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The Highest Offering

n Vivekachudamani, Adi Sankaracharya begins by joyfully
Ipraising the qualified disciple who approaches the Guru: “Blessed
are you! Fulfilled are you! Your entire lineage is sanctified through
you.” Yet this joy is quickly tempered with a clear call to
1
responsibility. While the Guru is essential, self-effort on the part of
the student is equally crucial. Realization does not descend by grace
alone – it must be earned through sincere application. In the next
five verses, the Teacher presents powerful analogies to reinforce this
point. He declares: “Only the patient who takes the prescribed diet
and medicine recovers fully, not by the actions of others.” 2

Our amazing guru-çiñya paramparä is not built on dependence, but
on transmission and transformation. The presence of a Sadguru
is nothing short of the Lord’s grace, but grace must be met with
discipline and dedication. The Teacher may point his finger to the
Moon, but it is the seeker who has to make the leap from the finger to
the Moon, through consistent and wholehearted sädhanä. As Pujya
Gurudev clearly states: “I have guided you in the direction – you
have to make your own pilgrimage.” Likewise, Shri Nisargadatta
3
Maharaj affirms: “The outer Guru gives the instruction … the alert
application is the disciple’s. Without will, intelligence, and energy
on the disciple’s part, the outer Guru is helpless.” 4
Let us honour our teachers not only in word or ritual, but by
living the teaching. As Pujya Gurudev reminds us: “The greatest
adoration that we can give to the Supreme or to a Teacher is to
become IT.”
This is our highest offering: To realize the Self; to live and abide
in the Truth.

1 Verse 50
2 Verse 53
3 https://chinmayaottawa.com/role-of-guru-by-swami-
chinmayananda/#:~:text=Seek%20and%20he%20will%20 Editorial
come,guide%2C%20help%2C%20and%20enlighten.
4 I am That, Chapter 75

Tapovan Prasad 7 July 2025