Guru Purnima: Time to celebrate sacred bond

Time of India

10-07-2025

By Anandmurti Gurumaa
Also known as Vyas Purnima, Guru Purnima is a truly significant day for seekers and disciples. It is a time when we express our love, devotion, feelings, gratitude to our revered guru. The celebration prompts us to reflect honestly: 'Have i fulfilled my duty as a good disciple, or have i been dishonest? Have i followed the guru's words in my life, or have i, driven by delusion and laziness, chased worldly pleasures, befriended the impermanent world by mistaking it to be stable, and forgotten the friendship i forged with my guru?' If i have, then this day serves as a reminder to introspect and ask, 'Where am i?'
Have we given importance to the material world, to objects, money, position and prestige? Or have we practised meditation before sleep and thanked the guru? Have we woken up every morning, resumed our spiritual practice, and lived each day in such a way that we neither harm nor hurt anyone, be it through words, thoughts, or actions? Have we maintained a constant awareness within, an unbroken vigilance, recognising that life is not for accumulating material comforts?
This life is not for fulfilling desires or creating a materialistic sense of purpose, but for understanding desires and releasing our attachment to them. Even as we engage with the world, our sense of discernment must remain active. Get married, adorn yourself as a bride, but remember that the one you are marrying and the body that participates in the marriage ceremony are both transient. They are impermanent, and you must not lose yourself in the pursuit of bodily pleasures. For householders, this understanding becomes essential, as they often surround themselves with a world where honour and respect are granted only to those with wealth and power.
A seeker lives knowing that life's duration is unknown, and so is the breath's continuity. Time is limited. Those who adhere to the discipline of morning and evening practice may accomplish several tasks in a day.
Yet, within them, remains an unshakable joy, a subtle fragrance, an enduring happiness.
An excellent householder can only be someone who practises diligently. Without such practice, one can be consumed by greed, anger, or pride, which can destroy relationships.
A person who never finds time for meditation, contemplation, or breathing exercises cannot be considered a disciple. The sacred bond is fractured. Guru Purnima reminds us that life is a precious opportunity for self-realisation, for strengthening discipline and perseverance.
Bodies will perish, but knowledge endures. The tradition of knowledge, beginning with Mahadev, was carried forward by Sage Ved Vyas, who shaped the Vedas, gave us Brahmasutras, and illuminated the essence of the Bhagwad Gita. Sage Vyas traversed the whole country, preparing sages and teachers to disseminate wisdom of Vedanta.
Thus, Guru Purnima is the day of Sage Ved Vyas. Today, we remember him and all spiritual luminaries who have held the title of guru. We bow before them, seeking their blessings, aspiring to become a sage or a seer ourselves. May we not squander our lives in indulgence or false pride but make them meaningful. This is a day of prayer and supplication to the Guru, a time to seek divine grace, so that no obstacle may hinder our spiritual path.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.