Seeking guidance from your Inner Guru - A Guru Purnima Ritual

Hello Moonchild :)

We approach the most auspicious Full Moon of the year on July 3. It is the occasion of Guru Purnima, an opportunity to honour all our Gurus - be it your parent/s, an elder in the family, your teachers in school, a mentor, teachers later on in life and even experiences that altered you inside out! A Guru is one who dispels darkness, removes the veil of ignorance from life.

ON THIS DAY:

Gandhara Greco-Buddhist sculpture of the Buddha delivering his first sermon at Sarnath (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Arun Kumar Singh)

Lord Buddha is said to have given his first sermon at Sarnath.

Lord Mahavira is said to have taken his first disciple, Indrabhuti Gautam, thus becoming the 1st Guru in the Jain tradition.

Sage Vyasa is said to have been born.

Shiva (Adiyogi) is said to have started transmitting the wisdom of yoga to the Saptarishis or 7 sages.

External & Inner Gurus

External Gurus do their best for us. They hold an important place in our lives. The best Gurus help us realise our own potential, and awaken the Guru Principle within us. We need to connect with this Inner Guru more often and be less demanding of our external Gurus :) We forget this in the midst of our fast-paced, stress-inducing lifestyles and tend to seek answers outside most of the time.

This Guru Purnima is an invitation to connect with your Inner Guru

Who is this Inner Guru? Have you experienced this principle/state before?

Yes, you have! Sometimes as a strong gut feel or as a crystal clear moment of clarity early in the morning or after a meditation. An answer you have been seeking may have come to you in a dream. An insight downloads itself when you relax and are not chasing the solution. You intuitively feel right or wrong about something. All of this talks to the Guru principle within us. To put it simply, It is your inner authentic self minus the cobwebs (conditioning, perceptions,patterns etc.) gathered over the years. It is raw and divine, the source of infinite wisdom and courage. The Inner Guru can be accessed or allowed to surface from deep silence. We will do a ritual to experience this.

An often asked question!

How do you know you are connecting with the Inner Guru, and what comes up is not your mind's creation or an assumption?

If your insight feels judgemental, punishing or blaming, and you have even a trace of self-doubt, it probably is not coming from your deepest source. The mind is still an active participant.

If there is a lot of noise around the answer, for example, uncomfortable body sensations, a feeling of uneasiness or further questions surfacing, it is not your Inner Guru speaking.

The wisdom of the Inner Guru is expansive, calming, loving and embracing. It will only ask you to take responsibility, not blaming you or anyone else. You will sense lightness and immense clarity and feel no need to validate it with anyone. It can only come from a space of stillness, calm and deep silence, when the mind is at rest.

THE PRACTICE

1. Setting up, Centering, Chanting

Set aside about an hour ideally after Moonrise.

(To know Moonrise timings, I use the My Moon Phase app)

If the weather permits, you can do this outdoors too under the Full Moon. Create a sacred space with flowers/lamps/incense or anything else that holds meaning for you. Keep your journal and pen ready. You might need some light for writing later.

Sit down, if possible gaze at the moon, close eyes. Hold the image of the Full Moon in your eyebrow centre, take a few breaths allowing the healing white light to flow through you.

If you love chanting, do the ‘Om Som Somaiyah Namah’ chant 14 times.

2. Movement to Release

Choose either an asana practice focused on release in the areas where you need it or any other slow movement practice that you resonate with that enables release. Make sure you breathe rhythmically through it.

3. Meditation

Choose a position to sit that you can stay in for a while. Use back support if needed.

Allow your eyes to close.

Scan your body and observe the breath.

Affirmation

Say this silently with feeling:

I am safe, secure and protected. I give in to this process and allow myself to feel whatever comes up.

Reflection

Reflect on your life in the recent past. Identify what you have been seeking answers to. Formulate this into a question, articulating as clearly as possible. If there isn't any situation that needs resolution, you could ask for insight about your own practices or any inner tendency that might be troubling you. Repeat the question to yourself a few times silently or aloud. Watch the feelings, emotions, sensations, thoughts if any that arise while you do this. And let the question just be.

Gratitude to Gurus and seeking their blessings

Keep your awareness in your heart space.

Remember all your Gurus.

Visualize one of them in your heart space. Visualize placing a flower at the foot of this Guru. Sense the energy of gratitude. Repeat with all the Gurus.

Feel humbled, grounded and uplifted by their presence.

Awakening your Inner Guru

Keep a gentle awareness in your eyebrow centre. Bring back the Full moon visualization.

Inhale and exhale 21 times with this soft focus on the Moon image.

Remember the question you formulated. Watch if anything emerges in response to the question. Watch without judgements or justifications. Watch with a sense of detachment.

Take your awareness to the top of the head. JUST BE in this space. Let go of all effort to observe or watch. Let go of all expectations for answers. Embrace absolute stillness and silence. Nothing else matters now. SIMPLY BE HERE. Stay here for a few breaths.

Now watch this state of silence lovingly and patiently. Simply notice whatever comes up without trying to interpret it. Notice your response to it. Just hold space for them - they could be insights or action points. If nothing comes up, it is fine too. Know that you have sought guidance and it will reach you in time. Trust your Inner Guru.

Bring awareness to your body and it's connection with the earth. Touch the ground with your palms. Offer gratitude to the earth and the moon for the guidance.

Journal

Write down whatever surfaced for you.

You could repeat the whole practice again the next day to go deeper and cement the process. Apply whatever insights came to you and keep reviewing your journey. Revisit this meditation if needed.

Wish you all a soulful practice!

Hugs, love & gratitude :)

Sheetal