Mantra for Learning

We offer our grateful salutations to Guru by chanting the following popular shloka:

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा ग्रुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः।

गुरुः साक्षात् परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः॥

Guru is the Divine Trinity: Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwar; Guru, verily, is ParamBrahma - the Supreme Godhead.

For Kabir, Guru is greater than God:

गुरु गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, काके लागूं पाए।

बलिहारी गुरु आपने, गोविन्द दियो बताय ।।

Were both Guru and God to appear simultaneously, who should be worshipped first, asks Kabir? Who else but Guru, for he is the enabler to visualise God!

However, a Shanti mantra from Upanishads (Taittiriya, Katha, Shvetashvatara), usually chanted by Guru and Shishya at the commencement of any learning enterprise, goes beyond the veneration of Guru; is more contemplative, contains deep thoughts about the teaching-learning project, purpose, and procedure; and is relevant for both the teacher and the taught. Teaching-Learning is no one-way traffic; it involves collaboration between Guru and Shishya.

What to learn, why learn, and how to learn? What to teach and how? What do the Guru and the Shishya bring to the learning enterprise, what do they contribute to the mutual endeavour? Which conditions are essential pre-requisites, and conducive to learning? All these questions are addressed and answered in the following Shanti Mantra:

ॐ सह नाववतु। सह नौ भुनक्तु।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै। तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Meaning:

ॐ सह नाववतु।

May the Divine Powers protect us and defend us from all negative energies.

सह नौ भुनक्तु।

May they bless and nourish us. May our enterprise be fruitful.

सह वीर्यं करवावहै।

May we join our energies and endeavours together.

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु

To enter the illuminated, effulgent domain of learning and knowledge.

मा विद्विषावहै

May we be free from all prejudices, may our minds be open and unburdened with false learning, may we be respectful of the new opportunity to learn more, better, and not shut ourselves from new possibilities.

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

We pray for Peace: May conditions be propitious for our endeavour; May we be protected from the three-fold impediments: adhidaivika – supernatural forces beyond our control, adhibhoutika- physical forces external to us, and adhyatmika- our own self’s negative forces – physical, mental, and emotional

What to Learn and Why Learn?

Learning enables Shishyas to make sense of the world – both external and internal, and helps them to achieve their life-goals. Guru guides Shishyas to explore the uncharted frontiers of knowledge. Guru can show the way, but Shishya must walk the path.

Who is the right Guru?

Once Adi Shankara, after his bath at dawn in Ganga was hurrying to worship Kashi Vishwanath. Spotting a Chandala accompanied by four dogs approaching from the other side, Shankara’s disciples brusquely asked him to step aside, upon which the Chandala asked Shankara: If the same brahma resides in you and me, how can I possibly pollute you? Adi Shankara accepted him as Guru.

Krishna sent the erudite Uddhava to learn about bhakti from the unlettered gopis. Ekalavya got his archery lessons from a clay idol of Drona, and went on to defeat all the Pandavas including Arjuna.

Where and When to Learn?

Where and when do we learn? Not at Gurukul alone. In the middle of the battlefield when Arjuna was mired in doubt, indecision, and remorse; Krishna delivered a long lesson in 700 shlokas, no less, which cleared his friend and disciple’s mind. A fatigued Rama facing Ravana for the final battle was tutored by Agastya rishi to thrice chant the Aditya Hrudaya Stotra which would make him victorious.

Where to find the Guru?

The gifted Guru and the devoted Shishya are made for each other, and are indeed searching for each other. They may connect at the most unlikely of places. Shankara met Guru Govindapada at Omkareshwar. Nachiketa went up to the abode of Yama to learn the secret of life and death.

Learning is life-saving

Learning is no idle, frivolous enterprise; but a matter of life and death. During their exile in the forest, the Pandavas were very thirsty. Yudhisthira sent his brothers, one at a time, to fetch water. Sighting a beautiful lake of clean water, they drank from it ignoring the Baka’s* queries and dire warning and fell dead. At last, Yudhisthira patiently and successfully answered more than one hundred tough questions fired by the crane to revive his brothers.

Their death could be metaphorical. In our desperation to sip from the pleasures of life, we ignore the greater need for tasting the amruta of knowledge. 

Life-long Learning

Guru is God and may materialise anytime anywhere. Shishya must stay ready and prepared to learn always, anytime, anywhere.

If we keep learning, we are alive; when we stop, we are dead. We may be physically alive, but we are mentally and spiritually dead.That is the most important lesson imparted by life, our greatest Guru.

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*Baka, the crane, is a most unlikely teacher. A very cunning bird that knows well how to draw others into its clutches, it is also a synonym for a cheat, rogue or hypocrite. Baka-vratam refers to crane-like conduct or hypocrisy.

Mahabharata has two Bakasuras, one killed by Krishna and the other killed by Bhima.

Of course, after the test it would be revealed that this particular Baka was none other than Dharmaraj, Yudhisthira's celestial father.

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