Go call and bring that dog here

Following the Guru’s command is the most important form of sadhana in adhyatma (spirituality). That brings to mind a story about Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar that must be shared. 

Once, Baba was speaking to some sadhaks, at the Machnur math, about a spiritual lifestyle. At the end of the conversation, Baba asked all of the sadhaks present to write down all of the topics they discussed in the conversation, and sign it as a way of agreeing to live their lives in accordance with those topics. 

The sadhaks all wrote down the topics on a paper, and each of them began signing it, one by one. One of the sadhaks wasn’t ready to sign though. Then someone said to him, “How are you saying no? It is our Guru’s command (adnya).” 

In response, the sadhak said, “This is nothing like a Guru’s command.”

After that, all of the sadhaks had a long discussion about what constitutes a Guru’s command, and how to recognize when something is a command from the Guru. But nobody had a clear answer. The next day, again, the same group of sadhaks continued the discussion. Baba had heard their whole discussion, but he didn’t say anything. 

In the afternoon, at lunch time, all of the plates had been laid out. But a slightly large dog came there, and despite everyone shooing him off, the dog didn’t listen. Eventually, Baba came over and while looking at the dog, he [gently] said, “Why are you standing here? Go away.” Immediately upon hearing this, the dog left. 

Some time later, Baba said to one of the sadhaks, Vithoba Kulkarnia, “Arey Vithoba, go call and bring that dog here. He must be sitting by Brahmapuri. Tell him that Baba is calling him.”

Based on what he had been told, when Vithoba Kulkarni got to the place that Baba had mentioned, he actually saw the dog sitting under a lamppost there. As soon as he said to the dog, “Come, Baba has called you,” the dog immediately followed him back to the math. Baba then asked for the dog to be fed. 

Watching all of this, everyone realized it illustrated their answers: what is a Guru’s command, and what it means to follow the Guru’s command. 

In Divyamritdhara, Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar tells us that the one whose mental state (vritti) is eternally, contentedly and fully immersed in their love for Shri Guru, a state of mind without second guessing comes easy to them.