The Day of Adoration of Guru

Importance of a Guru-Spiritual Master is well known to every one, since it is illustrated in all the scriptures emphatically. Tulasidas Ji says,  

गुरु बिनु भवनिधि तरइ न कोई। जौं विरंचि संकर सम होई ॥
guru binu bhavanidhi tarai na koī। jauṁ viraṁci saṁkara sama hoī ॥

Even a most genius person equivalent to the creator Brahma and Lord Shankar in knowledge cannot traverse the ocean of Maya without the grace of a Spiritual Master. ​

तद्विज्ञानार्थं स गुरुमेवाभिगच्छेत् समित्पाणि: श्रोत्रियं ब्रह्मनिष्ठम् । 
​मुंडकोपनिषद् १.२.१२
tadvijñānārthaṁ sa gurumevābhigacchet samitpāṇi: śrotriyaṁ brahmaniṣṭham । 
​muṁḍakopaniṣad 1.2.12

"A true Spiritual master is śrotriyaṃ, endowed with complete and meticulous knowledge of all the scriptures and is also brahmaniṣṭham, God realized. ​"

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत । 
​कठोपनिषद् १.३.१४
uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varānnibodhata । 
​kaṭhopaniṣad 1.3.14

आचार्यवान् पुरुषो हि वेद । 
​छान्दोग्योपनिषद्
ācāryavān puruṣo hi veda । 

​All these hymns of the Vedas are unanimously asserting the same thing that It is impossible to know God without the help of a true Spiritual Master. True Spiritual master means śrotriyaṃ | A God realized soul brahmaniṣṭham endowed with meticulous knowledge of all the scriptures. The Gita and Bhagavat affirm the same and suggest to choose a God realized saint as your Guru who knows the deep meanings of the holy scriptures and able to reveal that knowledge to you as well.

तस्माद् गुरुं प्रपद्येत जिज्ञासु: श्रेय उत्तमम् ।
शाब्दे परे च निष्णातं ब्रह्मण्युपशमाश्रयम् ॥ 
​भागवत ११.३.२१
tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsu: śreya uttamam ।
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇyupaśamāśrayam ॥ 
​bhāgavata 11.3.21

तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिन: ॥ भगवद् गीता ४.३४
tadviddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā ।
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninastattvadarśina: ॥ bhagavad gītā 4.34

"Surrender yourself to your Guru. inquisitively and humbly ask questions to clarify your spiritual doubts. The the means of his lectures he will tell impart to you the true knowledge".

The meaning of the word Guru is

गुं रौतीति गुरु: ।
guṁ rautīti guru: ।

This means, “The one who dispels the darkness of ignorance is the Guru.” 

The other definition is 

गिरति अज्ञानं इति गुरु: ।
girati ajñānaṁ iti guru: ।

"the one who chases away the ignorance is Guru". Mahaprabhu Chaitanya says

जेइ कृष्ण तत्त्ववेत्ता, सेइ गुरु हय ।
jei kr̥ṣṇa tattvavettā, sei guru haya ।

This means, “The Guru is the one who has realized God.”

In a nut shell, if some one obtains shelter of a real Guru, endowed with above mentioned quality with the ability to infuse the true knowledge in the mind of an inquisitive soul, then there is no delay in realization of God, absolute liberation from the miseries and attainment of unlimited divine happiness. Narada Ji gave the same message to Prahlad, when he was in the womb of his mother saying, “although there are many ways to realize God, yet the best and easiest way is the selfless service to your Spiritual Master with pure devotion.  

गुरुशुश्रूषया भक्त्या सर्वलब्धार्पणेन च ।
संगेन साधुभक्तानामीश्वराराधनेन च ॥ 
​भा. ७.७.३०
guruśuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarvalabdhārpaṇena ca ।
saṁgena sādhubhaktānāmīśvarārādhanena ca ॥ 
​bhā. 7.7.30

This is the reason, why Aditi said to Lord Krishna, “If it is true that my devotion to my Guru is superior than my devotion to You, please show Your beautiful divine form to me on the basis of this truth.”

भक्तिर्यथा हरौ मेऽस्ति, तद्वरिष्ठा गुरौ यदि ।
ममास्ति तेन सत्येन, संदर्शयतु मे हरि: ॥ 
​पद्म पुराण
bhaktiryathā harau me'sti, tadvariṣṭhā gurau yadi ।
mamāsti tena satyena, saṁdarśayatu me hari: ॥ 
​padma purāṇa

Hence, on the auspicious day of Guru Poornima, let us pay our homage to our venerable Spiritual Masters with these verses: 

प्रथमं सद्गुरुं वन्दे, श्रीकृष्णं तदनन्तरम् ।
गुरु: पापात्मनां त्राता, श्रीकृष्णस्त्वमलात्मनाम् ॥
prathamaṁ sadguruṁ vande, śrīkr̥ṣṇaṁ tadanantaram ।
guru: pāpātmanāṁ trātā, śrīkr̥ṣṇastvamalātmanām ॥

"Let us adore our Gurudev first then Lord Krishna. Because, Guru delivers the fallen souls like us while Lord Krishna delivers the pure ones only.  "

आचार्यं मां विजानीयान्नावमन्येत कर्हिचित् ।
न मर्त्य बुद्ध्याऽ सूयेत सर्व देवमयो गुरु: ॥ 
​भा. १.१७.२७
ācāryaṁ māṁ vijānīyānnāvamanyeta karhicit ।
na martya buddhyā' sūyeta sarva devamayo guru: ॥ 
​bhā. 1.17.27

Lord Krishna says to Uddhava depicting the authentic way of implementation of true dharma, “Uddhava! A true religious person must see Me in Guru. Neither he should insult him at any cost nor consider him as an ordinary being. He is the embodiment of all forms of God.”