Twenty-Four gurus from Nature
vide extract from Udhav Gita:
Chapter : "Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava" in Srimad Bhagvat
The avadhuta Brahmin now reveals his twenty-four gurus with a clear overview of the twenty-four teachers Here is a brief description of who they are and what one might learn from them.
1. Earth: One who is wise will never be distracted from progress on the path of the spirit, even if harassed by other living beings. Such harassment is inevitable, because people act according to a predesigned plan, which is controlled by material nature. Instead, a wise person is steady and unswerving, like the earth. Furthermore, like the mountain and the tree also part of the earth-one should dedicate oneself to the service of others.
2. Air (or wind): A spiritual practitioner, like everyone else, inevitably will be subjected to material objects that embody both good and bad qualities. But he should see them as nondifferent, since they are both material-and, like the wind, he should never allow them to entangle him in their dualistic web. As the wind carries different aromas but never mixes with them for any length of time, so, too, should a wise person be equal-minded as good and bad dualities come and go, never allowing them to disturb him.
3. Sky: Though the sky extends everywhere and everything has its resting place within it, the sky still remains distinct. It is never implicated or affected by the blowing action of the wind. In the same way, the living entity is never truly affected by material circumstances, even though it is encased in a body made of material elements. The wise person sees this and thus transcends the misconceptions of material involvement.
4. Water: The saintly person must endeavor to be like pure water, free from all contamination and gentle, flowing with the ups and downs of life. By seeing, touching, or hearing such a saintly person, all living beings are cleansed, just as one is cleansed by coming in contact with pure water.
5. Fire: If a sincere spiritual practitioner consumes contaminated food by chance, he is not affected, for he is like fire, which burns to ashes all contaminated substances. like fire, too, a saintly person is sometimes concealed, that is, his spirituality is not obvious to one and all, and sometimes apparent. \X!hen he takes the position of being one's guru, he burns to oblivion the past and future sins of his disciples, if they follow his instructions.
6. Moon: The moon famously waxes and wanes, and yet it is still the moon,unaffected by these superficial changes. Similarly, the living entity should not be affected by bodily changes from birth to death, and even when rebirth takes place.
7. Sun: Just as a saintly person can accept nearly any material item and, at the appropriate time, award it to someone else, so can the sun evaporate water and return it to earth as rain, for the benefit of all. Like the sun, too, a saintly person is reflected in many objects, or situations, in various ways, but is never divided-he is one and single-minded in purpose.
8. Pigeon: The avadhuta tells the story of a pigeon and his family, living peacefully in their nest when a hunter comes along and systematically dismantles their happy home, killing them all, one by one. The lesson here is the sorrow of excessive attachment, which, of course, is a quality that should be avoided.
9. Python: The python is known in India as a creature that does not make arrangements for his own food, but rather waits for food to come to him. The peacefulness and patience that this requires are qualities that saintly people embody and fledgling practitioners should develop.
10. The sea: A saintly person, being a repository of practically applied knowledge, is never disturbed-he is always tranquil, like the sea.
11. The moth: One who avoids spiritual practice is foolishly captivated by a woman's charms (or a woman by a man's charms), just like a moth is captivated by the very flame that burns it in the end.
12. The honeybee: In traditional India, renounced ascetics generally beg food from different houses by going door to door-this is called madhukari, or "honeybee," for it is reminiscent of the bee who takes nectar from different flowers. Another aspect of the honeybee can be found in saintly people: They take the essence of different scriptures. A truly wise person accepts truth wherever he finds it, never limiting himself to one tradition.
13. The elephant: One should take heed of how hunters capture the great bull elephant with the allure of a she-elephant-a trap that causes him to fall into a ditch. Saintly people, therefore, are always cautious when in proximity to the opposite sex.
14. The honey thief: Renunciants and celibate students are entitled to make use of the wealth of hardworking householders, just as a honey thief takes away honey from the nests of busy bees.
15. The deer: When the hunter's horn makes its bewitching sound, deer come running, as they are shot one by one, with his gun. Noting this, the spiritual practitioner should never allow himself to get lost in mundane sound vibration: nonspiritual music and words of material interest should be approached with caution, if at all.
16. The fish: Because of their uncontrolled tongues, fish are soon caught on the fisherman's hook. Therefore, the spiritual practitioner controls his senses, beginning with the tongue, so he does not fall prey to the "hook" of material life.
17. Pingala: This was a specific prostitute whose life of ill repute gradually became untenable, both because it was a difficult way to make a living and because it was morally reprehensible. Accordingly, she gave up her business and, through gradual purification, was able to remember Krishna, allowing her to become peaceful and happy once again.
18. The kurara bird: One day, a hawk was carrying some food for its own personal consumption when a group of larger hawks came along, wanting the edible for themselves. The initial hawk gave up his food spontaneously, fearing for his life, as he flew off. Relinquishing his much desired meat and saving himself in this way, he felt more happiness than he possibly could have if he had eaten the food. The lesson: quick pleasures offer minimal rewards; long-term pleasures are more valuable.
19. The child: A child is happy due to ignorance, and yet in this way he is similar to a saintly person, who is happy due to having surrendered to God.
20. The young girl: One day, a young girl of marriageable age received some suitors at her home. Only she was there, as her parents were away. Dutifully, she went into the kitchen to prepare food for the young men. While making rice, her bracelets started to bang together, making a sharp noise. Noticing the sound, she feared that the young men in the next room would hear it as well, and would think her family poor because she was doing the cooking herself, without servants. To remedy this, she broke all the bracelets except two on each arm, but even these made the same jangling noise. She then removed two others, leaving only one on each arm. Thereafter, she worked in silence. The lesson: when many people live together, a clashing of interests and in-house fighting become inevitable. It is, therefore, ideal to live alone, especially if one wants to pursue deep meditation and other spiritual practices that require concentration.
21. The arrow maker: Once, a king and his retinue were passing by the dwelling of a humble arrow maker, but the latter was so absorbed in his work of making a straight arrow that he did not see the king. Similarly, the devotee should be so absorbed in the Lord that he remains undisturbed by the duality of the material world.
22. The snake: It is observed that snakes make no special home for themselves, but rather that they take over the homes of others, having eaten them. A sage should similarly exert no special effort for his own shelter, focusing instead on serving God with full faith that provisions will be made for his well-being.
23. The spider: God is comparable to the spider because He creates a cosmic network from His own energy and then withdraws it into Himself, just as a spider does with his web.
24. The wasp: Once, a wasp trapped a weaker insect in its lair. Out of intense fear, the lesser insect took on the mentality of a wasp-for it could only think of its captor and nothing else-and thus it became a wasp in its next life. This teaches us that we attain our future births based on that which our minds are fixed upon in this one.
