It’s a humid summer, full moon evening of the 16th of July, and the day we celebrated Guru Purnima at The Happiness Center, Sharjah.
I remember to this day, when the Art of Living (AOL) center was renamed as ‘The Happiness Center’, at the advice of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji, whose enchanted presence at the said Center had sent waves of Happiness among His admiring devotees.
And rightly so, the center has brought back the happiness to the lives of many, who recognized the importance of peace within themselves.
Generally, we consider Peace as a precious possession, and that, which is not easily obtained. What not would we try to get a peace of mind, maybe, for even a moment?
At The Happiness Center, people are gifted with the knowledge that peace is not earned, but, it is omnipresent within oneself, as love and joy. Here, we are educated that the Peace is by ‘nature’ and ‘virtue’, and which is innate to everyone. We just have to discover this truth, and then we would notice, it will bloom within us like a lotus.
The Happiness Center’s across the world portrays the simple principle of bringing a smile on everyone’s face, thereby, rightfully, their motto of creating a stress-free and a violent free society.
So, why do we celebrate Guru Purnima?
Guru Purnima is an ancient Hindu tradition, celebrated across the globe, on the full moon day of the months of Ashadha. It is a sacred tradition to revere a master, who has shared His wisdom to the world, and thereby, considered the Enlightened. Therefore, it is a duty of every disciple to honor his master with gratitude on this festival.
On the occasion, me and my family visited The Happiness Center. The hall was very well-lit and equally, well decorated. The flooring was covered with sheets of spotless white clothing that matched the color of the wall and the ceiling. The entire hall was an ocean of white, as if a symbol of purity. The fact that the night was a full moon, it seemed that the organizers had a theme of a snow-white room bathed in full moon.
At the center of the hall was Gurudev’s huge photo, majestically placed on a sofa, where Gurudev was seated during His visit to the center.
The photo was beautifully ornamented with jasmine and other flowers. Placed atop the photo was a beautiful lotus, which had tiny droplets of water on its petals, and which reminded of props that would always excite a professional photographer. However, the lotus on top was all about the inner joy that I had earlier mentioned.
The celebration began with the entire congregation of devotees singing Satsang or divine songs. The organizers had invited a tabla and a harmonium player, to add music to the songs.
It is always a pleasure to watch the musicians play their music in a concert. Especially, I have noticed something peculiar with these tabla players. To state an example, the present tabla player was obviously hearing the Satsang songs for the first time. How well he synchronized his hands on the tabla, in cohesion with the songs being sung, was a treat and a mystery, and it simply dispatched his skills.
The music and the Satsang was enchanting, thus, mesmerizing the audience who shared the same feeling of peace and happiness. Deep inside them, everyone had bloomed like the lotus and shown their gratitude to the Master, thereby, highlighting the importance of Guru Purnima.
In between, the Guru Pooja pundits chanted the sacred Guru Pooja mantra and blessed everyone.
This was followed by a guided meditation by Gurudev. It is said that, the grace is doubled by meditating on a full moon night, which incidentally, promised an eclipse.
The mediation was a guided tour of meditating in full moon. We all are aware that, meditation is the art of doing nothing. It is an art that connects you to your inner self, just by itself. We could all feel that was happening, and the devotees achieved bliss.
The function culminated with a grand dinner.
As we walked out of the hall towards the full moon outside, we could feel a certain tranquility filling inside and a transformation that is so home to a Happiness Center.
What a night to remember.
Jai Gurudev!
The Log 