Guru is a Sanskrit word which means a teacher – someone who shows you the way. Many of us spend our lifetime searching for a Guru in our spiritual journey. We try to coverup our lazy lifestyle by saying that we have not yet found a proper Guru. And some of us hang on to fake Gurus who mislead more than lead us on the right path. Bhagavata talks of a strange man who claimed that he had not one but 24 Gurus! But most of them were not even human!
Krishna narrates this story of an apparently mad man who claimed to have 24 Gurus. This is a story that is supposed to have really happened during the lifetime of Yadu, Krishna’s ancestor from whom the dynasty of Yadava started. Krishna was a Yadava. This story is retold by Krishna to Uddhava – his close associate. This was in response to Uddhava’s question ‘How does one attain the ultimate truth?’
The story goes as follows.
One day Yadu was going around in a jungle. He came across an apparently mad man who was totally naked, moving carelessly, brimming with joy. He was young, good looking, intelligent and had all the attributes that could have made him the most successful man in the world. But he did not seem to care for any of that and was happily moving around as if he has nothing to be achieved in this world. He was self-content.
Such self-content people, who are totally immersed in their inner bliss, who are indifferent to the external world, are called Avadhootas. This man was an Avadhoota.
Yadu approached this man and asked him how he attained such a blissful state of mind; and who was his teacher who shaped him in that fashion.
Many of us keep looking for Gurus who have a ‘magic technique’ that can take us to great heights in spite of all our wayward style of living. We don’t mind paying any amount to such a Guru. We end up in futile searches that only make our pockets lighter but don’t result in any lessening of our problems.
What is actually needed, according to Krishna, is to be ‘alert and vigilant’. Such people find Gurus everywhere. They succeed in achieving what cannot be achieved even by great efforts. It is not any specific Guru who is important but your earnestness to imbibe lessons wherever they come from.
This Avadhoota’s story re-narrated by Krishna is meant to convey this idea.
In response to Yadu’s question about his Guru, Avadhoota says that he had many Gurus and most specifically 24 among them. It is interesting to know about these Gurus of Avadhoota who nurtured him into the highest blissful state that he was. Let us briefly look at these 24 Gurus of Avadhoota and what he learnt from each one of them.
Guru 1: Earth – The earth is what supports all of us. We trample upon it without even thinking whether it hurts her in any way. We indulge in all kinds of activities that can ultimately damage the earth. But the earth patiently bears with all our excesses and never retaliates. It supports us like a loving mother who cares for her child no matter how irresponsibly that child behaves.
In the same manner Avadhoota says that by looking at earth he also learnt to bear with stupid thoughtless people who misbehaved with him. He knew that such people are forced by their nature and providence. He just ignores them and continues to love them in spite of their rude behavior.
Looking at the trees that grow on earth, Avadhoota learnt how to offer himself for the sake of others without expecting anything in return. A tree gives shade, it gives fruits, and it provides shelter to lot of birds. In spite of that, people chop it down or uproot it for their selfish needs.
But the tree never complains and continues to help everyone as long as it lives. As they say, the sandalwood tree even anoints the axe with its fragrance, that axe that chops it down. Even when it is dead, a tree still helps others to provide them warmth and light. So, Avadhoota made it a point that his life was meant for the sake of others no matter how they treated him.
Guru 2: Air – The air that we breathe in burns out the food that we eat and converts it into energy that not only nourishes our body but also provides the ability to think and act. But the air does not bother about what we actually eat. It does not bother whether what we ate was tasty, flavorful and so on. As long as the food has the nutrients, the air converts all that into energy. It does not differentiate whether the food was from an upmarket restaurant or simple food cooked in a layman’s kitchen. It treats all alike.
From this behavior of air, Avadhoota says that he learnt to sustain himself on bare necessities of life. He desisted from indulging in food and other luxuries that are not essential for survival and day to day activities. He never became a slave to his senses. He limited himself to only those minimum things that satiated his hunger, provided him enough energy, kept him mentally agile and unrestricted in all his essential physical activities. He never indulged in excesses.
A flowing wind passes through all kinds of things. But it remains untouched. Whether it passes through a beautiful live forest or through a wild fire, or a cremation ground, or over a rotten corpse, the air remains untouched. It no doubt carries the scent but it remains untouched. It remains pure always.
In the same manner Avadhoota learnt that he too should remain untouched by whatever happens in the world. No doubt his body undergoes pleasure and pain, but he himself keeps untouched by them the same way the scent carried by the moving wind. That is because he is not the body nor the mind. He is the pure blissful soul which is distinct from body and mind, though it resides in them.
Guru 3: Sky – Avadhoota looks at the sky above. At times the sky becomes clouded. At other times it appears turbulent. Sometimes it appears completely dark and at other times bright and luminous. It is not really the sky that goes through all these changes. It is various natural things like cloud, wind etc. that create an impression that the sky undergoes changes. But the sky always remains untouched by all these changes. So, Avadhoota resolves to remain unmoved by whatever happens in nature and understands that it is all the play of natural forces.
Guru 4: Water – The water that Avadhoota is talking about here is the water body in a sacred place. People throng to these sacred places. They take a dip in the water and in a way, they pollute it. But the water body does not take offense. Instead, it not only satiates their thirst and meets their other requirements but also purifies them physically as well as spiritually. It absolves them of all their sins. In the same way Avadhoota tries to be good to other people no matter how they treat him.
Let us continue this list of Avadhoota’s Gurus in the next episode.
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