Guru Poornima day is a very auspicious day for a Sadhaka to meditate on the Guru Parampara and seek the benevolent blessings from the guru tradition.
Guru has many shades of meaning such as search, path, destination, etc., we are all searching for that path which takes us to our destination. This journey goes through 3 stages:
1st stage - Guru as an example and a symbol
Every seeker would like to have a symbol in the mind to adore and an example to follow. Here mind likes to have a physical example as a symbol of guru. That is why every Sadhaka who begins the search would long for guru in the physical form where he experiences physical proximity, emotional security and an answer to all the problems that come up in the journey. In the beginning guru in the physical form will slowly mould the seeker to focus again and again on the path leading to destination and brings the seeker back to the path from all the distractions. So, the first stage is to experience the unconditional love, the tough instructions and the practices to be followed as instructed by the physical guru.
1st stage - Guru as an example and a symbol
Every seeker would like to have a symbol in the mind to adore and an example to follow. Here mind likes to have a physical example as a symbol of guru. That is why every Sadhaka who begins the search would long for guru in the physical form where he experiences physical proximity, emotional security and an answer to all the problems that come up in the journey. In the beginning guru in the physical form will slowly mould the seeker to focus again and again on the path leading to destination and brings the seeker back to the path from all the distractions. So, the first stage is to experience the unconditional love, the tough instructions and the practices to be followed as instructed by the physical guru.
2nd stage - Guru as a philosophy
As a seeker continues staying closer to the physical guru, lot of doubts-conflicts-frustrations do arise by looking at the behavioral pattern of guru. Seeker will start wondering if this Guru is a hypocrite!? He says something and does something else. He utters something and acts entirely different. The mind full of trust slowly turns into mind of doubts, starts revolting, questioning and reacting. This experience slowly makes the seeker to detach from the personal-emotional life of guru and starts contemplating or starts entering into the domain of philosophy that guru is trying to communicate. Philosophy of the guru will slowly start sinking into the various levels of seeker and makes him to contemplate on the very philosophy of life. It opens up the seeker into many layers of his own existence and he starts understanding the subtle connectivity of life-living-behavior and the whole host of parameters working in the complex dynamics of life. Physical guru slowly starts disappearing and the guru as philosophy will start expanding and take the seeker to the dimensionless horizon of contemplating life. The arguments slowly lose their power and internal dialogue starts expanding in the inner dimension of the reality.
3rd stage- Guru as ultimate experience
The seeker’s life starts with the exploration of physical guru which slowly leads to the philosophical ground of reality. This will inspire the seeker even to detach from philosophy because he sees the limitation of same philosophy where many genuine questions are unanswered. This will inspire the seeker to experience the ultimate Absolute-that which is sacred, eternal, all pervasive bliss. This transformation will start creating chidakaasha (space filled with consciousness) and antarmouna (the fathomless inner silence) in which he listens to the whispers of inner guru which is nothing but absolute freedom filled with creative intelligence and unconditional bliss. There, the question of the seeker dissolves completely.
‘ I’ consciousness merges with the cosmic joy and only that shines in him. Seeker becomes the guru and seeking disappears.
As a seeker continues staying closer to the physical guru, lot of doubts-conflicts-frustrations do arise by looking at the behavioral pattern of guru. Seeker will start wondering if this Guru is a hypocrite!? He says something and does something else. He utters something and acts entirely different. The mind full of trust slowly turns into mind of doubts, starts revolting, questioning and reacting. This experience slowly makes the seeker to detach from the personal-emotional life of guru and starts contemplating or starts entering into the domain of philosophy that guru is trying to communicate. Philosophy of the guru will slowly start sinking into the various levels of seeker and makes him to contemplate on the very philosophy of life. It opens up the seeker into many layers of his own existence and he starts understanding the subtle connectivity of life-living-behavior and the whole host of parameters working in the complex dynamics of life. Physical guru slowly starts disappearing and the guru as philosophy will start expanding and take the seeker to the dimensionless horizon of contemplating life. The arguments slowly lose their power and internal dialogue starts expanding in the inner dimension of the reality.
3rd stage- Guru as ultimate experience
The seeker’s life starts with the exploration of physical guru which slowly leads to the philosophical ground of reality. This will inspire the seeker even to detach from philosophy because he sees the limitation of same philosophy where many genuine questions are unanswered. This will inspire the seeker to experience the ultimate Absolute-that which is sacred, eternal, all pervasive bliss. This transformation will start creating chidakaasha (space filled with consciousness) and antarmouna (the fathomless inner silence) in which he listens to the whispers of inner guru which is nothing but absolute freedom filled with creative intelligence and unconditional bliss. There, the question of the seeker dissolves completely.
‘ I’ consciousness merges with the cosmic joy and only that shines in him. Seeker becomes the guru and seeking disappears.
So on this day of Guru Poornima, let us meditate to merge the 'I' consciousness with the cosmic joy and to experience the ultimate Absolute - that which is sacred, eternal, all pervasive bliss. Once we do that we will automatically get connected with our Guru Parampara, the epitome of spiritual integrity, infinite bliss and ocean of knowledge.
For this, I personally request you to devote sometime for yourself and do the following practice, starting from the day of Guru Poornima on a daily basis:
PRACTICE:
1. Sit in a comfortable posture – in padmasana or ardha padmasana or sukhasana or vajrasana or in any other comfortable position – by keeping your back, neck and head along the same straight line. You need not tension your face and back to sit straight. Your sitting posture has to be a relaxed one.
2. Gently scan through your body and relax from head to toe.
3. Step 1: Focus your attention on stilling the body. Stop all conscious movements in your body like scratching, moving the fingers, contracting the body muscle, etc.
4. Step 2: Listen to the sounds that is coming from outside and inside you. Make it a point not to get disturbed by the sounds that you hear. Do this activity with full involvement and awareness – to accustom yourself with your environment.
5. Step 3: Shift your awareness and bring it on to Shushumna Kendra – Shushumna Kendra is located at the root of the nose (not the tip) the place where the middle wall of the nose and upper part of the lip meets. Staying in shushumna Kendra, feel that while inhaling you are inhaling the pure, divine cosmic consciousness and while exhaling feel that all your spent and impure energies are coming out of you. This pranayama definitely works if you do it with feeling. It cleans your system. Do this for 5 minutes.
6. Step 4: Focus your attention on the Ajna Chakra (eyebrow centre). Ajna chakra is located in-between your two eyebrows. Staying in Ajna chakra, observe your thoughts. You should consciously practice to separate yourself from your thoughts – you are not your thoughts. Do this for at least 5 minutes.
7. Step 5: Come to Guru Chakra which is just above the Ajna Chakra. Focus on Guru Chakra for 2 minutes and gently relax. Invoke Guru in energy form, or in paduka (two feet) form, or in physical guru form (face of your Guru), or in the form of light, etc. The short point is keep an image in the Guru chakra in which your concentration can stay for a longer time without getting disturbed.
Focusing on that image chant
“Hiranya Garbhaa Aarabdhaam,
Seshou Vyaasaadhi Madhyamaam
Swami Shree Rama Paadaanthaam,
Vande Guru Paramparaam,
Vande Guru Paramparaam,
Vande Guru Paramparaam”.
After the above prayer, make a sincere Sankalpa from the bottom of your heart that, “Let all the seekers of truth get connected with the Guru”
Then start chanting (minimum one mala - 108 times)
“Om Shreem Gurudevaaya Namaha “
by focusing on Guru in Guru Chakra. Don’t chant the mantra too fast, don’t drag also. Maintain a steady rhythm. You find your comfort level. The important thing is do this japa with the understanding and with feeling. Let your awareness and attention follow the mantra each time you chant.
8. After completing chanting of mantra, sit silently for one or two minutes without doing anything and experience the presence of Guru in the form of light, etc. Feel as if they are offering everything to that light which is there in the form of Guru and praying from deep within that I seek nothing but your Grace, your Presence and your Blessings.
9. Feel your individual consciousness is merging with GURU Consciousness and that is pervading everywhere. In that feeling you offer the following prayer to the Universal Consciousness:
Om Sarve Bhavanthu Sukhinaha, Sarve Santhu Niraamayaha
Sarve Badraani Pashyantu, Maa Kaschit Dhukka Baagh Baveth
Loka Samasthaa Sukhinou Bhavanthu, Loka Samasthaa Sukhinou Bhavanthu
Samastha Sanmangalaani Bhavanthu, Om Tat Sat
Akhanda Mandalaakaaram
Vyaaptham Yena Charaacharam
Tat Padham Darshitham Yenaa
Tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha
May Gurudev bless you all.
Vande Guru Paramparam
Jyothi Pattabhiram
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