gayatri

[Guest guest]

While it is interesting to note the grammatically correct spelling and the

almost inaudibly different method of actually saying "guroh" as opposed to

"guruh", (as opposed to the relatively more severe mistake of pronouncing

'GadAdhara' as 'GUddUd-hara' in the Panca Tattva mantra) such

sanskrit-ically correct definitions, hardly make a difference to the actual

meaning nor intention of Gaudiya vaisnavas, especially in light of the fact

that devotees are enjoined to chant "Vande GUROH sri-caranaravindam" every

day.

 

ys

Ganesa dasa

 

=============================================

>> The papers I have seen say "guroh" with the dot under the h. That is

>> different from guro.

>

>And if you listen to Srila Prabhupada's gayatri tapes (available inside

>Vedabase) you will hear him saying "guruh" which is closer to the general

>Gaudiya consensus and Sanskrit rules...

 

This is what Matsya Avatara Prabhu, Sanskrit teacher at Gopiparanadhana

Prabhu's school, had to say on the subject:

 

"The word guroh found in the gayatri handout sheets given by gurus to their

disciple and in the folio is actually a spelling mistake for guruh.

 

If you look at the guru-gayatri as it is listed in Bhaktivinode Thakur's

Bhajana-rahasya and Dhyanacandra's Gaura-govindarcana-smarana-paddhati the

spelling is guruh. The word guruh is the correct first case form just as we

have the words yah, gaurah, and anangah in the first case in the other

gayatris. The sixth case form guroh makes absolutely no sense. But most

important is how Srila Prabhupada himself pronounces the gayatri mantra. If

you listen to the gayatri recordings on the 2003 vedabase, Prabhupada

clearly says guruh, not guroh. Thus it is imperative that we restore this

important diksa-mantra to its pure form both in the folio and in the

handouts, and also inform the initiating gurus about this discrepancy. It is

funny and a little ironic that, even though Prabhupada used to make fun of

how devotees would pronounce goru ("cow") instead of guru, we have for so

many years commiting a similar mistake by saying guroh instead of guruh.

Instead of dropping our old 'o' habit we just switched the 'o' to a

different place in the word".