It is Guru Purnima today, a time to pay respect to gurus in an ancient Indian tradition. The day is traditionally the time when spiritual seekers seekers offer their gratitude to their guru or teacher and receive the latter's grace and blessings.
At Shirdi, the Sai Baba shrine organised a procession on Wednesday. The procession featured Sai Baba's idol, sacred books, and a veena. Chief executive officer of the Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Goraksh Gadilkar, carried the books, deputy chief executive officer Bhimraj Darade carried the veena, and Sai Ashram Bhakt Nivas administrator Vijay Vani and deputy medical director Dr. Pritam Vadgave carried the idol.
The procession was attended by temple priests, Shirdi villagers, and Sai Baba devotees.
Followers of Neem Karoli Baba will gather at a Hanuman temple in Goregaon today for a puja, havan, and mahaprasad. Neem Karoli Baba, a hermit and devotee of Lord Hanuman, who lived in the twentieth century, has millions of followers. Among the famous people who have visited his ashram at Kaichi Dham are Hollywood actor Julia Roberts, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple founder Steve Jobs, cricketer Virat Kohli, and Larry Page, co-founder of Google.
The visits by world renowned figures has made the obscure ashram in Uttar Pradesh into a destination for spiritual seekers from all over the world. "Baba is now well-known across the world. Julia Roberts' visit has made him a magnet for seekers," said Chanchal Malik, a devotee.
The day is important for practitioners of yoga. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev of the Isha Yoga Foundation explains that
the first full moon after the summer solstice in the month of Ashadh, coinciding with July–August, is known as Guru Purnima. The day marks the first transmission of the Yogic sciences from Shiva – the Adiyogi or first Yogi – to his first disciples, the Saptarishis, the seven sages.
Note: 'Today' is July 20
In Sadhguru’s words, “It is on this day, for the very first time in the history of humanity, that human beings were reminded that they are not a fixed life. If they are willing to strive, every door in existence is open.”
Followers of Sadguru will watch the livestream of the Guru Purnima celebrations with Sadhguru at Isha Yoga Center at Coimbatore today at 7.00pm.
