“Do we have to give a gift to our gurus on Guru Purnima?” Ambika asked me, curious about the guru parampara.
“Some people do,” I said. “But it’s not mandatory.”
Is it possible to thank a guru for all they’ve done? As students what can we do for our gurus? What can we give our guru as a guru purnima offering?
After spending more than a decade within the guru parampara I realise now that the question isn’t what to give our gurus, the question is how do we honor our gurus?
Perhaps by living our lives in service to the words, the ideas, the movement and the philosophies they have taught us so that they live on in our bodies, minds and consciousness, and the guru parampara remains an unbroken chain.
A Guru Purnima Offering
I’ve recently started attending Gulnaz Dashti‘s PD (Personal Development) classes. These are sessions for a handful of her students who she is training under her hawk-like gaze. Every week we gather together, and immerse ourselves in her instructions and guidance.
For our guru purnima yoga class Gulnaz designed structured a class around the ardha chandrasana. We would be doing it a total of 51 times as an offering to our guru. She explained the importance of the number and also the importance of honoring the guru. We practiced the half moon pose against the wall, then in the middle of the room, with a block, then with no props. As the class got progressively difficult Gulnaz asked us to observe our body and our minds. She often guided our awareness to a particular aspect of the asana and asked us to contemplate on what we were doing – were we doing the asanas or was the asana doing us?

The different stages of Ardha Chandrasana.
My Own Tribute
This class inspired me to plan my own tribute for Guru Purnima. I wanted the class to speak to all levels and kinds of students. I wanted the class to be memorable, and above all I wanted students to experience the kind of connection I often do when I’m practicing with my teachers. I decided to name the class ’51 Minutes of Contemplation’. I curated a yoga sequence where each asana was held for at least 5 minutes, giving students a chance to observe their minds and bodies in the asanas. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate sessions that create space for self-reflection. I put my learnings and my teachings into the class – I was teaching not only as a teacher but also as a tribute to my gurus.
Remembering the Source
Recently a student asked me how a teacher can ensure that the ego doesn’t get in the way of their teaching. We had just finished discussing the importance of the guru parampara. In the Vedantic tradition, a teacher doesn’t teach what they want to, instead they teach what they have been taught. This ensures that the message of the guru is passed on clearly and completely.
The student then told me about her interest in the philosophy of Jiddu Krishnamurthy and said that although she was fascinated by his ideas, when she found out that he had broken away from his master, she lost faith in him. To her it was important to give credit and pay homage to the master, without whom the teaching wouldn’t be reaching us.
I find many students don’t value the source of the teachings. They ask ‘What am I getting from this?’ rather than how can I honor these teachings and those who it comes from?’
Guru Purnima is a chance to step our of our egos and celebrate the glory of the beautiful guru-shishya parampara.
I find that my thoughts and feelings towards Guru Purnima changing with every year and a few years ago I wrote this blog about Vedanta and the atma katha – the story/journey of our innermost self.