Importance of Sadguru Deeksha

Deeksha or Initiation is the first and foremost step in entering the spiritual world of God. It is the process by which the authorized true Sadguru gives a power-impregnated mantra to the disciple and instructs him on how to do sadhana with this mantra. No matter what kriyas and sadhanas he performs, the mantra will be present at the core of all sadhanas. The yogic kriyas are nothing but helpful ways to concentrate the mind more on the mantra and to gain more practical experiences and inherent realizations. Generally, most mantras in Kali Yuga are inactive apart from the general ones, and some take offense in chanting the mantra if certain specific conditions are not followed. Some require many rituals of purascharan or anusthan to awaken the shakti inside the mantra and make it alive; then chanting the mantra would work.

When the Sadguru initiates the disciple, he awakens his inherent dormant kundalini shakti and links the mantra to the disciple’s kundalini. Furthermore, the Sadguru says that God or Para Brahman is always present in that mantra and can be felt very easily while chanting it in the prescribed way. Also, the giver of the mantra, the Sadguru, is also present in that mantra. The Sadguru establishes God in the heart of the disciple and continually worships God there. As the sadhak progresses further, he can realize all such facts. He finally realizes that the naam (mantra), naami (owner of that naam or God), and naamdata (giver of that name, or guru) are one and the same. In such a case, the naam spontaneously vibrates in the heart of the sadhak in susupti, accompanied by various melodies of anahat naad. Gurudas’s Antare Baje Go Binay song explains this state wonderfully. The bliss experienced by the sadhak at such a stage is incomparable. The sadhak experiences so many innumerable things, gets darshan of many devas, saints, pastimes, etc. Even if he is chanting the Krishna mantra, he might get a vision of Kali, Shiv, Hanuman, etc., since all are part of the total Sanatan Dharma. He might encounter many divya jyotis, various mandalas, etc., and finally, he attains Brahma Jnana in Nirvikalpa Samadhi, where everything unites into one, and the sadhak gets directly connected to God in complete union. He then comes back, maintaining his separation from God, and continues his sadhana. The bliss attained by serving the Yugal Kishore by maintaining a little separation is much higher than the highest union. This is the Achinta Bhedabhed tattva of Mahaprabhu, i.e., simultaneous difference and union with God.

There are broadly two places where a sadhak can reach and stay after leaving his body permanently. Those who are the upashak of Nirvishesh Brahman unite with Brahman and stay there. For them, there is no scope for the bliss of Sakara Brahman. It is to be mentioned that like Nirakar Brahman, Sakar Brahman is also Sacchidananda and is completely spiritual, devoid of any material gunas. That world is called the Nitya Bhava Loka, like eternal Kailash, eternal Vaikuntha, and eternal Goloka Vrindavan Dham. The second category of sadhak always aspires to be a part of the Nitya Loka, which stays a little below the complete nirakara. But the bliss here is more than just merging into Brahman. Here the sadhak, in his siddha deha or spiritual body, takes part in the eternal pastimes of God, be it Radha Krishna, Sita Ram, Lakshmi Narayan, Hara Parvati, etc. We never say one is higher than the other, but if we consider the bliss and more intimacy, then it is found highest at the Radha Krishna Yugal Seva at Nikunja in the Gopi Bhava. This is what Mahaprabhu came to give us mercifully. The sadhak of Yugal Bhajan always aspires to go to Nitya Vrindavan and serve Yugal Kishore after death. Before death, he serves them in his manas. However, it is to be mentioned that even the sadhak of Yugal Bhajan must attain Brahma Jnana first and then qualify themselves to be a part of Nitya Lila, since spiritual emotions will manifest only in someone who is completely spiritual and devoid of the three material gunas, namely sattva, raja, and tamo.

The most important significance is that the Sadguru promises to liberate the disciple within a maximum of three births, and if the disciple is qualified enough, then in one birth only. A Sadguru is one who is already liberated and holds the power to liberate others. While giving the deekshna, he burns all the Sanchita Karma of the disciple by the fire of knowledge. Whatever remains is the Prarabdha Karma and the Agami Karma, which the disciple has accumulated before taking initiation. Also, among these two, he also takes one-third of the karma of the disciple, and he suffers from the disciple’s prarabdha. Hence, in most cases, it is seen that the guru himself, being the greatest of the yogis, has to suffer from many strong diseases in the end phase of his life. Hence, the Sadguru is always merciful. The Sadguru enjoys the most when the sadhak does sadhana regularly as per his instructions, without involving himself in any sinful work. The nitya sadhana of the sadhak relieves the heat of him as well as provides solace to the guru. The devotion of the sadhak towards his guru increases the power of the guru, and the upliftment of the guru also helps the sadhak. Hence, the guru and sishya are directly connected to each other at the soul level. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that the supersoul of the soul of the disciple is his guru.

Now, who is a Sadguru? Mounibaba says that anyone who has awakened his kundalini shakti and achieved samadhi siddhi, i.e., going to samadhi at will, is qualified to become a Sadguru. An ideal and devoted sishya becomes a guru only when his guru authorizes him to take disciples. Hence, the guru is always part of a guru parampara. The guru comes at the time of death of the disciple and saves him from the messengers of Yama or Yamaduta. He takes the responsibility of further remaining births of the sishya and makes necessary arrangements for his upliftment in the next birth. For someone, if it is the last birth, he might face more troubles than any other normal sadhak. He might see that in his early phase of life, he has only seen sadness. The Sadguru does that intentionally for two reasons – one to extinguish the remaining bad karmas by suffering and second, to remove all remaining material attachments of the sadhak. Hence, the activity of the Sadguru is very tough to understand for a normal person. A Sadguru is truly understood or realized by the disciple when the majority of his karma is over and he has progressed significantly in his sadhana, removing all samskaras. Hence, to normal eyes, he seems like just another person in this world. Then the sadhak is immersed in complete devotion towards his guru and sees nothing else. The Sadguru gives a part of his soul to the sadhak while initiation and gives himself completely in the last stage of the sadhak, and vice versa is also true for the sadhak.

It is to be noted that the Sadguru gives the siddha mantra of his lineage. There is a great difference between a Siddha Sadhan and Sadhya Sadhan. In Siddha Sadhan, the sadhak does not have to partake in much trouble in sadhana. Just having devotion towards guru and ista dev works like wonder, and automatically all kriyas keep on working on his body, by the grace of the Sadguru. But in the case of Sadhya Sadhan, the sadhaka has to undergo a lot of pain to awaken his kundalini and then finally rise his kundalini upwards, crossing the three knots namely Brahma Granthi at Manipura Chakra, Vishnu Granthi at Ananhata Chakra, and Rudra Granthi at the Ajna Chakra. Even though the sadhak manages to reach till the Rudra Granthi, it is impossible for him to cross this place unless he is under a Sadguru, and the Sadguru does mercy on him. This place is completely dependent on the mercy of Shivaguru and not part of one’s sadhana. When the Sadguru sees that the majority of karma is over, he opens the door towards the Brahman. Initially, savikalpa Samadhi happens, where the Sadhak (completely devoid of any outer senses) realizes that he exists and God exists, but in the case of the higher Nirvikalpa Samadhi, he can’t explain anything, since everything merged into one. Our sadhana’s goal is to serve the Yugal Kishore at the highest stage of consciousness before the Nirvikalpa stage in siddha deha. However, divine pastimes unlock only after Nirvikalpa Samadhi, then the sadhaka is drowning in the ocean of divine love.

Ajapa Jap

Our scriptures and saints have given us a very wonderful process of doing the japa of mantra, by which pranayama is automatically done and many yogic kriyas start to unfold automatically. Chant the mantra with each breath (both inhalation and exhalation). This is Ajapa Sadhana. The Sadguru teaches various techniques of Ajapa to the devoted disciple, and the disciple is amazed to see the power of naam within his body. However, it has to be done only after consulting with the guru, as many might encounter breathing troubles and develop various diseases otherwise.