Guru Poornima

Gurave Sarvalokanaam Bhishaje Bhava Roginaam
Nidhaye Sarva Vidyanaam Dakshinamurthaye Namaha

Today is the most auspicious day in the Hindu almanac, being Guru Poornima. Today is the day on which Bhagavan Veda Vyasa was born to Saint Parashara & Satyavathi. It is also called Vyasa Poornima. "Vyaso narayanena swayam", Vyasa is himself Vishnu and is one of the greatest gurus who has given to this world the Brahmasutras, Ashtadasa Puranas and who has divided the Vedas into four stratas. That is the regard that the believers of Sanatana Dharma has on this great guru.

Incarnation of the Trinity, Sri Guru Dattatreya shows you the tradition of Guru-sishya(preacher-disciple). So is Shirdi Sai Baba. This day is celebrated in the famous shrines of Lord Dattatreya and Shirdi Sai Baba with devotional fervour for this reason.

Dakshinamurthy, the form of Shiva who is the preacher, is called Adiguru or the first preacher to the Universe.

Then you have "Krishnam Vande Jagatgurum" , which means I pray to this guru of this world, Lord Krishna.

Adi Shankarayacharya, who is believed to be the reincarnation of Lord Shiva is instrumental in spreading the Sanatana Dharma in a very short span. He is a great guru. He has started the four Shankara Mutts across India, which remains a guiding force for the believers for ages.

One would be wondering, where this list of gurus is going to end. Never. On the contrary, it is a chain that has no end. It is a Guru-Shishya Parampara that makes the religion eternal inspite of the attacks on it in various forms.

The parampara, or the lineage, of Guru Shishya, has started with Bhagavan Veda Vyasa and goes on till this Universe is alive. Such is the importance of Guru to the seeker. On this auspicious day of Guru Poornima, we need to know of relevance of finding a Satguru(the noble preacher)and following his preachings. The clarity in choosing our guru is necessary, lest we shall fall into the trap of following the Cult leaders, so many in numbers these days, presuming them to be gurus. They can never be called Gurus, leave alone Satgurus, as they ask you to shun your possessions so that they can embrace them. It is better not to have any guru in physical form if you are not able to find a satguru. We have plenty of tales to illustrate this. Tribal King Ekalavya did not have the privelege of getting education from the chosen guru, Dronacharya. He knew that Dronacharya is the Satguru for him and he could not accept anyone lesser than him. So he has created an idol of sorts resembling Guru Dronacharya and mastered the art of Archery with the inspiration of his guru. Why can't we emulate him, if we are unable to find any Satgurus.


My salutations of all the Satgurus who have been there from ages and still would be there, albeit in disguised forms, shunning the publicity of the present day cult leaders. Even if the Trinity(trimurthies) is against you, the Satguru can save you against any calamity. If the Satguru is angry with you, even the Trinity together cannot help you to give any succor. It is only the Satguru that can exonerate you from all your "karmas", says the ancient scriptures. I prostrate before the power of such SATGURUs on the eve of this GURU POORNIMA.

"Sadashiva samaarambham Shankaracharya Madhyamam
Asmadacharya paryanthaam vande guru paramparam"