Question & Answer sessions with HH Sri Datta Vijayananda Teertha Swamiji – 2015
Who is Sadguru?
Question : Two young boys were fighting. Looking at them irritably, Swamiji said, “They don’t understand about Sadguru,” and went inside.
Who is Sadguru?
Answer : This is a good question. Who was asked this question by Swamiji? He did not scold the children, “Fools, you don’t know about Sadguru.” I am using the language that Swamiji might have used. But, Swamiji did not address the children. He addressed Narasimhan who was standing by. So who should learn from this? This is a lesson for us. He wants us to learn the meaning of Sadguru. This was not a statement, since it became the seed for a question. Now it has sprouted and grown into a big tree and is yielding fruits, and will continue to yield fruits. Swamiji said this, not to the children, but to this person, intending that he should seek the answer to this question. That is why now he has asked this question. It is very good. One must remember every single word that has been spoken by Sadguru. You must remember that he is Sadguru, whose every word, every action, and every expression is purposeful. Such a one is Sadguru. We do not know how even a word spoken by him frivolously may affect our lives in the future.
We must therefore preserve every single word. Do we not preserve carefully, every item used by our beloved child, from the time of its infancy? We even preserve a pencil that the child had used. It is because of our attachment to the child. When it grows up, if the child obeys us, we are happy. If the child disobeys, we are unhappy. We may wish for the child to become an engineer but the child wants to take up fashion designing. We get angry and throw away the memorabilia. Why? Because the child has disobeyed. Our affection towards the child is undependable. Whereas towards Sadguru it should not be like that. Our devotion towards him should be steady and unwavering. If such devotion is there, then, we will cherish and remember every single world that Sadguru has spoken.
Some of his words are addressed to the general public. Even there, some statements will be very important. We must underline and preserve them. Some words will be specifically addressed to us. We must take those to heart even more earnestly. When such words will ignite a special insight within us or prompt us to action, we do not know. This statement heard by this questioner is one such. What is meant by Sadguru? There is a saying. Without mother, no one is born. Without Guru, no one gets Liberation. This must be kept in mind. Sadguru is the one who leads us to Liberation. All other things in life are impermanent. When he satisfies our worldly desires, we are happy and we praise him. These serve to increase our faith in Sadguru. He grants those, so that in the end he can give us the fruit called Liberation.
There is a song, “Guruvina gulamanaaguva tanaka doreyadanna mukuti.” You might have heard it. ‘Gulama’ has a bad connotation, meaning, one who is paid to receive kicks from his arrogant and angry master. Old time Zamindars, proud of their wealth, used to kick their servants. It was a bad practice. In this song, this Urdu language word was used. Why? Here ‘Gulama’ means one who serves his Guru’s feet. Serving Guru’s feet means, following in his footsteps, or treading the path which Guru has shown. Paada seva and Pada Seva – both terms are used. Pada means word. Those who follow the word of Guru are eligible for Liberation. There is another song, “Other than Guru, who else has the capacity to show the way?” No one. The one who shows us the way is Sadguru. There are countless roads in this world. We cannot follow all of them. We only take the road that will take us to our destination. Just because a new four lane highway has been built, would we simply take that road? No. We only take the road that will take us home. When there are umpteen roads, the question naturally arises as to which road to follow. It is Sadguru who shows us the road which will take us to our destination. This you must remember. What else do we need? There is none superior to Sadguru because no one else in this world can show us the right path.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta