His Holiness has made this possible for us. We are forever grateful.
Part 3
śuddha brahma samudrāya, śrī guru guhāya namo namaḥ
In the United States of America, in the state of Tennessee, there is a town called Pelham. In that town, there is a large cave. Some music lovers have built a concert hall in that cave. To improve the mental and physical health of devotees, Swamiji decided to conduct 'Nāda Yoga Chikitsa' (Music Therapy) in that cave. This program took place on August 3rd, 2024. Swamiji named this program 'Guru Guha Rāga Sāgara".
Hearing this name, some may think, "Since it is a music session happening in a cave, they named it Guru Guha." But that is not the deeper meaning of this name. Swamiji named it with profound truth in mind. The name encompasses meanings related to Vedanta, Puranas, Music, and Kriya Yoga. The Srividya secret embedded by Sri Shankarāchārya in Soundarya Lahari is also included in this name. So, let us now understand each of these meanings one by one.
Meaning according to Vedanta
Vedanta means Upanishad. The Upanishads teach the principle of Paramātma to the individual soul. During such teaching, the word 'Guha' (cave) is often mentioned.
According to the Upanishads, let us understand what 'Guha' means. There is a subtle doorway in the hearts of beings. Going inside through that doorway, there is an empty space. This is called 'Guha' or 'Hridaya Guha' (cave of the heart) in the Upanishads. In this cave of the heart, one should meditate on the principle of Paramātma.
Practitioners should meditate thinking, "Paramātma is not somewhere in Vaikuntha or Kailāsa; He is right here in my heart." The Upanishads state this as follows:
'puruṣa ēvēdam viśvam karma tapō brahma parāmrṭaṃ |
ētadyō veda nihitam guhāyām sōvidyāgranthiṃ vikiratīha sōmya ‖'
Meaning of the verse: 'O gentle one! O practitioner! Everything in this world is the form of the Supreme Brahman. That Brahman is not somewhere else; it is in the cave of your heart. By realizing this, your
ignorance will be removed, and you will attain liberation'. Therefore, according to the Upanishads, 'Guha' means the place to have the vision of Paramātma. 'Guru' means the removal of ignorance and the attainment of knowledge. Shiva verily taught this in the Guru Gita.
In conclusion, 'Guru Guha' means 'The place where ignorance is removed, knowledge is gained, and the vision of Paramātma is attained.' Whoever participates in 'Guru Guha Rāga Sagara® (Music Therapy) and practices Nada Yoga will have the vision of Paramātma. Ignorance will be removed, and knowledge will be gained. Swamiji named it 'Guru Guha' to convey this.
Meaning According to the Puranas
According to the Puranas, Guha refers to Subramanya, the son of Shiva. About Lord Subramanya, the Shiva Purāna states:
namo guhāya bhūtānām guhānu nihitāya ca |
guhyāya guhyarūpāya guhyāgama vide namaḥ ||
Meaning of the verse: 'My Salutations to Guha (Subramanya), who shines in the heart caves of beings, who has a hidden form (Brahma form), who knows the essence of the secret Upanishads, who has a mysterious birth story. How did Subramanya get the name 'Guha'? Subramanya's birth is full of mysteries. In Sanskrit, 'Guhya' means secret. Since he has a mysterious birth, Subramanya got the name "Guha", says the Shiva Purana. For those who do not know, let us briefly learn about the birth of Subramanya. In the past, Parvati Devi had a desire to have a son who possessed Brahma Jnāna (Knowledge of Brahman or supreme wisdom). In reality, those who have Brahma Jnāna do not have rebirth.
Therefore, Parvati Devi knew that her wish to have a son who is born with Brahma Jnāna would not be easily fulfilled. So, she went to Shiva and prayed, "Oh Lord! There are four knowers of Brahman- Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatkumāra, and Sanatsujāta. I long for Sanatkumara to be born as my son. Please fulfill my desire.” According to Parvati Devi's wish, Shiva went to Sanatkumāra and requested, "Oh Sanatkumāra! You must be born as my son. Please grant me this boon. Then Sanatkumāra replied, 'Oh Parameshwara! If you are asking for a boon, it must be for the welfare of the world. However, since you asked, "Be born as my son, I will be born to you alone. I will not reside in Parvati Devi's womb.” Because of that, Shiva's creative energy did not enter Parvati Devi's womb. It entered the fire. Agnideva could not bear Shiva's energy and handed it over to Vayu. Vayu left it in the waters of the Ganga. After that, Ganga Devi left Shiva's energy on the ground filled with darbha grass. In that darbha grass, Subramanya was born.
Since Sanatkumāra, who is a knower of Brahma Jnāna, was born this way, he is called Subramanya (one who knows Brahman). The Upanishads state that a Brahma Jnāni (knower of Brahman) does not have to reside in a womb. So, Subramanya was born without residing in a womb. This is the secret of his birth. In this way, since there are many mysteries hidden in Subramanya's birth, so he got the name Guha.
We have understood the name 'Guha', now let us understand how Subramanya got the status of Guru'.
There is a famous story in the Skanda Purāna. When Guha was a small child, Shiva wanted him to acquire knowledge. When Shiva was thinking about who a good Guru might be, Brahma came to his mind. Brahma Deva constantly recites the four Vedas with his four faces. Saraswati Devi, the mother of learning, is right next to Brahma. So, Shiva thought there could be no better gurukula (school) and handed over child Guha to Brahma.
Brahma took the child to the classroom and started teaching him alphabets, 'A, Aa, I, Ee'. Then Guha told, "I do not want all these. Teach me just one letter."
Then Brahma said, "To gain knowledge, you have to learn all the letters. Learning just one letter is not enough.”
Then Guha replied, "I am asking about the letter 'Om'. If one understands the principle of Omkara, one knows everything for one who knows the science of Omkara, no other knowledge is needed. So, teach me the principle of Omkara."
Hearing these words, Brahma was astonished. He realized that Guha was no ordinary child. Immediately, he went to Kailāsa and handed back child Guha to Shiva.
Shiva asked Guha, 'Oh child! What happened? Why did Brahma send you back?'
Then Guha said, "Father! I did not do anything wrong. I asked Brahma to teach me the principle of Omkara. That is all. He left me here with you and went away. Please, teach me the principle of Omkara, yourself!"
Then Shiva taught the principle of Omkara in one lakh verses. Even after hearing all the verses, Guha was not satisfied.
"Father! You have taught in great detail, but you have not completely explained the principle of Omkara."
Hearing these words, Shiva was astonished.
"This is all I know. You yourself teach me the remaining secrets of Omkara" said Shiva to Guha.
Then Guha, sitting on a higher place than Shiva, taught the complete principle of Omkara to Shiva. In this way, Guha attained the status of ‘Guru'.
Currently, for the music session planned by Swamiji, that Guru Guha is the main deity. Therefore, Swamiji named this program 'Guru Guha Raga Sagara'. For the devotees who participate in this session, Guha, in the status of Guru, bestows good intellect. To those desiring children, he grants children; to those seeking health, he grants health through this Nāda Yoga Chikitsa.
Meaning according to Music
Guha has a very close relationship with music. Guha constantly practices Nāda Brahma Upāsana, says the 'Rudrayāmala Tantra'. The "Rudrayāmala Tantra' is a text that teaches about all the Tantras, including Shaiva Tantra and Devi Tantra. In this text, there is something called 'Prajñā Vardhana Stotram'. It contains 28 names of Guha. These names were taught by Guha himself. Among these 28 names, there is one called "Shabda Brahma Samudra'. Shabda means sound. When sound combines with pitch and rhythm, it is called Nada. Meditating on that Nada as the Supreme Brahman is Nāda Brahma Upāsana. No one else knows as much about Nada Brahma Upāsana as Guha does. Guha has as much knowledge about Nāda Brahma Upāsana as there is water in the ocean. Therefore, Guha got the name 'Shabda Brahma Samudra', which also means 'Nāda Brahma Samudra'. (Samudra means ocean).
In this way, we should understand that Guha has a close relationship with Nada Yoga.
It was Guha also granted the power of musical composition to the great composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. Muthuswamy Deekshitar's experience Ramaswāmi Dikshitar and Subbamāmba, a couple, were childless for a long time after their marriage. One day, they went to the temple of 'Muddu Kumaraswami' and prayed to the Lord. By the grace of 'Muddu Kumaraswami', they were blessed with a male child.
So, they named the child after the Lord as 'Muddu Kumaraswami'. Over time, that name became 'Muthuswami.' One day, Muthuswami Dikshitar went to Tiruttani, a Subramanya Kshetra. There, he performed the 'Shadakshari Mantra Japam' for 40 days as a vow. On the 40th day, as usual, Muthuswami Dikshitar was sitting in a cave and chanting, when Guha came there in the guise of a monk. Affectionately, Guha called out, 'Muddu Kumara!' Hearing that call, Dikshitar opened his mouth in surprise thinking, "I am new to this village, right? How did this monk know my name? Immediately, the monk put a piece of rock sugar in Dikshitar's mouth and disappeared. Then, Muthuswami Dikshitar realized that it was none other than Guha who had come. Immediately, Dikshitar composed eight songs on Guha.
These are called Vibhakti Keertanas. Since this creative power was granted by 'Guru Guha', he started putting the 'Guru Guha' signature in each song. In this way, since the name 'Guru Guha' has a close connection with music, Swamiji named this session 'Guru Guha.
Meaning related to Kriya Yoga
Guha is called Shanmukha, right? Everyone says this is because he has six faces. However, there is a secret behind this name. Let us now understand that. Every human has six chakras- 'Muladhāra, Swādhisthāna, Manipūra, Anāhata, Vishuddha, and Ajña'. These six chakras are the six faces of Guha. Since these six chakras have been mastered by Guha, he got the name Shanmukha. Similarly, Guha's vehicle, the peacock, always spreads its feathers. This indicates the blooming of the Sahasrara Padma (thousand-petaled lotus in the crown of the head). And Guha holds a weapon called 'Shakti' in his hand, it symbolizes the Sushumna Nadi. Guha is called the lord of serpents, those serpents symbolize Kundalini Shakti. In this way, Guha is in the form of Yoga. Therefore, those who participate in this 'Guru Guha session' and practice Kriya Yoga will receive Shanmukha's blessing. Through that, the six chakras will be mastered. The Kundalini Shakti will reach the Sahasrara through the Brahmanādi called Sushumna. Yoga Siddhi will be achieved. Taking all these aspects into consideration, Swamiji named this program "Guru Guha'.
Meaning related to Soundarya Lahari
Shankarāchārya wrote Soundarya Lahari, praising Goddess Parāshakti. It contains not just praises but also many secrets related to Srividya Upāsana. Srividya Upāsana means worshiping the goddess in the Sri Chakra. This is not an easy practice. Because there are many deities in the circles. They should all be invoked systematically in the Sri Chakra, and many strict rules should be followed in this Srividya Upāsana. Such secrets related to Srividya are in Soundarya Lahari. Now let us come to the current topic.
The name 'Guru Guha' has a close connection with this Srividya Upāsana. Let us understand them now. We mentioned that Guha means Subramanya Swami, right? He is one of the teachers of Srividya.
According to the Puranas, Adi Guru Dattatreya taught the secrets of Srividya and Avadhuta Gita to Guha. That is not all. Parāshakti herself breastfed Guha. What is special about this? We should not consider Guha drinking the milk of Parāshakti as if it were just a child drinking its mother's milk. Mother Goddess gave the milk called Jnāna Shakti (knowledge power) to Guha with that power, Guha could understand the secrets of Srividya and became the ācharya of Srividya Upāsana. This secret was indicated by Shankarāchārya in Soundarya Lahari.
Similarly, there is another secret related to Guha in the Soundarya Lahari. What is that? If Guha grows up, he cannot drink milk from the Goddess, right? Therefore, Guha remained a child. He is an eternal celibate, as stated in Soundarya Lahari. How is this possible? Guha has two wives named Valli and Devasena, right? Then how is he said to be an eternal celibate child? It is natural to have this question. The answer is as follows. Devasena means the army of the gods. Guha is the chief of that army, so he is called 'Devasena Pati'. Similarly, 'Valli' means 'the Kundalini Shakti coiled in the Mulādhara'. That Kundalini Shakti is under Guha's control, as we mentioned. For that reason, Guha got the name 'Valli Pati'. Therefore, Guha has no wives. He is an eternal celibate child. Since Guha is a child, he is also called Kumaraswāmi. Similarly, there are many more secrets of Srividya in Soundarya Lahari. However, it is not possible for everyone to understand all of them and perform Srividyam Upāsana. That is why Swamiji organized 'Guru Guha Nada Yoga
Therapy
We mentioned that Guha is the main deity for this Nada Yoga. Therefore, the devotees participating in this program will receive the blessing of Guha, the acharya of Srividya, and the benefits of Srividya Upāsana. Considering many such aspects, Swamiji named this music session 'Guru Guha'. Everyone should understand this. You have understood the many benefits that will come from this session, right?
Therefore, all devotees should try to participate in this session in someway and receive the blessings of Guru Guha.
Jaya Guru Datta.
All photos courtesy Avadootha Datta Peetham
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