July 21 2005

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On 21 Jul 2005, Guru Poornima was celebrated at the ashram in the presence of Swamiji. Guru Poornima is the full moon day when disciples and devotees world over offer their gratitude to all the Gurus and Enlightened Masters who have contributed in significant ways in increasing the intelligence and giving life to their Being, thus spurring them on in their journey inwards, to realize the Supreme Truth. Thousands of people attended the proceedings and paid their gratitude and respect.

In His Guru Poornima address, Swamiji said, "Guru is the one who dispels darkness or ego in a Being by bringing in light or wisdom. 'Gu' means darkness and 'ru' means dispeller. Guru is the one who makes you understand that when you are driven by ego, you start running behind goals and purposes in life and feel dissatisfied even after achieving them. Drop the goal; the path of Life is what is important. When you run behind goals, you will miss the beauty of Life or Existence and later repent that you have wasted your life. Life is beautiful and it is not to be sacrificed for the sake of goals. When you understand that your outer worldly purposes are mere illusions, you will see that the whole thing is simply a play of the Divine or Existence!".

Swamiji also stressed the need to add the flavor of 'meditation' and 'service to humanity' to our lives for the inner transformation to happen in us.

As part of the Guru Poornima celebrations, the following dheekshas (initiation processes) and poojas took place:

Jnana Guru Parampara thanksgiving pooja and homa to all the Enlightened Masters who have imparted wisdom and spiritual learning to mankind. Naishteeka Brahmacharya Dheeksha - A brahmacharya initiation that was given to 5 chosen boys of the ashram who desired to become sannyasins. Vidyaarthi - An initiation that was given to 6 children to mark the start of their spiritual learning at the feet of the Master. Acharya Dheeksha - An initiation that was given to 16 acharyas (teachers) trained by Swamiji to spread His teachings to the world at large. Ashramite Dheeksha - An initiation that was given to 3 people who joined the ashram as ashramites to be at the feet of the Master and learn and offer service to humanity. Healers' pooja - A pooja offered to all the Ananda Healers who heal people world wide through the Ananda Healing System.

For two days prior to Guru Poornima, preliminary fire rituals and proceedings happened at the ashram.

Initiations