Guru Puja

In our life, there are many rituals that we perform like Puja, Yagna, Havana etc. We simply do it mechanically, because our parents told us or the culture asked us to do so. But how many of you really understand the real significance and meaning behind these rituals. In the spiritual domain, there is one simple, yet very powerful process called ‘Guru Puja’.

For any spiritual seekers, it is a mandatory ritual to perform everyday. But why? How is it significant?

Human beings are social animal, they live in groups. This characteristic has made all the progress possible that we see today in our society, be it physical, psychological or technical. For example, the mobile phone you use everyday, is a result of many many human inventions, transformations and improvements put together. Considerable effort has gone in to it by the entire human race to make that invention. Because of that we all are able to reap the fruit of it in the form of convenience of a smart phone.

Similarly, in the spiritual domain all the advancements that we experience in the form of spiritual progress, be it yoga, the culture and rituals, the scriptures, the vedas, the temples and gods is all the result of intense work of many many spiritual masters. They have left us with so many tools of sadhana for spiritual progress. Their energy is always working even now beyond the physical layer to make the life possible for us. Just like there is a director and script writer and many more technicians behind the scenes of a stage show, there are many spiritual masters behind our spiritual progress.

In the childhood we learn history about our land, ancestors, culture, legacy, way of living everything. Similarly in Indian culture, people teach their children about the greatness of their lineage. They make them learn this to make the child conscious about, where they have come from, what are they doing, what are they going to do and to help choose their purpose.

To make them remember it constantly, they chant it everyday in the mornings and evenings.

Similarly when you enter the spiritual domain, beyond all your genetic lineage, the subtle spiritual souls, who have worked continuously, to uplift the human consciousness.

 So, it becomes our humble responsibility to remember them and offer our gratitude to those energies and their work. Also it is means of continuous motivation to keep going in this path and a form to receive their grace for our sadhana.

The process we are referring to is the SHODASHOPACHARA GURU POOJA. Which literally translates to the 16 specific offerings to the lineage of the Guru’s. So we start with the Pravara – A remembrance of all the people and energies of that particular lineage. Starting from Brahma,to yourself. It is a form of connecting oneself to the energy system created by them. Which is present in this universe always operating for the benefit of the mankind. When anyone does sadhana, identification with the body becomes less and less, so much so that, sadhakas loose the sense of body, their senses expand and become universal. Many spiritual Gurus have attained such higher states of experience that, the body becomes a blockage in the process of expansion. After they left the body, their energy still remains, operates and continues the sadhana and progress beyond what they did during their life time. Their energy is always present and is always available for anyone to access and uplift oneself. As part of everyday sadhana, it is mandatory to remember the Gurus and their greatest works. A nd offer our gratitude with those 16 offerings to them through the simple but yet powerful process Guru Puja. GuruPuja is a way to invite the positive energy and make it work for the upliftment of oneself to attain liberation.