What is the significance and importance of Guru Purnima? What is the Story Behind Guru Purnima?
Published by NEGI RK July 24 2021 8:56 AM IST
The purpose of celebrating the festival of Guru Purnima is to follow the teachings of our Gurus and to pay tribute to them. In Indian culture, People choose to worship their teachers, gurus and mentors for guiding them since their childhood years and for leading them to the path of knowledge. Guru Purnima (Poornima) is the day to celebrate the relationship of a Guru-disciple.
Guru or teacher has always been considered akin to a God in the Hindu culture. Guru Purnima is the day to celebrate and pay our gratitude to our Gurus.
Guru Purnima is celebrated in some of the South Asian countries, like India, Nepal, and Bhutan by the Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. Guru Purnima is observed by disciples to revere their spiritual teacher & express gratitude. A spiritual teacher plays an important role in human life. He guides his disciples the best way of living and the complete Salvation. Guru Purnima, hence, has great importance for Indian academics & scholars. According to some Sanskrit scholars, “Guru” translates as “the remover of darkness”. The word, commonly, refers to the spiritual Guide who enlightens his disciples through his true spiritual Knowledge.
Guru Purnima is celebrated to honour our teachers, who remove the darkness from our minds. They have a special place in the lives of their followers since ancient times. All the holy books- Bhagwad Gita, Vedas, Puranas of Hinduism dictate the importance of Gurus and the extraordinary bond between a Guru and his Shishya (disciple). Teachers have been given a higher place than Gods in Hindu tradition.
Importance of Guru
Human life is so precious, we get human life only to attain Salvation. A Guru is imperative for that. Here are the Messages from God Kabir Ji and His Beloved Saint Respected Garibdas Ji about the Importance of a Guru:
Maat Pita mil javenge lakh chourasi mahi|
Satguru Sewa aur Bandagi fir milan ki nahi||
Meaning:- We get parents in all the 8.4 million life forms but we don’t get a spiritual Teacher in those lives. Only in human life, we get a spiritual Teacher.
Kabir, Guru Govind kar jaaniye, rahiye shabd samaye|
Mile toh Dandavat bandagi, nahi pal pal dhyan lagaaye||
Meaning:- Here Kabir Saheb Ji is telling us that one should treat one’s spiritual Teacher or Guru equivalent to Almighty and should always follow His Guidance. When one meets His Guru, one should always respectfully prostrate in reverence. When one is away from Gurudev, one should always keep Guru in one’s thoughts & remember Him. This Verse emphasizes the fact that a disciple should always keep the Teachings of Guru Ji in mind.
Kabir, Guru Gobind dono khade, kis ke laagu paaye|
Balihaari Guru aapna, jin Gobind diyo milaye||
Meaning:- Here Kabir Saheb Ji is saying that if Almighty stood on one side while a Guru or spiritual teacher stood on the other then whom I should worship first? He resolves the doubt Himself that, “Undoubtedly, I will worship the spiritual Teacher who has helped me to attain the Almighty. Without the Guidance of my spiritual Teacher, attaining Almighty is impossible.”
This Verse emphasizes the importance of considering a Guru equivalent to Almighty and doing His Worship first before worshipping Almighty.
Kabir, Saat samandar ki masi karun, lekhni karun banrai|
Dharti ka kaagaz karu, Guru Gun likhya na jaye||
Meaning:– Here Kabir Saheb Ji is saying that even if I prepare ink from all the seven oceans, a pen from the wood of all the forests, and write on the Earth, still it’s not possible to finish writing the Glory of my Spiritual Teacher. In this Verse, God Kabir Ji tells the Grandeur of a SatGuru. A SatGuru ends every sorrow of a soul. His Greatness can’t be counted in any way.
Garib, saadh humare sage hain, na kahu ko dosh|
Jo Sarnam btaavahi, so Saadhu sirposh||
Meaning:- All the Saints are pious. But keep that Saint on the head, i.e., sacrifice on Him, who gives you the true way of Worship. In this Verse, respected Saint Garibdas Ji differentiates incomplete and complete Guru that a True Guru gives True way of Worship. One should take only His Shelter.
Who is the Authentic Guru (Satguru) today?
Only Jagatguru Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj tells that scripture-based way of worship today that leads to the Supreme God and the complete Salvation.
He guarantees the attainment of Supreme Almighty along with the end of worldly sorrows on condition that we abide by the code of conduct of worship throughout our lives. The sole purpose of Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj Ji is to lead all of us to attain complete Salvation, where we’ll get back to our real home Satlok, where there is no death, no old age, no work, and ultimate peace. The worldly benefits and the enormous peace are the by-products of this Worship. To Take Free naam diksha from Jagatguru Saint Rampal Ji Maharaj visit your nearest Satlok Ashram.
For more information on this festival including dates, procedure and significance - Read our guide to Guru Purnima Festival
The story of Guru Purnima is the story of first yogi Adiyogi happen to be the first Guru of humanity to offer and transmit a profound science called Yoga so that human beings can go beyond all the limitations that nature has set upon them .
The story goes like this :
Over 15000 years ago , a yogi appeared in upper regions of Himalayas .
Since he was the first yogi, hence being called as Adiyogi.
In the words of Sadhguru,”This is the time of the year when the Adiyogi’s attention fell upon his first seven disciples _ the now celebrated Saptarishis. In the yogic tradition, Shiva is not worshipped as a God, but is considered the Adiyogi - the first Yogi, and as the Adi Guru, the first Guru from whom the yogic sciences originated.
So, this month is seen as the best time to receive the Grace of the Guru and make yourself receptive to the process.This is a good time to earn that attention from the Grace.”
The story in Sadhguru’s words:
Seeing his blissful states , seven people who are celebrated as SaptaRishis in Indian subcontinent express their willingness to become his disciples to learn the art of being ecstatic like him .
In response Adiyogi offer them some tools to transform themselves to be proper recepticle of his teachings .
They practised for 84 years and became fully prepared for receiving . When Adiyogi realised this, he transformed himself into Adiguru and started transmitting the profound science of Yoga to his seven disciples.
The day which Adiyogi became the Adiguru , was a full moon day after the summer solstice; which is now celebrated as Guru Purnima .
Later on , these seven people or SaptaRishi's transmitted these teachings to whole humanity.
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