In the Vedic tradition, the Full Moon in the Hindu lunar month of Ashadha that usually occurs in July, is dedicated to the Guru, the Teacher – one who dispels ignorance and lights the lamp of wisdom within the awareness of the disciple.
“Guru Purnima” as the day is called, is marked by reverence for the spiritual teacher. The opening of the heart to gratitude for knowledge is an important part of integrating that knowledge in to one’s own experience. It also helps us remember that we live and thrive in an environment of sharing and exchange. All beings are connected in ways more profound that we can imagine.
The understanding of our intimate relationship with the cycles of Nature is foundational to Yogic philosophy. The greater forces of the Universe are mirrored in the profoundness of the Self, both of which are expressions of unbounded Consciousness. The illumination of this knowledge within the awareness of the seeker, is one of the greatest gifts of the Teacher.
I would like to share with you a poem that I penned as an offering to the Great Teacher who comes to us in different forms. We honour the Guru’s light, we honour the Guru’s wisdom.
Knowing
When I sing your name
and know your
presence to be
unfailing within me,
When I cast away
the doubt that a screeching world
nurtures within minds, young and old,
When I cry tears of joy
as the boundless
grace of your love,
brought alive by the remembrance of your name
in song
in word
and in thought,
empowers me to know this path
as that of truth,
this path you
have laid out for me,
And when I kneel
before your light
within the temple of wisdom,
at the altar of my own mind,
the last shreds of fear
are blown away on winds
of faith,
All that I am,
I know to be you.
~ A poem by Sai Ganesh Nagpal
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© The Serene Swan, All rights reserved. No part of the poetry may be reproduced without prior permission from the author.
