On the full moon day (Purnima) in the month of Ashadha, Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains get ready to celebrate Guru Purnima. This festival is dedicated to all Gurus. Guru represents not only spiritual guides but also teachers and mentors.
Gurus have an important role in the lives of human beings. As teachers, they lead us from ignorance to knowledge. As spiritual guides, they help us evolve spiritually and attain God. The word ‘Guru’ denotes ‘one who removes darkness’. The darkness here symbolizes not only a lack of worldly knowledge but also the true reality that lies behind the illusion of worldly existence.
On this day, Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh after he gained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. For Jains, it is the day Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, gained his first follower, Gautam Swami. Hindus celebrate the birthday of Sage Vyasa on this day. He was the author of the Mahabharata and the compiler of the Vedas.
Role of the Guru
Guru Poornima is the perfect day to express gratitude to our teachers. In Hinduism, the Guru is equal to God. In spiritual cultures, the Guru is an important figure as they act like an intermediary between ordinary people and God, helping them to connect to God and attain Moksha or liberation.
The Guru illumines our mind with the light of spiritual knowledge and experience. This knowledge liberates us from Maya/illusion, suffering, and material desires. It points us towards love, compassion, selflessness, and eternal bliss. The Vedas say that we owe a huge debt to the Guru or spiritual master.
The spiritual knowledge we gain from books is a poor substitute for a flesh-and-blood Guru who leads by example. The Guru lives on even after his death through his teachings and messages. As long as we follow his teachings, we will remain connected to our Gurus.
Guru Poornima is not only about honoring our Guru but also the Guru’s predecessors. Parampara, or the sacred lineage of teachers and disciples, helps to maintain the authenticity of spiritual knowledge as it is transmitted through the ages.
The Parampara system, according to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, a 17th-century acharya in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition (where followers practice Bhakti yoga), is like a mango tree.
To pluck a ripe mango from the topmost branch of a tree, a different person climbs onto each branch that leads up to the fruit. The one at the top plucks the mango and carefully passes it down to the person beneath him. Each person passes the mango down until it reaches the person standing on the ground. When this is done right, the mango will be in the same perfect condition it was when first plucked from the tree. In this case, each person who was part of the process of delivering the fruit deserves gratitude. Similarly, each Guru who helped deliver the perfect fruit of spiritual knowledge must be honored and thanked.
Here are 2 stories about the relationship between Gurus and their disciples.
The True Disciple
Some devotees asked Kabir, "Who is a true disciple?" Kabir summoned Kamal, who was his son and leading disciple, and said, "I dropped my spindle when I was weaving. Go fetch me a lamp so that I can find it." It was daylight then, but Kamal brought him a lamp, no questions asked. Then Kabir told Kamal to prepare some sweets, with a handful of salt added, to offer some devotees who were coming home for lunch. Kamal did as he said. Kabir then spoke to his devotees, “Kamal knew that my commands were absurd. But when you begin to obey the Guru's command without question, meditation comes to you spontaneously, and the Lord grants darshan”.
This story teaches us that it is essential to have complete faith in our Guru if we wish to realize our goals.
Importance of the Guru
Once, Govinda Singh asked Guru Nanak about the Guru’s importance. "The better you become as a disciple, the better you will understand about the Guru," was Nanak’s reply. Then he gave him a jewel and asked him to take it to the market. Also, he was to get it priced by different people and then bring it back to him. So Govinda went to the market. He met a flower seller who offered him one rupee for the jewel. A fruit vendor offered three apples, and a goldsmith offered a hundred rupees. Another jeweler priced it at thousand rupees. One of the best jewelers quoted a price of twenty thousand rupees. But the best jeweler in the entire town told him not to sell it, as it was invaluable.
This story illustrates that the best Guru is one who helps us to realize our true worth and potential.
Conclusion
People celebrate Guru Purnima by performing Pooja and offering prayers to both their Guru and God. Some observe a fast on this day, too. The festival reminds us of the debt we owe to our Guru.
If you honor your Gurus and are grateful to them for the gifts of knowledge and wisdom you received from them, you will always have their blessings even if they are no longer present in the world. Guru Purnima 2022 is on July 13.
