IndianLegion | Official Book 2020

📿Guru Purnima📿

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|GURU PURNIMA|
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Written by- khushi_sri

Teachers indeed are a very integral part of our lives. They impart knowledge to us and some very important life lessons to remember. Whatever values we learnt in our home, our teachers polish them and play a big role in making us an intelligent being and one who can come in help to his fellow beings. It is said that God is the most learned and important Guru of the world, with all of the Supreme knowledge imbibed within Him, but since He cannot be everywhere, He created teachers or Gurus to impart that knowledge. Indeed what we would be, without our Gurus?

Guru Purnima is one such day dedicated to all the teachers, both academic and spiritual, to celebrate them and pay respect to the teachers for the wisdom they share with their students with little or no monetary benefits. The Sanskrit word Guru is made up of two root words- 'Gu' means 'darkness or ignorance', and 'ru' means 'removal of darkness'. Thus, Guru is the person who removes darkness from our lives and minds. In the past, the relationship of a teacher and student was considered very auspicious and whatever the teacher said was said to be the final word.

Guru Purnima is celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Asaadh month of the Hindu calendar. Hence, Guru Purnima is the full moon day of celebrating the one who removes darkness or ignorance from our lives. This day is observed by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In Nepal, it is observed as Teacher's day. The day marks the beginning of the Chaturmas, the four months period of the rainy season. And the ascetics and wandering monks choose seclusion and stay at one chosen place for this time period.

Buddhists celebrate this day as it was on this day that Lord Buddha gave his first sermon in the Sarnath district of Uttar Pradesh, after five weeks of attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. It is also the birth anniversary of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa or Vedvyasa, the son of sage Parashar and a fisherman's daughter Satyavati, and a great sage himself who wrote the epic Mahabharata and the four Vedas- Rig, Yajur, Sam and Atharva Veda. Thus the day is also known as 'Vyas Purnima' and he is regarded as the pioneer of the guru-shishya parampara, or the teacher-student tradition. Ved Vyas also started writing the Brahma Sutras on Ashadha Sudha padyami, which he completed on the exact same day after some time. In Jainism, the 24th Tirthankar Mahaveer Swami attained salvation and made his first disciple Gautam Swami.

The birth date of Adi Guru, the first yogi is also supposed to be on this day. The legend has it that around 15,000  years ago, a sage or 'yogi' appeared in the Himalayas. Nobody knew his origin, so they gathered around him. There were no signs of life except when he would shed tears of ecstasy and would just be immersed in deep thinking. In some time, most of the people left him, but seven men remained and gathered around him. When after many days, he opened his eyes, he saw all of them standing around him. They pleaded with him to tell them what he was going through and experiencing. And then he told them about meditation and closed his eyes again and started meditating. Those seven men stayed with him in meditation for 84 consecutive years, and on the day of 'Dakshinayan', Adi Guru opened his eyes again and was delighted to see their enlightened faces. It was then that he decided to impart his knowledge and wisdom to them. Those seven men then came to be known as the 'Saptrishis' who spread out to the other parts of the world to propagate the knowledge imparted to them by the Adi Guru.

On the day of Guru Purnima, one is supposed to wake up early in the 'Brahmamuhurta', take a bath and sit in the prayer room. Giving his offerings to the deity Vedvyasa and his Guru, he should recite the mantra: Gururbrahma Gururvishnu GururdevoMaheshwaray, Gurur Sakshat Parabrahma, Tasmai Shrigurave Namah”. The mantra iterates that "all the powers are assimilated in the Trimurti- Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, and I will bow in front of my Guru who will lead me onto the path of 'Moksha' and enlightenment." One should visit their teachers and take their blessings by touching their feet. One should indulge in meditation as it's considered as one of the important paths to achieve salvation.
Offering food to Brahmin (Brahman Bhoj) and to the poor people is one ritual that is followed on this day. It is said that by doing so, we seek the blessings of our Gurus and bless with a healthy, wealthy and prosperous life. 'Ann daan' (food) and 'Vastra daan' (clothes) is also done on this day. It helps in reducing the 'doshas' or ill effects from our Kundli. At many places, mostly holy places, 'Maha bhandaras' are also hosted to feed the needy as a part of charity.

In the Buddhist culture, Uposatha is observed on this day. It is the observance of the eight precepts or 'ashtanga sila' or 'asta sila' on observance days or festivals by the Buddhist lay devotees. These eight precepts include general precepts like refraining oneself from killing. Some other specific precepts include refraining from cosmetics etc. Observing the Uposatha is said to support the meditation practice and is generally done while staying in monasteries.

So, let us all take a moment and thank all our teachers, our Gurus, our Acharya, who have helped us in being what we are today, because it is majorly because of them that we stand where we are, and the values imparted to us that make up our core being.

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