Guru Purnima, the Full Moon Dedicated to the Divine Teachers is on 7 July 2009
Gu means darkness, Ru means Dispel, eliminate. Guru means the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance. Guru is the spiritual teacher who shows the aspirant the path to higher knowledge. He brings light to his disciple by showing them the means to find the eternal light. Spiritual gurus are seen as a link between the individual and the divine and therefore given great importance in the Vedic philosophy. Gurus open the eyes of the aspirant to their higher self and show them the divine light where they, the aspirants may have been struggling in darkness. Gurus are considered the living form of God. Therefore honoured and respected for centuries more than any other person as only the Guru can show the aspirant a path back to the divine and bring them from darkness to light.
Guru Purnima is the day on which one expresses ones gratitude to ones Guru. In India for thousands of years the Full moon in Ashadha Nakshatra is celebrated in honour of the divine gurus. Ved Vyasa is regarded as the Guru of all Gurus and the Guru purnima is dedicated to him. Vyasa edited the four Vedas, wrote the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata. He also taught Dattatreya, who spread Vyasa?s knowledge to the other gurus.
Mantra to the Guru
GururBrahma GururVishnu, GururDevo Maheshvaraha,
GururSakshaat Param Brahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha.
Meaning of the Mantra:
The enlightened Guru is no other than Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the destroyer.
Guru is truly the Almighty Brahaman; our salutations to Him, the Divine Spiritual Master.