Lord Śiva is the parameṣṭhi guru which means the ultimate guru and Vedavyāsa is the guru of all creatures on this planet. During the present duration of Kali Yuga, Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana the only son of Maharṣi Parāśara, is the vedavyāsa. Vedavyāsa is a title and not a name. This truth is valid even today and will be true for many yugas to come. Many people including many Hindu believe that Vedavyāsa is a name – unfortunately knowledge of śāstra has fallen to such levels.
Just like this you will come across many names which can be either that of an individual (like devatā, rākṣasa, manuśya, gandharva etc.) or a title conferred to one holding a certain position. If you are not sure, don’t hesitate to ask me in the forums, else you will always in doubt for the rest of your life!
Before seeking the knowledge of the seers, it is necessary to propitiate them with prayers and mantras. At this stage of your learning it is really not necessary to understand the meaning of each and every sound you utter as you will learn all this in good time. It is important to try to say the alphabets, words and sounds in the manner in which we say it. After every mantra or prayer you will find an audio file for the same that should play in any modern browser which has flash player updated in it.
There are fifteen stanza for this prayer to the Guru and every stanza has an audio file attached to it. Please play the audio and sing along LOUDLY so that you can start singing this hymn to the guru. This was among the first hymns I learnt as a child and even today I sing it from memory. Fifteen represents Guru Purnima, the full moon of the guru.
Stanza 01
योगीन्द्रमीड्यं भवरोगवैद्यम् श्रीमद्गुरुं नित्यमहं नमामि॥
ānandamānandakaraṁ prasannam jñānasvarūpaṁ nijabhāvayuktam |
yogīndramīḍyaṁ bhavarogavaidyam śrīmadguruṁ nityamahaṁ namāmi ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 02
गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
gururbrahmā gururviṣṇurgururdevo maheśvaraḥ |
gurureva paraṁ brahma tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 03
चक्षुरुन्मीलितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
ajñānatimirāndhasya jñānāñjanaśalākayā |
cakṣurunmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 04
तत्पदं दर्शितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
akhaṇḍamaṇḍalākāraṁ vyāptaṁ yena carācaram |
tatpadaṁ darśitaṁ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 05
भुक्तिमुक्तिप्रदाता च तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
jñānaśaktisamārūḍha tattvamālāvibhūṣita |
bhuktimuktipradātā ca tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 06
ममात्मा सर्वभूतात्मा तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः॥
mannāthaḥ śrījagannātho madguruḥ śrījagadguruḥ |
mamātmā sarvabhūtātmā tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 07
श्रीमत्परं ब्रह्म गुरुं वदामि श्रीमत्परं ब्रह्म गुरुं नमामि॥
śrīmatparaṁ brahma guruṁ smarāmi śrīmatparaṁ brahma guruṁ bhajāmi |
śrīmatparaṁ brahma guruṁ vadāmi śrīmatparaṁ brahma guruṁ namāmi ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 08
द्वन्दातीतं गगनसदृशं तत्त्वमस्यादिलक्ष्यम्॥
brahmānandaṁ paramasukhadaṁ kevalaṁ jñānamūrtim|
dvandātītaṁ gaganasadṛśaṁ tattvamasyādilakṣyam ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 09
भावातीतं त्रिगुणरहितं सद्गुरुं तं नमामि॥
ekaṁ nityaṁ vimalamacalaṁ sarvadhīsākṣirūpam
bhāvātītaṁ triguṇarahitaṁ sadguruṁ taṁ namāmi ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 10
विद्यावतारसंसिद्ध्यै स्वीकृतानेकविग्रह॥
namaste nātha bhagavan śivāya gururūpiṇe |
vidyāvatārasaṁsiddhyai svīkṛtānekavigraha ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 11
सर्वाज्ञानतमोभेद भानवे चिद्घनाय ते॥
bhavāya bhavarūpāya paramātmasvarūpiṇe |
sarvājñānatamobheda bhānave cidghanāya te ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 12
परतन्त्राय भक्तानां भव्यानां भव्यरूपिणे॥
svatantrāya dayāklṛptavigrahāya śivātmane |
paratantrāya bhaktānāṁ bhavyānāṁ bhavyarūpiṇe ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 13
प्रकाशिनां प्रकाशाय ज्ञानिनां ज्ञानरूपिणे॥
vivekināṁ vivekāya vimarṣāya vimarṣinām |
prakāśināṁ prakāśāya jñānināṁ jñānarūpiṇe ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 14
सदामच्चित्तरूपेण विदेहि भवदासनम्॥
purastatpārśvayoḥ pṛṣṭhe namaskuryāduparyadhaḥ |
sadāmaccittarūpeṇa videhi bhavadāsanam ||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
Stanza 15
मायामृत्योर्महापाशात् विमुक्तोस्मि शिवोस्मि च॥
tvat prasādādahaṁ devaṁ kṛtakṛtosmi sarvadā|
māyāmṛtyormahāpāśāt vimuktosmi śivosmi ca||
Repeat this 10 times with me until you can articulate every word and memorize this prayer
