Guru Mantra: Prayers for Our Spiritual Teachers

I struggle with the concept of a guru, like I’m sure a lot of modern western folx do. We hear about scandals where gurus have exploited their students, lied to them, and even abused them in some truly horrific ways. As a westerner it’s easy to follow your gut reaction and conclude that the guru/shishya relationship is inherently bad. But let’s think about this. There have been abuse scandals in the Catholic church, politician’s offices, universities, kid’s charities, Hollywood, not to mention countless businesses, but we don’t think that means we should end those things. What we need to address is the power imbalance, and that people think they can exploit that imbalance and face no repercussions for the hurt they have caused their fellow humans.

When I saw this mantra on my list for my online yoga teacher training I thought it would be one I would learn with only half my heart. But I went on a journey while learning this mantra that completely changed my perspective on it.

First I got started doing my homework, digging into the literal translations from the Sanskrit. I discover that guru means “that which illuminates the darkness“. That phrase specifically instantly makes me think of one of my friends who has been really supportive of me in everything I do. She uses the phrase ‘illuminate the darkness’ as a personal motto. I have been blessed with several amazing friends who not only share their knowledge, but also their strength and support. I struggle with depression and anxiety, and that kind of friendship has been a warm light when my world seems very dark. I would absolutely say that I have friends that inspire me like a guru would.

The relationship between a guru and student, or shishya, is personified in the relationship between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva is the greatest guru and the most dedicated ascetic, Parvati is his wife, and his shishya. Now if nothing else, I think it’s fair to say that it would take a God’s abilities and knowledge to pull that off without it being toxic. But they were also in a relationship before she was his shishya. Parvati sets her sights on Shiva and won’t be deterred, not by her parents, and not by Shiva’s desire to be an ascetic. Eventually, with the help of the gods, she seduces him and they start a family. So it’s in this context that she convinces him to teach her the secrets of yoga and become her guru.

I think it’s likely unscrupulous gurus have exploited this to sexually exploit their shishya, male and female. Just as Catholic priests exploit concepts of sin and forgiveness to manipulate their victims. Condemning one and not the other is hypocrisy. I choose to condemn the exploitation of power, not the tool that was used to gain the power. Those who desire to exploit others seek power in ways that they know face no accountability. We must stop focusing on the tools they use to hurt people, whether that is religion, altruism, medicine, politics, entertainment, sports, business, or the law, and focus instead on holding people with power accountable for how they use that power.

There aren’t any translations online that I’ve been able to find that give credit for the translation. What I have below is a bit of a synthesis which I hope captures something of the spirit of what is written in the Sanskrit.