Guru As Mirror

Swami Chinmayananda

oi-Staff

Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 9:46

Brahmacharini Robyn Thompson says that it took some years for her to realize the utter truth of the guru's mirror. One day, someone who had been with Swamiji for many years said to her:

"Don't you know that he reflects yourself back to you?" She now became, very alert to how that mirror worked: "I remember occasions when I approached him in a tense, closed mood, and he would respond like wise: His replies would be short and to the point, and my time with him would be cut short as well. In contrast, if I went to him in an open, happy mood, not asking for anything, not expecting any particular result, he would respond with hugs and easy conversation in other words, the way I myself was feeling.".

Gurudev served as our mirror in many ways. If, for instance, a worker in Chinmaya Mission ran into organizational problems and wrote him a letter filled with complaints about another person, he had the habit of sending the complaint straight to the person who was being complained about. When the original writer discovered what had happened, the image in the mirror became frighteningly clear: a face etched with negative lines, a mind lacking in forthrightness. Those who suffered through such humiliation once, thought twice before sending scalding letters to Gurudev. Sometimes the ego lessons were very subtle. When Gurudev saw that our hearts were closed or our minds suffused with negativities, he turned his usual enthusiasm and lovingness to cold indifference. That hurt as much as an outright mental slap.

About the author

This article has been written by an anonymous author for the 'Vedanta Vani', Chinmaya Mission.