Celebrating guruhood

This Vijayadasami post is to celebrate the tradition of "guruhood", and all the gurus I have had and those I continue to have, and acquire.

Gurus are people who actually seek you out. And then proceed to take over your life in ways as never before and never after. They give you all of themselves, their time, heart, thought, opportunities, challenges, provocations, work, more work, laughter, tears, food... they might even grow and cook it for you. They might throw in free massages as well. And of course, knowledge. Mind you, you didnt ask for all of this, no sir! You will resist in overt and covert ways, you only wanted to learn sanskrit, or music, or maths and in fact not even now, sometime in the near future... So sometimes you will hem and haw, other times you will fight and struggle upfront, or even try and use strategic ways to only just take what you want and quit the place. But you underestimate your opponent. In true martial artist alias guru style, they will ignore you, swat away your tantrums like pesky mosquitoes and with great love give you what you need. Or what you think they think you need! I havent figured that one out yet.

The thing is these people are life teachers. They show you how they take on life, how to live. But the best part is, they don't look at it this way. When they see you, they dont see you the way you perceive yourself, they are equipped with long sight as far as you are concerned. They see you as your potential actualised, and are constantly pushing you towards that vision. The details of that vision might change, but that doesnt matter. Their work is to push, provoke, challenge, raise, support and season you. Sometimes they will drag you kicking and screaming too. No newfangled notions of individuality and choice here, my child!

I have heard it being said that for true learning to happen, both the seed (teaching / ideas) and soil (student/ taught) should be okay. (As an aside, it is interesting that the teacher as an entity is not mentioned) And so, if the student is the soil, I have come to believe that the fertility of the soil is FAITH. And this faith lends reverence to the process of learning, and facilitating learning. It is my experience that my gurus never really taught me, they have always been facilitating my learning and this is my greatest blessing till date. If faith is at the heart of this process, then the gurus become wish fulfilling trees. Their energy and engagement with you is at the level of a spontaneous perception and insight, a no-mind plane where they facilitate not just your learning, but your well-being and happiness in life. Then you will find them giving you all sorts of stuff that you need, right at the time that you need them, without ever really talking of any of it. There is a communication that happens without the minds participating at all. This can happen at various levels of intensity and understanding, and gurus can be for a season or a lifetime. But come to you they surely do, and if you are armed with faith and you hand over that weapon as well to them, they will make something out of you, or help you make something of yourself. Go figure that one.

One last thought: even if the faith is there, the fight is there too. The seasoning and the molding happens in and through this process of resistance and struggle. And my gurus might call it my arrogance, when I say that the fight seasons them too. They are learning in the process too, and a true guru is more aware of it than the student. So, fight with faith!

Working with the soil

Working with the soil and tending plants, especially saplings - I have always theorised about how important it is for each one of us to be connected to the earth this way, especially children. Today I will say it emphatically. Fresh after my gardening session. Yes, I have harvested dals and done some weeding a while back in a farm. However, the joy and meditation of preparing a soil bed and planting tender saplings is unbeatable and a fundamental experience of life, I think.

Weeding first to clear an area and removing roots, stones etc.,

then loosening the soil with the help of a hand shovel,

"one has to be careful about the smaller creatures (millipedes for example) and not kill them as much as possible" (as my teacher and companion for this gardening session told me),

setting up a fence simultaneously so that the pups don't dig up the saplings,

adding cow dung manure to the area and further mixing and loosening the soil,

making alternate rows of ridges and troughs taking care not to harden the soil,

then at last planting the saplings.

"Planting the saplings" cannot adequately express the gentleness, delicate handling and complete attention that the little lives require to be put (roots first!&#!) into the soil. The roots shouldn't go too deep in otherwise they would just muck and die. The soil should be closed around the roots just so. Quoting my gardening teacher, "closing the soil around the roots is like hugging someone - it can't be too tight that you squeeze the life out or frighten them off and it can't be too loose that they don't feel it at all." It has to be from the heart! Just handling the soil with just the right pressure is, simply life. Children would do this best I think. In fact, children must do this and then, tend to them and watch their saplings grow, and grow right along.

Just as I will. After planting my saplings, I poured water into the troughs and sprinkled some on the plants. Tomorrow, it will be time to add dry leaves for mulching, so that the soil or the sapling does not get dry. Then watch the saplings take in sunshine and grow, as the roots catch, spread and drink up water. I am a child again.