Honouring the Eternal Bond Between Guru and Shishya

 Guru Purnima 2025: Date, Timings, Puja Rituals And Significance

By Sulagna Halder

This Thursday, 10 July 2025 in India, is celebrated as Guru Purnima, during which most of the people will stop and take some time to give consideration to the role that the guru plays in their life whether it be a spiritual master, a hometown teacher, a guide or that part of their lives that taught them something valuable. The day is not only a religious event, but deep cultural and spiritual embodiment of appreciation and thankfulness; it is a peculiar observation performed on the full moon of the Hindu month Ashadha.

Guru Purnima is a phenomena or festival that is attested as surrounded by tradition which is deep rooted in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism religion. Living in the fast paced world where education frequently amounts to the screen and online trends, Guru Purnima still serves an important reminder of the perennial value of true knowledge and connecting with other people.

In Sanskrit the word guru translates as the one who dispels darkness. Although commonly carriers of considerable meaning that are applied to spiritual teachers, it has reached a higher level of meaning which involves all those individuals through whom knowledge is learned and the direction is given. In India, Guru Purnima is celebrated in the Hindu faith as the birthday of Maharishi Veda Vyasa who is not only the creator of the Vedas, compiler of the Mahabharata but also codifier of many Puranas. He is known as being the Adi Guru or the first teacher.

Due to this connection, this day is also called Vyasa Purnima. Special ceremonies are observed temple, gurukuls and ashrams across India in the honour of Vyasa and in his many successors known as guru. Devotees sing Guru Stotras and present the flowers, sweets and fruits and light the lamps as indications of spiritual awakening.

The day also marks the birth of the Gautama Buddha in the Buddhism religion because the day was when the Buddha delivered his first sermon at the deer park at Sarnath, after he had attained enlightenment. This sermon also referred to as Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is regarded as the turning of the wheel of Dharma and the starting of the Buddhist monastic course. Therefore, Guru Purnima is very significant to the Buddhist monks and followers particularly in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In case of Jains, the day is connected with the main disciple of Lord Mahavira, Gautam Swami his followers believe that he had achieved Keval Gyan (absolute knowledge) on that day. The similarity of all spiritual traditions and across sects is that a high value is placed on wisdom, direction, and ethical keenness.

The Guru Purnima festivities normally start with early morning purification of the believer and sacred place of worship. Disciples wear simple and conventional wears and offer puja at homes or through spiritual centres. The procedures include provision of the photo or other symbol of the guru in a clean platform, adorned with flowers and incense and offerings made by fruits and sweets. One group of disciples on the other hand fast the day, and pass the time in silence, prayer, or meditation.

The specialty of Guru Purnima lies in the fact that the celebration of gratitude is personalised. To others, it is an emotional dedication of a schoolteacher who altered the life track of a person. To other people it is a very spiritual event where one is to meet his spiritual master and seeks blessings and strengthens the resolve to continue in the ways of truth.

Most of them also go to the internet to share their sentiments, especially through social media in the digital age. The hashtags such as #GuruPurnima2025 or #ThankYouGuru are trending on various platforms multiplying the photos, quotes, and soulful messages on behalf of mentors people have. The essence of the respect has been preserved although the medium has changed.

Guru Purnima is going to occur on Sunday, this is why every person can attend religious and cultural activities. Spiritual gatherings have become attractions in the cities such as Rishikesh, Haridwar, Varanasi and so on. Preparations are underway to organise mass meditations and satsangs in different parts of the country by the Art of Living foundation in Bengaluru and Isha foundation in Coimbatore; rituals and discourses would be conducted by Buddhist monasteries in Ladakh and Sikkim.

Events will be organised in schools and colleges in urban and rural India beforehand. This entails the greeting of retired teachers, cultural events run by students themselves and addresses about the importance of education and respect between them. Even in present day traditional Sanskrit institutes and gurukuls, guru dakshina the ancient system of exchanging something in lieu of acquisition of knowledge continues to be practiced symbolically.

Osho International Meditation Centre located in Pune is going to organise a silent meditation retreat to which seekers of all parts of the world will be invited. In the meanwhile, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi, is hosting a seminar on Guru in Indian Philosophy around which scholars and spiritual heads of different traditions are converging.

More than the rites and the programmed festivities, Guru Purnima is a spiritual testing station, a point to stop and consider, and the question is Who is the guide and what has been directing me? It teaches contemplation, modesty and recognition that nobody can make any advancements, spiritual, academic or emotional, without being guided.

It is not so simply about prostrating one self to someone who wears saffron clothes, says Dr. Ritu Jha a literature professor in Kolkata. In my case, my grandmother was my guru who made me realise the worth of honesty through stories. It is a person in whom I honour on this day.”

Guru Purnima is a reminder in the world that is sometimes guided by competition, ego, and noise at times that there is the quiet radiant presence of the teacher, the one who walks with us and sometimes quietly assists us in seeing that which we cannot always see.

On 10 July 2025 there will be temples that will be illuminated, schools will have chants, and homes filled with gratitude songs. But then, even more than these words, the actual spirit of Guru Purnima is about continuing the teaching left by one guru in everyday life with respect, caring and insight.

India does not only celebrate tradition in Guru Purnima, but also a universal fact that no man is ever alone in his way to enlightenment, success or peace. At all times we have a guiding figure, visible or otherwise whose light shows the path.