Back in 2013 I wrote a short blog about Guru Purnima, inspired by my recent visit with Amma, most commonly known as the "hugging mother." When we are in the close proximity of a truly great teacher we can feel their compassion, love and empathy. This was my case in the brief moment that I met Amma (link to the blog here: http://oneyogaandwellnesscenter.blogspot.com/2013/07/guru-purnima-celebrating-your-guru.html). But that feeling of being around a wise being is like no other. Finding the right words to describe that feeling is a challenge and often I find that I cannot write about it truly because no words will give it the true understanding.
Last March while in Bali I read Krishna Das' book Chants of a Lifetime. His devotion to his guru, Sri Neem Karoli Baba, continues today long after his guru's death and he writes so profoundly of what it is like being in the presence of these great teachers:
"We want to be near these great beings because of the love, but anything inside us that can burn will start burning. Everything that is hidden is going to show. Being around him, I became more aware of the stuff that took me out of the love; my thoughts, desires and emotions, which were running totally out of control, came between us. Drawn by the power of his love, like moths to a flame, the other devotees and I were purified by that fire. There was nowhere to get away from it. And we didn't want to get away. We wanted to be in that love, but in order to be in that love, our stuff had to burn away. The process still continues in a different way"(pg. 36).
I'm sure that not everyone has felt this deep devotion to a teacher. My brief encounter with Amma showed me that it was possible, but I still could not say that I am devoted to her as a disciple.
When I think back of my many teachers: school teachers, work mentors, and yoga teachers, I have learned so many little things from so many people that when I honor Guru Purnima, I honor every soul that has ever touched me, really. Because there is not one that I can say did not teach me something in some way.
Blessings on Guru Purnima. Who is the teacher that you honor today?
Last March while in Bali I read Krishna Das' book Chants of a Lifetime. His devotion to his guru, Sri Neem Karoli Baba, continues today long after his guru's death and he writes so profoundly of what it is like being in the presence of these great teachers:
"We want to be near these great beings because of the love, but anything inside us that can burn will start burning. Everything that is hidden is going to show. Being around him, I became more aware of the stuff that took me out of the love; my thoughts, desires and emotions, which were running totally out of control, came between us. Drawn by the power of his love, like moths to a flame, the other devotees and I were purified by that fire. There was nowhere to get away from it. And we didn't want to get away. We wanted to be in that love, but in order to be in that love, our stuff had to burn away. The process still continues in a different way"(pg. 36).
I'm sure that not everyone has felt this deep devotion to a teacher. My brief encounter with Amma showed me that it was possible, but I still could not say that I am devoted to her as a disciple.
When I think back of my many teachers: school teachers, work mentors, and yoga teachers, I have learned so many little things from so many people that when I honor Guru Purnima, I honor every soul that has ever touched me, really. Because there is not one that I can say did not teach me something in some way.
Blessings on Guru Purnima. Who is the teacher that you honor today?
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