A deep commitment to spiritualism is a result of spiritual practice of several lives. Similarly, one is attracted to a Guru he has relation with through several lives. Through several lives, one forms a samskara (a subconscious impression) of what kind of Guru he wants and thus, is attracted to him. One cannot TRY to get mercy of Guru, except engaging in some feeble sadhana. Bhagvat Geeta says:
"Mahatmanas tu mam partha
daivim prakitim asritah,
bhajantya ananya-manaso
gyatva bhutadim avyayam".
O Parth, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are undeviatingly engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the origin of all creations and eternal.
Everyone cannot do bhajan. They will not even be inclined to do bhajan. They might be content to engage in bhakti on a very superficial level, but a deep commitment to spiritual progress comes from a samskara of several lives. And for them, their Guru is pre-destined.
Shyamacharan Lahiri used to work as an accountant in the Military Engineering department. He was transferred to Ranikhet in Uttarakhand, at the foothills of Himalayas. At that time, he was an ordinary man working for government service. Though he was a brahmin and reciting verses of vedas and bathing in the water of maa Ganga was his daily routine, he had no inclination for spiritual practice any further. He led his life just like any materialistic person who takes pleasure in sense gratification. (A materialistic man takes pleasure in the worldly pleasures even though there is no real pleasure in them. Just like a dog which chews at a bone which only smells of blood and flesh, but has nothing in it to savour. The dog takes the bone very stealthily to a solitary spot and chews at it until his own mouth's flesh is torn and cut, and he savours his own blood thinking he has finally found the juice in the bone. Similarly, a materialistic person pursues the worldly pleasures and loses a lot of energy behind things that cannot give him any happiness. Happiness and peace are attributes of Atma, and not things made of fire, water, air, space and earth/matter. But he is only deluded by illusory force of Krishna to believe that he is savouring the 'juice' of samsaar. When the dog realises that his mouth is bleeding and paining, then he leaves the bone. Similarly, when a person finally realises due to Guru kripa that in pursuing pleasures and pleasing people he has been facing more disappointment than any satisfaction, and his source of happiness resides within himself, he stops pursuing the worldly pleasures.)
Shyamacharan Lahiri was mesmerized by the serenity of the Himalayas. He set out alone to wander in its foothills. While he was wandering through the forests, suddenly he heard someone calling in a grave tone from behind, "SHYAMACHARAN! SHYAMACHARAN!" He was shocked. He had just come to Ranikhet from Bihar and nobody knew him here. How come someone know him by his name? He turned around to see a saint adorned with long dreadlocks and wearing just a kaupin. The saint said, "Shyamacharan, you don't remember me?". Lahiri said, "No, how do you know me, baba?" "Don't you remember? I know you from your previous life." "My previous life?" "Yes." The saint placed his palm on Lahiri's head. "Do you remember now?" he said. "Yes, I think I have seen you before." said Lahiri. "I am your previous life's Guru. I have been waiting for you ever since. I want to give you back your belongings and then I will go away. Come with me." said the saint. Lahiri followed the saint like an innocent child. The saint led him into a cave and showed a yogi's asana, trishul, danda, kamandalu and a kund for lighting fire to him. The saint asked, "See! Do you remember anything?" "No, I don't remember anything." The saint again placed his palm on Lahiri's head and revived his spiritual powers. Lahiri said, "Yes, yes, Gurudev, now I remember. This is a very dear place to me. I feel so connected and attracted to this place." "This was your asana for spiritual practice in your previous life. You had left your body while engrossed in spiritual practice here itself." "Yes! Yes! Gurudev, I remember!" Lahiri started crying and fell on his Gurudev's feet. The saint said, "Go and bath in Ganga. Then come to me." Lahiri bathed in Ganga flowing nearby and came back to the saint. His Gurudev gave him a herb to eat. As soon as he ate it, he started vomiting. The vomiting didn't seem to stop and he was feeling as if he was about to die. Doubts crept in in his mind and he was confused that why his Gurudev showed him his asana if he was about to die. Then his Gurudev came and again placed his palm on his head. The vomiting stopped. The saint said, "You had accumulated a lot of dirt by indulging in sense gratification till now. I have cleansed you of that dirt by this process. Now I will initiate you. Come with me." He took Lahiri back to his asana in the cave and initiated him there. With the mercy of his Guru, he was able to reach the extreme heights of yoga in just seven days. Then his Gurudev came and said, "Now you go back to your job. I had deluded your superiors to make them transfer your post here in Ranikhet. After seven days, an order will be issued to send you back to Bihar." So, Shyamacharan Lahiri remained in grihastha ashram but continued to practice yoga sadhan. This is an example how Guru tatva manifests himself into a sadhak's life when the time is ripe. A sadhak need not go searching for a Guru. He needs to focus on how pure and honest his desire for liberation from the cycle of birth and death is, and pray to Krishna to meet his predestined Guru.
Another incident of Shyamacharan Lahiri's life. Once he went to Varanasi to meet Shri Tailanga Swamiji who was a sannyasi. Swamiji had a peculiar nature and wouldn't talk to just anyone unless he wished to. When Lahiri Mahasay went to meet him, he was surrounded by his disciples, some of following their Guru's example of vairagya. Lahiri Mahasay was dressed like a simple grihasthi, in dhoti and kurta. Seeing Lahiri Mahasay, Swamiji stood up and came forward to embrace him saying, "Come! Come, my dear!" Everyone was astonished as to why would a sannyasi like Swamiji would welcome and pay respect to a seemingly simple grihasthi? Swamiji was patting Lahiri Mahasay's back and holding his arm in a manner as if he was a very dear friend. They sat together, talked a little and then Lahiri Mahasay went away after paying respect (pranam) to Swamiji. The disciples said to Swamiji that they had never seen him behave in so friendly manner before. Why did he, a sannyasi, behave like this with a grihasthi? Swamiji said that the level of samadhi (the last stage of yoga) Lahiri Mahasay has reached, if someone experiences it for the time a mustard seed stays on the tip of the horn of a cow he will loose his life, unable to tolerate the power of such samadhi. He is a yogiraj. But he dresses like a grihasthi because his Guru has ordered him to stay in grihastha ashram and continue his job as accountant.
Once, Lahiri Mahasay saw that the Englishman he worked under was very sad and anxious. He asked, "Sir, why do you seem so tensed?" The Englishman told him that he had received a letter a month ago from London that his wife was very ill. Since then, there was no news of her. He wanted to know if she was okay. (At that time, use of telephone was minimal in India and most of the overseas communication occurred through letters and telegrams). Lahiri Mahasay said, "Sir, please don't worry. I will bring you her news." Saying this, he sat in padmasana with his eyes closed. After a while, he opened his eyes and said, "Sir, I have brought her news. She is okay now. And she will come to India and meet you within seven days." The Englishman was surprised and thought Lahiri Mahasay was joking. These wretched Indians! But Lahiri Mahasay continued, "First she will write a letter to you which you will receive after two days. She will write that she is okay and is soon coming to India to meet you. So, you must not worry. Then, after a few days she will come and meet you." Indeed, the Englishman received a letter from his wife two days later, written exactly the way Lahiri Mahasay described it. The Englishman was surprised and waited to see what happened next. And after a few days, his wife came. Seeing Lahiri Mahasay, she was surprised and asked her husband, "This one! Who is this man?" The Englishman told her that he was an accountant working under him. "But I saw this man standing near me in our house in London when I was severely ill. He blessed me and immediately all my illness vanished. This man is not a normal human, he has transcendental powers." The Englishman was astonished and realized that the spirituality of Vedas and Sanatan dharma was different from all other religions and cultures. It is mystic, transcendental and not comprehensible through mundane intelligence.
A sadhak, therefore, needs to have faith in the wisdom of scriptures. The scriptures say that when the thirst to know and experience the eternal truth arises in the heart of a sadhak, the Guru who has liberated himself from the vicious cycle of birth and death, and knows the Supreme Godhead, will be attracted to the sadhak and he will himself come to rescue him from this ocean of samsaar.
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