#182 The meaning of Guru Ashtakam (8 verses about the importance of a guru)

The word Guru, can only be used for the one who removes the ignorance of the self –

गुकारस्तुअन्धकार् रुकारस्तन्निवर्तकः अन्धकारनिवर्तित्वात रुरित्यभिधीयते 

Guru Ashtakam – a set of 8 verses that revolve around the guru written by Jagatguru Adi Shankaracharya. I thought that it might be nice to offer our pranaams to the guru Parampara by dwelling on this stotram. As some of you know, 13^th August this year is Guru Purnima Guru Pūrṇimā, also called Vyāsa Pūrṇimā, is dedicated to the great sage Bhagavān Veda Vyāsa and occurs on his birthday, the full moon day in June/July, the Hindu month of Āṣāḍha. 

Bhagavān Veda Vyāsa codified and assembled the Vedas –  Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, Sāma Veda and Atharva Veda. Not only that, he wrote the Mahabharata, the 18 Purāṇa-s (glories of specific deities through the teachings of dharma and Mokṣa with stories) and finally the Brahmasutras, an analytic work presenting the purport of the entire śāstra. He did this to re-establish the glory of the Śruti and passed it onto his students, who passed it on to their students, who passed it on, which then became the teaching tradition or what is referred to as the guru-shishya parampara.

Coming back to Guru Ashtakam, one would assume that the verses would speak about the guru just like Mahalakshmi ashtakam is in praise of Mahalakshmi.

Strangely, the stotram does not say anything about how the guru should be, the guru’s gender, how much the guru should have studied, what siddhis the guru should have. Nothing.

Then what are these verses about? About discovering the shishya, student in you.  Although the knowledge is about the self, the Atma, it is discovered in a relational way through a dialogue between the teacher and student.

Guru Ashtakam highlights the qualities of Viveka and Shraddha as necessary to study shastra. Viveka is born when we see that all our accomplishments have no meaning without moksha and hence our life has no meaning without a guru.

Listeners from a primarily Western culture, struggle with the idea of a guru because the culture one grew up in emphasises self-reliance and independence. On the other hand, listeners from India and Eastern traditions are a lot more at home with interdependence and respect for elders and gurus.

And so, we will do well to recognise the influence of the culture we grew up in, on our frameworks of learning, the pursuit of learning and the role of a teacher. Either way, the Vedic tradition resounds with the declaration that a guru is indispensable to self-knowledge, even if the guru teaches in the West.   

In the tradition we recognise that three kinds of blessings, krpa are required for moksha pursuit – Guru krpa, Ishvara krpa, Atma krpa.

Let’s say Ishvara krpa, the blessings of Ishvara are there. You finally found a guru. Atma krpa, your blessings toward yourself is there since you learnt the nature of the moksha  pursuit. With Guru krpa one knows the truth because the means of knowledge or the words of the Shaastra have to be handled by the guru. I have seen this in my life, my guru ‘s life and so on.

Let’s say Guru krpa is there but atma krpa is not there – the person will resist the guru. Some of you say ‘But I can’t find one’. In today’s world no one can say this, after exploring. There are far too many options. If you say so, what you are saying is the Guru does not fit into your idea of perfection, your idea of what a guru should be. So the person will struggle more.      

In the verses of the Guru Ashtakam, Ishvara krpa and Guru Krpa are both there. Meaning the blessings of Ishvara and the blessings of Guru are there but there is not enough atma krpa.

Whatever you are committed to, your attention flows to it.  Wherever your attention flows your mind goes. Why? Because there is a value for whatever that is, be it your pursuit of wealth, fame or pleasure. 

Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya recognises that the shraddha and samadhaanam, one-pointedness required for the study of Vedanta sets one free.   

He recognises that there may not be enough focus and commitment to the Guru. Why?

Because there is no commitment to the moksha pursuit. Both feed into each other.

Why not enough commitment? Because of a lot of responsibilities. No. There is not enough viveka – a clear understanding born of discriminative enquiry about what is nitya, eternal and what is anitya, temporary in my life.

And so, the refrain in the second line of the shloka is –         

On the Lotus feet of your guru – if your mind and heart is not centred, tatah kim? 4 times,  what then? What is the use? Or So what?

Generally, feet are considered impure but here the feet of the guru are likened to a lotus who is in the world, yet untouched by the world.

Feet are the foundation of the person. The foundation of the guru is the Shaastra. Without the wisdom of the Shaastra, there can be no guru. A sampradayavit guru, a guru who stands in the tradition only reveals the teachings with no dilution or distortion. So glorification of the guru is really glorification of the Shaastra. Let me share a secret. Whenever anyone touches my feet I mentally touch the feet of our gurus and rishis.  

With this background we are ready to appreciate the meaning of the verses of Guru Ashtakam or Gurvashtakam.

Verse 1 points to the fact that beauty, fame and riches are anitya, ephemeral. There will be a time,

When beauty fades away. (Do you remember the Ms Universe or Mr Universe of recent times?  

Fame is reduced to anonymity,

Riches get exhausted or stop satisfying you. While 

गृहं बान्धवाः सर्वमेतद्धि जातम् । 

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं  

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 2 ॥ 

Even if one has a wife, wealth, children and grandchildren, with palatial house and great relations,
Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what ? So what? So what?

Artha and Kama are valid and important pursuits.

However, do any of your pursuits take away the ‘wanting person’, the one who sees himself subject to limitations?

If you are wealth centred, you are a wanting person.

If you are family centred, you are a wanting person.  

Are you able to see the timebound nature of Artha and Kama? .

The purpose of Dharma, Artha and Kaama pursuits is the emotional satisfaction that comes from a growing maturity and freedom of the person. We pursue wealth for freedom from poverty; we pursue companionship and freedom for the sake of freedom from loneliness. And so on. After all these pursuits have we understood what my beloved guru said most eloquently,

Only the insecure need security and no security is secure enough

There is a journey to be made from being an

Achiever to a

Seeker to a

Knower, from being a

Mumukshu to a

Jignyaasu

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 3 ॥ 

Even if one has expertise in the six Vedangas (the six limbs) – Shiksha (phonetics), Kalpa (Rituals), Vyaakaranam (grammar), niruktam (etymology), chandas (prosody), jyotisham (astrology), The knowledge of Shastra on the lips, And may compose fine prose poetry and music
Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what? So what? So what? 

Vedangas are helpful to understand the Vedas. Yet how do these contribute to the identity? The person is still the knower of many disciplines, derives some pride from it, but has he discovered that knowledge which helps him see that he is free.

‘If you learn Sanskrit you can study the Shastra independently.’ – some people believe this.

Adi Shankaracharya says – shaastrajnopi anveshanam na kuryaat. Even if you have memorised the mantras, do not independently conduct  self-enquiry.

विदेशेषु मान्यः स्वदेशेषु धन्यः

सदाचारवृत्तेषु मत्तो न चान्यः ।

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं 

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 4 ॥

Even if you are honored in foreign lands and acclaimed in one’s own land, and greatly appreciated for one’s righteous conduct and deeds, Yet, if the mind is not centred or does not bow to the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what? So what? So what? 4

What fame and appreciation does to us is strengthen the identity of the experiencer, the bhogta – the one who wants to feel good all the time. Most of us define ourselves by our experiences 

Are you willing to enquire into the reality of your identity?

Surrender is a scary word, We have seen it in movies – hands up – you surrender, surrender is trust.

You trust that your guru is a sampradaayavit, she comes from a lineage – shrotriyam – has been through the system, you trust the sampradaaya, you trust the shastra then you trust the guru.

This does not come on the first day..You have working trust, you enroll for a course on python, you look for credentials, little by little your trust grows. If you have doubts you approach the guru. tad viddhi pranipaatena praipreshnena sevayaa – do seva to the guru by asking questions to understand.   

क्षमामण्डले भूपभूपलवृन्दैः

सदा सेवितं यस्य पादारविन्दम् ।

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 5 ॥

One may be respected and highly honored by a host of emperors and rulers (heads of state); One ‘s lotus feet may be served incessantly.  Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what? So what? So what? 5

यशो मे गतं दिक्षु दानप्रतापात्

जगद्वस्तु सर्वं करे यत्प्रसादात् ।

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं 

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 6 ॥

Your fame has travelled in all directions. And the entire world is with you because of your  philanthropy and prowess. Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what? So what? So what?

न भोगे न योगे न वा वाजिराजौ

न कन्तामुखे नैव वित्तेषु चित्तम् ।

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 7 ॥

The mind may have turned away from external pleasures through dispassion and from attainments like yogic concentration, possessions like horses, in short the entire wealth of the earth. Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, So what? So what? So what? So what?

Let’s say that now there is vairagya. You have seen the limitations of your pursuits. Earlier you were a bhogi, an experience, then you became a yogi – still an experience of your internal states, you turned away from all this.

Vairagya as objectivity is to be understood all the way – you are free from both the external and the internal states. Most importantly you are free from your ragas and dveshas.

Your identity is still of a renouncer, for a tyaagi – the ahankaara is still sitting there. People ask you gave up a successful career and all this. I did n’t give it. It was not mine anyway.

If ahankaara is understood, it is the Atma.

If not it is the limited ahankaara, the renouncer, the willing, wishing, wanting person. So what if the person has vairagya, if the person is not devoted to the teaching and hence the teacher?

अरण्ये न वा स्वस्य गेहे न कार्ये

न देहे मनो वर्तते मे त्वनर्घ्ये ।

गुरोरङिघ्रपद्मे मनश्चेन्न लग्नं 

ततः किं ततः किं ततः किं ततः किम् ॥ 8 ॥

The mind may have lost interest in staying in the forest or in one’s own house, may have lost all desire to achieve and focused only on moksha Yet, if the mind is not centred on the lotus feet of the guru, so what? So what? So what? So what?

Having examined all your experiences, if indeed you have vairagya – you know the nature of pursuits what can be achieved and there is something to be discovered, then for the sake of knowledge – go to a guru – how – samiptaani – with firewood, – willingness to do whatever it takes.    

Phala sruthi

गुरोरष्टकं यः पठेत्पुण्यदेही

यतिर्भूपतिर्ब्रह्मचारी च गेही ।

लभेद्वाच्छितार्थं पदं ब्रह्मसञ्ज्ञं

गुरोरुक्तवाक्ये मनो यस्य लग्नम् ॥ 8 ॥

Whoever reads, studies and recites this octet on the teacher,
Be he a sannyasi,  or a king or householder or a brahmachari,
He attains Brahman by keeping his mind fixed on the words of the guru

The Bhagavad Gita makes a bold assertion, Sraddhvaan labhate jnanam  – the one who has shraddha, trust gains the knowledge. And so again and again we return to the feet of the guru, we return to the flowing tradition of the teaching that tells you – you were always free.

On the eve of this Guru Purnima may we honor our guru-shishya Parampara, express our gratitude for all that we have received and renew our commitment to doing whatever it takes for the blessings to flow in our life.

॥ॐ श्री गुरुभ्यो नमः ॥