The 10 gurus from whom I learned life's lessons...
A child ---no inhibition. The child does not know to differentiate between good or bad. man or woman. I get the lesson of
non differentiating from a child.
Earth---whatever you do to earth, dig, blast,
plant trees, uproot trees or spit or
build a temple or building a cemetery. Earth is quiet and does not rebel, and I learn patience from earth.
Sky---It is so vast, wherever you go it is
there, allows the sun to rise and set, allows the moon to come and go, lets the
rain fall, holds the clouds, helps the clouds to get water from earth.The sky teaches me generosity.
Breath---from the day we are born it goes in
and out without stop. No matter whether we sleep or wake up or we are laughing or
crying. whether we are eating or are hungry, it goes on .
A person rich or poor, intelligent or stupid, active or lazy but his breath goes in and out till his death. The lesson is---
to live with people without inhibition.
Water---water is present in river, lake,
gutter, drains, puddles, sea. It is used
for bathing, washing, and it's job is cleaning. The lesson is---we too can
clean our inner self by nama sankeertana. The trickling of water, the sound of
waves, the sound of water falls all give joy to the heart, so will nama japa.
Agni/Fire-- it will burn off anything but leaves nothing to
take back. It teaches me to burn away my bad thoughts and deeds through Bhakti.
Chandran/Moon---it rises on sky with a thin
line and then grows slowly to full moon
like a ball.again slowly it diminishes
and gets extinct. So is our life comes, grows and dies off. I learn the lesson of the temporary nature of our life from moon.
Sun----no discrimination whether it is a valley or mountain
peak, river or puddle, it shines on all. The clouds with so much moisture hides
him but he is still there. The lesson is I learn is that without ego he shines everyday irrespective of anything. I learn to shun EGO from the Sun.
Ocean--- the sea never complains number of
people bathing everyday, the boats, the ship whatever goes on it the ocean is
patient. Neither does it increase when it rains nor it decreases when the sun shines
over it. The lesson is to remain the same irrespective of situation.
Python---the quality of python is he will never
go in search of its food, but will grab whatever comes to it and eat well and
then never disturb the circumstance. We too should be content with what he have and not go hunting for extra things.
(translated from a Tamil book)