Be Loyal to Your Spiritual Master
Lord Krishna is the original guru. He teaches us by His personal example how much one should be loyal and dedicated to his spiritual master. On the order of His Gurumata (the wife of His spiritual master, Sandipani Muni) Krishna went to the forest along with His Godbrother, Sudama, to gather firewood for His spiritual master.
Years later when Sudama visited Krishna in Dvaraka, Krishna recalled that incident as follows:
"My dear friend, I think you remember our activities during the days when we were living as students. You may remember that once we went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of the guru's wife. While collecting the dried wood, we entered the dense forest and by chance became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm and then clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was overflooded with water, and we could not trace out the way to return to our guru's asrama. You may remember that heavy rainfall -- it was not actually rainfall but a sort of devastation. On account of the dust storm and the heavy rain, we began to feel greatly pained, and in whichever direction we turned we were bewildered. In that distressed condition, we took each other's hand and tried to find our way out. We passed the whole night in that way, and early in the morning, when our absence became known to our gurudeva, he sent his other disciples to search us out. He also came with them, and when they reached us in the jungle they found us very much distressed.
"With great compassion our gurudeva said, '"My dear boys, it is very wonderful that you have suffered so much trouble for me. Everyone likes to take care of his body as the first consideration, but you are so good and faithful to your guru that without caring for bodily comforts you have taken so much trouble for me. I am glad to see that bona fide students like you will undergo any kind of trouble for the satisfaction of the spiritual master. That is the way for a bona fide disciple to become free from his debt to the spiritual master. It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life to the service of the spiritual master. My dear best of the twice-born, I am greatly pleased by your acts, and I bless you: May all your desires and ambitions be fulfilled. May the understanding of the Vedas which you have learned from me always continue to remain within your memory, so that at every moment you can remember the teachings of the Vedas and quote their instructions without difficulty. Thus you will never be disappointed in this life or the next.'"
From these wonderful words of Sandipani Muni we can learn that our relationship with our spiritual master should be one of total dedication to following his instructions in all times, places, and circumstances. We should be willing to undergo any type of trouble for the satisfaction of our spiritual master. This is secret of how to become solidly fixed in Krishna consciousness
Please accept my humble obeisances.
If someone asks, "What religion do you follow?", do you say bhakti yoga?
R.T.
Sankarshan Das Adhikari
Years later when Sudama visited Krishna in Dvaraka, Krishna recalled that incident as follows:
"My dear friend, I think you remember our activities during the days when we were living as students. You may remember that once we went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of the guru's wife. While collecting the dried wood, we entered the dense forest and by chance became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm and then clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was overflooded with water, and we could not trace out the way to return to our guru's asrama. You may remember that heavy rainfall -- it was not actually rainfall but a sort of devastation. On account of the dust storm and the heavy rain, we began to feel greatly pained, and in whichever direction we turned we were bewildered. In that distressed condition, we took each other's hand and tried to find our way out. We passed the whole night in that way, and early in the morning, when our absence became known to our gurudeva, he sent his other disciples to search us out. He also came with them, and when they reached us in the jungle they found us very much distressed.
"With great compassion our gurudeva said, '"My dear boys, it is very wonderful that you have suffered so much trouble for me. Everyone likes to take care of his body as the first consideration, but you are so good and faithful to your guru that without caring for bodily comforts you have taken so much trouble for me. I am glad to see that bona fide students like you will undergo any kind of trouble for the satisfaction of the spiritual master. That is the way for a bona fide disciple to become free from his debt to the spiritual master. It is the duty of the disciple to dedicate his life to the service of the spiritual master. My dear best of the twice-born, I am greatly pleased by your acts, and I bless you: May all your desires and ambitions be fulfilled. May the understanding of the Vedas which you have learned from me always continue to remain within your memory, so that at every moment you can remember the teachings of the Vedas and quote their instructions without difficulty. Thus you will never be disappointed in this life or the next.'"
From these wonderful words of Sandipani Muni we can learn that our relationship with our spiritual master should be one of total dedication to following his instructions in all times, places, and circumstances. We should be willing to undergo any type of trouble for the satisfaction of our spiritual master. This is secret of how to become solidly fixed in Krishna consciousness
Krishna and Sudama Lost in a Storm in the Forest
Answers by Citing the Vedic Version:
Question: Which Religion Do You Follow?
Dear Gurudeva,Please accept my humble obeisances.
If someone asks, "What religion do you follow?", do you say bhakti yoga?
R.T.
Answer: To Become a Pure Lover of God
If someone asks you which religion you follow, you should tell them that there is no question of "which religion" because there is only one religion, to become a pure lover of God. You can then ask them whether or not they agree with you. That should lead to a very interesting conversation, which will give you ample opportunity to enlighten them in the science of Krishna consciousness.Sankarshan Das Adhikari
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