Full
Moon Day of Aashaadha
Devotional worship
of the Guru - the preceptor - is one of the most touching and
elevating features of the Hindu cultural tradition. The auspicious
moment of Vyaasa Poornima, chosen for observing this annual
festival, is no less significant. It was the great sage Vyasa, son
of a fisherwoman, who classified the accumulated spiritual knowledge
of the Vedas under four heads - Rig, Yajur, Saama
and Atharva. To him goes the credit of composing the
authentic treatise of Brahma-sootras to explain the
background of Vedas. He also wrote the eighteen Puranas, the stories
of our great heroes and saints, to carry the spiritual and moral
precepts contained therein to the common masses.
The greatest of
epics of all times and of all climes - Mahaabhaarata -
embodying the immortal song of God, the Bhagavad Geeta, also
in it, is also the priceless gift of Vyasa. The Bhaagavata,
the thrilling and devotional story of Sri Krishna, was also his
contribution. It is in the fitness of things that Vyasa should be
looked upon as the supreme preceptor of mankind. Offering of worship
to him signifies the worship of all the preceptors of all times.
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