Sri Guru Gita- A Conversation between Siva and Parvati on Guru Tatva -7

Sri Guru Gita- A Conversation between Siva and Parvati on Guru Tatva -7

Durlabham Trishu-lokeshu Tacchrunushwa Vadaamyaham
Gurum Brahma Vinaa Naanyat Satyam Satyam Varaanane

‘O beautiful one! I will tell you that which is very rare in the three worlds. Please listen. Guru is none other than the Absolute Brahman – God Himself. This verily is the truth’.

Explanation: The human guru, whatever is his exalted position, is not given a status above the gods by Vedic tradition. It placed great spiritual masters like Sri Krishna or Sri Buddha subordinate to the gods through fabricated mythology. Thus Sri Krishna and Sri Buddha became avatars of Vishnu contrary to the truth. The pundits as well as the ignorant have not been exposed well enough to the knowledge of lokas or spiritual planes through which a soul evolves in its path of final merger with the Supreme Light.

After taking thousands of embodiment in water and soil a soul evolves to become a plant, an animal and then a man. A man in his brutish state becomes an evil spirit in the bhuta loka after death. If he becomes refined enough to be a just man, then he becomes a denizen of pitru loka and is reborn to earn more meritorious karma. After becoming meritorious enough by observing right karma and dharma and sacrifices he becomes qualified to evolve as a deva or an angel, an embodiment with increased potency for enjoyment in the sixth spiritual sky known as Swarga or Deva loka (heaven). It is also known that there are certain categories of Swarga such as Siva loka, Vishnu Loka, Brahma Loka, Indra Loka etc. in which the respective deities wield power over the souls. Similarly, for the followers of Christianity, Islam etc. there are corresponding heavens under those prophets.

The souls in those heavens are not liberated since they have not transcended name, form and qualities and hence the subjective awareness that cause dual experiences of happiness and sorrow. The real spiritual experience commences from the seventh spiritual plane known as Rishi loka which is said to be a world of pure light and spiritual bliss. The Rishis are liberated souls from the chain of births and deaths. They manifest themselves as light, having lost name, form and qualities as well as the subjective ego consciousness. The devi-devas and angels in the Swarga are subordinates to such great rishis. We can read in the puranas how great rishis humbled the gods on many occasions. We know how Brahmarishi Vishwamitra created another Swarga itself when Indra, the king of gods refused King Trishanku entry into heaven.

Navajyaoti Sri Karunakara Guru once mentioned about the story of Atri Maharshi. Indra, the king of gods was cursed by Rishi Gautama because Indra had violated the chastity of Gautama’s wife. (Just think how ‘noble’ indeed are the deeds of gods!) Due to this curse Indra’s body became deformed. Out of shame, he abandoned the heaven and approached trinity gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara for help. But the gods said they were unable to save him from the curse of a Rishi. At this juncture, Narada advised Indra to approach Atri Maharshi whose ashram was situated near Kanyakumari in the vicinity of mount Mainakam, now submerged under the ocean.

As directed, Indra came down to the ashram of Atri Maharshi and begged the Rishi to rescue him from the curse. The kind-hearted Atri directed his wife Anasuya to help Indra. She brought the ‘paada teertham’ (water made holy by washing the feet of sage Atri) and sprinkled on Indra. Thus Indra was redeemed from the curse and was cleansed of his sins. Even today, this place is known as ‘Sucheendram’ which means the place where Indra got purified of his sin. So who is great in this story? The gods or Atri Maharshi? You may decide yourself. But the priest-class had decided that they would not grant a sage a status above the gods and suitably, myths were fabricated. Today not Atri Maharshi but Brahma and Indra are worshipped in Sucheendram temple, which is the final resting place (Samadhi) of Atri Maharshi.

Majority of people are caught in a vicious circle by becoming subservient to celestial powers. The Upanishads mention that those who worship celestials end up in slavery. One has to note that there are two categories of Rishis. One is Devarshis, i.e. those who are dedicated to the devi-devas and the other is Brahmarshis, those dedicated only to Brahman, the Supreme Light. Since Devarshis have not transcended the devi-deva plane they do not belong to the Rishi-loka mentioned above.

There are greater lokas above Rishi loka too. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru referred these lokas as Ishwara Sannidhanam, Brahma Sannidhanam and Para Brahma Sannidhanam counting up to ten lokas in total. Sri Krishna is the only soul who has transcended the eighth spiritual plane equivalent to Ishwara Sannidhanam. At the time of spiritual fulfilment of Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru, Sri Krishna helped the Guru to transcend the eighth spiritual plane and complete the stages up to ten. The Guru who merges with Parabrahma Loka (the Source of all creation) becomes That itself. The Guru Lord Siva speaks about is such a Mahatma who has transcended the celestial plane of angels and gods and whatever other spiritual entities and gurus under them. Navajyoti Sri Karunakara Guru said that in front of such a sage the gods are insignificant and of no consequence.

Now what happens to the souls in Swarga loka? Once the merit of their karma is exhausted, they are expelled from the heavenly orb like a penniless man from a five-star hotel. That soul is again born as a plant, animal or man and the vicious circle continues. Sankaracharya described this in his famous verse: ‘punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam, punarapi Janani jatare shayanam, iha samsara bahu dustare pahi murare kripaya pare’ (Man takes birth again and again and dies again and again; he is fated to sleep in the mother’s womb again and again. Indeed, this world is very difficult to transcend. O God, kindly take me across to the other shore!’).

The Vedantis have only helped the ignorance to grow. In their delusion they equate everything from a grass to god Brahma (Brahma and Brahman are different) equal to Brahman keeping the people in darkness forever. Even evil spirits are worshipped as God by some people because of this, apart from their mischief of considering themselves as God.

The second culprit is the Puranas. Puranas contain the imprints of valuable history from an ancient and mysterious past. It contains a good dose of interpolations and fabricated myths too. Through the Puranas the Vedic scribes have wrongly equated celestial gods with Brahman in order to promote or bring under control opposing sects. It’s time we remove the chaff from the grain. One should be conscious of what one's object of worship is, otherwise spiritual evolution gets stunted. Man gets devolved to the state of a brute.

There is also a false notion that one should worship devi-devas as they are the different aspects of Brahman. One can have respect and regard for all divinities, but worship should be directed always towards Brahman, who is the support of the universe. There is no second God other than Brahman. He only is the true benefactor. Since God is formless, He appears in the form of a realised Guru, a Guru who has completed all spiritual stages and attained union with Brahman. Therefore, God is to be worshipped through the medium of the Guru. This is the advice of Lord Siva. Glory to the all-knowing Guru!d through the medium of the Guru. This is the advice of Lord Siva. Glory to the all-knowing Guru!