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Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!

 

The Taittariya Upanishad (I:2:2) declares, matr devo bhava, pitr devo bhava, acharya devo bharva: “Love mother as the Divine, love father as the Divine, and love the guru-preceptor as the Divine.”

The guru-preceptor is considered the mother and the father at the same time, because guru is the instrument for spiritual rebirth (dvija) of the person. Initiation is the rebirth, and guru’s guidance and practical instructions are the divine nourishment for our spiritual life.

The day of full moon, Purnima, in the month of Ashadh is traditionally celebrated as Guru Purnima by Hindus. Also known as Vyas Purnima, the day is celebrated in remembrance and veneration of the great sage Ved Vyas Rishi. He is the Adi (original) Guru of Sanatan Dharma, who classified the Vedas, wrote the eighteen Puranas  and the Mahabharata. On this day, the Guru is offered worship and gratitude by the disciples.

The Sanskrit root "Gu" means darkness or ignorance. "Ru" denotes the remover of that darkness. Therefore one who removes darkness of our ignorance is a Guru. Only he who removes our ultimate darkness, known as Maya, and who inspires and guides us on to the path of union with God is the true Guru.


The Hindu shastras have hailed the Guru immeasurably:

A famous verse known by heart by all Hindu children glorifies the Guru:

Gurubrahma Guruvishnu Gururdevo Maheshwaraha |
Guruhu sakshaat Parambrahman tasmai Shrigurave namaha ||

"The guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (Shiva), veneration to the Guru who is Parabrahman manifest."

This is subtly illustrated by another famous verse known to all Hindus:

Guru Govind donu khade, kaake laagu paay,
Balihari Gurudevaki jinhe Govind diyo bataay

The Guru and Govind -God, are present before me, to whom shall I bow down first? Glory to the Guru since he showed me Govind.

Adi Shankaracharya forbids an aspirant in endeavoring to decipher the meanings of scripture and religion without a Guru. In his commentary on a Mantra (1/2/13) of the Mundaka Upanishad, he says: "Even if one possesses knowledge of the scriptures, he should not attempt to delve into their meanings by himself. He should obtain the knowledge of Brahman only through the Guru.”

Further Adi Shankara utters an unambiguous injunction: "If a person, despite possessing a handsome, disease-free body, fame, a mountain of wealth, and even if he has studied the Vedas and all other scriptures, and has himself composed many scriptures, but has not surrendered himself at the feet of a Guru, then he has achieved nothing; nothing, nothing, nothing."


Guru kripa hi kevalam

The Guru's energy of initiation (anugraha) itself is the universal energy of the Guru principle. This energy is transmitted from the Guru to the disciple. This energy originates from the God principle, gets transmitted through the Guru-disciple lineage, and culminates in God-realization by the disciples in the lineage.

To augment a disciple's faith in his Guru, the entire line of Gurus of that particular lineage guide that disciple, using the Guru as the medium.

Guru Purnima is the day that the Guru Principle or the Teaching Grace of God is thousand times more active than on any other day of the year.

Participating in Guru Purnima preparations and celebrations provides seekers unmatchable opportunities to serve the Guru Principle and thus, progress spiritually.
In one’s faith itself lies the greatness of the Guru. Only if one has faith in a Guru can He function as a Guru. The Guru too depends on our faith. He lies in our faith.

All Gurus are the same internally though externally Their physical appearances may differ. Just as the milk from the udder of any cow is the same, so also there is only one Guru principle in all Gurus and the frequencies of Bliss (Anand) emanating from all of Them are the same.

However varied the shapes and sizes of light bulbs maybe, when elec­tricity flows through them only light is emitted from all of them. In the same way, though Gurus differ in physical ap­pearance, yet the Guru principle that is the God principle in Them is the same.

The Guru does not mean a physical body. Since Gurus are devoid of a subtle body [sukshma deha] (mind) and a causal body [karan deha] (intellect) They can communicate with the universal mind and universal intellect. Thus since the mind and intellect of all Gurus is the universal mind and universal intellect. They are one.

The Guru and the Disciple

Once a foreigner asked Ramana Maharishi, if he could describe the unique essence of India. After a little thought, Ramana Maharishi replied “The Guru-Shishya parampara”. Nowhere else is it to be found.

The relationship of the guru-preceptor and the disciple is divine, aiming only at Self-unfolding. They serve each other to best of their own ability, and the goal is always spiritual – union with Para Brahma – Bhagavan.

There is a beautiful story about Sage Vyasa and his disciple Jaimini. Jaimini was a great scholar and a sincere disciple of Sage Vyasa, but he had a little ego regarding his own intellectual knowledge.

One day Vyasa ji was dictating on a scripture and Jaimini was taking notes. Sage Vyasa composed a verse making the point, valavad indriya gramam panditan apakarsant: “The senses are so powerful that the man of knowledge also sometimes commits mistakes.”

Upon hearing this, Jaimini thought, “Is it really possible? If a person is a man of knowledge, how can he be overpowered with the temptation of the senses? Rather, he will overcome them.” With this thought, he modified the verse to say, valavad indriya granam panditanapakarsanti: “Even though the senses are powerful, the man of knowledge is free from mistakes.”

Omniscient Vyasa rishi did not say anything. He wanted to teach the disciple the truth of life in a different way. That afternoon, Sage Vyasa called Jaimini and said that he needed to go to a distance place for some urgent work and he might be absent for several days. He entrusted Jaimini to take care of the sacrificial fire. Then Sage Vyasa left.

That evening after Sandhya prayers Jaimini retired to the room of the sacrificial fire to meditate. There was a storm and rain outside and very strong winds. Jaimini heard someone knocking at the door. He opened the door and saw a pretty, young woman. Bit taken aback, he inquired what he could do for her.

She said, “I am on the way to my village, but because of the rain and storm I am stuck. Can you please give me shelter for the night?” Jaimini, out of hospitality, allowed her to come inside and spend the night in the cottage.

The young woman said that it was not right for a brahmachari (celibate) to be in the same room at night. So, Jaimini went out and tried to sleep outside.

Now the play of Maya started. Jaimini sat silently, but his mind kept running toward this youthful woman and her beauty. He thought to himself, “It would be good to spend the lonely night talking with her.” So he knocked on the door and told her that it was cold outside, and it would be nice to be inside.

She protested, but Jaimini insistently entered anyway. He tried to talk with her and was constantly looking at her, which she did not like. Slowly his senses were growing powerful and clouding his judgment.

He went close to her and touched her and told her that he wanted them to be together for a while.

She said, “You are a brahmachari, you should not think like this. It is not good.” Blinded with passion, he touched her feet and asked for her approval. She at last agreed with the condition that he should bend down and walk like a horse, and she would sit on his back, and he should make seven rounds near the sacrificial fire. Then he could have her. Completed smitten Jaimini agreed.

While Jaimini was trying to walk like an animal with the woman sitting on his back, she started murmuring the verse that Sage Vyasa dictated in the morning that Jaimini had modified, “Even though the senses are powerful, a man of knowledge does not commit mistake.”

When Jaimini heard this, he realized his own weakness. He stood up to leave her, but two big arms clasped him and held him. They were not the tempting arms of the maiden, but the arms of his loving guru, Sage Ved Vyasa.

Thus Sage Vyasa taught his disciple the truth of life and how to be always careful and watchful in every step of life. Although we may forget our Guru and fall, the Guru will never forget us and will always lift us up again.

May the blessings of Lord Krishna, the Jagat Guru, Lord Brahma, Sri Narad ji, Ved Vyas Maharishi, Srila Madhavacharya, Srila Ishwar Puri, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and our entire divine Guru pranali shower the life of each spiritual seeker and empower them to reach the goal of life.

With abundance of peace, bliss, and joy on the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima, the Master’s Day, let us all offer the flower of devotion and love at the Divine Feet of our beloved Baba and humbly seek His divine guidance in every step of our lives.

Jai Guru


Jai Sri Radhey