Guru Purnima Day-“Guru is a lighthouse in a person’s life who dispels the dark clouds of ignorance”-Puri
Jaswant Singh Puri/ June 10,2025
A Guru is a lighthouse in a person’s life who dispels the dark clouds of ignorance. Guru Purnima Day is thus celebrated to pay our gratitude to our teachers or Gurus and seek their blessings. This day falls on the Purnima (Full Moon) in the Ashadha month and is also known as Vyas Purnima. Ved Vyasa is honoured on this day, the most learned individual, who created the epic ‘Mahabharata’ and the four ‘Vedas’ of Hinduism.
He also performed a lot of groundwork for writing many ‘Puranas’. This auspicious day is also associated with ‘Shiva’ or ‘The Adi Yogi’ who transmitted the knowledge of the yogic sciences to his ‘Saptarishis’ or the Seven Sages. Hence, it is also a day to express our gratitude to ‘Adi Guru’. Above all, a lot of people associate the day of ‘Guru Purnima’ with the worship of ‘Lord Vishnu’. So, Guru Purnima is celebrated to honour our Gurus, spiritual teachers and mentors. It is a special occasion to cherish the pious relationship between students and teachers. Swami Vivekananda quoted: “Guru is the lamp that illumines the path of knowledge.” This year , (2025) the auspicious day falls on 10th July. Let us recall the verses of Guru Nanak Dev Ji on this day. “Let no man in the world live in delusion. Without a Guru, no one can cross over.” Guru Purnima is also related to ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba- a saintly personality of distinction and eminence.
The author will like to share that his noted father Dr.Ajit Singh Puri used to pay profound respect to his teacher, the late Lord Walton, President, British Medical Association, London during his various visits there as a Visiting Member of Faculty, Newcastle General Hospital, London. Dr. Puri used to present a lot of gifts to Lord Walton as a token of love and affection and thereby he followed the Indian tradition of ‘Guru-dakshina’. It may be noted that the Foreword of Dr. Puri’s world acclaimed book’ Speaking of How to Prevent Common Diseases’ was written by Lord Walton. Dr. Puri also hosted a dinner to Mrs. And Lord Walton at Government House, Bombay (Maharashtra Raj Bhawan) in 1971 and this further strengthened the guru-pupil relationship. It may be added that Lord Walton invited Dr. Puri to participate in Jephcott Lecture and Reception, Royal Society of Medicine, London, 1985. A unique affectionate relationship of teacher and student exists in Indian tradition.
NOTE: The views expressed by the writer are personal.
