Followers

Indi Blogger Rank

Thanks Pra

Thanks LuAnn Morgan

Thanks Juhi

Guru Purnima – Celebrated By Hindus to Honor their Guru (Teacher)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009


I dedicate this post to all my teachers and inspirations that have given me knowledge at some point of life and have made me capable to understand between right and wrong and have enlightened my life.

The day of full moon, Purnima, in the month of Ashadh (July-August) is traditionally celebrated as Guru Purnima by Hindus. This day is also known as a Vyas Purnima, the day is celebrated in remembrance and veneration to sage Ved Vyas. All Hindus are indebted to this ancient saint who edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. Guru means Teacher. The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness of our ignorance is a Guru. Here I would like to recollect some famous verses which all Hindus by heart to glorify the word Guru.

‘Guru Govind donu khade, kisko laagu paay,
Balihari Gurudevaki jinhe Govind diyo bataay.’

Meaning - The Guru (Teacher) and Govind (God), are present before me, to whom shall I bow (prostrate) down first? Glory to the Guru (Teacher) since he showed me Govind (God).

Gurubrahma Guruvishnu Gururdevo Maheshwaraha |
Guruhu sakshaat Parambrahman tasmai Shrigurave namaha ||

Meaning - The Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), veneration to the Guru who is Parabrahman manifest." The second line of the couplet does not literally mean that the Guru becomes Parabrahman - God, rather he is venerated as if God is manifesting through him.

Hindus attach paramount importance to spiritual gurus. Guru plays the pivotal role in reminding us the divinely advice, teaches us the art of living a balanced life with restraint and stability of mind. He is the one who brings about awareness that actions (karmas) performed under the influence of senses, give rise to sensuous pleasures and pains, which are transitory and fleeting. He guides you how to discipline and bring under control the five wild horses - 'kaam' (passion), 'krodha' (anger), 'lobh' (greed), 'moh' (emotional attachment) and 'ahankaar' (ego) and helps one to take the chariot of life in the right direction of inner peace and tranquility. A Guru is beyond religions. He does not discriminate on the basis of culture, nationality or gender. He will never ask one to convert from his religion. He will lift the student to comprehend universal spiritual principles that underlie all religions. Whichever spiritual path or religion one follows, they all finally lead to the path of grace of the Guru.

Regardless of the spiritual path, this day is also celebrated to honor all those people, inspirations that have guided our path in this life. Gurupurnima is the day to pay gratitude to you’re a person who has enlightened you on the right path of life.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

a very nice dedication to teachers..During my school days we celebrated guru poornima in school.. Mine is a hindu school..so very religious one... This post took me to my school days.

The new look is good...But change the width of some ads and flag counter so that it remains within the sidebar.. its not looking good when it goes out of the sidebar...

Toon Indian said...

really nice post...waise Guru Poornima is for Sadguru..not just any guru..anywayz keep the good work going!!

Parv Kaushik said...

very nice post! extremely well written and expressed in a very well way! shows how much respect was given to the teachers in the past...

keep blogging!

Juhi said...

I guess teachers leave an ever lasting impression on our minds, I remember almost all my teachers since Kindergarten......

Meghana said...

True Juhi!I also still remember the names of all my teachers from Kindergarten.Rather,all my teachers have left unforgettable mark on my mind & personality which I think would be there all through my life.

I again once again thank all my teachers who have made me what I am today...

Unknown said...

Very nicely written dear!I completely agree that teachers play the most significant role in shaping up your life...be it your parents or your school/college teachers or the most practical teacher- Experience. We hardly give anything in return to teachers...because even if we try to...I don't think it would really be the worth of what teachers do for us. That's why Lord Krishna actually went all the way to 'Yamlok' to get Guru Sandipani's dead son back...as 'Guru Dakshina'!

Keep up the good research!

Web design said...

Amazing blog. I liked it.

vivek said...

Nice Article

Ravi Matah said...

A very thought provoking article. I still remember and respect the teachers who had taught me in school and college. To understand the depth of religion also, you need a Guru.
'Guru wakoo maniye, jo man meet suhaye,
Saar Saar ko dehi kare, thotha de hataye'

Ravi Matah