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Personal practices · On your own · Every morning, on waking

Guru sakásha

Gurusakásha

“Gurusakásha means ‘near the Guru’, ‘under the Guru’s umbrella’, ‘under the Guru’s wings’, ‘under the Guru’s shelter’.”Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”

Watch how it is done
A woman sitting cross-legged on a wooden floor in soft morning light, eyes closed, a shawl around her shoulders

Why we do it

The aim of yoga is Supreme Consciousness

  1. 1

    The aim is Supreme Consciousness. The goal of yoga is far off, like a distant star system.

  2. 2

    The instrument to reach that goal is the mind. It is the subtlest part of us, so it is the only part fine enough to reach the aim.

  3. 3

    The method is meditation. Seeing a star takes a telescope pointed at it; reaching Supreme Consciousness takes the mind pointed at it. That is meditation.

  4. 4

    The preparation and care. A telescope has to be looked after, cleaned and set right to see the stars. The mind is the same. Every practice does this for the mind, directly or through the body, because the mind is connected with the body.

    See how it leads to the goal ↓

Reaching the goal through Guru sakásha

Guru sakásha brings us to the goal through the first moment of the day. The mind wakes out of sleep empty, and whatever it takes up first, it becomes; so before anything else it takes up the Guru, in the Guru cakra, the highest point. Remembered this way morning by morning, the Guru goes with the mind through the day and even into sleep, and in the Guru cakra its bondages are carried up to the Supreme, the source. That is the goal of yoga.

  1. 01

    A third of life asleep

    Sleep is needed to give the brain rest, yet so much of life passes in it.

    “If a man lives for sixty years, he spends twenty years out of these in sleep.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”
  2. 02

    Sleep is emptiness

    On waking, the mind comes out of a state without any idea, a kind of vacuum. Yet every propensity of the mind lives on some idea.

    “Each propensity in human beings thrives on a particular idea. If the propensity is to be kept alive, then it must take recourse to some particular idea. The condition of sleep is the absence of idea – emptiness.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”
  3. 03

    The first idea of the day

    So the first idea the mind takes after sleep matters: the mind becomes what it takes up. That is why, before any other work or thought, the Guru is remembered.

    “One of the psychic rules is that any object takes the form of its goal, i.e. it is transmuted into its object. So, the object of ideation for the microcosm is to be selected very carefully.”
    Bábá in Fiesch, “Microcosm and Its Object of Ideation”
  4. 04

    The highest point

    The Guru is remembered in the Guru cakra, the point at the top of the head that controls all the regulating points of the brain; from it human beings receive a thousand and one kinds of inspiration.

    “In this point is ensconced the Guru, Parama Guru, Parápara Guru, Parameśt́i Guru. It is the loftiest point for the purposes of meditation and contemplation.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”
  5. 05

    Through the whole day

    The Guru is the one who dispels darkness. Remembered at the start of the day, He lights every subtle and spiritual task that follows.

    “If this is done, they will meet with success or illumination in each and every subtle and spiritual task that they perform in the course of the whole day.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”
  6. 06

    Even in sleep

    When remembrance and meditation go on long enough, their rhythm carries on by itself, even in sleep: meditation goes on without one meditating.

    “A sádhaka with this capacity continues his or her dhyána and japa even in sleep.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”
  7. 07

    To the source

    In the Guru cakra the bondages of the mind are carried beyond the world, up to the Supreme, the source of all knowing. This is the goal.

    “In this Guru cakra, the aspirant meditates on the Guru – on that ennobling Entity – channelizing his or her mundane bondages into the non-mundane realm, and elevating his or her non-mundane psychic bondages to the realm of the supramental entity, the source of supra-cognitive power.”
    Yoga Psychology, “Under the Shelter of the Guru”

What it is

Gurusakásha means near the Guru, under the Guru’s shelter. In yoga the word has two meanings: meditation on the Guru in the Guru cakra, the highest cakra, and a particular remembrance of the Guru right after sleep. This page is about the second.

When to do it

Every morning, immediately after waking: on the same bed or seat one slept on, sitting in siddhásana or any convenient posture, before any other work or thought, even before the morning duties.

If it cannot always be done right after sleep, then early in the morning, once sleepiness is overcome.

After Guru sakásha, one who has received initiation repeats the vows taken at initiation.

How to do it

  1. 1

    In the morning, as soon as you wake, sit up at once, before getting out of bed.

  2. 2

    Sitting, picture the Guru at the Guru cakra, the crown of the head: in a snow-white lotus, the eyes and the hands of the Guru, the hands in varábhaya mudrá.

  3. 3

    Call the Guru by name, with a deep feeling of love.

  4. 4

    The detailed technique is given by an ácárya.

The text

Prátah shirasi shukle’bje dvinetraḿ dvibhujaḿ gurum; Varábhayakrtahastaḿ smarettaḿ námapúrvakam.

Translation

Early in the morning, in a snow-white lotus in the Guru cakra, I see the eyes and the hands of the Guru. He is making varábhaya mudrá, and I call Him by name with a deep feeling of love.

Translation as in the Ananda Marga pocket handbook (from the Russian edition)

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Stories

  • “Are they doing it?”

    After the DMC of May, 1990 Bábá gave a General Darshan in which He gave the practice of Gurusaka'sha. This was given to an audience of workers, márgiis and very new márgiis. Over the following days He was frequently asking, "Are the márgiis doing it? Are they practicing Gurusaka'sha?" Gurusaka'sha should be done on first waking, before any thoughts come into the mind. One should sit up on the bed and practice Guru Sakash for several minutes before getting up. Likewise at night, the last thing before going to sleep should be several minutes of Gurusaka'sha. Bábá has also instructed that Gurusaka'sha should be done before starting any action. This will give positive impetus to the action. …Read the story

    — Márgiis who were present, Calcutta, May 1990, “Offering the Last Garland — In Remembrance of Bábá 1921–1990”, “Gurusaka'sha”

What Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said

  • “For a unit mind the wisest course of action is to ideate on the Supreme Entity, for by doing this it will become increasingly elevated. The nature of mind is to become as it thinks.”
    Subháśita Saḿgraha 9, “Cognitive Faculty and the Supreme Desideratum”
  • “One who always takes the name of Parama Puruśa while eating and drinking, sitting and walking – before every action – is called “Bhusuku”.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 33, “Bhusuku and Brahmabháva”
  • ““Guru” means the entity that dispels all sorts of darkness from your spiritual and psychic bodies.”
    Ánanda Vacanámrtam 2, “Guru Krpáhi Kevalam”

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