A Commentary by Ami Bansal

The phrase for today, July 29, 2026, from “Veneration of Shri Guru” is Shri Guru upadesha—“The guidance of Shri Guru.” What a perfect phrase to enthrone in our awareness on the sacred day of Gurupurnima! 

The Sanskrit word upadesha consists of two parts. First is the prefix upa, which indicates moving toward or being close to someone or something. The word desha is derived from the root dish, which means “point out,” “direct,” or “show.” The combined word upadesha signifies that which directs or guides one toward something. Hence, upadesha is translated as “guidance,” “teaching,” “instruction,” “direction,” or “advice.”

The Indian scriptures define upadesha specifically as the Guru’s guidance. This is guidance that—when understood by the student, when assimilated and actively applied by them—leads the student to God, to the knowledge of the Self.

Some of the most classic upadeshas in the Indian scriptural tradition can be found in the Upanishads. Among them are the mahavakyas, for example—the “great statements” like tattvamasi, “Thou art that.” Literally, the word upanishad means “to sit down near.” Pairing the words upanishad and upadesha brings to mind a beautiful image.

Sitting devotedly near a Self-realized Guru, the student receives upadesha—the direction and guidance that lead them to the knowledge of the Self. In the Upanishadic days, only those students who genuinely longed for the Guru’s direction and wanted to attain the knowledge of the Self received the Guru’s upadesha. Thus, it is important to understand that upadesha inherently requires active engagement on the part of the student. For the Guru’s guidance to take root—for it to actually lead the student to the goal—the student must have a fervent desire to study and learn. The student must also have a profound yearning to abide by the Guru’s guidance. They must have mumukshutva—an irrepressible, resolute longing to know God, to attain liberation.

Upadesha thrives on proximity. A student therefore experiences the true power of the Guru’s upadesha when they draw close to the Guru. You may ask what it means to “draw close to the Guru.” What are the ways that a student can do this? Truth be told, there are many ways—and they include, for example, cultivating deep reverence and devotion for the Guru, longing to serve the Guru, listening attentively to the Guru’s teachings, and prioritizing time to study and practice.

In ancient times, the students had to be in physical proximity to the Guru to receive Shri Guru’s upadesha. These days, on the Siddha Yoga path, technology allows us to receive our Shri Guru’s guidance wherever we are. We are not limited by our physical location. When we click open the Siddha Yoga path website, we can envision ourselves sitting right at the lotus feet of Shri Guru, ready to receive the Guru’s teachings. And once we receive these teachings, we continue holding them in our awareness and make them manifest in our lives through our ongoing study, contemplation, and implementation.

Another meaning of upadesha that we find in the Indian scriptures is “initiation.” From this we can understand that while words are often the vehicle for Shri Guru’s upadesha, its power transcends those words. The upadesha is a direct transmission of the Guru’s shakti, the Guru’s transformative energy, to the student. If the student chooses to take the guidance to heart, if they make the sustained effort to study and apply it in their lives, this mystical wisdom gradually frees them from all limitations—that is to say, from anything that makes them feel small, such as self-doubt, a sense of unworthiness, and fear. Potent with grace, the Guru’s upadesha strikes directly at the root of all misconceptions and false identifications.

Ignorance of one’s own true nature as the Self stems from a conceptual error that has become ingrained over the course of lifetimes. Mundane learning or action alone cannot destroy it. This is why the Guru’s upadesha is invaluable, and why it is essential for the student to recognize and embrace its significance.

It is always beneficial for a student to reflect on how they are receiving the Guru’s upadesha. The student can ask themselves: “Am I genuinely accepting what the Guru says as relevant to me and my life? Am I understanding what the Guru is teaching me? Am I hearing the totality of what the Guru is saying? Or am I picking and choosing what resonates with me in a particular moment? Am I focusing only on the parts that I find easy to implement, or that I feel I ‘need’ at a given time?”

As students on the Siddha Yoga path, we must ask ourselves questions like this every so often, and we must be honest with ourselves about the answers. We must take full responsibility for our sadhana. When we place our trust in the Guru’s upadesha and diligently work with it, we are impelled toward a profound inner inquiry. And as we stay with this inquiry each day, we begin to experience a gradual transformation within ourselves.

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad describes Brahman—the Absolute, the Self of all—as neti, neti, or “Not this, not this.”¹ The point is, the Self cannot be defined by the outer identifications we might associate with it—and the experience of the Self therefore has no parallel. Thus, with the Guru’s upadesha as our guide in sadhana, we eventually shed the layers of who and what we are not, allowing our true nature to shine forth.

Gurumayi’s upadesha comes to us in multiple ways. Her guidance lives in her spoken and written teachings, in her silence, and even in her seemingly casual conversations and gestures. Our experiences of Gurumayi in meditation, in dreams, and in nature can also contain her upadesha. As students of Gurumayi, it is our sacred responsibility to perceive the Guru’s upadesha in any and all ways she communicates with us, and to be willing and ready to study it, to work with it.

Years ago, in meditation, I saw myself offering guruseva in Gurudev Siddha Peeth. Gurumayi walked into the room I was in, and I stood up out of respect. A beam of golden light enveloped her. And then she spoke to me about the nature of Guru’s guidance. 

Gurumayi said, “The Guru’s guidance arises from the light of God. When someone truly takes that guidance into their being, it once again turns into the light of God. In this way, the Guru’s guidance gives a person the experience of divine light.”