Guru Purnima is the Full Moon Day of the Guru. Purnima refers to the Purnima Thithi, the lunar Day of the Full Moon when the Moon is at its biggest and brightest. This is regarded as an auspicious phenomenon that occurs about once a month. The Guru is the religious teacher or a spiritual guide whom tradition holds with much respect. Guru Purnima is the Full Moon dedicated to the Guru, observed on Ashada Purnima, the Full Moon of Ashada Month (June-July).

According to mythology and tradition, Maharishi Vyasa was born on Ashada Purnima, which people observe as Guru Purnima.

Guru Purnima across Faiths

Vyasa was one of the greatest sages. Apart from that, he was also an acclaimed author and literator who gave to the world the celebrated epic Mahabharata, of which he was also an important character. He also wrote 18 Puranas, the legends, and Brahma Sutra, the text on Upanishads. He complied and codified the Vedas, the ancient texts of wisdom, dividing them into 4 sections based on the aspects they signify. As one who produced or made such a wealth of knowledge and literature available to humanity, Sacred texts hail Vyasa as a universal teacher and revere him as a Guru. So, Guru Purnima, his Day of Birth, is also called Vyasa Purnima. 

Guru Purnima also marks the advent of a sacred period of 4 months known as Chaturmasya. This duration generally corresponds with the monsoon time in many parts of the country, when those belonging to religious orders, monks, and ascetics stay put at a place and dedicate their time to spiritual activities, observance of vows or austerities, reading or recitation of scriptures and disseminating the teachings of the sacred texts.         

Guru Purnima is also when Gautama Buddha, after his enlightenment, gave his first sermon at Sarnath in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Hence, the occasion is Sacred to the Buddhists and a Day of celebration.  

This Day holds significance in Jainism, too. According to the scriptures, Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, attained Kaivalya on Guru Purnima and ordained a Gandharva, a celestial, as his first disciple. In the process, Mahavira transformed into a Treenok Guha, and the Jains celebrate this Full Moon as Treenok Guha Purnima.   

However, in the Yogic culture, Guru Purnima assumes an altogether different significance.

Why Do We Celebrate Guru Purnima?

The Yogic tradition regards Shiva as Adi Yogi, the primordial mystic. There was a momentous occasion when this earliest Yogi transformed himself into Adi Guru, the very first Guru. 

Accordingly, a Yogi appeared in the upper reaches of the Himalayas thousands of years ago. He sat there motionless for years, not bothered by the curious people who gathered around him. But he was very much alive, as proved by the teardrops that ran down his cheeks occasionally. As per mythology, these turned into the holy Rudraksha subsequently.

But perhaps realizing his greatness, some dedicated men- 7 to be precise- persisted with him. At last, the Yogi opened his eyes, cast a glance at them, advised them on some simple ritual, and returned to his profoundly meditative state. These 7 fortunate souls practiced the rituals as the Yogi had told them, which were only to prepare them for the responsibility the Divine had chosen them to shoulder in the future. Time went by; after another 84 years passed, the Yogi opened his eyes again. That was Dakshinayana when the Sun embarked on his southward journey when the Yogi found the 7 disciples mature, shining, and in a state of preparedness to receive the Divine wisdom. The Yogi realized the time had come for him to impart this esoteric knowledge. And on the following Full Moon, he turned southwards and started transmitting the supreme yogic science to these 7 disciples, which contained the secrets of living on this earth plane.

Thus, the Adi Yogi took on the role of Adi Guru on that Full Moon Day, making that Purnima momentous as the Guru Purnima. Therefore, Guru Purnima became the Sacred occasion when the very first Guru was born. These 7 chosen disciples of Shiva, the supreme archetype of dissolution, in his role as the primordial Guru on earth, learned about life, its mechanics, and secrets thoroughly for a long time and disseminated them to their disciples, to generations of those capable of receiving that knowledge and thus to humanity. These 7 disciples of Adi Guru were sages and came to be referred to as Sapta Rishis, the 7 Great Sages. Humanity owes much to these Sapta Rishis and their teacher, Adi Guru, for exposing it to an immensely fulfilling conscious evolution.

It is also said that these 7 spiritually advanced beings carried the seven yogic traditions –Karma Yoga, Gynana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and Raja Yoga—enduring many tests of time and spreading them for the benefit of humanity.  

Guru Purnima Observance

People honor their Gurus and teachers and also the elders on Guru Purnima, serve them, and seek their blessings. Many also visit Temples and worship saints enshrined there as Divine beings who came down to earth, assumed the role of Gurus, and guided people on the virtuous path.