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**Essential Sutra: Guru Vandan Sutra**
I offer obeisance to the Guru, I bow down, I prostrate, I pay homage, I respect, I offer auspiciousness and blessings, I consider you as a deity, I offer my salutations to the Chaitya (knowledge). I offer my obeisance with my forehead.
**Meaning:** O Great Guru! I offer my salutations by placing my joined palms three times, starting from the right side and rotating them to the right, and then placing them on my forehead. I bow down with five limbs, I offer my salutations, I pay homage, I respect (with clothes, food, etc.), you are the embodiment of auspiciousness, you are the embodiment of blessings, you are the embodiment of divinity, you are the Chaitya (knowledge).
Therefore, O Gurudev! I offer my worship, service, and devotion to you with my mind, speech, and body. I humbly bow down and offer my salutations at your lotus feet.
**Discussion:** In Indian culture, the Guru holds a significant position. If one does not have the guidance of a true Guru in life, even attaining the vision of the Lord becomes difficult. At the beginning of every auspicious work, the Guru is worshipped with devotion and faith.
In a way, the Guru is even more important than God. A Vedic sage has even said: If God is angry, the Guru can save you, but if the Guru is angry, even God's power cannot save you.
**Harau ruste guru straata, gurau ruste na vai shivah.**
**Tasmat sarvaprayatnena, gurumeva prasadayet.**
Indeed, the importance of a true Guru is immeasurable. Just as oil is needed to light a lamp, a key is needed to run a clock, and food is needed to nourish the body, so too is a true Guru needed to make life progressive. True Gurus are the true artists of life. Therefore, Gurudev is like a boat in the ocean of existence, who brings the noble beings to the shore. For a being lost in the darkness of ignorance, the Guru is like a lamp, a source of light. There is no one more benevolent in the world than the Guru. Many devotees have even said: "I will abandon God, but I will not abandon the Guru." Because it is the Guru who teaches us about right and wrong. A disciple should offer salutations, service, and worship to such a benevolent Gurudev with devotion, only then can he understand the mystery of life and the world.