Guru Purnima at AVG
A Guru is one who teaches the meaning of the mahavakya, the equation revealing that you are the whole, delivering the life-long seeker out of samsara. The Guru becomes an altar of worship. Guru Purnima is a very important day for all Vedanta students. On this day, we seek the blessings of all Gurus in the tradition starting from the first Guru Lord Dakshinamurthy.
Guru Puja
Guru Purnima was celebrated with reverence on July 19, 2016 at AVG, Anaikatti. The whole lecture hall wore a festive air. The mandapa with Maharishi Sri Veda Vyasa and Sri Adi Shankara was decorated beautifully and looked resplendent. Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s paduka was the altar of worship. Guru paduka puja was performed with various upacharas, stotras and bhajans.
Anugraha Bhashanam
Swami Sadatmananda delivered the anugraha bhashanam. He explained that Guru Purnima is also called Vyasa Purnima. It is Sri Veda Vyasa’s birthday. Sri Vyasa has contributed a lot to Vedic and Vedantic teaching. It is due to one’s punya that one gets a Guru. We are all blessed because we had Pujya Swamiji as our Guru. Pujya Swamiji continues to teach us through his books and recordings.
Book Release
Swami Sadatmananda released the book “TAITTIRIYOPANISAD with Sankarabhasyam” written by Smt. Divyajnana Sarojini Varadarajan.
Guru Tirtha & Swami Dayananda Gallery
Swami Shankarananda announced the Swami Dayananda Memorial Projects and explained the proposal. He said that as per Pujya Swamiji’s wish, the Kutiya(Ganga) will be made into a monument ‘Guru Tirtha’ which will enable devotees to do a parikrama around the Kutia and also enable a view into each room of Swamiji’s living quarters. The parikrama will culminate in the serene meditation room with a statue of Pujya Swamiji.
To view the architect’s visualization of Guru Tirtha, please visit: https://arshavidya.in/guru-tirtha/.
The present Swami Dayananda Gallery is proposed to be restructured with visual media to showcase Swamiji’s life and contributions more comprehensively. Devotees having good quality pictures and videos of Pujya Swamiji may e-mail them gurutirtha@arshavidya.in
Pujya Swamiji’s Video Talk
A video of Pujya Swamiji’s talk recorded during an earlier Guru Purnima was played.
Puja to other Acaryas
In the afternoon, the students of the long term vedanta course offered their gratitude to their acaryas through a special Guru vandana programme. The theme was ‘Anugraha’. The students spoke on the importance of being blessed with Isvara anugraha, Sastra anugraha, Guru anugraha and Atma anugraha. A Sanskrit skit on Maharishi Veda Vyasa and Bhajans glorifying the Guru, were presented by the students. All the teachers; Swami Sadatmananda, Swami Shankarananda, Swamini Vedarthananda, Swamini Saradananda, Brahmacarini Medha Michika paid their tribute to their teachers in their anugraha bhashanam and spoke about the importance of Guru in one’s life.
The students then offered Guru Vandanam and Guru Dakshina to all the acharyas in the Gurukulam. Also, bouquets made up of flowers created by students expressing their gratitude about each acharya were offered.
Report by N. Avinashilingam