Guru Purnima: A guiding light

We Indians are blessed to yearn for God and know the importance of a Guru. Who is a Guru? The word 'Guru' means one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. 'Gu' means one who is beyond attributes (Gunaateeta); 'Ru' refers to one who is beyond forms (Rupavarjita). A Guru is one who shows the way. He lights up the path just like a beacon light. Only God is the true Guru!

Often in life we come across people saying that they don't know the way forward in life. For some there is fear, hopelessness, lack of direction etc.

I often observe young parents stressing on children attending extracurricular activities, games, dance and music classes, tuitions etc. besides school and homework — which obviously take the forefront. Is there any time for God? Well! If you are a young parent, do remember that the seed of Godliness or awareness of God has to be sown early on in life. It is the God loving child who does not indulge in vices because he can differentiate between what is right and what is not. Many children are going astray because parents in their endeavour to make them modern and 'cool' are not giving them the basic awareness about God. Children need to be introduced to 'God' verily at birth. And who else but the parents should do it?

The biggest blessing my parents gave me is that they connected me to my Lord and Guru, Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Bhagwan Baba taught us that prayer and surrender are the way forward in all kinds of circumstances. A beautiful surrender prayer that the devotees of Sai often read says:

"To surrender means: To turn your thoughts away from troubles, to turn them away from difficulties that you encounter and from all your problems. Leave everything in My hands saying, 'Lord, Thy will be done. Thou think of it.'"

For anything that we do, if we offer it to Him with a prayer and a feeling that it is God's work; then work becomes worship. If we surrender the accolades or the censure that may be the outcome of the work done, it becomes easier to work. So just do your best and leave the rest to God!

My Guru and My God, Bhagwan Baba, used to say, "My life is My message." In the last few years of his Earthly sojourn, He said, "Your life is my message." It was then that those privileged to be called 'Sai devotees' began to realise, how they conducted themselves was His message! It's a great responsibility to shoulder but it's a privilege I would never want to forego!

Bhagwan Baba said that if you do everything in the awareness that God is watching you, listening to you at all times, you shall never do anything wrong! So, I live in constant awareness of Him! I owe Baba all that I am. He is my inspiration, confidante, guide, companion and Eternal father; one who is privy to all my thoughts, words and deeds.

As I write this, I am reminded of a bhajan, "Mere mann ke andh tamas mein jyotirmaya utaro …" Listening to it made me recognise that in the darkness of our mind, there is a divine light … If we shut out the world and look for it, we can find it shining steadily! It has always been there; we are just not aware of it!

A devotee once asked Baba, "Are you God?" He said, "Yes I am; so are you. The only difference is that I know it, but you don't!" If you pause to think about the profundity of that statement it would leave you stunned and overwhelmed. Yes! I am not the body; but the indwelling soul in it. The awareness that the Atma is a minuscule portion of the Param-Atma is extremely empowering and overwhelming. A sample of the whole, has all the qualities of the whole, right? I am a sample of the whole; of which I am a part! I am a part of the supreme soul! I am a part of divinity!

Yes! That's why Baba would start his discourse by addressing us all as Divya Atma Swarupas! Talking about Him and recollecting the bliss of having seen Him walk the Earth still gives me goose bumps and it still makes my eyes well up in gratitude. It still gives me that tingling sensation and it still shows me the light like a Gu-Ru! Happy Guru Purnima!

Views expressed are personal