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SRI GURU POOJA
Date :
Full Moon Day of Aashaada
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.
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