We are told that when Michelangelo saw a barren rock or an abandoned slab of marble, he could see the vision of the beautiful figure which could be carved out of the inert mass of stone. But two things are necessary to make the imagined, beautiful sculpture, a reality. The first is to choose the right piece of marble; the second is an expert sculptor. And the piece of marble must be entrusted to the care of the sculptor, to be carved and chiseled at his will.
The true disciple must cleanse and purify himself and hand himself over to his Master, to shape, mould and make him into an image of the Divine!
One essential mark of the true disciple is implicit obedience to the Guru's wishes. "Not my will, but the Guru's will be done," says the true disciple at every step. And the more he is attuned to the Guru's will, the more he will grow in the likeness of the Guru, until, one blessed day, the disciple becomes a part of the Guru's being. The disciple flows into the Guru; the Guru flows into the disciple. The twain are one, one in the One who is Peace, Joy and Bliss!
But, obedience must come from within; and it is born out of three important attributes: faith, respect and devotion. These are the foundation of obedience. When we have a Guru who can kindle these attributes in us, it is easy for us to practise obedience.
As we progress on the path of obedience, we tend to become less argumentative, less questioning. It is not that we become passive; it is just that we are more intuitive, and therefore arguments and questions become futile. We understand the Guru better and find it easier to merge our will in his. The Guru's word is final — there are no questions to be asked, no compromises to be made, no alternatives to choose from.
When we arrive at this stage, we are ready to merge our self in the True Self. We are ready for self-surrender — the next crucial step on the path.
The Guru is the ocean of grace; he is also the transmitter of grace — but we have to yearn for this grace, we have to allow the Guru to work on us, so that we may receive his grace.
Dada J P Vaswani is a humanitarian, philosopher, educator, acclaimed writer, powerful orator, messiah of ahimsa, and non-sectarian spiritual leader
