Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 05.01.2019 evening, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

We human beings are made of relationships. Humans are social beings. We depend very much on our connections, on our relationships. They say, it doesn’t matter what you know, but it does matter whom you know. And all those who have been living in the communist system understand this very well. It didn’t matter what you know and what you don’t know, but it did matter whom you know, what connections you have. And actually, this is true in the spiritual sense as well. I don’t say that this is spiritual communism, but anyway, our consciousness and our knowledge is limited, right? We cannot know everything. It’s impossible! You are not the brightest intellect in this Universe. But, if you know the proper person, you are not excluded from salvation. If you are connected to Shri Guru, then you are saved. Not simply to Guru, but to Shri Guru. Shri Guru is the divine aspect. 

Actually, the spiritual master is a direct messenger of the Supreme. And how is a messenger called in Christianity? Angel, right? Angel. So, our master is just like an angel for us. And I just recall the first occasion when my spiritual master visited my home. At that time I was living with my parents. You know, this was a risky time, so we had to apply certain conspiracy principles. Because he was a VIP person for us and therefore we had to make all the possible safety rules and precautions for him. There were two weeks of arrangements: when and how and under what conditions he would come to my home. The parents were trained, ‘you stay in your room’. And then the moment came, the bell rang… And he entered. Fully in white clothes. All white! All white! And I had an impression: one angel is coming to me. This picture is still with me, after some years. 

And what do you expect from an angel? Some blessings, right? But this angel came with some questions. At that time my service was to translate some sacred scriptures from English into Hungarian. And then my angel asked, “How is the translation going?” I said, “Well, this is the maximum that I can accomplish”. And he said, “No, it’s not enough”. Then I understood that this is a demanding angel. 

So, meeting an exceptional person has a great influence on your life. As I told you, we, human beings, we are made up of relationships. For example, all of us are the sons or the daughters of our fathers. This relationship will never change. Even the ascetics are born from a mother. This will never change. Friendships, they will change. Lovers, they will change. It is said, men are easy to forget about their lovers, but they never forget about their friends. And ladies are easy to forget about their friends, but they never forget about their lovers. You see, we are made up of relationships. Some will last for one lifetime. Some for a few moments. But the spiritual relationship to our divine messenger, to our divine master, will last forever. 

And who has the most important and most substantial influence in our live? This is our divine master. Because this connection doesn’t concern only the body or the bodily genetics. It’s not only an emotional relationship, like a friendship or a love affair. This is not a theoretical agreement of certain points. No, this is a soul-to-soul, a heart-to-heart, a spirit-to-spirit connection. Something that will never change. Everything changes around us, right? Sometimes we can say ‘unfortunately’, other times we can say ‘fortunately’. Nevertheless, we need fixed points in our life. And if our commitment to our spiritual leaders, teachers, masters, if this is the fixed point in our life, then we are fortunate. 

(to be continued)