Experiences of Guru Poornima 2009 with Satguru @ Chicago

This was the first time i attended Guru Purnima celebration n my first AOL event in states as well.. earlier to this i did all my courses in Bangalore Ashram and hadnt met any AOL members @ states.. so when i booked for advance course .. i was wondering how it would be ..not knowing anyone in the event other than Gurudev himself :-) .. but thot its more than enough to know Gurudev and HE will take care of the rest ..

the day i was leaving to chicago i received a call from one of the organizers .. asking me to be a group leader for the advance course as it had arnd 1000 participants.

once i reached the venue met that teacher (Gaurav) who happened to be incharge of our advance course and meditation hall(where satsangs happened everyday).. so right away i started seva with few others in arranging big hall and we really had fun time doing so .. people came in asking me for some seva and we all enjoyed sharing n distributing seva .. i was so busy that few organizers asked me to take one hour break before satsang .. even before i could think of taking a break..the teacher incharge of Guruji's stage .. came up to me ..gave me silk cloth, aasan and everything which needs to go on stage n asked me to arrange everything all alone .. i was more than surprised ..cudnt thank Gurudev enough for giving me this wonderful opportunity .. after arranging everything i was right next to the stage .. incase Guruji needs anything..

that night Gurudev came in late for satsang directly from airport ..it was around 9 pm .. was so happy to meet HIM after one year n one month.. juz a glance n smile from HIM was enough for the tears to roll down.. .. everyone's face brightened .. HE sang b'fully and before leaving asked us to sleep with these words.. " Baby i am there to take care of you" He asked us to juz be with the voice and not to put a face to it ..

we were a big crowd in our part II course .. and each group had 50 - 55 members and we had amazing teachers who made our exp so special.. this was the first time i was attending any course with Tanu Maa .. we all are very familiar with Rishiji ..but not as much with Tanu Maa .. during this course found out that she's as amazing as Rishiji himself .. her experiences made everyone feel @ home and after each meditation when Gurudev says Asangoham punah punaha.. tht was the sweetest voice i cud eva wake up with after going deep in each meditation ..n become more n more hollow n empty ..

Everyday @ noon we had Bhagwad Gita sessions with Gurudev (was waiting for this opportunity for over a year to listen Gita from Krsna himself ) the way HE explains .. makes it so simple and so many stories to accompany made us want more n more .. and it was followed by guided meditation by Gurudev .. this was outta world experience ..coz i cud feel HIS presence thro' out every meditation and also was covered with Sandalwood fragrance (juz another reason for tears to roll down) .. it was so easy to go deep within and also saw something like a movie ..was able to hear voices as well .. cudnt feel any more blessed .. i remember Gurudev saying that Guru Poornima is the time for any seeker to feel that gratitude.. look back n see the spiritual growth happened in one year .. i could feel this gratitude grow more n more every moment as each experience was betta than the previous one..

evening satsangs were totally divine .. Gurudev sang a bhajan Hari Narayan Hare .. this was the first time i eva heard that bhajan ..and it was so melodious to hear it from HIM .. maybe this sounds crazy ..but Love towards Divine multiplied every moment .. felt like saying ..his smile is so cute .. his words are so sweet .. his sessions are outta world ..guided meditation totally blissful :-).. not once did i feel the craving to rush behind him or wait for him ..or go to his kutir (pent house) and meet HIm .. coz i cud feel his presence every moment ..

but HE amazed me with so many surprises .. i met HIM in elevator .. juz while walking down the corridor .. and best of all was the day i wanted to gift Bhanu didi a saree .. came to know that she was with Guruji when i went to her room .. was hesitating to go to Gurudev's kutir as it wud be crowded .. so while i was telling my friend that i hesitate to go to his kutir ... the elevator opened and Gurudev was standing right there .. with so many behind HIM .. was way too surprised .. He was juz 2 " away from me.. standing there smiling .. was totally excited seeing HIM .. hugged HIM :-)
He also met us one - one state wise .. and had a chance to speak with him for long ..gave HIM all the letters from the members of the community..
every evening many devotees would go for a walk with Gurudev in the park front of the hotel ..
finally it was Guru Poornima Day and we were all still in silence.. we had space meditation before coming outta silence.. in this meditation when Gurudev asks us to travel miles in each direction .. i saw a marble Idol of Lord Krsna .. so afterwards asked my friend if theres a Krsna temple in that direction ..cudnt belv myself whn she confirmed d same being in chicago .. so after coming outta silence .. we had a chance to meet Gurudev one-one and had taken Angavastra to gift HIM on Guru Poornima day ..cudnt feel more blessed to gift Angavastra and Guru Dakshina to Gurudev on this blissful day

evening around 5 pm we had Guru Puja .. this was the first time i saw Gurudev doing Guru Puja .. and after that all of us sang Guru Paduka Stotram .. felt so divine to be inmdist of a crowd of 3000 on Guru Purnima Day..

next day again had Gurudev's darshan twice and before leaving i visited HIM and took prasad for my children .. till date tht smile is fixed n feels like my heart n soul is with HIM .. totally hollow n empty ...still in tht blissful state ..

would suggest that once in our lifetime all of us should be with our Guru on Guru Poornima Day, miracles happen way beyond our imagination !!!


Shloka and Translation

"Asangoham, asangoham, asangoham punah punah:
Satchidananda roopoham, ahamevahamvyayah:
Nitya shudda vimuktoham, nirvikarohm avyayah:
Bhoomandandaswaroopoham, ahamevahamavyayah:
Nityoyam niravadyoyam nirakarohamachyatha:
Paramananda swaroopoham, ahamevahamvyayah:
Anatar jyoti bahir jyoti, pratyak jyoti paratparah:
Jyoti jyoti ahamswayam jyoti, atma jyoti shivosmyham"


"Unattached, unattached, unattached, am I (to the body, mind, intellect,
I alone and changeless exist in the form of consciousness and bliss.

I am ever pure and free, without change of form and nature.
I am ever full- I alone exist changeless.
I am eternal and without boundaries, immutable and unshakable,
I alone exist I changeless in the form of consciousness and bliss.
Effulgence am I both inside and outside,
The light which is apparent as well as transcendent.
Light of all lights, self effulgent, the light of the atman,
Filled with auspiciousness am I"

Jai Gurudeva :-)

Guru Stories told by Gurudev himself

This incident happened 2 decades back ..

Guruji was travelling in Delhi with an elderly couple and his assistant. The elderly couple had to get off half way and go elsewhere ..then Guruji insisted that they take his car while HE and his assistant got off the car to take an auto to reach their destination.

The auto driver was overwhelmed to see Gurudev wanting to travel by his auto ..at the sametime he was very hesitant .. He told Guruji not to mind the posters which he had put in the auto .. Gurudev said that he doesn't mind one bit.. then the driver continued saying ..the poster of the Lord he likes to put is formless .. .so he put those filmi posters ..

and continued saying that "now that i have found the form of my Lord .. i will replace it very soon" .. and also told Gurudev in sucha simpler language .. this auto is given by HIM, HE is the driver and HE is the passenger as well .. (Tears rolled down to many who were present there ..when this sentence was told by Guruji himself)

and when Gurudev got down and wanted to pay him the charge for the ride.. the driver said that I took you to your destination and you took me to mine ..so there's no charge ..it cancels out :-)

Imagine even the Auto driver could speak philosophy in the presence of a Satguru


Another story told by Guruji
While he was narrating the story of Auto driver.. he happened to remember another story as well ..

couldnt stop laughing while he was explaining what an auto was to the audience in states ..

Gurudev said Auto Rickshaw is a three wheeler ..and to knw what it is ..u have to take a ride once ..and if u reach ur destination safe ..u have to thank the Lord ..and then told us this story..

itseems once a priest and an Auto driver passed away and Auto driver was taken to heaven while the priest was taken to hell. Priest felt that this is injustice or there must be some mistake in the records @ heaven ..so he asked to double check if he was supposed to go to hell while the auto driver to heaven.. they checked the records in the heaven and said ..we dont have any mistakes usually but if u want we will double check.

while they checked their records they found that auto driver made people remember god more than the priest ..thats why he was taken to heaven while the priest to hell..

Story about a Poisonous snake
Accept people(animals) and situations as they are

He said that once there was a poisonous cobra in the ashram which was suffering from food poison .. inspite of it being poisonous they took the cobra to the vet and after getting it cured .. they had to bring it back to the ashram .. not knowing where to leave it .. then later they took it far into the woods and leave it there ..

so he was saying sometimes they have so much trouble in the ashram when such situations arise and they have to follow the sutras in real life too .. not juz teaching it ..

Applying sutras in real life
Guruji told how difficult Sutras can turn out to be in real life sometimes ..

for Accepting people and situation as they are ..

In the ashram once there was robbery going on everyday during satsang .. things were missing from rooms and they couldnt find out who the thief was .. after few days of searching ..they came to know that there was a pregnant lady who was stealing from all the rooms .. she had a spanner and few other things in her bag and went around ashram stealing..

then they caught her n took her to the police station. there they refused to keep her as they didnt have any facilities for a pregnant lady in the police station. now they had to bring her back to ashram ..and Gurudev asked Ashramites to give her a room, food, clothing and ask her calmly as to why she was stealing in sucha condition. Ashramites were perplexed Gurudev asking them to accept a thief as she is n over that provide her with all the facilities..

Knowledge from Gurudev on Guru Poornima

The Guru principle is so vital in life. The first guru is Dakshinamurthy, the embodiment of infinity woven so skillfully in the finite that the finite and infinite co-exist. There is an element of the guru in every human being. That wisdom in each one has to be invoked and awakened.

When this element is awakened, misery in life disappears. It is the medicine for misery; the wealth of all knowledge.

Gurave sarva lokanaam – the Divine Consciousness is the leading light of the whole world-of all the worlds.

Bishaje bhava roginaam – It is the medicine for the ills of society, of life, of misery. It removes all misery.

Nidhaya sarva vidyanaam Sri Dakshinamurthaye namaha – I take refuge in this Consciousness which is in my heart!

The word guru is used today to mean expertise – like an expert in business management. Guru means enormous, the biggest. Of course, expertise is a part of it. There is perfection in everything. There is that depth.

In our consciousness, wisdom comes to life when the guru tattva comes to life. When we have no desires of our own, then the guru tattva dawns in our life. Do you ever wish to do something for someone without expecting anything from them? Then you have played the role of the guru. The mother is the first guru. Then there are the teachers – the veena teacher and so on. The Satguru gives you knowledge of the truth, the ultimate reality, spiritual knowledge.

On Guru Purnima, one must reflect, “Where was I before I got this knowledge? Where am I now?” When you see the contrast of where you were without this knowledge, then gratitude wells up.

This full moon is also called Vyasa Purnima. Vyasa categorized the entire lore of wisdom into the 4 vedas, the Upanishads, the upavedas, the 27 smritis, 27 upasmritis – a huge lore of knowledge pertaining to every aspect of life from ayurveda to architecture to alchemy to medicine. This full moon is named after him.

This day we remember the contribution of all those who have been on this planet for the wellbeing of the human race. We remember what they have done. We see the contrast (brought about by spiritual knowledge) in our lives and feel grateful.

How fortunate you are to perceive the infinity within you - in this finite framework of the body-mind complex. The body and mind are finite but the expression of the spirit is infinity.

For the Seeker, the New Year is from Guru Purnima to Guru Purnima. When it is half way for the rest of the world, we celebrate one whole year on the spiritual path. One year towards the Divine manifestation in our life. One year towards feeling the oneness and seeing the world through the eyes of the guru. That is the guiding star for us. Let me do that which a guru, a wise person would have done in this situation. A wise person would never react. He would respond. You will learn by putting yourself in that position (of the guru or wise person) again and again - by attempting infinite patience, immense intelligence, complete compassion and unblemished joy.

Nobody knows when the tradition started. Billions of years before, on this earth, so many sages and rishis have been there and so many in the future too. We thank all those in the past, present and the future for the continuation of wisdom on this dear planet. Without wisdom it is not living, only existing. Life begins with wisdom.

This Guru Purnima think about all the blessings that you have received and feel grateful. Everyone sing and let go and be immersed in the inner bliss.