Guru Purnima, The Day of the Guru: Traditional Hindu Festival Honoring Vyasa and All Gurus

Guru Purnima is the day when Hindus gather to celebrate and to honor Vyasa, the original guru and traditional author of the Vedas, along with their own gurus, spiritual guides. The festival takes place on the full moon day of the Indian month of Ashad, corresponding to July-August of the Western calendar. The word purnima means "full-moon", hence the name Guru Purnima, "the full-moon day of the guru". For its connection with Vyasa, the event is also called Vyasa Purnima.

Guru Purnima marks the occasion of sage Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa's birth. The contemporary guru is seen as a representative of Vyasa's, for it is Vyasa, the ancient sage, who is at the root of all the wisdom at the root of Hindu traditions. Sage Krishna Dvaipayana, true to his name, was dark in complexion (krishna) and born on an island (dvaipa-ayana) as the prodigal son of sage Parasara and the daughter of Matsyagandha, the foster-daughter of a fisherman. He was also the father of the young sage Sukadeva, the famous speaker of the Bhagavata.

Sage Krishna Dvaipayana was called Vyasa ("divider"), and also Veda Vyasa, on account of the arduous task he undertook in compiling and systematizing the oral heritage of Vedic wisdom, authoring volumes of literature with diverse themes. Vyasa, a mythic figure dated to some five millennia back, is extolled in the scriptures an avatar of Vishnu, empowered for this very task of composing scriptures for this wicked age of Kali, an era where mankind has become dull and weak-minded, unable to contain in memory the ancient spoken heritages of wisdom.

On Guru Purnima, Hindus - regardless of their respective traditions - commemorate the guru-principle in a great plurality of ways, respective to their own sampradaya, spiritual heritage. While traditions in Hinduism are many, there is universal agreement on the need for a guru, a spiritual guide and teacher to instruct the disciple in the mysteries of spiritual knowledge. Acharyavan puruso veda⁽¹⁾, say the Upanishads - "Who has a teacher, he masters the Vedas." Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet⁽²⁾ - "Indeed, approach a guru for the sake of that treasure of true knowledge."

Common methods of homage and worship on Guru Purnima are recital of hymns and prayers, offering of flowers and flower-garlands, performance of a puja ceremony where incense, lamps and other articles are offered, giving of gifts, and so forth to the guru. As a matter of detaching oneself from the mundane, fasting - either a full fast or taking a light diet - is a common practice on Guru Purnima. Many Hindus embark on pilgrimage on Guru Purnima to meet in person with their gurus; a full-moon day in general is believed to be a blessed event, and it's coinciding with the principle of guru, the root of all blessedness, makes a pilgrimage doubly worthwhile. Others, unable to free themselves from work and family duties, offer worship in local temples or at their home altars on Guru Purnima.

At the feet of Mount Govardhan in the land of Vraja, the place of Krishna's childhood pastimes and one of the most loved places of pilgrimage in India, devotees gather on Guru Purnima at the bank of the Manasi Ganga lake before the memorial tomb of Sanatana Goswami. Sanatana Goswami was the eldest among the six Goswamis, the great medieval theologians and saints, who brought Sri Chaitanya's path of divine love to a tangible form through their erudite writings. Sanatana was revered as the guru of one and all in Vraja, and seekers and holy men would daily come for his audience to receive his advice and blessings.

On Guru Purnima, the full-moon day of the month of Ashad in 1588, Sanatana Goswami was found sitting still, firm as a mountain, with his eyes closed, unaware of the surrounding world. The devotees first assumed him to be in samadhi, a state of deep religious trance, but soon enough realized that he had departed to join his worshipable deities, Radha and Krishna, in the eternal Vrindavan. Lamentation and wails echoed across the entire land, for there was none to whom he wasn't as dear as life. Commemorating Guru Purnima, devotees in Vraja gather annually to Sanatana Goswami's tomb, sing songs depicting his life, circumambulate the Manasi Ganga lake with a procession carrying a painting of him, and serve a festival meal to all in attendance.

Guru Purnima also marks a great seasonal event, for it is around this time that the first rains of the monsoon begin pouring in, giving relief from the scorching heat of the sun and nourishing the crops for the coming season. Especially in rural areas, where agriculture prevails - which means most of India even today - such a seasonal turn is seen as a great blessing from the heavens. And sarva-devamayo guruh ⁽³⁾, the scriptures say, "The guru embodies all the gods of heaven," for it was none other than Lord Krishna himself who said, acharyam mam vijaniyam⁽⁴⁾- "Know me to be the revered teacher, the acharya."

A sat-guru, a true and genuine spiritual master, is expected to embody the teachings of the ancient scriptures and the behavior of the sages and saints of yore. It is this very principle of his being fully imbued and infused with the wisdom and spiritual power of the Hindu traditions, sincere in his dedication to the divine, that make him revered as an embodiment of the gods and a representative of God's on Earth. Of the true guru, the scriptures say: sabde pare ca nisnatam, brahmany upasamasrayam⁽⁵⁾- "He is realized in the sacred word and the supreme, having forsaken all in seeking refuge with the supreme spirit." Truly, such a guru alone is worthy of worship on the blessed day of Guru Purnima.

Gurus come in many forms and varieties. A common two-fold division is that into initiating gurus (mantra-guru or diksha-guru) and instructing gurus (siksha-guru). The mantra-guru, true to his name, bestows a sacred mantra to a disciple and initiates him into the rites of worship and meditation of his own sampradaya, the particular spiritual heritage the guru represents. The relationship with a siksa-guru, a guru who instructs, is rarely as deeply formalized as the relationship with the mantra-guru, who is often seen as the guru among the many gurus one may respect and draw inspiration from, but regardless a substantial source of spiritual inspiration.

A common, and some would say the most essential, function of all kinds of gurus is that of teaching and guiding the disciples toward further spiritual attainments. Therefore, the day of Guru Purnima is seen as an opportunity to renew one's commitment for and enthusiasm in following the spiritual principles taught by the guru, a day of renewal and new commitment. Many choose Guru Purnima as the day for receiving mantra initiation or for entering into sannyasa, a life of celibacy and renunciation, for it is the guru who is at the root of success in these endeavors for attaining the supreme. Guru-kripa hi kevalam, says a popular adage, "The grace of the guru is all."

This principle of guru was established by none other than the Lord himself, the adi-guru or original guru of all gurus, in his countless forms and incarnations. It was none other than he as Narayana, who taught the hymns of the Veda to Brahma, the creator-god and first soul of the universe. It was none other than he as Krishna, who taught Arjuna the wisdom of Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. It is none other than he as Hayagriva, who appears at the end of every millennium to shield the Vedas from the demon Ajnana ("ignorance"). Vedanta-krid veda-vit eva caham⁽⁶⁾, he told in the Gita - "And I am indeed the creator of Vedanta and the knower of the Veda."

On Guru Purnima, it is common for Hindus to spend more time in meditation and worship, contemplating on the significance of the eternal principle of the guru. Through this immersion in thoughts of the guru, adherents seek to attain guru-kripa, the blessings and the mercy of the guru, and be filled with the spiritual powers the guru has attained over years of arduous practice and dedication to his sacred path.

It is none other than the Lord himself who is the final recipient of the respect offered to the guru on Guru Purnima, for he alone is the source of all the guru's power, and it is for the sake of his wish to redeem the ignorant souls of the world that the guru acts in the capacity of a guide and a master to all sincere seekers. Where there is a proper understanding of guru-tattva, the sacred principle of guru, there the guru and the Lord act in perfect unison for the benefit of the mankind.

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Sanskrit references in order of appearance: 1) Chandogya Upanishad 6.14.2; 2) Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12; 3-4) Bhagavata Purana 11.7.27; 5) Bhagavata Purana 11.3.21; 6) Bhagavad Gita 15.15.