Gurugita 027: Guru should be visualized as a form of seed-syllables

Dattātrēya samarambhāṃ Nŗsimhādika madhyamām Sachchidananda paryantām vande Guru paramparām

I offer my obeisance to the lineage of my Gurus that begins from Lord Dattatreya and includes Narasimha Saraswati and other incarnations and ends with my Sadguru Sacchidananda.

The next verse details the method of visualizing the Guru as a form of seed-syllables (mantrakshara) and the method of absorbing these seed-syllables into us through the medium of breath.

Hasāmbhyāṃ parivŗtta hārda kamalē śuddhē jagat-kāraṇaṃ Viśwākāra manēka-dēha nilayaṃ svacchanda mānandakam Sarvākāra makhanḍa chidghana rasam pūrṇaṃ hyanantam śubhaṃ pratyakṣākṣara vigrahaṃ guruvaram dhyāyēt vibhuṃ śāśvatam

Meaning- Guru, who is the cause of this entire universe; who manifests in the form of this universe; who takes on many (aneka) bodies (deha); who exists in every form (sarvākara); who is free willed; infinite (ananta); indivisible; eternal and complete in all aspects (poorna swaroopa); who is the cause of all auspiciousness; who is the visible form of the alphabets (he who exists in the seed letters gu and ru) should, through the medium of breath (inhalation and exhalation), be visualized as seated on a lotus within the heart.

Breath is essential for our existence. Energy enters our system through breath and strengthens the senses by filling them with infinite energy. This breath is responsible for our life on earth. The air that we exhale is not the same as the air inhaled. The inhaled air undergoes many changes within the system. It purifies the blood and then comes out. Inhalation and exhalation are the two hamsas. The swinging of these hamsas is the cause of our existence. Among them one is ‘So- ham’ and the other is ‘Ham-sa’.

The word ‘Guru’ is a divine mantra composed of two syllables ‘Gu’ and ‘Ru’. These seed-syllables are the direct form of the ‘Guru’. These two syllables should be combined with the two hamsas- inhalation and exhalation. Trying to absorb these seed-syllables by merging them with the breath is known as ‘ajapa-japa’. To the one who religiously follows it, not only the physical heart but also the yogic heart located in the right side of the body gets purified.