Sri Guru Gita - a simple path to liberation

Article by our Guest Contributor:  Shri K.N.Venkataraman, of Princeton NJ, a serious and devoted SriVidya Upasaka and Advaita Acharya, disciple of Sri Swami NithyaBodhAnanda Teertha, whose parampara is one of the DasanAmi sampradayas traceable directly to the great advaita JagadGuru Adi ShankarA.

Sanaatana dharma’s primary text are the Vedas (aka Sruthi), secondary texts are Itihasas (Ramayana and Mahabharata), and the tertiary texts are the Puranas. There are 108 main puranas. One of these is the Skanda Purana which describes the life of Skanda, along with many invaluable discussions between his parents, the Universal Father and Mother.  One of those dialogues between Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati is the important “Sri Guru Gita” consisting of 182 and a half shlokas, exactly the same number as in Sri Lalita sahasranama. This is a gift from Mother Parvati to the entire world because, out of her love for the world, she asked Lord Shiva about the meaning and importance of Guru in our lives. Lord Shiva in response to her selfless query, explained the meaning, importance, and methods of worship of the SriGuru.

Here are few important points from the Guru Gita:

1. Meaning and Purpose of Human Life

तल्लाभार्थं प्रयत्नस्तु कर्तव्यो हि मनीषिभि:

Tallaäbhaärthaàm* prayatnastu kartavyoh hi manéeshibhihih

तत्पदं दर्शितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः

Tat Padam darshitham yena tasmai SriGurave Namaha

(*‘Tat’+’laabhaartham’ = Tallaabhaartham)

One of the four MahAvAkyas is the famous “ ‘Tat’ Twam Asi” - a very direct affirmation or instruction by the Master to the student.  The ‘Tat’ padam refers to “That” Infinite Reality. Here Lord Siva definitively and emphatically confirms that the fundamental duty of a soul incarnated on the human plane is to seriously strive to attain liberation (moksha) - the Tat padam. ie, becoming one with That. It is not a choice, but it is prescribed as a fundamental duty of every jeevatma born in the human body.  

And because of the Guru’s grace alone we can even dream to get liberated. However like a child learning how to walk or ride a bicycle, we need to be constantly seeking the grace of the Divine Cosmic Parents in an uninhibited and unrelenting manner despite all hurdles and limitations of our station in life, so that we are able to come face to face with our own name and form SriGuru, whose grace alone is enough to lead us to liberation.

2. MahA-vyAdhi

Human beings face many vyaadhis i.e. diseases. There are many kinds of illnesses related to body and mind. Out of all these, there is one vyaadhi i.e. illness which is mahaavyaadhi i.e. greatest illness which prevents us from thinking of god, from worshiping god and developing the desire to become one with god.

It is said that even thinking of God happens only by the grace of God. Unless one has done good deeds in the past even worshipping god is impossible. However, having attained the rare human birth (where even devaganaas want to be born), it is given as a prescription that will lead to certainty of liberation, without doubt.

There are so many duties prescribed for human beings for example daily five duties i.e. panchamahayagna, but forgetting to perform these with a serious desire to gain moksha is referred to as the mahavyAadhi.  In the human plane, the exercise of free-will to surrender to God, makes it possible to gain instant moksha.

3. What is MAyA or ego?:  

This is a simple but very effective and useful definition of what is Ego or Maya:    

(please print this above definition and keep it in your pocket or readily available till you can repeat it by memory verbatim)

How to surrender without any sense of doership, or ownership?

It is paradoxical dilemma of every seeker!  The very act of surrendering, or meditating (witnessing etc) creates the maya that hides the Truth. After trying everything and being unsuccessful - the student or seeker hits a wall everywhere with a doership and/or ownership; it is then the seeker realizes the sheer impossibility of liberating oneself without help from outside. At that very moment of helplessness of attaining moksha with doership or ownership, a devotee who has developed an intense desire to get out of this cycle of birth and death (mumukshutwa), cries out loud shamelessly (nir-lajja) to the merciful Lord. The nameless and formless Lord then appears as the Sri Guru with a name and form, out of sheer mercy, and blesses the devotee lifting him or her up and places the seeker on the other side of the wall where s/he has surrendered, just as a mother lifts up her crying child who has fallen into a pit on the playground.

4. Why do we worship Guru Paadhukas?

In SriVidya there is a standard obeisance and sacred mantra which is invoking the advaita nirgunabrahma swaroopam at the feet of the Guru as Shiva and Shakti present together in the same name and form Guru. These Guru Paadhuka mantraas are very powerful and are to be obtained directly from the Guru upon His or Her initiation. These alone are enough to bless a seeker with the entire means necessary for liberation.  In normal circumstances, many seekers are not fortunate enough to be blessed with the Guru paadhuka mantra initiations. So it is for such folks that Sri Guru Gita is presented as a very simple paaraayana krama, which takes about 30 minutes to chant. Upon chanting the Sri Guru Gita with full faith all the benefits of the entire existence is derived as also the complete grace of the Guru.

Now, let us look at why the “feet” of the master (and not the heart or mind or face)?

1. It is only above the ankle all dualities - gender, age, race, caste, status etc come into existence. Below the ankle, the two feet remind us of the oneness of ‘all’ gurus (in every name and every form) to be the same Guru-Tatthwam with its full potential to liberate.  So, when we worship the Guru’s feet we are reminded to identify only with the Guru-Tatthwam and not the name and form Guru. This leads to very fast spiritual progress.
2. Guru ‘stands’ on his or her feet -  tall with high ideals. S/He is above the crowd and stands to act as a beacon, guiding us all and hence we should always pay our respect to those feet of the Guru and strengthen it by all seva. 
3. The two feet represent Shiva and Shakti, as in Ardha-naareeswara form. The right foot is Shiva and is white in color, and the left foot is Shakti and is red in color. Worshiping Guru’s feet means worshiping Shiva and Shakti, as the saguna form of the nirguna reality, in the same place and time.

5. Perform Guruseva without shame or doubt. Guruseva is an inclusive definition, and not a specific definition.

यज्ञो व्रतं तपो दानं जपस्तीर्थं तथैव च |

गुरुतत्वमविज्ञाय मुढास्ते तरते जन:।।

Yajno vratàm tapo däanam japas téerthàm tathaiva ca

Gurutattvam avignäaya mòodaästhae charate janaäha

Even the devas do not fully know how to worship the Guru exhaustively. So it is necessary to obtain the blessings of one’s Guru by any and every means at one’s disposal. Only when the Guru is fully pleased does one’s own karma-phala materialises and one gets to enjoy the full fruits of one’s past good deeds as part of the prarabdha in this birth. Unless the Guru is pleased nothing is possible.  But when the Guru is pleased and protects you, nothing is impossible and everyone gets what is their rightful due. So, make a constant attempt to achieve the main goal of this rare human birth ie, seeking the Guru, and surrendering to the Guru’s will to act through us for our own benefit and ultimately leading to liberation in this life itself. Such a sense of urgency is what the seeker has to develop through karma, gnana, and bhakthi maargas.  

6.Samkalpa/Samarpana: Being born as a human everyone is bound to perform their prescribed duties as per their varna-asrama dharma, and family traditions. These duties are meant to elevate and unite us from our individual existence, into a sublime direct experience that is universal, and in that process to maintain harmony in society. While varna is in reference to the professional roles, asrama refers to stage of life.  Both varna and asrama can become a bondage if they are not seen as a means to a “higher goal”. The four purushaarthaas viz, Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha are often referred out of habit in the Sankalpa done at the start of any ‘kaamya karma’ (desire oriented action). It has to be clearly understood that goal-oriented western style living is fully permitted in vedic wisdom “if and only if” the goals in the realms of Dharma (righteous societal duties), Artha (pursuit of material abundance), Kama (satiation of personal desires) are a subset of the main goal of this rarest of rare human birth, ie, MOKSHA (liberation from the cycle of rebirths). If any goal is not helpful for us to attain the main goal of life such actions are considered nishiddha karmas.  However modern living forces to indulge in such actions. So the importance of Samarpana, added as an important anga of our shodasa upachara pooja vidhi by Adi Sankara - offer the fruits of all our known and unknown karmas at the feet of the Lord. It is essential to offer the fruits of all our actions at the feet of the SriGuru, and only when the Guru is pleased can we enjoy the fruits of our actions.

7. So what?

This is a simple but important question that each of us have to constantly ask ourselves in order not to get side tracked in our main path which the real royal path of moksha marga.
 

So: Daily chanting is highly recommended, but if it is not possible then at least a few shlokas of the Sri GuruGita is to be chanted with devotion every day.  On Guruvaar (Thursday), and all auspicious occasions, chanting of the Sri GuruGita before other routines begin is essential.