Is the verse ‘Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu’ Mayavadi?

The full verse from  ‘Guru Gita’ as given in Uttarakhand section of ‘Skanda Purana’ in the form of a dialogue between Shiva and Uma (Shakti) is:

Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwara
Guru Sakshat Param Brahma
Tasmai Shri Gurave Namah

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
I have another question. Is the verse Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Deva Maheshwara, Guru Sakshat Parambrahma, Tasmai Shri Guruve Namaha a Mayavadi verse? Answer, not necessarily. This verse comes in the Uttarakhand section of the Skanda Purana in the form of a dialogue between Shiva and Uma, Shakti.
And it is actually a glorification of the Guru. Now, the whole section is called as a Guru Gita. And it can be interpreted in an impersonalist way, Mayavadi way, or it can also be understood in a devotional way.
Some of the verses, some of these verses have often been used by impersonalists. And this verse has not been quoted by Srila Prabhupada. Though that does not in and of itself prove that the verse is not bona fide.
It is quoted by one of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, Krishnadas Maharaj in the Veda base. It is found in a Vyasa Puja offering, he uses this. And so in that sense, it is also a well-known verse in the Vedic tradition.
So, we also have in the Guruvashtikam, Sakshat Haritvena Samastha Shastray. So, the same word Sakshat also is coming over here. And in the Bhagavatam also says, Acharyavan Sarvadevmaya Guru, that the person who has Acharya, he is a very fortunate person.
And Sarvadevmaya Guru, that the Guru is the manifestation of all the Devatas. So, basically this verse has two aspects to it. That it says that the Guru is Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh.
So, this is related with what is that the well-known Vedic understanding that the Guru is the representative of all the Gods. And this Sakshat Haritvena Samastha Shastray can be related with Guru Sakshat Param Brahma. So, in that sense, this verse can be seen as obeisances to the Guru as a representative of all the Devatas and of the Supreme Lord.
At the same time, this verse can also be seen in impersonalist light because it seems to indicate that the Param Brahma is something different from Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. And also that the Guru is all of these. So, if this is interpreted in an ontological sense that they are all one and ultimately all of them are just the Param Brahma, which is impersonal, then that will be a Mayavadi verse.
But if it is understood in the sense that not an ontological sense but in a representational sense that the Guru represents all these, then we understand that this is a devotional verse. And from that perspective, Param Brahma can refer to the personal self-existence of God in the spiritual world. Vishnu is the maintainer of the material world.
And in that sense, the Purusha Avatars are connected with the material world, although they don’t get contaminated. But beyond all this, the Param Brahma exists in the Paravyoma, in the spiritual sky. And the Guru is a representation of all the administrative, all the three presiding Devatas, three presiding Deities of the material world and also the Supreme Lord who is beyond the material world.
So in that sense, we can have a completely devotional understanding of this verse also. At the same time, because Srila Prabhupada has not quoted this verse, so we generally don’t quote it. And Srila Prabhupada and our Sampradaya Acharyas generally quoted the Om Gyanatimrandase verse.
So we use that verse to glorify the Supreme Lord, the spiritual master, who removes us, rescues us from the darkness of ignorance and illuminates us with the light of knowledge. So this verse focuses more on the position of the Guru and that position can also be multiply interpreted. That’s why the verse has some ambiguity in it.
Whereas the verse which Srila Prabhupada and our Acharyas have given us is more focusing on what the Guru does for us. So that is in a sense more evocative for invoking gratitude in our hearts. And it is of course unambiguous because that’s what the Guru actually does for us.
So in that sense, because of the ambiguity and because of its capacity to, because of its unambiguity and because of its capacity to evoke gratitude in our heart, it is better for us to use the Om Gyanatimrandase verse while glorifying and remembering the spiritual master. Thank you.