Long time ago, there were four elderly men who were seeking answers. The first one was miserable and he wanted to know how to get out of his misery. The second one wanted more progress and success, and wanted to know how to get that. The third one wanted to know the meaning of life. And the fourth one had all the knowledge but still he lacked something, and he did not know what that was.

So these four people were wandering for answers and they all landed up in one place where there was a Banyan tree. Under the Banyan tree, a young man was seated with a big smile on his face, and suddenly all of them thought that this person could give us the answer. The same thought came to all of them from within that this person is going to solve my problems, and so all four of them sat there and they got their answers. The young man who was sitting under the Banyan tree with a smile did not say a word, yet all of them got what they wanted.

This is the first story of Guru Purnima. That was a full moon day, and that is how the Guru Parampara (lineage of the Guru order) started. All these four elderly people became Gurus.

They all got what they wanted:

1. Misery was gone
2. Abundance and happiness arrived
3. The seeking stopped
4. The knowledgeable one got a Guru to express himself

That fourth man had everything, he had all the knowledge but he did not have a Guru to connect to. So the inner connection to the Guru happened. That’s why Adi Shankaracharya said, “Mouna Vyakhya prakatitha, para, Brahma thathwam yuvanam”. (Meaning: I praise and salute Dakshinamurthy (The first Guru), who explains the true nature of the supreme Brahman through his state of silence).

Symbolism of the story

In the story, the teacher is young because the spirit is always young, whereas the students are old. There are so many similes associated with this. Seeking makes you old. Seeking for the world, or for liberation, or for anything, makes you old. So the disciples were old, and the Master was young.

What is the symbolism of the Banyan tree? A Banyan tree grows on its own. It does not need anybody’s care or protection. If the seed of a Banyan tree gets inside the crack of a stone, where there is not much water, it will grow there also. All it needs is a little mud and very little water. Sometimes it does not need even that. And a Banyan tree gives oxygen all the time. This is one tree that gives oxygen 24 hours. So the Banyan tree which only gives, symbolizes the Guru Principle.

Guru means the one who removes darkness, misery, loneliness, lack, and brings abundance, because lack is only in the mind. So the Guru removes the lack and brings freedom.