Guru vaktrasthitham brahma
prapyate tatprasadatah
guror dhyanam sada kuryat
kulastri svapateryatha
The supreme knowledge that lies on the Guru’s tongue can be realized through his grace. Always meditate on the Guru, just as a virtuous wife (constantly) thinks of her husband.
As we reach this stage where we integrate spiritual values or sanskaar into our lifestyle and think of our Guru all the time, we go closer towards our heart’s center. With this intense feeling of the Guru bhakti, we become soft, subtle and get clarity in thinking. Our mind becomes soft, we become highly aware that everything happens with the grace of the Guru. We will establish the fact - Tena Vina trunamapi na chalati - ‘Without the grace of the Guru, even a blade of grass will not move!’ We then start seeing the radiance of the Guru through His knowledge. This is when Lord Shiva says that it is important to nurture this feeling further through love and meditation upon the Guru so that we are able to assimilate the depth of the wisdom imparted by Him.
The Gopis had this kind of love and devotion towards Lord Krishna. Their love was so mysterious and astounding that even Narada and other sages would look up to them as the ultimate example for devotion. Lord Shiva in this sloka says that we must offer devotion and meditate upon the Guru just as a virtuous wife thinks of her husband. That is exactly what the Gopis did. Although they were totally devoted to Lord Krishna, they never renounced their family, their children or household activities. Even while living in this world and performing their worldly duties they were able to manifest dedicated devotion to God. They demonstrated the fact that only when you can truly love God, can you love your own family members.
The underlying message Lord Shiva is conveying through this sloka is that devotion to Guru will take care of all aspects of our life that is why we must just surrender our thoughts, speech and emotions to Guru. Then only the true knowledge for enlightened living is revealed to us.
Srimad Bhagvata Purana consists of ancient legends of the various incarnations of the Lord including the life and exploits of Lord Krishna, stories of the sages and their disciples. Not only was Krishna the lord, he was also the Guru. He taught his devotees in the way that was perfectly suited for them. One of the greatest disciples of Lord Krishna was Uddhava. Uddhava had mastered all branches of knowledge.
One day, looking at his disciple Uddhava, Krishna said to himself - “My disciple is very intelligent but because of ego, his heart is very dry. His mind and heart is not yet subtle. Unless he lets go of his ego, he will not be able to experience true love for his Guru”. So, he said, “Uddhava, you are a great man of knowledge and you are dear to me. Now I need your help. Long time ago I left the gopis in the Vrindavan. I want you to teach them yoga, knowledge, meditation and bring peace to their hearts. Tell them that if they meditate and practice yoga they will also be happy”.
Extract from ‘The Force of Nirvana’ by Shri Shri Nimishananda