WHY ATTEND COURSES?
When people get together for a single purpose, their subtle bodies, or the emanations from their subtle bodies, merge. That is why, when you have group practices in a group like this, or when a group is gathered with oneness, then each one affects the other. Because of the oneness of goodness, everyone affects each other. They uplift each other, and there is a greater lightening of spirit.
In the greater lightening of spirit, if there is a person who could exercise a lever, then the lightening of spirit is lightened even more quickly because an extra energy is added to what already exists. It is not necessary to tell you what can be seen and what cannot. If you could leave your body, to be out of your body, you would be very, very disappointed at looking at yourself. Seeing your gross body, you would feel very disappointed. It looks terrible, horrible! That flesh and blood and!
The subtle body of man differs from man to man according to his samskaras. Whenever you find two people with very similar ideas or who have a strong attraction to each other, know that their subtle bodies are in intercommunication. If the mind also corresponds in that inter-communication, then that bond becomes stronger. And if the body can correspond to the man and wife’s relationship, then that bond becomes even stronger.
But, in a varied group where people come from different parts of the country, or different parts of the world, if they are together for a one purposeness, then if the subtle body of one is suffering of a certain dullness because of his evolutionary status, he is reflected upon by those whose emanation of the subtle body is more stronger, more luminescent. That is, the duller subtle body feels the effect of those that are brighter. So, it is always advisable, wherever possible, to attend Courses, and I do not mean this course only. You do not need to attend our Courses if you do not want to. Nobody forces anyone. But I am making a general statement, and, of course, attending one of our Courses is the best of all, because we all do the same kinds of practices. At least, we are allied and related to each other through our connection to one guru. And that oneness of the guru extending to all the chelas forms that togetherness. So, great benefits are received by attending Courses.
Other people, mixing in their groups, would find their strengths, togetherness, or joy very, very much dependent upon the guru they are with. Oh yes! A good guru can radiate an inexplicable substance or quality called love. He can emanate a certain light which could engulf all those around him. Therefore, when people attend the discourses of a real guru, they will normally leave the Satsang with a far lighter spirit than when they came in. They could come into the hall with a million worries on their heads, as if the whole world was collapsing around them. But the presence of the good guru would be so powerful that the burden would be lightened, even for that little moment only.
It could be here in High Leigh or in Cape Town, South Africa. Wherever the guru is, all the chelas are with him. It could be in South America or Australia.
A TRUE GURU NEVER PROMISES YOU ENLIGHTENMENT, HE ONLY SHOWS THE WAY
I am trying to point out the universality of the spirit. There is one universal spirit. The hub in a wheel is that which keeps the whole wheel together, so if the hub of the wheel is in London or in New York or in Buenos Aires, it does not matter. The spokes from the hub extend throughout the whole Universe, and if it is connected to the hub, then the whole circumference would feel the power of the hub. The most important thing here is that the hub must be placed dead centre in the wheel, and the wheel must run smoothly. But if the hub is off-centre, then the wheel moves unevenly. So, therefore, it is so, so important, it is so, so important, not to join just any movement because of high-powered selling, or high-powered, high-faulting scientific charts, or any kind of device. No. We must always study and be aware of the hub and the wheel’s ability. If the hub of the wheel is not functioning smoothly, then neither the spokes nor the circumference can run smoothly. So, it is always important for a man to use his judgment and his discretion. – always. And if some people’s judgment and discretion are not powerful enough, then he has no choice but to use the method of trial and error. And through trial and error, he might come to the point of finding the right hub. That is why people move from guru to guru: they cannot centre themselves properly with any one guru. They cannot synchronise themselves.
So, we must never be taken in by any form of promises. A real, true guru never promises anything. He never promises you enlightenment. He only shows you the way to find enlightenment. He only shows you the way to find inner harmony. He does not give you any guarantees. He wants you to find the guarantee yourself. Find the guarantee yourself: take this medicine, and by taking it, your body will cure itself. We know, as a fact, that when we are ill and go to a doctor, the doctor does not cure us. The body has the ability within itself to heal itself. What the doctor does with the medicine is just to help restore harmony in the body so it can heal itself. That is what a true teacher does: showing the way to create harmony within yourself.
A GOOD TEACHER ALWAYS HAS THE WELFARE OF EVERY CHELA AT HIS HEART
In a class, you have fifty pupils; if there is a pupil who is a bit weak, then the teacher would pay a little extra attention to the weak pupil, by making the weak pupil go over his maths a bit more. The teacher does that, and he should always do so, so that the weaker pupil does not lag. But if the pupil, despite the teacher hammering the formula to him over and over and over again, still cannot learn it, the teacher is not to be blamed. The pupil is to be blamed. The teacher, a good teacher, has done his best.
I do not know if I told you this one before. Ramakrishna uses a lovely story. He says there are three kinds of Physicians. One Physician gives you the medicine and says, ” Take this three times a day and he forgets you, as long as he gets his fees. He gives you the medicine, examines you, and forgets you. The mediocre teacher gives you the medicine and coaxes you to take the medicine. He might use so many different means, explaining to you this and that, and you must take this medicine; it will make you feel better, my boy. Do it three times a day. Do not forget! Half an hour before lunch, half an hour before supper, and he tries to convince you to take the medicine. But the good Physician, if you are not taking the medicine, he will jump on top of you, put his knee on your chest, and pour the medicine down your throat. That is the good Physician. Because he wants to cure you, he wants to help you. He does not mind putting his knee on your chest and pouring the medicine down your throat. Because he wants to help you, he knows this is necessary.
A teacher is the same. We have teachers coming and going. They will write big books; they will give long lectures. Off they go, whatever happens to the chelas, that is their business. The mediocre teacher will try to explain it more and give the talk on something, and then will come again and say, ” Look, I told you this, do you understand that? He will question you on it; see how much has sunk in. But the good teacher says, “Hey, come here, buddy, what have you done?” And he forces it down your throat. The good teacher does that. Because the motive is to assist and to help, it is not a matter of giving off certain teachings and then not even caring how the chela is faring.
So, a good teacher always has the welfare of every chela at his heart. Because a true guru holds himself responsible for every hair on a chela’s head. Every hair on a chela’s head is the guru’s responsibility. Every pain the chela feels, the guru feels it with him, and asks himself, “Why should this pain be there? What can I do to alleviate this pain?” And he cries with the tears that flow from your eyes, because your eyes and his eyes are inseparable. They are the same eyes. His heart and your heart are not separate at all; it is one heart. His body and your body, are they apart? No, no, no, no. Every pain, every suffering, every tear, every heartache, every headache, is his concern. And it is his concern because he loves, he just loves, loves, loves. He is love, and in that love, there is no separation. There is this oneness, this complete oneness, where every wave in the ocean affects every other wave of the ocean.
WHEN TWO PEOPLE GET TOGETHER IN HIS NAME, HE IS PRESENT
And that can be done by the teacher who can dwell in the depths of the ocean, and not on the surface value. The teachers who dwell on the surface value are businesspeople. They count the waves and take the waves to the bank. That is what they do. They go laughing to the bank. The true guru goes crying to the bank. How will the rent be paid at the end of the month? That is the true teacher!
So, when we all get together, when all these auras get together, as it is said in the Bible, “When two people get together in His name, He is present.” He would be present always, always when we get together in the name of that pure consciousness. Then, the auras of everyone just merge, and the stronger auras help the weaker auras, and if all the auras put together are weak, then the guru’s aura is there on top of it all and makes everyone brighter. He should if he is a guru. Otherwise, do not take any notice of him.
… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang UK 1977 – 22
