Guru Parampara

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Sri Gurubhyo Namah

Out of several scores of men, some with sufficient stock of good Karma once in a while get a call from the Beyond. They then look up to the heavens for answers to the eternal questions - What is the mystery behind life & death? Who is the One with such a gigantic intellect for having designed such an enormously complex creation? What is my relationship with the Lord of all?....

Among several scores of such men, very few with huge stock of good Karma get to start "The Quest". They set out in search of a Guru - the human embodiment of all that is sacred, holy, all-knowing and all-loving. In other words, the Guru is considered God in human form. Once a man has recognized his Guru, he surrenders whole-heartedly to the Guru, serves him lovingly,  learns the deep mysteries from him, and ultimately realizes the Supreme Truth himself. Among the many precious jewels on the crown of Bharat Mata, the most brilliant is this holy Guru-Shishya tradition, which forms the very foundation of the spiritual culture of this ancient Motherland. Let us discuss the origins and greatness of this most wonderful tradition.


 Lord Narayana, the Supreme Consciousness Himself, created the vast material universe along with all the Jeevas as a projection upon Himself. He entered into the hearts of all beings as the inner spark of Self consciousness.

Jeevas, unaware of this great reality within themselves have been revolving in the endless birth-death cycle since beginning-less time, being a victim of their own self-created likes and dislikes. This is known as samsara.

Lord Narayana desired that there should be a way for Jeevas to be able to realise the Truth, and to be able to break free from this terrible samsara. Hence He instructed Lord Brahma, the first created Being, in the grand mysteries. These teachings constitute the great scriptures known as Vedanta.


Lord Brahma passed on these teachings to his son Vasishtha. From Vasishtha onwards, the teachings were passed down from father to son in the following order: Shakti, Parashara, Vyasa and then Shuka. This is also called Rishi parampara.


In the current age, Shuka Brahmarshi instructed Gaudapada who in turn taught his disciple Govinda Bhagavatpada. He then passed on the divine knowledge to the most illustrious boy-sage Shankara Bhagavatpada (later known as Adi Shankaracharya) around 1,200 years back.

Adi Shankaracharya started the Dashanami Sampradaya and established 4 great Mathas for protecting and propagating the great knowledge. This great Guru Parampara is continuing unbroken till the modern times over almost 60-70 generations.


नारायणं पद्मभुवं वशिष्ठं शक्तिं च तत्पुत्रं पराशरं च व्यासं शुकं गौडपादं महान्तं गोविन्दयोगीन्द्रं अथास्य शिष्यम् ।
श्री शंकराचार्यं अथास्य पद्मपादं च हस्तामलकं च शिष्यम् तं तोटकं वार्त्तिककारमन्यान् अस्मद् गुरून् सन्ततमानतोऽस्मि ॥

There are an equal number of schools within the Guru Parampara who trace the beginning of their lineage to Lord Shiva. He had appeared as Dakshinamurthy and imparted Brahmajnana to the divine Sanakadi sages in complete silence! The youthful Guru was absorbed in the Supreme Silence, and the old disciples had all their doubts cleared and realized the Truth!!!

            सदाशिव समारम्भाम् शंकराचार्य मध्यमाम्
            अस्मद् आचार्य पर्यन्ताम् वंदे गुरु परम्पराम्

 The most distinguishing feature of Guru parampara is that the glorious Vedanta vakyas emanating from the divine speech of a Guru and reaching the ears of a ripe disciple act like drum-beats (Dindima) to awaken the inner Atman from the deep sleep of body-mind consciousness. The ripe disciple gets to have the same experience of oneness with the Supreme Consciousness that Lord Brahma had when instructed by Lord Narayana!!!


The Guru makes sure that the disciple who has surrendered to him realizes his true nature as the ever-free, ever-pure Sat-Chit-Ananda. This is what marks out Guru Parampara as the most beautiful of all the traditions. Blessed is the great Motherland Bharat! which has nurtured such great sages and such a glorious tradition!!

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