Sri Guru Charitre

Nidhaye sarvavidyanaam Bhishaje bhavarogiNam
Gurave sarvalokaanaam, Dakshina murtayenamaha ||
Storehouse of all knowledge,
The panacea for the disease of existence,
The only Guru in all the worlds,
Oh! Dakshinamurti, I salute you!
Kalisidatam varnamatram Guru (A person who has taught 217 even a single varna is a Guru). 'Mukti (liberation) is impossible without one's total surrender to Guru'.... In many such slokas, proverbs and songs the exalted status of the Sadguru and his glory have been extolled. It has been proved from times immemorial in various statements of the saints that for those that seek a purpose in life and deliverance by pursuing the path of bhakti, the guidance of Sadgurus and their service are of immense value. Thus in the tradition of Gurus, born to the ancient seer Atri and his wife Anasuya, Sri Dattatreya represents the incarnate form of the triad of Bramha-Vishnu-Mahesh. 'Avatara' denotes 'descent.' The Lord has stated that he incarnates in age after age for the protection of the good and destruction of evil. Accordingly, in Kaliyuga, the Dark Age, for protecting those that are determined to tread the path of dharma, and pursue the four-fold ends of life, the Lord has incarnated as Guru Datta, Guru Sripada Vallabha, and Guru Narasimha Saraswati. The stories of these incarnations and the philosophy emerging therefrom as the code of dharmic conduct, is, precisely what the Sri Guru Charitre is all about. This Parayana Text is in the form of a dialogue between Namadharaka-the student and the Siddha Yogi -the teacher.
The author of this book, Shri K.Seetharama Rao, has since his boyhood days been deeply influenced by many sages, prominent among them being the following: Sri Narayana Bhagwan of Sagar, Shri Deshikananda Maharaj and Shri Shambhavananda Maharaj of Sri Ramakrishna Mission, Shri Manjaiah Hegde of Dharmasthala Shri.Chidambara Swamiji of Gubbi Ashrama, Gurudev Shri Chinnmayananda Swamiji and Shri Bramhananda Saraswati of Chinnmaya Mission, Shri Siddheshwar Swamiji of Bijapur and Shri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji of Suttur Mutt. He has also been blessed by Jagadguru Sri Bharatiteertha Mahaswamiji of Sringeri Sarada Peetha. For over six decades now he has been duly reciting the Sri Guru Charitre in the Week-long Recitation Mode. The Lord who is the singular essence of all, the Sadguru, does not differentiate in the dissemination of religion to the various communities in the world. Firmly believing so, this text has been prepared. The text incorporates the wisdom he has acquired and assimilated through his vast and diverse study, discourses of learned sages, personal experience and deep reflection.