This is a short talk I gave on Guru Purnima Saturday night. 

Tonight, is a special occasion. We are celebrating and honouring the Guru. Not only do we honour our own Guruji but we also celebrate our great lineage of Sadgurus—Bhagavan Nityananda and Baba Muktananda.

Guru Purnima means ‘perfect Guru’. However, this epithet does not refer to a perfect person. It refers to the state of Consciousness the Guru has attained. It is a state of oneness, wisdom and compassion. It is their connection to the divine power, Shakti. This is a state we can achieve if we commit to the process of unfolding the inner shakti.

The Guru’s purpose is to awaken the shakti of seekers, and to share their state with those searching relief from suffering and ignorance of the Self.  Gurus like ours, offer everyone the possibility and opportunity to attain their divine state by means of sadhana.

When I think of Guru Purnima my mind turns to the moment when I received Shaktipat. When I entered the meditation hall on the first morning of the Intensive I had no idea what to expect. I thought I was going to learn a little bit about meditation and how to calm my mind.

I was unprepared for the explosion of energy and love that lay hidden within my being. When Swamiji touched me at the third eye, and bopped me with the feathers, my life was transformed from one of darkness, to one of light.

My vision of myself and the world radically changed. I went from misery to bliss, from the mundane to the divine, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, even though there have been many bumps on the road since then, my connection with the Self has remained.

It took a few days after the Intensive, but eventually I realised that I had found something I did not know existed or that I wanted—I had found my Guru. In appreciation for that shift in Consciousness I committed myself to serve the Guru and do the Guru’s work, whatever that may be.

Guruji’s greatest gift to me, besides shaktipat, has been the innumerable opportunities he has given me to serve our community and satang. He has given my life purpose and meaning, inspiration and creativity. There is no greater gift than this.

I am deeply grateful to him, to Baba and to Bhagavan for their dedication, perseverance and tapasya. Without their devotion to their Guru, we would not have what we have.

The poet saint Kabir wrote:

He is the real Sadguru: Who reveals the formless as our own Self.
Who teaches the simple way
of attaining Him;
Who does not make us close the doors,
hold the breath, and renounce the world;
Who teaches us to perceive
the Supreme Spirit,
wherever our mind goes;
Who teaches us to be still,
in the midst of all activities.
Who keeps the spirit of oneness, in the midst of the world.
Who shows us the infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being in everything:
in the earth, in the water,
in the sky, and in the air;
Who, is as firm as the thunderbolt, until we are established in the Self.
The Sadguru is within, he is without:
Kabir says, I see Him and
only Him everywhere.