Vyasa Puja Starts with Obeisances

By Mahanidhi Swami

The word namaḥ is uttered by all disciples whenever they offer respects unto the lotus feet of their respective spiritual masters: om ajnana timirandhasya, jnan anjana shalakaya, chakshur unmilitam yena, tasmai sri guruve NAMAH.

But exactly what does the word namah mean?

In general, namah means, “I am offering obeisance unto the lotus feet of my beloved Gurudeva.” On a deeper level, namah means to submit one’s self with the meditation, “I am giving up my worldly vanity and false ego. I renounce the false sense of being the supreme controller and enjoyer.”

The word namah means NA or saying no to MAH which means false ego. In other words, NAMAH means to annihilate the false identity, and fully surrender to the servitorship and control of God standing before you as Sri Guru.

Renouncing one’s pride or vanity is actually the primary and most important object to be offered in one’s worship of Sri Guru. Therefore, the act of offering obeisances to the spiritual master means to give up the pride of thinking one’s self the doer, possessor and enjoyer of anything in this world.

The real Vyasa-puja begins here. The moment the disciple realizes this and acts solely for the pleasure of Sri Guru, he starts engaging in the true worship and eternal service of his spiritual master.

To conclude, I invite every disciple to join me in the following prayer: “I pray that someday I can fall at Sri Guru’s lotus feet, and with the full backing of my dedicated heart, utter this phrase, ‘Dearest Gurudeva, please accept my most respectful and genuinely humble obeisances.’’’

(Excerpt from Tribute of Love by mahanidhi swami)

Srila Vyasadeva ki jai! Sri Gurudeva ki jai!

Jai Jai Sri Radhe!