The Feet of the Guru

For those who have the good fortune of living a life in which they take the feet of the Guru, the Supreme, as the sole target of their attention, a longing to merge with Sivam will flourish.

That true devotion will itself become the fire of jnana that will scorch to destruction the desires for the false, the non-Self.

Please see this too.

Worshipping the Guru's Feet

For those who possess the quality of habitually meditating upon the feet of the Guru, the blazing flame of flawless true jnana,
their devotion, dispelling their suffering,
will elicit the grace of that Supreme One.
Through that grace their minds will become clear and they will attain true jnana.

One's sole refuge

If you want to attain liberation and redeem yourself by cutting asunder with the sword of jnana the false ignorance that has strongly bound you in the form of a jiva, let your mind spring up immediately with surging love and, without wasting a moment of your life, meditate constantly upon the golden lotus-like feet of the Lord who, in the form of the Guru, has taken you into his fold.

By taking the Sadguru as one’s sole refuge, one should know, through his grace, that the cause of the continuous and distressing confusion that nurtures births is the fragmented mind which regards itself as different from God, Atma-swarupa. One should also learn from him the means for ending it [the fragmented mind] and, adopting that means, one should steadfastly unite with the Self, the ego-free swarupa, and abide in mauna. This alone bestows eminence.

This state of being the best among the noble disciples is this: a constancy of mind whence gushes forth the feeling of supreme devotion [parabhakti] that manifests when the ‘I’ is lost in the radiance of the state of silence, the Supreme. Know and keep in your mind that this is itself the state of being the Guru.

Meditating in the way that one ought to meditate on the sweet and ineffable grace of the Supreme Guru, and remaining still without getting caught in illusion, the unreal and deceptive panorama that appears in front of us – this alone is bliss.

Bhagavan's Feet always with us

"I wanted to show my gratitude to Bhagavan by touching His feet, but I knew this was not allowed by His attendants. I confided this desire to Mrs Talyarkan, thinking she would keep it a secret. But in the hall, in front of everyone, she told Bhagavan, "Roda has a strong desire to touch your feet." I was so embarrassed.

Bhagavan said nothing at the time, but after lunch that day, He stopped near me, said something in Tamil to a nearby devotee, and asked him to translate it for me.

The devotee said, "Bhagavan says, "Why should she want to touch my feet? My feet are always on her head."

Forwarded by a kind reader - an account of Ms Roda McIver from Power of Presence by David Godman

The Feet of the Holy Guru

The Feet of the Holy Guru

The Feet of S'ri Rûpa Manjari

The lotus feet of Sri Rupa Manjari are my treasure,
they are my devotioni and service,
they are my wealth and the meaning of my life -
they are the life of my life.

They are the perfection of rasa, they are perfection worthy to attain
They are the very law of the Vedas for me.
of my vows and penances, they are the mantras of my praying.
They are the religion, my activities.
purified, following the rules, one will attain perfection
these two eyes thus may see
like moonlight his form in my heart, my heart shines in return.
not just at night, but all day.

Your absence from my vision, is like a dose of strong poison,
and I will suffer till the end of my life
"Please give me your mercy and the shade of your lotus feet."
that's what Narottama says.

Tune of song: Vaishnava Songs

MP3 with voice

Who is Rupa Manjari:

In the northern part of Sri Lalita Sakhi's kunja lies Rupollasa Kunja, where the very beautiful and graceful Sri Rupa Manjari resides. She is the foremost among the gopis known as priya-narma-sakhis. Her complexion is the color of gorocana (a bright yellow pigment secreted from a cow's kidney), and she delights in wearing a dress the color of peacock feathers. Her age is 13 years 6 months. The panditas call her Rangana-malika. In age, she is one day younger than Lavanga Manjari.

ananda – Sun, 16/07/2006 – 5:56am

guru – bhakti