Month 1 – Lesson 2 (M1-L3)

Introduction to the Guru

Shree Guru Dakshina Murthy

You can watch this video to understand how Shiva, the Para Brhaman descends down as Guru

 

Observe the above picture closely for some time.

You can download the picture from here 

Guru is more important than anything else in the world. That is the reason why before saying all the other things, you are firstly introduced to THE GURU directly. If Guru is there in your life, you will get everything easily in life with his grace.

Guru is not a body. Especially in this phase of the world, it is very difficult to believe and trust any physical gurus.

Oumism introduces you to Lord Shiva, THE GURU of the Gurus, the first Guru who taught Lord Brhma about the creation. Lord Shiva’s guru form is Shree Dakshinamurthy.

Guru teaches from within silently. It does not mean, guru is there in you currently. But you will start connecting to the Guru from now on.

You will not learn anything by asking questions. You ask the questions you have within and the answers will start coming from within. In the path of Aumism and by adopting its practices, you will start getting the teachings from within silently. You will start progressing as you keep practicing the Guru Mantra given in this lesson.

For the first one year of the course of Aumism, Shree Dakshina Murthy will be the Guru. You can see his picture above.

Dakshina Murthy is the Guru who dispels all your planetary related problems and guides you from within and you will start having right perception of the world by doing the right talks, having the right views and doing the right deeds.

You do not have to take up a great task of meditating for hours and days together to have all these. In the path of Aumism, by just chanting the name of the Guru Shree Dakshina Murthy, you will start connecting to him and start getting the guidance from him. That is the reason why, in the very first lesson itself you are introduced to the (The First Guru of the cosmos) Adi Guru – Shree Dakshina Murthy.

Professionals get guidance from within, students get the guidance from within. You do not have to go any ashrams or any other gurus. You can just sit at home and by connecting to the Guru Shree Dakshina Murthy and following the path of Aumism, you will not only awaken the guidance from within but you will also start excelling in your fields and material world.

Even in your casual conversations, you should call The Guru Dakshina Murthy as Shree Guru Dev or Dakshina Murthy Gurudev out of love.

Guru Kriya (which is going to come in next lessons) helps you establish more connection with the Guru within so that you start getting guidance from within in terms of thoughts and sometimes even in the form of voice (Guru voice you can hear sometimes suddenly from within which could happen suddenly when you drive the car or even when you are taking bath). Randomly you could hear. The voice from inside or the thought suddenly drops to the mind like a flash. That is the sign of the direction within. You should take those thoughts and apply in your life for your betterment in life. Such directions of the Guru helps you avoid “karma accumulation”. Means, you do not know what is good deed and what is bad deed. Without knowing when you do the bad deed, you will accumulate new karma. Again that karma and its pain have to be borne by you, if you accumulate new karma. So Guru helps you this way. The more and more you listen to the guru within, it is as if surrendering to the guru. Surrendering means, following what he says from within. Surrender does not mean, you go to the physical guru do bhajan around him and dance around (which happens currently in the world). But such physical surrender is required (by only serious spiritual seekers who are searching for Self Realization or God-Realization). You will know the categories of seekers of the path, Aumism in next lessons.

You do not have the required knowledge to sense who is a good person and who is a person trying to harm you. Sometimes, a good friend or our own brother or sister these days, they try to harm and you can never sense it due to your emotional attachment to them. So you get directions from the Guru within in the form of thoughts or in the form of voice. Sometimes even in the form of dreams or by by soul experiences, you get to know who is good and who is bad.

Then you should keep such people away from you. In fact in the path of AUMism such harmful people would naturally go away from you. But you should also know that, if anyone is going away from you, it means something wrong with them towards you.

Rare picture of Shree Guru Dakshina Murthy

The picture shown above, you will not find anywhere in the world. Dakshinamurthy in all pictures in the world would have only four hands. But in the above picture you will find, six hands. The two more hands of Shankh (conch) and chakra (wheel) are of lord Vishnu. So in the above picture of Dakshina Murthy, you will find the combination of Shiva and Vishnu.

It is that Dakshinamurthy Gurudev, whose grace of wisdom works silently in the background of every action that takes place in this world. For instance, when you were born, who taught you to cry for milk when you felt hungry? Who taught you to stop crying as soon as your hunger is satiated with the mother’s milk? At least for humans a careful mother feeds her baby at regular intervals on her own, but in the case of a new born calf, who teaches the calf that there is his food stored between the hinder legs of the cow and that could be obtained by suckling? Those are the teachings which are unheard by ears, untaught by speech, but only and only experienced through some silent teaching emanating from within. That is THE GURU Shree Dakshinamurthy in action!

What is that power which teaches your eyes to see, ears to hear, tongue to taste, skin to feel the touch, and nose to smell? Don’t tell me that these organs are accompanied with their corresponding actions and they receive the commands from Brain! If that is the case, then why can’t a dead body see, hear, feel, smell and taste despite having all its organs intact, and having its brain undamaged within its skull? The reason is, there is another power which transcends this physical body and this brain, and that power operates this body (machine) by pervading within it. That external power is called as Chaitanya (Consciousness) which is nothing but the Atman (Self). This Atman is verily the Guru Dakshinamurthy alone who doesn’t verbally tell your organs to act. It is he as Atman-Chaitanya remains silent within yourself and mere his silent presence makes your organs act. So, tell me now, who on this planet can live or remain functional without the grace or presence of this great preceptor? That’s the glorious nature of Mahadeva! Whether Shiva appears as a Guru visible externally or guides us through our conscience operating from within, the fact remains a fact that there is no life without Guru (Shiva.) Whether someone likes or dislikes, there is no escape from that illustrious Kapardin, the lord of Uma!

As mentioned above when a newborn infant himself requires an internal preceptor to cry for milk when hunger is felt, then we can understand it fairly well that to create this gigantic macrocosm even lord Brahma would have required some knowledge, and hence someone to pass on that knowledge (whom we call guru).

Atman is nothing but the super consciousness which we call God. You are also the same super consciousness, but you became limited consciousness (jeevatma) due to your karmas and traits and awareness (that tells you that you are limited one tied to the body). Your limited consciousness always remains in connection with the super consciousness just like air which is there outside of you and also inside of you.

The path of Aumism in the first one year connects you to that super consciousness that teaches you from within.

About the posture and picture of Shree Guru Dakshina Murthy

There is a legend which states that when the four brahma-rishis Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Sanatkumara who are collectively called as ‘kumaras’, emerged from Brahma as his mind born sons; they didn’t show interest in becoming prajapati and helping Brahma in further creating by procreating offsprings. They were constantly in search of brahma-gyanam. They were looking for a preceptor capable of dispelling their all doubts. While being on lookout for such a preceptor they were wandering from pillar to post when suddenly in one secluded place they saw a huge banyan tree (vata vruksham) and under that tree they found a sixteen years old young lad ‘Dakshinamurty’ sitting surrounded by octogenarian sages. The names and number of these sages vary in various agamas. These four kumaras gravitated to the serene looking face of that Dakshinamurty and sat surrounding him. Soon they got absorbed into the supreme silence of Dakshinamurty and all their queries related to Brahman got resolved. It should be noted that Shiva didn’t appear there as Dakshinamurty, rather Shiva is always there as Dakshinamurty bestowing knowledge for all the seekers, but a man realizes his presence only when he starts consciously seeking knowledge. Otherwise Dakshinamurty remains within us guiding us in a subconscious manner.

The fire in one hand represents the fire of knowledge. The drum and snake in another hand represent the cosmic sound OM and its spanda (vibration) and the snake represents the kundalini.

The chinmudra represents this union of the jeevatma (your soul) with the supreme consciousness of the Guru.

Apart from this Lord Vishnu’s Shankh means the Omkara and the wheel represents the SAMUDRA MANTHAN (churning of the consciousness).

Guru and the supreme soul
Shree Guru, Dakshinamurthy himself is the supreme soul. Uniting with Dakshinamurthy itself is union with the supreme soul which is the significance of the chin mudra in the above picture.

Picture and devotion
Whatever the religion you belong to, it does not matter. You can download the above picture and frame it and keep in your altar. Every day you can put a flower to the photo loving the guru and you can also light a candle or Indian Lamp (diya / Deepak with oil and wick) by chanting the Guru Mantra (given below) 

Guru Mantra
The Guru mantra gets empowered and would have three variations in the path of Aumism.In the first year, you would have first version of the mantra and in second and third year it will be upgraded with higher versions.Mantras need to be given based on the duration of practice and they carry various cosmic energies. They gradually evolve the practitioner and the sudden evolution with higher power of mantras would not be good for the life of the practitioner.

Guru Mantra for the 1^st year
It is OUM Shreem Guru Dakshina  Murthi Namaha (you can check the audio file here) to know how to pronounce.You can check the following audio to know how to chant.

The more you chant this mantra the more you will be connected to the Guru and you will start getting the guidance from within.

Guru of Oumism path is meant to evolve you through Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha way which is the path of the married people. Shreem the beeja or sound of the prosperity of the creation. Chanting this mantra lets you remain connected to the source of creation, prosperity and also the light and yoga (which is Guru). Yoga does not mean asanas and meditation, yoga means, being in union with the true self and being in harmony with Nature and its dharma (laws). When you chant this mantra you will remain in Yoga all times which happens automatically and involuntary in the background. So where the source of creation and yoga is there, there, prosperity will automatically will be there. That is the meaning and cosmic and divine intention of this mantra.

What is the form of the Guru?
You can either imagine the above picture as the form of the Guru or you can even imagine the candle light or diya / Deepak as the Guru. The candle light / diya form is called nirakaar form. Picture form is called saakar form.

Niraakar form (diya / candle light form) is the best form to imagine the Guru.

Guru himself is God or Shiva and there is no supreme beyond him. Guru himself comes down to you with daya (kindness) in the form of Shree Daksinamurthy to evolve your soul and merge you back into the cosmic consciousness.

Guru Dakshinamurthy for Children in their education
Oum Shreem Guru Dakshinamurthy Namaha – This mantra can also be given to children. Children will shine and excel in their education. They will get guidance from within and as they grow in adolescence they will grow more in a disciplined way, automatically and have good personalities to excel in their careers.