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Chitrabhanu's Wisdom
Q. Who is a true Guru?
The person must have several qualities:
a. His/her life must be simple, because if he indulges in luxury, shows off, etc., then he / she has not been in touch with the beauty of simplicity
b. The person will show you, out of compassion, the path of Bhagwan Mahavir's teachings
c. Their knowledge must be based on his/her own experiences.
d. There should not be any dichotomy between preaching and practice no hypocrisy of any
sort.
These few things can help you decide whether he / she is a reliable person and that individual should not have a vested interest either, i.e. he should want nothing from you, but rather give and disappear leaving no trace behind.
Sometimes, when we put faith in a particular person or belief, we tend to put others down. This is why Jainism stresses that you always keep your attention on Bhagwan Mahavir and not get deviated by personalities. If you are a sincere seeker, you will always give prominence to Bhagwan Mahavir, because we are all moving in the same direction. So, any Guru who comes between you and Bhagwan is not real. A sincere and true Guru introduces you to Bhagwan and then continues on.
Q. What was your mission when you went to America and have you achieved it? How did you advocate Jain religion to the Western world?
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Well, mine was personal. I left India because I started having visions from 1965 onwards. I kept on dreaming about living in a country where there were a lot of white people. Then I had a vision that I was speaking at the United Nations; I also dreamt that a wife and two children would help me to liberate from all my desires. This made me think that if they are visions, I have to pursue them; I could not remain a hypocrite. So in 1970, I renounced my monk hood. Around the same time, I got an invitation from the 2nd Spiritual Summit in Geneva and I thought "hmm...how come an invitation comes specifically for me, while other people strive to go there." I realised that this was a sign to fulfil my dreams. When I went to Geneva and spoke before an audience of 4,000 white people, something moved inside me, something that came from enthusiasm that also moved the audience. In 1971, the Dean of Harvard approached me, inviting me to another conference.
After giving up my monk hood, I went to live in America, where I was also offered a job at the university. I felt that my vision was slowly unfolding. Many white Americans came to listen to my lectures, which encouraged the Indian University students to come too. I started the first Jain Centre in New York, followed by another one in Boston. After this, in 1975, I invited Sushil Kumarji to join me in my work and now we have 57 centres and 80,000 members. I felt that everything took off at double my expected speed, with twice the strength. To date it continues on to flourish in the same way.■
Originally published in Young Jains Nairobi Newsletter, May - August 2000. Reprinted in the Young Jains Newsletter UK, April-June 2002.
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