The Guru and the Disciple
103
If the atmosphere is pure, know that this man is pure and that it is
here that faith will develop.
A seeker cannot be like this
Faith should become so firmly established that it will not go
away, no matter how hard someone tries to remove it. Faith that
is forced upon you will go away, and faith that you have lost has
to be forced back onto you. This is what happens everywhere in
this world. People’s faith will remain for six months in one place,
two years in another place, and five years some other place, but it
will go away again.
Therefore, do not keep faith on any guru in this world. You
will be trapped whenever you do. Remain with a guru only if faith
comes on its own. Faith should come to you on its own. For how
long will faith that you have to ‘keep’ last?
One prominent businessperson tells me, ‘I have tremendous
faith in this guru.’ I asked him, ‘Do you know why you have faith
in him? You have faith in him if he gives you special treatment and
attention in front of large crowds.’ Would a true seeker allow this
kind of faith? I was a seeker. I had told my guru, “Speak in a way
that my faith arises naturally. I do not like it when you sweet-talk
me and say things like, ‘Welcome Ambalalbhai, you are such a
big contractor, you are like this, and you are like that.’ It is
meaningless when you try to establish faith in me by feeding my
pride. Curse me if you have to, but say something so that faith
arises naturally.” Otherwise, people will start to have faith when
the guru calls them and welcomes them with attention feeding their
pride. They will think, ‘It is nice here.’
Questioner: But educated and experienced thinkers will
catch on right away, will they not?
Dadashri: Yes, the educated and experienced ones will
be able to tell right away that it is all wrong. So how long will
people put up with wrong things?