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We begin with a prayer to Gaṇeśa. The meaning of the Sanskrit śloka is: if we pray at the outset of any undertaking to the one who wears the entire sky as his umbrella, who is eternally young, possesses four arms, and whose face is always pleasant and smiling, then all obstacles in our path will vanish. Next, we offer prayers to the holy lineage of Gurus. This lineage was initiated at the beginning of time by Lord Śiva, sustained and developed in the middle period by Jagat Guru Śaṅkarācārya, and is now present in our Satguru Śrī Māheśvarānandajī. The entire grace of this lineage—flowing from Lord Śiva, Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, Śrī Alagpurījī, Śrī Devpurījī, Śrī Mahāprabhujī, Śrī Holy Gurujī, and Swamijī—is available at the feet of our Sadguru, Śrī Maheśvarānandajī. Our salutations to this holy lineage of Gurus that serves all humanity. We then pray to our Sadguru. The Guru is the creator, Brahmā; the sustainer, Viṣṇu; and the dissolver of the cosmos at the end of a Yuga, Maheśvara or Lord Śiva. The Guru is Saguṇa Brahman (Brahman with form and name) and is Brahman itself. Our salutations to the Sadguru who has come to save us. As mentioned, this lineage was started by Lord Śiva and Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, who walked the earth about 1200 years ago. He established a strong tradition of Sanātana Dharma. He took Sannyāsa at the age of seven, was a master of Sanskrit, and authored numerous texts, prayers, and verses in this sacred language. His earthly life was brief, only about 32 years, yet in that time he circumambulated India three times on foot and established four maṭhas (religious institutions), each representing one of the four Vedas: Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma, and Atharva. His mastery of Sanskrit was unmatchable, and he established the principle of Advaita, or non-duality. Sanskrit is a supremely important and holy language. Another name for it is Devanāgarī, meaning "the city of the celestials." These celestial beings are not elsewhere; they reside within us. As Swamijī explains in his book The Hidden Power in Humans, there are eight principal chakras in our body, each with a principal mantra and an upa-mantra. All 50 Sanskrit alphabets are represented across these chakras: four in Mūlādhāra, six in Svādhiṣṭhāna, ten in Maṇipūra, twelve in Anāhata, sixteen in Viśuddhi, and two in Ājñā. Therefore, learning and reciting Sanskrit verses has a profoundly beneficial effect, cleansing our inner being. When Ādi Śaṅkarācārya was around 30 or 31, it became clear to his disciples that his life would not be long. Distressed, they approached him and asked, "Ācārya, how will we live without you? What will guide us and provide wisdom and light once you have departed? Please tell us how we can carry on." Out of compassion, Śaṅkarācāryajī composed the prayer known as Guru Pādukā Stotram—a prayer to the holy sandals (pādukā) of the Guru. Of its nine Sanskrit verses, all possess deep and energizing meaning. Let us examine three of these verses to understand Śaṅkarācāryajī's message. The first verse is: Ananta-saṁsāra-samudra-tāra-laukikābhyāṁ vairāgya-sāmrājya-da-pūjanābhyām, namo mahā-śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. "Salutations to the great, holy sandals of the Guru. These sandals are like a boat that helps us cross (tāra) this endless (ananta) ocean (samudra) of transmigration (saṁsāra). They bestow two great attributes. The first is laukikā, devotion or surrender to the Guru. The second, Śaṅkarācārya says, is an empire (sāmrājya). Ādi Śaṅkara was a renunciant, uninterested in worldly empires. The empire he refers to is that of Vairāgya, or dispassion. An emperor possesses vast land, wealth, cattle, and buildings. A person of dispassion, however, is disinterested in anything temporary—the body, the senses, houses, or cattle. From Śaṅkara's viewpoint, the person who possesses all physical things and the person who has no interest in them are equal. This is the empire of Vairāgya that the Guru's holy sandals confer. They are worthy of my worship. My salutations to these holy sandals." The second verse is: Āndhakāra-arka-paramparābhyāṁ tāpa-trayāhiṁdra-khageśvarābhyām, jāḍyābdhi-saṁśoṣaṇāvadātābhyāṁ namo śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. This is a beautiful verse, rich in meaning. In our transmigration from one body to another—this cycle of saṃsāra—we accumulate both good and bad deeds (karma), which determine our next birth. This cycle, beginning with the soul entering a mother's womb and ending with the death of that body, is seemingly endless. As Swamijī explains, the period between births, where the soul experiences the fruits of its deeds, is like a short stay in a hotel; once the merit is exhausted, one must return to the mortal world, as stated in the Bhagavad Gītā. To stop this cycle and reach a state where we no longer take new bodies is what the Guru's sandals can help us achieve. Ādi Śaṅkara is saying, "Even if I am gone, my sandals alone can deliver you and grant you realization." In this verse, Śaṅkarācārya specifically addresses the three afflictions or fires (tāpa-traya) that affect us, as discussed by Swamijī in The Hidden Power in Humans. These are: 1. Ādidaivika: forces originating from celestial entities. 2. Ādhibhautika: forces from other planets and material systems. 3. Ādhyātmika: vibrations arising from the tattvas (basic properties of the physical world). Only the Guru's grace can save us from or remove the bad effects of these forces. Praying to the Guru's sandals can completely eliminate these afflictions. The verse also speaks of drying up the ocean (abdhi) of delusion (jāḍya). Swamijī explains this delusion is caused by three impurities: 1. Mala: impurities in our antaḥkaraṇa (inner instrument), associated with chitta (consciousness). 2. Vikṣepa: disturbances and distractions, associated with the rājasic mind. 3. Āvaraṇa: the veil or curtain that blocks reality, associated with ahaṅkāra (ego). These three create an ocean of delusion in which we live. Praying to the holy sandals of the Guru can dry up this entire ocean. Therefore, our salutations to them. The sentiment of crossing the ocean of saṃsāra is beautifully expressed in a bhajan by Mīrābāī: "Bhava sāgar sab sukh gayo hai, chintā nahī̃ ab karhan kī." "The ocean of becoming (saṃsāra) has completely dried up due to the grace of the Guru's feet. Now I have no worry about crossing it." The third verse is: Kāmādi-ṣaṭpada-vrajaga-ruḍābhyāṁ viveka-vairāgya-pradā-pūjanābhyām, bodha-pradīpikābhyāṁ dhṛta-mokṣa-dābhyāṁ namo śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. "Kāma-ādi" refers to desires and the other inner enemies. Ādi Śaṅkara identifies them as four: kāma (desire), krodha (anger), mada (pride/ego), and lobha (greed). These are like poisonous snakes that constantly affect us. The Guru's holy sandals act like Garuḍa, the eternal enemy of snakes, in subduing them. But the sandals also grant positive qualities. Viveka is the discriminative intellect to distinguish the real from the unreal. Vairāgya is dispassion toward worldly objects. These two are fundamental prerequisites for walking the path of self-realization. Bodha-pradīpikābhyām: Bodha means knowledge—not worldly knowledge (Aparāvidyā), but the higher knowledge (Parāvidyā) that is constant and unchanging. This is the ātmā bodha, or self-realization, that Śaṅkarācārya speaks of elsewhere. Praying to the Guru's sandals can instill this realization. Dhṛta-mokṣa-dābhyām means they quickly (dhṛta) grant liberation (mokṣa). Therefore, our salutations to the holy sandals of the Guru. These four inner enemies are also addressed in a joyful bhajan by Śrī Guru Nānak Jī: "Jana, kama, krodha, madha, lobha, nivāro, īrṣā, chodho..." He instructs us to avoid desire, anger, pride, and greed, and to give up ego, reminding us that in this world, nothing belongs to us—sentiments echoed by Mahāprabhujī. Let me conclude by reciting the Sanskrit verses together: Guruṁ paramparāṁ guruṁ brahmā guruṁ viṣṇu guruṁ devo maheśvaraḥ, guruḥ sākṣāt paraṁ brahma tasmai śrī gurave namaḥ. Oṁ śrī maheśvarānandāya namaḥ. Ananta-saṁsāra-samudra-tāra-laukikābhyāṁ vairāgya-sāmrājya-da-pūjanābhyām, namo mahā-śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. Āndhakāra-arka-paramparābhyāṁ tāpa-trayāhiṁdra-khageśvarābhyām, jāḍyābdhi-saṁśoṣaṇāvadātābhyāṁ namo śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. Kāmādi-ṣaṭpada-vrajaga-ruḍābhyāṁ viveka-vairāgya-pradā-pūjanābhyām, bodha-pradīpikābhyāṁ dhṛta-mokṣa-dābhyāṁ namo śrī-guru-pādukābhyām, namo śrī-guru-pādukābhyām. Thank you.