Question:

What are the important things that a sincere seeker should understand about Guru Poornima? I was wondering how should a sincere seeker and disciple’s acharan [behaviour] be on the spiritual path especially in the presence of a Guru. Please guide.

Answer:

Guru Poornima can be called the ‘Spiritual New Year’ or the ‘Disciples new year’. Guru Poornima is a wonderful opportunity to be with your own self and look deep within. Check whether you have progressed on the spiritual path since the last year. Spiritual progress is measured by the following spiritual gauges:

1] Purity of Mind – Have you become more compassionate and loving? or have you been indulging in hatred, jealousy, anger, greed, lust and ego?

2] Purity of speech – Has your speech become harmless and knowledgeable? or are you still indulging in slandering, gossiping, lying, rumour-spreading, etc?

3] Purity of Body – Is your body feeling light, easy and sattvic? or are you constantly feeling heavy and tamasic?

4] Purity of Inner Environment – Have you been experiencing more peace, harmony and happiness in life? or are you still caught up in storms of emotions every now and then?

5] Purity of External Environment – Do people around you experience joy by interacting with you? or are you still spreading disharmony and mental turbulence?

These are 5 important gauges to help you recognize whether you are still stuck in Maaya or have you moved ahead. Remember, Guruji always asks this question, ‘Are you happy?’ He is actually scanning your external and inner environment when you are in his presence. It doesn’t matter what you answer, whether you say ‘yes’ or ‘no’; The Guru always KNOWS THE TRUTH just by glancing at you. He can read your Aura.

So how should one’s acharan be on this spiritual path?

Aim for Purity of Body/Speech/Mind/Inner & External environment at all costs. At all costs means ‘At the cost of your own ego’. How? Here are a few examples:

Here are a few examples:

• If your Ego wants to ‘put someone else down’ or ‘hurt’ someone, you must have the conviction to override this futile ‘karma-creating desire’ of the Ego and use only ‘Truthful and Pleasant’ speech.
• If your Ego wants to indulge in ‘slandering’, you must have the conviction to override this futile ‘karma-creating desire’ of the Ego and use only ‘Beneficial’ speech.
• If your Ego wants to attack someone out of ‘jealousy/hatred’, you must have the conviction to override this futile ‘karma-creating desire’ of the Ego and drown yourself in ‘Ancient scriptural wisdom’ to overcome that ‘jealousy/hatred’.
• If your Ego wants to steal something out of greed/feeling of lack, you must have the conviction to override this futile ‘karma-creating desire’ of the Ego and drown yourself in gratitude to overcome that ‘greed/feeling of lack.

What to do if you land up in a ‘bad company’ when in the Ashram or in a spiritual center and feel tempted to indulge in the above?

Make your Viveka/Intellect so strong that:

1] You find the courage to keep away from the people who indulge in the above negativities even in an ‘Ashram’ environment.

2] Even if you meet such people, you must NOT INDULGE in any other mind’s negativity. It will be like stepping into a swamp/marsh/sinking sand, you will not be able to get out of the muck easily. You just SMILE, FOLD YOUR HANDS IN NAMASTE & say ‘I quit the drama of the mind long ago’ and SMILINGLY WALK AWAY!

3] Distance yourself completely from such NEGATIVITY however powerful or authoritative the person might be because your spiritual progress is NUMBER 1. Narada Muni says, ‘SAVE YOUR MIND AT ALL COSTS’ even at the cost of dropping the company of people that you are used to. It’s true. Unless you are firm about your spiritual progress, you will not be able to move an inch on this spiritual path. Have a firm resolution to keep your spiritual area ‘Pure’ and ‘Virgin’.

‘Virgin’ Means what?

In the corporate world, you indulge in corporate politics. In Family and Friends-circle, you indulge in social politics. At least keep your Spiritual Area free from this negativity of the mind. Treat the spiritual area as a training ground to ‘get out of negativity’. This is the area of growth, you can change your ways here provided you manage to keep the ‘negativity of the mind’ out of this area. Otherwise, you will have nowhere to go, my dear!

Keep your own Spiritual Area ‘Virgin’ and ‘Pure’! Have a Pure Guru Poornima!