Lord Shiva: Sadhaken pradatavyam guru santosh kaarakam which means a seeker should make constant efforts towards pleasing and appeasing his own soul. The external Guru shows us the technique, the process of how to reach and realise the internal guru. Lord Shiva says, do things that please the soul.
Then the thick layers of negativity that cover our soul will peel off. Then we identify and drop all the negative qualities one by one. Our heart will become clean and clear. This Pure heart will now reflect the joy and bliss of the Soul within. Then Guru as our Soul, will be pleased.
Then what happens is ‘Guror aradhanam karyam’- we will then begin to worship the Guru as Brahman Himself. In the Guru Parampara tradition, the Guru is worshipped as the Supreme Reality. Everything comes from the Guru who is the Source and Creator of everything. As a mark of respect, reverence and gratitude to the Ever-flowing, Unconditional Love of the Guru, we make a token offering of all food grains , fruits and vegetables.
This offering is usually done during the Guru Poorima day which falls during the month of ashada. The Guru is offered a seat (Aasanam), a comfortable resting place (Shayanam), clothing (Vastram), ornaments (Bhushanam), a vehicle (Vahanam) symbolically to empower our entire system, which is nurtured and nourished by the Guru and praying to Prakruti — Mother nature to bless her creation with abundance.
Along with the above offerings, when we offer the Guru, a garland of flowers, it is like decorating our soul with fragrance, 36 divine principles of truth that ultimately leads us towards enlightenment or nirvana.
Lord Shiva further says Guru is the protector of the entire universe, therefore take refuge in the Guru. Till now, we have been carrying the heavy burden and a huge load of our karmas, our innate tendencies, negative mental attitudes of so many lifetimes. Lord Shiva says, offer all this at the lotus feet of the Guru, take refuge in the guru and allow the Guru to help you and guide you.
When we allow the Guru to reform and transform us, we should all along have complete faith, trust and belief in the Guru. The underlying truth is the constant remembrance that Guru knows everything about us, is all knowing, who knows our past, present and future. There is nothing that the Guru does not know.
The Guru is Brahman with form and attributes. We all come from the same source- The Guru is the display who shows us our lives on our personal desktops. All the desktops are connected by LAN network (local Area Network) by the Guru. The star under which we are born is the drive on which all our past is recorded. The Guru has to be given an Aasana inside our very own body. The mother who gave birth to us and the God who feeds us are precious and holy. They have to be given a seat and revered. That is why we should do shodashopachara pooja or 16 ritualistic ways of worship to Guru who is our presiding deity.
Extract from The Force of Nirvana by Shri Shri Nimishan-anda