Guru, the teacher, preacher, lord, friend and guide, was celebrated by people of Indore in various ways in different areas of the city. While school students learned about Guru through plays and plantation, spiritual seekers spend the day in deep long group meditations.
Temples thronged with people until the gates were closed citing lunar eclipse. Guru Puja was organised in homes, temples, schools and colleges.
Following is a preview of the celebrations of Guru Purnima in the city:
Prayers, Gratitude and Traditional celebrations in Temples
While all the temples held celebrations and guidance seminars in the city, some major celebrations were observed in Venkatesh temple, Chhatribagh; Siddheshwar Temple, AB road; Vishwanath Dham, Sanwer; and Dharawara Dham, Depalpur.
Mantra Diksha was organised at Siddheshwar Temple. Coordinator Mahendra Makasare said that mantra diksha is an important aspect of spiritual growth. Paduka puja was organised in most temples and organisations. Paduka Puja is worship of Guru's feet.
“They are worshipped or revered because Guru's shakti dwells in the feet,” said priest Kishore Shastri at Vishwanath Dham.
Meditation and Pranayama
Guru Purnima holds special importance for spiritual seekers. Seeking guidance from their Guru towards enlightenment, spiritual organisations held group meditation and spiritual practise sessions.
Two major open gatherings were observed in C21 mall and at a centre in Savodaya Nagar. Maha Sudarshan kriya (a combined pranayama and spiritual practise) formulated by Art of Living Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar was practised in these gatherings.
Manish Soni, a yoga teacher, guided the practise. Other organisations like Yoga Pranay Vidhya also organised gatherings at their centre.
‘Tree’ our first Guru
Following the orders from Education department, students of private and government schools planted of peepal trees in school premises to celebrate the festival and commemorate nature as their first guru.
Various faculties of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Takshila campus also planted saplings in the university premises. Saplings of locally found trees and fruits were planted to help curb rising temperatures.
Food distribution, ‘langar’, Sewa
An important lesson taught by all the Gurus is of free service. Commemorating the same, various food distribution drives were organised in the city. Volunteers of various organisations reached MY hospital with food packets.
All the Gurudwara in the city organised ‘langar’ to celebrate the day. Many organisations provided ‘sewa’ in their own way by helping senior citizens in old age homes.
Play staged, Teachers thanked
From pre-schools to colleges, every student thanked their teachers in their own way. Some gave them cards with heart-felt notes, others brought flowers and presents.
In pre-schools, where students could not prepare cards, they staged plays and sang songs. Story of Guru Dronacharya and Shishya Eklavya were enacted by the children in some schools.
A guru teaches lessons of life through music: Dabir
Music teaches us faith and guides us to spiritual path in some unique ways. This was shared by musician Gotam Dabir from Baroda before his concert in Labh Mandapam on Tuesday. He spoke about taking care of every life-form and nature to seek spiritual growth.
“Music is meditation and it is essential to at least seek finding ourselves through meditation, pranayama or music at least two times in a day,” Dabir said. He sang various bhajans in his concert.
Starting from ‘Ganesha, the guru that blesses with mind power’, ‘O Shiva, enlighten us’, ‘Durga, the blessing feminine power with gentle warmth and endless power’, ‘Guru, my friend and saviour’, ‘Hari Narayan in Marathi and ‘Satnam Waheguru’.
Astrological take
As per tradition, it is clear that one must not eat during the eclipse. However, most people feel it is just a mythological story. But we must understand that during an eclipse there are many scientific changes in the environment, which can affect our health. A simple notice can be given to fluctuation in our mood. This eclipse will also affect everyone’s life in different ways.
Dheeraj Dixit
Astrologer
Temples thronged with people until the gates were closed citing lunar eclipse. Guru Puja was organised in homes, temples, schools and colleges.
Following is a preview of the celebrations of Guru Purnima in the city:
Prayers, Gratitude and Traditional celebrations in Temples
While all the temples held celebrations and guidance seminars in the city, some major celebrations were observed in Venkatesh temple, Chhatribagh; Siddheshwar Temple, AB road; Vishwanath Dham, Sanwer; and Dharawara Dham, Depalpur.
Mantra Diksha was organised at Siddheshwar Temple. Coordinator Mahendra Makasare said that mantra diksha is an important aspect of spiritual growth. Paduka puja was organised in most temples and organisations. Paduka Puja is worship of Guru's feet.
“They are worshipped or revered because Guru's shakti dwells in the feet,” said priest Kishore Shastri at Vishwanath Dham.
Meditation and Pranayama
Guru Purnima holds special importance for spiritual seekers. Seeking guidance from their Guru towards enlightenment, spiritual organisations held group meditation and spiritual practise sessions.
Two major open gatherings were observed in C21 mall and at a centre in Savodaya Nagar. Maha Sudarshan kriya (a combined pranayama and spiritual practise) formulated by Art of Living Guru Sri Sri Ravishankar was practised in these gatherings.
Manish Soni, a yoga teacher, guided the practise. Other organisations like Yoga Pranay Vidhya also organised gatherings at their centre.
‘Tree’ our first Guru
Following the orders from Education department, students of private and government schools planted of peepal trees in school premises to celebrate the festival and commemorate nature as their first guru.
Various faculties of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Takshila campus also planted saplings in the university premises. Saplings of locally found trees and fruits were planted to help curb rising temperatures.
Food distribution, ‘langar’, Sewa
An important lesson taught by all the Gurus is of free service. Commemorating the same, various food distribution drives were organised in the city. Volunteers of various organisations reached MY hospital with food packets.
All the Gurudwara in the city organised ‘langar’ to celebrate the day. Many organisations provided ‘sewa’ in their own way by helping senior citizens in old age homes.
Play staged, Teachers thanked
From pre-schools to colleges, every student thanked their teachers in their own way. Some gave them cards with heart-felt notes, others brought flowers and presents.
In pre-schools, where students could not prepare cards, they staged plays and sang songs. Story of Guru Dronacharya and Shishya Eklavya were enacted by the children in some schools.
A guru teaches lessons of life through music: Dabir
Music teaches us faith and guides us to spiritual path in some unique ways. This was shared by musician Gotam Dabir from Baroda before his concert in Labh Mandapam on Tuesday. He spoke about taking care of every life-form and nature to seek spiritual growth.
“Music is meditation and it is essential to at least seek finding ourselves through meditation, pranayama or music at least two times in a day,” Dabir said. He sang various bhajans in his concert.
Starting from ‘Ganesha, the guru that blesses with mind power’, ‘O Shiva, enlighten us’, ‘Durga, the blessing feminine power with gentle warmth and endless power’, ‘Guru, my friend and saviour’, ‘Hari Narayan in Marathi and ‘Satnam Waheguru’.
Astrological take
As per tradition, it is clear that one must not eat during the eclipse. However, most people feel it is just a mythological story. But we must understand that during an eclipse there are many scientific changes in the environment, which can affect our health. A simple notice can be given to fluctuation in our mood. This eclipse will also affect everyone’s life in different ways.
Dheeraj Dixit
Astrologer