Guru Purnima

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Guru Purnima - Big one - Please have patience to read through. Thanks

 

Devotional worship of the Guru - the preceptor - is one of the most touching and

elevating features of the Hindu cultural tradition. The auspicious moment of

Vyaasa Poornima, chosen for observing this annual festival, is no less

significant. It was the great sage Vyasa, son of a fisherwoman, who classified

the accumulated spiritual knowledge of the Vedas under four heads - Rig, Yajur,

Saama and Atharva. To him goes the credit of composing the authentic treatise of

Brahma-sootras to explain the background of Vedas. He also wrote the eighteen

Puranas, the stories of our great heroes and saints, to carry the spiritual and

moral precepts contained therein to the common masses.

 

The greatest of epics of all times and of all climes - Mahaabhaarata - embodying

the immortal song of God, the Bhagavad Geeta, also in it, is also the priceless

gift of Vyasa. The Bhaagavata, the thrilling and devotional story of Sri

Krishna, was also his contribution. 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.

 

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. " My salutations to the Guru who is Brahma, Vishnu and

Maheswara. The Guru is Parabrahma incarnate "

 

Gururbrahmaa gururvishnuh gururdevo Maheswarah |

Guruh-saakshaat parabrahma tasmai shrigurave namah ||

 

Various have been the great sages and saints who have been the spiritual and

religious preceptors to countless individuals down the centuries. But is there

any one who can be looked upon as the preceptor for the entire Hindu people -

for all their past, present and future generations? Obviously, no individual can

play that role. 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. The preceptor for a whole society should be able to act as a

perennial source of inspiration to the people, embodying the highest and the

noblest national values and ethos. 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 ha 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. "

 

Acquiring of wealth is no sin but utilizing all of it for one's own self and

one's own family is very much so. In the Bhagavad Geeta Sri Krishna warns: " He

who eats all by himself without first offering to others eats only sin " . However

much one may earn, only the minimum things necessary for one's physical

sustenance have to be utilized and the rest offered in service to the society.

This is the Hindu way of tackling the challenge of harmonizing economic progress

with social justice. This attitude, even while giving full scope to individual

initiative, effectively neutralizes the evils of individual capitalism. Also,

while it ensures social justice for the lowliest in society, the tragedy of

state capitalism of the communist type is obviated and the sanctity of

individual freedom upheld.

 

The superiority of the concept of individual freedom implied in this trusteeship

principle lies in its freedom to sacrifice for the social good with a high

spiritual motivation, along with the commonly understood freedom to earn and

acquire wealth. How is this transformation in individual's attitude to be

effected?

 

Says Sri Golwalkar Guruji: " Herein comes the genius of the Hindu viewpoint which

prepares the individual's mind for this adjustment. He is educated and

enlightened with regard to the true nature of happiness. The goal that is kept

before him is not merely one of physical enjoyment; that is not going to give

him lasting happiness. For that, he has to rise beyond his dependence on the

physical objects and plunge into the depths of his own being and discover the

eternal and boundless ocean of joy and bliss within. He will then realize that

the people around him are also manifestations of the same spirit and the

enjoyment of the fruits of his labor by them is equivalent to his own enjoyment.

It is against the background of this life-attitude that a balance could be

achieved. "

 

The pride of place given to men of sacrifice in the Hindu tradition was

reflected in every stratum and aspect of life. The sages and saints, who had

kept themselves away from the portals of pelf and power and had solely and

wholly dedicated themselves to the temporal as well as spiritual enlightenment

of the people, were looked upon as the leaders of par excellence of the society.

They were in fact the lawgivers and the king was only the executive head to

carry out those laws. This was how the political authority was held in check,

and the moral and spiritual held sway in the affairs of the life of people.

The Upanishads declared -

 

Na karmanaa, na prajyaa dhanena tyaagenaike amritatwamaanashuh.

 

It is not through actions, progeny or wealth but through renunciation alone that

immortality is attained. Needless to say, it is not the physical abandonment of

these aspects of human life that is advocated here. It is mental detachment and

a spirit of considering his family life, his wealth and all his actions as so

many means of worshipping God in the form of society that is set forth as the

ideal. It is this unique philosophical trait of renunciation and service which

can form the basis for the highest evolution of the individual combined with the

happiness, harmony and progress of the society as a whole.

 

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 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.