Guru Purnima
(18 July 2008)
The
day of full moon, Hindus traditionally celebrate Purnima, in the month of
Ashadh
as Guru Purnima. Also known as Vyas Purnima, the day is celebrated in
remembrance and veneration to sage Ved Vyas. He is the Adi (original) Guru of
the Hindu Dharma, who classified the Vedas, wrote the eighteen Puranas and the
Mahabharat. On this day, the Guru is offered Pujan (worship) by the disciples.
First we shall consider the role of a Guru in life.
Who
is Guru?
The
Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance, "Ru" denotes
the remover of that darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness of our
ignorance is a Guru. Only he who removes our ultimate darkness, known as Maya,
and who inspires and guides us on to the path of God-realization is the true
Guru. Students also refer to their schoolteacher or college lecturer as guru.
The connotation of the word guru in this case is one who imparts temporal
knowledge (Apara Vidya) and is thus accordingly offered respect.
A
spiritual aspirant, no matter how brilliant, can never attain such knowledge by
his own endeavor. This is stipulated in the Shrimad Bhagwatam in which Jadbharat
reveals to king Rahugan:
"O
Rahugan! One cannot attain knowledge of Atma and Paramatma by performing
penance, sacrifices, renunciation, Vedic study or worshipping deities of water,
fire or the sun. But when the dust from the feet of a satpurush (God-realized
Guru) sprinkles on our heads, then we can surely attain this knowledge."
In
essence, one can only attain salvation by serving the satpurush. The Katha
Upanishad as walking on a razor’s edge likens treading the path to
God-realization by one’s own efforts. Adi Shankaracharya echoes a similar
injunction: "If a person, despite possessing: a handsome, disease-free
body, fame, a mountain of wealth, and even if he has studied the Vedas and all
other scriptures, and has himself composed many scriptures, but has not
surrendered himself at the feet of a Guru, then he has achieved nothing,
nothing, nothing, nothing."
The
Guru plays a vital role in boosting the aspirant frequently, when he loses
track, becomes despondent or simply runs out of steam. The aspirant is thus
better able to obey the Guru if he understands the Guru's glory
Skanda
Purana - Guru Gita
A famous verse known by heart by all Hindu children glorifies the Guru:
Gurubrahma Guruvishnu Gururdevo Maheshwaraha |
Guruhu sakshaat Parambrahman tasmai Shrigurave namaha ||
"The
guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), veneration to the Guru who is
Parabrahman manifest."
The second line of the couplet does not literally mean that the Guru becomes Parabrahman - God, rather he is venerated as if God is manifesting through him.
This is subtly illustrated by another famous verse known to all Hindus:
Guru Govind donu khade, kisko laagu paay,
Balihari Gurudevaki jinhe Govind diyo bataay.
"The
Guru and Govind -God, are present before me, to whom shall I bow down first?
Glory to the Guru since he showed me Govind."
Apart from
guiding the aspirant on the path to God-realization, the Guru throws light on
the profound meanings of the vast array of scriptural knowledge. Hence the
Mundaka Upanishad calls such a Guru "Shrotriya" - knower of the true
meanings of the scriptures. Adi Shankaracharya forbids an aspirant in
endeavoring to decipher the meanings without a Guru. In his commentary on a
Mantra (1/2/13) of the Mundaka Upanishad, he says: "Even if one possesses
knowledge of the scriptures, he should not attempt to delve into their meanings
by himself. He should obtain the knowledge of Brahman only through the
Guru."
In their
treatises, other Acharyas, such as Ramanuj and Nimbark have considered the Guru
mandatory in God-realization
Therefore on the
day of Guru Purnima, disciples introspect, and resolve to offer pujan and
reverence to the Guru in mind, action and speech; implicitly obey his unvoiced
wishes, commands, serving him as one would God and lauding his glory and
redemptive attributes.
Every year, the
Guru Purnima Festival, in the presence of Gurudev Shree Shree 108 Yogi Shree
Santosh nath ji is celebrated with devotion and enthusiasm at "Maa
Aatia Ki Dhuni" ashram Near Haldi Ghati Udaipur(Raj.) India. An
assembly from 8.30 pm 17th July to 18th July is held
wherein Bhajans and discourses by Gurudev and devotees emphasize and sing the
glory of the Guru. The festival is finally crowned with Gurudev's blessings and
Darshan which continuous to 2 pm.
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