In 7th grade I had a beloved
teacher, Mr. Gittler. He was my social studies teacher and was the first to
introduce me to eastern philosophy, which was part of the curriculum at my
school, but was also a topic that was dear to his heart so he taught it with
joy and excitement. After studying with
him for some time, I came home from school and told my conservative and observant
Jewish mother that I thought I was actually a Hindu. Needless to say, it was not so well received
at the time (although to her credit, she came around). Fast forward 10 years
and I married a Hindu, but that’s another story for another day.
The third word
of the Anusara invocation is gurave,
which comes from the root word guru.
Guru is traditionally defined most simply as a teacher, but usually understood
as a spiritual guide or mentor. If we break the word down even more we get gu = darkness, and ru = removal; from this we understand that the guru is that which
removes the darkness of ignorance and helps to reveal the
light of awareness. In Tantric yoga one way we
understand this is through the guru tattva (or principle). My teacher Todd Norian
teaches that the guru is the wisdom that has flowed through all time and space
from the Absolute. The guru is simply the vessel that that wisdom happens to be
flowing through in that moment.
In this way, we
can understand guru to mean the process
by which we are led from darkness to light, ignorance to knowledge, from our
limited human awareness to the unlimited awareness of consciousness. So
the guru doesn't necessarily have to be a person or a teacher in the form of a
human. The guru can be a
good friend or family member, a particular situation that caused a shift in your
life, a transformative experience, an injury, a heartbreak; really anything the leads to a deeper understanding of the wisdom that already
exists inside of you. The
late, great Ram Das said “If you know how to listen, everyone is the guru.” I can speak for
myself when I say that I often look outside of myself for advice, guidance, and
wisdom. Yet when I think back to my most
influential “teachers” they were the ones who guided me to my own inner wisdom,
to a latent knowing deep inside that was ready and longing to be awakened and remembered.
What was most profound to me way back in 7th grade was not that I was learning
something “new”, although in a way I was. What led me to come home and make my angina-inducing
declaration to my mother was that I felt like what I had always known to be
true in my own heart had finally been given a vocabulary. It was as if Mr.
Gittler gave voice to my innermost thoughts and feelings that I hadn’t
previously been able to name or categorize or even fully understand until that
moment. It felt like my very existence was being validated. It was the same feeling
I had when I met my husband: oh, I know you. You’ve been here in my heart all
along.
The two words that precede gurave in the Anusara invocation are namah shivaya. The word namah means adoration, homage, or respect. It is the root of the word namaste. The word shivaya comes from the root shiva, meaning auspiciousness. It is one of the words for the all-pervasive, eternal light of supreme Consciousness of which all of creation, including all of us, is made from.
So put together namah shivaya gurave says:
The two words that precede gurave in the Anusara invocation are namah shivaya. The word namah means adoration, homage, or respect. It is the root of the word namaste. The word shivaya comes from the root shiva, meaning auspiciousness. It is one of the words for the all-pervasive, eternal light of supreme Consciousness of which all of creation, including all of us, is made from.
So put together namah shivaya gurave says:
I bow to all of
creation, all of life, as my teacher.
I honor the flow of wisdom in the universe and I open to its teachings in any form it comes.
I pay homage to the One source of being which flows through every experience leading me from darkness to light.
And if the Sanskrit doesn’t do it for you, you can just remember the English acronym: G-U-R-U.
I honor the flow of wisdom in the universe and I open to its teachings in any form it comes.
I pay homage to the One source of being which flows through every experience leading me from darkness to light.
And if the Sanskrit doesn’t do it for you, you can just remember the English acronym: G-U-R-U.
Off the mat practice: Attempt to view every experience as your teacher: the car cutting you off on the highway, an argument with someone, a beautiful moment in nature or with a friend, an illness, a loss. Ask every emotion that comes with the experience what it has to teach you, why it came to you in that moment.
On the mat: Let your body be your teacher, even when you're in a class. Listen deeply to what it needs and respond in kind. Let every pose be the guru, revealing its blessings and challenges.
