Just as two are needed for the birth of a new life—a mother and a father—so too two are needed for the birth of a higher nature: the disciple and the Guru. This mystery happens, the seed of immortality falls into the soil, and begins to sprout. My Guru always says that he is only a bridge for the disciple, a bridge by which one crosses to the other shore—and that one should not turn the bridge itself into a place of worship or rest.
The same kind of bridge for my Guru was his own Guru. Once, Babaji spoke about his Guru in this way:
“My Guruji never allowed me to stay near him for long. He was even stricter than that. When I came to him, he would say, ‘Eat khichri. There is a pot and rice—cook it and eat. Eat. Now go. You can even leave the plate unwashed.’ This happened many times. Once I asked, ‘Why is it like this? I came to the Guru. Give me something. Teach me something!’ And he said, ‘I have already given you everything—I touched you. Go.’ Then I understood everything and did not come to him for eleven years. Later, during the Great Kumbha Mela, while I was bathing in the Ganges, my Guru emerged from the water and said, ‘Ah, a great yogi? Keep going further.’ And he went back into the water. And then I understood—I had to keep going further.”
The relationship between a Guru and a disciple is always individual. Even if many people have the same Guru, each has their own path, and therefore the results are never the same. This depends on many factors: the nature of one’s psyche, character, past karma, and much more. But the most important things in this relationship are intention and determination.
Babaji says: “We met in this life because we also met in the past. If there had been nothing in the past, there would be nothing in the present.” Thus, initiation into Guru-Diksha is not something anyone receives casually—there are no coincidences.
Once, I was looking through photographs of my Guru. They were black-and-white images taken when he was still wandering through the Himalayas, walking almost unclothed. As I looked at one of the photos, I recognized the Guru from my dream (which I described earlier)—a dream I had nearly fifteen years before. His height, hair, beard, and build—everything was exactly the same as in the dream. I cannot grasp everything that is happening with my mind, but I do not need to, for my main task is simply to keep pedaling, as I have entrusted the steering to my Guru, to the blessing, and to Diksha.
It is also worth mentioning that the Immortal Himalayan Yogi I referred to earlier—whom I mentioned in my conversation with my friend from the Society for Krishna Consciousness, and to whom my heart responded—is connected to my Guru not only through parampara (the energetic chain from Guru to disciple). According to Guruji, he met that great Master hundreds of times, received invaluable knowledge and practices from him, and many other things bind them both. Thus, my feelings were not unfounded—there was something hidden behind them. Through the Immortal Himalayan Yogi, I felt something of my own and of my Guru. In time, everything will become clear to me—I have a Guru, and everything I need will come through him.
