World famous Reiki grandmaster and naturopathic doctor, Dr. N.K. Sharma’s interview was taken on the occasion of Guru Paarva by the magazine ‘Wonders of Reiki’ (whom thousands of followers behold with great regard and trust) so that they could be introduced to his philosophy of life. Presented hereunder are the questions asked by the Editor and the answers as given by Gurudeva.
Q. Regarding spirituality we see a clear difference between your views and modern religious gurus – Why this is so?
A. The so-called gurus have spread a number of misconceptions regarding spirituality in society. Had the society understood spirituality in the correct perspective then it would not be living under those illusions, tensions & diseases as it is. The things that are taken for eternal truths till date are not the truths at all. Most people have not awakened; they are just repeating like parrots those old religious sayings and such parrots form the majority. They are making the forthcoming generations parrots too. No one is completely conscious towards life. They are repeating old things in their half-consciousness or they are unconsciously repeating old things. For example someone says Rama – Rama; but mind does not hold on to Rama; doesn’t concentrate on it and it is the nature of mind that if you repeat a word or a thing continuously it will enter deep. Such chants take us to consciousness but the same chants when done with conscious concentration create power. Till the mind is there awareness can’t be. Awareness is an entirely different thing.
Q. What you mean by awareness?
A. You should be fully conscious towards whatever your body or mind is doing – your awareness and alertness should be towards these experiences. It’s not that you just keep on doing something merely under the habit – like a robot or repeating something like a parrot. Your mind should be where you are and your body is. And you should be fully conscious of what you are doing and why – what your mind and body are feeling like; what different messages your senses are giving to your mind.
Q. Thousands of people address you as ‘Guruji’ or ‘Gurudeva’ and accord the same regard and respect also but your attire and views are different from them. When you are invited somewhere then people think some very big Guru is coming who will be in ochre robe, wearing rudraksha beads and tilak on forehead etc. but on seeing you they start thinking what sort of Guru is this?
A. Whatever old beliefs are prevalent about Gurus, I am opposite to them. I want to give such vision of a Guru who lives in the midst of society and family, happiness and sorrow and is dressed up like a normal person. The essence of Guru is beyond attire, pretensions and external changes. The one who is changed only from outside is no Guru. Guru is the one who is changed internally; – he has not desire or cravings. When the inner is transformed the external changes lose meaning. Outward changes in fact only convey cravings; desires and mind are still present in the person. He is trying to venture in from outside. Earlier the problem of arranging a tailor was there; hence gurus wore robes. Since shaving could not be arranged for in the jungle one had to keep beard. I see body as the temple of God. I want to present it in its full beauty. Like we keep God in the temple, dressed and decked up; maximum beautifully I too want to beautify one with best clothes and natural beauty. In the same way they want to offer best comforts to God I want to give it to this body. As per my own experience wearing barest minimum clothes and torturing body has nothing to do with spirituality.
Q. Who is a true Guru? What are his attributes?
A. He is such an awakened man who is free from bondage. He is that who awakens others, frees them from bondage and inspires them to soar high in the blissful heavens of life and when you acquire this ability then he will free you from himself too. He doesn’t make a follower of you. The Guru who creates his followership is not a true Guru. On becoming a follower a man loses his identity. Second thing is follower never reaches anywhere… Guru is like a ladder. You have to ascend using the rung. One who got stuck to the rungs i.e. Guru does not reach anywhere. Guru thus binds the disciple in bondage and becomes an obstacle or hurdle in his liberation. Guru is like a milestone. Guru indicates the way pointing his fingers but if you took his finger itself for the way you will reach nowhere. I want to free people from such Gurudom. I do not want to bind anyone. I trod so I found. You tread, you will find too. Gurus can never give any thing to anybody. He can only open the eyes of a disciple. He can show him the map of life.
Q. Who can be a true Guru? Problems don’t appear resolving under modern day Gurus?
A. While living like ordinary worldly people in this fare of world, we can live like Mahatmas. Only such Guru can give the honest and complete solutions of life. It’s very surprising and ironical also that we ask the solution of our life problems from such Gurus who are talking about God by escaping from life. They live neither in family nor with wives or children. Neither they are doing any business or job nor living within the confines of commercial hold or society and not even playing in crores! Whatever answers such persons or Gurus will give will be shorn of any actual experience and thus be misguiding. Such Gurus will talk of towering truths, talk of moon in heavens which will be very pleasing to hear but you can’t touch them in practical world. A true Guru can be only one who lives in all such conditions with detached equanimity. He can give the correct answer to our questions for his answers will be based on truths and realities of life; and he would have experienced them himself. True Guru will be living life unattached, savoring its happiness, but in reality like portraying a character. Those who do tall scholarly talks about God, showing the way to Nirvana and its nature appear very pleasing but do not lead to anywhere.
Q. What is your main instruction to your pupils?
A. Do not be my follower, awaken yourself and then leave. In fact one who wants to reach somewhere never becomes follower. A blind follower thinks my Guru will salvage me without anything done on his/her part. Awakened Guru says, “I am awakened, you too get awakened. Whether you are awakened or still in slumber doesn’t get revealed from your attire – it only is revealed from the fragrance coming out of your personality. Sanyas is an inner state and not outer show. It’s very strange that we want to live in this world, to be very much of this world but ask our answers from persons removed from world whose answers too would be only like them. The truths of this world are different and equally different truths are of those who are living in caves or in their own ashrams removed from society.
Q. What is spirituality in your view?
A. For the meaning of spirituality is adapting yourself with the laws of nature and since it is flowing with them; it’s to achieve the completeness of soul in body, mind and temperament, to live life with highest bliss, in its completeness and totality, in its ultimate artistic beauty, to live life like a festive celebration. For me spirituality is not merely engaging in high moral talk or discussions on God. For me spirituality is not the quest of God because only that is searched for which is away and not existing but He is there and we only need to become one with Him. It’s to become water by melting the ice of ego like the drop becomes one with ocean. He is not waiting for prayers or p raise. He does not interfere with your life even one per cent. He has gone down to sleep for ever after laying down the laws. It’s only a symbolic explanation or mode of exposition. We are ourselves reaping the gains or losses of our good thoughts or bad thoughts. We are ourselves building our heaven or hell. We ourselves are creating attraction or repulsion of positive and negative waves. For me spirituality is the search of life and supreme bliss. It’s the search of freedom from sorrows. The complete expression of life is spirituality for me.
Q. In our time lacs of people are engaged in search of life’s goal through numerous methods. Which one of these is the best according to you?
A. No one is seeking God and if one is it’s futile. Actually searching God is like searching for one’s own nose. In truth man’s quest is for his own desires and appetites, for happiness and bliss. He is desiring for God’s heaven. And so far as the question of God is concerned if I take you to Him you will leave Him in a while due to boredom because you are not seeking Him for His company but for the fulfillment of your own desires and cravings – which will not be there. So you will get bored there for sure. In truth freedom from ignorance and untruth in life is itself the experience of God: We are living out and away from God so long as we are living in untruth and ignorance. Upon the freedom of these itself we become Godlike. With the death of your desires and ignorance in essence you become immortal, for the craving of life exists for the fulfillment of desires only.
Q. Then doing chants, visiting temples, doing worship and traveling to holy places are all pointless?
A. No these are not useless but are the preliminary steps for normal persons living in ignorance. These are the small ways to cross to the other side of mind. But unfortunately people remain entangled in these only. In truth the use of such things is to ponder over oneself and then commencing the journey up. But people remain stuck over these stairs alone and reach the end of life without knowing themselves. These all are the needs of mob who does not have the capacity nor can understand the deep and lofty spiritual truths of life. People can become liberated by using these in correct manner without any knowledge whatsoever, by surrendering completely and earnestly. But these same rituals become greatest barrier in our liberation. Enmeshed in such rituals people keep struggling with worldly tensions and sorrows. They live in this illusion that rituals will lead to liberation and unless they please God by prayer and praise, sorrow will remain their lot. They never experience this truth that adapting oneself to God’s laws itself is His truest worship.
Q. Our country abounds in spiritual knowledge still we are lagging behind in world, why so, why we have this much sorrow and ignorance in our country?
A. Its main cause is wrong explanation and faulty understanding of spirituality. And our religious Gurus are responsible for this. If we had its true understanding then we would be the most affluent and happy in this world. But we are not so because very wrong spirituality has been catered to us. Women, money, life and riches were condemned as the cause of ignorance and sorrow. Unless we pay our regard to these and worship them our upliftment is impossible. Materiality and spirituality are the two sides of the same The decree of nature is to like life in its totality. East has become pauper materialistically only due to this denial & the west ignored the soul and turned pauper spiritually.
Q. People respect and regard you also like a religious Guru. What is the difference between you and other Gurus?
A. I do not consider myself as Guru though people do – I can’t help that. I sincerely feel that the truth of life is so uncomplicated and obvious that I lament why people are living in sorrow. I only want to introduce you to this truth to awaken you. It’s my compulsion. The regard they feel for me is their compulsion. I have nothing to hang (ego) on to which people would keep giving and I will keep accepting. I am living only in my own nature. It is pointless to compare me with other religious Gurus. I only have to say this – do not become my follower; carve out your own path. The masses are so innocent that most Gurus make them their followers and then misuse them. They pamper their egos. People ask me my photograph but I do not want to give it to them because people have the habit of clinging to Guru. A true Guru would thus never distribute his photos but would free people from such attachments. A man can never be liberated till he continues to be a follower.
Q. What’s the goal of your life?
A. To bloom to my fullest nature and awaken others also by introducing them to its infinite bounties and then making them the king of their lives.
Q. But if the awakening involves effort – tension and worry, always accompany that?
A. It’s not that. I do not exert to awaken. Blossomed I am flowing with my fragrance – my life has compassion and happiness. Tension begins only when you are anxiously trying to give something to people and they are not understanding it – then it creates a kind of disappointment and disenchantment. But this never happens with me for I never bolster this ego inside me that it’s me salvaging people – sorrow will start for me then. I offer water to the thirsty, move on after telling them the way to the brook- if someone wants to reach there I guide them. People change or not let us leave this to the laws of Nature. I achieve my height and then point the way to the people. I have no expectations from anybody. I have no likes. I am swimming in my own ocean of bliss – if someone anxious to swim comes toward me, I hold his hands with mine. And when he finishes learning to swim I say to him – “Go away – find your own way”.
Q. What are these inseparable facts of life? Man freely abuses them.
A. Man disastrously uses truth, honesty, values, discipline, justice even one’s own shyness and then keeps suffering from utter sorrow, despondency and diseases.
One who has taken to truth is forever inflamed. Those given to justice similarly burn in body and mind against the unjust. Honest ones burn in sorrow day and night looking at dishonest persons. Disciplinarians are always burning with anger, anxiety and helplessness against people without discipline. Good natured people are burning against ill-doers. Whether virtue or vice – in you or in others – if it creates sorrow then it is sin. The vices also that do good to you or others and result in happiness are in reality virtue. Harbor such vices too then (keep them with you) – it will bestow merit!
Even every demerit used with good intention is virtue only and welfare causing. The gist of all this is to accept every weapon given to us ;by the almighty – discarding nothing.
As a witness or by developing this quality and these so called merits and demerits in your life one has to use them for good of humanity. Remove for ever the feeling of guilt from your life. It gives rise to disease and sorrow. It is against life. Even merits in the hands of senseless persons are more harmful and in the hands of sensible even demerits become more efficacious than merits and good for all. Whether it is merits or demerits, important thing is that it should result in happiness and welfare of society. Merits and demerits are not important; their use or misuse is important though. For instance Lord Krishna used so called demerits of lie and shrewdness plentifully for the cause of humanity.
I have seen truthful, honest, just and discipline-loving people living in sorrow and depression. Its main reason is the lack of knowledge regarding the above truths. These people are always weighing themselves on the scales of high morals and values they are keeping before them and not finding themselves up to it keep suffering under the weight of guilt and loss of face. On the other hand their hearts are burning with violence, hatred and anger against the oppressor, unjust liar and exploiters of society. Thus despite their ideals for social good only they are not able to benefit society nor their own selves. And the disenchantment and argument that is born in them due to that – their own family members and subordinates ultimately become victims of it.
What is this care ‘Amir’ for name and all…. What will be this tomb for when we ourselves won’t be here………….
