TRUE DISCIPLESHIP

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

10. TRUE DISCIPLESHIP
If Gurudev means anything at all to a sincere seeking soul, that meaning is to make our life
divine. If he means anything at all, it is a divine life. His presence here is to inspire us, to touch and
awaken our dormant Divinity—by his glance of grace to awaken us to our own awareness, to
awaken from within us our reality which is Divinity.

This is a centre for removing the veil across our vision which hides the Divinity that
pervades everywhere and is ever present before us, for removing the inner veil that hides from our
vision our own Divinity, for we are part of that all-pervading, infinite, eternal Cosmic Reality.
Being parts of that infinite Cosmic Reality, we partake and share of Its essential nature in our own
essential being.
We may be different in our non-essential appearances, but we are all one, identical, in our
hidden true nature, our hidden, eternal, unchanging essential nature. We are the distilled
quintessence of pure Divinity. We possess within us the ability to recognise this potential and to
seriously, earnestly and sincerely struggle, strive and aspire to awaken the sleeping Divinity that we
are. We have the potential to persevere in this attempt to continuously awaken and manifest that
only and to refuse to manifest any lesser aspect of our non-essential outer self.
The outer self is made up of limiting adjuncts: the senses, the inner cognising faculties, the
life-currents, life-principles—pancha karma indriyas, pancha jnana indriyas, pancha pranas,
mind, intellect, ego-sense, memory, imagination, thought and sentiment. Refusing to identify
yourself with and rejecting the demands for expression of these lesser, imperfect, passing aspects of
your present human personality; and being ever persisting, insisting and firmly determined to
express only that which you are (to unfold, awaken, express and actively manifest only that part of
you which is your reality, your eternal identity, that part of you which is one with the Cosmic
Reality); to be insisting, always resolving, determining and persevering in the continuous attempt,
in this unbroken practice of manifesting your Divinity—that is true discipleship to this invisible
spiritual presence. That is the token of our reverence for this invisible spiritual reality.
That is the one and only way we can offer our genuine homage, our authentic recognition of
his gurutva: “He is my guru; he ismy spiritual teacher; I follow him.” This is to be demonstrated by
our persistent, persevering, continuous, unbroken attempt—again and again, and yet again—to
make manifest our higher nature (our real nature, our essential divine nature, the God-principle
within us which we are) and not anything else. This is leading the divine life. This is Yoga-Vedanta.
This is the sadhana of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji.
And to enable us to engage in this sadhana, his penance, his renunciation, his realisation has
brought into being this outer, greater manifestation of his in the form of this holy ashram. He has
brought into being this ashram to offer us a field for engaging in this essential Sivananda sadhana,
Divine Life sadhana, to offer us varied facilities to manifest our Divinity.
If this ashram means to you this attempt to manifest your Divinity, to make use of each and
every factor that could be a help in this inner process of expressing outwardly the Divinity that you
are, then this ashram is verily deeply meaningful to you; this ashram has been understood by you.
You are wise, you have vision. Otherwise, even if he has, by the collyrium rod of knowledge,
removed the obscuring cataract of ignorance and opened your eyes, yet you have closed them once
again, refusing to see.
Ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya; chakshur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave
namah (I prostrate to that sri guru, who has opened with the collyrium stick of divine knowledge,
the eyes of him who was rendered blind by the darkness of ignorance). They say that if there is

intense eagerness to see and recognise the truth of things—the reality of the world, the universe, the
environment, the setup in which we are living—then the task of the guru in restoring one’s vision
would become fruitful.
But if a delicate, a very delicate action has been performed and the veil that obscures your
vision has been removed and your sight has been restored so that you can perceive and be benefited,
if you then close your eyes, then the restored sight will not serve any purpose.
Therefore they say: “Arise, awake, open your eyes and live with vision!” Live recognising
the value of that which surrounds you; recognise the value of this here and now situation—the
present situation in which God has blessed you to be. Then everything will become meaningful;
everything will become invaluable; everything will help you to lead a truly divine life—to manifest
in thought, word and action day after day, every moment, the Divinity that you are.
The sharing of today, therefore, brings to you what discipleship to this great, worshipful and
beloved being must mean to each and every one of you who is in this ashram. This sharing is a call
upon all of you to never forget the Divinity that you are, to ever live in this keen awareness, alert
awareness, of the Divinity that you are, and to make this wonderful golden setup the means of
unfolding that Divinity, of blessing yourself and blessing everything all around you, within and
without—blessing, by your Divinity, your surroundings, the ashram and every being that you come
into contact with.
Thus, to manifest our discipleship to this being, the one key word is Divinity. The one key
word to make your life authentic, genuine, effective, true—that key word is Divinity. The one word
that sums up your relationship with worshipful Gurudev is Divinity. Divine you are; divine may
your life be, divine your thoughts and feelings, divine your words and actions!