What dread grasp….

Once there lived a Guru who had several disciples. He was a Sadguru [genuine Guru of the highest order] and desired that his disciples should be highly disciplined, possess deep determination and good character. He worked diligently towards this end. He taught them dhyana, yoga, japa, etc. Quite frequently he would point out to them, “Attaining the Lord is our only goal. As a result of the spiritual austerities that we undertake we may, during the course of our spiritual practice, attain some ‘siddhis’ [supernatural faculties]. We should not permit ourselves to be carried away by these siddhis; nor should we use them. We should not feel proud of this attainment. Also, we should not be carried away by the wonderful visions that we may get while on the spiritual path.”
Nevertheless, one of the disciples possessed deep desire for these siddhis. He nurtured the desire to acquire lots of siddhis and power to earn name and fame. The Guru, however, restrained him from taking the wrong path.
Once, this disciple went on a pilgrimage. On the way he met a Swami who had many disciples. This Swami had acquired several siddhis through which he held sway over the people. On seeing him this disciple’s desire for siddhis rose up.
He approached this Swami and asked, “Will you please teach me to acquire these siddhis?”
The Swami said to him, “Abandon your Guru and take refuge in me; and, I will impart this knowledge to you.”
The disciple returned to his ashram. When he was about to leave the ashram bag and baggage his Sadguru noticed it and asked him the reason behind it. The disciple said that he was going to another Guru. He did not furnish any other detail. The Sadguru said, “I have taken responsibility for your spiritual life. Therefore, it is my responsibility to see that you tread on the right path. I shall come along and hand you over to that Guru.”
In spite of strong protests from the disciple the Sadguru accompanied him.
The Swami to who this disciple was going took to his heels on seeing the Sadguru who accompanied the new disciple! Not to be outdone, the Sadguru began to chase that Swami!
This Swami had been a disciple of the Sadguru and on acquiring siddhis had left his ashram without the Sadguru’s knowledge. The Sadguru caught hold of the Swami and said to him, “Ah! are you trying to escape from me? I have been searching for you for so long! At last I have managed to find you!” The Sadguru then took the Swami also back to his ashram.
Children, the disciple who has fallen into the gaze of a true Sadguru has no escape just as a goat that has been caught in the tiger’s jaws.