Passage of the Guru

Recently I wrote a brief article entitled “Passage to the Guru”. It described a recent retreat I was blessed to take in the company of my master, Avatar Adi Da Samraj, at his hermitage island in Fiji. This one is entitled “Passage of the Guru” since my beloved master unexpectedly passed from the body on November 27, less than two weeks after I returned. He had been in perfect health, and was working in his art studio when he suddenly took his Mahasamadhi. His devotees were in shock. Like hundreds of others from around the world, I immediately headed back to Fiji to participate in an extended vigil. It was a time of both heartbreak and grace. Heartbreak because there was a deep longing for this most precious of beings. And grace because his presence was felt as strongly as ever before. It is said that the passing of a true Realizer is a great wind that blows countless blessings to those open to receiving them. Many of my friends from various countries had remarkable stories of such blessings. What became completely clear was that Adi Da was continuing to teach and instruct his devotees. How is this possible? In Adi Da’s case he left a large number of books, essays, and art. There are DVD’s of his Darshan and CD’s of his discourses. There are temples for devotional worship, and a body of instruction for different phases of spiritual practice. There is a community of devotees around the world who are seriously committed to following the way he has given. But most importantly, his spiritual presence and his state of realization are untouched by the passing of his body. Just as there are millions of people who have a devotional relationship to Krishna, Buddha, Jesus
, or Sai Baba, the presence of Adi Da is a light that continues to burn bright. All that appears before our eyes arises from that which is formless, eternal, infinite, and Divine. Things come and things go. Bodies are born and bodies die. The passing of the guru is a stark reminder that one day each of us will pass, too. Until then will we live as suffering beings that follow our own desires only to be reincarnated for more of the same? Or are we willing to be mastered by a true Realizer (in the body or not) and thus participate in prefect freedom, beyond the reaches of birth and death? This is the question for both Adi Da’s devotees and for aspirants of truth everywhere.

Divya Charitamrit

" Tulsidas ji has stated-Guru bin hoi ki gyan, gyan ki hoi birag binuu,
gawahin ved puran,sukh ki lahiya hari bhagati binuu

To simplify:

No knowledge can be gained without a Guru and also no knowledge can exist without detachment from worldly pleasures, there cannot be real happiness without devotion to God. So declare, the Vedas and puranas.

Is Enlightenment Possible Without A Guru?

What do you see in the future regarding the Guru/Disciple relationship? Do we need a Guru to attain a state of enlightenment?To me this is a very important question at the present time। I would like to emphasize the present time। It was in the mid 80's that the spiritual relationship of guru/disciple reached its highest popularity. Since then, there have been spiritual teachers with a more Western approach such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Christiane Northrop, who have taken their educational credentials to approach the teacher/student relationship in a more down-to-earth environment. There are many more teachers without the educational credentials who are just as valuable but don't advertise the fact and will become popular in their own communities over the next few years.We need to consider when the guru/disciple relationship started in order to see where it is presently and where it is going in the future. The best place to start is with the cycles of time called Yugas or Ages in the ancient Vedic texts. There are four ages or Yugas: Satya-yuga or the Golden Age, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga and Kali-yuga. We are presently in Kali-yoga which is the dark age.

In Stephen Knapp's book "The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look Into The Future" , he writes on page 21-The Padma Purana (7।26.15-17) elaborates that "in Kali-yuga, which is the abode of sins, everyone is involved in sinful activities. They censure the Vedas, or spiritual truths, and engage in gambling andstealing. Brahmanas will act fraudulently for a livelihood. Everyone will be addicted to women, sex, and intoxicating liquors. They will be stealing others' wealth. Heretics and atheists will become prominent. Men will possess little luster and will be wrathful, greedy, untruthful, and be filled with jealousy, pride, anger, deceit, and malice."
This could be the reason why the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita is the most read spiritual book in the East।
According to most historians Kali-yuga started after Krishna died some 5,000 years ago. This could be the reason why the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita is the most read spiritual book in the East. It sets the tone for how the guru/disciple relationship works in the dark age such as Kali-yuga. In such a dark age it is no wonder that there is such a need to have a teacher of light (guru) to guide humanity. With so many mosquitoes available and very few light bulbs, the guru becomes the central energy source of pure white light that could elevate others to a higher state of awareness that is almost absent in humanity as a whole. The average age in Kali-yuga is 100 years if you're lucky. In Dvapara-yuga it is 1,000 years old. In Treta-yuga it is 10,000 years old. In Satya-yuga you could live to be 100,000 years old in perfect health.To write about each yuga in detail would be lengthy. I recommend Stephen Knapp's book mentioned earlier for detailed information regarding the subject of yugas. It is obvious from my description of Kali-yuga that a teacher of enlightenment is needed and very rare in this dark age. However, I am always happy to mention the light at the end of the tunnel. According to most authors who are experts on the subject of yugas, we are entering a sub-period of Satya-yuga which will last 10,000 years. According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who is the founder of the TM organization, we have entered this sub-period in July of 2005. Guru purnama is a yearly celebration of the guru every July on the full moon. The full moon in July of 2005 according to Maharishi is the start of the 10,000 year cycle of a sub-period of Satya-yuga in the Kali-yuga age we are presently in.