A spiritual refuge
In the spiritual path, there are three factors: the Buddha - the Master or the Enlightened, the
Sangha - the commune or the group, and the Dharma - your nature, your true nature. One of
the main things in the Buddhist practice is taking refuge in all these three. Buddham Sharanam
Gacchami means ‘I take refuge in Buddha’. Sangham Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take
refuge in the assembly, the Sangha’. And Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami means ‘I take
refuge in the true nature of things as they are’.
Buddha or the Master is the Enlightened. The closer you go to Him the more charm you find.
You will never be tired of the Enlightened. The closer you go the more newness, the more
charm, the more love you feel. It’s like a depth without a bottom. Buddha’s company will
always be new and charming.
Master is a doorway. And the doorway needs to be more charming than the world so that you will come to the doorway. Someone is in the street and there is rain and thunder, or hot sun.
They need shelter. They look around, they find a doorway. They come to the doorway. The
doorway is more inviting, more charming, more celebrative, more joyful than anything else in
the world.
Nothing could give that much peace, joy, pleasure in the world. Once you come to the
doorway, you enter the door and see the world from there. See the world from the eyes of the
Master. This is a sign that you have come to the Master. Otherwise you may still be standing in
the street and looking at the door. But once you have entered the door, then you will see the
whole world from the eyes of the Master.
What does this mean? In every situation that you face, you will think, ‘‘If this situation comes in
front of the Master, how would he or she handle it?’’ or ‘‘If this complication comes in front of
the Master, how would he take it?’’ or ‘‘If someone blames the Master like this, how would he
handle it?’’. See the world from the eyes of the Master all the time.
The world looks much more beautiful; not a nasty place. But a place filled with love, filled with
joy, cooperation, compassion, and all virtues. The world is much more fun. Looking through the
doorway, there is no fear. You will look at the world without any fear. You will be in all
relationships with everybody without any fear. Because there is shelter.
From inside the home, you will look at the thunder, you will look at the storm, you will look at
the rain, you will look at the bright sun. Inside you have air conditioning. Very cool, pleasant.
Outside it’s hot. You don’t mind because there is nothing that can really distract you, disturb
you, or take the fullness away from you. Such a sense of security, such a sense of fullness and
joy comes. That is the purpose of having a Master.
All relationships in the world go topsy-turvy. You make relationships and you break
relationships. All relationships can get broken or made up and again broken. And there is
craving and aversion. This is the world. This is samsara. But the Master is not a relationship. The
Master is the Presence. What is necessary is to feel the Presence of the Master, not to make a
relationship. Don’t make the Master a part of your world. You feel the Presence of the Master,
that is eternal. That has been there with you before, now, and will be there in the future, too.
Master is the Presence. World is relativity. And relativity has limitations. Presence is unlimited.
Presence is vast, infinite, and all comprehensive, all inclusive. And the presence of the Masterin one’s life will bring fulfillment to all relations. Every relationship will become complete with
the presence of the Infinity if the Master is in your life.
Living with people
The second factor is Sangha, the group. The group is very charming from a distance but the
closer you get to it, it pushes all your buttons and brings about all the unwanted things from
within you. Any group is very good from a distance or with just a little acquaintance. If you
think some group is very good that means you are not yet completely with the group in
totality.When you are part of that group you will find some bickering will come up. That’s why
you find the other group better than your group. It’s really not the fact because you make the
group. If you are better your group will be better. If you are not better anywhere you go you
will make that group also like you.
Sangha has a reverse nature than Buddha - completely different. Once you are used to a
Sangha you lose the charm in the Sangha. That is essential because while Buddha makes your
mind one-pointed, Sangha, because it is of so many people, can scatter your mind. It will
fragment it. Sangha’s nature will be such though it is very supportive.If it is only repulsive all the
time then nobody will be in the Sangha because our nature is not to be in repulsion. Buddha
uplifts you. Just by Grace, by Love, by Knowledge He pulls you up. The Sangha pushes you up
from down below. Buddha from above pulls you up and the Sangha pushes you up. And the
Dhamma is to be in the middle. Your nature is not to go to extremes. Your nature is to be in
balance. Your nature is to smile from the depth of your heart. Your nature is to accept this
entire existence totally as it is. Do not crave or be averse. Often you crave for Buddha and you
are averse to the Sangha. And you try to change. By changing Sangha or Buddha you are not
going to change.
Moment’s worth
The main purpose is to come to the centre deep within you which means to find your Dharma.
This is the third factor. What is Dharma? Knowing this moment is what has been offered to me
and that is how I take it. A sense of deep acceptance for this moment, for every moment is
Dharma. When this has come up then there is no problem at all. All the problems generate
from our mind; all negativity comes in from our mind.
The world is not bad; the world is beautiful. It is our world that is bad because our world has ‘us’
in it. We make our world ugly or beautiful. So when you are in your Dharma, in your nature, you
won’t blame the world and you won’t blame the Divine.
The difficulty of the human mind is that it cannot be part of the world totally and it cannot be
part of the Divine. It feels a distance from the Divine. It’s its own creation and yet it feels like
blaming the world. It’s not comfortable with the world. Dharma is that which puts you in the
middle and which makes you comfortable with the world. It causes you to contribute to the
world, be at ease with the Divine, and feel that you are a part of the Divine. That is true
Dharma.
Jai Gurudev.
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