A city without streets, a king without treasure, a merchant without business and a life without a Guru are all considered the same. The question arises: Why is there so much emphasis on Guru? Why do you need a Guru?

Life sometimes seems very complicated. There is pleasure, pain, happiness, suffering, generosity, greed, passion and dispassion. When our life is full of such opposite values, our mind is unable to handle these complications and it breaks down.

It is then that you need the wisdom to guide you through the troubled times. Guru is that wisdom. You might have noticed you give great advice when you are not involved in a situation but the same is not true when you are in trouble. This is because wisdom dawns when you are out of the mess. Guru is one who is out of the mess. He watches the chaos, amidst the chaos.

Guru is like a circuit-breaker. When you cannot handle life, your Guru comes and saves your mind so that you remain sane and balanced. If there is some compelling desire that bothers you, your Guru is there to offer solace. You offer all your desires and pain to your Guru. Having a Guru means being able to relax and smile all the time, walk with confidence, being fearless and having a vision. And, that is wisdom.

Guru is a tattva – an element, a quality inside you. It is not limited to a body or a form. Guru comes in your life in spite of your refusing or being rebellious. The Guru principle is so vital in life.

There is an element of the Guru in every human being. That wisdom in each has to be invoked, awakened. When this element is awakened, misery in life disappears. In our consciousness, wisdom comes to life when the Guru tattva comes to life. When we have no desires of our own, then the Guru tattva dawns in our life. Wake up and see that our life is changing every moment and feel grateful for whatever you have received.

Guru Purnima is the day to review your growth. This review will give you encouragement. If you think you haven’t grown enough on the spiritual path in the past few years, then you have not utilized the knowledge. If you feel you are stuck somewhere, then the realization that you are stuck is also growth.

That is why we celebrate Guru Purnima. It is the day when the devotee arises in full gratitude and feels grateful for the great knowledge they have received from the Master. It is time to review how much knowledge you have absorbed in your life and how you are growing in knowledge. This may bring about a realization that there is scope of improvement, which in turn will bring humility in you. Gratitude and humility together blossom in the form of a genuine prayer inside you.

On Guru Purnima, remember all Gurus of the past. When your life is full, you get a feeling of gratitude; you start with the Guru and end up adoring everything in life. On Guru Purnima the devotee wakes up in full gratitude. Devotee becomes like an ocean moving in itself.