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Guru nama-mantra
ॐ श्री गुरवे नमः
Oṁ Śrī Gurave Namaḥ
Simple reading: Om shree gu-ra-ve na-mah
About this mantra
The short bow to the Guru — whoever and wherever one's teacher is. It keeps a lifelong account honest: nothing one knows arrived without a hand that passed it on.
Meaning
Om, salutations to the revered Guru. Gu is darkness, ru its removal, says the Guru Gita — the teacher's whole office etymologised into two syllables. The mantra deliberately names no one: it bows to whoever has stood in that office for you, and to the principle above them all — that light in a mind was always lit from another lamp.
When to recite it
Guru Purnima and Thursdays; recited before study and before teaching, and at the memory of anyone who removed darkness — parents and mentors included.
Word by word
- ॐoṁ
- the primordial sound
- श्री गुरवेśrī gurave
- to the revered teacher
- नमःnamaḥ
- I bow, salutations
Source: Traditional nāma-mantra (guru-paramparā)