The last universal opening prayer is the prayer to the Guru. Often there is a small phrase or mantra in the Rg Veda which gets expanded upon. Such is the case with this very famous Mantra.

The prayer to the guru was expanded upon in the Shri Guru Gita which comes out of the Skanda Purana. The Shri Guru Gita takes place on Mount Kailash and is a conversation between the Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is usually meditating. Parvati asks the following questions. "To whom are you showing reverence? By which means can a person become the absolute?"

The response to Parvati comes in three chapters. This mantra is found early in the response. The writers of the vedas, upanishads and puranas are lenient with us. Since we may not come across the full text or have the ability to study it fully, they have a short mantra that is easily chanted and memorized to give us the full energy of the entire text.

Prayer to the Guru

गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुर्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।

गुरुरेव परं ब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥१॥

Gurur brahma

gurur visnur

gurur devo maheśvarah ।

Guruh sāksāt

para brahma

tasmai śri gurave namah ॥

The guru is the creator (Brahma).

The guru is the protector (Vishnu).

The Guru is the God of Transformation (Shiva)

The guru is the Supreme Absolute itself in bodily form.

Salutations to that glorious guru.

May we come to realize the guru principle. May we recognize the guru in each other and in ourselves. Om Shanti, Shanti Shanti.