Sri Guru Gita – 11 April 2014 – Episode 110

Jaya Guru Datta. English summary:

Sloka:
Anadyayakhiladyaya mayine gata mayine |
Arupaya svarupaya sivaya gurave namah ||

Obeisance to Guru who is Siva, who has no beginning and who is the beginning of all, who has conquered illusion, who has no illusion, who is formless but remains in the form of his true self.

In this verse is the phrase, “mayine gata mayine”. We took refuge at the Guru to overcome maya (illusion). The Guru is referred to as mayavi (illusionist). Mayi means mayavi. We might wonder what use it is to us if he is an illusionist. Here, they also said “gata mayi”. That means he is an illusionist that gained victory over illusion. He is not an ordinary illusionist. He not only gained victory over illusion, but purposefully kept illusion under his control. He does this to uplift us. How does this work?

Say, there is a smouldering piece of coal. To remove it from fire, you need an even hotter pair of tongs, otherwise, the tongs will get overheated. Similarly, to extract a piece of iron that’s melting in fire, you will need an even hotter pair of tongs, otherwise, the tongs will themselves melt in the fire. In the same manner, to remove maya from his disciples, the Guru takes on various forms of maya. He does maya and appears in the form of maya. He appears as maya even where it may seem unnecessary. He wears maya, plays, cries, laughs, makes you cry, makes you laugh, his illusions are countless. He’ll become a bird keeper, animal keeper or anything else, he’s taken on so much maya. He puts the disciples in turmoil. Those are the Guru’s tests. You should be careful. You should win those tests. You may wonder if it’s possible to withstand those tests. But, you don’t have to worry about withstanding the tests. He will do whatever is necessary and like a pair of tongs, extract you from the fire. That is why, he is called an illusionist.

Now, they conclude the praise of Guru as Siva with the following mantra:

Sloka:
Sarva mantra swarupaya sarva tantra swarupine |
Sarvagaya samastaya sivaya gurave namah ||

Jaya Guru Datta. Sri Guru Datta.