GURU PURNIMA: A Revision of Wisdom

Guru Purnima is celebrated with the idea of assessing the role wisdom plays in our life. How much is our life filled with wisdom and how much it isn’t. Where have we integrated wisdom in life and where have we not?

Now don’t be scared with what you find out. For some of us it might appear that we failed in living in wisdom but in truth there is no failure at all. Every failure is a step towards success and success is nothing but a concept. When you see the big picture you find life is much more than what you consider as successful. When you become happy by getting success, you have already limited yourself!

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 sometimes becomes unable to handle these complications and just 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 you so that you remain sane and balanced. If there is some compelling desire that bothers you, your Guru is there to offer solace. 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
Guru is 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 is enlivened. 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.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar A humanitarian, spiritual leader and an ambassador of peace and human values