Guru Purnima (Poornima)-Rohit Kumar Parmar

Guru Purnima (Poornima)

-Rohit Kumar Parmar

Guru Purnima (Poornima) is a tradition dedicated to spiritual/academic Gurus, who are enlightened, and are ready to share their wisdom with very little/no monetary expectation, based on Karma Yoga. Guru Purnima is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, on full moon day (Purnima) in the month of Ashadha (June–July).

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/ignorance.

In the yogic tradition, the day is celebrated as the occasion when Shiva as the Adi (first) Guru began the transmission of yoga to the Saptarishis. It is also known as Vyasa Purnima, birthday of great sage Vyasa (author of the Mahabharata born to sage Parashara and a fisherman's daughter Satyavati), who is seen as one of the greatest Gurus in ancient Hindu traditions and a symbol of the Guru-shishya parampara (tradition).

Celebrations of Guru Poornima are marked by spiritual activities and may include a ritualistic event in honour of the Guru. Students of Indian classical music and Indian classical dance, who follow the Guru-shishya parampara also celebrate this.

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 and characteristics; and also 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 festival is celebrated by Buddhists in honour of Buddha who gave his first sermon on this day at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India. Gautama Buddha went from Bodhgaya to Sarnath about five weeks after his enlightenment.

In Nepal this day is teacher's day for Nepalese, mostly Students.

According to Jain traditions, on this day, Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, after attaining Kaivalya, made Indrabhuti Gautam, later known as Gautam Swami, a Ganadhara, his first disciple, thus becoming a Treenok Guha himself. Therefore it is observed in Jainism as Treenok Guha Purnima, and is marked special veneration to one's Treenok Guhas and teachers