Receiving the guru’s grace
This is the time of the year when Shiva the Adiyogi first noticed the Saptarishis — the now-celebrated seven disciples. In the yogic tradition, Shiva is not worshipped as a God, but is considered the Adiyogi — the first yogi, or the Adiguru, the first guru from whom the yogic sciences originated. So we are in the month when an ascetic and yogi, who was completely uninvolved with what was around him, started to get involved. For 28 days, from one full moon night to the next — the one which is referred to as Guru Purnima — Shiva could not take his attention off the Saptarishis, who had done some asanas for 84 long years without even a moment’s attention from him. Now, his attention on his first seven disciples was undivided. So this month is seen as a month where even a completely heartless ascetic became compassionate and was compelled to become a teacher, a guru. This month is seen as the best time to receive the guru’s grace and make yourself receptive to the process.
“What should I do?” is always the question. If you keep your individuality aside or what you are, you become less of yourself and this way you can be receptive. Sadhana is always structured in this fashion so that it absorbs you into any activity in such a way that in the daily process of living you forget who you are, what you are and what your life is about. You are just absorbed into what is happening. That is the best way to receive grace.
There is a beautiful expression in the Zen system of allowing human consciousness to grow. A disciple went to a Zen master and asked, “What should I do for my spiritual growth?” The Zen master replied, “Sweep the floor, chop the wood, cook food, that’s all.” “For that, why should I come here? I can do it at home,” said the disciple. But there, sweeping is about your own floor. You will not sweep the next house’s floor if it is dirty. You will chop wood for your own use, you will cook food just for yourself and those whom you consider yours. You are using every activity to enhance who you are, not to dissolve who you are.
This is the difference between making our karma either into a bondage or into a process of liberation. Either you are acquiring karma or your karma is becoming yoga.
This is the month of grace. Grace is like manure for a human being that can catapult him to another dimension of existence, capability and possibility. So making use of grace, what should we do? Nothing. The less you do within yourself and the more you do outside of yourself, the more available you become to grace.
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