Revered Sri Nanna Garu on Guru Poornima, July 18^th, 2008, gave his blessings to all assembled at the Sri Satya Sai Nigamagamam in Hyderabad.

Sri Nanna Garu detailing on the greatness of the guru, extolled all our saints who have handed generations down the values coded in our ancient texts.

Sri Nanna Garu said Vedas are filled with Knowledge. They contain right from maths, physics, biology, geography to vaasthu shastra. It was the effort of Sage Vyasa that they have been simplified into four Vedas. As such, Vyasa came to be known as Veda Vyasa. After Veda Vyasa, Adi Shankara, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Ramana Bhagawan are few other gurus who have further simplified the Vedas to help common man understand them easily.

Vedas is a way of life. They have to be lived to understand them. And our Archaryas did the same. Our Archaryas were great scholars. They were not only adept in the knowledge of the atma (soul), but were great scholars in each and every branch. Adi Shankara simplified Bhagawad Gita and Vishnu Sahasram from the great epic, Mahabharata. To know better about our culture, a good knowledge of Bhagawad Gita, Vishnu Sahasram and Brahma Sutras are required.

Ramakrishsna Paramahamsa was illiterate. His disciple Mahendranath said "we have never seen him read. But he has just given us his experience."

Swami Vivekananda said "my guru is like a mad man. But he is not a bad man. He has lived and is giving out his experience."

Ramana Maharishi said "Gurus have given nothing new. But they have made learning of Upanishads easy, through short sentences easy for common people to understand. If not for them, we would require the knowledge of Sanskrit to understand them."

Today is Guru Poornima. A Guru is the only person who can remove our weakness slowly one by one. He will burn them and ensure that they do not stick back to us again. He repeats this process until we are purified 100%. Guru will first make sure that you develop devotion towards him. Slowly he will work on you to help you see inwards (within yourself). Then the inside guru will help you realize the ultimate truth.

We develop our present life traits depending on the actions committed in our previous births. A person will seek desires from God depending on his prarabdham (previous actions). All human beings will not have the same desire. A few will crave power, position, money…. Ishwara knows all this and can differentiate selfless love from selfish love.

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Therefore, our love towards god should be selfless. We should refrain from seeking favors from God. Our love towards Him should be unconditional.

Remember, as long as "I" is there, unhappiness will be there. To know this "I" is our goal, and that is gnanam (self realization). This can be achieved only through Ishwara Sankalpa. Until we realize this simple truth we have to under go the rotation of births and deaths. Remember, unhappiness will always follow the body like a shadow.

Our guru will test us in many ways. This act of his is to make us realize our mistakes. Through these tests, he is trying to lead you to the true state, which is well within us.

Guru is not anyone but God himself to whom you have been worshipping. God will not reveal himself to us just because we think that we are good. He has to recognize us through his anugraha (benovolence). If we take one sincere step towards him, he will take nine steps towards us.

Therefore, to help us in our path, the Guru will assume the form of a body. He will help us climb the difficult path step by step. He will give us strength to bear all calamities. However, we fail to recognize the gifts showered on us by the Guru. This is partly due to our ignorance, ego, selfishness, family members and traits that we have acquired from our actions in the previous. Never be selfish. Selfishness prevents us from attaining gnanam. It causes unhappiness. But the major obstacle "I" lies well within us. It is the root cause for all our unhappiness. As long as there is attachment towards "I", there is unhappiness. It is only through Ishwara Sankalpa that one can know what this "I" means. The moment this is found out then there is unlimited happiness. Until we get our true state we will have to go through the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, no one is stopping us from getting gnanam. It is we ourselves who are doing it.

Serving the Guru (guru seva) is a passport to gnanam. Our communication with the Guru should be filled with reverence, respect, sincerity and gratitude. We should never try to humiliate our Guru. Our humility and sincerity towards our Guru should endear Him to shower on us His grace. It is only through His grace that we succeed in our goals. Never commit the mistake of thinking that the grace showered on you is due your cleverness. It is God who decides which one of us ere eligible for his grace.

Sometimes, both our Sankalpa and Ishwara Sankalpa match and a given is work is accomplished without much pain. Under the guise of ignorance, we take great pride in thinking that the work was done because of our cleverness. We fail to recognize that God has helped us in our endeavor. Only if God thinks that we deserve to get what we aspire for, then only we can achieve what we desire. We cannot achieve our aspirations without His help. Remember, we are mere puppets in the hands of God. He has given us life. It is He who decides what we are due to receive in this life. We have to bear everything, good and bad, until the time comes for us to depart this world.

We think of achieving many goals in our life. But ultimately it is the decision of God to help us achieve our goals (material and spiritual).It is He who decides what work has to be accomplished in this birth through this body. We do not know when death comes. It has no holiday. It can come on a Sunday also. Do not waste time, wake up and realize this.

Worldly wise, mother’s love is unmatched. Her love for her child is limitless. She is revered first, even before the guru. (Matru devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Acharya devo bhava). But guru’s love for his shishya does not end in this life, it is eternal.

A guru goes around the shishya (disciple) life after life to give atma buddhi (self realization). He is after the shishya like a hunter. Guru is Atma, Brahman and Chaitanya. He never leaves the shishya alone until he has achieved the stage of his Guru.

As the Guru works silently, we should also work silently. Never aspire for recognition, as it can lead to unhappiness.

A guru will never yearn for recognition. When his eyes are closed, he sees within. When his eyes are open, he tries to shows us that inside, the actual truth "who am I?" Remove this "I" that is Brahma Vidya.

Guru will not crave for recognition as he has realized the supreme truth.

Our thought, behavior and speech should be impersonal. Do not allow "I" to interfere with the three. Body and I are separate. A guru will help you realize this. It is the attachment that brings us everything. Attachment is the greatest sin. Fear of Death comes to us due to attachment.

Worldly happiness at the time of death will not lead us anywhere. We have attachment towards the body. What is required is that we should be attached to the spirit, as this will ultimately lead us to the unlimited happiness that has no death or birth.

Spirituality gives control to the mind. Our gunas (senses) are responsible for our thoughts and actions. Rajo guna and Tamo guna make people talk more than their actions. But Satwika guna helps a person not to over react, and their actions speak for them. They do not crave for recognition. Therefore, work silently.

A guru will talk, laugh and cry along with you, externally. But internally we are miles apart. A guru will in course of time help you realize the happiness within us. This happiness has no death, and hence no rebirths.

Work for the welfare of others. Do not even think that you have helped others but are getting nothing in return. Remember, even a small pin will not accompany you after death. But these noble actions of helping others will always be with you, as god has saved these in your bank account with him. He will give you back with interest after death.

Work for the society. One work that is noticeable in West Godavari district is an immense effort to make burial grounds equipped with good facilities. Burial grounds store all bodies that the mother’s womb has created. They should be given respect.

Try to give back something good to the society. Live in the present. The person who lives in the present attains Moksha (realization). So, forget the past and the future. My blessings are always with you. On this auspicious day I bless you all. - SRI NANNA GARU