Guru Purnima is the most beautiful day of the year because it's the day a disciple celebrates the Guru's grace in their lives. I could never understand the superlatives describing the Guru till I met my Guru, Om Swami. Why do we say lotus feet? Why do Padukas have so much importance? Why do we call ourselves ignorant and full of vices while the Guru is called pristine and faultless? I did not see myself as lowly and full of faults and certainly did not imagine that another human being could be faultless.
You can never explain emotions. You can only truly experience them. Yet I write hoping that someone else reads and moves on a path that gives them the same joy and pain I feel of having a guru in your life. A vital lesson I learned is that a disciple can never really explain the importance of having a guru. It's like asking a drop of water to describe the ocean. As long as a drop knows its separate identity, it can never conceptualize or explain the ocean's vastness. Hence, instead of me trying to wax eloquent about it, let me share a beautiful story Gurudev told me about sage Narada's meeting with his Guru.
Sage Narada is an immortal saint who worshipped Lord Vishnu with single-minded devotion. His world began and ended with Sri Hari, so he was always given uninterrupted access to Vaikuntha, Sri Hari's abode. One day, as he got up and got permission from the Lord to leave, he was aghast when Sri Hari asked his attendants to clean the area where Narada was sitting.
Nursing a bruised ego, Narada told Sri Hari that all he did was repeat his name the whole day. How could he -Narada- be polluted, and why does the place he sat require cleaning? Lord Vishnu gave one of his mysterious smiles that flummoxed everyone and told Narada that his body might be pure, but his mind still needed purification. Narada was aghast. He could not believe that his beloved Vishnu, who called him all kinds of loving names, was telling him that his mind needed purification, especially when all he was doing was chanting Lord Vishnu's names the whole day.
Lord Vishnu reads his reactions like a book and tells him that since Narada has never had a guru, his ego has not been shattered. The pride of being the Lord's devotee, having access to him, and being a saint have all led to an ego that can only be shattered by a guru. Narada protests vehemently, saying he considers Sri Hari his Guru and cannot understand the Lord's sudden insistence on finding another guru. Lord's Vishnu demeanor shifts slightly, and Narada realizes he should no longer engage in a verbal joust with him. Sri Hari reminds Narada he is not his Guru. He is the object of his worship, the end realization of his devotion, but only a guru can complete his journey. He instructs Narada to go to the banks of the river Ganga at dawn and humbly accepts the first person he meets as his Guru.
The sage Narada bows to Sri Hari and heads off to the Ganges River to wait for his Guru. He waits with quivering anticipation, imagining a very learned sage who can give him all the esoteric knowledge he needs to realize his true self and become even closer to his beloved Sri Hari. The mystical fog that hugs the river and its banks is suffused with a gentle saffron hue as the sun rises. Narada suddenly notices someone repeatedly performing a mystical set of gestures and hurries towards him. His excitement, at a fever pitch, suddenly comes crashing down when he sees a fisherman casting his net into the river.
A chain of thoughts assaults his mind, and he does nothing to stop them. Narada's guru - a mere fisherman. The one Narada who roams the universe chanting Sri Hari's name, the Narada who himself has been a guru to so many great devotees, is now going to be instructed by a mere fisherman. Is that what his Sri Hari really thought of him? Indeed, this has to be a mistake. What could this ordinary fisherman teach him that he already did not know?
The crisp morning silence was broken by a loud exclamation from the fisherman. He said he was not interested in initiating an egoistic individual like Narada, who was so doubtful despite getting direct instructions from his Lord. Hence, he asked Narada to leave immediately. Narada's mindset suddenly changed. This man could read him like a book, so he definitely had some spiritual powers.
Narada assumed a more humble demeanor and requested the fisherman to accept him as a disciple. He reminded him that since this was Sri Hari's wish, it would be best for them to act on it. The fisherman nodded, initiated Narada into a mantra, and sent him away. Narada felt he had now completed the task of having a guru that Sri Hari had assigned him and hurried back to report his progress.
The sun sets on the cosmic ocean as Narada greets Sri Hari and tells him he has met his Guru. He waits for a few seconds and then says, "I met him, but ".... when the Lord immediately stops him. Sri Hari sternly tells Narada that his ego is much more bloated than previously imagined. How could he even utter "but" when talking about his Guru. The guru-disciple bond, which was forged ever since the Adi Guru - Lord Shiva - himself instructed sages about the science of mantras, could never be maligned with the use of words such as "but." He tells Narada that the only way out for him is to incarnate on earth and roll around across 84 Lakh species where he dies and incarnates again till Narada reaches the human birth and can learn how to subdue his ego and worship the Lord.
Narada is panic sticken. He cannot imagine a moment without uttering his Lord's name. If he were to follow the cycle of evolution again, he would completely forget about Sri Hari for centuries until he retook human birth, and his Guru awakened that latent desire within him. That thought pierced his mind and body like shards of glass, and he tottered with pain. Narada begged Sri Hari not to curse him like this, but Sri Hari smiled and told him it was simply the fruit of Narada's devotion and not a curse. He also reminded Narada that his Guru is the only person who can lift him from the darkness that enveloped him.
A distressed Narada rushed to his Guru, narrated the entire episode, and begged for help. Narada's Guru saw how much this troubled him and smiled. The incredible thing about having a guru is that they need nothing from you. All they want at any time is to help you walk on your spiritual path. Narada's Guru saw his one-pointed love for Sri Hari. He motioned Narada to come forward and whispered an idea in his ear. Narada's spirit suddenly rose, and after seeking his Guru's blessings, he rushed off to Vaikuntha.
He humbly approached Sri Hari and told him he understood why he had to go through 84 Lakh incarnations. He then requested the Lord to simply show him a map of all those incarnations so that he would at least understand the journey. Sri Hari smiled, closed his eyes, and opened them again. The entire journey of these 84 Lakh incarnations was all around them. Without wasting a moment, Narada lay flat on the ground and started rolling until he covered the entire area where the map was projected as an amused Sri Hari looked on.
Narada got up and said that, as requested by the Lord himself, he had rolled around all 84 lakh incarnations and completed the condition set by him. Sri Hari smiled and told Narada that only two people on earth have the wits to suggest such a unique remedy. It could be his Guru or Hanuman himself who had such humility and wisdom. Narada finally understood why a guru is needed and continued his spiritual journey.
This beautiful song, written by the peerless saint Kabir, summarizes Narada's journey with his Guru.
The Guru is given the highest place in Sanatana Dharma for a very simple reason. They have realized the highest truth and are now liberated. However, they choose to come back to this muddy world. Like a lotus, they spread joy and beauty to inspire while being completely unaffected by the mud around them. If you closely examine every relationship you have, you realize that there is a level of bondage in all of them. Your parents, kids, spouse, and friends all have a level of expectation from you and similarly you from them. A guru does not need anything from you. It's the only relationship in the world that is purely one-sided. There is nothing that you can offer a guru because they are already complete. They don't need your love, gifts, time, or devotion. You offer all that because it purifies you. The Buddhists call such masters Bodhisattvas because they reincarnate simply to alleviate the suffering of people. The only parallel I can think of is the wealthiest man in the world, living conditions of absolute squalor, and slowly teaching them about long-term capital creation because even if he gives every person a million dollars, they are not trained to save it. They will simply blow it all up and return to poverty.
I have started reading two phenomenal texts describing the Guru's glory. The first is Guru Paduka Stotram, which was attributed to Adi Shankaracharya. However, it was authored by the 33rd Archarya of Sringeri Pitha, also known as Abhinava Sankara, whose life had remarkable parallels to Adi Shankara's. He sings the glory of the Guru's footwear or Paduka's, which represents the truth, knowledge, and divinity of the Guru. The Padukas are a constant reminder that the Guru is the only one whose grace can help you navigate this world, which is a ceaseless ocean of desires. Here is a beautiful video that explains the importance of this sublime stotram.
Another even more poignant text is the Guru Gita, which is in the Skanda Purana. The goddess Parvati asks Lord Shiva to initiate her like a Guru would initiate a disciple and tell her the path to liberation. Lord Shiva, known as the Adi Guru, tells her about the true nature of a Guru. Here are a few passages from it.
The water from the Guru's feet has the power to purify from all sins, to light the flame of knowledge, and to carry easily across the ocean of this world.Guru Gita Verse 13
Whoever drinks the water of the feet of the Guru is liberated from the root of ignorance and purified from the karma of life and obtains perfection, wisdom and detachment.Guru Gita Verse 14
Drink the water of the Guru's feet and eat of his prasad, the remnants of his food. Meditate constantly upon the image of the Guru and always repeat the mantra of the Guru.Guru Gita Verse 15
If you don't have a guru or don't follow Sanatana Dharma, these may seem like strange instructions. Yet remember, Lord Shiva talks about the Guru as a supreme divinity who has taken a human form. The greatest joy of a disciple's life is to wash his Guru's feet and drink the charanamrit.
The last 1900 odd words only hold a little water if I cannot tell you what I gained from my Guru after meeting him.
The first thing my Guru gave me is courage. Everything around me is temporary, and everything I call mine can be lost in a flash. Yet, the bond I share with my Guru is eternal. I know in this lifetime, and any other, I will never be alone. I will have him watching over me and guiding me. This is not because I am extraordinary but because that's the true nature of my Guru.
Another gift my Guru gave me is devotion or bhakti. I read a lot, which gave me an inflated sense of intellect and intelligence. My Guru gradually broke down these artificial walls of intelligence that inflate my ego and keep me from experiencing transcendental moments of joy that only come from humility and surrender. I have a long distance to travel, but he has shown me the path, and it's absolutely beautiful.
Another gift he gave me is a sense of purpose. Many people around me in middle age struggle to find meaning in life. They have satisfied most material aspirations, but life feels empty and meaningless. Meanwhile, I know that I can spend the rest of my life reading and writing about Sanatana Dharma, and it will not even be a drop in the ocean that my ancestors have willed into existence in our Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and their commentaries.
I will end by borrowing a hymn from the Shiva Mahima Stotram and present it at the lotus feet of my Guru.
O Lord, if the black mountain be ink, the ocean the inkpot, the branch of the stout wish-fulfilling tree a pen, the earth the writing leaf, and if taking these the Goddess of Learning writes for eternity, even then the limit of Your virtues will not be reached.
This article is a submission at the lotus feet of my guru Om Swami – the founder of the Vedic Sadhana app. The app helps you identify your ishta and then perform daily rituals that deepen your relationship with them. This incredible app makes the ancient rituals and practices followed by the sages of India available to you.