Today is Guru Purnima, a festival and a day of tremendous spiritual importance to Hindus and Buddhists across the world. We, Indians, have always revered the relationship of knowledge sharing between Guru (teacher) and the Disciple (student).
Guru Purnima’ is a famous festival of Hindus. It is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Ashadh according to Hindu Calendar. Guru Purnima is celebrated in the sacred memory of the great sage Vyasa, the ancient saint who compiled the four Vedas, wrote 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. The day is also known as ‘Vyasa Purnima’.
Buddhists across the world also celebrate Guru Purnima to honor and express their commitment and faith in following the teachings of Lord Buddha. It is also believed that Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon on this auspicious day at Sarnath, in Uttar Pradesh.
This day is celebrated as a mark of respect to the ‘Guru’ i.e. a teacher. The day is observed by devotees who offer pujas (worship) to their beloved Gurus. The auspicious day of Guru Purnima has a great significance as everybody knows that the role of a Guru (Teacher) in real life is very much important. On this day Hindus show much respect to their gurus. Several programs and cultural performances are organized by spiritual organizations on this day.
Guru-Shishya Relationship between Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda
When my mind dwells on this beautiful relationship of Guru-Shishya bond that takes the merits of several previous lifetimes to evolve, the first person whom I think of is Swami Vivekananda. His relationship with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa is full of examples of how a perfect Guru-Shishya bond can illumine the heart and intellect of even a hard core atheist. During the second meeting between Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, it is known that when the Guru touched Naren’s heart, Naren lost outward consciousness.
Nature of the Mind is the Nature of Everything, Just let it Be
Like the Buddhist masters often say, “The nature of the mind is the nature of everything, as vast as the sky, as fleeting as the clouds that are meant to pass by.” If we learn this simple fact and assimilate it, we would be able to respect, honor and pray for the well being of all sentient beings so that they come closer to experiencing the primordial truth of oneness.