Guru Purnima
Guru Purnima, also spelled Guru Poornima is the day to commemorate the importance of the ‘Guru’ or the teacher in one’s life. According to spiritual experts, it is the Guru who transcends an individual from the vicious cycle of life and death and helps realize the reality of the eternal ‘aatma’ or conscience.
Guru purnima 2021 is on July 24, Saturday
Guru Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day or Purnima in the month of Ashadha of the Hindu calendar. It falls in the months of July-August on the English calendar. Guru Purnima 2021 date is July 24, Saturday. In 2022, Guru Purnima will be celebrated on July 13, Wednesday.
Spiritual significance of Guru Purnima
According to Hinduism, Guru Purnima celebrates the birth of Ved Vyasa, the famous sage who is said to have edited the Vedas dividing them into four; he also wrote the Puranas which is considered the ‘fifth Veda’ and the Mahabharata. It is believed that on this day, prayers reach the Mahaguru directly and his blessings evade darkness and ignorance from a disciple’s life.
According to Buddhism, on this day, Gautam Budhha delivered his first sermon or teaching to his first five disciples after he migrated from Bodhgaya to Sarnath. Thereafter, the ‘Sangha’ or the community of His disciples was formed.
According to Jainism, Lord Mahavira became the ‘Guru’ to his first disciple Gautam Swami on this day. Thus this day is celebrated to venerate Mahavira.
According to ancient Indian history, this day is of utmost importance to farmers as they worship God for giving them a good rainfall for the next harvest.
Rituals of Guru Purnima
Among Hindus, this day is dedicated to the worshipping of one’s guru who acts as the guiding light in his/her life. Vyasa puja is held in many places where mantras are enchanted to venerate the ‘Guru’. Devotees offer flowers and gifts as tokens of respect and ‘prasad’ and ‘charanamrita’ are distributed. Devotional songs, hymns and recitals are chanted the whole day. The holy text of Guru Gita is recited in the guru’s memory.
‘Padapuja’ or the worship of the sage’s sandals are arranged by disciples in the different asharams and people gather at the place where the seat of their guru lies, rededicating themselves to his teachings and principles.
This day is also dedicated to the Guru Bhai or the fellow disciple and devotes express their solidarity towards each other in their journey towards spiritualism. This day is spent by disciples on introspection of their individual spiritual journeys so far.
Many people begin their spiritual lessons on this day. This process is known as ‘diksha’.
Buddhists observe the eight teachings of Buddha on this day. This ritual is known as ‘Uposatha’. With the advent of the rainy season from this day, Buddhist monks are known to start meditation and adopt other ascetic practices from this day.
