Guru Purnima
15th of July is Guru Purnima. This is a day dedicated to worshiping the compassionate Guru parampara, the lineage of traditional teachers who have carried on the task of imparting knowledge to earnest seekers of the Self over countless generations. Special prayers are offered to the hierarchy of Gurus, their Gurus and their Gurus – all the way back to the Lord Himself. This Guru purnima day is also called Vyasa puja day. On this day Bhagavan Veda Vyasa is honored and revered for his invaluable contributions. This foremost among preceptors codified the four vedas, wrote the Brahma sutras, the puranas and the Mahabharat which contains the song celestial, the Bhagavad Gita. There is a beautiful verse that describes the glory of Veda Vyasa, who is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Narayana; and Shankaracharya, who is considered to be an avatar of Lord Shiva. Vyasacharya wrote the Brahma Sutras for which Shankaracharya wrote the bhashya, commentary.
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shaMkaraM shaMkarAchAryaM keshavaM bAdarAyaNam
sUtrabhAShyakRRitau vande bhagavantau punaH punaH ||
The Guru Purnima day marks the beginning of the chaturmasya vrata of sanyasis. The word chaturmasya means four months. The vrata, vow, is observed for four months. However as per the Vedic dictum which allows for a fortnight to be taken as a month, the chaturmasya vrata is traditionally observed for two months. During the rainy season the sanyasis observe the chaturmasya and stay in one place without moving around.
It is said in the Narada Parivrajakopanishad that Sanyasis shouldn’t stay in a place and must keep moving. Staying in one place for long may get them entangled in worldly matters. During rainy season they stay in one place observing the chaturmasya, meditating on the Supreme and teaching earnest students the lofty Brahma Vidya. More over, since sanyasis have taken the vow of ahimsa, non injury, their moving about during the rainy season may cause harm to insects and worms that typically move about.
During the Vyasa puja, three groups of Acharyas are revered and prayers are offered to them. Each group consists of five teachers. Lord Krishna and four teachers – Sanatkumara, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatsujata – form the first pentad. Vyasacharya and his four disciples, namely, Sumanthu, Jaimini, Vaisampayana and Paila form the second pentad. Shankaracharya and his four famous disciples. Sureshwaracharya, Padmapadacharya, Totakacharya and Hastamalakacharya form the third pentad. The Guru takes the vow to observe the chaturmasya by staying in one place and the disciples take the vow to make his stay comfortable and serve his lotus feet. During this day special prayers are offered to Lord Sadashiva, Shankaracharya and the lineage of teachers under Shankaracharya.
I would like to recollect the Guru paduka stotram – a beautiful set of verses glorifying the greatness of the Guru’s sandals that adorn his lotus like feet. The Guru may use many objects yet it is his sandals that are worshiped traditionally. The reason is that his sandals are symbolic of the path that he or she walked on – the path of serving and studying under a shrotriya brahmanishtha, that is, a traditional vedantic teacher who has the ultimate realization. There is a nice rendition of the Guru paduka stotram on Youtube, set to a melodious tune and music. You can listen to it here.
On this day, auspicious and important for all seekers of Brahma Vidya, our humble prostrations to the entire Guru parampara starting with Lord Shiva through Shankaracharya and all the way till our own Guru. May their divine grace bless us with sadhana chatushtaya and knowledge of the Self.
