Written by Gurudev Shri Amritji
Guru Purnima is a sacred day in the yogic tradition, observed on the full moon of the lunar month of Ashadha (June–July). It has been celebrated for thousands of years as a time to honor the guru—the spiritual teacher and inner guide who leads us from darkness to light, from ignorance to direct experience of truth.
In ancient India, disciples would gather to offer gratitude and renew their commitment to the path of awakening. The word guru means “dispeller of darkness,” and purnima refers to the full moon, symbolizing fullness, illumination, and the complete flowering of consciousness.
This auspicious full moon is believed to amplify spiritual energy and receptivity, making it a potent time for reflection, devotion, and transmission. Whether through an outer teacher or the Sadguru within, Guru Purnima is a time to recognize the Presence that guides us beyond the mind and back to the truth of who we are.
What does it truly mean to trust a guru?
If you trust only their outer personality, you’re engaging from the surface—through the thinking mind. But when you begin to trust the transmission of their teachings and feel their impact beyond the mind—through your energetic body—you are entering a deeper dimension. That is true trust.
You cannot connect to the guru through the analytical mind. The mind can only perceive the surface: the personality, the behavior, the appearance. But when you listen from your energetic center—your feeling body rather than your mental filters—you begin to receive the true teaching: the Presence behind the form.
This is why the scriptures emphasize receiving teachings from an authentic guru—one who transmits from direct, lived experience. Such a teacher does not speak merely in words or ideas. The guru is the living bridge between the thinking mind and the timeless Presence within. This energetic connection awakens you from the mechanical repetition of the mind into meditative awareness. It is not about belief—it is about energetic realization.
When you are present in this awakened state, you hear what is said as it is spoken. You see what is present as it is—now—not through your past, not through your story, not through conditioned perception. The guru does not give you something new. They remove what is false so that you can see what has always been here.
This awakening is what Christ pointed to when he said, “If you have eyes, see. If you have ears, hear.” He was not addressing the blind or deaf. He was speaking to those who live behind the veil of memory, filtering the present through a past-conditioned ego.
Once you’ve had even a glimpse of this awakening through the Presence of the guru, the real work begins: to remain alert, to return again and again to that state until it becomes the ground of your being. The Presence that you touch in the guru is not separate from you. It is the timeless Sadguru—the God within—alive as the “I AM” that you are, now.
The meditative practice of I AM Yoga supports this direct awakening. It frees you from dependency on ritual or belief and returns you to the living experience of Presence. It connects you directly to your energy body, which is the inner temple of the unchanging Self hidden behind the mask of the mind.
But the pull of past conditioning is strong. Cultural habits, personal trauma, emotional memory, and karmic momentum create patterns that are difficult to break. Even a powerful transmission can fade when the reactive patterns of the ego reclaim your attention. The inspiration is real—but the identity with the past is often stronger.
To live in a new way, you must begin to release your identification with the old. In the yogic tradition, this is known as surrender—not to someone outside you, but to the God already alive within you. You are not surrendering your freedom. You are surrendering the struggle. You are releasing the patterns that keep you from the freedom you already are.
True surrender frees trapped life-energy from memory stress and karmic blocks. That energy becomes available for Presence, devotion, practice, and deep rest in the Self. Slowly, what began as effort becomes natural. What began as practice becomes your way of life.
The purpose of the guru is not to become dependent on a form—but to awaken what is formless within you. The guru’s role is to mirror what you already are beyond your mind: the timeless Presence that cannot be taught but can be transmitted.
The ego is a masked god. God is the unmasked ego. When the mask drops, the Self shines forth.
On this Guru Purnima, remember: the Sadguru is not far from you. The same Presence that lives through the outer guru is alive within you now. You are not separate from the Source you seek.
