Guru

...Paduka

Anantha Samsara Samudra Tara

Naukayitabhyam Guru Bhakthidabhyam

Vairagya Samrajyatha Pujanabhyam

Namo Namah Shri Guru Padukabhyam.

One of the most beautiful eight verses of the Guru Paduka Stotram (Praise of the feet of the Guru) that has inspired and continues to inspire me. Sung in lilting chants, the verses never fail to transport one to the essence of the word Guru. Gu - Darkness and Ru one who dispels it. Guru also means something that is very heavy.

The essence of the eight verses means I worship the feet of the Guru that sails me through the ocean of Sansara as if in a boat.

When I wondered about the words. 'Guru's Feet,' while chanting the most powerful mantras of the Guru Puja, I realised that feet are not exactly the to parts of the body that touch the ground. They are indeed the bearers of the whole being of the Guru, rooting his body and mind that travels aloft in inter-galactic space, down on the earth so we may be able to perceive them with our earthly senses.

There is no darkness if there is no light too. So what darkness does the Guru dispel. The darkness of misconception that everything is divided and separate - the cause for all the illusion, confusion, desparation, boredom, failure, depression or anything that drags us down.

When there are moments I have gone through all these kinds of degrading emotions, I discovered that all I have to do is chant the name of my Guru, breathe in deeply, letting the breath pierce through the conflicting mind and touch the ocean of stillness not so deep within.

And so life goes on....