A realized Guru has the ability and power to cleanse and purify all the karma of his disciple. When the disciple loves his Guru and surrenders unto him, the Guru can perform miracles and transform the disciple. A disciple could have all possible faults and evil habits, but his steadfast faith in his Guru will uplift him and redeem him. Where the Guru is wholly powerful but the student does not have faith, nothing much can be achieved. Intense bhakti, faith and surrender are essential to receive grace and transform. This is the story of Girish Chandra Gosh who was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa:
The Ganges river is considered holy in India. All Hindus take bath in it and consider themselves purified. Once Sri Ramakrishna was taking bath in the Ganges and Girish was with him. He asked Girish to take bath in the river and Girish refused to do so. Sri Ramakrishna said: Girish, if people like you do not observe dharma, who else will? Immediately Girish took a dip in the river. From then onwards he used to bathe in the Ganges frequently. He used to say: When ordinary people bathe in Ganges, she purifies them. But when a Mahan or a Great one bathes in the Ganges, he purifies her and increases her potential for purification out of his compassion. Great Gurus bathe in the Ganges in order to help mankind. The reason why Sri Ramakrishna bathed in the Ganges was only to increase her purity in order to help others.
Girish had implicit faith and surrender in his Guru. He saw the Unmanifest Divinity in Sri Ramakrishna and worshiped him as God Himself. He spoke about his Guru as Avatar Purush or God Incarnate. Once they watched a play about Prahlad, the great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Girish was moved by the sincerity of Prahlad. He said to his Master that he was a great sinner. He felt that where he stood, the ground became unclean as he lacked sincerity. He asked his Guru to bestow on him sincerity. His Guru replied that only great sages like Sage Narad or Sage Sukadev had the power and ability to do so and not he. Girish said that he could not see Sage Narad or Sage Sukadev but Sri Ramakrishna was the only God he knew and he stood in front of his God. On seeing the unflinching faith and trust of his disciple, the Guru blessed him with faith and sincerity.
Girish had all the possible vices a man could have – women, drinks, gambling etc. But he also had a great love for his Guru. When his Guru asked him to chant the name of God every morning and evening, Girish refused. He said that it was not possible. The Guru asked him to chant the Divine Name before taking meals or even just once before going to bed. Girish said that even that was not possible. Then his Guru asked him to give him the power of attorney over him and surrender in full and he would take care of him and lead him to liberation. Girish was full of joy. Now he could live as he pleased and his Guru would do the japa for him and take him to moksha. Thinking so, he gave the power of attorney to Sri Ramakrishna.
After that, Girish went to drink. The moment he lifted a bottle of wine, he saw Sri Ramakrishna’s face on the bottle. He could not drink. When he visited any woman for company, he saw Sri Ramakrishna in her and could not go near her. He was unable to carry on his old life style. In all his actions, he only saw Sri Ramakrishna and could not forget him at any time. His faith in his Guru was so much that he saw Sri Ramakrishna as Divinity. Grace descended on him when Sri Ramakrishna touched him and granted him illumination.
The story of Girish is the story of our lives. We wish to enjoy all our vices and not do japa. Yet we want the grace and illumination. This is possible only when there is whole hearted surrender to the Guru and great Guru bhakti. Let us do the SitaRam Mantra and surrender unto the Guru and await the descent of Grace.
