The Guru Gita (Song of the Guru) is a

Hindu scripture Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

that is said to have been authored by the sage

Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...

. The verses of this scripture may also be chanted. The text is part of the larger ''

Skanda Purana The ''Skanda Purana'' (IAST: Skanda Purāṇa) is the largest '' Mukyapurana'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Kaumara literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, w ...

''. There are several versions of the Guru Gita, varying from around 100 to over 400 verses. Another view is that Guru Gita is part of Viswasara Tantra. In the

Siddha Yoga Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path founded by Swami Muktananda (1908–1982). The organization states in its literature that the Siddha Yoga tradition is "based mainly on eastern philosophies". It also states that it "draws many of its teachings f ...

tradition, the Guru Gita is considered to be an "indispensable text"; few other traditions also share that view.

Muktananda Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru, the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kashm ...

chose 182 verses to create a unique version of the Guru Gita, which has its own melody for chanting.Muktananda (1984). ''The Nectar of chanting: Sacred texts and mantras sung in the ashrams of Swami Muktananda: Sanskrit transliteration with English translations''; SYDA Foundation; pp. xiv, 6-57 The text of the Guru Gita describes a conversation between the Hindu God, Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

and his wife, the Hindu Goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

, in which she asks him how to achieve liberation. Shiva answers her by describing the Guru principle, the proper ways of worshiping the Guru and the methods and benefits of repeating the Guru Gita.

Etymology

'Guru' means 'heavy' in Sanskrit (e.g., the 'guru'/'laghu' distinction between heavy and light syllables in Paninian grammar, cf. Ashtadhyayi 1.4.11). Even so, the Guru Gita text gives an alternative, folk etymology of the word Guru, in which the root ''gu'' stands for darkness, while the root ''ru'' stands for light. The term Guru is therefore explained as the remover of darkness, who reveals the light of the heart.

In popular culture

The text was part of the 2010 film ''

Eat, Pray, Love ''Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia'' is a 2006 memoir by American author Elizabeth Gilbert. The memoir chronicles the author's trip around the world after her divorce and what she discovered d ...

'' starring

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

Bibliography

* ''The Nectar of chanting'': Sacred texts and mantras sung in the ashrams of Swami

: Sanskrit transliteration with English translations SYDA Foundation Rev. ed edition (1978) * Paramhansa Pranavadarshan, ''Shri Guru Gita'', Pranava, Inc. (2001) * * *

References

External links

Shri Guru Gita
in English, Hindi, and MP3 Hindu texts Bhakti movement Sanskrit texts {{Hindu-theo-stub