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Guru-Sishya lineage

CHENNAI: The revered tradition of the teacher disciple lineage has been the backbone of the spiritual path and has preserved and handed over the profound and sacred truths of the scriptures to generations of mankind from time immemorial. The Supreme Being as the primordial Guru has been the one and only source of enlightenment for humanity. The Bhagavad Gita is a landmark spiritual teaching and Lord Krishna’s rendering of the eternal wisdom is a rare occasion when Truth is revealed by the very embodiment of Truth, said Srimati Sunanda in a lecture.

The Lord tells Arjuna that in an earlier era He had divulged this knowledge to the Sun god and he in turn taught it to Manu who taught it to Ikshvaku. It was then passed down the line to the royal sages. But subsequently these truths were lost when people failed to imbibe and practise them. When Arjuna was not able to understand how Lord Krishna had instructed this Yoga way back in the past, the Lord makes it clear that His incarnations are not to be equated to the human births of the Jivatmas. While The Jivatma is born again and again according to each one’s individual Karma, the Lord chooses to be born according to His Sankalpa whenever there is a decline in Dharma. His omniscience is aware of all the births of all beings including Arjuna’s while the Jivatma’s awareness is partial and confined to the present.

Lord Krishna is the ideal preceptor and Arjuna qualifies to be the ideal disciple for the Lord sees him as a devotee and a friend. When Arjuna sought Lord Krishna’s help and advice this surrender implied implicit trust in the teacher and the message. The path to self realisation through the practice of the Karma, Jnana and Bhakti Yogas and the process by which any individual can strive to establish a rapport with the Lord are explained in detail.

The Lord celebrates the profound quality of true devotion in the course of His instruction. A Bhakta is one who voluntarily and unconditionally surrenders to the higher power. Being fully aware in one’s inner being of the truth of God’s magnificence that has conferred on all of us whatever we are and whatever we have, there is no trace of ego in such a devout person.

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