Spiritually speaking, July is a very special month. It is the month of transition and transformation. After coping with lots of heat, we are blessed with coolness and abundance of rain to make us feel happy. We can sing and dance and celebrate.
The full moon night of this month of Ashadh is called Guru Purnima. This purnima is significant for all those who have been initiated by the enlightened masters, to enter into a new dimension of life. It can be spiritual or related with any art, as all arts have their roots in meditation. The disciples are always grateful to their masters individually, but they have chosen the full moon day in July to express their gratitude collectively. This day is dedicated to our masters collectively.
Guru Purnima is the day of all the Buddhas, all those who have become aware. Guru is a master who liberates us and with whom we are in deep love, faith and reverence. A Guru is a presence. Through him one gets the first glimpse of divinity. Speaking on the significance of a Guru, Osho says that a Guru’s blessing is a vital phenomenon. Through a Guru one can look into his own future and can be aware of his own destiny.
“Guru means one who has gravitation, around whom you suddenly feel as if you are being pulled. The Guru is a tremendous magnet, with only one difference. There is a man who has charisma — you are pulled, but you are pulled towards him. He may become a great leader, a great politician. When you are pulled towards Kabir, Guru Nanak, Buddha, you have a strange feeling. The feeling is that you are being pulled towards them and at the same time you are being pulled inwards — a very strange paradoxical phenomenon".
"Surrender to a Guru is not to be a slave — it is a growth process. That man may have charisma, may have magnetic power — maybe his great intelligence, his physical beauty, or his sheer vitality pulls you — but you will be going away from yourself. It will be an infatuation. You will be obsessed with this man, and you will be off your centre.”
A Guru functions as a catalytic agent. Being in his presence is the process of inner transformation which gives a glimpse of the divine.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti, editor of Osho World, is the author of Osho Fragrance
