श्रीगुरु-उपासना
Veneration of Shri Guru

Recently, I saw through my window a large black-and-yellow-striped butterfly eagerly approach a single lavender flower over and over, flying away and coming back many times, always hoping for that nectar it knew was hidden in this offering from nature. I was amazed at its persistence. Eventually sated, it left.

In contemplating this experience of the butterfly, I realized I was being told something about meditation and the fruit of meditation: “Find a little nectar, then come back for more—or else find no nectar, but then come back and check again.”

For me “meditation on Shri Guru” is like that: if I am patient, it is always fruitful in some way, including the times it inspires me to keep coming back and searching for a thrum from the heart, silence from a quiet mind, or the richness of a particular vision. I have found that “meditation on Shri Guru” always produces the nectar I need, just when I need it.

California, United States

As I listened to the gentle voice of Ami and contemplated shri guru dhyana, my eyes began to close. Deep within an effulgence of blue light, I saw Bade Baba with a soft smiling face and intense, piercing eyes looking into my eyes. I tried to absorb the shakti of Bade Baba, and the form changed into that of Baba. The intense, piercing eyes were the same. Then this form changed into that of Shri Gurumayi with same intense, piercing eyes.

I kept looking into the Guru’s eyes, and then there was only an intense, scintillating blue light in which a tiny Blue Pearl was dancing. I kept looking at the Blue Pearl, and ultimately it burst into innumerable Blue Pearls.

When I came out of this state, it dawned on me that the entire cosmos and everything in it is nothing but a form of energy—of shakti—and that’s how everything comes to be. I think this is the real understanding of shri guru dhyana.

Lucknow, India

Today my “meditation on Shri Guru” began by visualizing the outer form of Shri Gurumayi. This image quickly transformed into that of Bade Baba, of trees, of animals, of the earth, of the stars. Then I experienced that I was traveling across the universe. My consciousness reached an infinite space that I cannot describe, so beautiful and fulfilling was the feeling of the vastness.

I experienced that Shri Guru became formless, and that formlessness had the form of God’s infinity.

Konolfingen, Switzerland

I remember that early in my sadhana, even before I had learned the term shri guru dhyana, I would meditate on Shri Guru. At that time, I often found myself slipping naturally into meditation, filled with love and devotion for the Guru. Then, I read Baba’s teachings about meditation on Shri Guru in his autobiography, Play of Consciousness. This deepened my meditation practice and gave me clear tools to use. I discovered that by meditating on Shri Guru, I can absorb and internalize the qualities, wisdom, and presence of Shri Guru.

Through meditating on Gurumayi, I have come to understand that she is a living embodiment of the teachings, a guide who has walked the path herself and can lead me toward Self-realization.

Thane, India

When I received “Meditation on Shri Guru,” I attempted to meditate on the name of Shri Gurumayi. Initially, I found concentration difficult, as I was on a loud train with fellow passengers moving about and talking all around me.

After a short time, however, I decided to try to meditate on the name of Shri Gurumayi while incorporating these ambient sounds. As I did so, I began to hear my Guru’s happiness in the noises that other people were making and to feel my Guru’s exultant joy in the movement of the train through the landscape. The deep sounds of the train rolling over the tracks and of the earth reverberating beneath me reminded me of my Guru’s invincible steadiness.

I recognized that for Shri Guru, there are no barriers to the experience of grace. This felt like an invitation for me to practice and experience that everything can be a conduit for the experience of bliss.

Canberra, Australia

“Meditation on Shri Guru” is, for me, a way that I can identify with my own Self, without interference from my thoughts, doubts, and limiting concepts. When I began practicing meditation on Shri Guru, I found it easier to adopt the perspective of the Witness, even in moments of great joy, pain, or despair. So, I am always trying to invite my mind to participate in this sacred practice, to which it has already started to become accustomed, and which still excites me as much as the day I received shaktipat-diksha.

Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, Argentina

“Meditation on Shri Guru” is such a powerful concept. The moment I think of it, I envision Baba ji with his eyes closed, gazing inward, his face so peaceful that it quiets everything around me.

I still remember the first time I thought to meditate on Shri Guru. I wondered if I was worthy enough to even attempt it. But then, when I read Play of Consciousness, Baba Muktananda’s spiritual autobiography, I learned about how Baba ji used to meditate on his Guru, Bhagavan Nityananda, and the importance of this practice.

Now, when I sit for meditation and focus on Shri Guru, I’m taken to a deep space within, which is lit by a soft blue light. That space holds a deeply calming energy. There I forget who I am and have no sense of a separate identity. Instead, there is only bliss.

Pune, India