Festivals
and Events
Guru Poornima
 Guru
Poornima is the full moon day in the month of ‘Ashada’,
the fourth month in the Indian lunar calendar, corresponding
to end of June or early July. It is also called ‘Vyasa
Poornima’, as this full moon day marks the birthday
of the great sage Veda Vyasa, who categorized the vast body
of Vedic
knowledge in to the four Vedas – Rig, Yajur, Sama and
Atharva. Even the writing of the eighteen Puranas (ancient
Hindu legends) was completed by him on this day.
On this day, we express our love, reverence
and gratitude to our teachers and the great sages of yore
for the precious gift of wisdom that we have received from
them in the form of the scriptures. In Prasanthi Nilayam,
Guru Poornima is celebrated in a very grand manner in the
presence of the teacher of teachers – our beloved Bhagawan.
Excerpts from
Bhagawan’s Discourses:
“The term ‘Guru’ means one who dispels the
darkness of ignorance. ‘Gu’ means one who is beyond
attributes (or gunas), ‘ru’ implies one who is
beyond forms (rupa). This refers only to God. That is why
the Guru is hailed as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva (the holy trinity
of Hindu belief). Only God is the true Guru. All others are
merely teachers, like the teachers of different subjects in
a college. ‘Guru’ is the one who reveals the guri
(target) to the disciple. ‘Guri’ here refers to
the Atmic Principle (the principle of the self)”.
- Discourse: 20th July, 1997
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