(Guru-Purnima: 16th July)
The history of Guru Punam is extremely glorious. The knowledge of Guru Punam is supreme knowledge. The gain of Guru Punam is the highest gain. The happiness of Guru Punam is paramount happiness and the merit of Guru Punam is paramount merit. This festival is so universal and great that no other festival can equal it. Guru Punam is celebrated in the memory of the Great Sage Veda Vyasaji who started thinking about people’s welfare from his childhood.
Where Indra also becomes a pygmy
The word ‘Guru’ holds great significance. In the word ‘Guru’, the syllable ‘Gu’ means darkness and the syllable ‘Ru’ means the remover of darkness, light. There is also another interpretation of the same word. The one, who gives the light of Self-knowledge which dispels the darkness of ignorance, is Guru. ‘Guru’ is also one of the thousand names of Lord Vishnu described in Shri Vishnu Sahasranaama.
In the word ‘Guru’, ‘G’ means the producer of the mass of religious merits and ‘R’ means the destroyer of the mass of sins, and ‘U’ means the power to manifest the Unmanifest Atman – all these are contained in the word ‘Guru’. The word ‘Guru’ has the power to destroy sin, increase merit and manifest the Unmanifest Brahman, Supreme Self. As the tree is hidden in the seed, in the same way the word ‘Guru’ is the Mantra for revealing God immanent in every creature.
And those saints who give divine joy and knowledge, who kindle love for God are also called Guru. How are those Saints? Lord Shiva says:
जलानां सागरो राजा यथा भवति पार्वति ।
गुरुणां तत्र सर्वेषां राजायं परमो गुरुः ।।
“Just as the sea is the king of all waters, the ‘Param’ Guru is the king among Gurus.”
Just as the sea is the king of all Water bodies, so also, one who gives the knowledge of God, love for God, and the name of God for chanting, and enables us to attach our heart to God with power, grace, and instructions, is the King among all Gurus, the supreme Guru.
There are various levels of great persons in the world, but the Self-realized Guru is the highest among all the great persons. As the elephant is bigger than all creatures, but the elephant is also a pygmy in comparison with the Himalayas, likewise amongst all respectable people, Indra is great like the elephant among animals, but in comparison with the Self-realized Guru who imparts the knowledge of Atman and Paramatma, Indra also looks like a pygmy.
Guru Punam is celebrated by people of all castes and classes. As well as humans, this festival is also celebrated by gods and demons. Not only this, Lord Shri Krishna would go to the feet of Guru Sandipani and Lord Rama would go to the feet of Guru Vasishtha. Such is the importance of the Guru Punam Festival!
The Day of respecting the Self-realized Saints
Guru Punam is a festival which actually makes the small (individual soul) big (Supreme Self). It makes one meet the immortal Lord using the mortal body as an instrument. Old age will finally lead one to death. Guru Punam is an arrangement for meeting God with Guru’s grace before death. Guru Punam has the arrangement for making the helpless jiva a liberated, excellent Knower of Brahman (Brahmajnani). One cannot digest Guru’s Knowledge free of cost, one must do something. We do something but can we repay the debt we owe to this Guru Punam?
Brahmajnanis have given so many things to society. Millions of people from India and abroad listen to me, this is also the Grace of my Brahmajnani Gurudev Lilashahji.
ब्रहमगिआनी की मिति1
कउनु बखानै ।
ब्रहमगिआनी की गति ब्रहमगिआनी जानै ।
ब्रहमगिआनी मुकति2 जुगति3
जीअ4 का दाता ।
ब्रहमगिआनी पूरन पुरखु5 बिधाता ।
ब्रहमगिआनी का कथिआ न जाइ अधाख्यरु ।6
ब्रहमगिआनी सरब7 का ठाकुरु8 ।
“Who can describe the limits of the Brahmajnani? Only the Brahmajnani can know the state of the Brahmajnani. The Brahmajnani is the Giver of the way of liberation of the soul. The Brahmajnani is the Perfect Supreme Being, who orchestrates all. The Brahmajnani cannot be described in words. The Brahmajnani is the Lord and Master of all.”
Such Self-realized Saints should be honoured everyday but Vyasa Purnima is a special day for it. Vyasa Purnima is celebrated in honour of Vyasaji, the embodiment of Brahman. One who honours Brahmajnanis becomes honourable. I have never asked you to honour me, but you honour me because I have honoured my Guru. One who gets the Darshan of Brahmajnanis gets the fruit of taking a holy bath in crores of pilgrimages. The one who assimilates knowledge imparted by the Guru becomes the master of the Supreme Knowledge. Guru’s Knowledge is ‘Self-Knowledge’. The one, who assists through his service in the divine work of a Brahmajnani, gets the fruit of Selfless Karma Yoga, advances rapidly on the path of Bhakti Yoga and glows with the splendour of Jnana Yoga.
Development by three ways
To promulgate the principles of Guru amongst the people, to help others – is service to society. To immerse oneself in the Knowledge of the Guru, to come to one’s own self in seclusion – is service to oneself. To awaken the love and remembrance of God, considering God one’s own, is service to God. By all three ways one gets nothing but development.
The message of Guru Punam
Guru Punam gives you the message that you might have come to this world as a small being but you do not depart from the world (die) being small. Do not go to lower forms of life (after death) by loving and hankering after small things, but realise the Truth of the Supreme Self, by loving the Guru Tattva. You have taken birth for this purpose.
