The Dharmaguru

Now we might have joy and yet we may fear; then we have not reached the higher stage, says Kabir. A real saint is he who enjoys beatification as well as fearlessness: Nirbhaya pada pave, says Kabir. Joy and fearlessness are thus the two chief moral characteristics of a Sadguru.

Then there are certain physical or physiological characteristics. Nodding, he does not move, speaking, he does not forget. Going and walking, his mind is motionless: Dolata digai na bolat bisashai. So while he is moving his mind he is concentrated on God. As Bacon would say, a ‘remove local’ does not bring about in him a ‘remove internal’… Second, he has no necessity to shut the doorways of sense. Prana na rundhai pavan na rokai…

He teaches Sahaja Samadhi which is different from Prana pujya kiriya, that is any action in which Prana is regarded as of the highest importance. He does not find any necessity for the control of Prana. He teaches Sahaja Samadhi which means that one has merely to look out or within and see God.

A third and more difficult characteristic to interpret would be that the aspirant leaves the earth and leaves the heavens and erects an intermediate bottomless cottage in between: Dharati tyagi akasa hu tyagai adhara madaiya chavai. This is not exactly like Trishanku (Trishanku antarale tista). He leaves off the earth that is the base of his mystical mediation, namely the navel, and he leaves off also the heaven which is the void peak in his brain (Shunya Shikhara) and in between he erects a foundationless cottage: adhara madaiya chavai. Kabir is here speaking of a certain kind of Kumbhaka which is called kevala kumbhaka…

The kevala kumbhaka is a Kumbhaka which is reached without any effort. It is neither adhah kumbhaka nor Urdhvakumbhaka but it is a

Kevala Kumbhaka attained in the region between the navel and the brain. He who achieves this object, namely Adhara madaiya might be regarded as having been endowed with another great physical characteristic of a Sadguru.

Extracted from ‘Spiritual Awakening in Gandhi and other Indian Saints’ (Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varanasi)