Guru Purnima is a traditional Hindu festival dedicated to honouring and expressing gratitude to spiritual and academic teachers, known as ‘gurus’. The day is celebrated primarily by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains in India, Nepal, and other parts of the world. The festival falls on the full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month of Ashadha, which falls in the month of June or July in the Gregorian calendar. Guru Purnima 2024 will be celebrated on Sunday, July 21. The Purnima Tithi is set to begin at 05:59 PM on July 20 and will end at 03:46 PM on July 21. As we celebrate Guru Purnima 2024, know more about the auspicious timings and significance to honour the spiritual and academic gurus.

The name of the festival Guru Purnima is derived from the Sanskrit root words, "gu" and "ru", where "gu" refers to "darkness" or "ignorance", and "ru" means "dispeller". Therefore, a guru is the dispeller of darkness or ignorance. The full moon day during Ashadha month is known as Guru Purnima Day. Guru Purnima is also known as Vyasa Purnima, and this day is commemorated as the birth anniversary of Veda Vyasa. Veda Vyasa was the author as well as a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. For the Buddhists, Guru Purnima is also celebrated in honour of Gautama Buddha to commemorate the day when Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh after attaining enlightenment. This event is also known as Dharmachakra Pravartana (Turning of the Wheel of Dharma).

Guru Purnima 2024 Date

Guru Purnima 2024 will be celebrated on July 21,  a Sunday.

Guru Purnima 2024 Tithi and Auspicious Timings

The Purnima Tithi will begin at 05:59 PM on July 20 and will end at 03:46 PM on July 21.

Guru Purnima Significance

The celebration of Guru Purnima is marked by spiritual activities where people honour and express gratitude to their gurus or teachers. Gurus are believed by many to be the most important individuals in our lives. On this day, disciples pay respect to their gurus. The festival highlights the importance of the guru or the teacher in guiding the disciple (student) towards knowledge, enlightenment, and spiritual growth.

In addition to having religious importance, this festival has great importance for Indian academics and scholars. Indian academics celebrate this day by thanking their teachers as well as remembering past teachers and scholars. Students and disciples offer gifts, sweets, flowers, and other tokens of gratitude to their teachers. On this day, educational institutions and cultural organisations may organise events, cultural programs, and ceremonies to honour teachers and mentors.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2024 09:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).