On this most auspicious day of Guru Poornima let us bow down with gratitude to the Guru Sishya parampara (the lineage of teacher and taught), which is the most precious heritage of our country. Here is a glimpse into that treasure, where the guru and the shishya are both priceless gems.

In the Bharatiya Sanskriti, the smallest unit of the society is not an individual but a family. So in olden times, the students leaving the Gurukula received the convocation address. In the address, Guru advised them about their behavior in the family. It starts with ‘Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru devo bhava’, which means ‘Be one for whom mother is God, and father is God.’ (Taittiriya Upanisad Shikshavalli I 11.2).

It further states, ‘Acharya Devo bhava’ – meaning ‘Be one for whom the teacher is God.’ The Acharya or the teacher occupies a very important role. We celebrate 5^th September as Teachers Day. The teachers give us knowledge about various aspects of our social life or skills to earn money.

Guru as we understand it, guides us about the very life itself and how to live it. The possibilities of human life are unlimited. But we should make ourselves available to it and only a Guru makes us aware of it.

Today we are going to reflect on some unique stories of Guru and Shishya. It is said that marriages are made in heaven, so also the bond between the Guru and shishya.

When we talk of Guru Shishya, the immediate pair that we think of is Bhagvan Adi Shankaracharya and Totakacharya. The shishya through his dedicated service to the Guru made himself eligible for Guru’s compassion. Then the magical transformation from Giri to Totakacharya happened.

But some questions still bother us like – how will I meet my Guru? How will he impart the knowledge? Who can become a Guru? Etc. Let’s analyse these questions in the light of stories of various pairs of Guru and Shishyas that our rich culture holds.

Guru – Totapuri & Shishya – Ramakrishna Paramhamsa

The first pair of Guru and Shishya is Totapuri and Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Totapuri was born in Punjab and was trained in the discipline of Advaita Vedanta. Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa was a devotee of Kali and would long to have a darshan of the Mother. SHE would eat from his hands. It is said that Totapuri was drawn to Dakshineshwar by the mysterious Divine power.

Totapuri reached Dakshineshwar as his disciple was ready to receive the knowledge and initiated Ramkrishna into the monastic order and teachings of Vedant. The Guru instructed his disciple to meditate and Shri Ramakrishna got absorbed into a Samadhi which lasted for three days. Seeing this Totapuri cried out in astonishment ‘Is it possible that he has attained in a single day what it took me forty years of strenuous practice to achieve?’

Totapuri was a monk of the most orthodox type. He never stayed at a place more than three days. But he remained at Dakshineswar for eleven months. He too had something to learn from Ramakrishna. He learnt the presence and significance of Divine Mother and it dawned upon him that ‘The Divine Mother and Brahman are one’. Salutations to this great pair of Guru and Shishya.

Guru – Visoba Khechar & Shishya – Namdev

Now from West Bengal, let us visit Maharashtra from where our next pair of Guru and Shishya come. Sant Namdev from his very childhood; was like Prahlad. At the age of two, when he began to talk, the first correct word he uttered was ‘Vitthala’. He was very attached to the Vithoba of Pandharpur. It is said that he could speak to the Lord and the Lord also communicated with him. He performed many miracles singing the name of Vitthala but he did not recognize any other deity as the symbol of god.

Sant Jnanadev advised Namdev to adopt a Guru so that he would realise the manifestation of the all-pervading God and thus fulfil his own mission in life. Namdev initially hesitated as he thought that such an action might alienate his loyalty and devotion to Vithoba. So the Lord Himself advised him to approach Visoba Khechar as his Guru.

Visoba Khechar was one of the disciples of Jnaneshwar and was living at a village called Avandhya. Namdev proceeded to the village immediately and arrived there at about noon. He took shelter in a temple in order to take some rest. There in that temple he saw a man sleeping with his feet on the Shivalinga. Namdev was shocked. He woke up the man and expressed his anger for committing such a crime. The man was no other than Visoba himself.

Visoba replied, “O Namdev, why did you wake me up? Is there a single spot in this world which is not pervaded by God? If you think that such a spot exists, kindly place my feet there”. Namdev took the feet of Visoba in his hands and moved them to another direction, but there appeared another Shivalinga . This continued for some time. Namdev realized his mistake and humbly surrendered at the feet of Visoba. He learnt this great truth that God permeated the whole universe. Salutation to the Guru who adopts unique methods so that the Shishya learns the lesson.

Shri Dattatreya

Shri Dattatreya had 24 Gurus. He chose to learn from the 5 elements, people, birds, animals, things.

Vyadha Gita

Another famous story is about a butcher becoming a Guru to a bramhin. It is popularly known as the Vyadha Gita. We find this story in the Mahabharata, sage Markandeya tells Yudhishthira the story of a butcher of Mithila. It goes like this: A brahmin sanyasi was meditating under the tree in a forest. His meditation was disturbed when a bird on the tree dropped dirt on his head. The sanyasi then looked at the bird with great anger. The anger burnt the bird and it fell down dead from the tree.

The sanyasi then left to a nearby village to seek alms. At the village, he stood in front of a house and begged for food. The woman in the house wanted to serve the sanyasi with food but had to take care of her husband who was unwell. So she asked the sanyasi to wait. After tending to her husband, the woman came out to offer food. The sanyasi however was angered by the woman’s behavior and told her that she should not have kept him waiting.

The woman then told the sanyasi: “O learned brahmin, please do not be angry. I know your anger burnt the bird to death.’ The sanyasi was surprised that a lady sitting in her house could know about the incidence that happened in the forest. She had developed more powers than him. So he asked her to become his Guru and guide. However she asked him to go to Mithilā and meet Dharmavyādha”.

The sanyasi then reached the city of Mithila to meet with Dharmavyadha, the butcher. Dharmavyadha welcomed him. He knew that the sanyasi was advised by the woman to come there and discuss Dharma. On hearing this, the sanyasi was astonished for a second time; the first time when the woman had told him she knew about the bird. The advice the butcher gave is known as the Vyadha Gita. Unique are the ways in which the Lord sends the perfect Guru for the shishya.

Guru – Muktabai & Shishya – Changdev

A Guru is expected to be senior in age as compared to his / her disciples. But we have exceptions for that too in our history. Changdev Maharaj was a yogi and had achieved great siddhis, He had lived for 1400 years. You would wonder, where would he find a Guru and why would he need one?

Changdev maharaj learnt about the greatness of Sant Dnyaneshwar and his brothers and sister. He wanted to write a letter to them, but as they were younger to him in age, he didn’t know how to address them. So he sent a blank letter. Seeing the blank letter little Muktabai, younger sister of Dnyaneshwar laughed. She commented that despite of living for 1400 years, he was as blank as his letter. Later, Muktabai who was probably 14 years of age, became a spiritual Guru of Changdev. In many of his abhangas, we find references to Muktabai.

Coming to the recent times, a young girl once asked Swami Chinmayananda ‘Whatever you teach is there in the books. What do I need a Guru for?’ His instant answer was ‘why don’t you ask this question to the books!’ He further clarified that it is not a question of the disciple selecting the Guru. Keep purifying the mind and the guru necessary for our progress shall reach us.

He further assured ‘When we come to deserve a Master, he shall reach us. Be good, be kind and be sincere.’

Prayers at the lotus feet of the Guru:

सदाशिव समारम्भाम् शंकराचार्य मध्यमाम्
अस्मदाचार्य पर्यन्ताम् वंदे गुरु परम्पराम

Our Salutations to the Guru Sishya lineage starting with Lord Sadasiva through the medium of Adi Sankaracharya and continuing to my immediate teacher.

Written by Smt. Manisha Deole