Beyond the Senses

Why are the senses a hindrance to spiritual growth?
Find out.

How does one overcome them?
Figure out.

How did Gurudev give them a slip?
How can you slip away too?

It's time for beyond. For Beyond the Senses.

Gurudevonline.com presents the pods of enlightenment, an audio biography of one of history's greatest saints.  'The Guru of Gurus' podcast series is comprised of 24 podcasts that present aspects of the mahaguru's life, philosophy, supernature, and mentorship.

Make some aspects of his biography into aspects of your biography.

If you have a question related to this podcast or need spiritual guidance, write to us at answers@gurudevonline.com. You can also read about Gurudev's life and philosophy on his website - www.gurudevonline.com

Transcript

The senses are tools of perception. Perception is the foundation of delusion. Delusion or Maya makes us go around in circles. These circles are boundaries of limitation. To break out of these circles, the senses need to be gone beyond. 

Gurudev: Beyond the Senses

A young boy who relished chole bhature used his still emerging powers to steal pinnis from a locked cupboard in his home. This boy eventually became a spiritualist who ate whatever was offered to him without fuss, often eating leftovers from the previous day. His spiritual mind recognized the need to improve his guna mix and go beyond. Through diligence and self-observation, he overcame the likes and dislikes most suffer from and because of.

As a general rule, our sense organs are connected to different elements which in turn are connected through various nadis or energy channels to different chakras. Senses, therefore, become a series of anchors and hold-fasts that keep you bound to lower levels of consciousness. Scripturally speaking, the sense of smell, related to the earth element, is connected to the Muladhara chakra at the base of the spine. Taste to water and the Svadhisthana chakra. Sight to fire and the Manipura chakra. Touch to air and the Anahata chakra. Sound to ether and the Vishudhi Chakra at the level of the throat.

The science of yoga advocates Pratyahar or the practice of withdrawing the attention of the mind from the senses. Guru Vashishth indicates that the senses are tools of maya that strengthen our belief in the deceptive world of appearances. Though common knowledge, it is uncommon control over the senses that distinguishes advanced spiritualists from the rest. 

Gurudev not only talked the walk, he practiced it. The biography, therefore, is not only the story of his life but also the message of it. 

Over to Puran ji.

Q: What kind of food did he like?  

Puran ji: He would eat everything vegetarian 

Q: No fuss…

Puran ji: No. Very simple, very simple. He never said, “I’m feeling hungry.”

Q: Never said that?

Puran ji: When it was time for lunch or dinner, he would never ask if food was prepared. Never.

We talk to Bittu ji, the OPs maverick, who handled Gurudev’s F&B, about Gurudev’s sense of taste or lack of it.

Bittu ji: Guruji did not have any fondness for food. He used to eat whatever was prepared. Many times, even though we had prepared fresh food, he would go to the kitchen, add salt and chillies to leftovers from the night before, and eat it. He never demanded that anything special be prepared for him.

Gurudev's nephew, Gaggu, is one of the best human beings I have ever known. Gurudev was very fond of him, not so much as a nephew but more so because he was and is a man with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, he has not yet been able to win the battle of the tongue. So, let's visit Mr. Rambleupon.com. 

Gaggu ji: He was fond of mangoes - fruits like mangoes and musk melons. I have seen that when we would, accidentally, serve him a sour slice of mango, he would eat it and keep the empty plate aside. He would never complain about the sour taste. We would find out later that we had served him a sour slice of mango.

Dwarkanath ji was Gurudev's landlord who shared a 120 sq. feet room with both - Mr. Spelling Mistake Nagpal and Gurudev. He remembers.

Q: Was Gurudev fond of food?

Dwarkanath ji: He was carefree. He never had any preference for any kind of food. Sometimes, in the evening, he’d say, “Let’s not cook food at home.” Then one of us was given the duty of getting rotis or chapattis with dal from a food stall nearby. Another worked the stove and prepared the tempering. “Heat some oil in a vessel. I will get dal to add to it,” he’d say. He would give us another utensil to get yoghurt. So, we would get rotis and dal along with half a kilogram of yoghurt. When Guruji was tasked with buying the rotis, he would tell the man at the food stall to mix the yoghurt in the vessel with the dal.

Not complaining about the taste of the food or the sourness of the fruit can only happen when the sense of taste becomes history. Considering these accounts and those to follow, I feel gratitude that Gurudev did not become a chef because he would have run the worst restaurant ever! But let’s keep this between ourselves as many may not be able to digest this. Do pardon the pun.

His youngest daughter, Alka, sprinkles an ingredient that no restaurant can hope to serve!

Q: Was Gurudev fond of eating anything specific or did he enjoy eating all types of food?

Alka ji: Guruji would enjoy eating whatever was made with love. It was the same with Mataji. They would say, “Even if you make a plain roti, make it with good intention.” 

He believed our tongues should not tempt us into eating what we should not. He did not want us to be obligated to others by consuming their food. Besides obligations, food was also a carrier of energies. I remember an age-old adage, 

Jaisa ann vaisa mann. 

Jaisa pani waisi vaani. 

As per ancient Indian philosophy, the same food cooked by different people can have variable results on the minds of those consuming it. The eyesight of the cook infuses in the food his or her qualities and moods. 

Sitaram, a domestic help employed by my parents, would use swear words throughout the day. I noticed that when I consumed the food he cooked regularly, I found myself using swear words too. Similarly, when you eat consumed with anger, it infects your food and colours it in an invisible red. In temples, the cooks are carefully chosen for this very purpose. At the sthan in Gurgaon, where I spent years on and off, I could correctly guess if Mataji had cooked a particular dish. Amazing but true. 

There are other ways in which food can get affected. Food, especially white coloured food, can get infected by spirits dwelling where it is cooked or left uncovered. Often food products can become a tool through which the effect of black magic is transferred to someone. I have been a victim of this before I met Gurudev. The person who gave me arthritis through black magic used white pedas or sweetmeats as a medium. He had them infected using reverse mantras of a particular type, and rituals which made them carriers of the negative energy. Veer ji, one of Gurudev’s older disciples, saw this in a vision and even knew where this had been initiated. 

Water, too, is a carrier of emotions and feelings, and can be used to heal and disturb. Kamlesh, a resident of Gurgaon, was made to drink a taweez dissolved in a glass of sherbet with the intent to kill her. She was saved from this lethal threat by Gurudev, and I was witness to this incident like I have been to over hundreds of such cases over the years. The energies infused in food and water can affect both body and mind. These learnings of our ancients are now being corroborated in scientific labs.

Gupta ji was like Gurudev’s F&B manager who kept him tea-d up. 

Gupta ji’s tea stall was where Gurudev would meet many visitors who came to either ask for his blessings or seek his help. According to him, the mahaguru lived mostly on tea and fresh air. 

Q: Was he fond of any fruit?

Gupta ji: No.

Q: He would come in the morning at 7.30, would he have breakfast?

Gupta ji: No. Mataji would say that she would be asleep when Guruji would leave for office. He would squeeze a lemon in a glass of water and drink just that before leaving for work. 

Q: He would have lemon juice. That’s it?

Gupta ji: Yes. Mataji had no idea when Guruji left for work. She would find out after stumbling upon the squeezed lemons. 

Q: That is how she would find out?

Gupta ji: Yes.

Q: What were his thoughts on food?

Gupta ji: He would not eat much. 

Gupta ji’s comment that Gurudev didn’t eat much was something I myself was witness to. Very often, we would be embarrassed to eat in his presence because he wouldn’t eat anything. I guess you can call it ‘sympathetic starving’. Sometimes, I wonder if he staged all of this only to help us go beyond our senses. Giri Lalwani adds his bit.

Q: What was Gurudev fond of eating? 

Giri ji: He was not fond of eating. He hardly ate. His way of eating was very simple. So many times, I saw him eating at the farmhouse - he would take one chapatti, keep vegetables on it, hold it in his hands, and eat it like Indian farmers do. He used to love simple food.

Overcoming the senses was not natural for him. He was fond of good food in his younger days and you will hear those accounts from Gaggu, Raji Sharma and others. However, he slowly but steadily overcame his sensory weaknesses. It was not that he became a robot and did not enjoy a dish or two, but, generally speaking, he kept these senses at bay. Between the 70’s and the 80’s, the change was enormous. 

Back to the old days with Raji Sharma. 

Q: Raji, I wanted to know from you, as you have known Gurudev from the mid-70’s, what was the differences in his own personal growth and practice in terms of his sensory attraction, like for example his sense of taste, touch or was he very fond of food earlier and then did he get less fond of food or did he give up that sensory attraction or is there any such thing that you can tell us about music, sense of smell or whatever?

Raji ji: I think Guruji was very balanced in all this. To him, it really didn’t matter. Whatever food was there, whether it was a parathi or just bread without butter, or say a matthi with tea. But yes, sometimes there were things he was fond of like chaat pakori for instance. He was very fond of gol gappas. But it was like – it’s there, it’s not there. To him it really mattered or didn’t matter was the same.

Even though culinary delights were not an integral part of Gurudev's menu, restrictions on the sense of taste were. He could, in odd circumstances, fill his stomach with very little or almost close to no food. He demonstrated this on himself many times, and also at times on his disciples. He could live without meals for days. Only a few cups of tea would suffice.

For a man who could dematerialise himself and be in two places at the same time, living without food was a piece of cake, however, ironic the last sentence might sound. 

His daughter Renu, shares her viewpoint and introduces a very interesting person named Indu didi who looked after Gurudev more than any daughter could and was the mainstay of the kitchen at Gurgaon.

Renu ji: I will share an experience of Indu didi. Guruji was never really interested in eating and avoided it whenever he could. He was always contented and ate when he found time. Generally, he’d say, “I will eat later.” He liked everything. He enjoyed cooking a few dishes, and eating south Indian food, gol gappe, channe bhature. But I have never seen anything specific being cooked for him at home. He would make dishes like upma, potatoes cooked in sour yoghurt, and poha very well. He hardly cooked at home, but he would cook, when in a good mood, when we accompanied him on his tours. Once, when Indu didi complained, “Guruji, you don’t eat properly,” he replied, “Putt, jenhu khilanch mazaa aagaya na, khaan da maaza nahi renda.”

Those who learn to feed others seldom care about feeding themselves. Isn’t that the sentence of the century?

Gurudev would have been a nutritionist’s nightmare. His food habits weren’t exactly habits as there was no sense of timing. He ate whenever, whatever, and often never! 

His mastery over the senses allowed him to play by his own rules. Attending to him, however, was no easy task as you did not know what to expect. The four musketeers certainly had their work cut out. Here’s one of them – Bittu ji.

Bittu ji: Guruji would always say that food is akin to God. You have no right to disrespect or waste it. I’ll share one incident. I was blessed with many opportunities to serve him food at night. Many times, he would take a morsel till his mouth but stop short of eating it. “I don’t want to eat anymore. Take it back,” he’d say. Since Gurudev had not eaten, Mataji did not eat either, neither did I or Guruji’s servant named Krishna and his dog named Kaalu. Kaalu would not touch his food till Guruji had eaten. So, we all would remain hungry.

One day, when Guruji refused to eat, Mataji angrily asked, “Why do you do this?” I supported her. I said, “You have told us that we should never disrespect food which is akin to God. But you disrespect food more than anyone.” He asked, “What do you mean?” I said “We serve food. You took a morsel till your mouth and then stop short of eating it. When you don’t eat, Mataji and the rest of us don’t eat either.” 

Guruji held my arm and made me sit. He said “When you serve me food, are my eyes closed or open?” I replied, “Closed.” So, he said, “When I take a morsel near my mouth, I scan to see if my children have eaten or not - maybe someone is travelling or hospitalized, or for whatever reason, has not eaten, Then, I cannot eat while my children are hungry.”

This was his way of raising a red flag for the powers of destiny and the planets themselves. It was in his destiny to eat a meal but he gave up that right, and by doing so gained the right to defer or reassign the meal. To put it simply, He would sacrifice his own meal and re-assign it for the benefit of another. A practice previously unheard of. To know this philosophy is one thing, but to practice it is another. Only complete control over one’s mind can help overcome temptations and stick to one’s resolve. 

In his younger days, Gurudev was a movie buff. He even applied to the Film & Television Institute in Pune for admission but fortunately, I repeat, fortunately was rejected. Thank God for large mercies! 

Destiny often connives with the Great. The powers that be help in strange ways. But movie tickets?!

Over to Dwarkanath ji.

Dwarkanath ji: Gurudev loved watching films, far more than we did. He’d watch the night shows at Sheela cinema. He would say, “Let’s go!” He called Nagpal ji ‘Naaga’ and addressed me as ‘Dwarkadeesh’. He’d say, “Get ready.” 

“The movie is about to start. How can we go now? We won’t get tickets as the ticket window would be shut.” He’d repeat, “Let’s go. We will definitely get tickets.” And the moment we would enter the cinema hall, as if by design, there would be a stranger waiting who had changed his mind about watching the movie. He would say, “You can take my tickets”. We’d reply, “Yes. How many tickets do you have?” He would say that he had only three tickets. So, we would watch the movie.

Another manipulator of movie-tickets was Gurudev’s disciple, Bade Jain Saab. He took his wife to the movies only to find that the show was houseful. In an effort to impress her and make her develop faith, he told her not to worry as the tickets would be arranged. A little while later, as predicted, someone offered Jain Saab two movie tickets for a houseful show. Unfortunately for him, converting Mrs Jain would take a lot more convincing!

As time went by, all of Gurudev’s hobbies and interests got diluted into the river of seva. From the time he awoke to the early morning hours when he went back to sleep, all he would do was serve and serve, with a commercial break when he went to office.

Gurudev’s sense of smell was also of little consequence. It wasn’t an obstacle for him. I never saw him own or use a cologne. He believed that to overcome duality, both stench and fragrance should not affect. Neither beauty should attract nor lack of it, distract. He warned us that after death, we would come at a crossroad where on one side there would be dimensions that were beautiful, and on the other, very plain looking. He told us never to choose the aesthetic ones as they were the lower planes, and the simple ones led to higher dimensions. 

He also made us realise that if the eyes got attracted to the opposite gender, it could be a downer. As the eyes are tools for taking in energy and expelling it, attraction would expel the energy outward and lead to a loss of our aura. 

From the sense of sight to the sense of touch…

The sense of touch covers aspects like over-sensitivity to weather, sensual pleasures etc. I recall that even in the peak of winter in the hills, all he would wear was a single sweater. It was not a sense he had to work at controlling.

I am also reminded of a time when I visited him at his camp at Mungaoli near Bina in Madhya Pradesh. As I had reached the camp before Gurudev returned from work, I was walking around enjoying the cold weather in a T-shirt. When I heard that he was about to arrive, I felt he might not approve of the fact that I was not wearing a sweater. So, to keep up pretences, I quickly slipped one on. And then came a master-stroke from the mahaguru. I don't think he approved of my pretence. While I felt comfortable without a sweater, I started shivering and my teeth started chattering, all in less than a minute despite having a sweater on! When he saw me in that condition, instead of appreciating my intent to not upset him, all he said was, "What was the need?" and my shivering stopped instantly. A lesson learnt, although I am not exactly sure what the lesson was. But this incident certainly demonstrated for me his powers to manipulate my sense of touch in a matter of a few seconds.

What about Gurudev’s sense of hearing? 

Some expert comments from Shri Raji Sharma.

 Raji ji: As far as music is concerned, yes, he used to enjoy some dhuns. 

In the early years, he had the weaknesses of the senses like you and I, but over time, and with practice, he overcame them. Later on, it became an act.

Gaggu flashes back to memories of his maternal uncle or mamma ji. He has promised not to sound profound.

Q: As you were with him, tell us did Gurudev like any songs?

Gaggu ji: He used to whistle. There was a film titled ‘Jewel Thief’ which had a song Rulaake gaya sapna mera. Baithi hu kab ho sawera. He would also play the song “Saware salone aaye din bahaar ke” on his mouth organ.

Q: How wonderful. From my perspective, he must have been fond of all this during his early days but not so much later in life?

Gaggu ji: Hobbies do die at some point of time. So, the same thing happened with Gurudev too.

Q: Correct. Tell me, he was fond of listening to music and would sing songs…

Gaggu ji: Yes, he would sing a few songs when he was alone and would also listen to Binaca Geet Mala. We have seen this side to him when we were kids. He would go to the office on his cycle from Shadipur to PUSA. So, he would whistle the tune of the song, “Koi rulaake gaya sapna mera. Behti hu kab ho sawera” while ringing the cycle bell!

Gaggu’s mamma ji had a passion for music and was fond of the black and white era songs. 

When mamma ji became Guruji, this passion started diminishing. 

When Guruji became the mahaguru, this sense of hearing became a tool rather than a hobby. 

Call it progress or call it regress, overcoming this sense is a qualification for higher attainment. If you want to get placed in lokas higher, then the senses you must rein in. Gurudev did it with effort and resolve. We can too. We can find inspiration from so many who have. A great example was him. 

Koi itna ameer nahi hota

 ke apna guzra hua kal khareed sake.

Koi itna ameer nahi hota

 ke apna guzra hua kal khareed sake.

Aur koi itna gareeb bhi nahi hota 

ke apne aane wala kal na badal sake.