Darshan, Grace of the Guru, Part Five
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: (This also contains a lesson from Chapter 45, Spiritual Training.) From some gurus the darshan is deeply loving, warm and gentle. From others it is fiery, sharp and profoundly detached. Many have a darshan so deep it cannot be readily felt, so withdrawn is their consciousness from this plane. If you are a meditator who has had inner experiences of light and are living a strict, disciplined life, you will reach a point in your unfoldment of sensitivity enough to feel and distinguish the darshan of a satguru. The vibration of the soul of an aspirant on the path when he is meditating is realized by the satguru, and this is the time he helps the most. These two darshans—yours and that of the satguru—then meet, causing a spiritual dynamic, the bliss of superconscious darshan. The vibration of darshan knows no time or space. Darshan with the Satguru develops inner psychic bonds between the devotee and the Satguru.
Transcription:
Good morning everyone. And this morning we're finishing up Chapter 45: "Spiritual Training". This is our last chapter from "The 1972 Master Course" we were about to jump up to 1978 next time, see, can see how Gurudeva's theme changed over the years. So what will be different in 1978?
Lesson 309:
"The Meeting of Two Darshans
"Once someone said of my guru, Yogaswami, 'You have to make yourself like a fool to go in front of that man. He will speak as a madman of God to you. But if you go to him in an ordinary state of consciousness, he will say, ‘I’m just like you. Go away. I have nothing to say. Nothing comes from the inside. Go away!’ You have to be an intellectual fool to be in front of the satguru. If you hear ordinary things from the guru, look closely at yourself. He is your closest mirror. He is only biding his time with you until the extraordinary ones come along to utilize his depths. Most gurus enjoy an exquisite inner life that is so refined and interesting, it keeps them very well occupied.
"The darshan of a satguru in Sri Lanka and India is judged by how one feels on the inside after leaving his presence—not necessarily by the feelings that persist while in his presence—because the guru could be emotionally upset in the presence of a clever visitor. So, it is only after one leaves, while experiencing his reaction to having been with the guru, that the depth of the guru’s darshan is judged. The darshan of a satguru siphons your own bliss, in a similar way that liquid is siphoned. A guru works with darshan in two ways. One way is through giving it deliberately; that is the “flow-out” of darshan. Another way is to pull the flow within of external forces; that is the “flow-in” of darshan. He is siphoning it from his devotees. At the same time, he is giving, too, of his natural darshan.
"Each guru has a natural darshan, according to his unfoldment and training. When he is personally going through something, his vibratory rate changes from time to time. Basically, there is only one darshan, which is right from his soul, but going through various unfolded channels, like a prism, it can come to many powers. From some gurus the darshan is deeply loving, warm and gentle. From others it is fiery, sharp and profoundly detached. Many have a darshan so deep it cannot be readily felt, so withdrawn is their consciousness from this plane.
"The vibration of the soul of an aspirant on the path when he is meditating is realized by the satguru, and this is the time he helps the most. The bliss of the aspirant is the ultimate of what he wants to bring forth first. The darshan of the satguru will syphon that from him if the intellect or emotion of the aspirant does not get in the way and obstruct and interrupt the process. If you are a meditator who has had inner experiences of light and are living a strict, disciplined life, you will reach a point in your unfoldment of sensitivity enough to feel and distinguish the darshan of a satguru. Soon the feeling will switch, and you will begin enjoying your own bliss of superconscious darshan. These two darshans—yours and that of the satguru—then meet, causing a spiritual dynamic strong enough that another meditator entering the area would automatically be inclined to go into deep meditation even if he were a beginner.
"Devotees may say, 'I have realized the Self.' How does one know if this is true or not? One does not ascertain this by philosophically questioning, because they know all the right answers. They have memorized them. Look at the aura! Yes! That is telling. And then encourage them to do it again. He did it once. Do it again. The channel is open. The wise satguru will simply watch and feel the devotee’s darshan. If the devotee truly has had the realization of the Self, how wonderful. The darshan will grow stronger. It does not get weaker. It becomes better and better as the months and years go by.
“But if the feeling that comes forth from within him begins to feel terrible a few weeks after the illumination, it becomes apparent that he undoubtedly had a fine inner experience, but did not go all the way to the source of it all.
"The darshan of an adept sitting in Satchidānanda is quite different from the ordinary daily darshan. It is extremely intense, and it causes that ringing sound to vibrate the inner atmosphere in the minds of everyone. No one feels like moving during this holy time, so intensely alive are they. The high-pitched darshan of Satchidānanda is so intense that the physical body does not move, hardly breathes. This you experience when you are in the presence of someone who is going in and out of Satchidānanda and Paraśiva. It is a different kind of darshan—awe inspiring.
"The vibration of darshan knows no time or space. You see darshan when the satguru is around, and you can feel his darshan when he is miles away, even at times stronger. Look at darshan as great wires of communication, much like an open telephone line, enabling you to pick up the receiver and always find someone at the other end of the line. Subconscious problems only arise when the devotee does not feel the guru’s darshan. During these times, his personal ego takes over and he becomes confused and ashamed."
Lesson 310:
"Loyalty to One's Satguru
"A devotee on the path who has a satguru should not seek darshan from another guru unless he has permission from his own guru to do so. Why? Because he should not become psychically connected with the other guru. The darshan develops inner psychic bonds. Another guru does not want to influence the unfoldment of the aspirant either. However, if he has permission to absorb darshan from someone else, then of course, there has been an inner agreement between the two gurus that no connection will result, and the disciple will not be distracted from his sādhana by conflicting new methods.
"It is not good for a student on the path to run around to various teachers and lecturers and gain reams of miscellaneous knowledge about the path and related occultism. He becomes magnetically attached to the students of the various teachers and sometimes to the teachers themselves. The teachers do not like this 'browsing' on the part of the guru-hopper either, for it impairs the unfoldment of their own students, as it goes against the natural flow of unfoldment on the path. It is also energy draining and time-consuming for the guru or swāmī.
"One must look at spiritual unfoldment in the same way one approaches the study of a fine art. If you were studying the vīṇā with a very accomplished teacher, he would not appreciate it at all if you went to three or four other teachers at the same time for study behind his back. He demands that you come and go from your lesson and practice diligently in between. By this faithful and loyal obedience, you would become so satisfied with the results of your unfolding talents that you would not want to run here and there to check out what other maestros were teaching and become acquainted with their students. Students run from teacher to teacher only when they do not obey the teacher they have.
"The wise guru or swāmī who takes his mission seriously and knows human nature to its core makes it very difficult for a devotee who departed his fellowship to later return. First he requires a detailed written explanation of the reasons for leaving, and a full written confession as to what occurred during the time away. This is all verified through background checks and in-depth personal interviews. Then, to test the sincerity, penance, prāyaśchitta, is given and performed before readmittance can even be considered."
Thank you very much. Have a wonderful day.
[End of transcript.]