10 July 2025
Thursday
Guru Poornima is a name full of meaning. Poornima means the effulgent full moon. Guru means (Gu - ignorance; Ru - destroyer), he who removes the darkness and delusion from the heart and illumines it with the higher wisdom. The Moon and the mind are interrelated, as object and image. On this day, the Moon is full, fair and cool; its light is fresh, pleasant and peaceful. So the light of the mind too, must be pleasing and pure. This is the message of the day. In the firmament of your heart, the Moon is the mind. There are clouds there, thick and heavy – sensual desires and worldly activities, which mar your joy at the light of the Moon. Therefore, let the strong breeze of love scatter the clouds and confer on you the cool glory of moonlight. When devotion shines in full, the sky in the heart becomes a bowl of beauty and life is transformed into a charming avenue of Ananda. That beauty of heart, that Ananda (bliss) in life can be won through the mind, if the lesson of this day is remembered and realised!
From Swami’s discourse of 29 July 1969
Guru Poornima is a name full of meaning. Poornima means the effulgent full moon. Guru means (Gu - ignorance; Ru - destroyer), he who removes the darkness and delusion from the heart and illumines it with the higher wisdom. The Moon and the mind are interrelated, as object and image. On this day, the Moon is full, fair and cool; its light is fresh, pleasant and peaceful. So the light of the mind too, must be pleasing and pure. This is the message of the day. In the firmament of your heart, the Moon is the mind. There are clouds there, thick and heavy – sensual desires and worldly activities, which mar your joy at the light of the Moon. Therefore, let the strong breeze of love scatter the clouds and confer on you the cool glory of moonlight. When devotion shines in full, the sky in the heart becomes a bowl of beauty and life is transformed into a charming avenue of Ananda. That beauty of heart, that Ananda (bliss) in life can be won through the mind, if the lesson of this day is remembered and realised!