Commentary on Paramahansa Nityananda's Chidakasha Gita–Number 9
by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

Nityananda and the Concept of Gurus

From the 27th Verse of the Chidakasha Gita

A guru will lead any sort of man from a thorny path to the royal road. Such preceptors are of two kinds. One is the primary preceptor and the other, the secondary preceptor. Mind is the primary preceptor and the other, the secondary preceptor. One is not the preceptor of the other. He is only the secondary preceptor. The secondary preceptor is one who shows the water in the well. The guru who exists in the heart of all beings is the jagadguru.

Paramhansa Nityananda adamantly refused to be a “guru” to anyone in the popular sense of the term. He gave no “diksha” whatsoever, nor did he give “shaktipat” as do some who claim to be his disciples or of his “lineage.” We must keep this in mind when we read about gurus in the Chidakasha Gita, for he means something quite different from the usual concept. In this and subsequent aphorisms he is referring to a teacher of wisdom–particularly of sadhana–who shows the way to liberation and encourages and blesses those who follow the way. The value of contact with such a person is beyond all calculation, yet the seeker–who should certainly be grateful to all of his teachers–must realize that it is his own effort, his own will, that will achieve his liberation. A teacher may give him the map to freedom and advise him about the journey, but he must traverse the route himself by his own inner power, which is divine power–atmic power. Ultimately, God alone is the Guru, of Whom we are an eternal and inseparable part. This Sadguru works from within and without us to bring about our liberation, but all along the way it is our assent and our effort that is needed.

• A guru will lead any sort of man from a thorny path to the royal road.

This has two aspects, one particular and one universal.

The particular one has to do with the spiritual climate of India at the time of Nityananda’s birth in India. The date of his birth is unknown, but we know from his conversations that he was an adult at the time of Swami Vivekananda (who left his body in 1902) and may have seen him. That means he was born right in the midst of the most hide-bound observations of caste–one rule of which was that only Brahmins could be gurus or even sannyasis, and that only male Brahmins could receive initiation or spiritual instruction of any kind. The rule was fanatically followed, so much so that “low caste” and Moslem disciples of Yogiraj Shyama Charan Lahiri, who gave initiation freely to all who asked (including women–a scandal at the time), were extremely careful to hide the fact of their discipleship and would only come to see him when they knew no one would observe and report it. Once an advanced disciple of Yogiraj saw a man in whom he recognized great spiritual realization. He started following him, wanting to meet him, but the man rushed onward and eluded him. When he told of this to Lahiri Mahasaya, the guru told him that the man was one of his Moslem disciples who never came in contact with his Hindu disciples lest there be great trouble caused for the Yogiraj.

Nityananda is telling us that a true and worthy guru/teacher will freely teach anyone who is sincere and willing to follow instruction–that he will care nothing about their background or their past. A mentally disturbed man tried to kill Swami Sivananda, who forgave him and asked him to live in the ashram and do sadhana. A man was hired by jealous Brahmin pandits to poison Sri Brahma Chaitanya of Gondawali because of his open attitudes and ways. Knowing that the man would be beaten and perhaps killed if he failed to do so, the saint knowingly took the poison and swallowed it, commenting that he did so for the safety of the would-be assassin. Horrified at killing a saint–one who was so merciful he would die to help him–the man ran away. Brahma Chaitanya asked people to run after and catch him, but they were unable. When they related their failure to him, the saint said: “That is too bad. I wanted to give him initiation!” By his yoga powers the saint did not die, but he developed chronic asthma.

The universal aspect of this statement is the fact that a worthy teacher can help anyone who wishes to change, for the divine Self is within all, and the moment anyone desires higher life he is ready and able for it. In the lives of great yogis we find examples of every kind of degradation being dispelled by their merciful teaching. What value would they be if this was not the case? Yoga, being based on the eternal nature of every human being can free those who diligently practice it. Yogananda had an alcoholic disciple whom he told to sit with a bottle and take a swig and then practice yoga for a while and take another swig, and so on. In time there were no swigs–only yoga. Sri Ramakrishna cured several alcoholics in the same way, though his approach was for them to get just barely tipsy and then meditate. The principle here is that those who have dug themselves into a hole can climb out if they have a competent teacher. This is true for all. The sole factor is their intention and will.

• Such preceptors are of two kinds. One is the primary preceptor and the other, the secondary preceptor. Mind is the primary preceptor and the other, the secondary preceptor. One is not the preceptor of the other. He is only the secondary preceptor.

The yogi’s mind is his primary teacher, for it is his applied will that ultimately delivers him. The external teacher is only secondary, and can never replace the mind-guru. Nor is he the guru of the student’s mind–that is the action of the Self upon the seeker’s mind. (Mind here includes buddhi as well as manas.) We seek God because we intuit the reality of finding God. As Saint Paul said: “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). This is a function of our own mind alone–no external force can bring it about or cause us to intuit these truths.

Only this morning I heard this read: “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son” (Luke 1:31). These are the words of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. For years, when I was not a yogi, I used to wonder why the angel would say “conceive in thy womb,” for where else would conception take place? But when I understood the Gospels as mystery-dramas symbolizing the Christing of each individual, showing the path from the “conception” to the “resurrection” and “ascension” of the Divine Consciousness, then I understood.

It is possible for conception to take place outside the womb. Such a conception is abnormal and cannot lead to birth, but it can occur. I knew a woman who conceived in the fallopian tube and the embryo had to be surgically removed. In the same way “spirituality” can be conceived in the intellect and the person becomes an avid student of spiritual books and other forms of teaching–and talking. Or someone can “conceive” in their emotion and be swept along on a flood of “God loves me; I love God” and externalized and externalizing activities. In India people rhapsodize about Krishna’s “restless eyebrows,” Lakshmi’s pink feet, and Durga’s “parrot-beak nose.” I knew a man who was scarred all over from running through thick bramble bushes, chasing Krishna in “ecstasy.” What silliness–so unworthy of the rishis of India. In time those who have wrongly conceived will burn out and get bored with it all, and their subsequent births will be completely unaffected by any of it.

The conception of spirit-consciousness must take place in the core of our being, and grow to “term” in the buddhi illumined by intuition. We must conceive in the “womb” of our own consciousness, otherwise nothing will come of it.

We also learn from this aphorism that we must work with our mind, developing its ability to guide us. Obsession with an external teacher will not do the needful. All the guru-puja in the world will avail nothing. “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). It all begins, continues, and ends right there in the “womb” of our own mind, our own Sadguru.

• The secondary preceptor is one who shows the water in the well.

But the student is the one who brings out the water from the well, for it is his own Self that is the well! Certainly a teacher can instruct in the way to access the water, but the student does the rest.

• The guru who exists in the heart of all beings is the jagadguru.

The Supreme Self (Paramatman) and individual Self (jivatman) alone are the “world-teacher,” for the impulse to seek enlightenment comes only from deep within each of us. And it is our will alone that maintains our sadhana.

What about those that call themselves “Jagadguru” or let their groupies do so? Yes. What about them?