We may remember Teachers Day as the day when we decorated the blackboard (or green board, as was in our case), and wished our teachers and thanked them for teaching us well. We may not have understood the importance of teachers day then, as we do now.
Today, we live in different parts of the world, are capable of interacting with multiple cultures and deal with many situations…a lot of these capabilities were seeded by the education that we received in school, and those seeds were tended to by our teachers.
By teachers, I don’t mean only those who taught us in school. As we go through life, we encounter a lot of people who teach us something, and others from who we learn something.
Our today is the collective efforts of all those people, some of who may not even have had any vested interest in giving us knowledge.
And so, today, let us remember all those people who left an imprint on our consciousness, who gave us knowledge, and who helped make us who we are.
Let us join our hands and silently thank them, or reach out to them and thank them personally.
But most importantly, let us realise that we are not here just by our own efforts – our parents, our friends, our teachers and our country – all have contributed to making us.
Wish all of us a very happy Guru Purnima!
On today’s occasion of Guru Purnima, I bow down to all my Gurus, and present before you the various interpretations of the word Guru, it’s meaning, it’s importance and it’s relevance in our lives.
There may be different ways to define a Guru, but definition by itself is not characteristic of our culture. The word “Define” has a connection to “definite”, which means I am sure that this is it and nothing else. This thought in itself is alien to us.
We do not define anything, even our own names have multiple meanings, based on context.
And so there are no definitions here – these are all perceptions – experiences on how a Guru made us feel, and how they affected our lives. You may not relate to all of the statements below, but you sure will relate to at least one.
Do read through:)
गिरति अज्ञानम् इति गुरु: – the one who dispels ignorance, is a Guru.
गुकारश्चान्धकारो हि रुकारस्तेज उच्यते। अज्ञानग्रासकं ब्रह्म गुरुरेव न संशयः॥४४॥
gukāraścāndhakāro hi rukārasteja ucyate। ajñānagrāsakaṁ brahma gurureva na saṁśayaḥ॥44॥
गु-कारः stands for अन्धकारः (darkness in the form of Ajnana) and रु-कारः denotes तेजः (light in the form of Jnana). The one who dispels Ajnana by the light of Brahmajnana is a Guru, without any doubt.
गुकारो भवरोगः स्यात् रुकारस्तन्निरोधकृत्। भवरोगहरत्याच्च गुरुरित्यभिधीयते॥४५॥
gukāraśca guṇātīto rūpātīto rukārakaḥ। guṇarūpavihīnatvāt gururityabhidhīyate॥46॥
गु-कारः stands for गुणातीतः (one who is above the three gunas – satva, rajas and tamas) and रु-कारः denotes रूपातीतः (one who is formless). A Guru is so called because he is devoid of the gunas (three states) and form.
ज्ञानं स्वानुभवः शान्तिर्वैराग्यं वक्तृता धृतिः। षड्गुणैश्वर्ययुक्तो हि भगवान् श्रीगुरुः प्रिये॥१७२॥
jñānaṁ svānubhavaḥ śāntirvairāgyaṁ vaktr̥tā dhr̥tiḥ। ṣaḍguṇaiśvaryayukto hi bhagavān śrīguruḥ priye॥172॥
(Guru. Gita. 2.172)
One who has these six qualities – jnana (ज्ञानं । knowledge), personal experience (स्वानुभवः), peace (शान्तिः), disinclination towards worldly objects (र्वैराग्यं), eloquence in speech (वक्तृता), consistency (धृतिः) – is none other than the supreme Guru.
गुरवो निर्मलाः शान्ताः साधवो मितभाषिणः। कामक्रोधविनिर्मुक्ताः सदाचाराः जितेन्द्रियाः॥२७१॥
guravo nirmalāḥ śāntāḥ sādhavo mitabhāṣiṇaḥ। kāmakrodhavinirmuktāḥ sadācārāḥ jitendriyāḥ॥271॥
(Guru. Gita. 3.271)
A guru is one who is peaceful, virtuous, a person of few words, clean of kama (desires) and krodha (anger) and who conducts himself well, and has overcome the senses.
मन्त्रदगुरोर्लक्षणं यथा । गकारः सिद्धिदः प्रोक्तो रेफः पापस्य हारकः । उकारो विष्णुरव्यक्तस्त्रितयात्मा गुरुः परः ॥
mantradagurorlakṣaṇaṁ yathā । gakāraḥ siddhidaḥ prokto rephaḥ pāpasya hārakaḥ । ukāro viṣṇuravyaktastritayātmā guruḥ paraḥ ॥
Shabdakalpadruma
The Ga (गकारः) in the word Guru is said to stand for conferring Siddhi (giver of perfection), and Ra (रेफः) is said to dispel Papam (sin). Ukara (उकारः) in the word Guru stands for Avyakta Vishnu (Brahman), thus three fold in meaning is the Guru.
बालस्य वा विषयभोगरतस्य वापि मूर्खस्य सेवकजनस्य गृहस्थितस्य ।
एतद्गुरोः किमपि नैव न चिन्तनीयं रत्नुं कथं त्यजति कोऽप्यशुचौ प्रविष्टम् ॥ १॥
Of the teacher-even if he be young illiterate, or addicted to the enjoyment of sense objects, even if he be a servant or a householder – none of these should be considered. Does anyone shun a gem that has fallen in an impure place? Illiterate here refers to one who is not versed in the scriptures.
नैवात्र काव्यगुण एव तु चिन्तनीयो ग्राह्यः परं गुणवता खलु सार एव ।
सिन्दूरचित्ररहिता भुवि रूपशून्या पारं न किं नयति नौरिह गन्तुकामान् ॥ २॥
Avad Gita
In such a case one should not consider even the quality of scholarship. A worldly person should recognize only the essence. Does not a boat, though devoid of beauty and vermilion paint nevertheless ferry passengers?
The essential qualification of the teacher is not intellectual immanence, but capacity to impart spiritual illumination.
Gurugita is one text that clearly highlights the seven different kinds of Gurus. They are classified based on how they contribute to the knowledge of the seeker. Classified as Suchaka and others, Gurus are of many kinds, an intelligent person should review and seek the guidance of a right guru.
- Suchaka (सुचकः)
- Vachaka (वाचकः)
- Bodhaka (र्बोधकः)
- Nishiddha Guru (निषिद्धगुरुः)
- Vihitaguru (विहितः)
- Karanaguru (कारणगुरुः)
- Mahaguru (महागुरुः)
The explanation is as follows
वर्णजालमिदं तद्वद्बाह्यशास्त्रं तु लौकिकम्। यस्मिन् देवि समभ्यस्तं स गुरुः सुचकः स्मृतः॥२७३॥
varṇajālamidaṁ tadvadbāhyaśāstraṁ tu laukikam। yasmin devi samabhyastaṁ sa guruḥ sucakaḥ smr̥taḥ॥273॥
O Devi! One who teaches the words and letters and the laukika shastras (worldly subjects) such a guru is to be understood as Suchaka (सुचकः).
वर्णाश्रमोचितां विद्यां धर्माधर्मविधायिनीम्। प्रवक्तारं गुरुं विद्धि वाचकं त्विति पार्वति॥२७४॥
varṇāśramocitāṁ vidyāṁ dharmādharmavidhāyinīm। pravaktāraṁ guruṁ viddhi vācakaṁ tviti pārvati॥274॥
O Parvati! One who teaches the dharmas and adharmas associated with varnashramas, know that such a preceptor is called as Vachaka
पञ्चाक्षर्यादिमन्त्राणामुपदेष्टा तु पार्वति। स गुरुर्बोधको भूयादुभयोरयमुत्तमः॥२७५॥
pañcākṣaryādimantrāṇāmupadeṣṭā tu pārvati। sa gururbodhako bhūyādubhayorayamuttamaḥ॥275॥
O Parvati! One who initiates by giving the Panchakshari and other mantras, such a guru is called Bodhaka (र्बोधकः), who is superior to the others as given above (Suchaka and Vachaka)
मोहमारणवश्यादितुच्छमन्त्रोपदर्शिनम्। निषिद्धगुरुरित्याहुः पण्डितास्तत्त्वदर्शिनः॥२७६॥
mohamāraṇavaśyāditucchamantropadarśinam। niṣiddhagururityāhuḥ paṇḍitāstattvadarśinaḥ॥276॥
Those gurus teaching the usage of mantras with bad intentions (like for attracting, inflicting death, and controlling a person) is to be avoided and is thus Nishiddha Guru (निषिद्धगुरुः) as said by the Panditas who realize the supreme being.
अनित्यमिति निर्दिश्य संसारं संकटालयम्। वैराग्यपथदर्शी यः स गुरुर्विहितः प्रिये॥२७७॥
anityamiti nirdiśya saṁsāraṁ saṁkaṭālayam। vairāgyapathadarśī yaḥ sa gururvihitaḥ priye॥277॥
O Priya! That guru who shows the way to Vairagya (detachment) by the making the student realize that the world which is not eternal is full of miseries and pains, such a guru is called Vihitaguru (विहितः).
f37121तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्यानामुपदेष्टा तु पार्वति। कारणाख्यो गुरुः प्रोक्तो भवरोगनिवारकः॥२७८॥
tattvamasyādivākyānāmupadeṣṭā tu pārvati। kāraṇākhyo guruḥ prokto bhavaroganivārakaḥ॥278॥
O Parvati! Those gurus who prevents rebirth by imparting the knowledge of Tatvamasi and other Mahavakyas is called Karanaguru (कारणगुरुः).
सर्वसन्देहसन्दोहनिर्मूलनविचक्षणः। जन्ममृत्युभयघ्नो यः स गुरुः परमो मतः॥२७९॥
sarvasandehasandohanirmūlanavicakṣaṇaḥ। janmamr̥tyubhayaghno yaḥ sa guruḥ paramo mataḥ॥279॥
बहुजन्मकृतात् पुण्याल्लभ्यतेऽसौ महागुरुः। लब्ध्वाऽमुं न पुनर्याति शिष्यः संसारबन्धनम्॥२८०॥
bahujanmakr̥tāt puṇyāllabhyate’sau mahāguruḥ। labdhvā’muṁ na punaryāti śiṣyaḥ saṁsārabandhanam॥280॥
एवं बहुविधा लोके गुरवः सन्ति पार्वति। तेषु सर्वप्रयत्नेन सेव्यो हि परमो गुरुः॥२८१॥
evaṁ bahuvidhā loke guravaḥ santi pārvati। teṣu sarvaprayatnena sevyo hi paramo guruḥ॥281॥
One who clears all doubts and removes the fear of birth and death (all fears) such a guru is called Paramaguru. Such a guru obtained by the punya (merits) accrued in different births, obtaining whom one is totally released from the bonds of samsara is the Mahaguru (महागुरुः). Such are the different gurus in the world but one should at all costs serve the Paramaguru.
to be continued…