With Guru Poornima just around the corner, it felt
right to write about the relationship between The Guru and The Disciple.
Guru Poornima, like All Saints Day of the Catholic
Church, is a day in which all Gurus are celebrated. Poornima is when the moon is at its highest
realisation; it is the full moon day. The ‘Gu’ in Guru refers to the darkness,
which assumes the form of ignorance, and the ‘Ru’ is a representative of
radiance in the form of spiritual knowledge, which dispels this darkness that
fills our life in the form of ignorance. The Guru is likened to the moon, whose
light shines on us through the utmost darkness.
Hence, on the day of a full moon in July we celebrate and honour our Guru.
The Guru-disciple relationship is one that has
been present throughout all ages of the world and is vital to its
functioning. Through fables, art and
music; traditions and cultures have been passed down generations from guru to
disciple. So it can be said the relationship between a Guru and Disciple is a
part of all institutions and organisations.
This relationship and tradition is not one that
is modern, rather it is said to be ancient and present throughout all of
time. It has led to some even saying
that Gurus were present before the advent of man and such a statement is
irrefutable since they were said to be in the form of nature guiding the
seasons and the circle of life – animals and plants alike. Even the ancient
Greek, Egyptian and Atlantis civilisations were based on the Guru-disciple
relationship. The Guru-disciple
relationship is one that was and is universal.
