Amritapuri – July 13, 2022
People in Amritapuri and via webcast around the world gathered to thank Amma on this traditional holiday.
Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri shared his thoughts and experiences before Amma arrived at the stage. He said he is not aware of another master like Amma in the past or present, and it is unlikely there will be another who makes the ancient spiritual truths available to the world on such a large scale.
“Every moment I spend in her presence is a new experience for me,” he said, even though he has been with Amma for more than four decades. “Every time I go out of the ashram, whether it be for a few days, one day, a week, or a few weeks, my heart feels the pain of separation. And the day I return to the ashram, I feel immensely thrilled. The moment I meet Amma is exhilarating beyond words.”
At the same time, Swamiji explained that Amma is always with us, and many of us are able to tune into the innocent, childlike joy that brings to our hearts—wherever we may be. With the awareness of Amma’s divinity, we are full of love, courage, and confidence.
“Looking down from a fully airborne plane, we only see oneness. From that height, the Earth is invisible,” said Swamiji. “In a similar manner, the deeper we go into our own self, the higher will be our consciousness and less significant will be our ego. And at the highest point of existence, there is no ego. This is the state where the guru is permanently established.”
Amma then reached the stage. Here are some excerpts from her message for the day:
“It is through the disciple that the world should understand the guru’s greatness, through the disciple’s faith and surrender towards the guru. It is the discernment and humility that shine through every word and action of the disciple that are proof of the guru’s greatness.
“Without knowing or experiencing even a little of the greatness of the guru, without sincerely striving a little to understand it, there is not much meaning in celebrating Guru Purnima or in talking about the guru. The guru’s presence is the fullness of supreme truth and supreme happiness.
“The guru’s body is the portal to infinity. To pass through this portal and reach the other side, the disciple should possess humility and surrender. The guru embodies self-sacrifice in its ultimate state. It is the state of having become everything through having become nothing. With the burden of ego completely annihilated, the guru has attained the state of Infinity.
“The greatest burden humankind carries is the weight of the ego. Nothing is as heavy as the ego. As the weight of the ego increases, a person’s blindness also increases. One loses the sense of discernment and becomes selfish and cruel.
“All scriptural learning and spiritual practices are designed to reduce the burden of the ego. They are not meant to be mere intellectual exercises or a means to increase one’s ego—although the less intelligent may consider them to be so. Those who consider this to be the goal will never get the grace or the teaching from the guru.
“A true disciple will have a relationship with no one but the guru. There will be love and compassion for everyone, but no personal relationships other than with the guru. The only relationship will be with the guru. Then, the disciple will begin to see the guru as present in all of creation.
“A true disciple will not keep an unnecessary personal relationship even with another disciple. Such relationships are actually shackles. They increase our attachment, partiality, and selfishness. They corrupt the mind. They make us project our own shortcomings and faults on the guru.
“As far as a spiritual seeker is concerned, nissangata (non-attachment) is a spiritual practice. It provides the energy to move forward. Otherwise, spiritual life becomes like trying to row an anchored boat. No matter how hard you try, it will not move forward.
“‘Selfless love’, ‘compassion’, ‘kindness’, ‘patience’, and ‘self-sacrifice’ are all the same thing by different names. The bedrock of all these qualities is non-attachment. If we cling to the attachment of ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘mine’, it is like locking our infinite power up in a prison.
“Two birds that lived in two cages talked to each other, ate the food that was given to them at regular times, and enjoyed the affection showered upon them. But they lost the freedom to fly high in the infinite sky.
“Our lives are like these birds. Only when we give up the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ will divine qualities such as love and compassion overflow from within us. Only then can we love and serve everyone with equal vision.
“The guru is completely unattached. Although embodied, the guru is like the sky—an absolute presence. The guru has no relatives or friends, no ‘mine’ or ‘yours’. Does the infinite sky have any intimacy with or enmity towards anything? It doesn’t seek to own or to reject anything. At the same time, it contains everything.
“This is the nature of the furu. This is why the guru’s presence, as well as faith and surrender to the guru, lead not to attachment, but to a release from attachment. It is when we understand this truth and focus our mind completely and exclusively on the guru that the guru begins teaching and the disciple becomes fit to receive the guru’s grace.
“The guru never wants the disciple to remain a disciple. The guru wants the disciple to grow and become the Truth itself. Then there will be no difference between the guru and the disciple. It is in this that the guru finds satisfaction and contentment.
“What kind of satisfaction? The guru is complete within. But just as a mother becomes happy when she sees her child succeeding and getting a good job, the guru always wants the disciple to excel and exceed even the guru in capabilities. In all other relationships, the ‘I-and-you’ division is clearly maintained. But the guru-disciple relationship seeks to dispel that division.
“Submission and surrender to the Guru is the royal path to supreme freedom. A human birth and the guidance of a living sadguru are the greatest good fortune a soul can ever achieve. Understanding this, we should continue our efforts without wasting any time. If we have the attitude of surrender towards the guru, the guru’s grace will surely take us to the supreme goal. Our life will attain fulfilment.
“Surrender is nothing but giving up our likes and dislikes. That is when our heart opens. The guru’s grace is always present, but we should grant ourselves our own grace. That is surrender. When we surrender, we grant ourselves our own grace.
“May the guru within all my children awaken. May my children discover this guru within. The mirror to remove all your impurities is within you, my children. Look into it, remove your impurities and become mirrors yourselves. May my householder children in the world be blessed with prosperity. May everyone be healthy. May all my children be happy. May divine grace bless my children.”
