Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Saakshaat Para Brahma
Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha
Guru is the Creator (Brahma); Guru is the Preserver (Vishnu); Guru is the Destroyer (Shiva).
Guru is the Absolute Lord. Salutations to that Guru.
As devotees of the Supreme Being, we start from the known in order to reach the Unknown. This is the purpose of the Guru: to lead us to the Divine. In the Guru Gita, Bhagavan Shiva said that Guru and Atma (Soul) are the same. However, to realise that Divine Being, you start with the Guru and proceed to the inner Guru; this is a process. Each person has to undertake that journey but we are all at different levels of understanding and development. From our point of development, we must move forward.
Let us understand that life is a flow towards the Supreme, just as all rivers flow towards the ocean. We are all caught up in this stream of life; some take a longer time than others to reach the ocean. Like leaves floating down a river, some go straight to the ocean while others are caught up in the currents within the ponds and rivers. Ultimately, everybody goes to the ocean, that Supreme Being. The Scriptures tell us that this process begins with the Guru.
As we go through life, remember that Brahm is described as “neti, neti”, that is, “not this, not that”. Through this process of negation, we turn away from the world. Adi Shankara tells us, “Mano buddhi ahankaar chitaani naham.” We live in the world and obtain different experiences that lead us to conclude: I am not the mind; I am not the intellect; I am not the ego. I am not this; I am not that. What am I? Ultimately, we understand, “Aham Brahmasmi” (“I am Brahman.”) Both Shaivism and Vedanta teach us that we have to go through this world and this process. Even if we are caught up in this world, at some point in time the current will push us further towards our ultimate destination. This is the Lord’s grace and compassion for us.
In this process of reaching the Divine, the only thing that we lose is time. One can achieve a lot in this lifetime, or, for many lifetimes, we might be like a top spinning in mud. Ultimately, everyone, without exception, must reach that ultimate goal. Time is of the essence and so we must also pay respect to the power of time as represented by Mahaa Kaali Maa. We are all on this journey towards realising the Divine and it starts with the Guru.
