The Story of Karthikeya (as told by Sri Sri)
"Karthikeya was the son of Shiva, the Lord of the Universe. When he reached the school going age, Shiva sent him to Brahma (the Lord-Creator of the Universe). Brahma started teaching him... "Say A for apple, B for ball...." :D But Karthikeya already knew all this. He said "Teach me the highest knowledge first!" Brahma was alarmed! He said, "What do you want to know my son?" Karthikeya said "Tell me the meaning of 'Om'!" Now Brahma was baffled. He said, "I don't know the meaning of 'Om'!" But Karthikeya kept insisting... Brahma was finally fed up. He took Karthikeya to Shiva and said "I cannot teach your son. When I tell him one thing, he says the exact opposite. I don't have the answers to his questions. He knows more than anyone else!" So Shiva asked his son, "What happened?" Karthikeya said, "I want to know the meaning of 'Om'." Now Shiva too did not know the meaning of 'Om'! So he said to Karthikeya, "I don't know the meaning of 'Om'. If you know the meaning, you tell us." Karthikeya said, "Yes, I know the meaning." The Shiva said, "Please tell me!" But Karthikeya said, "I cannot give you this knowledge just like that. You have to first give me the seat of the Guru."
The seat given to the Guru (the giver of knowledge) is the highest seat. A Guru always sits on a higher platform because it is only when the Guru is given the true heart-felt respect that the knowledge can flow from Him.
The story continued...
"With this demand of Karthikeya, all the Gods were in a fix! How can they give Karthikeya the highest seat? There is nothing in this Universe that is higher than Shiva! So Shiva lifted Karthikeya up and placed him on his own shoulder! Thereby giving him the highest seat :) From this seat, Karthikeya whispered the highest knowledge into the ears of Shiva."
The symbolism here (in Sri Sri's words) is: "The Guru Principle is like a child. It is very delicate, innocent, intelligent. Humble yet dignified. Royal, yet humble. The Guru tatva had to be lifted up by Shiva in order for him to receive the knowledge. Like water is there in a well, but in order to use it, we need to first lift it up! The Guru principle needs to be lifted up - honouring the Guru principle (Guru tatva) is so essential in life! When you honour it, you are honouring the Self. Guru is not the body, it is the energy that is all permeating. So is the Self. The Guru and the Self are not different!
When Karthikeya was given this seat, he whispered the meaning of Om into the ears of Lord Shiva. He said "'Om' means love. You are love. I am love. All that exists in this universe, is all love.
Love is the essence of life. It is so delicate. Love and faith should be handled with care. The Guru's body is made up of love and faith. That is the essence. Guru Poornima is the celebration when you recognize the importance of love and faith. And it must be handled with care.
There are 1000s of Gurus (teachers) everywhere. Make your life pure and sincere. You will have no dearth of anything."
To hear the story from Guruji himself, see the Youtube video here.
For more of Sri Sri's golden words on Guru Poornima, click here.
To watch the live webcast of today's Guru Poornima celebrations with Sri Sri, follow the recipe below:
Recipe to watch the Live Webcast of Guru Poornima with Sri Sri
Ingredients
A laptop or PC
Internet connection
A strong heart felt desire to watch the celebrations live
Method
Click on this LINK today at 16:00 hrs (German time) or 19:30 hrs (India time)
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