Shakti's New Voice by Rudert Angela;

Author:Rudert, Angela;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Tīrtha, literally “crossing place,” refers to the pilgrimage site. Tīrthas, also sometimes actual crossing places or fords, are understood to be sacred places. In, and en route to, such sites, Hindu tradition holds that one’s devotional efforts will assist in the figurative “crossing over” the river of joys, sorrows, and changes inherent in the world of “flux” (saṃsāra). As in the Guru Gita, in Sant Ramanand’s verse, the atit, an enlightened one who has “gone beyond” or already crossed, becomes the “crossing place.” The atit’s words are “ambrosia,” the nectar of immortality. It is no wonder, given this prevalent sentiment of the guru’s powerful presence and powerful words, that Gurumaa’s devotees have named her speaking engagements (as well as her TV and YouTube presentations of these talks), which occur in towns all over India and abroad, Amrit Varsha, the “rain of immortal nectar.” From this perspective, the guru’s body and the guru’s words have salvific power. As in the Sanskrit Guru Gita, songs in vernacular bhakti traditions represent the guru not only as pilgrimage site (tīrtha, or tīrat as Charandas sings in Braj bhasha), but also as the one who grants passage, or takes disciples across the world of delusion (māyā) and attachment (moha) and endless rebirth (saṃsāra). In her own bānī, Gurumaa sings to the guru in the stance of devotee, “You have crossed, and now delivered me” (āp tare ho mohe tāre).

A devotee seeking spiritual technologies for connecting to Gurumaa need not look further than gurumaa.com, where options abound for connecting with the guru’s word and presence. In chapter 7, readers will learn more about Gurumaa’s vast media output as well as her spiritual wares for sale. In S. Srinivas’s discussion of electronic media in the global devotional movement of Satya Sai Baba, she concludes that the experience of “electronic presence” may be a possible reality for some devotees because multimedia can evoke and create a dense sensory response (2008: 104–108). My research on Gurumaa and her devotees confirms this possibility as well, as does the unabated demand by seekers for media and various other spiritual wares produced by the ashram. At the same time, many seekers would contend that despite the aid of such useful tools nothing compares to being in the physical presence of the guru.

Many of Gurumaa’s devotees who I met in their hometowns expressed longing to be near, like Charandas in Gurumaa’s story who remained separate from Shukadev for over 12 years, and they suffer the distance from their beloved guru. Immersing themselves in Gurumaa’s media output, her discourses, her songs, her guided meditation and mantra jap recordings—her Word, devotees seek to establish and maintain a link with their guru’s power, in separation. Yet, even those who live in the buddhafield pine for Gurumaa when she is away and cry tears of rejoice when she returns from her tours. Even when Gurumaa was “in house,” I observed viraha as a powerful force in the lives of ashramites—an indication that the devotee’s true object of longing is not the guru in bodily form, but the guru’s own state.

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