What is the role of a Guru? Can’t one pursue the path without a Guru? And why is Guru Purnima so important? Sadhguru answers…

Video Transcript:

Sadhguru: Now once you have entered this space which you call as human, from here your evolution is no more natural. It has to be conscious. If you don’t become conscious there will not be any progress from here onwards. Monkeys can progress, man cannot progress. He can only progress consciously, Somewhere nature trusted your intelligence, nature believed that with the intelligence that you have anyway you will choose the higher, not the lower. But you’ve been trying to beat nature’s trust but it’s not possible. Doesn’t matter how many ways you indulge yourself, somewhere something longs for something bigger, isn’t it? Yes? You fill yourself with wealth and filth and everything but still the longing is not gone. So when the longing becomes unbearable, you seek. When you seek, can’t you seek that which is within yourself by yourself? You can but it’s an unchartered path.

Because it’s an unchartered path, if you go by yourself, you know what happened to Columbus? He wanted to come to India and landed up here It was an unchartered path, isn’t it? Simply by accident he landed in this continent. We are only hearing about those who landed somewhere. Do you know how many never landed? Anywhere? Yes? Thousands of sailors who set forth never landed anywhere If you go on an unchartered path without any guidance, this is what will happen. Now that Columbus landed here, just see how easy it is from Europe to America. Why? Now it’s a chartered path because of that man, isn't it? Similarly you go to your guru because he landed. Now using his experience is a good thing. Can’t I do it by myself? You can but we don’t know how many lifetimes you will take by yourself. Not that it’s impossible. You may just do it in a moment also, you know? You may just land up there. We don’t know. But 99% of the people will just get lost and washed away.

That’s why a guru has come. A guru is just a device. Guru is not a person. This must be understood. Only when you begin to experience me as something more than a person, only then I am your Guru, till then I am not.

The Guru Purnima is significant because - one thing is of a historical significance because this is the day Adiyogi turned himself into a Guru or the first transmission of a spiritual process began to happen.

First full moon after the summer solstice moon has a certain impact. It is generally considered as a day of grace.

So, it happens to be a day of grace and that is the day that first Guru chose to teach. So, it’s significant reminder for us, for every human being on the planet, because everybody lives in their own limitations of body, mind, social structures and strictures - all kinds of things. It is for every human being, it’s important to know that there is a way to be beyond these things. That’s the reminder of the Guru Pournima.

Editor’s Note: Celebrate Guru Purnima With Sadhguru, in the Presence of Adiyogi. Join in person at the Isha Yoga Center or watch the free live webstream.

Celebrate Guru Purnima with Sadhguru