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The seat of Ved Vyāsa is called the Vyāsa Gāḍī. "Gāḍī" means the seat, and it is pūjanya—worthy of adoration, worship, and respect. In India, during large gatherings where the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is expounded by great speakers like Murārī Bāpu, Hoja, or Āshram Bāpu, millions listen. When the speaker retires, people still wish to offer praṇām. They offer their respects to the gāḍī itself. This seat should only be given to the successor nominated by the Master. The Master must know, having prayed, contemplated, and worked mentally with the consciousness of that successor for a long time. If the succession does not happen in this way, any later choice will not be successful. Many master lineages have ceased because no rightful successor remained. This principle applies to the Master's personal space as well. In the holy book Līlā Amṛt, Gurujī writes of his āshram in Ahmedabad. Once, when Gurujī was absent, a man staying there decided to sleep on Gurujī's bed. At midnight, a power lifted him and threw him to the ground. When Gurujī returned and heard the story, he smiled and explained that a disciple should not sleep on the Master's bed unless expressly permitted. The Gāḍī is similar—it is like the Siṁhāsana, the throne awaiting the king's successor. You can have a Vyāsa Gāḍī in your home and should worship it. The āsana is the same as the Vyāsa āsana. Ved Vyāsa, an enlightened soul, was born on the full moon day known as Guru Pūrṇimā. His story is unique. His mother was the daughter of a ferryman on the Gaṅgā. Once, while she was rowing a ṛṣi across, he fell in love with her. She expressed concern that her father would see. A dense fog is said to have suddenly enveloped them, and Ved Vyāsa was conceived. Regardless of the circumstances of his birth, he was the ṛṣi's son. He is also part of the Mahābhārata narrative, connected to the dynasty of the Kauravas; the Pāṇḍavas were his brothers. The belief is that this day is the birthday of that great soul and incarnation, the Guru. "Gu" means darkness, and "ru" means light. The Guru leads us from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom. What Vyāsa created is the Veda, which means wisdom or knowledge. The entire knowledge of the universe is within the Veda; there is no scripture like it in the world. Some arrogant masters did not accept the Vedas and created their own religions. Thus, from Sanātana Dharma or Hinduism, religions like Buddhism were born. The Buddhists did not wish to accept the Vedic assertion of an individual soul (ātman), though they speak of Bodhisattva and reincarnation. This is the realm of argumentative philosophy, Tarkaśāstra, which deals with questions like, "What came first, the tree or the seed, the bird or the egg?" Through such debate, when someone says, "I do not believe this," they gain supporters, and branches divide. Jainism and Sikhism also diverged in this way. Now, all respect this knowledge, for knowledge is knowledge. Some people reject yoga, create their own exercises, but often return to it later. Ved Vyāsa holds a very special and great place in Indian philosophy, history, culture, religion, and literature. This is one explanation of Guru Pūrṇimā. The second explanation comes from my own meditation. Before Ved Vyāsa was the time of the Rāmāyaṇa, which was thousands of years before Kṛṣṇa. Guru Pūrṇimā existed then too. So, who was the Guru at that time? In the endless universe, there was a time when this planet did not exist. In this solar system, the elements began to coalesce. Our planet uniquely possesses five elements, especially the water element. When the planet was created, the earth element was formed last. Initially, everything was only water, and the earth was submerged beneath it. The Varāha Avatāra, in the form of a boar (connected to the fragrance and smell of the earth), brought the earth out. The detailed story is in the Purāṇas. There are 108 Purāṇas, of which 18 are primary. If you have not read the Purāṇas, you do not fully know Indian mythology and philosophy. I myself have read only about 20 pages of one Purāṇa, as I had little time, but one must read them; they contain unbelievable wisdom. The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is one such Purāṇa. When the earth was first brought out of the water, and the first sun ray made contact with it, that moment, for me, is Guru Pūrṇimā. That first union of light with the earth is like coming from a dark room into a lighted one, or like the morning sun rays touching you as you meditate facing east. It is the embodiment of the mantra: "Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya"—lead me from darkness to light. This mantra originated at that time. With the beginning of creation, a second mantra also arose: "Śubhaṁ karoti kalyāṇam, ārogyam dhana sampada, śatrubuddhi vināśāya, dīpajyotir namo'stu te." That was the day of Guru Pūrṇimā. The earth shone clean and fresh, touched by sunlight, bright as the shining moon or gold. It was a full moon time. That light is life. Water is life. Where there is water, there is God; where there is water, there is life; where there is life, there is the soul; and where there is the soul, there is light. Without light, nothing can exist. Even plants grow from seeds in the earth and sprout towards the light. The light is life; that is God. The consciousness of that light within the water brings forth life, followed by the other elements like earth and fire. The fire element is the light element—it is prakāśa (illumination). Where there is prakāśa, there is warmth and lightness. Thus, Guru Pūrṇimā marks the beginning. The first sensory experience on this planet was Guru Pūrṇimā. From that moment, the ṛṣis discovered this truth and composed many mantras. Since that time, Guru Pūrṇimā has been celebrated. Today, especially, if you make a saṅkalpa (resolve), it will come true. Make your saṅkalpa very carefully. Offer all the sādhanā you have practiced throughout the year like flowers to the Gurudeva. Then take a new vow for the coming year: to be truthful, to not let doubts enter your mind, to not succumb to laziness, to practice five mantras or five mālās daily, to perform your kriyās every day, to do good deeds, and so on. Today, take your new saṅkalpa to continue your sādhanā.