Dear Ones,
Throughout India on this blessed day, devotees pay homage to the guru—the pure instrument through whom God’s eternal blessings flow to those who follow that divine representative with faith and devotion. As we offer at the feet of our own beloved Gurudeva, Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, our souls’ love and loyalty, may your hearts be filled anew with gratitude for his transforming influence in your lives. A true guru is our greatest shelter from the storms of maya, and a guide we can trust to bring us to the safe harbour of God’s changeless presence.
Life buffets us with a ceaseless and often bewildering variety of experiences, information, and choices to make. Because we see ourselves as mortal beings, subject to limitations imposed by circumstances and our own human nature, we sometimes feel at the mercy of forces beyond our control. But the guru, whose faultless gaze penetrates the obscuring veil of maya, beholds us as we truly are—immortal souls radiant with the light of God, capable of expressing all His qualities. Through the guru, the Divine Himself comes to help us emerge from the confines of the little self and live from the vaster perspective of the soul. As Guruji explained, “The guru is the awakened God awakening the sleeping God in the disciple.” He gives us all we need to rouse the divine image within: methods that take us beyond the restless mind to touch the infinite consciousness that sustains us; timeless truths for spiritual living that show us the way to soul-freedom amidst the ever-shifting values of this world; and his unconditional love. He wrote to one beloved disciple, “I will never give up my job about you….Not only will I ever forgive you, but ever lift you up no matter how many times you fall.” More potent than the influence of karma and ingrained habits is the power of his help and blessings, and with his aid, all obstacles can be overcome. For him no effort or sacrifice is too great in order to bring about our divine awakening.
The guru has faith in us, and it is our faith in him, expressed as willingness to absorb and apply his guidance, that opens the floodgates of our mind and heart to receive his spiritual bounty. By using your free will to conquer the resistance of the ego, you will allow him to change and purify your consciousness. Awareness of his loving support will grow steadily within you as you strive daily to make him the constant companion of your soul. When you study his writings, let his words sink deep into your consciousness until they become his living voice in your conscience and the comforting touch of his hand of blessing, reminding you that you are never alone. And when you meditate, invite him through your devotion into the stillness of your soul. In that sacred silence, he waits to lift you from the illusion of separateness into all-fulfilling oneness with God’s infinite love and joy. Jai Guru!
In God and Gurudeva’s love and unceasing blessings,
Sri Sri Mrinalini Mata
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