Ocean of Compassion : Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati ( Chinmaya Mission )

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Friday, June 05, 2020.

Salutations to the Ocean of Compassion

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1.Introduction :

My salutations to the One who is an ocean of compassion. Compassion is love expressed in action. This is the most beautiful quality of the Teacher. It blesses even those students who are not qualified to receive the blessings. It may take us a lifetime to remove our defects and impurities and become fit students, but it is the Teacher who, out of compassion, overlooks our imperfections and blesses us. The compassion is causeless and infinite like the ocean.

The Realised Master could easily remain absorbed in the bliss of the Self, free from the worries of the world, but he chooses to leave this blissful state and come down to the level of the world and bless mankind motivated by his deep love and compassion for all.

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2. Grueling Schedule :

Gurudev’s infinite compassion led him to undertake the extraordinary journey that was his life. He set himself a grueling task, to reach out to maximum people in minimum time. Each day of every month and each month of every year was dedicated to the service of humanity. He travelled constantly within India and around the globe so that he could share the timeless knowledge of the scriptures with all.

In the early days, Gurudev conducted long jnana yajnas, extending to over a month. In the morning, he would speak on an Upanishad and in the evening on the Gita. During the day, he would speak at different forums and attend bhikshas (take food) at homes of devotees. He would also conduct morning meditation classes. Often, he would take a walk or yatra through the town, to generate enthusiasm and create awareness in society.

He had his talks transcribed and distributed as yajna prasad. In Delhi, in the early days, he publicised his own yajnas; wearing a vest, he would get on to a cycle rickshaw and announce them over an old-fashioned loud speaker. Saying that a famous swami was in town, he would invite people to the lectures. In the evening, he would wear his sannyasi robes and speak from the podium.

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3. Formation of Groups :

When he left a city after a series of discourses, people felt lost. They shared these sentiments with him. To remedy this, he began a scheme of study through the formation of Study Groups. Like-minded people were able to come together, study and reflect on what they had heard. Later, he began Bal Vihars, Yuva Kendras and Devi Groups. The crusade of a single man is today this huge organization called Chinmaya Mission, with more than 350 centres worldwide.

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4. Infinite Compassion :

It was Gurudev’s idea to have gurudakshina envelopes with the names and addresses of the donors. This helped him to keep in touch with his devotees. After attending bhiksha, he would write to his hosts, send them his blessings and inquire after all of them by name. These tireless and compassionate interactions with people resulted in a large body of dedicated followers who were ready to contribute their time and money to actualize the vision of their Master - spreading the timeless message of the scriptures to the maximum people possible.

Gurudev went to various places, across the world and even spoke to people in clubs, while they were busy enjoying their drinks. He was not deterred by the different ethos and mores of the West. He went to as many nations as possible and reached out to people with different value systems and habits.

Sometimes people have no consideration for the Master and make outrageous demands. When people build new homes or work places they want the Teacher to bless the structure with their presence. There were times, when Gurudev was ill and could not even walk properly, but on the insistence of devotees, he would go and visit the room or building they wanted him to bless. Once he told someone, who wanted his home blessed, “Why do you want me to bless those bricks? I am blessing you, is that not enough?”

Truly, Gurudev Swami Chinmayananada was the personification of the compassionate Guru.

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