On the eighth day of Navaratri, Sri Swami Vishwananda continued his commentary on the Guru Gita, covering verses 120-154. Here is an excerpt of his commentary.
VERSE 120
Pindam kim tu mahaadeva,
padam kim samudaahratam;
Roopaateetam cha roopam kim,
etadaakhyaahi shankara.
Pindam kim tu mahaadeva,
padam kim samudaahratam;
Roopaateetam cha roopam kim,
etadaakhyaahi shankara.
"Here Parvati is asking Lord Shiva to explain to Her what is ‘pindam’?
"‘Pindam’ has different meanings one of the meanings of ‘pindam’ is the seat. Another meaning of ‘pindam’ is shakti or it can also be ancestral. Then She asked for the meaning of ‘padam’. ‘Padam’ means the Feet. But, ‘pindam’ and ‘padam’ together mean the Guru Himself. So in this context, ‘pindam’ represents the flow of energy which is constantly flowing through the Feet of the Master. That's why when one bows down to the Master's Feet, one is touched with that energy.
"Parvati wants to know what is ‘roopam’. ‘Roopam’ means the form. What is this form? What mystery does this form hold? Because everybody sees with the physical eyes only the outside, the gross matter of the Master only. But that's not the reality.
"The Master is not just what one sees in the outside. There should be something greater than that, which the form of the Master hides. Parvati said, ‘Reveal to me what is this roopam. And reveal also to me the roopatitam. Reveal to me what is behind that actual form. What secret does this form of the Master hold, in the form and beyond the form? Which form lies behind the form of the Master? Who is He?’
"Here Parvati is saying, ‘O Shankara, tell this to me! Oh Devadi deva, You are the Lord of the demigods! You are the only one who can reveal that to me.”
"‘Pindam’ has different meanings one of the meanings of ‘pindam’ is the seat. Another meaning of ‘pindam’ is shakti or it can also be ancestral. Then She asked for the meaning of ‘padam’. ‘Padam’ means the Feet. But, ‘pindam’ and ‘padam’ together mean the Guru Himself. So in this context, ‘pindam’ represents the flow of energy which is constantly flowing through the Feet of the Master. That's why when one bows down to the Master's Feet, one is touched with that energy.
"Parvati wants to know what is ‘roopam’. ‘Roopam’ means the form. What is this form? What mystery does this form hold? Because everybody sees with the physical eyes only the outside, the gross matter of the Master only. But that's not the reality.
"The Master is not just what one sees in the outside. There should be something greater than that, which the form of the Master hides. Parvati said, ‘Reveal to me what is this roopam. And reveal also to me the roopatitam. Reveal to me what is behind that actual form. What secret does this form of the Master hold, in the form and beyond the form? Which form lies behind the form of the Master? Who is He?’
"Here Parvati is saying, ‘O Shankara, tell this to me! Oh Devadi deva, You are the Lord of the demigods! You are the only one who can reveal that to me.”
VERSE 121
Shree Mahaadeva uvaacha:
Pindam kundalinee shaktih,
padam hamsamudaahritam;
Roopam bindu riti jneyam,
roopaateetam niranjanam.
Shree Mahaadeva uvaacha:
Pindam kundalinee shaktih,
padam hamsamudaahritam;
Roopam bindu riti jneyam,
roopaateetam niranjanam.
"Here Mahadeva said that ‘pindam’ is Kundalini Shakti. All the Shakti is flowing constantly inside of the Guru. The Kundalini is fully awaken in the Guru, it is not in a dormant state. The Guru dwells always in an awaken state.
"The Shakti flows but for this flow to happen, prana is needed. So, in this context the ‘padam’ stands for the flow of prana, which constantly flows from the Feet of the Master and ‘hamsa’ stands for purity or for something that can't be grasped.
‘Roopam’ represents the Blue Pearl. You see, nowadays people have many blue pearls, but the real blue pearl is unique. I am not talking about the fake one, the manufactured one. It is said that in millions of pearls one may get one real blue pearl.
"So here Bhagavan Shankara is saying that the ‘roopam’, the form of the Master is like the blue pearl which is very rare. It's not always that the Guru incarnates in this world. There are many gurus, shiksha gurus but the Satguru is unique. Because the shiksha guru can not take you from the mundane world to the spiritual world, only the Satguru can do that.
"The Shakti flows but for this flow to happen, prana is needed. So, in this context the ‘padam’ stands for the flow of prana, which constantly flows from the Feet of the Master and ‘hamsa’ stands for purity or for something that can't be grasped.
‘Roopam’ represents the Blue Pearl. You see, nowadays people have many blue pearls, but the real blue pearl is unique. I am not talking about the fake one, the manufactured one. It is said that in millions of pearls one may get one real blue pearl.
"So here Bhagavan Shankara is saying that the ‘roopam’, the form of the Master is like the blue pearl which is very rare. It's not always that the Guru incarnates in this world. There are many gurus, shiksha gurus but the Satguru is unique. Because the shiksha guru can not take you from the mundane world to the spiritual world, only the Satguru can do that.
VERSE 134
Shree Mahaadeva uvaacha:
Ananta phalamaapnoti,
guru geetaa japena tu;
Sarva papa prashmanam,
sarva daardrya naashanam.
Shree Mahaadeva uvaacha:
Ananta phalamaapnoti,
guru geetaa japena tu;
Sarva papa prashmanam,
sarva daardrya naashanam.
"Here Bhagavan Shankara is saying that just by reading, chanting and meditating on the Guru, by chanting the glory of the Guru, as in the Guru Gita, one obtains endless merits. Everything that one desires is fulfilled. All the sins are put to an end. So, all that one really needs in one's life, just by surrendering to the Feet of the Master and by meditating on the Master one will automatically receive it all."