritual Master
There are 3 Sanskrit words : sukha (pleasure), dukha (sorrow) and sakha (companion). These have one thing in common ‘kha’ which
means senses. The self experiences the world through the senses.
When the senses are with the self, that is joy, or sukha, because the self is the source of all joy or pleasure. When the senses are turned away from the self, or dukha in the mud, lost in the object that is dukha, misery. Mud, misery, mind, they are all connected.
Sukha is the nature of self. And all the sense objects are a diving board to take you back to the self. You close your eyes during any pleasant experience as you smell a nice flower, or as you taste or touch something nice. Sukha is that which takes you to the Self. Dukha is that which takes you away from the self.
Sorrow means that you have been caught up in an object that has pulled you off your Self which is nonchanging. Sakha is the companion who is there in all experiences of dukha sorrow and of sukha pleasure.
Knowledge is your companion, and the master is the embodiment of knowledge. If you are stuck in an object, his wisdom pulls you out and leads you back to yourself. Eakha (sa kha) also means he is the senses. Sakha is one who has become your senses. It means you get Knowledge through him, he is your sixth sense. As you trust your mind, so you trust him.
Usually a friend is an object of your senses, but a sakha has become your senses. Sakha means, ‘He is my senses, I see the world through his wisdom’. Your head will be in the mud in a few years, in the meantime, don’t put mud in your head while you are still alive.
See through the eyes of the Master and you will see the whole world as divine. Do not follow me. In fact, you cannot follow me, because I am behind you to push you forward. You have to leave everything behind and move ahead. All your experiences, your relations everything is a part of the past. Drop everything.
Leave the whole world of your memories behind, including me. Stop looking for more, be free. Then compassion will flow from you.
Question - When people do not follow anyone, is it usually not out of fear or rebelliousness?
Gurudev - One kind of ‘do not follow me’ comes from fear or
rebelliousness. Another kind comes from a heightened awareness. You cannot follow me because I am behind you and I am in you. For too long you have been a sheep, now it is time to be a lion.
Question - How do you feel if someone praises you?
Gurudev - Shy, happy, great, embarrassed. It does something to you, doesn’t it? But it doesn’t do anything to me. When you praise the moon, the mountains, Lake Lucerne, the Black Forest, it doesn’t do anything to them. They remain the same. Just like that, I’m part of nature. If you enjoy praising me, you may do so.
In fact, you have no choice. You can do with me whatever you like, I’m there for you. You are lost on the street. There is rain, thunder, wind and cold, you need shelter. You look around and you find a door. You come to the door because it is more inviting, more charming, more joyful than anything out on the street. When you enter the door of the Master, you come home. You see the world
from a new perspective.
From inside you can still hear the thunder and see the rain, but it no longer disturbs you. Inside there is warmth and security. The world looks much more beautiful, not a nasty place, but a place filled with love, cooperation, compassion. Your fear drops away. When you can see the whole world through the eyes of the Master, it is a sign that you have come to the Master, you have entered the door.
This is the purpose of having a Master. If you are still seeing the world as before, then you have not yet come to the Master, you are still standing out in the street, cold and wet, you are only looking at the door, you have not yet entered in.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji
Celebrating Silence
