Om Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!
Om Guruswamiye Saranam Ayyappa!
Om Guruswamiye Saranam Ayyappa!
Om Guruswamiye Saranam Ayyappa!
Om nahama śivāya gurave
Sac-cid-ānanda-mūrtaye
Nisprapañcaya śāntāya
Nirālambāya tejase
Om. Salutations to the Guru, who is Shiva! His form is being, consciousness, and bliss. He is transcendent, calm, free from all support, and luminous.
From Guru Gita- When Parvati asking Lord Shiva to initiate her to the knowledge of guru, Lord Shiva answering thus
Durlabham trishu lokesu
tacchrnusva vadāmyaham,
Gurum vinābrahma nānyat
satyam satyam varānane.
(This knowledge) is difficult to obtain in the three worlds. Listen to it. I will reveal it to you. Brahman is nothing other than the Guru. O beautiful one, this is the truth. This is the truth.
In a word, we can say that, as God created mother, because he cant be at all places, similarly ayyappa comes in the form of guruswamy to guide the people who are taking deeksha. In a way guruswamy is the reflection of ayyappa swamy.
Guruswamy plays a vital role in the journey of a person who is taking ayyappa swamy deeksha. He is the person who gives us the ayyappa swamy deeksha by putting the mala(rosary) known as maladharana. Guruswamy is the person who can clarify all our doubts regarding deeksha. He will explain about the story of ayyappa swamy, will check our integrity and sincerity in taking deeksha. He will guide us towards Lord Ayyappa.
Ayyappa swamy deeksha has got a special significance because, to know about ayyappa it is not possible directly. The first question arises that he is the son of hari and hara, how can a child born for two males, there itself the question ends, because we dont have an answer for this question. Then there is no further scope to study or understand or answer. But there is a lot of significance, which can be known through Guruswamy only. So this entire deeksha deals with gurutattwa and tattwamasi, the supreme reality that we are one with the lord ayyappa who is sitting in the sanctum sanatorium of sabarimala temple.
Theoritically, we are just repeating this words "Tatwamasi" which is written on sanctum sanatorium of sabarimala temple, but are we able to experience the same. So the entire journey of taking deeksha till we see swamy at sabarimala is evoked around this concept. The moment we do maladharana under the guidance of guruswamy, at every stage, guruswamy helps us out by guiding us in the deeksha- like doing puja, making us do bhajans, clarify our doubts regarding swamy, and other aspects.
The Guruswamy is usually an elderly person who has undertaken pilgrimage to sabarimala not less than seven consecutive years in the traditional long route and had darshan of makara jyothi.
Guruswamy is the person who will tie our irumudi, help us make our sabari yatra peaceful and successful. Guruswamy is the person who will show us ayyappa and make us feel the blessings of ayyappa. Without Guruswamy, one cannot take deeksha, neither perform sabari yatra. The deeksha begins with guruswamy and ends with guruswamy. It is the guruswamy who will remove the mala after deeksha and sabari yatra is completed.
During the period of deeksha, one should be able to ask proper questions to guruswamy to clarify his doubts. The questioning should be genuine to know the fact and help us in reaching our goal of knowing the supreme reality. It should not be to check the knowledge of guruswamy. We should never let the ego enter into our hearts that we know better than guruswamy, because we might have read it at some place, or on internet or watched some movie or video or known through some other discussion from some other source. Half knowledge is more dangerous, it makes us egoistic. If ego enters our heart that we know better than guruswamy, we need to think that it is the end of our deeksha, because the main motto of taking deeksha is to merge our ego at the lotus feet of the lord and become one with the cosmic consciousness realising the supreme reality tatwamasi.
He trains and prepares us mentally and physically to reach this goal. The deeksha and its rules have been designed in such a way that if one properly follows them as per the guidance of guruswamy, then one is bound to reach this goal, if not immediately, but over the years he will reach this goal. Because, Lord ayyappa goal is to make us realise this supreme reality and he is sitting on the sabarimala hill to bestow the same. He will come down all the way to show us the path to reach this truth in the form of Guruswamy.
We should do service to guruswamy in all possible aspects, if guruswamy is satisfied means ayyappa will be satisfied and our sabari yatra will be successful and we will be bestowed with all the blessings of ayyappa. This will help us reach our goal quickly. The earlier we are able to merge our ego at the lotus feet of the lord, the earlier we will realise the supreme reality. This is only possible with being associated with guruswamy. Thats the reason, we need to do our deeksha in the presence of guruswamy being associated with him. Service to guruswamy will easily make us merge our ego at the lotus feet of ayyappa swamy. It is the "I" which is making us lose the harmony in our life. Why we are feeling happy the moment we see lord ayyappa at sabarimala, because he is the personification of bliss(ananda).
We will be blessed with such bliss if we are able to realise the supreme reality, and for this the one and only one way is to get associated with guruswamy and the way is only guruswamy.
There are lot of benefits if one does his deeksha alongwith guruswamy in his presence and in his association. One will have a chance to do service to guruswamy, can ask questions to guruswamy and get clarifications, even if we are unable to ask,if somebody else is asking, we can listen and get clarified. Most of things can be learnt by observing guruswamy and how he is doing the puja, bhajan and any other deeksha related activities.
Right from taking achamana, to every minute detail in the deeksha, will have significance of some sort. It is always better to know the meaning of activity and then perform that activity. So who is the authority to clarify such doubts, it is the guruswamy.
We need to be thankful always, because he is helping us in knowing the supreme reality by the grace of lord ayyappa. What more can be said,Words are less to describe about a guruswamy.
In conclusion, we can pray for their blessings to make ayyappa happier who in turn will bless us in realising the truth which gives us ananda (bliss).
Om saha nāvavatu
Saha nau bhunaktu
Saha vīryam karavavahai
Tejasvi nāvadhītam astu
Mā vidvishāvahai
Om. May we, Guru and disciple, be protected together. May we enjoy the fruits of our actions together. May we achieve strength together. May our knowledge be full of light. May we never have enmity for one another.
Om Śanti! śanti! śanti!
Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!
Ayyappa is considered as the guru of all gurus. And as already discussed, he blesses us in the form of guruswamy. So we need to consider our guruswamy as our guru. Guru Gita extensively discuss about the greatness of a guru, one can go through guru gita to completely know about how one can serve guru to realise the supreme reality. A few of the verses are given below to show the greatness and how we need to treat our guru (guruswamy as the form of ayyappa our guru).
67. Akhanda-mandalākāram
vyāptam yena charācaram,
Tatpadam darśitam yena
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru, who has revealed that state which pervades the entire sphere of this universe, which is composed of animate and inanimate objects.
69. Yasya smarana-mātrena
jñānam utpadyate svayam,
Ya eva sarva-samprāptis
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru, merely by remembering whom knowledge arises spontaneously. He is all attainments.
70. Chaitanyam śāśvatam śāntam
vyomātītam nirañjanam,
Nśāda-bindu-kalśātītam
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru. He is consciousness, which is eternal, peaceful, stainless, and transcends the sky. He is beyond nada (primordial sound), bindu (point containing the universe), and kala (manifestation of the world).
71. Sthāvaram jangamam caiva
tathā caiva carācaram,
Vyāptam yena jagat sarvam
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru, who pervades this entire world, consisting of the movable and immovable and also animate and inanimate
72. Jnāna-shakti-samārūdhas
tattvamālā-vibhūshitah,
Bhukti-mukti-pradātā yas
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru. He is firmly established in the power of knowledge and is adorned with the garland of tattvas. He grants worldly fulfillment as well as salvation.
73. Aneka-janma-samprāpta-
sarva-karma-vidāhine,
Svātmajnāna-prabhāvena
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru, who by (imparting) the power of Self-knowledge burns up all the karmas acquired through countless lifetimes.
74. Na guroradhikam tattvam
na guroradhikam tapah,
Tattvam jnānātparam nāsti
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru. There is no truth higher than the Guru, no austerity is greater than (service to) the Guru, no truth greater than the knowledge (of him).
75. Mannāthah śrījagannātho
madgurus trijagadguruh,
Mamātmā sarva-bhūtātmā
tasmai śrīgurave namah.
Salutations to Shri Guru. My Lord is the Lord of the universe. My Guru is the Guru of the three worlds. My Self is the Self of all beings.
76. Dhyāna-mūlam guror mūrtih
pūjā-mūlam guroh padam,
Mantra-mūlam guror vākyam,
moksa-mūlam guroh krpā.
The root of the meditation is the Guru’s form. The root of the worship is the Guru’s feet. The root of mantra is the Guru’s word. The root of liberation is the Guru’s grace.
Om Guru Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!
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