Guru Purnima honours our gurus and teachers as they guide us towards the right path in life. The celebration of Guru Purnima is marked by spiritual activities and may include a ritualistic event, Guru puja, in honour of the guru or teacher. Gurus are believed by many to be the most necessary part of life. On this day, disciples offer puja or pay respect to their guru. In addition to having religious importance, this festival has great importance for Indian academics and scholars. Indian academics celebrate this day by thanking their teachers as well as remembering past teachers and scholars.

As per Buddhist tradition, the festival is celebrated by Buddhists in honour of the Buddha, who gave his first sermon on this day at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India. In the yogic tradition, the day is celebrated as the occasion when Shiva became the first guru, as he began the transmission of Yoga to the Saptarishis. In Vedic Hindu tradition, the day is celebrated in honour of the sage Vyasa, who is seen as one of the greatest gurus in ancient Hindu traditions and a symbol of the guru-shishya tradition. Vyasa was not only believed to have been born on this day but also to have started writing the Brahma Sutras on ashadha sudha padyami. Their recitations are a dedication to him and are organised on this day, which is also known as Vyasa Purnima. The festival is common to all spiritual traditions in Hinduism, where it is an expression of gratitude toward the teacher by his or her disciples.