July 10, 2025

The Hindu

09-07-2025

It is one of the commonest and yet most complex quests. How does one rise above earthly considerations and attain knowledge of Paramathma in this world? The answer lies in finding the right teacher, preceptor, guide or guru. One of the widely known prayers, 'Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Masheswaraah Gurur sakshat Parabrahma Tasmai Sri Gurave Namaha', is uttered on Guru Purnima day, as a way of saluting the guru. Discoursing on the importance of acquiring knowledge of Perumal, through a guru, Lord Krishna says, 'tat viddhi pranipatena pariprashnena sevaya upadekshyanti te gnanam gnaninas tattva darshinah:' The Bhagavad Gita says (Chapter IV, verse 34), 'Acquire knowledge through prostration (to a guru), inquiry and service. The wise who are knowers of the Paramathma will instruct you in wisdom.'
Every year, the full moon appearing during the ashada month (period between Amavasya in the Tamil months of Ani and Adi) is celebrated as Guru Purnima, as a way of honouring gurus who dispel the darkness of ignorance and throw light on true knowledge, said Tirukkudanthai Dr. Venkatesh.
Guru Purnima is the day on which Veda Vyasa, the ultimate teacher, was born to sage Parasara and his spouse Satyavati. Vyasa divided the Vedas into Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana and penned Mahabharata, a magnum opus hailed as the fifth Veda. He compiled Bhagavad Gita and Vishnu Sahasranamam, apart from authoring 18 puranas. With his treatise running into 545 Brahma sutras, he simplified one's understanding of the Upanishads.
A number of preceptors have made a study of his works and disseminated the knowledge in a simple and easily comprehensible manner, a service that impels everyone to spontaneously show their obeisance on this day to their teachers. On this day, people pray to Dakshinamoorthy, Hayagriva, Lord Krishna, Vyasa, Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhwacharya and many others, as per their tradition. As the popular adage goes, mata, pita, guru, deivam, it is the guru who leads one towards one's ultimate goal: God.