Guru Poornima

“An occasion to pay obeisance to both visible and invisible Gurus” 
 

Sankaram Sankaracharyam Kesavam Badarayanam; 
Sutra-Bhashya-Kritau Vande Bhagavantau Punah Punah

Meaning: I adore Lord Siva, Lord Vishnu, Bhagavan Vyasa and Sri Sankaracharya. I again and again prostrate before Sri Vyasa who wrote the Vedanta Sutras, and before Sri Sankaracharya who wrote the commentaries thereon (Guru Vandanam). 
 

By Ravi R. Ponangi

The full moon day in the month of Ashad (July-August) is observed as Guru Poornima. Guru Poornima is the day when seekers of truth express their gratitude for the divine guidance made available to them by the great masters and sages (visible and invisible). This is the day to invoke the grace of the Guru to intensify one’s sadhana.  

The full moon day in the Hindu month of Ashad, the fourth month in the Indian lunar calendar, corresponding to July-August is the auspicious day of Guru-Poornima, a day dedicated to the memory of the great sage Vyasa. This occasion was originally associated with Rishi Vyas and was celebrated as "Vyas Poornima". Rishi Vyas was born on a full moon day and completed the classification of the Vedas on the same day. Hence he became known as Veda Vyas and the occasion was celebrated as Vyas Poornima. All Hindus bow their heads in reverence to this ancient saint who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Vyasa even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus. In honor of this godly saint, all sadhakas and devotees perform Vyasa Puja on this day; aspirants worship their Guru. Mahatmas and Sadhus are honored and revered, and acts of charity done by all householders with sedulous devotion. On this day, all pious people through out India express their reverence and gratitude to their teachers, priests and the great sages of yore for the divine wisdom that they have received from them in the form of the scriptures.  
 

Since time immemorial, Hindus have attached great importance to spiritual gurus. Gurus are often equated with God and regarded as facilitators between the individual aspirant and the Divine. Just as the moon shines by reflecting the light of the sun that lends radiance to it, all disciples can glow like the moon by acquiring the light of wisdom from their Gurus.  
Guru Poornima is the most important day of the year for receiving the blessings of holy people. Realize the significance of this great day and embark on your spiritual pursuit. Let all that you have read, heard, seen and learnt in your quest for the Divine, become real and transform into a continuous outpouring of universal love and continuous prayer to the Omnipresent and All-pervasive Lord seated in the innermost recesses of all beings. Worship Sri Vyasa and the Brahma-Vidya Gurus and seek their blessings be upon us all! May all of us cut asunder the knot of Avidya and seek deliverance as blessed Jivanmuktas, spreading peace, bliss and light everywhere!    

 

Swami Sivananda exhorts all divine followers: "Do you realize now the sacred significance and the supreme importance of the Guru's role in the evolution of man? It was not without reason that the India of the past carefully tended and kept alive the lamp of Guru-Tattva. It is therefore not without reason that India, year after year, age after age, commemorates anew this ancient concept of the Guru, adores it and pays homage to it again and again, and thereby re-affirms its belief and allegiance to it. For, the true Indian knows that the Guru is the only guarantee for the individual to transcend the bondage of sorrow and death, and experience the Consciousness of the Reality."