Guru Purnima
Vanamali Mataji with Sri Jayendra Saraswati Maharaj
“Ajnana timiranthascha, jnananjana shalakaya,
Chakshur unmeelitam yena,
Tasmai Sri Gurave namaha!”
I bow to that Guru who removes the blindness of ignorance,
With the collyrium of wisdom.
In the tradition of the Sanatana Dharma, the guru is one of the most important persons in our life. Hinduism gives us four “purusharthas” or goals of life – dharma, artha, kama and moksha. These correspond to our desire for righteousness, our desire for wealth, our desire for pleasure and our desire for liberation. These four cover the whole gamut of a human being’s life. Our biological parents gave us physical life but it is the Guru who takes us to the final purushartha or goal of life which is “moksha” or liberation from the wheel of birth and re-birth. The guru holds the key to the door leading to the divine which is within each one of us. With his wisdom he unlocks the existing fund of wisdom and divinity that is enshrined in everyone. He teaches us the meaning of self-realisation or god-realisation. Bound by ignorance, we have been wandering in the perilous forest of “samsara” or worldly life, for many lifetimes. It is the guru who in his deep compassion takes our hand and leads us through the pitfalls and dangers of this forest and shows us the path to liberation. The journey seems to be something outside ourselves but actually it is a journey from “here” to “here” sometimes seeming to be going through “there” which we will eventually find to be “here” (within us). We wander aimlessly through the pleasures and pains of this world looking for our true path and goal and at last discover that the path and the goal are both inside us! It is the guru’s duty to point this out to us. He does not give us anything from outside but only teaches us to see the truth which is ever shining within our own hearts. He is the alchemist who converts the dross of human existence into the gold of divine reality. Thus we can understand the great importance that is given to the guru in the Sanatana Dharma. Even if we are learning an ordinary thing like music, art or science we would need a teacher who has learnt and practiced it for himself, how much more would be the need for a captain who would help us to cross over the ocean of trans-migratory existence! It is only through the medium of the guru that we can raise ourselves to the state of cosmic consciousness. It is through this medium that the imperfect can become perfect, the finite can become infinite and the mortal can reach the heights of immortality. He is the link between human and divine. He stands on the threshold of immortality and frees the struggling shishya (disciple) from the morass of Maya in which he is floundering.
Etymologically, the word Guru has been derived from two roots - gu which means darkness and ru, something that removes darkness. Naturally, the word guru implies someone who takes us away from the darkness of ignorance and leads us to the light of knowledge.
The Srutis say: “To that high-souled aspirant, whose devotion to the Lord is great and whose devotion to his Guru is as great as that to the Lord, the secrets explained herein become illuminated”.
“Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnur, Gurur devo Maheswaraha,
Guru sakshath para Brahma,
Tasmayi Sri Gurave namaha!”
Guru is Brahman, the Absolute, or God Himself. He guides and inspires you from the innermost core of your being. He is everywhere. Behold the entire universe as the form of the guru. See the guiding hand, the awakening voice, the illuminating touch of the guru in every object in this creation. The whole world will now stand transformed before your changed vision. The world as guru will reveal all the precious secrets of life to you, and bestow wisdom upon you. The supreme guru, as manifested in visible nature, will teach you the most valuable lessons of life.
The great sage Dattatreya, regarded as the guru of gurus, considered Nature Herself as his guru, and learnt a number of lessons from her. He said that he had twenty-four gurus. He learnt patience from the silent, all-enduring earth with its lofty forbearance, the shady fruit-bearing tree with its willing self-sacrifice, the mighty banyan tree hiding in the tiny seed, the drops of rain whose persistence wears away even the rocks, the planets and the seasons with their orderly punctuality and regularity were all divine gurus to him. As the river flows continuously, steadily and constantly towards its goal, the ocean, so also let your life flow ceaselessly towards the supreme state of absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, by letting all your thoughts, all your words and all your actions be directed only towards the goal. They, who look and listen, will understand.
This is the reason why Hinduism has carefully tended and kept alive this tradition of worshipping the guru. Year after year, age after age, we worship the ancient concept of the guru, pay obeisance to it and re-affirm our belief and allegiance to this concept in the form of our own guru. The western mentality thinks that to submit to anyone, to obey and carry out instructions without question is a slavish attitude but to the Hindu obedience to a true guru is a passport to a transcendent realm that is not known to an ordinary man.
The best form of worship of the guru is to follow his teachings, to shine as the very embodiment of his teachings and to propagate his glory and his message.
Hence from ages past, Hinduism has kept aside this particular day for the worship of the guru who has shown us the path to self-realisation. This day is known as “guru purnima” and falls on the full moon day in the month of Ashada (June/July). On this day many important things happened in our country. First of all the great sage called Vyasa, who is venerated by all of us as being the Adi Guru or the first guru was born on this day. Therefore this day is also known as Vyasa Purnima. He has done an unforgettable service to all humanity by editing the Vedas and making them into four, writing the eighteen Puranas, the Mahabharata, Srimad Bhagavatam and the Brahma Sutras. The only way we can repay the deep debt that we owe him is by studying his works and practicing his teachings. We begin the day with a puja to Vyasa.
It is also believed that Lord Shiva gave his teachings to the saptarishis or the seven sages on this day. Since he was sitting in the Himalayas facing south, he was given the name “Dakshinamurti”.
The Buddhists believe that Lord Buddha gave his first sermon in Sarnath on the outskirts of Varanasi on this day. The Jains believe that Lord Mahavir taught his first disciple on this day.
However it is an important fact to understand that all Hindu festivals have a connection to the working of the planets and their positions in the galaxy. In fact all our festivals are based on scientific facts. This is to ensure that we never forget the fact that we are not just puny creatures inhabiting this microscopic planet, but we are denizens of the cosmos. Our every act and thought has an intimate connection with the entire universe. Vedic astronomy has 7 planets that closely influence human life. Of these the most benign is Jupiter which we call as Brihaspati or the guru of the gods. It is interesting to note that whenever we have sent out satellites into space, we have used the gravitational force of Jupiter or Guru!! Jupiter is also famous for protecting the earth from the impact of long term comets.
According to Vedic astrology the planet Jupiter is kind, optimistic, the giver of wisdom etc. So during Guru Purnima day we offer worship to Brihaspati the planetary teacher or the guru of the gods! In the month of Ashada, Jupiter is in the sign of Cancer which is the 12th house which is his own home. The moon is also in the sign of Sagittarius which again is ruled by Jupiter. Ashada nakshatra is famous for motivating us towards moksha or liberation. On this day, Jupiter moves closer to the sun and is not visible from the earth. This brings blessings on everyone. This is the most auspicious time for meditating and increasing spiritual growth since there is an abundance of divine cosmic energy in the atmosphere.
The full moon reflects the full splendour of the dazzling light of the sun. Thus we should also reflect the glorious light of the Self. We should become full reflectors of that Brahmic splendour, the light of all lights by which even the sun and moon get their light. On this day we should realise that we are indeed that immortal, all-pervading, blissful Self!
The full moon has always been considered to be perfect for meditation and gives us an opportunity for accelerating our spiritual abilities. On full moon days the effect on all water bodies on earth are amazing. It pulls the ocean as if to bring it closer. Human beings consist of 72% water so we will also be pulled closer to divinity. Our blood as well as all the 27 trillion cells in our body contain water. So our bodies are definitely affected by the full moon. A lot of scientific research has been done in modern times that corroborate what our rishis have told us thousands of years ago. Our positive energy is always increased during full moon. Our chakras are also activated during this time so that our energy rises upwards.
The chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranama or the thousand and eight names of Vishnu is also said to have extra benefit on this day.
This day marks the beginning of the monsoons. How significant is this day when the waters stored in clouds in the hot summer pours down on the thirsty earth. This day also marks the beginning of the Chaturmasya (four months of the monsoons). In olden times sannyasins were never allowed to settle in one place. They were supposed to keep travelling all over the land so as to avoid attachment. However due to the inclemency of the weather during the monsoon period they were allowed to stay in one place during these four months starting from Guru Purnima. At this time the sannyasins would hold discourses for the householders on various scriptures like the Brahma Sutras composed by Vyasa and engage in Vedic discussions. All this was of utmost help to the householders who never had time to delve into the wealth of our scriptures. This is how our scriptures were kept alive.
So on this auspicious day let us begin the day by worshipping our parents who are our first gurus, then Vyasa Guru, then our own guru and through him the divine.
Hence we realise that in our culture, science and spirituality go hand in hand. The human being has his feet on the earth but his head is in the heavens like the cosmic Purusha! May the divine guru bless and guide all of us and lead us to Supreme bliss.
Jai Guru Deva!
This year 2020, Guru Purnima is on Sunday, 5th July.
