The Guru and the Disciple
95
Dadashri: But when he becomes a ‘sack of understanding’
does that mean he can call the guru worthless? Instead, it is better
to adopt what Bheem (An important man in Mahabharat Indian
Epic) had done. Do not adopt what others do. Every time Bheem
had to bow to a guru, he would get the shivers; he felt insulted. So
what solutions did he come up with? He thought, ‘I cannot afford
to have these gurus. All my brothers sit here unaffected, but my
ego starts to jump around the moment I see them. I start having
negative thoughts. I must have a guru because otherwise what
predicament will I be in without one?’ So he found a solution for it.
He buried a clay pot upside down in the ground, painted it
black and wrote on it in red ink, ‘Namo Neminathaya.’ (I pay
obeisance to the Lord Neminath). Neminath was dark skinned
so he painted the pot black and then he worshipped it. Yes, that
pot was the guru and he, the disciple.
Here, where the guru was not directly visible to him, he did
not feel shy, whereas he felt shy in the presence of a living guru.
He would not bow to him yet he continued to worship the black
pot buried in the ground. Although he began worshiping this way,
he still reaped benefits from it. That is because there is no risk of
any negativity arising here, to poison the guru-disciple relationship.
Even here in this situation, if one were to feel happy and elated,
one will attain salvation.
So Bheem would go and sit there from dawn till sunset.
This guru was better because at least he would not get upset or
have any problems. And if he ever got offended, all he had to do
was dig up the pot and throw it away. But the faith that you put in
a living guru can poison you. There is God within the person
whereas here there is merely your projection of God in the pot.
Questioner: Did he get any benefit out of making the pot
his guru?
Dadashri: He did benefit for sure. He did not do it directly,
but at least he did it indirectly. Did he not bow down to Lord