In this edition of his exclusive series for iGlobal, the Founder of the world-renowned Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur (SRMD) spiritual organisation explains the skill of listening as shifting the focus from the words to transcending words, thereby carving a journey from the words that emerge from the silence of the Guru to the silence of the disciple beyond the noisy mind.
Satsang does reveal secrets, but you can understand them only when you get immersed. The fruit of right listening is getting immersed. The secrets of the truth begin to open as you immerse in satsang and your happiness increases. You get a touch of the Guru's inner state in satsang. His vibrations, presence, words, silence, sitting, getting up, looking; something touches you and you get charged up.
Right listening leads you to the silence of the Guru. Silence is Guru's nature and to speak is His compassion. If the Guru remains silent, the disciple's mind will remain active with incessantly flowing useless thoughts. The habit of thinking becomes deep and ingrained, like a line etched on a rock. You do not get even a moment’s rest within. The Guru loses nothing by remaining silent. In fact, He will be in quietude, in His nature. But by keeping silent, the disciple's spiritual welfare becomes impossible.
However, as the Guru speaks while being connected to His true self, it becomes the reason for the disciple’s silence. Just as a white line can be distinctly seen on a blackboard, and focusing on the line gives an idea of the blackboard too, similarly, words with the background of the Guru's silence become helpful to the disciple for connecting him. By being immersed in the Guru’s words, the disciple's mind starts becoming silent. His mind goes deeper and he gets immersed in the silence of the Guru.
The Purpose of the Words
The Guru’s words become the cause of the disciple experiencing that which is beyond words. The mind yet is restless so the disciple does need words, but right listening takes him to the silence. And only if that happens, the purpose of words is served. While listening to the Guru's words if the mind slips into silence, it is the most auspicious omen. While gliding into silence if words get left behind, do not worry, because that is the purpose of right listening.
If while listening to satsang, the mind goes to sleep or wanders, then for such a mind, words are helpful. By connecting with words, one connects with the Guru. As you immerse in the words, you will start catching the silence between the words. As you begin to get tuned to the silence, you will start experiencing bliss. A moment will come when neither the speaker nor the listener will exist. Both the entities will merge. Shedding their respective boundaries, both the entities will become boundless.
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An Invitation
The Guru points in the direction of that which transcends words, but through words. The path of the Guru is of beyond words alone but the disciple develops interest through words. If the disciple gets stuck in words, he will miss the Guru. However, if the interest that has been ignited for words gets transformed into interest of going beyond words, then success is inevitable.
Guru's invitation is to go beyond words, but it is conveyed through words. If someone sends a wedding invitation to you, they expect you to read it and attend the event. However, if you memorise the invitation but don’t attend the wedding, you have not respected their invitation. Similarly, the Guru invites you through words to the realm of that which transcends words. Not turning inward is disrespecting the Guru.
From Questions to Meditation
Right effort is only when if through words one is moving beyond words. Right effort begins with words, flows towards that which transcends words and concludes in supreme silence. In the beginning, the disciple is very disturbed. His mind is very active and full of questions. He ‘attacks’ the Guru with his flurry of questions and expects answers from Him. And the Guru does reply, according to his worthiness.
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Receiving satisfying answers from the Guru, his mind quietens a bit. He does not have questions now, but he does get attached to the words of the Guru. Listening to those words helps change his state. He does not have expectations to meet the Guru again and again or ask questions. Listening to satsang leads to an increase in his peace, stability and purity.
As he goes deeper, he experiences the same inwardness at different times and places which he used to get by listening to and beholding the Guru, even in the Guru's physical absence, by remaining in Guru-ajna. His mind effortlessly becomes silent and stops running around. His dependency on the physical presence of the Guru begins to drop. While walking on the path as pointed by the Guru, he now no longer is dependent on pointing from the Guru.
Guru Keeps you Vigilant
As one continues to live in Guru-ajna, the dependency on the Guru's physical presence reduces. He who misses this focus creates bondage for himself. Stepping out of the prison of worldliness, he gets caught in the prison of satsang! Instead of making the Guru as his door to freedom, he turns the Guru into a prison and becomes a prisoner. He becomes addicted to the Guru's words. Indulging in them, he misses out on the primary goal. Satsang for him becomes suicidal.
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In such conditions, the Guru becomes alert. For the disciple's welfare, He becomes a gardener. Like a gardener who protects the plant, nurtures it with water, ties it with a stick for support, prunes the leaves to bring the plant into shape and gives the right amount of light and shade, the Guru, when He feels the disciple is becoming lethargic, He puts him through tests to bring back liveliness, enthusiasm and vigour. The Guru creates such a storm in your life that you become vigilant. At times, by giving ajna for satsang, He connects you with words and at other times, by bestowing ajna of meditation, He severs your connection with words and pushes you beyond words. To slide into that which transcends words is true satsang.
Only a restless mind expects words. Right listening makes the mind quiet, and a quiet mind does not expect words. The connection with that which is beyond words occurs. Words can awaken one, but only silence can connect him within. Without this silence, the disciple cannot connect with the Guru in the true sense.
Beyond Words
Words are like rainbows forming in the sky. Looking up to see the rainbow, one notices the sky. In the same way, immersed in the Guru’s words, the disciple's focus turns inward towards the formless self. However, as one lured by the rainbow misses the sky, if one gets enticed by words, he misses that which transcends words. The words, capable of being the gateway to freedom, turn into a wall. And eventually, one gets locked in a new prison. Ignorance and unawareness become the cause of his bondage.
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Thus, by a mere collection of the Guru's words one does not come near to the Master, but through those words if one increases understanding and awareness and manifests virtues, one can come near the Enlightened One. Words are insufficient to connect with the Guru; you need to go beyond words. And that becomes possible only when hearing turns to right listening. Then, moving through contemplation and meditation, one eventually attains the supreme state.
Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji, an enlightened master and an ardent devotee of Shrimad Rajchandraji, is the founder of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur (SRMD) – a spiritual organisation with 206 centres across six continents advancing the path of Lord Mahavir. In June 2025, he will be in the UK for a series of life-transforming discourses.
*Info: SRMD UK
