The ideals
of teachers and disciples vary in different cultures. 'There are hundreds
of teachers, but it is hard to find one true disciple', so goes a saying.
The single most important qualification to attain spirituality is the
attitude of the pupil. Right attitude opens up the door to spirituality,
and that attitude is to accept that 'my true nature is divine and I have
to realize this divinity within'.
Yet, how difficult it is to realize this self-evident truth! Ages and ages
pass before we begin to catch a faint glimpse of it. God is truth; we hear
about this, some even write volumes about this! But in reality we do not
see God. All our actions betray our confusion and disregard for this
Truth. It may be that in the heart of our hearts we do not want to attain
truth! An occasional soul, defying all these constrains, wants to realize
this truth and overcome illusion, and such a yearning soul is a fit person
to become a disciple.
To become a disciple great preparations are necessary and many conditions
must be fulfilled. Following are the five important conditions laid down
by the Vedantins.
The sincere aspirant must give up all the desires for gain in this world,
and in the life to come. Even comforts of the heaven should not tempt him
to deviate from the path.
Desires indicate want and incompleteness. But this is a falsehood.
According to Vedanta we are always full and do not want anything. All
knowledge and bliss is our own; we are that. Then to hanker after illusory
riches and luxuries, to brood over the condition of the world, or to
attempt to improve the social conditions is but ignorance. The world and
the heaven are but related to senses. Happiness and pleasure derived there
from are only transitory and incomplete. Therefore, the disciple giving up
all such falsehood seeks to know the truth and truth alone.
The second condition is that the disciple must be able to control the
internal and external senses.
External senses are visible organs situated in different parts of the
body, such as eyes, ears, nose, etc. internal sense organs are
corresponding centers of sense perception situated in the brain. We
constantly react to the activities of these groups of senses. It is quite
obvious that if the sense objects such as beautiful person or scenery are
nearby, our visual sense organ is drawn to them. The same is the case with
music and sound, fragrance and smell, flavor and taste, touch and
contacts. Good or bad, pleasurable or painful, wanted or unwanted we have
to react to these sense perceptions; we cannot escape the stimuli. Even
though we close our eyes still internal organ of visual perception
conjures up dreams and world of imagination. In short, there is no escape
in waking or sleeping state.
The disciple must be able to bring all these senses under his/her control.
Is it possible? Yes, with repeated practice – Abhyasa, right
conduct – Sadachar, and discrimination – Viveka it is
possible to severe connection between internal sense organs and
corresponding external sense objects. In Yoga parlance, this is known as
Pratyahara. It is the function of concentration of mind. One
example can be cited. If one is totally immersed in reading a book, the
person does not hear the chimes of the bell or the clock although the
sound is reaching the ears! Moreover, he is also not aware of the lapse of
time nor does he notice his family members entering and leaving the room.
This self control and concentration of mind helps in the process of
Pratyahara.
Instead of being a slave to the mind, the disciple should cultivate such
qualities as would enable him/her to control the mind at will. If he does
not want to smell he should be able to overcome the sense of smell! His
mind should not react to offensive or pleasant smell. This calls for great
power of endurance, forbearance, also called as titiksha. The mind
naturally seeks comfort and behaves well when everything goes well
according to one's liking. But the moment something goes awry, the moment
any desire gets obstacle in its fulfillment, it loses its balance.
Despondency, anger, frustration, and restlessness follow. Therefore, it is
necessary to bear witness to good and bad, joyful and miserable conditions
with equidistant poise. One should practice this by not reacting to the
internal and external stimuli. Bear all miseries and evil without any
murmur of hurt, without any thought of unhappiness, without any
resistance, remedy or retaliation.
The third qualification is that the disciple must have faith in the words
of the Guru (teacher). He must have conviction that the teacher one has
chosen (or the other way round) is not just a human being. He is the
spirit incarnate for his liberation. Out of compassion and love the
Absolute Consciousness, Knowledge, and Bliss has taken the form of the
Guru to lead the disciple from darkness to light, from ignorance to
knowledge, and from mortality to immortality.
Therefore, once the student has accepted discipleship, the first reverence
should be to Guru, and then to parents. Parents give the body; Guru frees
the soul. Guru knows what the disciple needs; he knows the ability,
capacity, and the aptitude of his disciple. Initially, therefore, the
teachings may appear contrary to the expectations and liking of the
disciple, but the disciple must follow, obey, and persevere in the orders,
suggestions, and teachings of the Guru. This is called faith. If the
teacher asks him to jump from a hilltop, the disciple must first jump and
then question the rationality of such an order.
The fourth condition is that the disciple must have intense yearning to be
free, called as mumukshattva. Other than this, all other desires
bind the soul and therefore should be relegated to the background. 'Desire
is never satiated by enjoyment; enjoyment only acts as the fuel to fire.'
Desire is increased by desire. Our natural constitution prevents us to
understand this fact; only Guru can extradite us from this cycle of
desires – of birth and death.
The last condition of discipleship is the discrimination between real and
unreal. God alone is real; rest is unreal and transient. All the time the
mind should labor on this thought with full devotion and dedication to the
Guru. God only exists; everything else comes and goes. Therefore, the
disciple should seek only what is permanent and should strive to become
one with it. 'I am not this body; I am not this mind; I am That, I am
That' this alone should be the mantra for a true disciple.
All these conditions initially appear awesome. One surely says, 'this is
too much.' To find even a single disciple who would accept and adhere to
such stringent conditions appears impossible. In such a situation, rather
than criticizing, it is better for a disciple to say, "I cannot do it;
that it is the ideal I accept, but I am not yet ready to follow it." And
just by showing such sincerity, honesty, and humility, the fellow becomes
fit for the discipleship!
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