According to Wikipedia, the Guru Purnima celebration is marked by ritualistic respect to the guru, Guru Puja. The Guru Principle is said to be a thousand times more active on the day of Guru Purnima than on any other day.
In the yogic tradition, the day is celebrated as the occasion when Shiva became the first guru, as he began the transmission of yoga to the Saptarishis. The story goes that over 15,000 years ago, a yogi appeared in the upper regions of the Himalayas. Nobody knew what his origins were. But his presence was extraordinary, and people gathered. However, he exhibited no signs of life, but for the occasional tears of ecstasy that rolled down his face. People began to drift away, but seven men stayed on.
When he opened his eyes, they pleaded with him, wanting to experience whatever was happening to him. He dismissed them, but they persevered. Finally, he gave them a simple preparatory step and closed his eyes again. The seven men began to prepare.
Days rolled into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, but the yogi’s attention did not fall upon them again.
After 84 years of sadhana, on the summer solstice that marks the advent of Dakshinayana, the earth’s southern run, the yogi looked at them again. They had become shining receptacles, wonderfully receptive. He could not ignore them anymore.
On the very next full moon day, the yogi turned south and sat as a guru to these seven men. The Adiyogi (the first yogi) thus became the Adi Guru. Adiyogi expounded these mechanics of life for many years. The seven disciples became celebrated as the Saptarishis and took this knowledge across the world.
Guru Purnima is held sacred in the yogic tradition because the Adiyogi opened up the possibility for a human being to evolve consciously. The seven different aspects of yoga that were put in these seven individuals became the foundation for the seven basic forms of yoga, something that has still endured.
Srinatha Raghavan posted the following on fb, an interesting and timely message for all students and disciples under the care and tutorship of a guru.
There were many disciples of the great Guru,
Who were highly accomplished in their own right,
Each one of them derived much benefit from the Guru,
Just like a plant grows both Flowers and Thorns as well,
But there was this one simpleton, who knew nothing great,
No study of Holy Books or Arts or Sciences was he interested,
For He was totally dedicated to attend to the comforts of the Guru.
He would wake up before the Guru would do,
Take his bath in freezing cold water himself,
And would prepare hot water for the Guru's ablution,
He would wash the clothes of the Guru,
Sweep and clean the Ashram of the Guru,
Help prepare the simple dishes liked by the Guru,
He would carry the slippers of the Guru,
He would watch over the Guru while he slept,
He would be at beck and call of the Guru,
While everyone else were in their own pursuit of Self-Realization,
He gladly effaced the "Self" in the service of the Guru.
The other illustrious disciples would silently mock this one,
For being a fool and ignorant without any divine aspirations,
But our man was too busy in the service of the Guru,
That he did not mind and least cared for what they said,
But the Guru cared and decided to teach the rest a lesson.
Once he was expounding an intricate point to the other disciples,
While the simpleton disciple was on the other side of the river,
Drying the wet clothes of the Guru he had just washed,
Ganga too was flowing with her usual might and fervour,
When the Master from the other side called out,
"O dear Sanandana! Come here right now?"
The Masters words were enough for him to drop all he was doing,
Without even realizing that there was a mighty river separating,
Him & his beloved Guru, he rushed to the Mother like a kid would,
Lo and Behold the flowing Ganga froze like one solid block of ice,
To make way for the beloved disciple to heed the great Guru,
And so not for the disciple to feel the chill, she brought forth,
A beautiful Lotus flower at each step the disciple carelessly took,
The rest of the disciples who were watching all this in mirth,
Now suddenly became so pensive and serious that they cried,
Seeing the Guru Bhakti of this great disciple of the great Guru,
They all fell at the feet of the Guru seeking forgiveness,
The Guru smiled and hugged each one of them dearly,
Especially the one, who had miraculously walked over the river,
To heed the clarion call of the Guru...!!!
~ When a Disciple is truly devoted to the Guru, the whole Universe becomes devoted to Him/Her out of sheer respect.
