“Pingalanaga! Come here! Revered saints, you too please come! All of you love to be in the Guru’s presence. However you have all failed to imbibe the essence of the ‘Guru’ (Guru tattva). Just as the pebbles existing in the waters of the Ganga for centuries have been unable to absorb even a drop of that water, you too have remained as you are. At least now make attempts to understand the essence of Guru”. This is what Datta says in ‘Datta Darshanam’ (a book which explains the life story of Datta and penned by Sri Swamiji).

Guru Datta is the primordial Guru (Adi Guru). He is the essence of the Supreme Almighty, the Supreme bliss. He not only fulfills our desires but also ensures that newer desires are not created. With this, at the end, all our desires would have got washed away and only pure devotion will remain.

As Brahma, it is He who creates doubts and confusions. It is He, as Vishnu, who strengthens and empowers them. Finally as Shiva, it is He who dispels all your doubts, confusions and problems. Who knows, perhaps these doubts, these confusions and the struggle to get out of them is itself your penance? May be this is your luck. He always has the perfect diagnosis for your disease and administers the correct remedial medicines.

All of you are desirous of getting the Supreme Knowledge. Therefore, put in efforts to understand the essence (tattva) of the real Guru Sacchidananda (sat+chit+ananda or truth+ knowledge+ bliss). Only then will you be able to truly relate to your Guru from deep within and can be close to Him.

First and foremost, to understand this essence, that at all times, under all circumstances you should think of the Guru, repeat His name constantly, and offer seva.

Once you have chosen someone as your Sadguru, your mind and intellect should be fixed on Him only. Just as Nandi has his gaze fixed on Lord Shiva, Mooshika (mouse) has its gaze fixed on Lord Ganapati, and the lion has its gaze fixed on Devi, the devotee’s gaze should be fixed totally on the Sadguru.

Although we have to go about completing our daily chores, our office routines, our duties and various other worldly matters, we should not allow our intellect (buddhi) to get attached to any one of them. At all times, internally we should be thinking about our Sadguru. This itself is symbolized by the flow of oil (taila dhara) in the temple. In a temple, oil constantly falls on the head of the deity.

Bhajans, meditation, japa, pujas, reading of holy books and other such activities should be undertaken with the objective of slowly directing the intellect towards the Guru. Gradually, with their help, the thoughts, followed by the mind will turn towards the Guru. This will cause the ego to be totally routed out from you.

Only after a firm decision sprouts in you that Swamiji’s association should remain a permanent factor, Swamiji will, without your knowledge, minutely observe you and pluck out the impurities from within you. Thus, through this process of refinement, gradually you will be rendered pure.

You should get the realization that during those times when He is not externally speaking to you, He is in fact conversing with you internally.

A Sadguru has neither happiness nor sorrows. He joyfully laughs with those who are happy and shares the grief of those who are in deep sorrow. These joys and sorrows do not affect Him. He is over and above all these. A Guru is like a very pure mirror that can reflect and show to you your own true form (swaroopa) as it exists.

When your mind is devoid of any form of impurities and is totally pure, you think that Swamiji is in a very good mood. On the other hand, when your mind is impure or is clouded with doubts and confusions, you feel that Swamiji is in a bad mood. The truth is that He has no moods. It is purely your imagination. It is your creation and imagination.

Plucking out the impurities from within you is a task that comes with many difficulties. Just as the various layers of the coconut shell need to be scraped and pulled out to get the coconut, here too each layer of your impurity needs to be pulled out, one by one.

With this, the first step would have got completed. Although a great amount of ego would have been pulled out, yet in some form, it would still be existing somewhere at a deeper level. This needs to be broken totally. Just as a coconut is broken to get the tender, pure flesh as well as the water inside, the Sadguru needs to break this ego in the devotee to get the sweet fruit that exists within. With this, the devotee gets the pure knowledge of the Self.

Hence, once you get closer to Swamiji and are a little familiar with the greatness and the energy in Him, then do not pester Him further with unnecessary questions, interviews and so on. Only what is destined will happen.

As a second step, your job is to merely obey and follow Swamiji. If you still insist that you will continue to behave as you behaved in those initial days when you first approached Swamiji, then it is your fate. You will remain far from Swamiji. There will be no question of proceeding on the path towards your true goal.

In the initial days when you come to Swamiji, based on your samsakaras (impressions of past births), Swamiji pulls you closer. From then on, Swamiji will wait till you develop full faith, confidence, trust, belief and devotion towards Him. Only after that, Swamiji will begin to indicate to the devotee as to what should be done and what should not be (in this life’s journey). He remains as a good ‘guide’ who shows the right path in life, witnessing minutely all that is happening and grants the results that are needed in this world and the next. He does this as per Lord Datta’s orders.

With Datta as a witness, when you show your mental readiness to serve Swamiji in each and every activity of His without entertaining any negative thoughts, then He makes attempts to show you the true essence (tattva) of that Supreme. Those who relentlessly render Guru seva without being negligent will, without facing any obstacles, get sankalpa siddhi and will reach that ultimate stage from which there is no necessity of taking re-birth.

Bhaktimala Aug 1985, June & Dec 1986, June 1987, Jan & April 1990, Sep 1991