Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Spiritual Insight – Guru – An analysis
Srimad Bhagavatham – A Spiritual Insight – Guru – An analysis
An analysis into Guru is not out of context as Guru is very important for a seeker. There are many different and varying concepts about Guru in many people’s minds. This posting is meant to just point out what scriptures proclaim about a Guru and the role of the Guru in the spiritual path of realization for a seeker.
The word Guru consists of the two syllables of Gu and Ru. Gu means ignorance and Ru means light or removal of ignorance. Thus Guru is one who removes ignorance of the seeker through telling him his own real nature of Self or Consciousness. Thus, Guru here is one who has known the Self because only a person who knows the Self can reveal or show the Self to another person. Thus Guru is one who knows the Self and as scriptures proclaims that “Brahma vid brahmaiva bhavathi” – one who knows Brahman verily becomes Brahman. Thus Guru is one who is established in the Self or Consciousness or Brahman. The second quality of a Guru is that he is a person who is a Srotriya or who is well versed in the scriptures. Here well versed in the scriptures doesn’t mean that he knows all the scriptures but it means one whose words don’t contradict scriptures it is supported by scriptures. This is important to understand that great Mahatmas might be people who haven’t learned the scriptures as such but who have experienced Brahman (knowing which everything else is known) and hence whatever is present in the scriptures is already known to them as experience.
Thus, Guru is
Srotriya – one whose words are scriptures that can lead a shishya to realization
Brahma Nistha – one who is established in the Self or Brahman (this can be testified only by the peace and bliss emanating from such a person as Krishna says that “Abhitho brahma nirvaanam varthathe vidhitaatmanaam” – one who knows the Self, around him bliss plays or always stays around him.
The scriptures or sruthis are indirect knowledge alone because it is the revelation of great saints who are not present currently. The reason that they were told some time back has lead to multiple interpretations of the sruthis. These sruthis are sustained only by the Guru who is the embodiment of direct knowledge & whose words are not mere intellectual and logical arguments but words arising out of experience.
Thus, the Guru is important than the sruthis for the seeker who doesn’t have the capability to understand the sruthis according to the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness, one without a second.
Many people will ask “If I don’t have any Guru, then can’t I realize?” Yes, any person can realize the Self (even though he might not have a Guru) because the Self is already realized & is one’s own very nature.
And a person who says that I cannot get a Guru is a fool and idiot because India is a country where one finds many Gurus at any point of time. Moreover if a person doesn’t get a physical Guru, the works of great saints like Sankara, Ramana among others are the Guru for the seeker.
As Ramana Maharshi himself says that when a seeker has the earnest desire to get a Guru, the Self manifests itself in the form of the Guru and points out the ultimate reality that “YOU ARE THE SELF, one without a second”.
Another important thing to be remembered by the seeker is that the path of realization has to be traversed by the individual himself & no Guru can confer realization to his most loved disciple – this is because what the Guru does is only removal of the ignorance veil. Once the ignorance veil is removed, it is the disciple who has to realize that “I am the Self”. The proverb that “one can take a horse to the pond but cannot make it drink water” explains this exactly.
Thus, it is the disciple’s effort which alone fructifies and gives him the result of removal of ignorance and thereby makes him realize his own very nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. The Guru is only a person who points to the Self which is not explainable by words or thoughts – it is the disciple who has to realize the reality pointed out by the Guru. This is because the Self is the Subject itself which never becomes an object to either the sense organs or the inner instruments of mind, intellect, Ego and memory. Therefore the Self can only be realized as one’s own nature and this has to realized by the disciple alone.
The Guru is thus a person who removes the ignorance veil & points out the ultimate reality that TAT TVAM ASI or THAT THOU ART. When the ultimate reality is known, even this relation of Guru and shishya vanishes as this relation also is only an illusion in the ultimate non-dual reality of Brahman or Consciousness. The Guru is one who knows this ultimate reality that there is no disciple and no teacher but only Consciousness. Thus a real Guru never gets affected when no disciple comes to learn from him or when a disciple abuses him & leaves the ashram. He is ever established in the Self of the nature of Bliss absolute.
Thus, Sankara says in Nirvaana Shatkam that “Na bandhur na mitram gurur naiva shishyaa, chidaananda roopah sivoham sivoham” – there is no relative and no friend. There is neither Guru nor the shishya but only Consciousness, I am that Consciousness of the nature of Bliss and of the nature of auspiciousness (Siva means the auspicious or self-effulgent which is the Self or Consciousness alone).
Let us now look into some of the slokaas of the famous Guru Gita which forms a part of Skandha Purana and is explained by Siva to Parvathi about a Guru.
Gurur brahma gurur vishnuh gurur devo maheshwarah
Guruh saakshaat param brahma tasmai sree gurave namaha
Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Guru is the ultimate reality of Brahman (and hence is the direct knowledge & living embodiment of the scriptures which speak about Brahman) – to that Guru, my prostrations.
Aneka janma sampraaptha karma bandha vidaahine
Atma jnaana pradaanena tasmai sree gurave namaha
I offer my prostrations to that Guru who helps remove the bondage of actions after lot of births (and accumulated in many births) and gives one the knowledge about the Self (which removes the ignorance veil and thereby the Self shines forth).
Na guror adhikam bhaavam na guror adhikam tapah
Tattva jnaanaath param naasthi tasmai sree gurave namaha
There is no thought greater than the Guru, there is no austerity greater than the Guru – there is no knowledge greater than the knowledge of the ultimate reality of Brahman (which is realized through the Guru) – to such a Guru, I offer my prostrations.
Mannaatha sree jagannaatha mad guru sree jagadguru
Madaatma sarva bhootaatma tasmai sree gurave namaha
My Lord is Lord Jagannaatha (Jagannaatha is Lord of Jagat), my guru is jagadguru (guru for the Lord) and my Self is the Self of all beings – to such a Guru who is embodiment of Lord, Self and Guru, my prostrations.
Gururaadih anaadischa guruh parama daivatham
Guroh paratharam naasthi tasmai sree gurave namaha
Guru is the first person of Brahman (which is the cause of the illusory world), Guru is without any beginning because he is without any birth. Guru is the supreme God or Self (self-effulgent). There is nothing greater than the Guru, to such a Guru my prostrations.
Tvameva maata cha pita tvameva
Tvameva bandhuscha sakhaa tvameva
Tvameva vidhya dravinam tvameva
Tvameva sarvam amriteshwari maa
Thou are the mother, the father, the relative, the friend, the knowledge, the various objects & everything Thou are O Amriteshwari (Goddess of Nectar who has manifested in the form of Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi).
A seeker should never forget the ultimate reality that there is neither the Guru nor the shishya (after realization alone – because for the ignorant seeker, the guru is the embodiment of Brahman and hence the goal to be achieved or realized and whose grace alone makes things work) and everything is Brahman alone.
Let us conclude today with the famous sloka of Dakshinamurthy who is considered the first Guru who taught the sanaka sages through silence:
Ishwaro gururaatmethi moorthybhedha vibhaagine
Vyomavad vyaapta dehaaya dakshinaamurthaye namaha
My prostrations to the Self in the form of Dakshinamurthy who is present in the three different forms (which are illusions alone) of God, Guru and Atman or seeker – and who is all-pervasive like space (whose form is all-pervasive meaning that he has no form because form is that which is limited to space).
Thus, there is only Brahman here – for the seeker, the Brahman manifests as the Guru to show the seeker his own very reality of Brahman.
Let us all offer our prostrations to the various Gurus who are the very embodiment of Brahman and who are ceaselessly helping the people to realize the ultimate reality of Brahman. Let us also try to seek a Guru through a person can easily realize his own very nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute.
An analysis into Guru is not out of context as Guru is very important for a seeker. There are many different and varying concepts about Guru in many people’s minds. This posting is meant to just point out what scriptures proclaim about a Guru and the role of the Guru in the spiritual path of realization for a seeker.
The word Guru consists of the two syllables of Gu and Ru. Gu means ignorance and Ru means light or removal of ignorance. Thus Guru is one who removes ignorance of the seeker through telling him his own real nature of Self or Consciousness. Thus, Guru here is one who has known the Self because only a person who knows the Self can reveal or show the Self to another person. Thus Guru is one who knows the Self and as scriptures proclaims that “Brahma vid brahmaiva bhavathi” – one who knows Brahman verily becomes Brahman. Thus Guru is one who is established in the Self or Consciousness or Brahman. The second quality of a Guru is that he is a person who is a Srotriya or who is well versed in the scriptures. Here well versed in the scriptures doesn’t mean that he knows all the scriptures but it means one whose words don’t contradict scriptures it is supported by scriptures. This is important to understand that great Mahatmas might be people who haven’t learned the scriptures as such but who have experienced Brahman (knowing which everything else is known) and hence whatever is present in the scriptures is already known to them as experience.
Thus, Guru is
Srotriya – one whose words are scriptures that can lead a shishya to realization
Brahma Nistha – one who is established in the Self or Brahman (this can be testified only by the peace and bliss emanating from such a person as Krishna says that “Abhitho brahma nirvaanam varthathe vidhitaatmanaam” – one who knows the Self, around him bliss plays or always stays around him.
The scriptures or sruthis are indirect knowledge alone because it is the revelation of great saints who are not present currently. The reason that they were told some time back has lead to multiple interpretations of the sruthis. These sruthis are sustained only by the Guru who is the embodiment of direct knowledge & whose words are not mere intellectual and logical arguments but words arising out of experience.
Thus, the Guru is important than the sruthis for the seeker who doesn’t have the capability to understand the sruthis according to the ultimate reality of Brahman or Consciousness, one without a second.
Many people will ask “If I don’t have any Guru, then can’t I realize?” Yes, any person can realize the Self (even though he might not have a Guru) because the Self is already realized & is one’s own very nature.
And a person who says that I cannot get a Guru is a fool and idiot because India is a country where one finds many Gurus at any point of time. Moreover if a person doesn’t get a physical Guru, the works of great saints like Sankara, Ramana among others are the Guru for the seeker.
As Ramana Maharshi himself says that when a seeker has the earnest desire to get a Guru, the Self manifests itself in the form of the Guru and points out the ultimate reality that “YOU ARE THE SELF, one without a second”.
Another important thing to be remembered by the seeker is that the path of realization has to be traversed by the individual himself & no Guru can confer realization to his most loved disciple – this is because what the Guru does is only removal of the ignorance veil. Once the ignorance veil is removed, it is the disciple who has to realize that “I am the Self”. The proverb that “one can take a horse to the pond but cannot make it drink water” explains this exactly.
Thus, it is the disciple’s effort which alone fructifies and gives him the result of removal of ignorance and thereby makes him realize his own very nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute. The Guru is only a person who points to the Self which is not explainable by words or thoughts – it is the disciple who has to realize the reality pointed out by the Guru. This is because the Self is the Subject itself which never becomes an object to either the sense organs or the inner instruments of mind, intellect, Ego and memory. Therefore the Self can only be realized as one’s own nature and this has to realized by the disciple alone.
The Guru is thus a person who removes the ignorance veil & points out the ultimate reality that TAT TVAM ASI or THAT THOU ART. When the ultimate reality is known, even this relation of Guru and shishya vanishes as this relation also is only an illusion in the ultimate non-dual reality of Brahman or Consciousness. The Guru is one who knows this ultimate reality that there is no disciple and no teacher but only Consciousness. Thus a real Guru never gets affected when no disciple comes to learn from him or when a disciple abuses him & leaves the ashram. He is ever established in the Self of the nature of Bliss absolute.
Thus, Sankara says in Nirvaana Shatkam that “Na bandhur na mitram gurur naiva shishyaa, chidaananda roopah sivoham sivoham” – there is no relative and no friend. There is neither Guru nor the shishya but only Consciousness, I am that Consciousness of the nature of Bliss and of the nature of auspiciousness (Siva means the auspicious or self-effulgent which is the Self or Consciousness alone).
Let us now look into some of the slokaas of the famous Guru Gita which forms a part of Skandha Purana and is explained by Siva to Parvathi about a Guru.
Gurur brahma gurur vishnuh gurur devo maheshwarah
Guruh saakshaat param brahma tasmai sree gurave namaha
Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. Guru is the ultimate reality of Brahman (and hence is the direct knowledge & living embodiment of the scriptures which speak about Brahman) – to that Guru, my prostrations.
Aneka janma sampraaptha karma bandha vidaahine
Atma jnaana pradaanena tasmai sree gurave namaha
I offer my prostrations to that Guru who helps remove the bondage of actions after lot of births (and accumulated in many births) and gives one the knowledge about the Self (which removes the ignorance veil and thereby the Self shines forth).
Na guror adhikam bhaavam na guror adhikam tapah
Tattva jnaanaath param naasthi tasmai sree gurave namaha
There is no thought greater than the Guru, there is no austerity greater than the Guru – there is no knowledge greater than the knowledge of the ultimate reality of Brahman (which is realized through the Guru) – to such a Guru, I offer my prostrations.
Mannaatha sree jagannaatha mad guru sree jagadguru
Madaatma sarva bhootaatma tasmai sree gurave namaha
My Lord is Lord Jagannaatha (Jagannaatha is Lord of Jagat), my guru is jagadguru (guru for the Lord) and my Self is the Self of all beings – to such a Guru who is embodiment of Lord, Self and Guru, my prostrations.
Gururaadih anaadischa guruh parama daivatham
Guroh paratharam naasthi tasmai sree gurave namaha
Guru is the first person of Brahman (which is the cause of the illusory world), Guru is without any beginning because he is without any birth. Guru is the supreme God or Self (self-effulgent). There is nothing greater than the Guru, to such a Guru my prostrations.
Tvameva maata cha pita tvameva
Tvameva bandhuscha sakhaa tvameva
Tvameva vidhya dravinam tvameva
Tvameva sarvam amriteshwari maa
Thou are the mother, the father, the relative, the friend, the knowledge, the various objects & everything Thou are O Amriteshwari (Goddess of Nectar who has manifested in the form of Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi).
A seeker should never forget the ultimate reality that there is neither the Guru nor the shishya (after realization alone – because for the ignorant seeker, the guru is the embodiment of Brahman and hence the goal to be achieved or realized and whose grace alone makes things work) and everything is Brahman alone.
Let us conclude today with the famous sloka of Dakshinamurthy who is considered the first Guru who taught the sanaka sages through silence:
Ishwaro gururaatmethi moorthybhedha vibhaagine
Vyomavad vyaapta dehaaya dakshinaamurthaye namaha
My prostrations to the Self in the form of Dakshinamurthy who is present in the three different forms (which are illusions alone) of God, Guru and Atman or seeker – and who is all-pervasive like space (whose form is all-pervasive meaning that he has no form because form is that which is limited to space).
Thus, there is only Brahman here – for the seeker, the Brahman manifests as the Guru to show the seeker his own very reality of Brahman.
Let us all offer our prostrations to the various Gurus who are the very embodiment of Brahman and who are ceaselessly helping the people to realize the ultimate reality of Brahman. Let us also try to seek a Guru through a person can easily realize his own very nature of Existence, Consciousness and Bliss absolute.
# posted by vedanta : 9:32 AM
