A Perfect Master Comes At The Right Time

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, February 12, 2009, 16:45

It was in Zurich Switzerland in November 1973. A thin layer of snow transformed the gloomy and lifeless surrounding into a bright and lofty place, pleasing the eyes and elevating the mind. This snowfall was an early messenger of the coming winter and its beauty will probably melt away within a few days.

Another unusual event was a series of lectures on an Upanishad in English by Swami Chinmayananda. He happened to come to Zurich because of the treatment of a severe heart trouble. It was the third time he came to Zurich, this time on his way back from U.S.A. to India, and he covered the time for treatment with a lecture series.

Because of our interest in Vedanta we came to know about the lectures and were eager to attend it. Instead of rushing home after a long and tiring day in our respective offices we went to the hospital where the lectures were held. It was a small hall. About 40 to 50 persons had assembled. I was wondering whether I would be able to follow a discourse in English since I had rarely an occasion to converse in that language. I used to read English books - but to listen to a lecture? Well, let us see what it is all about and whether I shall feel inclined to take all the trouble to come the next day again.

Then the Swami entered the room, a tall figure, bearded and wearing specs, dynamically walking to the stage and sitting down cross-legged on a prepared platform. He looked around. smiled, closed his eyes for a while and was then introduced by a lady who was his doctor-in-charge.

The Swami started to talk. I sat there spellbound for 1 ' hours, trying not to miss a single word and its meaning. A cascade of words was flowing over us escorted like in a concert in different tempos and in a rising and falling timbre accompanied by a face full of expression, hands and even legs moving in order to illustrate what was said. The illustration was so vivid, in words and action.

What was the theme? Kena upanishad. But we did not hear about this Upanishad in particular the first evening. We were slowly and in a very subtle way introduced into the mode of thinking in Vedanta. When we were told about the Vedas and their different sections, the meaning of the word Veda to know- e.g. 'knowledge of the self' and that it is considered as immortal and eternal. The last portion of the Vedas are the Upanishads. The Upanishads are an attempt to explain the inexplicable and thus apply a suggestive manner. To follow the style and method of teaching adopted by the Upanishads, the student has to be tuned. And this the Swami did in a masterly way on two evenings.

The students should be prepared and tuned in his mind to meet a perfect spiritual master. What is a perfect spiritual teacher? He has to be well-versed in the scriptures, must be able to communicate his knowledge and should himself live in full awareness of the real self. He must have experienced himself what he is talking about, radiating love and compassion. And the student who is eager to experience himself the Eternal Truth must have reflected deeply about life and should have faith in the teacher's words. This readiness of the student's mind to listen. to reflect, to meditate and strive to live, what he has heard is absolutely necessary to follow the subtle truth given out in the Upanishads.

About the author

This article is written by Ammini Padiyath on her first meeting with Swami Chinmayananda for a lecture on Upanishads.