Karpur and the Flame

Karpur and the Flame

As my Gurudev says, “ A shishya must be like karpur and submit themself to the Guru who is the

flame and become one.”

Guru is the chosen yantra by the deity who is meant to keep burning to illuminate its surroundings

with gyaan and shishya also is chosen by the deity who must surrender to the flame.

However, the karpur is the one who determines its own fate and can rise above the karma and

become one with the deity all while burning in the Guru’s flame of kripa.

Karpur or camphor can be manufactured in 2 ways - synthetically and naturally.

The synthetic method uses ready made raw materials and involves a series of chemical reactions

in a laboratory or industrial setting, which can be completed in a much shorter timeframe.

However, the natural method requires a camphor tree to mature, which can take several years

before it produces a sufficient quantity of essential oil for extraction.

A shishya should be like the karpur made by the natural method. A shishya needs to have

immense patience and should allow themself to mature before becoming ready to take the heat

from the Guru’s flame.

Just like the camphor tree unmovingly withstands seasons after seasons of extreme heat and

ruthless rains before becoming ready to produce the oil, a shishya should try to let vairagya set in

and gauge if they are still craving for a Guru. It is easier to crave for a Guru, but to become worthy

of being a shishya is a matter of past karmas. They say, when you are truly in need of a Guru, He

appears. And here is where the readiness of being a shishya comes into play. Just having a liking

for a Guru and expecting them to be at your disposal as per your convenience and hopping from one Guru to other is like being a

camphor that is made synthetically. As the synthetic camphor uses induced unnatural chemical

reactions to generate a result which is far from the essence of the natural method, this shishya

also gets the longing of the Guru born out of short time spent listening to the words of Guru

without putting much efforts. But a true shishya will not even know that he is being prepared by

the deity to be under the canopy of a Guru until the right time has come.

Till such a time, a sadhaka should madly invoke Bhairava as the Guru. Bhairava will place the

sadhaka in situations that make him fearless as seasons come and go while he keeps continuing

with his sadhana. Bhairava provides the adhara when life seems difficult. The irony of Bhairava’s

blessing is that the path is lonely but if you see with the right eyes, you will see Him holding your

hand in every situation.

Like the story of Eklavya, despite Guru Dronacharya not accepting him, he invoked him in the

form of a statue and kept on doing his sadhana in the form of archery and eventually mastered it.

Did Guru Dronacharya physically teach Eklavya? No. Would Eklavya succeed had he not invoked

Guru Dronacharya in the form of a statue? Also No. Here the real beauty of shishya readiness

plays a magical role. Eklavya had invoked the Guru-tattva and it certainly guided him till the very

end till he mastered his art and eventually also resulted in Guru Dronacharya acknowledging

Eklavya’s exceptional skill. This is exactly how Bhairava works. Once you invoke Bhairava as your

Guru, you unlock the access to the cosmic Guru-tattva and it guides you at each step till you

become fully ready to meet your destined Guru. The most important trait here that a shishya

should possess is unwavering faith in the deity and unstoppable dedication to the sadhana and

with these two ingredients with time you shall become the most fragrant naturally made karpur

which is ready to burn in the flame of the Guru.

With Bhairava’s will, Gurudev organically came in my life and I am here burning every single day

by invoking him and the Khyapa Parampara.

I am here watching doors being opened, ways being pointed , questions being answered - as I

humbly bow down to the Guru Kripa.

I am here watching myself feel warmly protected from the cold reality while my Gurudev’s flame

burns bright.

I am just here while my Gurudev is there - yet deeply connected - beyond the sthula existence.

Through me, as Bhairava wills.

Shri Gurubhyo Namah

Jai Khyapa Parampara

Jai Bhairava Baba

Jai Maa Adya MahaKali.