HAPPINESS CONSCIOUSNESS
yoga guide
by Petro Ruh

Yesterday was Guru Purnima — Guru Full Moon. This usually July full moon is celebrated according to the many thousands years tradition by all more or less serious yogis expressing gratitude to their gurus. But I didn't particularly celebrate it yesterday, because I believe that I already express gratitude to my gurus every day with my life and with the fact that I receive new results from my practice every day, take a new amazing step in my enlightenment every day.

But yesterday, for the first time in my life, I found myself in Guru Purnima as a person who accepts gratitude. I got a call from a boy with whom I was in the Russian-Ukrainian war in the same reconnaissance platoon.

Then, in 2015-2016, he was a very young guy and differed from others in that, like me, didn't drink alcohol (and still doesn't drink), had a burning desire to improve (he spent every free minute on his self-dependent combat training) and an inquisitive mind. And he asked me to teach him yoga.

I gave him all the proper instructions. He also had the opportunity to see my example. And to give him a better understanding of the mechanisms of practice and the processes of transformation that he felt through it, I shared with him my poems on this topic, which I wrote right there.

So, yesterday he called and said, “Petro, today is Guru Purnima. And in my life I was lucky to meet a guru and learn yoga from him. So, my guru Petro, I want to express my deep gratitude to you today…”

His voice was very inspired, happy. So his practice gives good results. We talk, I ask about his cases. I am aware of his affairs, because he is in touch with me, so sometimes we communicate. And I know that everything is not very easy for him, because he fell in love with a very drug-addicted girl, he tries to help her get out of this addiction, but so far without significant results. And she regularly behaves inappropriately, like all addicts. So I ask, “How is your girlfriend?”

He answers in a calm, happy, inspired, confident voice, "As always, she does any old thing. This relationship with her is the perfect school for me, where I learn unconditional, selfless love. I hope that one day I'll be able to help her return to normal life. But even if I fail, these attempts of mine push me to enlightenment so rapidly that I'm incredibly happy and inspired even just by it alone.

My school. My disciple. Rapidly advancing to enlightenment. At one time, my life as a disciple had a perfect success: I got all the results I expected from my practice. And now I feel that my life as a teacher has also worked out perfectly. And my heart is full of blessings to my disciple. And my prayers for his success. And let even no one more use the treasure that I offer, as a teacher I feel completely, absolutely satisfied and happy: at least one person, my disciple is rapidly moving towards enlightenment.