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Man, the individual soul, is called pasu or jeevaathma.
God, the universal soul, is called pathi or paramaathma.
These two are not different from each other. Why then does the individual
soul not realize its oneness with the universal soul? Because of
ignorance arising from paasam, the ties that bind it to the material world.
If it gives up these ties, it will realize its oneness with the universal soul
and become one with it.
How can it give up these ties? By tying itself to God using divine love.
What happens if the individual soul doesn't give up its ties to the material world?
It is born again and again till it gives up these ties.
It is the body which dies, not the soul. The soul moves on, carrying it with it
the spiritual knowledge accumulated in each birth.
The cycle of birth and death comes to an end when the individual soul reaches God
by giving up its ties to the material world.
Life is therefore precious. It is an opportunity to progress towards God.
When does the individual soul give up its ties once and for all?
When its love of God becomes perfect. When does this happen?
When its spiritual assets and debts both become zero.
What are these?
The spiritual assets, punniyam, are the results of the good done by the soul.
The spiritual debts, paavam, are the results of the bad done by the soul.
Together they are referred to as karma. Punniyam is good karma
and paavam is bad karma.
Each individual soul carries its karma with it as baggage.
Both good karma (punniyam) and bad karma (paavam)
must be nullified for the karma baggage to become zero.
When this baggage becomes zero,
the individual soul becomes free and realizes its
oneness with the Divine.
How does the individual soul accumulate its karma baggage?
By its actions — by what it thinks, what it says and what it does.
How can it regulate its karma?
By thinking good, telling good and doing good.
This is very, very important if you want to progress on the spiritual path.
Monitor yourself constantly and make sure that everything
you think, tell and do is good.
How can you think good, tell good and do good always?
Simple. Just don't think bad, tell bad or do bad!
How can you achieve this? By keeping your desires in check.
Because as Sri Krishna says, it is your desires which lead you to bad actions
which cause bad karma.
How can you keep your desires in check?
By being content with what you have.
Earn enough to take care of the basic
needs of your family and spend the rest of your time on the spiritual path.
You do need material riches to live in this material world, but you don't
have to be a millionaire.
Don't hanker after what this material world has to offer. After all, you're
not going to take even one red cent with you when you leave this world.
How can you stop hankering after material riches?
By hankering after God. Is it possible to do this amidst the temptations of the
material world? Yes, if you mentally detach yourself from the material world.
How can you do this? By attaching your mind to God.
You don't have to renounce the world. Live in it and discharge your duties
to your family and friends. Be a good child, good parent, good spouse, good friend
and a good employee. Do all of this but in the middle of all this,
keep God in your mind twenty four hours a day. Don't lose track of the goal of life
even for a moment. This outlook works wonders on the spiritual path.
How can you attach your mind to God?
By the grace of a Sathguru.
Only under the guidance of a Sathguru
can one lead a spiritual life in the material world.
Only a Sathguru can protect us from the temptations of the material world
and guide us towards God. Only he can make us fix our mind on God.
Only he can structure our activities in such a way that we don't
accumulate bad karma. Only he can help us neutralize
the karma baggage that we have already accumulated.
Only when our karma baggage has been nullified
do we become fit enough to see God.
And only an authorized Sathguru can workout the karma
of a disciple so that he or she becomes fit enough to see God.
Most of us don't even know of karma, let alone know how to neutralize it.
Yet the neutralization of karma is the key to spiritual advancement.
Hence the importance of the Sathguru in spiritual life.
The Sathguru is a master at neutralizing karma.
He structures the disciple's activities in such a way that his or her karma
can be neutalized as quickly as possible.
As part of the karma neutralization process, the Sathguru
makes the disciple realize that the individual ego is the
seat of spiritual ignorance. As the karma neutralization
process matures, the process of ego annihilation also matures.
And when the karma is neutralized, the individual ego is also
annihilated and the soul gives up its limited individuality
and merges with the unlimited
Universality that is God. This entire process of karma
neutralization, ego annihilation and merger with the Universal Self
is master minded by the Sathguru.
Thus the Sathguru is the focal point of spiritual life
and the Sathguru-disciple relationship is the very basis of spiritual life.
