BANGALORE: Evam gurupadam srestham devanamapi durlabham Haha-huhu-ganaiscaiva gandharvaisca prapujyate
Thus, the state of the Guru is the highest, difficult even for gods to attain. It is worshipped by the followers of Haha and Huhu and (others) gandharvas (celestial musicians).
The state of the Guru is the highest, difficult even for gods and gandharvas to attain. Shri Rama and Shri Krishna are accepted by all as incarnations of God, yet they had Gurus. Guru Vasishta was the Guru of Shri Rama and Guru Sandipani was the Guru of Shri Krishna. They had to seek the guidance of their guru to achieve the purpose of their incarnations. The demi-gods too have Guru by name Brihaspati. That is why Guru Brihaspati is known as the Deva Guru. However the trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshawara do not have a Guru. This is because they have to continue performing their dharma assigned to them of creation, sustenance and dissolution. If they had a Guru, they would have got liberated from their dharma. As per the Divine will there is no evolution for them. That is why they don’t have a Guru. That is why Lord Shiva himself says that Guru’s wisdom and grace is difficult to obtain even for the Gods.
If we take the case of the Gandharvas or celestial musicians, although they allure us in melodies so that we forget our maladies and add flavour and lustre to our life, they cannot take us towards liberation. They appease our senses through music, dance and other forms of art. One may go deeper in the form of art but cannot evolve into higher states of realisation, which ultimately leads to liberation. Music definitely is a stepping stone towards enlightenment because music gives ananda -- joy.
Only Guru can take us to liberation. Gurus are beyond name fame. They are manifestations of truth. Let me narrate a beautiful illustration of this. In the treta yuga, when Sri Rama was returning from Lanka with Sita and Hanuman in the
Pushpakaviman or celestial chariot after defeating Ravana, a thought came to Hanuman “There is no one like my Rama”. Rama read Hanuman’s mind and just at that moment Sita was handing over her ring to Rama. Accidentally the ring fell into the sea. Rama told Hanuman to retrieve it. Obedient Hanuman dived deep into the sea in search of the ring. On reaching the sea-bed Hanuman was astonished to find a heap of rings exactly like the one Sita had dropped, all inscribed with the name Shri Rama. Therefore he could not recognise which of the rings belonged to his lord. Then, Hanuman observed a saint sitting there in meditation and sought his advice. The saint replied, “Take any one of these rings. There have been many Ramas like your Rama. Each time one returns home after defeating Ravana, one ring is dropped here making this a large pile.”
That is how all Gurus are. They descend on this earth to vanquish the Ravana element in us and liberate us from our karma and maya. Gurus or enlightened beings born on this earth are embodiments of God’s consciousness -- Chaitanya. That is why we must always chant the Guru’s name or chant the mantra given by the Guru. Nothing will succeed without the Guru’s permission. The Guru must not be taken for granted. He is the highest of all. That is why Lord Shiva declares that the Guru is auspicious, shreshta, and very difficult for even Gods to reach.