Sunday, June 19, 2011

How were we … Part – XIII

Coming to the spiritual aspect of Tantra, Mr. Aspatwar, Shettyji’s disciple has been in contact with a number of saints and is a very advanced Sadhaka. He is rigourously following instructions of Guruji. He exudes joy and a sense of freedom and non-attachment. This is the proof of effectiveness of this form of Sadhana – as they say, the proof of taste of pudding is in eating it.

With him Guruji sent me and several others to a river a few times on the occasions of lunar and solar eclipses. We were expected to chant specific mantras given for those occasions for our spiritual growth while standing in neck deep water in the river for a few hours (sometimes around midnight as lunar eclipses take place around that time).

Effect of chanting of Mantra given by him for achieving freedom from element earth on me (this was main Mantra for me, other Mantras were for limited duration) was also appreciated once (about six months after it was given to me) by Prof. Mungale, my Guruji.

Guruji (Shettyji) also says that it is not necessary that one should follow his way of Sadhana. One can continue or pursue any other form of Sadhana. He also tells his disciples that this body is the means to do Sadhana – khalu dharma sadhanam. One should therefore work for keeping the body healthy. Tantra has specific Mantras which can cure specific diseases or remove specific deficiencies or take one deeper into oneself. If one can chant such Mantras regularly on one’s own, there is no need for external assistance of a Tantrik but if one incapable of doing it, external help may be necessary.

One such instance is that of my co-brother, Shri Dhirendra Singh. He was suffering with some stomach problem for long. He was even operated for it but there was no relief. At that time he used to visit us quite frequently as he was working in Chennai (overnight train journey to Bangalore) and his daughter stayed with us in Bangalore for her studies. Being convinced of effectiveness of Tantra for treatment of a problem like this, I proposed that he should visit Shettyji. He refused saying, “Bhai saheb, I enjoy my drinks, non-veg food and club life (he was working in Army at that time) – chatting with friends – and that he would not give it up for anything”. I told him that Guruji does not put any such restrictions on anybody and insisted that he should visit him.

When we visited him, he was given a Mantra to chant for a usual duration of 7 to 20 minutes, twice or thrice a day. He did that with all sincerity but nothing happened. Next month, another Mantra was given with no effect. Third month yet another Mantra was given with no noticeable difference in his condition – probably Mantras were not being given for cure of disease but for his spiritual evolution which gradually became clear.

While he was chanting these Mantras, he visited us a number of times. On these occasions I, sometimes, used to tell him about some other masters I had been in contact with. Once on an official visit to Coimbatore, his work was over in an hour and to make use of spare time he thought of visiting Isha Yoga Centre of Sadguru Jaggi Vasudeva about whom I had told him sometime.

Isha Yoga Centre has a Dhyanlingam. According to Sadguru Jaggi Vasudeva this lingam has seven energized chakras and therefore acts as if it were a living Guru. Persons coming in its field will get initiated into meditation. When Dhirendraji sat near Dhyanlingam, he effortlessly slipped into meditation – he got initiated. What Sadguru said became an experiential truth.

I may, however, add that if someone does not experience it, it does not make it untrue. There could be many reasons. In fact, I had been there a number of times but never felt anything like that – may be because I was already initiated and therefore did not notice any difference. In some other case, seeds of initiation may be planted which may take its own time to sprout.

Coming back to Dhirendraji, thereafter every evening, he was attracted to an ancient Shiva Temple in Chennai a few kilometers away from his residence and started sitting in meditation there. He soon experienced peace, consciousness and joy arising from meditations - started experiencing presence of Shiva. After about eight months he told me, “Bhai saheb, going to the club, having a few drinks, eating and gossiping every evening – what a waste of life it was” – exactly opposite of what he had said 8 months back. Such has been the transformation. Though he is now no more following Guruji (Shri Shettyji), he is in contact with a few Gurus and is firmly established in Sadhana.

Mysterious are the ways of existence – looking back I am amazed at the way circumstances were arranged to take him on the path of inner evolution and that too with lightening speed.

Coming back to Guruji’s interest in spiritual evolution of his disciples even if it comes through other masters or other forms of Sadhana, I will narrate my own experience. One day (June 2007) we were sitting with him, and he suddenly said, “You are soon going to meet a Guru, I am seeing a door opening.” I had no idea.

After coming back to my house I remembered that previous evening in an official gathering one of my little known colleague had informed me that he is going on Himalaya Yatra (Gangotri, Yamanotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath) with Nithyanandji. I had talked to my wife about my interest in going for that Yatra. She said that for some reasons this time Dhirendra (my co-brother) and Manvendra (my brother-in-law) cannot go and that they would love to go with me if I go next year. She also added that in any case, Nithyanandji is taking such groups for Yatra every year. I agreed with her and had dropped the idea of going.

I suspected that this input from my colleague may, perhaps be related with ‘opening of a door’ which Guruji had seen. I rang up Guruji to ask whether it could be that opening. He said in no uncertain terms that yes it is so and that I must go. My wife was listening to this conversation and she remarked that now you would definitely go. I said, “No, I would still not go if you so desire.” She, however, said that once Guruji has said, you should go. And as it turned out, this visit with Nithyanandji provided me with a crucial breakthrough. And if I had delayed it for another year, I may have missed the opportunity. I will discuss this and the breakthrough in another article later.

The Guruji thus seeing the opportunity led me in my journey through another Guru.

Another interesting fact is that the colleague of mine who informed me of the Himalaya Yatra did not join us. Similar thing had happened earlier when I had gone for advanced programmes of Nithyanandji for the reason that Gaur Saheb was to participate in those programmes and ultimately he did not participate. On both occasions, I was thus prompted. Mysterious are the ways of existence, as I mentioned a little while ago.

In course of another year, Mungale Sir started discouraging me from being in contact with Shettyji. I also started seeing limitations of this path. In the year 2008, I was transferred to Kochi and just before that one CA met me in an official party and enquired about my Sadhana. A few days later gave me three volumes of a book on Tantra. Going through first few pages of the book, I started becoming interested. But the book also warned of the huge risks involved in this Vaam Marg of Sadhana and requirement of strict discipline and close guidenace of a Guru! On being asked, my Guruji told me not to read them saying, “They are not for you”.

Those who know say that Sadhana is a continuous process spread over many lives and one may belong to a tradition of Sadhana of a lineage of Gurus. One needs to pursue the same tradition and lineage. Digression may cause loss of opportunity for further evolution. As I mentioned in an earlier article Shri Sai Kaka had once told me that I belong to Datta Sampradaya and that Mungale Sir is my Guru from that lineage in this life.

Before I conclude this article, I would like to mention that after a few months of being with Shettyji when my Guruji had expressed some reservations about this form of Sadhana, I had asked him if I should stop it. He did not approve and said, “Shuru kiya hai to kar hi lo.” Now I understand that had I dropped it without experiencing its limitations and understanding its risks and the fact that it might be digression from my path, the desire to pursue it would have remained somewhere in my system which would have sprung up sometime later in this life or the lives to follow.

This way my Guruji allowed it to get released and freed me from desire to pursue this path. This is how Guru takes the disciple on spiritual journey holding his hand all along. Without Guru one may get stuck somewhere or may digress in some other path and thus loose the opportunity and the way. Guru is truly Parbrahma in human form!

To be contd. …