Guru Purnima message by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

America, Hartford

“Among the 12-13 full moons in a year the Vaishakha Full Moon is dedicated to Buddha (his birth and enlightenment), Jyeshtha Full Moon to mother earth and the Aashadha Full Moon is dedicated to the memory of masters. This is Guru-Purnima.

It is the day when the disciple wakes up in his fullness and in the wakefulness he can’t be but grateful. This gratitude is not of dwaita (you and me), but of advaita. It is not a river moving from somewhere to somewhere, but is the ocean moving within itself. So, gratefulness on Guru-Purnima symbolizes that fullness.

The purpose of the Guru Purnima celebration is to turn back and review and see in this last one year how much one has progressed in life. For a seeker, Guru Purnima is a day of significance, is a day of New Year. It is the day to review one’s progress on the spiritual path and renew one’s determination and focus on the goal, and to resolve what one wants to do in the coming year. As the full moon rises and sets, tears of gratitude arise and repose into the vastness of one’s own self.”

You know, our body has millions of cells, and each cell has its own life. Many cells are being born every day and many are dying. So, you are a moving town. So many cities are on the planet Earth and planet Earth is revolving and moving around the Sun. Same way, there are so many cells and so many living beings inside you and you are moving around. You are a moving township. Like in a beehive, there are so many bees which come and sit, but there is one queen bee. If the queen bee goes away, every other bee goes away. In the same way, there is an atom in our body, the queen bee. If that is not there, everything else goes away. Locate in that, in that tiniest of the tiny atom, the atma or the self. It is everywhere yet nowhere. That is the queen bee and that is what you are. That is what the Divine is, and that is the Guru principle. Like there is fatherhood, motherhood, there is Guruhood also. You all have to play Guruhood at least to somebody. You do play, you keep giving advices and guiding people consciously or unconsciously, and give them love and care. But do it with 100 percent without expecting anything in return. That is living the Guruhood, living the self. There is no difference between the Divine, you and the Guru Principle. It is all coming to one thing, the queen bee.

Meditation is relaxing and reposing in that atom. So, think of all the things that you could be grateful for, and ask what you want. And bless everybody. We receive, but not just receiving is enough, we should give and bless those who are in need.


“That which you cannot express is Love.
That which you cannot reject/renounce is Beauty.
That which you cannot avoid is the Truth.”
~ Sri Sri Ravishankar

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