By Denise Everheart
Understand the Indian-born festival, Guru Purnima through the eyes of a spiritual seeker from the West. And how you can be a part of this special event!
Being a life-long meditator, (I will celebrate 50 years in 2022!), there is no day more special to me than Guru Purnima day! Guru Purnima is more than just a festival or celebration originating in India, it is the “Thanksgiving” and “New Year’s Eve” of spirituality celebrated around the world, and it is kinda a BIG deal! Each year Guru Purnima falls on the first full moon after the summer solstice. This year’s Guru Purnima is July 13th.
I wasn’t always this excited about Guru Purnima. As a westerner, someone born in the western hemisphere, I didn’t understand much about it. Over the years that I have been meditating, I have learned a lot. If you’re not familiar with Guru Purnima and want to know more, I’m here to share my experience and how you too can benefit from participating in this annual global event.
What is a Guru? And who is a Guru?
The word ‘guru’ gets thrown around a lot these days. Even financial experts have been referred to as ‘financial gurus’. But what does it mean to be a guru? Who is a guru? According to Wikipedia, a guru can be a “mentor, guide, expert, or master” of certain knowledge or field. With this in mind, a guru could be a professor, a tennis champion, a 12-step sponsor, a James Beard award-winning chef, and so on… But in Sanskrit, Guru literally means dispeller of darkness. And usually, Guru also means someone who contributes to your evolution as a human being. More about this later.
Someone else who could be considered a guru, certainly the very first guru in your life, your mom! Our mothers are our first guides, our first influencers in life. The gratitude and love that we have for those who guide us and mentor us are often off the charts! Perhaps a little ga-ga for someone who made a big difference in our lives?!? We might brag about them. We might keep a photo on our desk of our favorite and inspiring master of whatever skill we are striving to master along with a photo of mom, dad, and other dear ones who have contributed so much to our lives.
I’m certainly grateful to my mom for introducing me to meditation way back in 1972! When I try to imagine what my life would have been like without meditation, tears well up. And when I think of my spiritual Guru, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, I am humbled by the wealth of spiritual and practical life wisdom as well as the blessings I have received- all because of his teachings. I am proud to call Gurudev my life mentor, my Guru!
Why celebrate Guru Purnima?
I will never forget my first Guru Purnima celebration back in 2000! I took two weeks off from work and traveled to Lake Tahoe, CA. After completing back-to-back week-long Silent Retreats, it was time to celebrate and express my gratitude for having a spiritual master. All dressed up in brightly colored silk clothing from India, I sat anxiously awaiting to receive the special wisdom born out of the guru principle (Guru Tattva) on this auspicious day.
Imagine my surprise when Gurudev explained that Guru Purnima was really the day of the student! He explained that this auspicious day was a day for each of us to evaluate how much wiser we had become and how much progress we had made on the spiritual path. Along with feeling grateful for however much we had grown, we also needed to renew our resolve to do what we were here to do in this life.
This is where Thanksgiving’s gratitude and New Year’s Eve’s resolutions come together to create the perfect spiritual celebration, Guru Purnima!
One might ask, what are we, or more accurately what am I, here to do in this life? No one can answer this question for you. But it’s a good question to wonder about! Consider yourself very fortunate to be able to contemplate this question, not everyone is so lucky!
Who is Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar?
If you don’t know Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar already, here’s a little about him.
- Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is an international humanitarian leader who is the global rallying voice of this generation’s collective call for peace.
- Named one of the “Seven Most Powerful People in India,” by Forbes, his world-renowned meditation techniques helped end the 60-year conflict in Colombia. He has been credited with bringing opposing parties together to facilitate meditation and peace talks in Iraq, Côte d’Ivoire, and India.
- Founder of the Art of Living Foundation and International Association for Human Values, Sri Sri is leading the way toward peace and tolerance through meditation and humanitarian efforts. Over the last 40 years, his programs and initiatives have touched the lives of over 370 million people in over 150 countries.
- Sri Sri’s mission is to show the world that through achieving inner peace, we will be able to see our human interconnectedness and become a One World Family.
What to expect on Guru Purnima
If you’re lucky enough to attend a Guru Purnima celebration with the Art of Living Foundation the day begins with a special Guru Purnima puja, a ceremony of thanks honoring the tradition of masters. This beautiful ceremony is a way of paying our respects to those masters who came before us and have passed on the knowledge from one master to another. Just as we consider Sigmund Freud to be the father of modern psychology and credit him with today’s progress in the field of psychology, we thank Adi Shankara and all those who came before and after him, including Gurudev, for keeping the light of knowledge alive.
Following the ceremony of thanks, we sit for meditation. Not just any meditation though! The energy of this auspicious day, along with the Guru puja, thousands in attendance feeling grateful, and the aura emanating from Gurudev, all contribute to a profoundly deep meditation experience. Thirty minutes can go by without any effort or discomfort!
When Gurudev brings us out of meditation he typically shares some inspirational wisdom. These messages are often something I and others reflect on throughout the year.
Then it’s time to feast and celebrate! Recent years have seen our Guru Purnima celebrations taking place at the Art of Living Retreat Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. With thousands in attendance, it is quite the celebration! You could even say it is a family reunion for those who like myself attend every year. The center prepares a free Indian feast for one and all. By the time everyone is fed, it’s time for Satsang!
Satsang means to be in the company of truth. For me, Satsang is a space where I can connect to and rest in my spirit. We sing bhajans in Sanskrit as well as English and Spanish. Sanskrit is the oldest language on the planet, 5,000 years old, and has a unique purity and vibrational quality perfect for expanding consciousness. On Guru Purnima, Satsangs are especially joyful, causing many to get on their feet and dance while singing. It truly is the best spiritual party of the whole year!
The day’s festivities end with a little full moon gazing. To watch the brilliant moonlight on the Blue Ridge mountains, knowing spiritual seekers worldwide are also enjoying it, is so very special!
Dispeller of darkness
Here’s where tears come again as I write this. The gratitude is real! It’s sometimes hard to put into words how Gurudev has transformed my life. I shudder to think what my life would look like without his wisdom and guidance, without all of the phenomenal techniques I have received from him. A true Guru is one that dispels darkness, transforms pain into joy, and generously cares for our physical and spiritual wellbeing, guiding us on our evolution as human beings. And in the physical presence of a true Guru, you become alive with vibrancy. Every cell in your body becomes alive and filled with that vibrancy!
One of the pillar techniques Gurudev has gifted the world is SKY Breath Meditation, also known as Sudarshan Kriya. I learned SKY in 1995, thanks to my mom! Even though I had been meditating since 1972 and loved all the benefits a meditation practice had given me, I wasn’t prepared for what a profound difference SKY would make in my life! I decided I had to become a SKY Breath Meditation instructor so I also could share this gift!
Guru Purnima 2022, the meditation event of the year!
After two virtual celebrations during covid, this year’s Guru Purnima celebration will return to in-person at our Retreat Center in North Carolina. But you can also join the celebration online!
I attended last year’s virtual silent retreat along with countless others from around the globe and was completely wowed by how deep the meditations were in spite of being home alone! Although Guru Purnima looked different due to being virtual, it was nonetheless a powerful experience!
If you’re all in, you should know that learning SKY Breath Meditation is a prerequisite to attend the global or in-person silent retreat. But no worries, there may still be time to attend an online SKY program, click here to choose a time that works for you.
Need a little more information about SKY? You can have all questions answered by attending a free breath and meditation online session with a certified instructor, as well as experience a relaxing guided meditation and learn an easy breathwork technique. Take it from me, this is the best self-care out there, spiritual or otherwise!
Click the image below to join.
I hope YOU get to celebrate the New Year for the Spiritual Seeker, Guru Purnima! It’s simply not to be missed!
Denise Everheart is a freelance writer, life-long meditator, SKY Breath Meditation instructor, party planner, veg chef, and recipe designer. Follow her @everheartstudio4meditation and @celeplateyourlife on Instagram.
