Guru Purnima

When I was young there wasn't a big emphasis on Guru Purnima, as a festival. You wished your teachers on Teachers' Day in September. And during Navaratri, there was one day for Saraswati Puja, where you kept your books and writing materials near the Goddess and asked for her blessings in the pursuit of knowledge. This day was extra special because it was unusual. It was the one and perhaps only day of the year where you would be specifically told not to read, write or study! Because if no one read or wrote that one day, the Goddess of Knowledge would also have a break and a day of rest.

I came to know of the significance of Guru Purnima only later when I began studying Indian Classical Dance.

Significance

Guru Purnima is also called Vyasa Purnima. The word Vyasa meaning a 'compiler or arranger', someone who codified the Vedas into different books and angas. And someone who is credited as the author of the Mahabharata.It would be a good idea to start reading the Mahabharata today.

Guru Purnima has been a big celebration in parts of the world, commemorating the first sermon of Buddha to his disciples. Buddha has taught us that life is suffering. It would be a great idea to stop fearing the suffering of life today.

But then...

Guru Purnima gained a lot of traction with the advent of the god men. It is a great day of marketing and ego massage for them. Their marketing budgets manipulating the algorithms of social media, pushing their content and trapping unsuspecting people in their snares and funnels. Filling their students heads with practices, fears of consequences, noisy sermons and gaudy garbs.

It is a good day to acknowledge that even smart people get fooled. It is a good day to know that you can walk away, and let time wash away the unpleasantness.

Also...

It is a good day to reflect on the line from the Tao Te Ching :

"In the pursuit of knowledge, everyday something is added. In the pursuit of the Tao, everyday something is dropped."

And then there are gurus. The silent ones. Saying little. Pointing us to the right direction. Repeating over and over again that the Self is the real guru. Teaching us that there are no practices or rituals to be done. Showing us that the only thing worth striving for is silence; for the silence will silently teach us.

Astrological Significance of Guru Purnima

Guru Purnima falls on the full moon in the month of Ashada in the luni-solar calendar.

This axis of Sagittarius- Gemini is very powerful in the zodiac. (more about that in another post). And currently we are experiencing the effects of this axis. We have the Sun in Gemini/Mithuna . We saw in an earlier post, the powerful stars and constellations that are housed in the sign of Gemini. And we have the moon reaching its fullness in Sagittarius/Dhanus, ruled by Jupiter or Guru. This is the house of spirituality, ruled by the graha/planet Guru/Jupiter signifying learning, teaching, writing, philosophy, travel and humanitarian ideals.

What is Special this Year?

The full moon today(reaching its peak fullness at around 2 a.m July 11th) is in the nakshatra of Purva Ashada.

You may have felt deeply emotional and disturbed on Tuesday(the day before yesterday), you may have felt uprooted or restless on Wednesday(yesterday), and today you may feel quite a change. Purva Ashada carries the power and shakti of invigoration. It is a nakshatra related to battle, it carries the energy of pre-war, of strategy, it resounds with war cries, and prepares the warrior to enter the battle field.

Purva Ashada is ruled by the Water Goddess Apas. Have you ever thought of the journey a river has to fight to meet the sea? The course she has to forge, the obstacles she has to overcome and the directions she has to seek. She could well give up, given the god-awful conditions humans have given her: using her as a waste dump, suffocating her with plastics, drying her beds to mine her for sand or land, obstructing her course with construction and poisoning her with chemicals . She could well say, 'That's it, it is not worth it any longer.'

But she is writing a love story. A story of her meeting the sea. Where love is not only an emotion but also a decision to make. And in the writing of her love story, 'she nourishes all things without trying.'

Apart from the energy of Purva Ashada ,what makes this year's Guru Purnima extra special is the double energy boost from Jupiter. This year the Guru Purnima is on a Thursday, a day ruled by Jupiter himself. And for the icing on the cake we also have Jupiter in planetary transit, sitting in the house of Gemini looking on with a very favorable aspect on this full moon.

A serendipitous chance that will bring us luck, if we embrace the large hearted spirit of the planet Jupiter. How can you do that? Make connections with people. I am not saying you need to network. But when you have a conversation find the points of commonality between the other person. Make your spirit big to accommodate different ideas, even those that oppose yours. Be a traveler, one who doesn't allow borders to stand in the way. You don't need to actually travel, but let your spirit free to roam -to be a world citizen, a humanitarian. Message your teacher. Read, study,discuss, write,expand your horizons, dream and take the philosophical approach. Be a bit jolly!

Also take the lesson in strategy and the invigorating energy of Purva Ashada with you.Because in the next few years that unfold, things may come at us with speed that is difficult to navigate. We may want to fortify ourselves with courage, resilience and love.