Guru Purnima 2020: The Guru Purnima Tithi will begin at 11:33 am on July 4. (Representational)
Guru Purnima is a spiritual tradition dedicated to spiritual and academic teachers of every field. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In Nepal, Guru Purnima is celebrated as Teachers Day which in India is marked on September 5.
This festival is traditionally observed by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains to revere their chosen spiritual teachers and leaders and express their gratitude.
The festival is celebrated by Buddhists in honour of Lord Buddha, who gave his first sermon on this day at Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh. Mythology says, on Guru Purnima, Lord Shiva, the Agi Guru or the original teacher, started the transmission of yoga to the Saptarishis.
This day is also celebrated as Vyasa Purnima in the honour the great sage Veda Vyasa, who is known to be one of the greatest gurus of India and the author of Mahabharata.
According to the Hindu calendar of India, the festival is celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) in the Hindu month of Ashadha.
The festival was revived by Mahatma Gandhi to pay tribute to his spiritual guru Shrimad Rajchandra.
On this day, devotees worship their spiritual gurus and visit temples to seek blessings. Most people observe fast on this day and do pujas at home in appreciation of their gurus.
The Guru Purnima Tithi will begin at 11:33 am on July 4, and will end at 10:13 am on July 5. Interestingly, the Lunar Eclipse and Guru Purnima will take place together after 150 years.