Sharanagati

No doubt, many people need help and guidance on different levels. And as action is a very complicated matter, therefore even for the wise it is very difficult to ascertain what is proper and what is improper. Kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo ‘py atra mohitah[1] – Even the kavi, the wise, may be perplexed what to do and what not to do. And if you have a certain goal, there is a certain way; if you have a different goal, there is a different way. If you want to go to Plovdiv, but if you start to Montana direction, you will not reach. Or you will have to go a very long path until you return. So, if we want to achieve a divine life, then we have to follow a divine process. And there they will teach us: do this, don’t do that.

So this is what we should learn from some spiritual authority to help us. How it’s called?

Answers: Guru.

Tirtha Maharaj: So guru will tell: “Don’t belch!”, right? Or maybe some instructions on other topics? Sometimes we need these elementary instructions also. No spitting. Especially not upwards. Because what happens if you spit upwards? It will come back to you. So, no spitting upwards. And so many other instructions our spiritual authority should distribute to us. Elementary, medium, higher, short term and long term, material, intellectual, spiritual.

I have heard recently about a big meeting, like thousands of disciples came to one master. And the master gave personal darshan. So, the students were coming and telling their sad stories at the lotus feet of the master. “I have no job.” He said: “What can I do? Next.” “I have no husband.” “What can I do? Next.” “I have a husband. What can I do?” “I don’t know. Next.”

So, what kind of questions you put when you have the chance? We have to be clever to ask and then the spiritual master will try his best to educate us in the spiritual science. And if we want to enter the higher grades of spiritual education that means you have to search very hard and in a very determined way. And you have to collect certain spiritual assets like knowledge, renunciation, spiritual merits. And then with this basket with beautiful spiritual gems, you have to approach your master or a visionary of the truth and he will activate all your assets for you. This is the special, magic divine touch over all your collected, accumulated spiritual merits.

So there is one side: your efforts, and the other side is that divine touch to activate what you have collected so far. Again this shows that there must be some private efforts and there must be some divine blessings.

This is the way to understand what to do and not to do. Until we are under the influence of illusion, we are very busy to do what is forbidden and very lazy to do what is suggested. Most of the people do not work for their benefit; they are very busy, but they simply dig their grave. If we knew the results of our activities, I think we should be more considerate, more reasonable – in both extremes. If you knew what bad fruits your activities would bring, you would be very reserved about these activities; and also if you knew what blessings you can achieve, what beautiful results you can achieve by your spiritual activities, you would be very busy doing that.

To be simply active is not enough. We have to add some spiritual intelligence to our activity. Activity is the rockets. Intelligence is the target system to reach the goal. So we have to inquire what is good and what is bad, what is proper and what is improper.

[1] Bhagavad Gita 4.16