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Shri Anandi Ma gave the following talk at the 1995 Guru Purnima celebration, the first large event in the U.S. since Guruji’s Mahasamadhi in 1994.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the scriptures Lord Shiva has stated that He bows down to the faith of the disciple for the Guru. When that faith is complete in the disciple, it will bring all fruit. Even aspects such as wood, mud, and stone will bear fruit.

This is the very first Guru Purnima that we are together since Guruji’s Mahasamadhi. As we have lost Him physically, the pain of separation will always remain. We have all experienced that pain to some degree and we will continue to experience that endlessly. The only thing left for us to do henceforth is to have that aspect of ultimate faith and devotion.

Many of us have come to feel that by losing Him physically, we have lost everything in life; that there is really nothing more to do, nothing more to reach out for. All those emotions are true and spring from the depths of our hearts, yet true spirituality and the path of Kundalini Maha Yoga itself require that we transcend all of that. This was also Guruji’s command and request.

Guruji has just undergone a change, a transformation. He has left His limited physical body and has become limitless through the body of each and every disciple. He now resides in each and every heart, yours as well as mine, and through this body, the cradle of the five elements, He continues to function infinitely. This increases our responsibility even further. In order for Him to live within the space of our hearts with ease and comfort, we have to increase our level of purity, our level of the sattwa quality within us. Then He can continue to function through us.

In order for Him to live within the space of our hearts with ease and comfort, we have to increase our level of purity, our level of the sattwa quality within us. Then He can continue to function through us.

He always said and taught that if you want to meet God you have to come up to that level of reality. You have to become God, basically, to meet God and finally merge. The same aspect holds true with the Guru: if we want to be one with the Guru we can learn and practice to adopt the unique qualities, which He possessed. These are the ideal qualities of pure, unselfish, unconditional love; infinite compassion; and the attitude of forgiveness given freely and willingly. This is what we should constantly learn to bring into our lives. As we continue to practice that, through the Guru-tattwa, we can merge with Him in this very lifetime.

So today, and from this day henceforth, make a firm determination and infinite resolution that for your own evolution you won’t stop until you reach infinity. Don’t leave any stone unturned. That resolution should be so deep and so firm within you, that it is imprinted in the rocks on earth so that for ages and ages it can never be erased.

Guruji Himself, and great saints like Lord Buddha and others, possessed that determination of not settling for anything less than reaching the goal of realization, to never settle down until that is achieved.

The best thing to do is surrender to the Guru. Surrendering has been and always will be a difficult thing to do. But now that Guruji is gone physically, what more can we give besides our faith and love? At this point He doesn’t need his piece of bread or a piece of cloth upon His body. But always, throughout His life, He only asked for the love of disciples and nothing more. And for all of us who were blessed by having that close experience with Him, it spoke for itself that He never wanted anything from anyone except the love of the disciple.

He had disciples all over the world, from the royal families to the poorest people possible, yet He never expected or wanted anything. All He expected was for the student to practice and to reach the goal.

The profundity of His being was His simplicity. In spite of being at such a great level of evolution, just looking at Him externally never revealed the depth that He held within Himself. From the first day that He came out into the open to the last day of His life, He was always freely available to any person.

So again, from this point onward, there is not much we can offer except our own faith, our love, and our devotion. In return for that we will get much, much more. Although nothing should be expected on our part, as human nature goes, something will always be expected. One in a million will be at that level of giving everything and expecting nothing. But, in spite of that, He will and can surely raise each of you to a level similar to His; and if you show the openness and the worthiness as well, He will make you even greater than Himself.

The philosopher’s stone can convert objects but cannot make another object identical to itself, yet the Guru can. Most of all, to heal us from the ultimate disease, the ultimate illness of life and death and free us from that cycle so that we may merge back with God, is the greatest gift He can give.

Guruji always said He was out to search for His lost stars. When those lost stars come back and meet Him, the happiness, the twinkle in His eye will be infinite.

Guruji always said He was out to search for His lost stars. When those lost stars come back and meet Him, the happiness, the twinkle in His eye will be infinite. On all of our trips together, His joy was infinite whenever He met disciples.

As is said in the scriptures, it is difficult to meet a Guru. Even after meeting and having one, it is very difficult to receive teachings from them, and in spite of receiving the teachings, to practice them and attain the perfection and realize God is still more difficult. We are indeed very blessed in having met Guruji as a saint, and further to receive the priceless teachings from Him and still further the grace to practice them. The rest lies in our hands. Faith is the key word, the key process. If you have that, the ultimate reality, the ultimate truth will be realized.

At this point not much remains to be said except to seriously take in the teachings Guruji gave and practice them with faith, love and devotion. Most of all, if you can, just surrender. If you raise your hands up and become child-like, He will lift you up without fail.

Ramakrishna was a very great saint but a very simple person. His glory was brought out into the world by His student, the spiritual giant, Vivekananda. Can we not do the same thing collectively that Vivekananda did by Himself? All of us, as disciples and students of Guruji, can we not bring out His name and glory for the welfare of others? With firm determination, we can do the same. It is our direct experience with Him as a living reality that we need to transmit for future generations. Kabirji writes that it is the Guru alone who can take you to the final state of liberation. Therefore, remember Him constantly through mind, body, and spirit, and He will easily take you across this ocean of life and death.

Anandi Ma would like to conclude with Her prayers to Lord Ram and Sita that you may all continue to have living experiences of Guruji. May He constantly and permanently abide in your hearts as a constant reality. May the lamp of faith burn brightly and permanently within you.