By: Sunanda Ananth
Guru Purnima is a festival traditionally observed to honor one’s preceptor, spiritual guru in particular, from whom the disciple has received mantra-initiation. According to the Hindu calendar, it is observed on Purnima, full moon day, in the lunar month of Ashadh, June-July. On this day, the disciple remembers his guru with deep feelings of devotion and resolves to follow the path shown by him with utmost tenacity.
Though there have been countless sages and saints who rose to great spiritual heights, yet it is important to distinguish them from a sadguru, a perfect master, who has attained the exalted state of Self-realization — oneness with the Supreme Being.
“Such pious persons have become my followers whose sins have been destroyed and they have understood me.” – (Chap 13, Ovi 11-13)
In Sri Guru Gita, Shiv, in response to a question raised by his consort, Parvati, says that the Supreme Brahman is none other than the Sadguru who is regarded as the grace-bestowing power of the Divine like Sai Baba. Such a realized Being takes shelter in the body like a traveller who takes abode in a guest house on a purely temporary basis. He is devoid of all attachment to the objects of the world and harbours no trace of duality. On the basis of his realization, he recognises the Conscious Self everywhere — both in animate and inanimate objects — and draws no distinction among his devotees on the basis of caste, class, gender, and religious affiliation. Just as the prana, despite operating within the body, remains different from it, an enlightened sadguru lives in the body while inwardly remaining completely absorbed in the bliss of the Supreme Self.
The first syllable, ‘gu’, in the word ‘guru’ represents maya, the power that deludes, which poses as a big impediment to the seeker’s effort to attain God-realization. The second syllable, ‘ru’, represents the Supreme Light of Consciousness. The word ‘guru’ thus indicates the rise of the Sun in the form of knowledge of the Self. When the grace of a sadguru descends upon the disciple, the dark clouds of maya get dispersed and the Light of Pure Consciousness shines forth in all its glory.
According to yogic scriptures, the greatest quality of a sadguru is his power and authority to awaken the dormant Kundalini within the seeker. Swami Muktananda says that it is only when, by sadguru’s grace, the Kundalini within the seeker is stirred awake that his inner eye of knowledge opens.
The Kundalini, when awakened, begins to move up the central channel of the seeker, purging him of all impurities. She ultimately unites with Shiv in sahasrar, the highest spiritual center in the brain. When this happens, the seeker experiences in deep meditation the Blue Rays of Consciousness enveloping the entire universe. This sublime experience bestows upon the seeker spiritual enlightenment, liberating him in the process from the unending process of transmigration.
“The whole universe is my home. I am myself Vasudev and all pervading God. I am myself the Parabrahma.” – (Chapter 9, Ovi 47)
The sadguru thus leads the seeker from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge, and elevates him to the level of a siddha, a perfect being. We may conclude with Verse 33 of Sri Guru Gita which says: “Salutations to the sadguru who is Shiv, the first cause of the universe, the bridge to cross the ocean of worldliness, the source of all knowledge.”
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