Speech by His Holiness
Shri Swami Vishveshwarananda Saraswati,
President Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas,
on the Occasion of Gurupurnima, 22nd July 2013

Guru is a Manifestation of the Divine, appearing in a human form for the sake of the spiritual seekers, so that they can commune with the Lord through the Guru.
Therefore it is essential for anyone, who has chosen the path of a spiritual life, to be blessed by a Guru.

Even in the process of an ordinary life with all its challenges, a Teacher, a Master, is necessary.

Unless there is not the highest development of a human individual on the path to Enlightenment, direct communication with the Absolute is not possible.

A person of greatest purity will realize the importance of a real spiritual Guru and will follow His order without fail.

But man often makes the mistake of seeing the Guru as a person, as a normal human being.

The question may arise, where is the need of a Guru, if one has wonderful parents?

Your parents are of very high importance to guide you on the path of righteousness, to assist you in your learning process and in your all-round development, which is no doubt a precondition to be a perfect, established human individual. But can your parents give you Enlightenment? Can they liberate you from birth and death? No.

Could the great and mighty king and father of Buddha, who provided him with all the pomp and luxury, give him satisfaction? No. In spite of all the glitter and glamour he was not satisfied. Only when the spiritual Teacher blessed him with true knowledge, his thoughts and hunger for Enlightenment became so strong, that he entered into the most difficult hardships, which finally made him superconscious.

It is the Guru, who is the real remover of the darkness. It is the Guru, who takes pain on His shoulders, so that the disciple may overcome the difficulties on the journey of spiritual development. It is next to impossible to understand the immense importance of a Guru. No sacrifice ever is too much to be near to His holy feet.

The Guru does not need anything from you, except your dedication, devotion and unconditional faith in His guidance.

Serving the Guru is serving the Divinity.

Having such an attitude you will gain immense happiness, your life is going to change and you will become a magnet and a shining personality and even heavenly beings will like to be with you.

Gurudev Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswatiji's life of absolute Divine Perfection is an indescribable Wonder - it is an expression of the life of the highest Divinity on earth.

The omniscient and omnipresent Power of Gurudev Swami Omkarananda made the impossible possible - within the shortest time - so that numerous devotees could transform their lives into lives of peace, harmony and perfection.

Glory to this great Divinity Swami Omkarananda !