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Gurupurnima celebration with Swami Jasraj

A discourse on the significance of Guru Pūrṇimā and spiritual renewal.

"Guru Pūrṇimā is the day in the year when we look back at what we have done during the past year and offer the fruits of our sādhanā as dakṣiṇā to Gurudev."

"We can have a life and then try to make our spirituality fit around it. Or, our first priority can be our spirituality, our spiritual life, our practice, and our relationship with Swāmījī."

A speaker addresses a gathering on Guru Pūrṇimā, explaining the day as a time for offering the fruits of one's spiritual practice and taking new resolutions. Using analogies like the Tour de France and Apple's design philosophy, the discourse emphasizes structuring one's entire life around the spiritual path, optimizing every aspect to maximize progress. The talk concludes with a reflection on the installation of a Śiva Liṅga and a call to cherish the spiritual opportunity provided by the Guru.

Filming location: India

Guru Pūrṇimā is the day in the year when we look back at what we have done during the past year and offer the fruits of our sādhanā as dakṣiṇā to Gurudev. Whatever we have done since last Guru Pūrṇimā, we bring that here. That is what we offer to Swāmījī. He gave us the sādhanā to do, and we take our time during the year to do what we can. Whatever we have to offer, however humble it may be—whether it was a good year or a difficult one—we offer the fruits of our efforts and our sādhanā at his feet. Then, we begin anew for the coming year. It is a time for taking a saṅkalpa, a resolution that we carry with us throughout the year. This could be something we wish to take on, something we wish to give up, or something we wish to do more of. We try to take steps forward on our spiritual path. This day is very important, and the saṅkalpa we take is crucial for what unfolds in our year. As disciples of Swāmījī, the central element in our lives is the mantra he has given us. Our spiritual path is the most important one we have. It may not be the path we can spend all our time on, but it must always be in our mind. We may be engaged in other duties to maintain our families and livelihoods, but our focus must always return to our spiritual path, to our relationship with Swāmījī, to our mantra, and to our sādhanā. In recent days, you have all been here, spending time away from the world. Just before this, in Europe, I was following the Tour de France. Those riders have natural ability, but their approach is instructive for our spiritual life. They spend years searching for every possible way to go faster. It is not just about training hard. They optimize everything: the texture of their clothing, the shape of their helmet, the height of their seat, the type and weight of their bike, their food, and their nutrition. Every aspect is dedicated to that one race. Many different elements come together to create the winner. We, too, are in a race. We have a very short life, and in it, we have a very good chance. You could say we have a natural gift, like a talented rider. Our gift is that we have met Swāmījī, that we have him as a master, that we have received a mantra from him, and that we have the sādhanā he has given us. We have the chance to do his sevā and to go as far as possible on the spiritual path in this lifetime. These are the natural gifts he has given us. But to improve, to maximize this chance, we must also consider our lives and how to structure them to promote that spiritual development. Every aspect of our life is part of our spiritual path: what we eat, what we watch, what we talk about, what we do, when we practice, and how we practice. Guru Pūrṇimā is a time to look at what we have done, to look back on our sādhanā, our relationship with Swāmījī, and our sevā. We can look for small ways in all aspects of life where we could improve, become more efficient, spend a few more minutes in practice, and a few less minutes on something else. There are certain aspects of our lives we cannot change, just as a rider cannot change his bone structure. Certain aspects of our family life and circumstances are very difficult to change. But the way we work around those things, the way we use them for our spiritual development, and how we integrate them with our relationship to Swāmījī—that we can examine and transform. This day is not only about the beauty of being here in satsaṅg with Swāmījī. It is about thinking deeply about our path, reinvigorating it, reinforcing our efforts, and considering what we may have lapsed in during the past year that we wish to bring back into action. There is a beautiful example from the Apple company regarding phone design. Someone once asked why their phones are so beautifully designed compared to others. The designer explained that their philosophy is different. Normally, a computer company designs the hardware first and then makes a case to fit it. At Apple, they design the beautiful case first and then tell the hardware engineers to fit everything inside. We face the same choice. We can have a life and then try to make our spirituality fit around it. Or, our first priority can be our spirituality, our spiritual life, our practice, and our relationship with Swāmījī. We can slowly transform our life so that it fits around that priority, rather than the opposite. It is a very small change in perspective, but it completely transforms the attitude with which we do things. Think of it another way: it is like being given a car by Swāmījī. It runs very nicely. There is one very long road towards our spiritual goal, and our petrol is limited. We can either try to go as straight as possible, at the steadiest speed, towards that goal without wasting petrol. Or, we can go here and there—shopping, sightseeing—and accordingly, the petrol will be gone, and we will only get so far. Theoretically, we all know what a blessing it is to be with Swāmījī. But we must keep reminding ourselves and put this understanding into practice, again and again. We must make the most of every minute we have in this life. Today, as Shantaji was saying, we witnessed the most beautiful thing in the Om Āśram as that Śiva Liṅga was installed in the mandir. It was a very emotional moment. Everyone who was there could feel that something very special happened; something changed. A bhajan by Madhuramjī about the siddhi was playing beforehand, and I was thinking of that bhajan as the Śiva Liṅga was coming down: "Satguru Swāmījī, oh Gurujī, please stay here today. Be in bliss here. Not here [physically], but here in our hearts." We have to make a place here in our hearts for Swāmījī, where he can constantly reside. A place here for Mahāprabhujī. A place here for that light which Gurujī has given us. We must constantly make that request: "Please come and sit here." As the Śiva Liṅga has been installed, as Mahādev, as Śivajī is coming there, we pray: please come and sit here and bless this āśram continuously, even more than before. It was such a beautiful thing to see it come and sit there. We have a very special place here, a very special master, a very special paramparā, and very special guru brothers and sisters. So, take today to remind ourselves—everyone here, and everyone on the webcast—of what we have been given. Let us not waste it. As Gurujī says: "My brothers and sisters, wake up! Our chances keep fading away." They are going. Let us not waste them.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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