Significance of Shodashopachara Guru Pooja
Last updated on March 11th, 2024 at 03:39 pm
Pooja, derived from the root word ‘puj’ meaning worship and honor, is a practice designed to establish a connection with one’s true self. It’s more than just a way to express love, gratitude and devotion to a chosen form of the Divine, whether it’s a deity or a person considered respectable in one’s life.
According to Saint Kabir, a Guru should be worshipped foremost, as he guides us to experience divinity. He says that, if faced with the Almighty God and his Guru at the same time, he would worship his Guru first because the Guru introduced him to God.
Such is the importance of a Guru, and Guru Pooja is a way to thank the Guru. This tradition holds great importance in Indian culture, but its essence extends beyond borders and religions, encompassing revered masters from various cultures.
What is Guru Pooja?
Guru pooja, as the term implies, is a ritual in which a pooja is performed for the Guru, as a way to express gratitude towards them and pay respect to their greatness. It is a science of using chants and offerings to manifest a powerful experience in your life.
Mystic Takeaway
Beyond a religious ritual, Guru Pooja utilizes emotion as a tool, involving a reorientation of energies to make you receptive to the transformative dimension known as Grace. What does Sadhguru say about the significance of Guru Pooja practice? Let’s find out.
Guru Pooja is a way of making your system become an invitation to the divine – Sadhguru
According to Sadhguru, Guru pooja is a way of creating a sacred energy geometry that will attract certain forces. He says that Guru pooja should be performed in such a way that irrespective of where the Guru is, he should feel compelled to come to his disciple, and this is possible only if the disciple makes himself choiceless. Sadhguru says that not just guru pooja but all rituals should ideally be like that. Their aim should be to make yourself choiceless so that the divine has no choice but to come to you.
Guru Pooja is a device to invite a dimension that dispels your darkness – Sadhguru
What is a Guru? The word literally means – Gu means darkness, ru means dispeller. One who dispels your darkness is a Guru. So, guru pooja is a tool that is employed to access a dimension into your life that dispels darkness, a dimension that always exists but becomes more accessible through this practice.
Guru Pooja isn’t a religious ritual – it’s a way to use your emotions such that you shift your energies for a better quality of life (with regular practice).
The Process
During Guru Pooja, you offer reverence to a lamp, that symbolizes the great masters from any culture or religion. In Guru Pooja, certain chants and offerings are used to bring about a powerful experience. It is known as ShOdashOpachAra, defined as the 16 ways of welcoming a guru. Guru Pooja helps align your entire system to express an invitation to the divine. It’s about transforming your whole body into an energetic invitation.
Historic Findings
Guru Pooja is the means to honor the spiritual masters who have helped humanity gain the knowledge of self. In the yogic culture, unique 16-cornered stones called Guru Pooja Peetas are crafted for this purpose. Remarkably, a 3700-year-old Guru Pooja stone, something that’s exclusive to yogic culture, exists in Baalbek, Lebanon. This suggests a significant historical connection, both commercial and spiritual, between these two lands.
Editor’s note
Expressing gratitude to your spiritual mentors through Guru Pooja is a consistently enriching experience. This practice actively generates dynamic energy, fostering a vibrant atmosphere within and around, making it a ritual worth revisiting.
In the beginning, you grasp the words and method. As you deeply engage with the practice, it transforms into a potent tool for bringing positivity into your home and self. This practice allows you to manifest a powerful and extraordinary presence within yourself and in the spaces you inhabit.
P.S. Guru Pooja Training is a 3-day residential program at the Isha Yoga Center, with completion of the Inner Engineering Program (including the Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya) as a prerequisite.
The link to register for training – Guru Pooja