Vyas Purnima – Spiritual Teacher Day
(CHAKRA) Guru Purnima is a festival most commonly celebrated by Hindus and Buddhists around the world, mainly in India. On July 22nd 2013, disciples and students offer worship and pay their respects to their spiritual teachers or educators, who are also referred as Gurus. It falls on the day of full moon, Purnima, which is usually in the month of Ashadh (June–July) of the Shaka Samvat, Indian national calendar/Hindu calendar. Purnima is also known as Vyas Purnima. In Vyasa Jayanti 1000s of people worship Veda Vyas with Lord Sri Krishna and Guru Parampara. This is the day in which Guru Pooja is also celebrated.
For Buddhists, Guru Purnima is celebrated in the honor the lord Buddha who gave His first sermon on this day at Sarnath, UP, India. While Hindus celebrate it in the honour of the great sage Vyasa, who is looked at as one of the greatest gurus in ancient Hindu traditions. The Guru Purnima festival is common to all spiritual traditions within Hinduism, where it is dedicated to the expression of gratitude towards the teacher by their disciple/student.
Relationships between the Guru (teacher/educator) and the Disciple (student) is considered to be very sacred. This relationship is purely spiritual in nature and is independent of age of the two. It is based on maturity of Gyan (Spiritual Knowledge) and Shrada (Spiritual Practice).
This was the day, when Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa – author of the Mahabharata – was born to sage Parashara and a fisherman’s daughter Satyavati, thus this day is also celebrated as Vyasa Purnima. Veda Vyasa, did yeoman service to the cause of Vedic studies by gathering all the Vedic hymns extant during his times, dividing them into four parts based on their use in the sacrificial rites, and teaching them to his four chief disciples – Paila, Vaisampayana, Jaimini and Sumantu. As a day of remembrance towards all gurus, through whom God grants the grace of knowledge (Jnana) to the disciples,special recitations of the Hindu scriptures especially, the Guru Gita, a 216 verse ode to Guru, authored by the sage, Vyasa himself, are held all day; apart from singing of bhajans, religious hymns and organising of special kirtan session and havan at many places, where devotees from all over gather at the ashrams, matha or place where the seat of Guru, Guru Gaddi exists.
May guru’s blessings always shower on you a wish you a very Happy Guru purnima. The Chakra team wishes everyone a happy Guru Purnima.
The Hindu spiritual Gurus are revered on this day by a remembering their life and teachings. Vyasa Puja is held at various temples, where floral offerings and symbolic gifts are given away in his honour and that of the cosmic satguru . The festivities are usually followed by feast for the disciples, shishya , where the prasad and charnamrita literally nectar of the feet, the symbolic wash of Guru’s feet, which represents his grace, kripa is distributed.