Can you worship a Guru as an Ishta devata and vice versa ?

[Guest guest]

Thank you Sadaji, Baskaranji , Narayanaji , Peterji and above all

Ramji for all the detailed responses to my question ? My question

was more in the nature of a rhetorical question - i already knew the

answer ... it was more for the benefit of our dear member Tony !

While all the responses were equally good , i particulary resonated

with these words in Sri Ramji's post ...

 

(When Bhagawan Ramana started his 'Inner Search,' it was through

worshiping the Lord of Arunachala with great devotion. Those who

have read his biography can recall that very first step of

his 'inner search journey'was to leave home and go and conduct deep

meditation at the feet of his ishta devadata at the temple of

Arunachala in Thiruvannamalai.)

 

This was what exactly i was looking for .... when i was new to

the 'advaitin' list a few years ago , whenever i had a doubt , i

would write to Sunderji ( another moderator on this list)- on one

such Occasion, i had asked Sunderji who Sri Ramana's guru was - and

Sunderji responded by saying 'it was none other than Lord Arunachala

bhagwan himself .) since then , of course , i have visited Sri

Ramanashram and read many of Sri Ramana bhagwan's biographies and

other internet materials on Sri Ramana bhagwan ...

 

PL READ THIS :

 

Q: Sri Aurobindo and others refer to you as having had no Guru.

 

A: It all depends on what you call a Guru. He need not be in a human

form. Dattatreya had twenty-four gurus including the five elements-

Earth, Water etc. Every object in this earth was his Guru. The Guru

is absolutely necessary. The upanishads say that none but a Guru can

take a man out of the jungle of intellect and sense perceptions. So

there must be a Guru.

 

 

Q: I mean a human Guru - Maharshi did not have one.

 

A: I might have had one at one time or other. Did I not sing hymns

to Arunachala. What is a Guru? Guru is the God or the Self. First a

man prays to God to fulfil his desires. A time comes when he will no

more pray for the fulfillment of material desires but for God

himself. God then appears to him in some form or other, human or non-

human, and to guide him to himself in answer to his prayer and

according to his needs.

 

When the great Ramana bhagwan himself has acknowledged that his

Guru ( ishta devata ) is none other than Lord Arunachala , why

should mortals like tony and i have problem with accepting Jagadguru

Shankara and Mouna guRu Sri Ramana bhagwan as our guru and worship

them as ishta nishta ? Sri Ramana bhagwan himself says we should

meditate on the Guru for his grace ! Muruganar , Sri Ramana's

disciple , has himself composed the guru vachaka koval !

 

We are not talking about 'idle' worship here - we are talking about

worshipping the 'ideals' ( the philosophy of vedanta or idealogy)

these great sages stood for - Sri Sri Adi Shankara Bhagvadapada and

Sri Ramana bhagwan !

 

Sri Adi shankara bhagvadapada himself says about his guru

Govindapada in viveka chudamani verse 1

 

sarva-ved'aanta-siddh'aanta-gocharaM tam agocharam

gov'indaM param'aanandaM sad-guruM praNato'smy aham ..(Viveka

Chudamani Verse1)

 

I prostrate myself before Govinda, the true Guru and ultimate Bliss,

who is the unattainable resort of all scriptures and Vedanta.

 

Here , Govinda can refer to the Sri Krishna bhagwan or adi shankara

bhagvadapada's guru , Sri Govindapada !

 

Pada itself means the lotus feet ! So guru's feet are to be

worshipped just like we worship god's feet !

 

Adi Shankara Bhagvadapada says in his guruvashtakam

 

shadangAdi vedo mukhe shAstra vidya,kavitvAdi gadyam supadyam karoti

manaschennalagnam gurOrangripadme tataHkim tataHkim tataHkim tataH

kim

 

The Vedas with their six auxiliaries and knowledge of sciences may

be on the one's lips; one may have the gift of poesy; and may

compose good prose and poetry; but if one's mind be not attached to

the lotus feet of the Guru, what thence, what thence, what thence,

what thence?

 

and beloved Kabir das says in his two lined verse

 

Guru Gobind donon khade, Ka ke lagoon paayen,

Balihari Guru aapne, Jis Gobind diyo milaye.

 

As I look at my Guru and Govinda, I question myself who do I

prostrate to first. And Saint Kabir says while both Guru and Gobind

are worthy of worship my first salutations go to my Guru who showed

me the path to reach the LOTUS FEET OF THE Lord .

 

SO , GURU CAN BE WORSHIPPED AS AN ISHTA DEVATA AND AN ISHTA DEVATA

CAN ALSO BE WORSHIPPED AS A GURU !

 

May i please recall the following two verses from Srimad Bhagwat

Gita ?

 

tesam satata-yuktanam

bhajatam priti-purvakam

dadami buddhi-yogam tam

yena mam upayanti te ( CHAPTER 10 , VERSE 10)

 

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDAJI'S TRANSLATION

 

To the ever-steadfast, worshipping Me with love, I give the " BUDDHI

YOGA, " by which they come to Me.

 

tesam evanukampartham

aham ajnana-jam tamah

nasayamy atma-bhavastho

jnana-dipena bhasvata ( CHAPTER 10 , VERSE 11)

 

SWAMIJI'S TRANSLATION

 

Out of mere compassion for them, I, dwelling within their hearts,

destroy the darkness born of ignorance by the luminous Lamp-of-

Knowledge.

 

(THOSE INTERESTED MAY ACCESS ADVAITIN FILES FOR A FULL EXPLANATION)

 

Salutations to Guru of all gurus sri Krishna paramatma!

Salutations to Jagadguru Adi shankara bhagvadapada !

Salutations to Sri Ramana bhagwan, atma guru !

Salutations to Guru Parampara!

 

( btw , it is by god's grace , i am also a member of this group

where such learned men participate - even if you are in the company

of one person who speaks the 'truth' , it is satsangha.)