Guru Purnima or Vyasa Purnima holds immense cultural and spiritual significance and is one of the most prominent celebrations in Indian culture. The word “Guru” originates from Sanskrit, where “Gu” means ignorance or darkness and “Ru” denotes the ‘elimination or removal’. Thus, a Guru is the one who frees us of the darkness of ignorance and shows us the path of light of knowledge and guides our lives.

When we celebrate it:

The Guru Purnima celebration has been in practice since the early ages of mankind in India, around thousands of years back. It is observed and celebrated every year throughout India on ‘Ashada Purnima’ which is one of the most auspicious days of the year.

It is the birthday of the greatest Guru in India – Maharshi Veda Vyasa. “Purnima” means a Full Moon day. Guru Purnima is celebrated on the full moon day of the 4th month (Aashada) of the Indian Lunar calendar. It falls in either June or July month as per the English calendar. Guru Purnima is also celebrated in Nepal and Bhutan.

Why we celebrate Guru Purnima :

Gurus hold immense significance in Indian culture. Guru has always been considered akin to God. In our culture, the first place in our life is reserved for the mother, second for the father and third for the Guru. The whole Gurukul system evolved, centred around the significance of Gurus. Even the Kings used to leave their children with the Gurus for the whole of their Gurukul life and never interfered in Guru’s decisions.

Guru Purnima is celebrated to honour Gurus, mentors, and teachers who remove the darkness from our minds and shape our lives. ​It is a celebration of the spiritual bond that exists between a disciple and Guru. It is a remarkable day that signifies the importance of the Guru-disciple legacy that showed a path of light to humanity in many ways for many years; and we pay our gratitude to our Gurus from ancient times for that.

History of Guru Purnima :

Guru Purnima is the birthday of Maharshi Veda Vyasa, who is considered as the first and the greatest Guru in India. He authored the most important texts of all time such as the great epic Mahabharata, Puranas, and the Brahma Sutras in the world’s oldest language Sanskrit. He is the proponent of the Advaita philosophy. Furthermore, he compiled the world’s oldest script Vedas and thus got his name Ved Vyas. The day is celebrated in remembrance and veneration of Maharishi Veda Vyasa.

Guru Purnima is an auspicious day for Buddhists too. It was on this day, the Aashadha Purnima, that Lord Buddha delivered the Dharmacakrapravartana Sutra to his five disciples at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.

According to Jainism, it was on this day that Lord Mahavira made Indrabhuti Gautham his first disciple. Thus, Guru Purnima holds the significance of initiating the Guru-shishya relation in Jainism too.

How it is celebrated :

We celebrate this observation by thanking our Gurus, mentors, and teachers. Guru Purnima is celebrated by expressing gratitude to our Gurus. Disciples offer prayers in honour of their Gurus. On this day, one should introspect and resolve to dedicate themselves to following the guru’s principles and teachings and put them into practice.

Some famous Guru – Shishya pairs:

Maharshi Vyas – Vaishmpayan and Shukdev
Maharshi Vasistha and Ram
Maharshi Vishwamitra and Ram
Maharshi Valmiki and Lav & Kush
Maharshi Sandipani and Krishna
Parashuram and Dronacharya
Dronacharya and Arjuna
Adi Shankaracharya and Padmapadacharya
Chanakya and Chandragupta Maurya
Sant Tulsidas and Maharana Pratap
Swami Samarth Ramdas – Shivaji Maharaj
Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda
Ramakant Achrekar and Sachin Tendulkar
Pullela Gopichand and Sindhu