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Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇ Bhagavān kī che, devā dī deva, deveśvara mahā deva kī che, hindu dharma samrāj, smarvaṇām jī Bhagavān kī che, viśva gurumām aleśa param samasyā jī guru deva kī che, śrī śrī ala kvāre jī paramparā kī che. Today, I would like to offer some commentary on one of our very famous mantras: "Brahmanandam paramasukhadam." > Oṁ brahmānandaṁ paramasukhadaṁ kevalaṁ jñānamūrtiṁ dvandvātītaṁ gaganasadṛśaṁ tattvamasyādilakṣyaṁ. > Ekaṁ nityaṁ vimalam achalaṁ sarvādhiṣākṣibhūtaṁ bhavātītaṁ triguṇarahitaṁ sadguruṁ taṁ namāmi. This mantra is the 89th mantra from the Śrī Guru Gītā, which is part of the Uttarakhaṇḍa, the final books of the Skanda Purāṇa. It describes the qualities of a guru. What does "guru" mean? What does the guru actually comprise? What are his qualities? Oṁ brahmānandaṁ. Brahmānanda. This is the ultimate bliss. Brahma is the endless Absolute. Ānanda is bliss. Brahmānanda is the highest bliss one can achieve. Paramasukhadaṁ. This is the second quality. The first is to have this bliss. The second is paramasukha-dāna—to give that highest happiness. The guru should be able to bestow that supreme happiness. Kevalaṁ jñānamūrtiṁ. Kevalam means "the only one," the one who has realized himself, who knows himself as the ultimate. Jñāna-mūrtiṁ means "the embodiment of knowledge." In this first line, we can also place kevalam at the beginning: "The only one..." So, the guru is one who possesses only these qualities, which continue to be described in the mantra. He has experienced the highest bliss, he gives the highest happiness, he is one, and he is the very incarnation of knowledge. Dvandvātītaṁ gaganasadṛśaṁ. Dvandva is duality: me and mine, I and you, us versus them, happiness and unhappiness. Any kind of duality is called dvandva. Atītam means "beyond." So, the guru is beyond this duality; he is above it. How is he beyond it? Gaganasadṛśam—he is like the sky. The sky equally covers the entire globe. It covers us, our neighbors, our friends, and our enemies. The sky does not distinguish between anybody. Thus, the guru is above duality and is equal to all, like the sky. Tattvamasyādilakṣyaṁ. Tat tvam asi—"Thou art that." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi—"I am Brahma." These are among the great mahāvākyas (great pronouncements). Each of the four Vedas has one primary mahāvākya. The guru is described by all these mahāvākyas: tat tvam asi, "thou art that"; ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am the Absolute." Tattvam asyādi: "that thou art" and others. Lakṣyam means "the target" or "the description." His quality, his description, is given by all these mahāvākyas. Ekaṁ nityaṁ vimalam achalaṁ. Ekam: He is one. Nityam: He is continuous, endless. Vimalam: Vimal means without any spots, without any dirt; he is completely pure. Achalam: He is steady, unmoving, omnipresent. As stated in the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad: īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvaṁ yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat—"Everything here is pervaded by Īśā (the Lord)." The Guru Tattva (the principle of the guru) covers everything. Sarvādhiṣākṣibhūtaṁ. He is the witness of all (sarva). He is the absolute witness. Our own task is to become a witness, especially to our own actions and reactions. We must learn to step back and witness. The guru is the perfect witness—not just a witness, but the witness of everything (sarvādi). He witnesses all that is. Bhavātītaṁ. Earlier we had dvandvātītaṁ (beyond duality); this is bhavātītaṁ (beyond bhava). When we become involved in something, this is called bhava-sāgara, the ocean of worldly experience. We experience good things and bad things. Bhavātīta: He is above this, above these experiences—not the experiences themselves, but above the involvement and identification with the experience. When you say, "This is me; I am suffering, and I will suffer forever," that is identification. The guru is beyond these feelings of experiential attachment. Trigunarahitaṁ. He is without the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas. These three guṇas comprise everything in creation. Just as the world is made from elements in the periodic table, even those elements are composed of these three guṇas. They are the fundamental modes of nature. The Guru Tattva, like God, is beyond them. Sadguruṁ taṁ namāmi. "I greet that Sadguru." What the Master conveys in this mantra is the knowledge of what a guru must possess to truly be a guru. So, if you think to yourself, "Am I a guru?" Excellent, very good. Check if you have any of these qualities. If not, that is alright. Sadguruṁ taṁ namāmi: "That Satguru I greet." It is not tam guru or tam sadguru; it is taṁ namāmi—"I greet that one." In the poetic structure, we say "one." So now we can place kevalam at the beginning of this understanding: "Kevalam taṁ sadguru"—"Only that Satguru I greet," the one who has all these qualities. Whoever possesses these is called Satguru. Therefore, once you decide, "I am a Satguru," just check for any of these qualities. See if you have them. This is the tattva (essential principle) of Satguru. This is the energy of Satguru. This is the ultimate description of what Satguru actually is—because he is omnipresent, everlasting, and everywhere. The Guru, like Swamiji, Viśva Gurujī, comes to us and teaches all these things very simply, in baby steps from kindergarten onward. Finally, when we manage to join our intellect and our heart, then true knowledge appears. Even after that, we have many examples in Mahāprabhujī's bhajans. Mahāprabhujī, who could bring the dead to life, who organized rain, who performed so many miracles, said: "I am just a servant of you. I am the servant of my master. Without my master, I am nobody. My master is my life." We have so many examples in our paramparā of this knowledge and of this feeling: "I am a disciple." In case you wonder if you are a guru, just check for any of these qualities and work toward them.