Who is Guru

definition of Guru?



Adi Guru Shankracharya With Shishya

Gururbrahmaa gururvishnuh gururdevo Maheswarah |
Guruh-saakshaat parabrahma tasmai shrigurave namah ||

"My salutations to the Guru who is Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara. The Guru is Parabrahma incarnate"

Devotional worship of the Guru, is one of the most touching and elevating features of the Hindu cultural tradition.

The Guru in the Hindu tradition is looked upon as an embodiment of God himself. For, it is through his grace and guidance that one reaches the highest state of wisdom and bliss.

'Gu' stands for Gunatheeta (attributeless). 'Ru' signifies Rupavarjita (formless).The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that darkness.Therefore one who removes darkness of our ignorance is a Guru. Only he who removes our ultimate darkness, known as Maya, and who inspires and guides us on to the path of God-realization is the true Guru (Gukaaro Andhakaarasya, Rukarasthannirodhakaha). So, God, who is attributeless and formless, is the true Guru.Students also refer to their school teacher or college lecturer as guru. The connotation of the word guru in this case is one who imparts temporal knowledge (Apara Vidya) and is thus accordingly offered respect. So worshipping a guru is like worshipping truth, knowledge and invaluable experiences. On this day one has to visit their elders, teachers and guides in order to show respect to them with gifts of coconuts, clothes and sweets. These gifts are called 'Gurudakshina'

Bhagavadgita gives guidelines and qualities of a genuine Guru. A true Guru has credentials to impart true knowledge free from speculation and never claims he is god. He knows god is supreme and we are subordinate to him. He knows the truth and lives it, is free from lust, anger, and greed. He exemplifies wisdom, peacefulness, self-control, austerity, piety , tolerance and strong faith in god. He must be from a succession (eg.Brahma, Narada, Vyasa, Shankaracharya).

At the time of deeksha (initiation), the Guru absorbs the past sins and karmas of his disciples and reveals true spiritual knowledge. The disciple develops strong love for the Guru who delivers him from the bondage of birth and death. Bhagavadgita shows that when Arjuna was confused about his duties, put his faith in Krishna, regarded him as his Guru, then Krishna showed him the right path. The Guru is a man of profound intellectual and spiritual sensitivity and compassion. The scriptures state that initiation (Deeksha) must be taken from a Guru. On Guru Poornima day, we pray "Oh Guru, you are father, mother, brother, friend, knowledge and wealth. You are to me everything and god of all gods.

The full moon day in July, the Hindu month of Ashad (July-August) is observed as the auspicious day of Guru Purnima, is celebrated by worshipping our Guru, the spiritual master, who taught us divine love, by performing poojas performed in prostration to him.The right name for this day is Vyasa Purnima.

This day is sacred to the memory of the great sage Vyasa. It was the great sage Vyasa, son of a fisherwoman,(Satyavathi) who classified the accumulated spiritual knowledge of the Vedas under four heads - Rig, Yajur, Saama and Atharva. The credit of composing the authentic treatise of Brahma-sootras to explain the background of Vedas goes to him. He also wrote the eighteen Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavata, the stories of our great heroes and saints, to carry the spiritual and moral precepts contained therein to the common masses. He completed the codification of the four Vedas and writing of the eighteen puranas on this day.

This was the day when Krishna dwaipayanaVyasa, author of the Mahabharatha was born. Owing to the passage of time, Vyasa Purnima came to be called Guru Purnima All Hindus are indebted to this ancient saint. Vyasa even taught Dattatreya, who is regarded as the Guru of Gurus. It is in the fitness of things that Vyasa should be looked upon as the supreme preceptor of mankind. Offering of worship to him signifies the worship of all the preceptors of all times."Vyasa" means "to edit" or "to divide")."He divided the Veda into four, namely Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva. The histories and the Puranas are said to be the fifth Veda."

The auspicious moment of Vyaasa Poornima, chosen for observing this annual festival, is more significant.

On this day, all spiritual aspirants and devotees worship Vyasa in honor of his divine personage and all disciples perform a 'puja' of their respective spiritual preceptor or 'Gurudevs'.

This day is of deep significance to the farmers, for it heralds the setting in of the much-needed rains, as the advent of cool showers usher in fresh life in the fields. It is a good time to begin your spiritual lessons. Traditionally, spiritual seekers commence to intensify their spiritual 'sadhana' from this day.

The period 'Chaturmas' ("four months") begins from this day. 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.

The annual function of Sri Guru Pooja presents a moment of introspection for us to check up how far we have progressed in this path over the last one year, and take lessons from it and resolve to march faster in the current year.

A human being is after all mortal and, however great, has his own limitations. He cannot be a permanent guide for the entire nation for all time to come. To the Hindu people, such a Guru can be no other than the sacred Bhagava Dhwaj.

No one knows when and how this flag came into being. It is an ancient as the Hindu people themselves. It has flown over the hermitages of the seers and sanyaasins and also over the celestial palaces of emperors. It has flown triumphantly over the battlefields of freedom struggle and has symbolized the immortal spirit of freedom in the Hindu mind. It is the one supreme symbol held in universal reverence by all sects and castes, and all creeds and faiths of the Hindu people. It is in fact the greatest unifying symbol of the entire Hindu world.

The color of the Bhagava Dhwaj - the saffron, depicting renunciation and service, epitomizes the culture of Bharat. The flames rising from the yajna are saffron in color and indeed reflect this spirit. The concept of yajna is extraordinarily unique to Hindu culture and tradition. Yajna is not merely a physical ritual. That is only symbolic. The Bhagavad Geeta describes the concept of yajna as the sacrificial offering of one's self to the good of all beings. "Not mine, but thine" is the true message of yajna. Whatever one achieves in this life in terms of physical prosperity and knowledge, one has to offer them back to the society. The Ishaavaasya Upanishad declares:

Ishaa Vaasyamidam sarvam, yatkincha jagatyaam jagat |Tena tyaktena bhunjeethaah maa gridhah kasyaswiddhanam ||

"God is the lord of all creation. After offering to Him, enjoy only that which is left over by Him. Do not rob what belongs to others."

The Bhagawa Dhwaj is the most resplendent emblem of this sublime philosophy. And, worship of this holy flag on this Guru Poornima Day is intended to instil in us this positive Hindu attitude towards life. The ceremonial worship of the flag through flowers accompanied by monetary offering is just an external expression of this attitude of surrender to the ideal. Real worship, for a Hindu, lies in becoming an image of the idea himself. Shivo bhootwa shivam yajet - one has to become Shiva Himself if one has to worship Shiva.

The Veda says: (Purusha Sukta) Chandrama Manaso Jathaha Chaksho Suryo Ajayatha Mukhadindrascha Agnishcha pranadwayu rajayatha.

(From His mind was born the moon. From His two eyes was born the sun. From His mouth were born Indra and Agni. From His breath was born the air.)

Moon is the presiding deity of the mind. That day is Poornima in the true sense of the term, when the mind is filled with pure love. Let your mind shine brilliantly like the moon on a full moon day. This is possible only when you fill your mind with love. Fill your hearts with love. There is no wealth, no Dharma, no meditation greater than love. If you become the embodiment of love, you will become divine.