Guru Purnima

The Full Moon Day in the month of Ashadha (July-August) is known as Guru Purnima. Guru Purnima is an Indian festival dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers. This festival is traditionally celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, to pay their respects to Guru and express their gratitude.

Some times we start calling all kinds of people in the teaching profession as our gurus. This is not correct. A real guru may not be an educated person or a scholar who can impart knowledge to students. The guru is a realised soul, who has attained to his ultimate potential and has become enlightened. And his light pulls the unenlightened seekers towards him.

A real guru is the one who liberates us and with whom we are in deep love, faith and reverence. A guru is a presence. Through him one gets the first glimpse of divinity. A guru creates, transforms and gives a new birth to a seeker so that with complete trust one can follow his guru while travelling through many unknown paths and doors. The guru’s blessing is a vital phenomenon. Through a guru one can look into his own future and can be aware of his own destiny. Through him one starts coming up like a seed trying to sprout towards the sky.

Guru is like full moon and disciple is like Ashadh (the month of clouds and rains). The moon of Sharad Purnima is beautiful because it is in the empty sky. There is no disciple then, the Guru is alone. If the same beauty happens in Ashadh, then it is something, where the Guru is surrounded by clouds like disciples.The disciples have come with their darkness of many lives. They are like dark clouds, they are the weather of Ashadh. If the Guru can shine like the full moon in that atmosphere of darkness, if he can produce light in that atmosphere of darkness, only then he is the guru. That’s why Ashadh Purnima is Guru Purnima. It has an indication towards the guru and an indication towards the disciple. And naturally, where these two meet, there is meaningfulness.”

There is fatherhood and motherhood, there is something called Guruhood as well, and you all have to play the role of Guruhood to someone or the other. Anyways, consciously or unconsciously you are all a Guru to somebody already because you do give advice, guidance, love and care to people, isn’t it? So now do it consciously, giving your hundred percent without expecting anything in return.