A. “Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheswara, Guru Sakshaat Parabrahama Tasmay Sri Guru vai namaha”.
God the preceptor wants all his children to do well and we can give upteen no of examples to prove.
The Lord is the 1st preceptor, he taught the Vedas to brahama, then instructed the mind born sons of Brahama . got sages like Narada, Parsara Vyasa and others to spread true knowledge. Took various incarnations with the aim of helping the masses. He led by example Sri Rama avatar and Sri Krishna avtar where through Bhagwad gita gave to the world means to dispel darkness and ignorance.
It is also said that the preceptor should be venerated and worshiped like the Lord himself because both
Dispel the darkness of ignorance.
Wipe out our sins.
Make us similar to them in qualities.
Confer a new life after permanently eradicating the present life.
Bestow their powerful glances.
Direct the flow of compassion towards us.
Are ever sweet and loving.
Are eternally our masters.
The doctrine of knowledge lit by the preceptor can never be compensated by any student. Thus the preceptor has to be worshiped like the lord himself. He removes the sins and sorrows of those who resort to him.He elevates and uplifts the disciple to his own level. Infact He (every master) wants his disciple to excel over him.
The Alwars have also shown by way of life they led and the works they have left behind that the Lord alone is the preceptor who we should all worship with devotion. Sri Desika compares these alwars to clouds. Just as clouds draw water from the salty ocean but give back sweet rain water, so also these alwars have absorbed the vedic texts which are difficult to understand and have given their essence to the world in the form of hyms in simple tamil which can be easily followed by all sections of the people who read it. It seems the lord himself has given these hyms through the medium of the alwars. Sri desika mentions two of thes alwars Nammalwar referred to as Parankusha who has written 1296 hyms and Tirumangai Alwar as Parakala who has written 1253 hyms. They have shown their deep attachment to the Lord.
It is said that every one should clearly grasp the Artha Panchaka i.e. the five truths to be known.
1. Nature of the supreme.
2. Nature of the individual soul.
3. Means to attain the Supreme.
4. Nature of attainment and
5. Obstacles in the way of attainment.
These are the five truths hidden in the Vedas. The Alwars have beautifully bought them out in their 4000 songs, for the common man to understand.
Some great acaryas who have lived their lives in such a manner that whatever they have done even the slightest deed has set an example for all to follow.
Anjaneya as Acarya.
Sri Vedanta Desika in his allegorical play, Sankalpa Suryodaya refers to Anjaneya as Hanumat samena Guruna. The very essence of Ramayana lies in the verse.
“ darpodagradasendriyaa navamanah naktan charaadhidhishthite.
Dehesmin bhavasindhunaa parigate deenaam dasamaasthitah
Adyatve hanumatsamena gurunaa prakhyaapitaarthah pumaan
Lankaaruddhavideha raajatanayaa nyaayena laalapyatte.”
The ten headed Ravana ruled the iland of Lanka rooted in unrighteousness he abducted sita devi, the wife of Lord Rama, the later sent his confidante Hanuman to lanka to find sita Devi and console her in distress. She in turn sent a jewel as a memento and prayed that the lord Rama save her. The Lord crossed over to lanka defeated Ravana and took back Sita Devi. This as we know is the story of Ramayana. A deeper insight into it will reveal the vedantic meaning, there is not one Lanka and not one Ravana. This can be compared to the mind within every living being with ten heads. 5 senses of knowledge Janamendriyas and five senses of action Karmendriyas. The mind with its ten heads is swollen with pride. The Jivatma resides in the body engulfed by the ocean of samsara. Jivatma has become a slave to the senses ruled by the mind. Lord Rama Sends a guru of the caliber of Hanuman to console Sitadevi and wants to be united with her in the end. So too the emissary in the form of acaryas saves the jivatma from the ocean of samsara and be finally liberated and united with the Lord. Thusm the most important part is played by the guru. Hence the guru should be treated like God.
As the famous saying goes:
Mathru devo bhava;
Pitru devo bhava;
Guru devo bhava:
The status of the guru is as important os the status given to matha and pitha.
There are also rules for the acharya, the vices every acharya should be devoid of are desire, anger, avarice, delusion or pride and envy or jealousy namely kaama, krodha, lobha, moha and mada maatsarya. One who has conquered all these vices is a great person and fit to be an acharaya. How we know of Hanuman being a great Acharaya is by the fact that he had four obstacles In his path .
1. The mainaka mountains.
2. Surasa the naaga matha.
3. Simhika the Asura woman.
Lanka devi the guardian at the gates of Lanka.
Mainaka tempeted Hanuman by offering him fruits and aromatic roots and the option of resting for a while on his way. But he was so steadfast to achieve what he had set out to do that he denied and conquered Kama. The Naagamata swore to gobble him up he conquered her thus conquering krodha, Simhika pulled anjaneyas shadow by conquering her he was rid of lobha and lanka devi attacked her like an acharya he removed her delusion of ignorance and thus showed that he had no moha nor did he have any pride. He told Sita devi on meeting her and to assure her that the vanara army had great individuals, he was but a mear little monkey, so we can see that he had no pride either. He had no jealously too as he was proud of the fact that he was a servant of Rama Lakshmana and Sugriva. Thus Anjaneya Sri Vedanta Desika says stands as a shining example of an Acharaya.
Duties of Disciples.
Sri Vedanta Desika lists out in Srimad Rahasyatnayasana the six ways in which the disciples should express their gratitude to their preceptors.
1. Unswearving devotion to their preceptor.
2. Expounding his greatness.
3. Taking care of the preceptors property and possessions.
4. Preserving the tradition and transferring them to a worthy disciple.
5. Remaining indebted to him.
6. Leading a spotless life, having the highest devotion to the preceptor.
The Vedas and other spiritual texts enjoin that the preceptor should be treated as God. Acharaya devo bhava. As towards god so towards acharaya. Also yathaa devo tathaa guruhu.
The disciple in private conversation or public display should show the greatest regard and devotion to the acharaya and should also take steps to spread the acharaya name and fame. He should also take care of the acharaya property and possessions. He should project the teachings and view of his preceptor and transfer them to worthy disciples in his turn. He should always remain greatful to the preceptor at all times. Swamy Desika further declares that even the omniscient and omnipotent lord cannot compensate the preceptor who dispelled the darkness in the pupils mind by lighting the bright lamp of wisdom in him.
Lightening examples of living a sishyas life to its full can be seen in Bharata. The devotion he had for Sri Rama was immense. He lived the life of a sishya in every aspect. Another great example of how one should conduct onself acceptable and one with the lord is the shining example of Sri Andal. Her love and devotion to the lord her gathering her friends to serve the lord and every thing she did was only with one aim in life to reach the ultimate. Pages can be written on what a shining example of dasa bakthi. The whole play of the universe is the ultimate goal of being one with the lord. Let us make ourselves worthy of reaching an iota of that bhakti. We can only hope to conduct ourselves in such a manner that it should please the almighty. So consciously let us all live our lives with only that motive in life.
To summise.
The Acharya reveals to the jivas the intimate relation existing between the later and Narayana . The lord of Lakshmi who is the lord and ruler of the entire universe. They try earnestly to help the jivas attain the lord and feel that the attainment of the glory of moksha by the jivas would give them as much delight as the soverenity of vaikunta and the whole earth. With the help of words, neither excessive nor defective the acharya desire to remove the ignorance doubts and erroneous notions of the jivas. They teach them the true nature of God, soul and Body.
For such a guru or acharya should not we or students not show the utmost respect and consideration. Can any one pay back such an acharaya? What ever we do for such a guru is not repayable for the great deed he has done to the sishya.
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