Guru Purnima, the most auspicious day in the calendar of spiritual seekers, is celebrated the world over to worship and offer gratitude and appreciation to our Gurus for their guidance and spiritual wisdom. It is the day when seekers make fresh resolves on the spiritual path. We acknowledge the sacrifices made by our Gurus and the loving care with which they nurture us. It is also a day on which we pay respectful obeisance and deep gratitude to our beloved Master, Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda, our Jagad Guru, Sri Swami Vishwananda, our Spiritual Head, Pujya Swami Sahajananda, and to all the Divine Incarnations, Brahma Vidya Gurus, Vedic Rishis, saints and sages. This day also marks the birth anniversary of the great sage, Sri Veda Vyasa, to whom we pay obeisance for editing the four Vedas and writing the eighteen Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Guru Purnima was celebrated at Sivananda International Cultural Centre (SICC) on Sunday, 21 July 2024, commencing with a Yoga Camp Sadhana programme at 6am, followed by Ganga Arati at 8.30am and Satsang at 10am.

As our monthly Yoga Camp coincided with Guru Purnima, there was a morning Yoga Camp Sadhana programme from 6am until 7.30am, comprising Invocation, Mantra chanting, guided meditation, silent meditation, Agnihotra, Homa to the recital of the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra 108 times and a reading. Approximately 30 devotees participated in the Agnihotra and Homa, creating a deeply spiritual atmosphere. The reading focused on true discipleship and offered advice to aspirants and ordinary devotees on how to relate to, serve and conduct oneself in the presence of the Guru. 

After breakfast, Ganga Arati commenced at 8.30am, followed by Satsang. The Satsang programme comprised Kirtans, Bhajans, Pujya Swamiji Sahajananda’s audio message, a message from the Society, a reading on the significance of Guru Purnima, and a delightful Bharatanatyam dance.

The message from the Society showed appreciation and gratitude to our Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda and Pujya Swami Sahajananda, and encapsulated an overview of the Centenary Celebrations, humanitarian work of the Society, dedication of devotees and the importance of Sadhana and spiritual practices.

 The following excerpt from the message highlights the importance of collective Sadhana and Sri Gurudev’s assurance. “When you sing the Lord's Names collectively, when you conduct mass prayer and group meditation, a mighty power is generated which is much more than the aggregate of the power that could be generated by the various individuals if they had meditated and prayed independently. This power is divine and the only force that could influence atheists and materialists and bring them round to the path of Divine Life. An individual will not be able to influence and reform another individual, unless the former is a great saint; but an institution composed of even Sadhakas has this mighty power”.

The concluding paragraph of the message is a poignant and potent assurance given to Pujya Swamiji by Sri Gurudev. God will look after the work. Lord will look after everything. Be not afraid. Be not anxious. I am ever at thy back. I am ever ready to serve thee. This is indicative of Pujya Swamiji’s deep and abiding loyalty and Guru Bhakti to Sri Gurudev.

Sri Gurudev’s message on the significance of Guru Purnima brought to the fore the role of the Guru in an aspirant’s life. This is evident in, “It is through the medium and Grace of the spiritual preceptor that the individual can raise himself to Cosmic Consciousness. The Guru is verily a link between the individual and the Immortal. He is a being who has raised himself from this to That, and thus has a free and unhampered access to both realms. He stands, as it were, upon the threshold of immortality and, bending down, raises the struggling aspirants with his one hand, and with the other, lifts them up into the kingdom of everlasting happiness and infinite Truth-Consciousness. 

“Do you realise now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of the Guru's role in the evolution of man?  It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the holy Guru, adores it and pays homage to it again and again, and thereby reaffirms its belief and allegiance to it. For the true Indian knows that the Guru is the only real guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death, of pain and misery, and experience the bliss and peace of the Reality. The Guru is the standing witness to the all-pervading Self. He is the representation of the Lord on earth, and through worship of him one attains the Supreme Self”. 

Referring to the role and responsibility of the aspirant, the Master said, “A true disciple is one who serves his Guru till the end of his life. If the disciple survives after the Guru gives up his mortal coil, he should lead the remaining portion of his life strictly in accordance with his Guru's instructions and live to preach them to others by practising them himself... The best form of worship of the Guru is to follow his teachings, to shine as the very embodiment of his teachings, and to propagate his glory and message”.

Pujya Swami Sahajananda’s audio message focused on the Guru-disciple relationship. He said, “It is only in India that you find this peculiar Guru-Parampara relationship”. The story of the Desert Fathers reveals that they had the same realisation of our Gurus, however they did not hand down their knowledge to their disciples. Pujya Swamiji said that our scriptures are never tired of singing the glory of our Gurus”, and that a Guru can give a disciple illumination in an instant if he so desired. He said, “The great relationship between the Guru and disciple is something marvellous, something wonderful, something that cannot be described in words. It is our tradition...our Gurus are very great…you can never understand the internal state of a God-realised saint”. He quoted the life of Lord Buddha who did intense Tapas, which resulted in millions following Lord Buddha’s teachings. Sri Gurudev who was initiated by the revered Swami Vishwananda, regularly paid homage to Swami Vishwananda before his daily meditation. He also paid regular obeisance to Swami Vishnudevananda who did the Vraja Homa ceremony for Sri Gurudev. He described the relationship of Sri Ramakrishna and his foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda. Sri Ramakrishna could play with Swami Vivekananda’s mind. Such was Swami Vivekananda’s devotion to his Master, that he even gulped Sri Ramakrishna’s sputum even though Sri Ramakrishna had throat cancer. Sri Aurobindo had the vision of Lord Krishna in prison. Even though he was educated in England, he sat quietly for three days at the feet of a Guru, who himself was “not an enlightened person”, after which Sri Aurobindo had illumination. Mother Mirra’s devotion to Sri Aurobindo was such that she had the greatest devotion to Sri Aurobindo and “she completely surrendered to him”.

Srimati Pregashni Naicker, principal of Kalasthaana Place of Arts, performed a beautiful Bharatanatyam dance entitled “Story of Lord Siva.” Her offering on this Guru Purnima Day was a dedication to Lord Siva, depicting the devotee’s Bhakti and surrender.

We have celebrated many Guru Purnimas, and will again do so in the future. Let us reflect on Sri Swami Sivananda’s metaphor so as to chart the way forward. “The moon shines by reflecting the dazzling light of the sun. It is the full moon on the Purnima day that reflects in full splendour the glorious light of the sun. It glorifies the sun. Purify yourself through the fire of selfless service and Sadhana and, like the full moon, reflect the glorious light of the Self. Become the full reflector of the Brahmic splendour, the light of lights. Make this your goal: ‘I will be a living witness to the Divine, the brilliant sun of suns’”!