Loving and divine souls,
Let the choicest blessings of God and the masters be upon all of you. I take this opportunity to pray for you, and I send my best wishes on Shri Guru Purnima, the full moon in the month of July that will be celebrated this year on July 24.
This day is a very special for spiritual seekers. They wait for this day. They want to visit the guru–preceptor. They want to decorate the ashram. They want their beloved guru–preceptor to come so they can worship him. They want to see their guru–preceptor wear new clothes and be with them. They want to offer him flower garlands and flowers at his feet. They want to touch the guru’s feet and receive his blessings for at least a year. They want to provide offerings to the guru and want prasad from his hands. They will feel more blessed if prasad from his plate comes to their hands. They want to sing and praise the guru. They want to affirm his glory. They think this is all an expression of love to their beloved Gurudev. Is it not so?
It is surely nice, without a doubt.
It is sad to say that no one ever asked their Gurudev what he wanted. What would make him happy, pleased, and content? Do you think that a guru will be happy with valuable gifts, nice food, and praise?
The simple, straight answer is “No.”
Once a disciple mustered his courage and his love. He bowed at the feet his Gurudev and asked, “O adorable Gurudev, with due apology I have a stupid question. Please bless me with your answer.”
The guru looked at him love and allowed him to ask. The disciple asked, “What do you expect from us?”
The disciple’s question brought tears in the eyes of his Gurudev.
The disciple was shocked. Then, the guru said, “My child, my life is for God and for God’s creation. My needs are few and limited. You are my treasure, my children. But a teacher wants the children to be more advanced than he or she, just like parents want their children to be more educated, cultured, humble, and generous than they are. I always wanted that. I wanted you to be sincere in sadhana, humble, loving, and caring. You should be serving God’s creation as the presence of the guru and God. The guru wants to see guileless disciples pure in heart. God and gurus search the heart, not too much the head. God and gurus want to see that the hands of the disciples are always eager to serve. The hands that serve are much holier than mouths that chant. When the hands serve with love, and the mind is on God, the guru is happy. When the guru sees love and kindness and amity and unity among the disciples, and they devote themselves to sadhana and seva, the guru is happy.”
These words opened the disciple’s eyes, and he resolved to follow the guru’s words faithfully. Instead of trying to run to his physical presence, he would try to see his presence within and everywhere. That was day of his transformation.
On this special day, I pray to Shri Gurudev and the lineage of masters to bless all of us. I pray we have a deep understanding of spiritual life and a firm determination to live accordingly.
With love,
Prajnanananda
