2020 Guru Poornima

Blessings of Light and Grace on this Holy Day of Guru Poornima 

Guru Poornima 2009

The festival of Guru Poornima is traditionally celebrated on the day of full moon in the month of Ashadh of the Hindu calendar. Guru Poornima (which falls this year on Tuesday, July 7th) is the day on which the Guru is revered by devotees. Sri Dakshinamurti is an aspect of Lord Siva as the primordial master, the personification of ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. At Arunachala the manifestation of Lord Siva as Dakshinamurti is celebrated as the ‘silent Guru’. 

Lord Siva and His Worship 

During the absence of Devi, when Lord Siva was alone, the sons of Brahma, who are sages Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and Sanatkumara, came to have Darshan of Lord Siva and prostrated before Him. They entreated the Lord to teach them the way to remove avidya and attain salvation. They expressed that in spite of the vast study of scriptures they had no internal peace and they were in need of learning the inner secrets, by knowing which they could attain salvation. 

Lord Siva, hearing this appeal made by the sages, assumed the form of Dakshinamurti and remaining as the Guru Supreme, began to teach them the inner secrets by keeping Mouna and showing the “chinmudra” by His hand. The sages began to meditate on the lines shown by the Lord and attained the state of inexpressible and illimitable joy. Thus Lord Siva came to be known as Dakshinamurti. 

[By Swami Sivananada]

Ramana Maharshi: Lectures may entertain individuals for a few hours without improving them. Silence on the other hand is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity. 

Devotee: But silence is not understood. 

Ramana Maharshi: It does not matter. By silence, eloquence is meant. Oral lectures are not so eloquent as silence. Silence is unceasing eloquence. The Primal Master, Dakshinamurti, is the ideal. He taught his Rishi disciples by silence. 

Devotee: But then there were disciples for Him. It was all right. Now it is different. They must be sought after and helped. 

Ramana Maharshi: That is a sign of ignorance. The power which created you has created the world. If it can take care of you, it can similarly take care of the world also. 

[Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi] 

Sri Dakshinamurti Stotram

"Whose luminosity is existence itself, entering all objects which are non-existent, as it were, shines forth; who instructs those who seek refuge in him that they are that supreme reality, as in the scriptural text; by realising whom these will occur no more entry into the ocean of transmigration of the soul, the one who is the Lord incarnate as the preceptor, in physical form, be this adoration."

“The guru is Brahma, the guru is Vishnu, the guru is the Great God Shiva. The guru is the Supreme Being right before one's very eyes. To that guru do I reverently bow.”

The Guru

But a Guru need not always be in human form. First a person thinks he is an inferior and that there is a superior, all-knowing and all-powerful God who controls his own and the world’s destiny, and worships him or does bhakti. When he reaches a certain stage and becomes fit for enlightenment, the same God whom he was worshipping comes as Guru and leads him on. That Guru comes only to tell him. “The God is within yourself. Dive within and realise.” God, Guru, and the Self are the same.”
[Ramana Maharshi]

Guru Poornima

The day of full moon, in the month of Ashadh is traditionally observed as Guru Poornima. This year, that day falls on Friday, July, 2008 (1:29 p.m. in India) and celebrates the anniversary of Sage Vyasa’s birth. (Vyasa is believed to have edited the four Vedas, written the 18 Puranas, Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavata).

Ganesha is believed to have written the Mahabharata to Veda Vyasa's dictation. When the sage asked Ganesha to write down the epic, the learned god agreed on condition that his pen should not stop moving until the story was completed. Vyasa agreed but said that Ganesha should write only if he completely understood what was dictated. So whenever Ganesha stopped to consider Vyasa's complicated compositions, the sage would use the time to compose more verses.

Spiritual Gurus are revered on this full moon day by remembering their life and teachings. And a period of 'Chaturmas' (four months) begins at this point. In the past, wandering spiritual masters and their disciples used to settle down at a place to study and discourse on the Brahma Sutras composed by Vyasa, and engage themselves in Vedantic discussions.


“Guru is understood to be the awakener of the dormant spirit of the aspirant to the consciousness of the immortal Self or God. Guru is the guide and the leader. What does the Guru say to the soul in tribulation? He exhorts: “Go within yourself and behold therein the splendour and glory of the eternal Truth. Therein resides your ultimate home of perfect release, happiness and peace. Therein find the life that never fades, that never changes, but ever blesses and sanctifies. Be in tune with that Reality, if you sincerely crave of the highest consummation of life.” It is thus the Guru awakens you, and thereafter you are always awake. This is the real conception of a Guru.”
[Swami Ramdas]

Arunachala Grace News

The July issue of Arunachala Grace News will be sent direct to subscribers' email inboxes within the next couple of days. This month's issue has articles on various ecological programmes currently underway in the area, the usual round-up of Arunachala news, narratives and quotes about the upcoming Guru Poornima, the Indian Pond Heron as the featured bird and Cassia Auriculata as this month's shrub including its ayurvedic and medicinal properties. The short story featured in the upcoming issue, is a very amusing Nasruddin anecdote entitled, 'Humble'.

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Guru Poornima

Each year the full moon day in the month of Ashad (July-August) is the auspicious day of Guru Poornima, which in 2007 falls on July 29th. The day of Guru Poornima originates with the ancient sage, Bhagavan Sri Vyasa. Who it is believed edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, The Mahabharata and The Srimad Bhagavata.

In honour of this divine personage, spiritual aspirants and devotees either perform Vyasa Puja on this day, or worship their own spiritual preceptor. Saints, monks and men of God are honoured and entertained with acts of charity by householders with faith and sincerity. The period Chaturmas (the "four months") begins from this day; Sannyasins stay at one place during the ensuing four rainy months, engaging in the study of the Brahma Sutras and the practice of meditation.

The day of Guru Poornima is supposed to herald the settling in of the rains and is thus a time that aspirants commence or resolve to intensify their spiritual disciplines. The Srutis say: "To that high-souled aspirant, whose devotion to the Lord is great and whose devotion to his Guru is as great as that to the Lord, the secrets explained herein become illuminated".

To find out more about Rishi Vyasa click here.