Guru and Spirituality

In "As you like it", Shakespeare beautifully portrays the seven ages of man. I am specifically concerned about the fifth, sixth and the last stages of the Seven Ages of the Shakespearean man.

And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.

The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble,
Pipes And whistles in his sound.


A man at the fifth stage suddenly retires and shifts into a pensive mood when he is done with the cream of his material life. He thinks, "Well, its time to think about old age and death. I need to be peaceful. Let me take to Spirituality".

Spirituality is often thought of as a mythical, yet final destination of refuge when the chores of life are over. This is an unhealthy and unscientific thought and has no value. The concept of spiriutality advocated by the Vaidika or the Vedãntic Religion - the Sanãthana Dharma, is very simple and straightforward. It is all about living a happy life - physically, mentally and beyond. Gurunãtha asks in this regard, "Don't you take food whenever you need it? Do you only start taking food only when you are 60 years old? Religion is very similar to food." He means that one should assimilate the right principles of the dharma, in right quantities, from a healthy Master, so that it doesn't yield any ill-effects and helps you remain healthy and seek the ultimate goal. This should start at a young age itself.

In one of His pravachanams at Sri Rãmar Koil in Coimbatore, He quotes a nice illustration: Once a Jnãni goes to a city. A huge gathering of folklore await to have his darshan. On seeing him, they prostrate unto him and seek his blessings. The Jnãni, when looking at each of them, predicts their age. He looks at a 30 year old person and says "12 years", he looks at a 55 year old woman and says "5 years". He was indeed, predicting the spiritual age of the individual rather than the bodily age."
Gurunãtha goes to say that, you are spiritually born only when seek and get a Uttama Guru. One's physical existance is but worthless, unless and until he seeks a Guru.

Swãmi Vivekãnanda thus defines a Uttama Guru:
"Impulses are required so that the higher powers and possibilities of the soul are quickened, spiritual life is awakened, growth is animated, and man becomes holy and perfect in the end. The person from whose soul such impulses comes is called the "Guru" - the teacher. To convey such an impulse to any soul, the soul from which it proceeds must possess the power of transmitting it."

A Jnãni's Behavior

While talking about the state of a Brahma Jnani or a Jivan Mukta, Sri Ãdi Shankara in his Viveka Chudamani (Crest Jewel of Discrimination) says (verse 542)

which roughly means,
He appears differently at different times, like a king, a fool, a wise man, a person of mesmeric power, respected, derided, -- but all times in a state of bliss.

The external appearances of a person donot convey the truth. They are not the reflection of the inner Self of the person. Never judge a person by his looks and activity. You need to move with the person and closely interact with him, before you can come to any conclusion.

In this context, Guruji often cites a variety of examples. He talks about the life of Sri Seshãdri Swãmigal of Tiruvannãmalai. This great soul always used to roam around in the streets like a beggar, suddenly behave eccentric, going into shops and toppling off the cash boxes, dance in front of a dead body etc. But all of his activities signified some inner meaning and benign intention, which, only people close to him, could understand.
Sri Yogi Rãmsuratkumãr (popularly known as Visiri Swãmiyãr) of Tiruvannãmalai used to circumambulate the holy hill often. He used to smoke a cigar and have a hand fan.
I know one among a group of people who, a few years ago, used to perform "Giri Valam", singing Tiruppugazh Verses. Yogiji used to wait for this group everytime, whatever time of the day it be, sitting on a rock on the route, smoking his cigar. Once the group came, he used to get elated with joy and affectionately serve tea to every member from his own cup (which was a cocunut shell).
There are, and have been Mahãns, who have had a rigid way of life, sticking to disciplines of sainthood. There have been Mahaãns, who have had eccentric mannerisms. But, there is absolutely no difference between the former and the latter, because, internally, both of these kind enjoy the same supreme state of bliss. One important point to note here is that irrespective of their mannerisms and behaviors, one can feel the divine vibrations and positive atmosphere in the environ of a Jnãni.

I am reminded of one of the awesome replies that Yogi Rãmsuratkumãr gave to a question posed by one disciple of his -
Yogiji, you say that Jivan Muktãs attain the Ultimate Knowledge, the Supreme Bliss. Then why do they behave like any other mortal on the earth?

The Swãmiji, pointing to a river flowing near by, said,
"What do you see here?"
"a river"
"Where is it bound for?"
"to the ocean."
"Has it reached the ocean yet?"
"Yes of course, there is a point where it merges with the ocean", said the devotee.
"Can you see that the river is still flowing, though we know it has merged with the seas?"
It was clear, and the disciple had no more questions.