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Je Sadguru Upadeshthi, Pämyo Kevaljnän; Guru Rahyä Chhadmastha Pan, Vinay Kare Bhagawän.
One, who attains omniscience from the teachings of a right Guru, reveres him, even though the Guru might not have attained omniscience. (19)
Explanation & Discussion:
It would have been clear from the discussion so far that help from a true Guru is of utmost importance in spiritual pursuit. Its importance cannot be overemphasized. This stanza states that the teaching of a Guru can lead the pupil even to omniscience. Therefore one should obviously give respect to him. Such respect implies modesty on the part of the pupil. Modesty is a great virtue and helps tremendously in learning what the preceptor indicates. Thereby one can rapidly rise on the path of liberation.
It is also possible that one becomes omniscient even before the Guru attains it. The term used here for such a Guru is Chhadmastha. The word Chhadman denotes the cover or the mask that conceals. As such, Chhadmastha indicates the state of concealment. Here it relates to concealment of the omniscient state. The state, in which the true nature of soul remains concealed by virtue of the impact of Karma, is called Chhadmastha.
That stanza relates to a situation where the disciple might have gained omniscience, while the Guru has remained Chhadmastha; he could be self-realized but has not yet gained omniscience. That has actually happened in several cases. For instance, Gautamswämi could not forgo his attachment for Lord Mahävir and hence did not gain omniscience during the Lord's lifetime, though many of his own pupils had attained it.
vati felt the innerience that by the h
There is also the classic example of Chandanbälä and her pupil Mrugavati. On account of the illusion arising out of the Lord's aura, Mrugavati once stayed in the Lord's assembly beyond the sunset. As she arrived late at her place, Chandanbälä reprimanded her for not infringing the code that forbids monks and nuns to stay out after sunset. Mrugavati felt very sorry for that lapse and went into deep remorse. Since the remorse had arisen from the innermost corner of her heart, it resulted in destroying all her Karmas and she attained omniscience that very night. By virtue thereof she could notice, in the dark of the night, a snake passing by the hand of Chandanbälä, who was fast asleep. Thereupon Mrugävati lightly moved aside her hand. That caused Chandanbälä to wake up and she came to know of the pupil's omniscience. She felt very sorry for reprimanding such an elevated soul. She too went into deep remorse and attained the omniscience.
Thus reverence is of fundamental importance in spiritual pursuit. By resorting to it one can make progress beyond imagination. The pupil, who gains omniscience before the preceptor, does not forsake the importance of reverence and continues to revere the preceptor, under whose guidance he pursued the spiritual path and attained the omniscient state.
