Meaning:
Guru is the same as Bramha, the creator of the Universe.
Guru is Narayan or Vishnu who is the Nurturer of the Universe.
Guru is Maheshwar or Guru is the Supreme Destroyer of the Universe Lord Shiva.
Guru is equated with the Parambrahma or the Supreme creator of the world.
I bow down before you Gurudev.
Significance:
The Guru Shishya culture is an age old culture in the Hindu Culture. Guru or the teacher is equated with God. The Guru Brahma is a common stotra which is recited by Hindu people as a part of their daily worshipping habits. In the Vedic literature Hindu Culture has shown the importance of Guru Shishya Tradition.
Knowledge is given away in succession from one generation to another from guru to Shishya. Even in Ramayana the old vedic tradition is seen where Shishya or the learners go to their mentor’s house and serve him as well as complete their training in different skills and they get knowledge from their mentors.
The Tradition of going to the Guru’s home and learning was common among all sections of human culture. Rama who was the Prince of Ayodhya, the eldest son of Dasharath, along with his brothers, went away from their palace. Rama went away from the riches of the palace and lived in little mudhuts. The minimalist lifestyle was practiced by even the richest princes from palaces, they did all tasks given by their Gurus.
The oldest religious literature found are the Vedas. There were four Vedas and the oldest of them was the RigVeda. The Vedas were called ‘Shruti’ because they went from generation to generation not in written mode but they were passed to the generations by listening to the Gurus. The Gurus used to impart the knowledge from the Vedas and they were thus called “Shruti” or learnt by listening.
Even in the Ultimate Religious Book of the Hindus, the ‘Sreemad Bhagavatam’ depicted the relationship between ‘Krishna and Arjuna” who were Guru and Shishya respectively. Krishna was the Guru and Arjuna was the Learner or Shishya. Hare “Krishna” is the God Himself and the Arjuna accepted Him as Guru or teacher. Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu lyrics tell that Guru is equated with the Tridev or the most powerful three Gods of the Universe.
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu lyrics remind us that Guru is the Person who receives the greatest amount of respect, they treat Gurus as Almighty Himself. After initiation, Guru is considered as the Ultimate Authority and the Shiya follows each and every instruction by the Guru. “Initiation” is crucial even in a Shishya’s life. The Guru usually tells his Shishya a ‘Mantra’ and tells him how to chant. The Shishya pays attention and takes the Mantra and chants it all his life with utmost respect. This secret ‘Mantra’ is never disclosed by the Shishya anytime during his lifetime.
Another topic in this respect can be Gurudakshina. This is merely giving a fee to the Gurus. There was an age old tradition among the guru-shishya tradition to reward the Gurus or offer him with a token of respect as a gratitude after receiving the education. Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu must have been a strotra to recite before the Gurus from the Vedic time. Education is perceived as priceless, so there cannot be a price for the same. But the Gurudakshina is a tradition to convey gratitude to the Gurus. The Gurudakshina can be anything and everything that the Shishya can afford to give or wishes to give away. But at times, Shishya asks the Gurus to disclose their wishes about the best Gurudakshina that they will love to receive. This concept has often taken Dramatic form in the Guru Shishya tradition history.
The most significant story in its relation is the Story of Ekalavya. Ekalabya was a Shishya of Guru Droynachaarya who received his education by listening and observing the Guru from a distance. FOr him, Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu was a reality. Ekalavya learnt his skill beautifully and was a better archer than Arjuna. But Dronachaaya wanted his favorite Shishya Arjuna to be the Best. He thus asked for the ‘thumb’ of Ekalavya’ without which he wouldn’t be able to shoot the arrows. Though this is a dark story of the Guru-Shiya tradition, here the love and respect of the Shishya Ekalvya is prominent for his Guru. This respect is inevitable in Hindu Culture, the God takes the form of Gurus, so Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu strotra also says whatever they say, good or bad, becomes the duty of the Shishya.
