(originally sent 03/08/26)
One of the first invocations you learn to chant on a yoga teacher training is generally the guru mantra.
Maybe you know it?
guruḥ sarasvatī guruḥ laksmī
gurur kālī durgā*
guruḥ sākṣāt parambrahma
tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ
I remember sitting with my first yoga teacher, Katie Rose, when I had just turned 19 and was learning these Sanskrit words for the first time.
guruḥ sarasvatī (brahmā) – the creative force, your first teachers.
Generally considered to be your parents, anyone present at your birth (including any midwives, doctors, doulas, family members), and whoever played a role at the earliest part of (this) life. But it also encompasses the circumstances of your birth, such as the time and place in which you were born, the socio-political climate, and your experience of birth itself.
guruḥ laksmī (viṣnuḥ) – the force of preservation, the teachers throughout your life. Everyone you’ve ever met who has taught you anything – which is everyone. Not only official educators, mentors, guides and such, but even chance encounters with strangers, as everyone has helped (in some way) to guide your life to where it is now.
gurur kālī durgā (devo maheśvaraḥ/śiva) – the destructive force.
These are the trial, tribulations and difficulties along the way. The hardest lessons, and often the ones we learn the most from.
guruḥ sākṣāt – the teacher who is nearby, who can be seen (sākṣāt comes from sākṣī which means to witness).
Having a physical teacher; someone with whom you can spend time, ask questions and develop trust, is of utmost importance on this path.
parambrahma – the teacher beyond form.
Some teachings don’t take the form of a human, or a dog, or any-one. Time, life experience, the big G.O.D (give. own. definition.)… these are all teachers that we can’t necessarily take a picture of in our mind, or place a photo of on our altar, but we can feel them working their power on us.
tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ – I bow down in reverence to all of my teachers.
It was Guru Purnima last week, the annual celebration of our gurus – the removers of darkness; those that illumine, that enlighten us.
I’ve been reflecting on the many teachers in my life and how grateful I am to them all.
My parents – for doing the best they could with what they had.
Sharon Gannon and David Life – who have shaped the entire way I see the world thanks to Jivamukti Yoga.
Those that have caused great friction in my life, forcing me to grow beyond my perceived capacity.
Meghan Powell – who has become my guruḥ sākṣāt this past year. I can’t express how grounding it feels to have a teacher nearby again.
The universe – how I address G.O.D in my life. When I stop, and breathe, and trust that things will work out, they generally do.
Who are the greatest teachers in your life?
*This is the feminine version, and my preferred way to chant the Guru Mantra, as taught to me by my teacher Seema Agarwal.
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