Offering Puja to Lord Nataraja

Gurupurnima is a celebration that is most dear to all those who love the Guru. It is a time when disciples honor their Guru by making offerings that express their gratitude for the Guru’s priceless gifts of shaktipat, divine initiation, and the life-transforming teachings that guide them on the journey to supreme liberation.

In honor of Gurupurnima 2020, Swami Vasudevananda, Swami Umeshananda, and I gathered in front of the magnificent murti of Lord Shiva Nataraja at the entrance to Anugraha in Shree Muktananda Ashram. We were there to make offerings in worship of Shri Guru.

On the Siddha Yoga path, we honor Lord Shiva as our own Self; as the essence of all the mantras imparted by the Siddha Yoga Gurus; and as the Adi Guru, the primordial Master, the bestower of divine grace. In his image as Nataraja, Shiva is the Lord of Dance. Through his cosmic dance, he creates, sustains, and dissolves the universe and dispels our limited understanding to reveal the Truth of divine union.

To Lord Shiva, the Adi Guru, we three Siddha Yoga Swamis came to give homage and make offerings at the sacred fire on behalf of all living beings and creation.

When we make offerings to Shri Guru, we offer the best of ourselves and the purest of ingredients. Swami Umeshananda began with offering ghee, clarified butter, by pouring it into the sacred fire. Next, Swami Vasudevananda poured sugar and black sesame seeds, and then I offered a coconut. With each offering, the flames danced upwards, sparks shimmering in the air. We felt that Lord Shiva was joyfully accepting our offerings.

We then stepped forward to offer prayers from the ancient scriptures of India. Just as we offered the purest of ingredients, we offered words that sanctify and uplift the world.

The first was from the Universal Prayer, which beseeches the happiness and well-being of all. You may recall—this prayer was invoked during Sweet Surprise on January 1, 2020.

In the second prayer, which was from the Shrimad Bhagavatam, a sacred text of teachings, stories, and hymns, we offered pranam, or reverential salutations, to everything in the universe.

And in the third prayer, which was from the Rig Veda, we asked the Lord to grant that our thoughts, words, and actions reflect the Truth.