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 Guru Purnima


In the month of Ashadh (July-August) on the full moon day falls the Guru
Purnima. This day is very auspicious and holy because it commemorates the
day of the great sage Vyasa. This day is also called the Vyasa Purnima and
the festival observed annually is no less significant.
Guru or the preceptor is held in high esteem in our Hindu tradition. The
Guru is looked upon as an embodiment of God himself. Because, it is due to
his spiritual teachings and guidance one acquires knowledge. It is the Guru
who leads one away from darkness or ignorance to light or wisdom. The
well-known hymn says "My salutations to the Guru who is Brahma, Vishnu and
Maheswara. The Guru is Parabrahma incarnate".
The great sage Vyasa, son of a fisherwoman, is revered as the preceptor of
preceptors. He classified the spiritual knowledge of the Vedas into four
parts viz. The Rig, the Yajur, the Sama and the Atharva. He wrote the
eighteen Puranas containing the stories of our great saints and heroes for
the benefit of laymen, to instill in them the spiritual and moral precepts.
Besides these, he was the author of the greatest Epic Mahabharata comprising
the gem of the immortal song The Bhagavad Gita and in addition Bhagvata, the
story of Lord Krishna. Thus Vyasa is regarded as the Supreme preceptor or
Guru and, offering of worship to him means worshipping all the Gurus.
On this Guru Purnima day spiritual aspirants and devotees perform Vyasa Puja
and disciples worship their respective Gurus. In the field of Arts too, e.g.
Music, Dance, etc. teachers are honoured and revered with offerings of
fruits, flowers and gifts. It seems at the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, the
Guru Purnima is celebrated with great pomp where devotees from all parts of
the country congregate. The whole day is spent in meditation, prayers and
holding of discourses. Initiation of matured disciples into the Holy Orders
of Sanyas is performed, as this occasion is highly auspicious. Devotees also
fast and some observe vow of silence and engross in spiritual studies.
Guru plays a significant role in our Hindu tradition and religion.
Extravagant respect is shown to the spiritual teacher or Guru. It seems the
first lines of Bhakti Mala gives us the essentials of religion, Bhakti,
Bhakta, Bhagvata, Guru (faith, a faithful devotee, the Adorable and Guru)
and this aptly illustrates the importance attributed to the last named. The
rule that respect be shown to a spiritual teacher is very old in India. The
scriptures say that perfect obedience was required from his pupil. The Guru
was more venerable than a father. Generally, once a Guru is selected, the
pupil obeyed and served him till the end of his tutelage. Full devotion in
word, act and deed was rendered to the Guru and His commands were declared
to be the voice of God.
In ancient times Vedic studies were imparted orally by Gurus to their
disciples. The accents, the intonations and punctuations of the Vedic hymns
etc. could be clearly defined and stressed which could not be done through
books or scripts. Thus it strengthened the bond and proximity between the
Guru and the chela i.e. the disciple. Besides, in early times the books were
written on Tadpatra (leaves) which were scarce, costly and easily torn.
Hence the importance of Guru in preference to books.
No Hindu can become a member of a sect without the permission or sanction of
a Guru belonging to the sect. Unless the Guru finds his disciple fit to be
taken into the Order of Sanyas, the initiation does not take place. When the
Guru considers him fit for admission, after a ceremony, the Guru whispers
into the disciple's ears an initiatory formula (mantra). According to Swami
Vivekananda, the Guru is the conveyance of spiritual influence to the
disciple. He says, anyone can teach, but the spirit must be passed on by the
Guru to the Shishya (disciple) and that will fructify. The Guru passes the
thought power, the mantram and nothing can be done without the blessings of
a Guru. Constant repetition of the mantram whispered in secrecy helps to fix
the mind firm. The relation between shishyas is that of brotherhood and this
method of worship prevails among religious devotees all over India.
Jnaneswara, the saint of Maharashtra, owed crossing of ocean of existence to
his Guru Nivrittinatha. To Jnaneswara the grace of a Guru is like a true
mother who rears up the spiritual aspirant on the lap of the Adhara Shakti
and swings him to and fro in the cradle of the heart or waves lights of
spiritual illumination before the aspirant. To Jnaneswara the only adequate
way of expressing one's appreciation of Guru's greatness is to submit in
silence at the feet of the Master.
However much the pupil be talented or brilliant without the Guru's grace or
initiation he has no grounds. Without a Guru one can never attain mastery or
perfection is the notion according to Hindu ideals. There are many examples
in this connection. Kabir the saint was in search of a Guru but had doubts
whether the famous Guru Ramananda (a disciple of Ramanuja) would accept him
as Kabir was a Muslim. So Kabir hits upon a plan. One day before dawn he
hides himself on the steps of the Ganges ghats down which Ramananda used to
go for his morning bath in the river. Since it was dark, Ramananda
unknowingly steps on Kabir and exclaims "Ram Ram". Kabir instantly falls at
his feet and says "Thou hast given me the word of initiation (Guru Mantra)
and now I have become thy disciple." Ramananda without hesitation accepts
him.
Similarly, Eklavya, the son of Nishadraj Hiranyadhanu's son goes to Guru
Dronacharya to accept him as his disciple to learn archery. But,
Dronacharya, realizing his prowess and to prevent him from becoming more
powerful than Arjuna rejects him on false pretexts. But Eklavya does not
give up hope. He prepares a clay statue of Dronacharya and daily practises
his archery in front of it acknowledging it to be his Guru. Once it so
happens that Dronacharya and Arjuna come for hunting. Eklavya, perfectly
skilled by now, shoots arrows into the mouth of the dogs and stops their
barking. When Dronacharya sees Eklavya's excellence in archery and on
learning how he had achieved his ambition, he asks for Eklavya's right thumb
as Guru Dakshina to diminish his skill than Arjuna's. Eklavya readily gives
the Dakshina.
Thus the 'glory' of a guru is unfathomable. Just like the full moon dispels
darkness and lights up the path of a wayfarer, so does the Guru with his
boundless knowledge remove the darkness of ignorance and enlightens the path
of the spiritual seekers.










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