Guru Gita Discourse Seven

Gurucharanam Saranam

Durlabham Trishu-lokeshu Tacchrunushwa Vadaamyaham
Gurum Brahma Vinaa Naanyat Satyam Satyam Varaanane

O beautiful one! I will tell you that which is very rare in the three worlds. Please listen. Guru is none other than the Absolute Brahman – God Himself. This verily is the truth.

Comments:

The lore of Siva and Parvati belonged to a time segment when the tradition of Trimurthi worship (worship of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva) was in vogue. The concept of Guru-disciple though existed and Gurus were treated in high esteem, they were however not given a status above the gods by Vaidikas (the Vedic ritualists). Worship of gods was promoted and given prominence by the Vedic priests.


There is the story of Atri Maharshi in the scriptures. Once Indra, the king of gods was cursed by Rishi Gautama, as Indra had spoiled the chastity of Gautama’s wife. (Just think how noble indeed the deeds of gods whom we offer worship!) Due to the curse, the body of Indra became disfigured with suppurating wounds. He approached the trinity gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara and requested them to save him from the curse. But the gods informed him about their inability to save him from the curse of a sage. At this juncture, Narada, advised Indra to go to Atri Maharshi, whose ashram was situated in the vicinity of Mount Mainakam (now believed to have been submerged under the sea near Kanyakumari).


Indra in desperation came down to the ashram of Atri and begged him to cure him of the dreaded curse. The kind hearted Atri asked his wife to help Indra. She brought the ‘paada teertham’ (water made holy by washing the feet of her husband, sage Atri) and sprinkled on Indra. Lo, the king of gods, Indra was free of the disease and thus got a fresh whiff of life. This place is known as ‘Sucheendram’ even today. Sucheendram means the place where Indra got purified of his sins. So who is great and noble in this story? The gods or Atri Maharshi? You may decide yourself.


But the erstwhile religious depredators had decided that they would not grant a sage a position above the gods. So what happened at Sucheendram? Atri Maharshi was buried deep under the sands of Sucheendram only to be remembered in a long forgotten dream. Today Brahma and Indra are worshipped in Sucheendram temple, not Atri, which is supposedly the place of Samadhi of Atri Maharshi. (Similarly is the case of Sri Krishna and Buddha, who were great souls of spiritual transcendence. However, in the subsequent ages, an attempt was made to equate them with the celestial gods by weaving mythical stories).


This is that secret of Guru, which Siva is explaining to Parvati for her proper understanding. The Guru Lord Siva is mentioning about is such a sage, who has transcended the celestial planes of ghosts, goblins, angels, gods and whatever other spirits and beings inhabit there and who going beyond the dualities of heaven and hell, name and form has merged with the Supreme Light to be its reflection, to be its medium. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru said that in front of such a sage, the gods are insignificant and of no consequence.



Mukundan

Guru Gita Discourse Six

Gurucharanam Saranam

Siva Said:

Mama Ruupaasi Devi Twam Twad-bhaktyartham Vadaamyaham
Lokopakaarakah Prasno Na Kenaapi Kritah Puraa

O divine one! You are my own Being. Owing to your devotion, I am revealing it to you. This question, which is beneficial to the world, has not been asked by anyone before.

Comments:
Siva, the popular god of great asceticism, is pleased by the unblemished devotion of Parvati. He equals her to his own Self. Their identification with each other is total. It is the saga of guru and disciple! Guru pours his grace, his ‘Self’ itself to the disciple, like the downpour that soothes the parched earth, the thirty heart of the disciple. Guru with endless patience waits for the arrival of such a disciple and the disciple for such a Guru. Many are people who go to Guru, but more often than not, they do it for the appeasement of worldly desires. And why not? Guru is verily Kamadhenu, the heavenly cow that grants your wishes.

After the era of Siva and Parvati, have we ever heard about another Parvati, the disciple Parvati? It would be wrong to say no. We have an incomparable example in our times, of Sishya Poojita Janani Amrita Jnana Tapaswini, of total surrender, love and dedication to the Guru. Imagine her devotion which forsook the comfort of home at the playful age of a child; imagine that wisdom, that courage which forsook the parents, dear and near ones for the sake of Guru. Sishya Poojita - she has even excelled Parvati of yore in the matter of devotion to Guru. Here one new epic has begun. With the pure passion of love and devotion to Guru, Sishyapoojita earned what a woman could never even dream about in the spiritual realm.

We do come across people, both in the ancient and modern era, who ask questions like ‘who am I’ or ‘who is God’ etc. But we hardly hear this imploration, ‘what is the secret of Guru concept?’, ‘what is the greatness of Guru?’ or how should one identify a Guru? People talk endlessly about the glory of the god of their faith, about the soul and the universe, questions well beyond human clarity; but the Guru concept is abandoned. There are reasons, however. The Guru concept is a highly secretive knowledge and Guru a rare occurrence, a rare manifestation. It is not our dry intellectual conceptions and blind faith that brings about spiritual progression, but the grace of Supreme Light channeled to us through the medium of Guru.

Well, from perennial time, humanity has not well pondered over this question, as affirmed by Siva here that this question Parvati asked about Guru had not been asked by anyone before.

Mukundan