श्रीगुरु-उपासना
Veneration of Shri Guru
Audio recording by Ami Bansal
For me, guru tattva means that God, the Guru, and my own innermost Self—and that of all beings—are one and the same.
This teaching has always fascinated me greatly and is one of the main motivations behind my sadhana. I experience my sadhana as if, layer by layer, my ignorance is being peeled away, giving my soul ever more space to live in divine unity and absolute Truth.
Guru tattva inspires me to contemplate, to give my best, and to open myself to Shri Guru’s grace, which has already granted me many reassuring experiences.
The more I discover who I truly am, the more guru tattva becomes a reality for me.
Konolfingen, Switzerland
As I contemplate this phrase, I realize that guru tattva is everywhere, all the time, and that life itself mirrors my inner path and offers me lessons.
Turning within, I walk through an “inward-opening door,” and I learn to align with reality rather than strain against it. For example, a colony of ants moving with military-like discipline teaches me alignment. The vast sky dissolves my ego, while I learn tolerance from the earth.
Many times I offer my prayers to Earth, asking her to take away my emotional burdens. I learn detachment from the lotus that remains untouched by mud and from the dewdrop that sits unattached on a leaf. The banyan tree nearby that I often visit as my sacred friend whispers to me the beauty of silence. With this awakened awareness, the universe unfolds as my Guru.
Dombivli, India
In 1992, I participated in a Month-Long Course at Shree Muktananda Ashram. At one point, we were invited to focus on our ajna chakra. This is when I began hearing Gurumayi’s voice inside of me, guiding me step-by-step into meditation. I heard her tell me inwardly that I could visit the ajna chakra at any time. I felt Gurumayi’s full inner support and constant encouragement.
I was repeating the mantra silently and with great joy when the sound Om suddenly started to come out of my mouth aloud. Then Gurumayi’s face appeared within my ajna chakra, and she smiled at me. This was followed by a beautiful inner vision of Bhagavan Nityananda. As the meditation session was coming to an end, I suddenly perceived a potent image of a saffron sun, and my mind became totally still.
This is how I experienced that the inner Guru and the outer Guru are one and the same. I understood this to be “the Guru principle.” After this, my faith in the Guru became simply unshakable.
Laval, Canada