I read your email regarding calling … my Shishya. I must clarify that I have never considered myself a guru to anyone, nor do I wish to become one. However, in India, we use certain terms to define our relationships with others. For instance, we often refer to neighbors and strangers as ‘annan’, ‘akka’ (bhaiya, didi), ‘auntie’, ‘uncle’, etc. This doesn’t imply that they are actually our relatives.
Similarly, since I cannot (or don’t want to) call … ‘brother’ like other Christians do, or ‘Pastor’ as his denominational people call him, I prefer to call him … As he has some personal respect for me as a sannyasi and wants to learn from me, he considers me his guru. Many others in our group also call me ‘guruji’. In that sense, he is my Shishya. When I call anyone my Shishya, I never expect them to accept all my principles. In fact, I urge them to never accept my views as the gospel truth and to use their own minds to think and understand. I don’t want any one to call me ‘Guruji’ or consider me as their guru.
I have had several personal talks with … and have come to understand his mind to some extent. Though he never disclosed all his thoughts and needs, he shared some of his personal struggles in his journey with the Lord. I cannot share all of them with you, as it is a confidential dialogue between us.
Regarding your question, ‘if he is your Shishya, then he should leave …,’ I don’t agree. One’s relationship with a person, organization, or church through which he or she came to know the Lord is a personal sentiment. It is a kind of ‘first love’. Of course, you are right when you often say, ‘it is not a question of salvation but survival’ to continue to remain in such an organization or church for a Hindu bhakta. But even this very ‘survival’ is another kind of salvation that God initiated in our lives. Those who believe that it is God who arranged everything for this ‘survival’ see it as salvation from God. For others, it remains their fate, karma, or part of their biological needs, as animals survive based on their instinct.
I know my response might raise more questions than provide clear answers. I confess that I don’t have all the answers that might convince you. Until the end, we all need to live with these kinds of questions, never receiving proper answers. As I wrote a long time ago:
Life is a question
Without an answer
The fun in it is that
When the question itself
Becomes the answer
Then the answer becomes
An unnecessary one.
விடையே இல்லாத
கேள்விதான் வாழ்க்கை
வேடிக்கை இதிலே
என்ன வென்றால்
கேள்வியே பதிலாக
கொண்டதே வாழ்வானால்
விடை என்ற ஒன்றும்
வேண்டாத ஒன்றே
TPT, 5-8-23
I read your email regarding calling … my Shishya. I must clarify that I have never considered myself a guru to anyone, nor do I wish to become one. However, in India, we use certain terms to define our relationships with others. For instance, we often refer to neighbors and strangers as ‘annan’, ‘akka’ (bhaiya, didi), ‘auntie’, ‘uncle’, etc. This doesn’t imply that they are actually our relatives.
Similarly, since I cannot (or don’t want to) call … ‘brother’ like other Christians do, or ‘Pastor’ as his denominational people call him, I prefer to call him … As he has some personal respect for me as a sannyasi and wants to learn from me, he considers me his guru. Many others in our group also call me ‘guruji’. In that sense, he is my Shishya. When I call anyone my Shishya, I never expect them to accept all my principles. In fact, I urge them to never accept my views as the gospel truth and to use their own minds to think and understand. I don’t want any one to call me ‘Guruji’ or consider me as their guru.
I have had several personal talks with … and have come to understand his mind to some extent. Though he never disclosed all his thoughts and needs, he shared some of his personal struggles in his journey with the Lord. I cannot share all of them with you, as it is a confidential dialogue between us.
Regarding your question, ‘if he is your Shishya, then he should leave …,’ I don’t agree. One’s relationship with a person, organization, or church through which he or she came to know the Lord is a personal sentiment. It is a kind of ‘first love’. Of course, you are right when you often say, ‘it is not a question of salvation but survival’ to continue to remain in such an organization or church for a Hindu bhakta. But even this very ‘survival’ is another kind of salvation that God initiated in our lives. Those who believe that it is God who arranged everything for this ‘survival’ see it as salvation from God. For others, it remains their fate, karma, or part of their biological needs, as animals survive based on their instinct.
I know my response might raise more questions than provide clear answers. I confess that I don’t have all the answers that might convince you. Until the end, we all need to live with these kinds of questions, never receiving proper answers. As I wrote a long time ago:
Life is a question
Without an answer
The fun in it is that
When the question itself
Becomes the answer
Then the answer becomes
An unnecessary one.
விடையே இல்லாத
கேள்விதான் வாழ்க்கை
வேடிக்கை இதிலே
என்ன வென்றால்
கேள்வியே பதிலாக
கொண்டதே வாழ்வானால்
விடை என்ற ஒன்றும்
வேண்டாத ஒன்றே
TPT, 5-8-23
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