Guru Purnima is the day the first guru was born. In the yogic culture, Shiva is not seen as a god, he is seen as the Adiyogi, or the first yogi. Guru Purnima is that full moon day when the first yogi transformed himself into the Adi Guru – the first guru. 

This is the time of the year, when over 15,000 years ago, his attention fell upon the now celebrated Saptarishis – his first seven disciples. They had done some simple preparation for 84 years. Then, when the solstice had shifted from the summer solstice to the winter – that is, when the Sun’s run with relation to this planet shifted from the northern run to the southern run, which in this tradition is known as Uttarayana and Dakshinayana – on that day, Adiyogi looked at the Saptarishis and saw that they had become shining receptacles of knowing. He could not ignore them anymore. He observed them closely and when the next full moon rose, he decided to become a guru. That full moon day is known as Guru Purnima. He turned south and the transmission of yogic science to the seven disciples began.

Guru Purnima: The Day the First Guru Was Born

The yogic science is not about how to bend your body or hold your breath. This is the science of understanding the mechanics of the human mechanism and to be able to dismantle or put it together. Adiyogi made a dimensional change in the way people perceive and understand the existence and the source of creation. And he made himself a bridge between a simple piece of creation and the source of creation. He said, “If you walk this, there will be no distinction between you and that which you refer to as the creator.” The journey is from creation to the creator.

Guru Purnima is that full moon day when the first yogi transformed himself into the Adi Guru – the first guru.

When Adiyogi spoke, he was not speaking religion, philosophy or dogma. He was talking about a science, a scientific method through which you could undo the boundaries that nature has set upon human life. 

Every boundary that we set has the purpose of protection to start with. We build a fence around our house with the intent or protection. But once you become unaware as to why you set up these boundaries, the boundaries of self-preservation also become boundaries of self-imprisonment. And these boundaries are not in any one form. They have taken on so many complex forms.

I am not just talking about the psychological boundaries that you set for yourself. I am talking about the boundaries set by nature for your protection and wellbeing. But human nature is such, you cannot experience true wellbeing unless you transcend the limitations of boundaries set upon you. This is a human predicament. When you are in danger, you want fortresses around you. The moment the danger is gone, you want it all to collapse and disappear. 

Guru Purnima is in celebration of this, that something so sophisticated and phenomenal began for the human race for the first time.

But if the boundary that you set for your self-preservation does not go down when you wish, you feel imprisoned and suffocated because once you have come with a discerning intellect, a limitation or that which confines us to something is the worst thing. Human beings will suffer confinement more than torture. The moment a human being feels confinement, their suffering is untold.

We thank Isha Foundation for this amazing article ..Brought to life by Sadhguru and in words by Isha Foundation