gurur brahmā, gurur viṣṇu, gurur devo maheśvaraḥguruḥ sākṣāt paraṁ brahma, tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ
Nowadays, people have misinterpreted this verse from the scriptures to mean that their guru is Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh (Shiva). But what is the actual meaning of this verse? It says
‘guruḥ sākṣāt paraṁ brahma’
—the the real guru is the Absolute ‘param brahma’, Lord Sri Krishna Himself. Brahma is Krishna’s mode of passion incarnation; Vishnu is Krishna’s mode of goodness incarnation, and Shiva is Krishna’s mode of darkness incarnation. In these forms, Brahma creates the living entities, Vishnu maintains the entire universe, and Shiva is responsible for the destruction of ignorance that exists in this universe.
It can be said that they are the constructor, operator, and destructor. Our ‘rasika acharya’ Srila Vishwanath Chakravarty Thakur further explains that although shastra mentions that guru and Hari are non-different, however, there are still differences:
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥkintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya vande guroḥśrī-caraṇāravindam
The godlier the guru, the dearer he is to the Lord. Srila Vishwanath Chakravarty Thakur explains that Krishna’s mercy comes down to us through our guru.In this current age, to the degree one has a loving attachment for chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, by that much they are dear to the Lord. We should not forget the real meaning of this verse.
By chanting the Mahamantra, all the qualities favourable for devotion and growing close to the Lord will develop in our nature. So, we should have respect for everyone; then, we can have a proper realisation of spiritual practice deliver ourselves from this mundane world and become eternally blissful
By HDG Srila B.B.Bodhayan Swami