Niisargadatta Maharaj Talking of Gurus Grace

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Nisargadatta Maharaj - Talking of Gurus Grace

by Aalif Surti

The relationship between t he aspirant and the guru is truly special, as can be seen in these

personal stories of t heir gurus benediction that many of our readers have shared with us

Teaching no-t hing

In the summer of 1989, I was invited to Yogaville, Swami Satchidanandas ashram in Buckingham, Virginia,

USA to perf orm comedy as my alter ego, Swami Beyondananda. Although I had heard that Gurudev had a

great sense of humour and loved to laugh, this was a bit intimidating. Aft er all, here I was perf orming sht ickwearing (in those days) a rainbow clown wig in f ront of a genuine swami.

My wife Trudy and I arrived a day or two early, and took a t our of the Lotus Shrine. The Lotus Shrine is a

beautif ul temple, dedicated to celebrating the t ruth in every religion. The slogan above the entrance says:

One truth, many paths. So as not to exclude anyone, the Shrine even has a section honouring atheism.

(Hey, just because you dont believe in God doesnt mean that God doesnt believe in you!)

The f irst night, we at tended a satsang with Swami Satchidananda and it put a smile on my f ace just to be in

his presence. At one point , Gurudev said something that gave me an idea. He was talking about

enlightenment and said: If you want to be enlightened, you must desire nothing. Now, at that time, I had

manufactured and was selling funny, colourf ul, playful boxes o f nothing. I had an entire routine developedaround the concept that this box was t he ultimate enlightenment product because no thing was guaranteed

to so lve all your problems instantly. With just a little bit o f trepidation, I did the nothing bit during my

perf ormance and watched Swami Satchidananda laugh uproariously. Af ter the show, I presented him with a

box o f Nothing to help him gain enlightenment. We all laughed, and as you can see f rom the photo ,

Gurudev clearly gave Nothing his st amp of approval.

Fast f orward f ive years, and I receive a call f rom Yogaville. A huge event was being planned for December

1994 to celebrate Gurudevs 80th birthday. Would I be willing to come to specif ically do my nothing routine

at the celebration? My answer was yes, and I joined a slew of musicians and other celebrities to honour a

being who dedicated his public lif e to f inding and creating common ground among all spiritual pathsandreminding us all that happiness is an inside job.

In keeping with the spirit of joy and laughter, a f arce f ield was inadvertently created. The speaker right

before me was Dr Dean Ornish, f amous f or his very successf ul programme f or treating heart disease. Dr

Ornish, as I recall, was a pretty serious guy who had no idea what I was going to say. He to ld his own sto ry

of how his lif e was t ransf ormed by meeting Sri Gurudev. When he was still in school, he went through a

period o f deep depression, and so meone took him to meet Swami Satchidananda. When I to ld Gurudev

that I was seeking happiness, Dr Ornish recalled, he gently laughed and said, Nothing will make you

happy. That insight changed my life. And then I was o n, pitching my Nothing box! What a set up! I sold a lo t

of boxes of Nothing that night.

Although we have long since run out of boxes of Nothing to sell, Gurudevs message still resonates.

Nothing, no thing can make us happy. Happiness is a condition that, like Spirit, transcends circumstance.

For years, the photo o f Gurudev, Trudy and I, and Nothing, graced my sales table at performances. Today,

it s its in f ront of my computer so I am reminded and inspired each time I sit down to write.
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I didnt know Gurudev well, at least not perso nally. I wasnt what you would call a devotee. But I recall a

being who loved poetry and word play, who loved lif e and lived joy. May his memory inspire us to f ind cause

f or celebration instead of separation, and f ind our happiness not f rom what does o r doesnt happen in our

lives, but f rom the deep well of joy that is the Source of wellness .

Steve Bhaerman

Steve Bhaerman aka Swami Beyondananda is humorist and author of a new boo k, Swami for Precedent: A

7-Step Plan to Heal the Body Politic and Cure Electile Dysf unction.

Website: www.wakeuplaughing.com.

Diamonds of grace

I was 25, a Stanford graduate and PhD student. I was a scient ist , an academic. I thought I understood it all.

Or mos t o f it, anyway. And then I entered His room, in a f ar of f corner of the world, 7000 miles f rom home,

as a river worshipped as the Mother Goddess f lowed past .

His eyes pierced the thin veil of understanding I thought I had. His presence caused the very fabric of the

world I knew to unravel. His words revealed to me, for the f irst time, the Truth of existence. A wave of the

purest love, light, peace and bliss washed over my entire being, penetrating through the skin, into thenucleus o f every cell. The wave washed through the recesses of my heart, healing in an instant pain which

had festered there f or years. The ocean of his divine light washed through my brain, making a mockery of

the education I thought I had, tearing to shreds the truth I had been taught. It washed through the very

core o f my being, bringing every sense, perception, thought, f eeling, and emot ion to a standstill.

I had been raised to believe that God could not be seen or f elt. The God of my religion did not , ever,

incarnate in f orm. We were taught t hat God was a f ormless, nameless, unknowable, omnipotent Force to

be f eared. Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, I was f ace to f ace with the Divine in the f orm of a simple, humble

Indian saint, draped in orange robes with divine love and light s treaming f rom every pore o f his being. It was

a f act that even the scientist in me could not refute. The divinity o f his presence was tangible, palpable,

unmistakable and undeniable. This realisat ion that I was in the presence of God belied everything Id ever

been taught, everything Id heard, everything Id read. Yet it was t ruer than the very fact o f my own

existence. It was t ruer than the blue of the sky or t he green of the leaves.

I was miles f rom the home I had always known, f rom my f amily, f rom the world I had made my own. Yet as I

stoo d on the banks o f Mother Ganga, listening to Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswati s ing, carrying us on

the wings of his voice to God, suddenly nothing else mattered. To be here, on these sacred banks, to have

His divine darshan that cradled my spirit and soul was all that mattered.

But how could you take sanyas? people ask. Youre so young. Or: How could you leave everything

behind? Dont you ever miss America? Dont you miss the comf ort and lif e you had there? When one is

walking empty-handed on the beach, one is f requently drawn to t he pretty seashells o r rocks on t he sand

and one might even bend down to pick so me up. But if one were walking with pearls in ones hands, one

would never even notice the seashells or rocks, let alone bend down to collect them. My Guru has poured

diamonds into my hands, of truth, peace, serenity, bliss , and union with God. How could I bemoan the lack

of rocks in my lif e? How could I miss the days o f collecting scattered seashells when my hands are now

overf lowing with the diamonds o f His grace?

Sadhvi Bhagwati, Rishikesh

Guide and transformer

Despite my eagerness, I could not f ind the real path t owards spirituality until I came in contact with an

engineer through work. He initiated my wife and I into the art of listening the voice of silence (shabad) thatis ever present within. The experiences that f ollowed were totally new fo r us, and to ok us beyond physical

boundaries into spheres where we experienced rare visions, colours, lights, sounds and at times, a state of

nothingness.


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We had an opportunity to meet the Guru, Thakar Singh Maharaj, head of the Ruhani Satsang Society.

Maharaj provided teachings of listening to the sound o f silence called shabad or dhun. Meetings with

Maharaj enabled us to hear without external ears, and the shabad became melodious, intense and regular.

We also underwent transf ormations so t hat anger subsided, f eelings of internal power were enhanced,

st ress diminished and ef f iciency at work improved.

My wife and I cont inued with morning and evening meditat ion, and f elt incomplete the day we missed either

session. My wif e has advanced greatly and is able to read auras and discern the character of a person by

ust looking at him. Remembering the Guru and living spiritually reso lved problems no t o nly in perso nal lif ebut also on the work f ront . The Guru is protecto r, guide, initiator and transf ormer for me. In the past seven

years, miracles have happened ef f ort lessly through his grace.

I do not know where I have reached on the spiritual journey. The Guru knows and guides us to higher levels

based on our seriousness and devotion. The journey continues.

S.K. Dodeja, via email

Flower of divine love

I can never forget my f irst meeting with Pujya Ma in 1978. I quest ioned her about yoga, Vedanta and

meditation and was surprised and disappointed when she interjected: But have you f orgotten Jesus

Christ? Her insight into Christ s life and teachings was so o riginal and fascinating that I was soon

converted. Pujya Ma explained: We should never give up the religion into which we have been born through

destiny. We come to acceptance and understanding of ot her faiths through sincerely practising our own.

God is One, and ultimately all religions are paths to the same destination.

Students of Pujya Ma come f rom dif f erent backgrounds, and cannot be called disciples, nor does Pujya Ma

claim to be a spiritual teacher. When I addressed her as guru, she replied: I am neither wort hy to become a

guru, nor do I wish to be one. Rather join me in humble obeisance, and let us go t o the Lords doo r

to gether. Pujya Ma has never asked me to give up anythingpossessions, money, f amily, or adopt any

st rict discipline. We are all f ree to quest ion whatever we hear or read. All Pujya Ma has ever taken f rom me

is my accumulated tension, hypocrisy, self ishness, concepts and delusions.

The only rules at the Arpana Ashram in Haryana are that everyone should at tend daily prayer meetings,

share mealtimes and work f ulltime. Even these simple injunctions are not enf orced, because Pujya Ma says

that only discipline imposed from within provides an atmosphere conducive to spiritual growth. Pujya Mas

philosophy is that anyone can practise spirituality. She calls this the playway metho d. She af f irms that

there are no boundaries between the spiritual and the mundane. Our lives must ref lect the Truth in every

aspect of our work and dealings with others.

Pujya Ma has given us the opportunity to serve those less f ortunate. Health and community services have

taken ro ot in villages around our centres in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. She tells us: You are the real

benef iciaries, because they have given you this opportunity to become better human beings. Our only wageis the happiness we get f rom serving the Lord.

Years ago, Ma asked me to take up the garden as my respo nsibility. How painful it was f or Pujya Ma, an

expert gardener herself , to see my fumbling attempts in the garden. Yet she never told me how to work, but

gave me boo ks and too ls and a f ree hand. She to ld me the garden was my guru. Simultaneously, she was

clearing my doubts , planting a seed in an aspirants heart, and f os tering its slow growth within; clearing the

weeds of complexes, and nurturing humane qualities.

Pujya Ma explains that guru and disciple have to become one in spirit, united in the performance of action

to wards t he common goal. When we conjoin our energies with those o f a guru, and her words become

mantras, we automatically receive spiritual knowledge and learn its practical aspect. Through Mas grace,

the Guru and Goal are truly one.

Mark Henderson-Begg, Karnal

Guiding light


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Dispeller of darkness, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev lit a lamp in my path. When the f ire of my longing doesnt

burn bright, Sadhguru is always there. Once, a few Isha Yoga volunteers gathered around Sadhguru under a

tree. As he illust rated his childhoo d memories o f climbing trees and swaying in deep meditat ion, my mind

wandered of f . All this is f ine but how is it possible fo r me?

Abruptly he looked at me and said: Sue, why dont you climb this tree? Caught unawares , I gingerly to ok

small steps. Laughing at my apprehension he said: Go up f urther. Sensing my hesitat ion, he exclaimed: Oh

this is how she pursues the spiritual path also . Every step I to ok up towards the top o f the tree, whatever I

f elt, he ref lected. Every doubt, every conf usion vehemently surf aced in my mind and was instant ly piercedwith or without his words. As I descended f rom the t ree, I could feel those limitations just vanishing within

me and I was drenched in humble gratitude. The rock of ignorance that I have slumbered upon has sprung

into wakefulness by the grace of my Guru.

Sue Shewale, Isha Foundation, via email

Subtle transmission

Married into a conservative f amily, with my children in boarding school, lif e was lonely. My mind turned

inwards and my urge to know the Self became intense. Around this t ime I met Swami Purnanandji, a

renowned Raj Yogi and spiritual healer f rom Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

Sadhana with Swamiji was ef f ort less yoga. I was to sit at a set t ime in a clean empty room for one hour in

the morning and evening. Swamiji gave me mud f rom the banks o f the Ganga to make a low platf orm to s it

upon with copper wire f ixed to it. In this way, he imparted knowledge to me f rom a distance of 45 km, not

through words but in a subtle form. His teaching was so ef f ective that in a few months I experienced

savikalpa and nirvikalpa samadhi. But, he said, this is not the end. One must practise to be in total

awareness at every moment.

Af ter this my whole at titude towards lif e changed. I dealt with the world and f ulf illed my duties, but none of

it had any impact on me. I realised this when my husband passed away suddenly. I was in tot al awareness

with the bless ing of Swamiji. I consoled my children and made arrangements f or t he last rites. Though

Swamiji is no more, he is ever with me. He reminds me that a capable guru can lead disciples t o truth o nly aslong as they have the intense desire to know.

Girirajkumari Kushwaha, Vadodara

The way within

You do your best and accept the results gracef ullythis is the teaching of my satguru Yogiraj Sri Sri

Mangeshda, whom we aff ectionately call Dada. A direct disciple of Mahavatar Babaji, Dada does no t like to

advertise this, as he wants people to come to him only to gain knowledge of Kriya Yoga. Dada moves

around like an ordinary human being, clad in a pair of jeans, teaching us how to incorporate spirituality in

day-t o-day lif e.

I had tried various paths in spirituality but I resisted change and felt f rustrated. All my learning cameto gether in a subtle f orm the day Dada entered my lif e. Together with meditat ion, alternative healing, self -

recognition and development programme, a residential programme How to be Happy where he teaches how

to live happily moment to moment, and initiat ion into Kriya Yoga, Dada turned me f rom a discontented

person into a true seeker.

With the pract ice of Kriya Yoga and regular meditat ion, I have embarked on a journey within the self with my

satguru as guide and mentor. In this journey, the dest ination is not as import ant as walking on the path, and

with Dada f irmly by my side, guiding me at each breath, the path promises to be interesting.

Jaya Laungani, Mumbai

Merging with Mother

I came to Mother Shivaa feeling very small, threatened, filled with f ear and a sense of loss. From the f irst

time I met Mother, I knew I was in the presence o f Light. Soo n, I realised that being in her presence, being

guided by her, is the process of illumination. Her being manifest s beauty and love in everyone who is

to uched by her grace. Every time she guides us in meditation, I feel the transformational power of that


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grace. Its to uch changes everything. Absence becomes presence, an idea becomes experience, a question

becomes an answer, f ragments coalesce to f orm a whole.

In meditation, Mothers grace is the current that leads everyone t owards ever-deeper awareness. Flowing in

it, and with it, my being held by hers, the drop merges with its source. Outside the meditative state, I am a

drop again. But I am neither separate no r small. Everything of the sea is in a drop. Mother s grace has

enabled me to live in this awareness. It has enabled me to breathe again, to hear the silence at the end of

each breath, the inf initesimal pause that ho lds eternity.

Ranu Sharma, new delhi

A beautiful life

For years I had been leading a hectic lif e, but things f elt imperfect. Then I met someone who t ransf ormed

my spirita gentle, humble, graceful, sof t- spoken bundle of treasureMeena Om. A so othing voice, which

acted as a balm to the bruised soul, compassionate eyes t hat melted the darkest suspicions, and an

inspiring persona t hat brought hope and a spirit of wanting to achieve the impossible. She f ascinated me.

How could so meone claim: Lif e is beautif ul, lets make it more beautif ul, or that: The only sin we commit is

we do not live lif e f ully?

Never has Meenaji in the seven years that I have known her f orced me to do what she says or even tried to

mould my individuality. Where on earth would I f ind a person who is so content in her communion with the

Supreme that when she says: I will be happy if you f ind happiness elsewhere, because f or me it means one

less person to nurture, I see a caref ree Suf i st reak in her, her divine unconditional love an equal mixture of

love and severity, much like Nature.

As I ref lect on her radical inf luence in my life, I see how slo wly, gent ly and with supreme wisdo m, she cut my

being to t ransf orm me. Meenaji is a ref lection of the supreme cosmic intelligence. She has helped me

surmount so many challenges that today, shared secrets bond me and the universe, and I have the wisdom

to smile and announce: Lif e is beautif ul, lets make it more beautif ul.

Anjali Anubhuti Kalia, new delhi

Self as guru

I st arted my spiritual journey 18 years ago . Beginning with meditat ion and pranayam, I longed f or a guru,

hoping for a trigger for f aster progress. I got a boos t practising reiki, and began reading books on

spirituality and attended several workshops like C.E.T., Art of Living, Rebirthing, Self -hypnosis, and so on.

My desire f or a guru increased in intensity. For a t ime, I was able to study with dif f erent gurus, even taking

diksha f rom one, but those associations came to an end due to the imperfections I perceived in my

teachers and their organisations.

I now wonder about the need for a diksha guru. A guru who is needy himself and to f ulf il his needs has to

be manipulative and partial, cannot be a true guide. The true guide lies within each of us. We know what

good qualities we should have. All we need is to practise them and the res t comes as a by-product. All the

goodies o f not only the spiritual path but the material world as well will then ef f ort lessly f low into our lives.

Despite my negative experiences, I do no t have any good o r ill f eelings towards anyone. I believe that both

these emotions are two sides of the same coin. I live this lif e not with grace f rom a guru but with my own

grace.

Ramesh Shani, Mumbai

Practice made perfect

When I was 15 somebody gave me a copy o f Osho Times and that mot ivated me to read and understand

Osho. Reading him at t hat tender age has given me a deeper understanding of life, pain, suf f ering, hatred

and anger. I couldnt complete my graduation but because of practising Oshos t eachings, self -conf idence

arose in me.

Af ter imbibing Osho I can say that my anger has reduced by 80 per cent . The method that has worked f or

me is watching. If anger is arising I st op my activities and watch it: breathe out, go away, wash your f ace, do


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some gibberish. Af ter some time, the intensity of anger goes down. If I had poured it on so mebody I would

have los t that person. I have tried it rigorously f or two years. Practising what I read f rom Osho is my

workshop; I work on myself .

For example, Ive heard Osho say it t akes 21 days f or t he mind to change a habit. To experiment, I st arted

putt ing my handkerchief in the lef t pocket instead of the right. Really, it to ok 21 days for my hand not t o go

to the right pocket automaticallycomplete t ransf ormation. Democrat by heart and dictator by the brainI

have learned this f rom Osho by a rigorous commitment.

Rajesh Agrawal, Delhi

Guru as mother

I cannot dream of life without my sadguru, Swami Satchidananda of Anandashram in Kanhangad, Kerala. His

life is his teaching. Whenever I f eel depressed, I remember his words: You are not alone. Surrender to the

Divine. Thy Will be done. Once when I requested him to write his auto biography, he refused, saying: I have

not attained anything.

Swamiji takes care of his disciples like a mother taking care of her newborn baby. He f orgets his body and

works hard. He treats everyone alike and is a real communist in that sense. His mere presence is

rejuvenating. Swamiji cannot to lerate his devotees suf f ering. In his compassion, he helps them overcome

any dif f iculty. When one asks f or his blessings, he says: Papas (his gurus) blessings. He is s till serving

his departed masters , Swami Ramdas (Papa) and Mata Krishnabai.

When I saw him the last time, he to ld me not to see him in his photo or as physical f orm, but to see him in

everything and to commune with him in my heart. With this, he is taking me f rom the unreal to t he real.

V. Sreelakshmi, Trivandrum

Inner voice

Sheikh Farid said: Vass i Rab hiyaliye, Bahar kya dhoondey,(God resides within, why search outside?).

These days, following a guru seems to be the badge one needs to be part o f the spiritual club. Else you

may be cast as an impoverished soul not o n any path and unworthy of interest. We operate our spiritual

lives with a herd mentality, going by the growing number of gurus, yajnas, mantras, Kundalini awakeners and

so on, in the spiritual marketplace. We are mesmerised by miracles. We weave f iction into f acts to add the

required zing to our experiences when we recount them to f riends. Af ter all, we must have experiences to

show fo r the path we have chosen.

If one examines all the spoken and written words on the subject, God resides within us, and God-

realisat ion or self -realisation will only come with inward searching. Then it must be reasonable to expect

the guru to take us t o that goal within. For me, that guru is our own inner voice. Call it conscience, or the

watcher, or what you will.

The inward Guru leads, and becomes f or methat which tells right f rom wrong, guides my actions, withwhom I debate my indecisions, unf olds the truth, moves me to compassion, makes me think, sublimates my

evil thoughts in rightf ulness, moves me to understanding, builds relationships and teaches me how to hold

them, brims with joy at natures mystery, moves me to serve and pray, and creates peacef ulness in my

meditat ion. That is my Guru, teacher, guidewithin me, of me, who really makes the me in me.

Usha Partap Singh, New Delhi

Precious gift

I took sanyas at an Osho Meditation Camp in 1998. Af ter a f ew months o f regular meditation, my entire

lifestyle changed and I f elt myself become wiser, happier, more aware. But so mething was missing.

My search f or a living master ended when I met Osho Siddhartha. I att ended the Osho Dhara DhyanSamadhi programme at Osho Gangot ri Dham in Chitwan, Nepal. The f irst three days focused on ananda

pragya (wisdom to live bliss f ully) based on t he Buddhas eightf old path with science of spiritualism given by

Paramguru Osho, modif ied and f ramed by Osho Siddhartha. Here I got sutras, t ips, and samyak drishti to

lead a bliss f ul personal, prof essional and social lif e. I was not the same person.


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On the eighth day of the programme, I got initiated into what is called anhad deeksha or naam daan and

was introduced to one dimension o f GodOmkaar. I was f illed with t ears and every cell of my body was in

gratitude towards my guru. It was then that I understoo d Meera: Vastu amolak di mere Sadguru, (my

Sadguru has given me a precious gif t).

Swami Antar Daulat

(Karunesh Kumar), Dhanbad

A new life

In 2000 my wife signed up for the Art of Living course. I ended up attending it instead of her and then

encouraged her to do it as well. Some months later, we visited t he Ashram (the AOL internat ional ashram

located 21 km f rom Bangalore) and bumped into our AOL teacher there.

She insisted that we stay back f or the pooja, but we decided to give it a skip. Though spiritually inclined

since childhood, rituals put me of f , and we had visited the Ashram more out o f curios ity than f or any

specif ic purpose in any case.

The next t rip to the Ashram was in early 2001. As we were wandering around, we came to the place where

Guruji (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) was giving darshan. It was the f irst time I was in his presence. He gazed into my

eyes and asked: Are you happy? The gaze was deep, penetrating; there was something magical in thoseeyes. And then something happened! I couldnt say I wasnt happy even though I was going through health

and prof essional problems.

Since that day, my problems have vanished, even health problems that had dogged me since 1991

diminished by the regular practice of Sudarshan Kriya. Finances suddenly st arted to look up, and I am doing

well prof essionally now. Things that used to bother me earlier, no longer do. It is as if I am living a new lif e.

And all this just by being graced by his look, I never had to state anything explicit ly to him. I never had to ask

himall changes were gradual.

We started visiting the Ashram just to be in his presence. We did the advanced AOL courses and started

organising regular satsangs. Today, we feel his presence everywhere and in everything we do.

I have never heard Guruji say: I am God, worship me. It is always: If I am God, so are you, recognise the

divinity in everyone. We are truly blessed to be touched by the grace of an enlightened so ul.

Raj Waghray, Bangalore

Darkness disappears

Many quest ions remained unanswered in my mind through my life, as I grew up, got a good education and

got married. I read a lot on posit ive thinking and spirituality. Yet I searched for a guru who would put t hings

in the right perspective.

Then something happened that jolted me out of my comfort zone. At this t ime, I read Spirituality Made

Simple by Vikas Malkani. Everything seemed to so rt itself out , as if the dark clouds had disappeared.

One day, I was surf ing TV channels and saw the name Vikas Malkani in a programme. I felt a co nnection

and wanted to explore f urther. Finding out that he lived close by, I st arted at tending his weekly satsangs. As

the weeks ro lled by, things s tarted changing for me. Now I realise what it means when they say that when

the student is ready, the master will arrive.

Dr Bina Nangia, new delhi

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Niisargadatta Maharaj Talking of Gurus Grace