Om. Guru is the stairway to the ultimate destination of humanity. A patron chosen by God to guide the people in correct direction.

We as humans are full of ideas, thoughts, aspirations, desires, thirst & so on. But deep down we are directionless. All these worldly desires keep us away from what actually we are here for, i.e to do good & be good, to help ever hurt never. Guru is like a ray of light which enlightens the dark room of our hearts.

I would like to share one incident. Once we were on our yatra to Shrikhand Mahadev situated in Himalayan range. That was our third day on that pilgrimage. It was so tough that along with my body, my heart was also tired. I was not able to motivate myself to take even a single step forward. We were at an altitude of 19,000 ft above sea level. Ahead, was a huge glacier which was the toughest point in that whole yatra. It was horrifyingly sloppy. I gave up there & stood still.

My guru, Sri Shivananda came & patted on my back & asked me to continue, I said its impossible for me to even put a step forward. He then grabbed my hand & took me along with him. Honestly, I couldn’t realize that in the blink of an eye we crossed that glacier. How it happened I still don’t know.

After we came down he said to me :- “I’ll always be with you in all difficulties. Difficulties are nothing when you feel my presence in them. Whatever you’ve been through from the top of that glacier till down here is glimpse of your life. At times it’ll be smooth, at times it’ll be tough, but I am always there with you. Don’t think this life as yours. Surrender to the “Ultimate Guru”. You’ll realize his presence everywhere, in every breath you take & even beneath the breath you’ll feel him. BLESS YOU.

Such are the blessings of my guru. He is there for everyone who seeks refuge with him.

Om. This is an experience shared by Roopak Kalyani who is one of the devotees of Sri Shivanandaji.