by Siddhiratna and Nityabhoda Sarasvati

When in the presence of your Guru, it’s a wonderful time of never-ending formal and informal empowerments, learning, transmissions and transformations. Though as Guruji spends more time over seas, this phase becomes an excellent time of self-discovery, focus and refinement. It is an empowering time for yourself and a time for focusing and refining what you have learnt; what you know and understand; and to really embody the teachings and the practices for the benefit of all beings.

One cannot underestimate the tremendous energy and love that Guruji is constantly pouring out for the benefit of his students and it is only when he is physically absent that one may recognise that. You start to stand on your own two feet and truly experience where you are.

There is no diminishing on Guruji’s part in this outpouring, and any perceived diminishing of the connection can only come from the student and only be a reflection of the student’s capacity to reach for the teachings and the Guru. Viewed in this light the Guru’s absence is just another gift, an opportunity to see and experience where we truly are in our practice, the relative reality of our situation. The guru’s grace has not diminished, the guru’s love has not diminished, only his relative presence has changed and therefore it is that which is reflected in our perception.

It is a time to reassess and reaffirm your commitment to the transformation that is occurring in yourself, for the benefit of all, and to empower your spiritual goals with a plan of the work required to get you there. Taking vows and making commitments to yourself for the time frame he’s away is useful in helping to focus.

One may find when Guruji is not in the country that one has more free time as one is not attending as many classes or teachings. Often other commitments from our lives can start to creep in as soon as more time is found and it is easy to get distracted by family, friends, work, university, etc. This newfound time can be filled up so easily and therefore it is helpful to prepare, ahead of time, a plan of action detailing what you wish to focus on while Guruji is away. Planning a semi-retreat for this time, or writing down the areas you wish to study, or the practices you wish to focus on, are all helpful.

It is possible that one’s individual feeling of connection to the Parampara and to Guruji may decrease once not in the immediate presence of the guru. Therefore it is wise to always apply, on a deeper and deeper level, the intensity, duration and frequency of the sadhana in order to nourish the kula body and deepen our connection to the Parampara.

For myself, I find increasing the intensity of my practice at all times helps to disperse any disconnection from the kula-body, the Parampara, and Guruji. There cannot be even one moment of practicing just in the mind. Each time I sit for practice and set up the mandala I try to feel as though the Guru is there in the room with me and that Ganesha and Saraswati are right there with me. I generate the feeling of how lucky I am for the reality of their presence. I won’t move on in the sadhana until I feel it deeply! At every session of sadhana I remind myself of the energetic quality of these sadhanas and that the effects from the sadhanas MUST manifest. The practices need to be worked everyday, not just performed as part of your morning and evening routine.

Guruji has introduced us to the deities and the mahasiddhas, and now it is up to us, through our own self-effort, to cultivate and nourish these fledgling relationships. With this approach, their presence in our lives will be a reality and not just a pretty visualisation.

In the absence of the Guru the teachings are the Guru. There is a strong, tangible sense of transmission that is felt each time the teachings are listened to. The recordings of the teachings are precious tools for experiencing transmission without the presence of Guruji. Each time you sit and listen to the teachings, you must sit and feel as though the Guru is teaching in the room.

No matter when or what teaching I am listening to, I feel a tangible shift in my energy state, with immediate clarity, increased awareness and openness. Whether sitting down formally to study from the recordings or having them on in the car or on the iPod instead of the radio or music, their use and effect is invaluable.

It is known to all that our endless love, devotion and gratitude to our Guru, whether in his presence or not, maintains our motivation and is in fact our very inspiration to lose our self, to gain our Self. But in the relative world, where we exist, it is the continual remembering, embracing and expressing the teachings and the sadhanas that allows for the motivation and inspiration to flourish for us to go deeper and for the fruits to bear in the absence of our Guru.

Having applied ourselves deeply we will, upon Guruji’s return, be spiritually ripe and juicy – the seeds, already planted, having blossomed. You will be in a position to benefit deeply from Guruji’s presence, transmissions and grace. Therefore, the periods while he’s away can be a time to expedite the Tantric process of liberation. In remembrance that his time and energy are precious, you will be a great gift for him on his return.