Indians have been following traditions and celebrating festivals for thousands of years. Each festival has its own significance and history. Likewise, the country celebrates ‘Guru Purnima’, a well-known festival dedicated to spiritual gurus and academic teachers. The day is celebrated on a full moon night after summer solstice. The day holds a special significance to Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.
This day marks the first peak of the lunar cycle after the peak of the solar cycle. tqn.com
This year ‘Guru Purnima’ falls on July 9. People on social media posted wishes for their teachers and professors. Many people are sharing the teachings of Gautam Buddha. The significance of this day is linked to Lord Buddha, as it is believed that he gave his first sermon on this auspicious day.
People remember Gautam Buddha on this auspicious day. ndtvimg.com
However, this day has become more significant today. In what appears to be a one-of-a-kind incident, NASA tweeted about ‘Guru Purnima’ and citing various names given to the full moon.
Full moon this weekend – called Guru Purnima, Hay Moon, Mead Moon, Ripe Corn Moon, Buck Moon, or our favorite, ⛈️ THUNDER MOON ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/XLufAdoDEQ
— NASA Moon (@NASAmoon) July 7, 2017
It is now known that the full moon has a special significance not only in India but in other countries also. It is known by the names “Thunder Moon” or “Buck Moon” at other places. The name “Thunder Moon” came into existence due to the thunderstorms that happen in July, while Algonquin speakers named it the “Buck Moon”, which refers to a period when the antlers on deer start to grow.
Since NASA has shared about Guru Purnima, Indians have started their own discussions over Twitter:
Thanks NASA for recognizing Guru Purnima. It is an honour to our “Guru” means teacher.
— Ashish Sinha (@Ashish30012113) July 8, 2017
Thankyou for recognising Guru Purnima, or Teacher’s Day as per vedic practices. Wish you all a blessed Guru (Teacher) Purnima (Full moon).
— Ajit Kumar Singh (@the_ajitsingh) July 8, 2017
Also called Vyasa Purnima after the great sage Vyasa
Advertisement— Mukta Mahajani (@MuktaMahajani) July 8, 2017
धन्यवाद @NASAmoon
गुरु पूर्णिमा की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ व अभिनंदन https://t.co/ZfZJwpzkod— NarendraShivajiPatel (@nsp2106) July 8, 2017
Thank You @NASAmoon for recognising GURU PURNIMA 🙂
— Basavaraj KG (@IamTheBASU) July 8, 2017
For people in India, any recognition by NASA is a great honor, and so happened in this case. For many, Gurus, in practice are not just teachers hence people are also thanking their parents, who have been a great source of knowledge to their kids. Some people believe that one is his or her own teacher so one could honor oneself with a treat too.
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