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706
I am the Soul
Thus every jiva finds some motivation or the other and as a result attains spiritual progress. Here the disciple has received the great motivation of the Sadgurudev. He is stating before the Gurudev that, you have been infinitely benevolent towards me. What had not happened since infinite time has happened now. I am desirous of freeing myself from the debt of your benevolence. But how can I? This is no material debt that I can repay with some material wealth. Moreover, one has to repay one's own debt. In practice, even a son may repay father's debt. But here that does not work. The urgency of repaying the debt of the Gurudev has arisen in the disciple and hence he says -
शुं प्रभुचरण कने धरूं? आत्माथी सौ हीन, a at yg surut, as arrunteta .....884
In appreciation of the unlimited benevolence of the Gurudev, the disciple is desirous of offering something at the feet of the former. What should I offer? What should I place at the feet? These are the thoughts nagging his mind.
Brothers! It has been a tradition in our country. In the olden days the children of the Kings and Emperors used to go to the hermitages of the sages to learn the arts. After learning for years, when they would return with the permission of the Guru, they would offer something at the feet of the Gurudev and make a token effort towards absolving themselves of the debt.
Here the disciple too is saying before the Gurudev, 'O Gurudev! You have transformed my entire life. I was ignorant like the mud lying in the mines. I had no value. You collected and shaped the mud. I was unaware that 'I am the soul'. You introduced me to the atma and illuminated my inner self. You gave a lamp in the hands of one who was stumbling in the dark. How can I repay your debt? Tell me, O Gurudev! What can I place at your feet?'
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