On Guru Purnima all the teachers are specially worshipped. Ved Vyasa, the author of the great epic, Mahabharata, is also worshipped on this day. On this day the students worship their elders, teachers and guides in order to show respect to them with gifts of coconuts, clothes and sweets. Discourses are held in community gatherings to hear the reading of the holy book, Bhagwad Gita.