By: Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar
Guru Poornima also known as Vyasa Poornima marks the birthday of Veda Vyasa. It is a spiritual tradition in Hindu culture dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers, who are evolved or enlightened humans, ready to share their wisdom, with very little or no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga. It is celebrated as a festival in India and Bhutan by the Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. This festival is traditionally observed by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains to revere their chosen spiritual teachers / leaders and express their gratitude. The festival is celebrated on the full moon day (Poornima) in the Hindu month of Aashada (June–July)
The celebration is marked by spiritual activities and may include a ritualistic event in honor of the Guru – that is, the teachers which is called Guru Pooja. The Guru Principle is said to be a thousand times more active on the day of Guru Poornima than on any other day. The word Guru is derived from two words, ‘gu’ and ‘ru’. The Sanskrit root ‘gu’ means darkness or ignorance, and ‘ru’ denotes the remover of that darkness. Therefore, a Guru is one who removes the darkness of our ignorance. Gurus are believed by many to be the most necessary part of life. On this day, disciples offer pooja (worship) or pay respect to their Guru (spiritual guide). In addition to having religious importance, this festival has great importance for Indian academics and scholars. Indian academics celebrate this day by thanking their teachers as well as remembering past teachers and scholars.
Traditionally the festival is celebrated by Buddhists in honor of the Lord Buddha who gave His first sermon on this day at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India. In the yogic tradition, the day is celebrated as the occasion when Shiva became the first Guru, as he began the transmission of yoga to the Sapta Rishis. Many Hindus celebrate the day in honor of the great sage Vyasa, who is seen as one of the greatest Gurus of the Guru-shishya tradition. Vyasa was not only believed to have been born on this day, but also to have started writing the Brahma Sutras. Sanyasis observe this day by offering puja to their Guru, during the Chaturmas, a four-month period during the rainy season, when they choose seclusion and stay at one chosen place.
This was the day when Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa – author of the Mahabharata – was born to sage Parashara and a fisherman’s daughter Satyavati. Thus, this day is also celebrated as Vyasa Poornima. Veda Vyasa did yeoman service to the cause of Vedic studies by gathering all the Vedic hymns extant during his times, dividing them into four parts based on their use in the rites, characteristics and teaching them to his four chief disciples – Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu. It was this dividing and editing that earned him the honorific “Vyasa” (Vyas = to edit, to divide). He divided the Holy Veda into four, namely, Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. The histories and the Puranas are said to be the fifth Veda.
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