BOOK TEN

 

Charan Kamal

 

The Lotus Feet of the Master

Very frequently, we across the tem "Charan Kamal" in the scriptures of various religions.

Listen , O simpleton! Learn to fall at the feet of a Guru.  *1

                                                                                            GURU NANAK

If your thoughts be centerd on the feet of the Guru,

You will get all your desires fulfilled.  *2

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

In the Gospels also we find references to anointing and kissing the feet of Christ.  Among the Hindus and Muslims there is still the custom of doing obeisance by touching the feet of divines and holy man.  Let us try to understand the significance or import of injunctions and practices like these.

A living Master is a great necessity in the science of spirituality.  He is the central figure around which the entire system revolves.  He is the human pole through which the divine power works in this world.  Without his guidance and help, one can do nothing and achieve nothing.  No wonder then that one has to surrender onself at the holy feet of the Master.  As Kamal or the lotus flower is considered to be something sublime and sacred, the feet of the Master are generally spoken of as Charan Kamal or the Lotus Feet, fit to be worshiped and adored in all sincerity and humility.

Without the munificence of a Guru one gets naught,

Though one may engage in millions of meritorious deeds.  *3

                                                                                   GURU AMAR DAS

Set aside all thy wisdom fall at the feet of a Guru.  *4

Be thou the dust of sadhus' feet and forget thyself altogether,

Leave all thy cunning and learning and fall at the feet of the Guru.  *5

Leave aside all thy wisdom and knowledge,

And fall at the feet of the Saints.  *6

                                                                                   GURU ARJAN

Listen, thou ignorant self, learn to fall at the feet of the Master,

Be thoudevoted to the Word and then thou shalt have no fear of death.

The unfortunate ones have a heavy load on theirheads and can never be happy.  *7

                                                                                            GURU NANAK

It is with a writ in the forehead that one communes with the precious Word,

And thy works shall be fashioned out by devotion to the holy feet of the Master.  *8

Think of the King--the Lord of Creation,

Depend on Him alone who is immanent in all;

Cast aside all thy artifices and get hold of the Master's feet.  *9

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

O dear self! Thou wouldst be blessed by devotion to the all-pervading Power,

Serve day and night at the feet of the Master, for that is the true devotion to the Lord.  *10

                                                                                            GURU NANAK

From exhortations like the following of Guru Arjan, it is clear that he wants us to find a living Master and surrender ourselves to him, to profit from his company and close association by molding out life and conduct according to his pattern, for in this lies the secret of spiritual success.  "To  contact the feet a Guru" in this context means to meet a Master and enter his fold.

Bow at the feet of His devotees.  *11

Remain always in the company of the Saints,

And be devoted to the feet of the Master.  *12

Blessed is the moment when I see the Master,

Let me be a holocaust at the feet of the Master.  *13

I live simply to see you

And to do obeisance at your feet.  *14

I get constantly enlivened by seeing the Master,

And quench my thirst with the washings of his feet.  *15

May I always live in the sweet remembrance of the Word and be blessed in body and mind;

Let me drink the washings of thy feet, o merciful Master divine.

Blessed indeed was the time when I reached thy door,

O Lord;

O Nanak, God in His utmost mercy let me to the door of the Perfect Master.  *16

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

The feet of the Master are often spoken of as a pool of sacred nectar that grants salvation to the world-weary pilgrims on the Path.

Listen ye to the Saints: Salvation lies the true Word,

Service at the feet of the Master and devotion to his Word is the true pilgrimage.

Such a one is acceptable at His Court and obtains a seat of honor.  *17

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

Again there is abundant sweetness, strange and peculiar, in the feet of the Master, and untold blessings flow therefrom.

Sweet are the lotus feet of the Master,

With God's writ one sees them;

Myriad are the merits that follow such a blessed vision.  *18

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

The washings of their feet are taken to be an Elixir of Life, by taking which one gets Life Eternal.  To meet a living Mastger is no easy task.  Really blessed is a person who has the good fortune to come across one and recognize him.

O Nanak! it is extreme good gortune of one

To cast aside pride and fall at the Master's feet.  *19

O Nanak, it is through fullness of karma that one gets devoted to the feet of the Master.  *20

Nanak says: Blessed am I,

That I serve the feet of a Sadh.  *21

                                                                                                     GURU ARJAN

It is with the grace of God that one gets an opportunity to meet a living Master and have loving devotion for his feet:

God linked me with a Saint,

And I found a boon companion,

And acquired love for His feet.  *22

He on whom God showers His mercy

Begins washing the feet of a Satguru.  *23

                                                                                            GURU RAM DAS

God has grace me with His mercy,

The feet of the Master are now implanted in me.  *24

                                                                                                     GURU ARJAN

Blessed is the day when a person engages in the service of the Master's feet and bows in all humility before him and touches his lotus feet with his forehead and heard.

Blessed are the eyes that see the Master's Form,

Blessed is the forehead that touches his feet.  *25

Blessed is the day that I met the Master,

And did obeisance at his feet.  *26

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

Blessed are the beards that touch his feet.  *27

                                                                                   GURU AMAR DAS

Bhai Gurdas says in this context:

Through ages one has had a human birth,

But blessed is the life wherein one takes refuge at the Master's feet,

Blessed are the eyes that behold the Master,

Blessed the ears that hear the Master,

Blessed the nose that smells the fragrance of his feet,

Blessed the tongue that repeats the words of the Master,

Blessed the hands that serve the Master,

Blessed the feet that circumambulate the Master.  *28

Refuge at the feet of the Master includes the merit of millions of pilgrimages,

Even the gods and goddesses are eagerly engaged in the service of the Master;

Refuge at the feet of the Master brings about fruition of all desires.

All supernatural powers flow from him and so doth immortaility;

Refuge at the feet of the Master takes one to the region of desirelessness.

Devotion as enjoined by him works out salvation from bondage;

Refuge at the feet of the Master has a merit that is inconceivable,

He works without any thought and is the potential cause (material and efficient) of all that exists.  *29

Since the time I took refuge at the feet of the Master

All the world seems engaged in worshiping at his feet;

His lotus feet constitute a pool of the Water of Life (Charan-Amrit);

I wish and long for the dust of his feet--the dust that his created the Universe.

His lotus feet are the true wealth and a true haven of peace,

They grant ineffable vision andlead to the Path God-ward:

His lotus feet have a glorythat is indescribable and incomprehensible,

Not his, not this, I bow to thee again and again, O Lord.  *80

                                                                                            BAHI GURDAS

It is really a great blessing to have a living Master.  We have in the scriptures countless merits that accrue from the lotus feet of the Master.  He dispels all our sorrows and afflictions.  One is rid of the deadly sins of lusts and passions, attachments and desires.  The body and mind both get purified.  Freed from all bondage, one takes life as it flows by, unfettered and unaffected, fearless of what may come--including death itself, which he knows how to meet.  With the Power of the Word, he leads a life of perfect contentment and ecstasy and rises into Universal Consciousness and hereafter lives at all times at the level of the soul.  This is Jivan Mukti or liberation while living.

Blessed is the time I see the Master,

And make an offering of myself at his feet.  *31

A true Satguru is a great Donor,

When I see him all my ills vanish;

His lotus feet are worthy of adoration.  *32

                                                                                                     GURU ARJAN

I adore the feet of the Satguru,

Guru is the helmsman

And his Word the barque by which we cross over.  *33

                                                                                            GURU NANAK

A glance of grace from the Satguru is more than millions of kingships;

The moment he manifests the Word, my body and mind feel exhilarated;

But it is with the writ of God that one gets devoted to the feet of the Satguru.  *34

Whatever the condition, sitting or standing, I sing the virtues of the Lord and my sorrows and afflictions disappear.

Nanak says: it is with the fullness of Karma that the mind gets attached to the feet of the Master.  *35

All things are added unto him who casts a loving look at the Master;

Those whose minds are fixed in the feet of the Master are truly blessed.  *36

Nanak says: if it be so ordained,

Leave all pride and be engaged in the feet of the Master.  *37

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

Blessed are those whom the Satguru has accepted,

Nanak is ever attached to the feet of the Master.  *38

                                                                                            GURU NANAK

As ye sow, so shall ye reap, and reap the seeds sown in ages past,

On whomsoever He showers His mercy, he washes the feet of the Satguru.  *39

                                                                                   GURU RAM DAS

Inner vision of the Master's feet

 

A living Master is not a physical entity alone.  He is an active live principle that transcends at will the pyhsical plane and traverses into higher spiritual regions.  The Radiant Form of the Master, called Guru Dev, guides and helps the human soul to extricate itself from the trammels of the flesh, by means of Simranor repetition of the charged words give by the Master.  In subtle regions the spirit is enabled to stay by the magnetic influence of the Radiant Divine Form of the Guru (Divya-rup).  Hence the necessity fo devotion at the sacred feet of the inner Radiant Form as well.

Keep the feet of the Masterever engraven in thy heart;

Thou shalt have all thy wishes fulfilled.  *40

Let the remembrance of the Master's feet abide in thy mind,

All thy sufferings shall vanish and thine enemies be destroyed.  *41

Let the remembrance of the Master's feet abide in thy mind

And thou shalt be saved from the hell fires.  *42

The feet of the Master are mainfest in my forehead,

This is why all my trials and triulations have now ended.  *43

The blessed from of the Master is manifestin my forehead;

Whenever I peep within, I find him there;

His lotus feet are the source of my very life.  *44

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

The entire Radiant Form of the Master as it appears within is blessed indeed.  The Divine Lighr emanating from the feet of the Master is resplendent and is the first to dawn; with it comes the entire form.  As a harbinger of the Divine Presence, it is fit to be worshiped and loved.  From stage to stage this Holy Light grows in luster.  Swami Tulsi Das, the famous author of the Hindi Ramayana, spoke of it as follows:

The nails of the Master's feet are more lustrous than the shining crest jewel.  A concentration on them open the inner vision and one becomes all-knowing.  *45

Maulana Rumi also speaks of it:

When the Pir (Master) appears within, you become knower of the past, present and future.

This is tantamount to what is technically called "Fana-fil-Sheikh" or merging one's identity in, or becoming one with, the Sheikh or Master.  Hereafter the duality between the disciple and the Master ceases and they become one in spirit.  The disciple truly becomes a Guru-man.  The Astral Form of the Master apears when one rises above body consciousness. When the sensory currents (or consciousness) through the process of Simran collect at the center between the two eyebrows, the light sprouts forths and when one goes further this Radiant Form manifests itself.  So long as this Divine Form of the Master does not come to guide, one cannot marchon the spiritual path and gain the Kingdom of Heaven; for Guru precedes god and leads us Godward.  This Radiant Form remains ever with the disciple, no matter where he may be, and helps the pilgrim spirit on the Path; leads her beyond the Triguru-atmak regions (physical, astral, causal) and takes her to the Fourth Grand Division called Sat Lok, which is a purely spiritual realm.

The feet (Light) of the Master shine in my forehead,

No more am I a prey to trials and tribulations.  *48

The Blessed Form of the Master is ever present in my forehead;

Every moment as I look up, I do behold the Divine Form;

And now I live and breathe by the grace of the Master's lotus feet.  *47

Blessed indeed is the human body in which dwell the feet of the beloved.  *48

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

The manifestation of the Guru Dev, or the Astral Form of the Master, is purely a gift of God.  By Divine grace alone, initiates are blessed with this precious gift.

I am enraptured with seeing the lotus feet of the Radiant Form of the Master,

It is by the grace of the Master that one comes toserve the Lord.  *48

                                                                                            GURU ARJAN

 

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