T Ram Sewak NITYAM GURU After Shri Ram Gita, we focus on another powerful narrative in Shri Ramcharitmanas. Goswami Tulsidas repeatedly ascribes the c
- Posted: December 23, 2024
- Updated: 08:12 am
T Ram Sewak
NITYAM GURU
After Shri Ram Gita, we focus on another powerful narrative in Shri Ramcharitmanas. Goswami Tulsidas repeatedly ascribes the creation of his epic work to the divine grace of Shri Ram and Lord Shiva. He believes his Guru was this grace incarnate and pays homage to his Guru for narrating Shri Ram's katha and inspiring him to compose Shri Ramcharitmanas. Tulsidasji has interwoven his reverence and adoration for the Guru throughout Shri Ramcharitmanas. Thus, he commences his magnum opus by first invoking Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, and Mata Parvati and immediately venerates his Guru (Shloka 3 of Manglacharan).
"vande nityam gurum rupinam, vandyate".
"With complete devotion, I bow to my eternal Guru, the embodiment of Lord Shiva in whose refuge even the crescent moon, though imperfect, becomes worthy of worship".
Often, the title Guru is used very casually for an expert. However, our spiritual literature deifies the Guru. He is the dispeller of all the darkness of ignorance. Tulsidasji equates the Guru to the sun, which illuminates the disciple, who, like the moon, is imperfect. However, as this imperfect moon is venerated once it adorns the matted hair of Lord Shiva similarly, the Guru's radiance makes even the imperfect disciple worthy.
Assigning divinity to the Guru by calling him eternal (nityam) and a manifestation of Lord Shiva is a reflection of the "Guru-tattva" principle contained in the opening verse of "Guru Gita", which states that the Guru is not merely physical but eternal and pervasive. He is an embodiment of the imperishable. Tulsidasji reminds us that Lord Shiva is the Adi (Primordial) Guru, the ultimate, incessant, eternal source of all gyan (wisdom), alluding to HIS Dakshinamurti form as the bestower of gyan and moksh (liberation ). In human form, the Guru is the knower of Truth (Gita 4.34), the endower of shraddha, gyan, and bhakti illuminating the route to
HIM for us. / DAILY WORLD /
Namami Ramam Musings-50
The author is a former electrical Engineer and resides in the Himalayas. He can be occasionally reached at ramam.namami@gmail.com
