The spirit of the festival Diwali dwells in lighting diyas (earthen lamps), which symbolises the inner awakening or enlightenment. The spirit of the festival of colours i.e. Holi, lies in spreading harmony. The spirit of Christmas lies in sharing be it gifts or heartfelt wishes for others. The spirit of eid lies in charity. Similarly, the spirit of the most auspicious festival for all disciples across the world i.e. Guru Purnima lies in expressing the purest and reverential feelings of love and gratitude towards the Guru. Also, this festival marks the dawn of a spiritual new year where disciples embark upon with new enthusiasm, resolutions and rejuvenated spirits on the path of devotion. The festival finds its origin in the era of the great sage Ved Vyasa. It is celebrated every year on Ashadh Punam, the day this legendary figure was born, who classified the four Vedas, wrote 18 Puranas, the Brahm Sutras and … Through his intense literary classification and compositions of …, he opened the portals of the esoteric world of spirituality for the inquisitives. He also, following the eternal Vedic regime, initiated his disciples into the eternal science of Brahm Gyan. In the honour of such divine personage and to worship the Perfect Master or the Sadguru of the time, who by bestowing the same eternal knowledge of Brahm Gyan ushers the disciple towards his ultimate blissful destination, this festival is celebrated with great exuberance and devotion.
Verily, worshipping has been equated with Gods and deities residing in the heavenly abode. Most of us all through our lives have seen our elders or have ourselves bowed in front of their immortal power. Why then this tradition of worshipping someone with a physical garb, living within the brackets of the mortal world surfaced in the annals of our glorious history? In other words, why do we worship a Guru?
A bird’s eye view of all the Vedas, scriptures and texts of wisdom would easily provide us with the fact that the Guru is the ultimate power in both worlds. He is the Living GOD- Generator, Operator and Destroyer of the life of a disciple. He amalgamates in himself all the three roles i.e. the role of a creator, protector and exterminator for his disciples. Therefore, in our Vedic tradition we worship the Guru before anyone else.
To analyse all the three roles of a Guru on the basis of the scriptural, psychological and historical evidences in detail, read the complete article in the July’15 edition of English Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine.
