Guru Purnima occasion to celebrate light in life
Guru Purnima, being celebrated on July 21, holds special significance in the lives of those who seek spiritual wealth. Among all forms of wealth, spiritual wealth is the highest, providing sure protection for us in this life and beyond.
There are two dimensions to life: Material and spiritual. The benefits of materialistic knowledge are confined to this life alone, whereas spiritual knowledge is needed for success in this life and beyond. The Mandukya Upanishad says we need to acquire both material science, which is subject to change, and spiritual science, that is changeless, for a successful life. Material science has time-bound benefits, while spiritual knowledge stays with us forever.
The world seeks excellence in material science and educational institutions prepare us for material prosperity. We have many teachers who can teach us material science, such biology or physics, sports or yoga, music or dance. However, a guru is someone who shows the path to metaphysical science.
The Creator made our senses go out in search of fleeting happiness, but rare brave ones go against the trend and seek within to find lasting happiness
A guru corrects our vision by removing the cataract that prevents us from looking beyond darkness, fear, and ignorance. Gu means darkness, and ru means light. One who leads us from darkness to light is a guru. The guru awakens a new dimension of personality and makes us transcend beyond our preconceived idea of limited existence. A guru mitigates the effects of past
WE HAVE TEACHERS WHO CAN TEACH US MATERIAL SCIENCE, SUCH AS BIOLOGY OR PHYSICS, SPORTS OR YOGA, MUSIC OR DANCE. HOWEVER, A GURU IS SOMEONE WHO SHOWS PATH TO METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE.
karma and changes our destiny.
A guru takes us to the sanctum sanctorum and introduces us to the Indweller of All. A guru sanctifies all actions of a disciple. In this way alone, one will be able to understand the inner meaning of scriptures and become brilliant.
Guru means heavy. In front of the guru, everything becomes light. A guru gives meaning to our life, transforms our ordinary living into extraordinary. A guru is like a sender, and a keen student like a receiver. How much a student can receive from the guru depends on the purity of the receiver. A guru may be leading an ordinary life in the eyes of unrefined receivers, but when the receivers are clean, a guru appears in life. In the Bhagavad Gita, Shri Krishna says seekers of spiritual wealth must approach a competent teacher and serve him with utmost humility.
“Tadviddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya
Upadekshyanti te jnanam jnaninastattva-darshinah 4.34
Learn the Truth by approaching a spiritual master. Enquire from him with reverence and render service unto him. Such an enlightened saint can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.”
God is so compassionate that He never forsakes a serious seeker. He shows the path to the keen seeker through a guru.
Guru Purnima is a day to celebrate the light in life. It is a day to celebrate knowledge and the destruction of ignorance and darkness. It is a day to celebrate our journey towards discovering the path to freedom. To make the impossible happen in our lives and to transform us from ordinary to extraordinary, we must have a guru in our lives. To such a guru, we are eternally indebted. vasudevakriyayoga@gmail.com The writer is the Melbourne-based founder of Vasudeva Kriya Yoga