Who is a Sad Guru

"Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara

Guru Sakshath Parambrahma Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha"

The true meaning of Guru is "one who dispels darkness of ignorance". Guru resembles the trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma is a creator. Guru creates or inculcates knowledge in the minds of the students. Guru is Vishnu. Lord Vishnu maintains the creation. Similarly Guru helps in keeping up the knowledge. Guru is also Shiva. Shiva is the destroyer. Guru destroys or gets rid of the ignorance from the students' minds.

The Lord in the Gita says:

“Uddharedaatmanaatmaanam Naatmaanamavasaadayet
Aatmaiva Hyaatmano Bandhuraatmaiva Ripuraatmanah”

One should uplift one’s lower self- the mind, by his higher self – the soul. One should never downgrade one’s self, for the self verily is both the friend and the foe of the self. As we see in this verse, a pilgrim’s journey to the Lotus Feet begins with developing the Atma Kripa. Once efforts to elevate the mind with the help of the Atma are undertaken and Atma Kripa is attained; we become ready to receive the next kripa which is the Guru Kripa. The Guru appears to guide us in our spiritual journey. Guru kripa qualifies us to the next stage of Shaastra Kripa. We learn to study contemplate on and practice the eternal teachings with the help of the Guru and thus engage ourselves in Shravana, Manana and Nidhi Dhyaasana. All these take us to the final stage of Eshwara Kripa when we become eligible to receive the grace of the Almighty.

In the word GURU, Gu stands for Gunaatheetha [The one who is beyond the attributes] and Ru, for Rupa Varjitha [The Formless one]. Hence, the true Guru is the Lord Himself. By putting into practice His teachings in our day to day life, we can easily spiritually understand every mundane mechanical activity of ours and qualify to earn the Eshwara Kripa – His Divine Grace. 


It is important to value the Master. But it is far more important to master His Values so that our life becomes His message. 

To the one who holds my hand, as i trod on the path laid by HIM,
To the one who gives me the faith to believe in HIS uncertainty ,
All that I can say is :

Anyatha sharanam nasti Twameva sharanam mama!


May Guru's grace be upon us all always!