AWAKENINGS

Guru Purnima is a Hindu religious festival celebrated in honor of spiritual teachers. It falls on the full moon day in the month of Ashadha. This is the birth date of Sage Vyasa who is considered the founder of the guru-disciple tradition and hence the date is aptly christened as Guru Day. ' GURU' means  the one who leads you from darkness to light .(gu= darkness,  ra = light ,+ u = move forward).  Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (verse 17) described Guru as  “Dispeller of Darkness” -  Gu – Darkness and Ru – That which dispels.   For Buddhists, Guru Purnima is auspicious, as on this day Lord Budha gave his most memorable sermon at Sarnath.   For Jains, Guru Purnima is known as Treenok Guha Purnima which in a real sense means the 3 gems – Tirthankaras, Arishtanemi, and Acharyas.   Guru Purnima is being venerated by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.     One common factor for all these religious sects is that it is an auspicious day to pay our respects to our religious founder