Sri Guru Gita – 18 February 2014 – Episode 61

Jaya Guru Datta Sri Appaji_/\_!!
Happy Share your food Day Pranams at the lotus feet of Our Dattaswaropa Sadgurudeva _/\_!!

OM NAMAH SHIVAAYA …OM NAM GURAVE NAMAHA

Jaya Guru Datta Appaji.

Jaya Guru Datta. English summary:

Jaya Guru Datta.

We were discussing karma and what it is to take birth without any residual karma. We discussed that some great souls take birth without any residual karma. We said Saint Namadev was an example. He was a great soul who was in communication with Lord Pandareenatha (Lord Vishnu) at all times. He was always conversing with Lord Vishnu Himself. He is the only one who used to converse with Lord Pandareenatha that we see references to these days. But, he wished for another birth. Why? Because, he had a little more karma left. That karma would be finished with just 9 months in the womb of a mother. That means that he would spend the rest of his life as per the Lord’s command, free from all karma. If we have another birth, we should get a birth where we can finish all the karma. It’s very difficult to get a birth without any karma. If that were possible, we wouldn’t need anything else.

We need deliverance from ignorance and from karma. But, that in itself is not enough. Knowledge and detachment should bear fruit in us. For these to bear fruit, the karma that is the cause of births should be destroyed. How does it get destroyed? Can you Guru help you? Will he share some of your karma? He will not, whatsoever. You have to carry your own karma, there’s no escape. He will advise you on the ways to reduce your karma. That’s all he will do. That is why those who serve the Guru should always work on gaining a better understanding of ignorance, birth, karma, knowledge and detachment. There’s no other choice. They should always keep learning and understanding. Listening and understanding once is not enough. As long as you have this birth, you should keep learning and understanding, that’s the only way to reduce your karma. You can’t move on to the next lesson assuming you are done with this lesson. Regardless of how many lessons you learn and how much knowledge you acquire, knowledge and detachment need to be learned and understood over and over again. Some people mistakenly think that knowledge alone is enough, that detachment is unnecessary. “We don’t need both knowledge and detachment. It’s enough to have knowledge”. But, knowledge without detachment is futile. It is like serving someone an elaborate meal on a banana leaf and asking them to walk 10 miles to drink water. That does not work. For one that takes the ablutions of the Guru with devotion and complete surrender, all these will bear fruit. Otherwise, regardless of the amount of devotion you have, knowledge and devotion will not bear fruit until you have had the ablutions of the Guru. What’s the use serving such an elaborate meal if there is no water to drink?

Jaya Guru Datta.