Immense contributions were made by the great gurus of India during
ancient times. Maharishi Ved Vyas is well known for protecting the Vedas and
preserving knowledge.
Krishna Dwaipayan, popularly known as Ved Vyas, was born in Kalpi Island
of the Yamuna River on the full moon day in the month of 'Ashadh' (June-July).
His father was Sage Parashar, the grandson of Sage Vasishtha and his mother was
Matsyagandha, a fisher girl whose original name was Satyawati. When Sage
Parashar died, Satyawati got married to Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur.
Ved Vyas composed the great epic 'Mahabharata' which is read worldwide
even today. He recorded all the history for the future generations and rendered
'Gita' as a part of the epic, which still serves as an ideal guide to every
human being for positive actions and living a purposeful life.
Vyas made great efforts in preserving the voluminous store of Vedic
knowledge. At first when he doubted that the Vedas might get extinct, he
protected them by compilation and organised them into four parts. He then laid
stress on handing over the knowledge from one generation to the other. This was
done by a guru to his disciple and by a father to his son.
Besides these, he allotted the various branches of knowledge to several
communities. The different branches were Ayurveda (medical science including
surgery), Sthapatya Veda (sculpture related to metals, mortars, stones and
wood), Gandharva Veda (vocal and instrumental music, dance, art etc.) and
Dhanur Veda (skills of military warfare).
Ved Vyas also composed Puranas so that the common people could
understand all about the Vedic principles and sincerely follow them in their
lives. According to him, religion was not just belief in facts heard or told,
but being a part, by realizing truths and developing them and carrying them out
in actions.
The Guru-Shishya tradition for protection of Indian culture was
established by Ved Vyas. He assigned each of the four Vedas to different
disciples who were competent for propagation of knowledge. He gave Rig Veda to
Bhaskala, Yajur Veda to Vaishampayana, Sam Veda to Jaimini and Atharva Veda to
Aruni. The main goal of this tradition was to establish an ideal social order.
The Gurukul system of education in India thus gradually developed from
the Guru-Shishya tradition. The sons of both the kings and the common men came
from far off places to stay with the guru in his 'ashram'. All lived together
and the children were treated as part of the guru's family. They served their
guru and respected him as a deity. The disciples learned not only what they
were taught but also learnt how to live with humility and dignity. The
disciples attained knowledge by observing the life of their guru and
experiencing truth.
Ved Vyas shall always be remembered for his sincere efforts of
preserving Vedic knowledge. Hence, his birth anniversary is celebrated every
year as Guru Purnima.
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