To some it appears that the disciple/devotee pays homage to a man or a woman, but in fact it is the Divine being of disciple/devotee honouring the Divine being of their Guru. Of course, as told to me, no one attends Guru Purnima, unless Guruji intends for you to be there.
On a Sunday in July of 2017, I watched as KrsnaKnows Ashram enjoyed the day of celebrating their Guru, KrsnaKnows, The love and worship of the Guru is ancient. The celebration impressed me so much, I looked up the date for Guru Purnima 2018 and created a reminder in my phone to be sure I would watch the next one.
At that time, I was an anonymous attendee of the recorded classes. As the year (2017) progressed I was blessed with the invitation by Krsna to attend the classes live and was further blessed to have one-on-one satsangs with Him. Krsna said the best company for a person seeking a spiritual life is the company of Holy people and he suggested that I speak with other students and find out about them.
In the later part of 2017, during a conversation with Shree Krsna, (Shree’s writings), she spoke with excitement of Guru Purnima. Krsna’s dear devotee further stated that another student, a young man in United States, would be attending and that perhaps I could travel to India with him. And so set in motion, my intention to attend the next Guru Purnima on July 27, 2018.
My hope to attend grew in the months that followed my conversation with Shree. On May 1, 2018, I emailed Shree that I would like to attend. On that date, I also contacted the fellow here in the States. On May 4, I asked Guruji if I may come visit Him to which he told me, “of course!” Now that His permission was granted, there were a few hurdles to pass.
Being married, I had to have agreement from my husband. I was both surprised and impressed by his willingness to not impede me, although he had great concerns about me traveling so far. The flight was expensive, but I had forgone attending any painting workshops this year, so financially it balanced out. When I spoke with the rest of the family, there was also some concern. Some of their concerns were mitigated by the idea that I would be traveling with a person quite familiar with the terrain.
No one minded too much, as I pursued my spiritual growth from home, but they were clearly uneasy about the whole notion of me actually meeting my spiritual family and Guru. Only one person extended their non-judgmental support. Because I was acting in Faith alone, some deem me either mentally ill or a gullible imbecile. Yet, despite their judgments, my spiritual journey moved forward. Their limited capacity to imagine the Love and Blessings of Krsna could not have stopped this progression.
The next action was to obtain my travel visa. This was not a great hurdle as it was made simple by the third party facilitator put in place by the government of India. I went to the government web site seeking a single entry visa, and was directed to the third party’s site whereby the only visa available was a 10 year multiple entry visa and it pleased me that there was now the possibility of more than one trip in my future. It took less than a week for the documents to be processed. Now with my visa in hand, it was time to book my flight.
After contacting the young man here in the states, we were not able to coordinate dates for traveling together. This trip, so important to me, would be a solo trip.
There was some trepidation on my part, I was now going alone to a country I knew nothing about. However, the idea that I would be in the presence of KrsnaKnows was everything to me and that propelled me ahead. Krsna knew that I would be coming alone and helped me every step of the way (there is much to say about the actual flights, which I may write in a future post).
Shree Krsna was the kind friend supporting me from across the miles. She reassured me of everything and advised me along the way. The care that she showed me in this process was only outdone by the care she gave me once I arrived.
There were many people at the ashram and much excitement led up to the celebration. The day came and my heart soared. My Divine KrsnaKnows was seated right there in front of me. Brightly colored flower garlands scented the air. Guruji was dressed in a light colored garment embellished with gold trim and a white flower garland with red roses was draped around his neck. He was Glorious! He shone as the embodiment of Truth, Consciousness and Bliss! Oh how pleased my heart was (and still is) to be before him, to at last be able to bow myself and touch His Lotus Feet. Guru is God! He found me and has blessed me!.
These mere words written here, cannot begin to express the connection that exists for me with my Krsna, He is everything to me.
