The words of a spiritual master aren’t limited to a specific time, place, or even individual. Spoken in divine wisdom, such words are eternal and universal, and can apply to each of us.

Jesus Christ said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. And thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” He wasn’t speaking only to those who were gathered with him at that time, but equally to you and me today.

Similarly, in the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says to Arjuna, “Absorb yourself in Me; be wholly devoted to Me; worship and bow to Me alone: So shall you undoubtedly reach Me. This I promise you faithfully, for you are dear to Me.” He, too, was talking to each one of us.

Jyotish and I are now in India, where we recently celebrated Swami Kriyananda’s spiritual anniversary. On September 12, 1948, when Swamiji knelt before Paramhansa Yogananda and was accepted as his disciple, a spiritual wave was set into motion that has touched and often transformed the lives of countless hundreds of thousands.

During the years that Swamiji spent with him, Master made three significant statements that we can use to deepen our own discipleship. In The New Path Swamiji recounts their first meeting:

What large, lustrous eyes now greeted me! What compassionate sweetness in his smile! Never before had I seen such divine beauty in a human face.

“What may I do for you?”

“I want to be your disciple!” The reply welled up from my heart irresistibly. Never had I expected to utter such words to another human being. . . .

There ensued a long discussion, interspersed by long silences. . . . “All right,” he said at last. “You have good karma. You may join us.” . . .

Gazing at me now with deep love, he said, “I give you my unconditional love.”

This promise is given to every one of us when we sincerely open our heart, for one of the guru’s roles is to be a channel for God’s love to all of his spiritual children. True discipleship is much more than just following the guru’s teachings and practices. It is the knowing from deep within that we’ve been given a love unconditioned by time or events. This love will eventually become, as it did for Swamiji, the fulfillment of our heart’s longing and the central reality of our life.

The second significant statement that Master made to Swamiji is also related in The New Path:

One day I was standing with Herbert Freed, one of the ministers. . . . Herbert was to leave that afternoon to become the minister of our church in Phoenix, Arizona, and Master was giving him last-minute instructions. After a pause, Master said quietly:

“You have a great work to do.”

Turning to Herbert, I smiled my felicitations.

“It is you I’m talking to, Walter [Swamiji].”

The “great work” Master referred to was Swamiji’s life work of spreading his guru’s teachings. This Swamiji did through starting communities, writing books, lecturing, and in many other ways also making the spiritual path accessible to people around the world.

This work is ours as well to do, not with a sense of self-importance, but with the understanding that our life has a deeper purpose. We have joined our energy to the wave of uplifting consciousness that Master brought to the world. In so doing, we, too, are a part of his mission.

This “great work” on our part entails first and foremost our wholehearted dedication to achieving life’s true purpose: union with God. In this pursuit we become, like Swamiji, living examples to all of true discipleship.

Finally, Swamiji shares a third significant statement that Yogananda made to him, three days before the Master’s passing on March 7, 1952:

. . . For some months I had been hungering for a few words of approval from him.

Now, alone with me, he gazed into my eyes with deep love and understanding, and said, “You have pleased me very much. I want you to know that.” What a burden lifted from my heart at these few, simple words!

I think it’s fair to say that every spiritual seeker has felt that his or her striving falls short of the goal that we set for ourself. But remember, God knows our heart. Every test that we face with courage; every attempt at deepening our meditation; even, in fact, every failed effort is received by God. Don’t judge yourself for your failures. Rejoice, rather, that God and Guru are pleased with you for making an effort.

In celebrating Swamiji’s discipleship we are really celebrating the great gift to ourselves as well of the guru-disciple relationship. Swamiji’s experiences with Master can be guiding lights for our own life. In fact, the more we deepen our attunement with the guru, the more Swamiji’s discipleship becomes our own.

With divine love in God and Guru,

Nayaswami Devi

Watch a video by a devotee created in honor of Swamiji’s discipleship anniversary here.

Listen to Devi as she first reads the blog, then expands on its meaning and messages for readers with behind-the-blog commentary. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (9:26):

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The Gift of His Discipleship

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