Some try to find the Guru by shaving their heads at the Ganges, but I have made the Guru my Ganges.” from Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Gurudev took up the work of establishing the
ashram with great determination. Despite the fact that his health was not
robust anymore, he seemed to work tirelessly, effortlessly, never indulging in
moods of any kind, taking everything in stride naturally. He was the most unpretentious person I had
ever met. Despite the status granted the
guru in India, especially in pilgrimage towns like Haridwar filled with ashrams,
he never capitalized on it, but remained
close to everyone, approachable and enjoyed hanging out with the workers, the
driver, the carpenters, the chowkidar. The
absence of caste, gender, faith or clan differences was very marked in the way he related to
everyone and his sense of oneness with all expressed itself in his gentleness
with every living thing around him. I
understood then why the ancient tradition emphasized the need for a living guru
– for true spiritual development is transmitted, facilitated by the
consciousness of a person who rests centred in grace – I don’t know any other
way to describe the experience of being in his presence. There was an effortlessness about working
with him as if one was being swept along on the winds of grace, held in the
hands of a gentle mother.“You have the right to work, but for the work's sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either." Bhagavad Gita
