Let us contemplate on Guru the Supreme reality. We have heard the shloka:
gurur brahma gurur vishnu
gurur devo maheshwarah
guru saakshaath parabrahma
tasmai shri guruve namah
Let us contemplate on this shloka. This Guru is called Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara. What is this? What is the meaning of this? The Supreme reality Parabrahma plays five different roles in creating the universe. As Brahma, he becomes the creator. As Vishnu, he becomes the sustainer. As Shiva, he becomes the destroyer. As Maya shakti, he creates the bondage. And as Sadguru he becomes the liberator.
These are the five roles of the supreme reality in creation. They are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the sustainer, Shiva, the destroyer, Maya, the one who creates the bondage and Sadguru, the liberator. These are the fivefold roles of supreme reality. Out of that, the last role is Sadguru. The role of Sadguru is liberation, Mukti, freedom from the bondage of Maya. The other four roles are in the domain of maya: creation, sustenance, destruction and maya. These are the four roles in the domain of maya. Only one role which is Sadguru is for liberation from the bondage of maya.
The Sadguru is spoken of as Guru Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara. Don’t confuse this with the roles of Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara for creation and sustenance. These roles Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara are different from those roles. These refer to the Self-realization, Atma jnana. As Brahma Guru, the role of Brahma gives birth to the desire for Mukti or liberation for those who seek it. So, the Guru as Brahman creates the desire for liberation. Guru as Vishnu sustains the desire in the form of teachings. Guru as Shiva destroys the ignorance of ‘I am the body. I am the mind. I am the intellect’. The ignorance is destroyed in the role of Shiva.
That’s why Guru is called Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara. Don’t confuse this with the creative and sustenance aspect of Parabrahma. These are created for the knowledge aspect, the enlightened aspect, the liberation aspect. That’s why Guru is Brahma, Vishnu, Maheswara.
Then what about ‘guru saakshaath parabrahma, tasmai shri guruve namah’?
Guru is the one who gives Atma jnana or knowledge of the Self, Knowledge of Self-realization and helps you to become free from the bondage of maya and bondage of karma. One who gives the knowledge himself should be liberated first. Otherwise, he cannot give wisdom and clarity to you. A blind man cannot lead another blind person. It requires another person with eyesight to help another blind person.
Similarly, a person who has realized the Supreme Reality Parabrahma, is only fit to be called a Sadguru or Realized Master. Such a person is called ‘guru saakshaath parabrahma, tasmai shri guruve namah’. Only such a person is able to teach the wisdom of a realized person. Let us understand what he has realized.
He has realized his individual Consciousness is one with the Supreme Consciousness Parabrahma. That means Jiva has merged with the Brahman. It is something like this: a salt doll goes to the ocean and what remains there is the ocean only. Similarly, when Jiva merges with the Parabrahma, only Parabrahma or the Supreme Reality remains. That’s what is called Self-realization or God-realization.
But the body of such a realized person will continue to be operative until the Prarabdha karma of the body is exhausted. The universe maintains such a body. The purpose of maintaining such a body by the universe is to help the seekers of wisdom, in the form of teachings. Now, who speaks through that body? Was that Jiva an individual soul?
There is no longer an individual soul. It is the Parabrahma or the Supreme Reality who speaks about Self-realization through that body-mind complex. That’s why Guru is called saakshaath Parabrahma. This refers to the Sadguru, a realized person.
Pranams,
Prabhuji
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