The ''Guru Gita'' () is a
Hindu scripture that is said to have been authored by the sage
Vyasa
Vyasa (; , ) or Veda Vyasa (, ), also known as Krishna Dvaipayana Veda Vyasa (, ''Vedavyāsa''), is a ''rishi'' (sage) with a prominent role in most Hindu traditions. He is traditionally regarded as the author of the epic Mahabharata, Mah ...
. 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 '' Mukhyapurāṇa'', a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parv ...
''. 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 tradition, the ''Guru Gita'' is considered to be an "indispensable text";
few other traditions also share that view.
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
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
and his wife, the goddess
Parvati
Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...
, in which she asks him how to achieve liberation. Shiva answers her by describing the
guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
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'' starring
Julia Roberts.
The ''Guru Gita'' has also been popularized by Siddha Yoga practitioners, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, through the teachings of
Swami Muktananda and Gurumayi
Chidvilasananda. Daily or weekly recitations of the ''Guru Gita'' became a common ritual in Siddha Yoga ashrams globally, with the 182-verse version being the most commonly used.
Bibliography
* ''The Nectar of chanting'': Sacred texts and mantras sung in the ashrams of Swami
Muktananda: Sanskrit transliteration with English translations
SYDA Foundation Rev. ed edition (1978)
* Paramhansa Pranavadarshan, ''Shri Guru Gita'', Pranava, Inc. (2001)
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References
External links
Shri Guru Gitain English, Hindi, and MP3
Hindu texts
Bhakti movement
Sanskrit texts
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