Greatness of the Guru

Shri Krishna said

Illustrious one, lord, you have spoken of the greatness of the mantra and the method of its use as stated in the shrutis. Now I want to hear the excellent account of Shiva's samskara. When speaking of receiving the mantra it was touched on briefly, and it should not be forgotten.

Upamanyu replied

I will tell you of the supremely sacred samskara that destroys all sins, stated by Shiva himself. A man duly authorized performs worship and other things. It is called samskara because the person is purified along the six paths. When higher knowledge is given, the bondage of the Pashas withers. So samskara is also called diksha. As taught by Shiva, the supreme self, in the Shiva agamas, the process of diksha has three components: Shiva, Shakti and the mantra. On seeing the guru, touching him or speaking with him, the Pashas wither. This is called Shambhu's diksha and is of two kinds, depending on whether it cuts all bonds or only milder ones. When release is instant, it is held to be the highest diksha. When the man goes on living but his sins are cleansed, it is the milder diksha. In Shakti diksha, knowledge enters the disciple's body; the guru, using his insight, accomplishes this by the path of yoga. In mantra diksha, rites are performed in a pit within a mandala prepared earlier, and the guru should do this outwardly, slowly and then more slowly. In Shaktipata, favour is shown to the disciple. In short, its foundation is following Shiva's dharma. If Shakti does not descend, if purity is not born, if there is no learning and if Shiva's conduct is not followed, there is neither liberation nor siddhi. So one should watch for the signs of Shaktipata. Through knowledge and kriya the guru must purify the disciple. An evil-minded, deluded person who acts contrarily will be destroyed, so the guru must make every effort to test the disciple. When the signs of Shaktipata appear, enlightenment is possible. Supreme Shakti takes the form of enlightenment. The signs of enlightenment and bliss show through inner changes: trembling, hair standing on end, and the voice, eyes and limbs behaving unnaturally. The guru must test these signs in the disciple, perhaps during Shiva's worship or through those he associates with.

The disciple must also test the guru's worth. He must make every effort to behave with reverence toward the guru. It is said that the guru is Shiva and Shiva is the guru; whether guru or Shiva, both are for the sake of knowledge. Shiva is knowledge and knowledge is the guru, so the fruits of worshipping Shiva, knowledge or the guru are the same. All gods and all mantras are in the guru, so every effort must be made to accept his commands with bowed head. One who wants his welfare must not even think of transgressing the guru's commands. One who obeys them gains the wealth of knowledge. Whether walking, standing, sleeping, eating or doing anything else, in the guru's presence he must do everything after taking leave. In his guru's house or presence he must not sit wherever he likes. Since the guru is like a god, his house is like a god's temple. If he keeps company with sinners, he will fall from that sin. In contact with fire, gold loses its impurities, and in the same way by association with the guru a man gives up his sins. A pot of ghee set near a fire melts, and in the acharya's presence sins dissolve. A kindled fire burns whether the fuel is wet or dry, and likewise when the guru is satisfied, sins are burned at once. In thought, word and deed he must never anger the guru. If the guru is enraged, lifespan, prosperity, knowledge and kriya can be burned. If the guru has reason to be angry, sacrifices, yamas and niyamas fail; no need to doubt it. A man must never speak any word against the guru. If in his great delusion he says anything of the kind, he goes to Rourava hell. A sensible man who desires his welfare must try in thought, word and deed to follow his guru's instructions and not indulge in any falsehood about them. Whether specifically told or not, he must always do what pleases and benefits the guru, in his presence or absence. Such good conduct, devotion and a ready mind make the guru love the disciple, who then becomes worthy of Shiva's dharma.

The guru must be qualified and wise, able to light up supreme bliss, attached to Shiva's tattvas that give liberation, and not otherwise. The tattva generates understanding and leads to supreme bliss. One who knows the tattva can point the way to bliss. A person with only the name and not the knowledge cannot give the benefit. Two boats can carry each other across, but two rocks cannot. So if the guru is a guru only in name, liberation too will be in name. Those who know the tattva are liberated and can liberate others. A person who lacks the tattva, how will he accept understanding of the self? One who cannot accept liberation is called a Pashu, and when a Pashu urges, the Pashu nature does not go. So one should seek a person who knows the tattva and is liberated, for he can liberate. He must have all the auspicious signs, know all the sacred texts, and know the means for every mode. One who does not know the tattvas will fail. If a person's feelings and understanding flow from the tattvas, supreme bliss is born as soon as one looks at him. So one should seek the company of a person who can give understanding and bliss. A wise man will choose him as his guru and no one else. The disciple must be humble in conduct and the guru worthy and skilled. A person who desires liberation must serve him until he has gained knowledge, and when he has gained it, he will remain serving him with devotion and following the tattva. The tattva must never be ignored or cast aside. If no bliss or enlightenment is felt even after a year, the disciple must take refuge with another guru. Even if he does so, he must never dishonour his former guru, former fellow disciples, his former guru's sons or those who urged him toward enlightenment.

He must approach a brahmana skilled in the Vedas and worship the guru, wise, pleasant in his limbs and charming to see, who grants freedom from every fear and whose mind is full of compassion. In thought, word and deed he must try to satisfy him. Until the guru is pleased he continues to worship him, and when he is pleased the disciple's sins are destroyed at once. So, according to his riches, he should devoutly give the guru wealth, jewels, fields, houses, ornaments, clothes, vehicles, beds and seats. If one wants the supreme destination, one must not be deceitful about riches. The guru is father, brother, lord, relative, friend, colleague, wealth and happiness, so everything must be given to him. After offering all this, he touches water and offers himself and all he has, and must always stay obedient to him. Taking his instructor to be Shiva, he has offered himself up to him. When an embodied being becomes like Shiva, there is no rebirth for him. When a disciple takes refuge in him, the guru must test him for a year if he is a brahmana, two years for a kshatriya and three for a vaishya. He will give orders to give up possessions and even life. The instructor will treat them differently, not alike. Superior disciples will be given inferior tasks and inferior ones superior tasks. If, when scolded and beaten, they are not miserable, they are worthy, controlled and pure and deserve the rites of Shiva's samskara. The settled teaching of the sacred texts is that brahmanas devoted to Shiva must be non-violent, compassionate, constantly active, alert, without pride, intelligent, free of rivalry, pleasant in speech, upright, mild, pure, humble, steady in understanding and pure in conduct, in thought, word and deed. By the norms they can then be purified and given understanding.

On their own, women do not have the right to rites of Shiva's samskara. They may if instructed by the husband and if they have devotion to Ishvara. Likewise a woman without a husband must seek her son's permission, and a maiden gains the right with her father's permission. These paths are not recommended for mortal shudras, especially fallen ones and those born of mixed varnas. But if such a person is full of natural devotion for Shiva, the supreme cause, there is a recommended means of purification. His sins can be cleansed by offering padodaka. If a brahmana was born of an anuloma marriage, his purification is done by the path of his mother's family. If a maiden has been engaged by her father in Shiva's dharma, she should be given in marriage to a devotee, not an opponent. If she is married to someone hostile and deluded, she should try to make her husband understand, and if she cannot, she should leave him and do the rites of dharma in her mind. Though devoted to her husband, Atri's wife left her husband, best of sages, and did austerities to Shankara such as had never been done before. Her guru had not set her to it. Still she did austerities, worshipped the divinity Narayana and won the Pandavas as her husbands. Since a woman is not independent, she suffers no fault if she pursues the supreme aim and follows Shiva's dharma. This only shows the respect owed to Shiva's instructions. Why say more? Anyone who takes refuge in Shiva and is submissive to his guru goes through samskara, and differences in the actual samskara do not matter. If wisdom is born, if there is a mental samskara by the path of yoga, the person is never defeated. The secret kriyas of samskara, told from the guru's mouth after the pit in the pavilion, cannot be told in detail and have been mentioned briefly.