His whole composite life history, as detailed in several holy texts such as the Shri Guru Charitra in Marathi, underlines important precepts at the core of the guru-disciple tradition. It presents a unified, syncretic and practical rapproachment between the diverse spiritual traditions of sanatan dharma – the eternal way of life – that subsume the ancient culture of India. This is obvious in the symbolic depiction of the divinity with three heads, representing the supreme trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The cow represents wish fulfillment at the feet of the guru, or the nurturing universal consciousness, along with the sacred tree of audumbar (ficus racemosa), while the four dogs represent the four vedas. The mountains and the natural surroundings symbolise renunciation and ascetic solitude. Finally it is in the legends surrounding Guru Dattatreya that we find the extraordinary centrality of the lotus feet motif representing the Guru’s grace. Two major incarnations, those of Sripad and Swami Nrusimha Saraswati are again worshipped as the formless Absolute, represented by the lotus feet. Devotees in the Guru tradition firmly believe that Dattatreya as the Primordial Guru has continued to incarnate as major gurus throughout history. Sadhu Nowhere is the sacred occult tradition of the Guru Purnima more in evidence than among the Sadhus of India; the seemingly eccentric wandering, ash-smeared, naked yogis who shun all publicity, but obey the words of the personal guru as though they are imprinted upon their very cellular structure. Many enlightened masters consider them to be the acme of human evolution through cycles of rebirth, who, having attained all desires in previous births, have at last reached the stage of genuine non-attachment to worldly values, dedicating themselves to the call of the spirit. Their nakedness is the symbol of unselfconscious attunement to the Absolute (by the acknowledged grace of the guru and the Goddess), shorn of all illusion, and the ash smeared visage also represents a wipeout of the worldly identity, including caste and regional affinities. They have turned their backs upon all conditioned reality in gradual stages under the close guidance of the Sadguru. It is repeatedly enjoined in the scriptures that it is the highest duty of those immersed in material pursuits to venerate and provide for the meagre needs of the Sadhu, in recognition of the adage that those who possess absolutely nothing are the ones whose welfare is the acknowledged responsibility of God. Thus feeding them or providing for them, is in fact a virtuous act performed as an agency of the divine. It is these people, and they alone whom Krishna firmly addresses in the Bhagvadgita [Chapter IV, no. 8]: I become manifest as the saviour of Sadhus, and as the destroyer of evildoers I appear in each Age in the cycle of humanity, to restore the path of Dharma Belying their deceptive simplicity, the Sadhus have often undergone 12 to 14 years of rigorous education in the sacred texts and yoga. In addition to this are several occult initiations in ascending order, requiring them to perform many daring ascetic practices with the objective of gaining mastery over the self. The path of the wanderer, someone who has faced great physical rigours and ever-persistent dangers while traversing the length and breadth of this land, brings profound experiences of universal attunement and quantum growth. It renders a consciousness that is refined and pure, at times in stark contrast to a deliberately nurtured exterior of unkemptness. Deconditioning from the world of material reality does not imply lawlessness. Breaking of taboos to free the psychic energy bound to conventions is often paradoxically accompanied by a rigid set of rules, under the stern guidance of the guru. Even the application of sacred ashes is governed by elaborate ritual, to be undertaken only after a fresh bath. The ultimate experience of deconditioning is in unselfconscious nakedness, seen in the Naga sadhus, who are merely following in the footsteps of Avadhoot, the primordial Guru. Another name for him, especially occurring in japa chanting, is Digambar, which means sky clad (He whose Self is vast as the sky), or naked. This practice is also observed among the Digambar Jain monks. The eternal sadhu way of life Material possessions of the renunciate consist of a couple of loincloths and kafnis (loose single piece knee-length robes); a shoulder bag for holding bhasma or the sacred ashes; a pair of tongs – chimta – to stir the burning embers of the dhuni or the sadhu’s sacred fire; a pair of khadaus or wooden sandals; a single rough-hewn wooden khapar or bowl for eating; kamandalu, a metal canister for carrying water; a japa mala along with a single armrest to hold the arm aloft while doing incessant japa meditation; and strings of rudraksha beads worn on different parts of the body, from the topknot down to the neck, arms and wrists, according to the sacred convention of the sadhus. The sadhus are known to follow extreme self-denial under the strict guidance of the advanced Sadguru. An old sadhak revealed how difficult it was for him in his youth to follow the esoterically linked precepts of celibacy and ahimsa, leading him to revert to grihasti and the life of an ordinary householder immersed in mundane professional commitments for some decades rather than sully the saffron of ascetic self-denial. Not all who don the colour of asceticism possess such scruples, and they end up in generating considerable negative karma for themselves, contrary to the evolutionary struggle on the spiritual path. Nothing escapes the watchers, and few excuses prevail on this razors’ edge path that only the most intrepid sadhaks can tread with confidence. A fall from grace can be very painful for the sadhak who is used to being pampered by the guru at times, just like a loving mother. It is finally up to the sadhak alone to get back on to the path at some stage, having learnt the lessons in an unforgettable way, at times after a lifetime or two! The sadguru waits patiently, because it is his onerous responsibility to help the struggling spiritual aspirant cross the ocean of illusions to safety in the end. Previous                                                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  Next>> Archive