The day is Vyaasa Pournami and it is also celebrated throughout India as Guru Poornima. The importance of the day has been explained now by the lawyer from Repalle in Thelugu, by Vineetha Raamachandra Rao in Kannada and by the editor of Sanaathana Saarathi in English. Well, I shall also speak now. Whatever My language, I speak not to inform but more to heal. I administer medicine for your minds, not food for your brains, or rather it is both; like honey, it is both food and drug.
There is nothing specially related to sage Vyasa which makes this day attached to his name. He was not born on this day nor did he 'leave' on this day; it is just dedicated to his memory and to the worship of all Gurus. For Vyaasa is the Aadiguru, the Muulaguru (the first and the source of all spiritual teachers). He recognised and declared the truth in a variety of ways and helped in opening the inner eye of man. He described in beautiful simple, clear terms the glory of the Lord and of the means of attaining Him. He saw that unless the mind is negated or destroyed, the Lord will not be manifest. He prescribed the paths by which this could be done. So he is the Lokaguru (world teacher), the Paramaguru (greatest teacher). He collected the hymns, collated them and put them into the Four Vedhas; he assembled the later Vedhic literature and composed the Brahma Suuthras (aphorisms on supreme reality) to expound the philosophy that was inherent in it. He wrote the Mahaabhaaratha, which includes the universal specific, the Bhagavad Geetha. Then, when he was sunk in sadness, in spite of all this knowledge and scholarship and teaching, Naaradha advised him to sing the glory of the personalised aspect of godhead, to waken the emotions and guide them godward through Bhakthi. That gave him and the world great joy and peace, for Vyaasa then wrote the Bhaagavatha.
Discover that Happiness is an Inner Gift
Now, whether it is Vyaasa or the Guru whom you honour today, the more important thing is the Pournami (full moon) that happens today; that is the one thing certain about it; the rest of the story is conjecture. The Guru is needed when you have the Guri ('goal' or 'aim' in Thelugu). If you do not have that urge, what can the teacher do? On sand or rock, if seeds are strewn, it is sheer waste of precious stuff. Inner prompting to see the light must send the aspirant to the teacher or must draw the teacher to wherever he is. You must inquire and discriminate: Do objects grant happiness? Is any one happy? How can one be happy through the multiplication of desire and the frantic effort to feed the raging fire? At last, you will by your own experience, discover that happiness is an inner gift, a spiritual treasure that can be won by equanimity.
The moon is the presiding deity of the mind; it must shine cool and comforting, eternally, in fullness, in the Hrudhaya-aakaasha (the inner firmament of the heart). The external material moon waxes and wanes but the mind should be trained to stand up against modifications and moods. The internal moon has no marks on it; it is ever full, it is always full moon for the victorious spiritual aspirant.
Man is possessed by the Ghost of Maaya
The mind spins a cocoon for the Jeevi (individual soul) to be imprisoned in. Karma, which is the activity of Maaya (ignorance), encloses the individual in its grip; it is the husk that makes the paddy seed grow and yield more paddy plants and more grains of paddy. Remove the husk and there is no more sprouting. The husk, Karma, makes the Jeevi sprout and undergo the penance of Vaasanas (going through the pleasure and pain produced by the impressions unconsciously left on the mind by past good or bad actions) and Samskaaras (performance of purificatory rites and sacred ceremonies). You reward and punish yourself as the result of your own activities; you are here because you wished to come here; you gravitate to the level to which you deeds drag or lift you. You make your own future by your thoughts and desires and deeds.
Maayaa is like the ghost of a tribal woman, which once possessed a great Pandith in a Himaalayan hermitage. The unfortunate Pandith sang and danced like any tribal damsel; he swore and cursed in the Paisachi (ghost) dialect and every one in the hermitage became ashamed of his company. At last, when the ghost was exorcised and the Pandith was freed, he became his original self; he remembered nothing of his pranks and blabberings. Man is similarly possessed by the ghost of Maayaa. The ghost has to be driven out.
The mode of exorcism of this ghost is taught by the Guru or the Geetha. Do not despair; it can be driven out. Confidence adds the required courage and strength. Do not doubt or give vent to despair. It must happen whether you welcome it or not, whether you strive for it or not; that is your reason for taking birth, the goal you have to reach. You have not come to be a tool in the hands of a ghost. The ant moves steadily and slowly towards its goal, climbing over everything that comes in its way. Let yours be the same Pipeelika Maarga (path of the ant). Follow the path of Naamasmarana steadily, climbing over all obstacles like sloth, pride, haste, doubt, etc.
The Guru can help you to a certain extent only, but be grateful to him for that little. He is like a skilled gardener, who tends the plants and waters them intelligently; cutting the tree into proper shape, applying the correct manure to supplement the soil and keeping it free from drought and pests. Give the Guru the gratitude for all this service; but reserve Sharanaagathi (seeking refuge for protection) for the Lord. Do not offer the Guru more than his due. Do not also change your allegiance.
Do Saadhana in Unbroken Disciplined Way
You cannot sell your house to some one and later, mortgage it to another, and rent it out to a third party after some further interval. Shri Raamakrishna had to cut asunder even the form of Kaali when it came across his path towards the realisation of the Nirguna (formless) aspect of God. Do not do spiritual practice off and on; do it in an unbroken disciplined way. Otherwise, it will be like watering a plant for some time and leaving it to go dry before you start again.
The Bhru-madhya (centre point between the eyebrows) on which you are asked to concentrate is not the point where your eyebrows meet in the centre of your forehead; it is a point in your inner awareness, the Hrudhaya (heart). Like the celestial damsels that were sent by Indhra to break the penance of sages, you will be getting during mediation nine varieties of music, but you should not be elated by that and suspend your Saadhana.
Guru Pournami here is distinct from the festival in other places. Between you and Me, it is not the relationship between Guru and Shishya (teacher and disciple) that prevails, or that of the guide and the pilgrim. The external Guru should not be equated with the Sarvantharyaami (innermost soul in all the hearts). Even Garuda cannot reach the goal if it does not spread its wings and leap into the sky. So, make a move, put a step forward. That is the immediate task; your resolve on this day should be that start with a sincere desire to succeed. Light will be shed by the grace of the Lord. The Lord has come to help you.
Discourse of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Guru Pournami, Prashanthi Nilayam, 17 July 1962 Source
