Category Archives: The True Nature of a Guru
Incarnations and the GURU
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
INCARNATIONS AND THE GURU
The Guru’s mission is usually confined to two -o four disciples while that of an Incarnation is generally concerned with protection of society and the reinstatement of Righteousness (Dharma). Even incarnations possessing a human body like Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, etc. stayed with Their Gurus and acquired the grace of the Guru by serving Him. Of course, all this was meant to teach others.
AVATHAR SESHADRI SWAMIGAL – INCARNATION OF SHIVA (Lord of the Universe)
The GURU’s prayer to the LORD
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
THE GURU’S PRAYER TO THE LORD
(When the Guru is in the state of the embodied soul (jivadasha))
Lord grant Me a disciple who has the knowledge of Brahman,
One who is supreme in spiritual emotion,
an icon of devotion and love.
Detachment will occur in the one who has these qualities.
If I find such a disciple, I will be the happiest person,
I will shield the dear one from evil eyes.
Lord with Your grace grant Me a disciple
Who will carry on My work (of spread of Spirituality)
May he become Omniscient
in the knowledge of Brahman
and be upheld in glory in all the three worlds.
Tuka is calling out to You, My Lord Vithoba.
He is knocking at Your door.
From a Disciple’s Point of View
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
GOD AND THE GURU FROM A DISCIPLE’S POINT OF VIEW
From the point of view of a disciple the Guru is superior to God.
Differences
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
DIFFERENCES
a. The following table clearly shows the externally vis ible differences in God and a Guru.
-
God The Guru 1 Duration of the manifest / unmanifest state A. Most of the time Unmanifest Manifest B. Rarely Manifest Unmanifest C. Their being in the company of average individuals Not possible Possible 2 Energy Destroyer and Saviour Saviour 3 Mercifulness Usually absent Present most of the time 4 Expectation that someone should undertake spiritual practice Absent
Devoid of expectation is He and doesnot expect devotees to practise Spirituality – Eknathi BhagvatPresent
[Present – in thestate of the embodied soul (jivadasha), absent – in the state of the God realised soul (Shivadasha)]5 Privilege to place His hand on the head in the form of a blessing Absent* Present 6 From whom does He save ? From everyone excluding the Guru. Even God cannot save one from the Guru’s wrath. One has to humbly surrender at the Guru’s feet and plead for forgiveness. The Guru can save from God’s wrath.** 7 What does He endow once He is appeased ? A. Whatever the devotee wishes for That which isuseful to the disciple B. From the manifest (sagun) The unmanifest (nirgun), that is God !
* Since God is in the unmanifest state He cannot place His hand in the manifest form ! If God does do it then He is named as some other deity.
** If Shrihari or Shritripurari get enraged with devotees,
Then Shriguru protects them with determination.
– Shri Gurucharitra 2 : 24
Implied meaning : Shrihari (Vishnu) and Tripurari (Shiva) are the Names for The Lord used in the Vaishnava and Shaiva sects respectively. If The Lord’s destroyer form gets angry just to teach something, then simultaneously The Lord’s saviour form, that is the Guru takes care of the devotee. However if the Guru, that is the saviour form itself is enraged then there is no solution but to ask for His forgiveness.
b. The disciple follows the advice of the Guru; hence he acquires spiritual knowledge of the unmanifest. God complies with what the devotee tells him, that is He attains the manifest form and appears before the devotee.
Similarities
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
SIMILARITIES
“God and the Guru are one and the same”
The Guru is God’s manifest form while the unmanifest form of the Guru is God.
1. A bank has several branches. According to one’s convenience one opens an account and deposits money in a local branch. There is no need to take the trouble of going to the main branch situated elsewhere in a distant place, to deposit the money. In the same way spiritual emotion (bhav), devotion, service, sacrifice, etc. are easier to practise in the context of God’s manifest (sagun) form, that is the Guru, instead of doing them for the invisible unmanifest God. Just as the money deposited in any branch of a bank finally reaches its main branch so also service rendered unto the Guru amounts to that of God.
2. Vaman Pandit travelled all over India defeating great intellectuals. He took letters which showed that they had accepted defeat, from him. As he was returning with these letters of victory, one evening as he sat under a tree to perform the ritual of sandhya he spotted a brahmarakshas (a haughty, disdainful spirit of a Brahman) seated on a branch of that tree. At that very moment another brahmarakshas appeared and attempted to sit on a neighbouring branch. The first brahmarakshas stopped him saying, “This place is reserved for Vaman Pandit because his victories have inflated his ego.” Hearing this, Vaman Pandit tore all the letters of victory and retired to the Himalayas to undertake austerities. Despite several years of penance God did not grant him His vision (darshan). Dejected, he jumped off the cliff. Just then God held him and placing His left hand over his head, blessed him. Then the following conversation ensued.
| Pandit | : | Why did You place Your left hand and not the right on my head ? |
| God | : | Only the Guru has the privilege to do that. |
| Pandit | : | Where will I meet my Guru ? |
| God | : | Atop the mountain Sajjangad (situated in Maharashtra in India). |
Vaman Pandit then went to offer obeisance to Samarth Ramdas Swami at Sajjangad. Samarth placed His right hand on Pandit’s back and blessed him.
| Pandit | : | Why did You not bless me by placing Your hand on my head ? |
| Swami | : | God has already done that. |
| Pandit | : | Then why did God say that ‘only the Guru has the right to place the right hand on the head’ ? |
| Swami | : | Both God’s hands, right and left are one. How did you not understand that God and the Guru are one and the same ? |
3. Shankaracharya in His text Sarvavedantasiddhantasar-sangraha has said,
जन्मानेकशतैः सदादरयुजा भक्त्या समाराधितो ।
भक्तैर्वैदिकलक्षणेन विधिना संतुष्ट ईशः स्वयम् ।
साक्षात् श्रीगुरूरूपमेत्य कृपया दृग्गोच्चरः सन् प्रभुः ।
तत्त्वं साधु विबोध्य तारयसि तान् संसारदुःखार्णवात् ॥
Meaning :When a devotee worships The Lord in the course of hundreds of births in a sattvik (sattva predominant) manner, with faith, following the Vedic scriptures and observing rituals, then in some birth, Lord Shankar is venerated and appears in the form of a Guru. Thus granting the realisation of the universal principle (the soul principle – atmadnyan) in its absoluteness He redeems the disciple from the worldly ocean of unhappiness. – 254
The same text also quotes,
शिव एव गुरुः साक्षात् गुरूरेवः शिवः स्वयम् ।
उभयोरन्तरं किंचित् न द्रष्टव्यं मुमुक्षुभिः ॥
Meaning : Lord Shiva is the real Guru and the Guru is Lord Shiva Himself. Those desirous of Liberation should never think of Them as distinct from each other.
Lord Hari imparted Me with a blessing (prasad)
Because Guru and Govind are one and the same.
– Saint Bhaktaraj
b. After worshipping God devotedly He is appeased and arranges for one to meet Shri Guru and when Shri Guru is appeased The Lord manifests before oneself to grant a vision.
I follow the orders of the Sathguru of this world,
I at once uplift the one on whom He bestows His grace. – 11 : 788
I am little attached to My devotees,
But I love devotees of Gurus immensely.
The spiritual emotion (bhav) of devotion is not attainable
without the company of saints (satsang). – 11:1527
– Shri Eknathi Bhagvat
c. Fulfilling one’s desire through The Lord, Guru and saints one gradually develops detachment (vairagya) while experiencing object pleasure and the one with desires becomes worthy of following the spiritual path. This phenomenon does not occur when the same wishes are fulfilled by subordinate deities (kshudradevata).
d. ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 7 – Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities’ enlists all the characteristics of God. Excluding those of the physical body, all the others are found in a Guru.
THE TRUE NATURE OF THE GURU
Om Sathguru Sri Seshadri Swamigal Thiruvadikkae
Our Reverential Salutations to SathGuru Sri Rajalinga Swamigal…
(our Guru)
(Incarnation of Lord ShivaSesha!)
Our Reverential Salutations to SathGuru Sri Guru Mahadev…
(our Parama Guru)
(Sri Vidhya Upasaka, Hanuman Upasaka,
Medium of Sri Rajarajeshwari Ambal,
– A Self-Realized Great Spiritual Guru)
Our Reverential Salutations to SathGuru Sri Seshadri Swamigal…
(our Parama Guru and Parameshti Guru)
(God-incarnation-Sathpurusha-Mahan-Siddhapurusha-Para-Brahma-the lord of Universe appeared in human form as Divine Mother Sri Kamakshi Devi (Kanchipuram) 1871AD and attained Maha Samadhi in the year 1929 AD)
“GURU SMARAN”
GURU STOTRAM
गुरुर् ब्रह्मा गुरु विश्णु:
गुरुर् देवो महेश्वर: I
गुरुर् सक्षात् परब्रह्म:
तस्मै श्री गुरवे नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to the Guru,
who Himself
is Lord Brahma – the creator,
Lord Vishnu – the sustainer,
and Lord Shiva – the renewer of Life on Earth.
Guru is the Incarntaion of transcendental divinity,
(the timeless life-principle,
which is the very essence of creation)
ब्रह्मानन्दं परमसुखदं
कॆवलं ज्ञानमूर्तिम् I
द्वन्द्वातीर्तम् गगनसडृशं
तत्वमस्यादिलक्ष्यं II
I prostrate to that Sathguru,…
who is the Brahman, who is Bliss,
who is the granter of Supreme Happiness,
who is the Deity of Absolute Knowledge…
एकं नित्यं विमलमचल्म्
सर्वधीसाक्षिभूतं I
सद्गुरुं तम् नमामि II
I prostrate to that Sathguru,
who is beyond the pairs of opposites,
who is vast like Ether,
who is One, Eternal, Pure and Changeless,
who is the Witness of all the states of the mind,
who Transcends Modifications,
who is devoid of the three modes of Prakriti
अखण्ड मण्डलाकारम्
व्याप्तम् यॆन चराचरम् I
तत्पदम् दर्शितम् यॆन
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to my Guru,
who revealed to me that Truth,
which is Unfragmented, Infinite,
and a Timeless Divinity,
and which pervades the entire Universe
movable or unmovable!
सर्वश्रुति शिरॊरत्न
विराजित पदाम्बुज: I
वॆदान्ताम्बुज सूर्यॊ यस्
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to the Guru,
who is like a Sun, to the Blossoming Lotus,
like the Mantras of Upanishads;
and at whose Lotus Feet lie the Beautiful flowers,
symbolizing the most precious of Jewels – the Vedas!
चैतन्यम् शाश्वतम् शान्तं
व्यॊमातीतम् निरन्जनम् I
नादबिन्दु कुलातीतम्
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to the Guru,
who is the very form of Eternal Consciousness,
which is of the Nature of Peace..
He transcends space & time,
beyond the manifest, and the unmanifest…
– the primordial sound!
स्थावरम् जन्गमम् चैव
तथा चैव चराचरम् I
व्याप्तं यॆन जगत्सर्वम्
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to the Guru,
who revealed to me the Essence,
which pervades everything in this world,
whether animate or inanimate, movable or immovable!
ज्ञानशक्ति समारूढस्
तत्वमाला विभूशित: I
भुक्तिमुक्ति प्रदाता यस्
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to my Guru,
who is established in Knowledge and Power,
whom the garland-of-Knowledge adorns,
and who grants both worldly prosperity
and spiritual liberation!
अनॆक जन्म सम्प्राप्त
सर्व कर्म विदाहिनॆ I
स्वात्मज्ञान प्रभावॆन
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to my Guru,
who by imparting Self-Knowledge,
has burnt away in a whiff,
the very bondage of karmic deeds,
which had taken infinite lives to accumulate!
न गुरॊरधिकम् तत्वं
न गुरॊरधिकम् तप: I
तत्वं ज्ञानात्परं नास्ति
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
There is no Higher Truth than the Guru,
no Higher Penance than (service to) the Guru,
no Higher Knowledge than that imparted by the Guru…
My Reverential Salutations to my Guru,
who is Himself, that very Timeless Truth..
(and Who has taken up a Form
to bless His disciples with Knowledge of Brahman)!
मन्नाथ श्री जगन्नाथॊ
मद्गुरुस्त्रिजगद्गुरु: I
ममात्मा सर्वभूतात्मा
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Lord is the Lord of Universe;
My Guru is the Guru of the entire universe;
who is my Self,
and the Self in all beings…
My salutations at the lotus-feet of such a Guru,
who has revealed such knowledge to me!
ध्यानमूलम् गुरॊमूर्ति:
पूजामूलम् गुरॊ: पदम् I
मन्त्रमूलम् गुरॊर्वाक्यम्
मोक्षमूलम् गुरॊ: कृपा II
The object of meditation is the Guru’s form,
The object of worship is the Guru’s feet…
The object of mantra is the Guru’s word,
Liberation is had only through the Guru’s grace…
गुरुरादिरनादिश्च
गुरु: परमदैवतम् I
गुरॊ: परतरं नास्ति
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
The Guru is the beginning of the Universe,
yet He Himself is without a beginning,
the Guru is the Supreme Deity,
and there is none Higher than the Guru.
My Reverential Salutations
at the Lotus-Feet of such a Guru!
गुरुरॆव जगत्सर्वम्
ब्रह्मविश्णुशिवात्मकम् I
गुरॊ: परतरं नास्ति
तस्मात् सम्पूजयॆद्गुरुम् II
The Guru alone is the Whole World
including the worlds of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva….
Nothing exists that is Superior to the Guru…
the Guru is to be Worshipped!
अज्ञान् तिमिरान्धस्य
ज्ञानाञ्जन् शलाखया I
चक्शुरुन्मीलितम् यॆन
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
My Reverential Salutations to my Guru,
who has awakened mine eyes,
with the collyrium stick of knowledge,
the eyes of whom was rendered blind
by the darkness of ignorance!
शॊशणम् भव सिन्धॊश्च
ग्यापनम् सार सम्पद: I
गुरॊ: पादोदकम् सम्यक्
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
Even by the very sipping of the Charanamrutam
(the water with which the feet of Guru is washed),
we get blessed by the eternal wealth
of Liberating Knowledge…,
which dries up the endless ocean
of materialism & the subsequent sorrows.
My Salutations to the Lotus-Feet
of that Glorious Gurudev!
यत्सत्यॆन जगत् सर्वम्
यत् प्रकाशॆण भंति यत् I
यदानन्दॆन नन्दन्ति
तस्मै श्री गुरवॆ नम: II
I prostrate to the Glorious Guru,
by whose Existence the world exists,
whose Effulgence Illumines the world,
and whose Bliss,
is the happiness of all beings!
यस्य देवे पराभक्ति:
यथा देवॆ तथा गुरौ I
तस्यैतॆ कथिताह्यर्था:
प्रकाशन्तॆ महात्मन: II
He whose devotion to the Lord is Supreme,
and one who has as much devotion to the Guru as to the Lord,
unto him, that High-Souled One,…
the meaning of the Sacred texts stand revealed!
गुरुरॆव जगत्सर्वम्
ब्रह्मविश्णुशिवात्मकम् I
गुरॊ: परतरं नास्ति
तस्मात् सम्पूजयॆद्गुरुम् II
Guru alone is our Universe,
including the worlds of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva….
Nothing exists, that is Superior to the Guru…
Hence, the Guru is to be worshipped.
त्वमॆव माता च पिता त्वमॆव
त्वमॆव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमॆव I
त्वमॆव विद्या द्रविणम् त्वमॆव
त्वमॆव सर्वम् मम देव देव II
O Lord!
You alone are my Mother, my Father!
my Kith and Kin!
You alone are my Knowledge, and Wealth!
You are my Everything! My Lord and Master!
“GURU STAVAN”
What is the True nature of the Guru?
Contents
sathgurusrirajalingaswamigal.wordpress.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.