Sri Guru Gita and Some Daily Prayers (Transliteration with English Rendering)

Introduction

The Guru and Sanaatanadharma go together. The aspirant, sadhaka, seeks the unification with the Divine with the aid and blessings of his Guru, who makes the ascent both possible and easy. The Guru, Preceptor, is one, who out of love and compassion for his sishya, disciple, guides and leads him forward to attain Moksha, liberation or salvation.

Spiritual knowledge and wisdom are obtained only with the blessings and aid of the Guru. Parama Shiva Himself conveyed to His consort, Devi Parvati, a fund of knowledge and wisdom about the Guru, the guru's power and greatness and specified the way of paying adoration to the Guru in Guru Gita. Three adhyayas, chapters, in the latter part of Skaanda Purana, one of the most widely read of the eighteen Puranas written by Sage Vedavyas, also refeffed to reverentially as Vyasa Bhagawan. The greatness of Guru gita is brought out in a single sloka, which is worth repeating many times every day.

My salutations to the mantra, incantation, which is the only one that is capable of rescuing me from the sea of samsaara, family and the world; the mantra worshipped by Brahma, the deities and great seers; the mantra which is a remedy for all worldly maladies, poverty and grief; the mantra which is the sovereign of all mantras and the dispeller of all dire and mighty fears.

Dev Bhasha, geervaan, as it was called, Sanskrit has been the most sacred vehicle to convey and communicate things divine. Once spoken all over Bharatakhanda, our country, with else, today, even in the land where it is born, Sanskrit, though revered as ever, is not familiar to all. Hence this little attempt to give the Slokas in English transliteration followed by the meaning in English.

About the Author

Dr. V. V. B. Rama Rao (b. 1938) retired as Head of the Dept. of English from the renowned Maharajah's College, Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh). A retired ELT expert, he has a lot of published work, thirty books, hundreds of ciritical essays and reviews to his credit. He writes both in English and Telugu. He is a novelist, short story writer, biographer and critic. He translated widely from Telugu to English and English to Telugu.

Dr. Rao's publications in the field of spirituality and religion and The Joy of the divine, summary of discourses on Saundaryalahari and Sundarakaanda in viswanadha Satyanarayana's Ramayana Kalpavriksha, Durgasaptashati, Shivapuran and The Walking Shiva of Varanasi in "English and Lalleshwari Vakkulu in Telugu.