Worship Çré-guru with the Utmost Care

Vando mui sävadhäna mate – you should offer prayers and worship to him, vandanä, with the utmost care, sävadhäna mate. There are three types of vandanä: käyika, väcika and mänasika –through your body, words, and mind. With our body, we fall flat on the ground and offer our daëòavat praëämas to Gurudeva – käyavandanä. Also, through your body, with whatever you have (it may be money, material opulence), giving everything, you should render service. If you have some followers, then with all of them, your subordinates, you should also serve guru. Followers means you have a family: you have a wife, a son, a daughter, servants, and friends. So, through all your family members and friends you should serve guru. That is käyika, physical service. Thus, through käyika, väcika, and mänasika, your body, mind and speech, you should offer prayers, obeisances and worship to the lotus feet of guru. One should serve with all one’s capacity, which is why it says vando mui sävadhäna mate – one should do vandanä with the utmost care.

Through our words, we offer prayers and glorify the guru, which is väcika-vandanä. One should also hear from the guru, hear guru-väkya, and speak whatever you have heard from the guru, to others; allow others to hear through you. That is also using your words. Paripraçna should also be there: If you have any doubts, then you should humbly ask questions and get them clarified. These are all types of väcika-sevä.

Through our mind, we always think of the beautiful, peaceful, and transcendentally blissful lotus feet of guru. Always meditating and thinking, cintana, about them. In your mind you should also put firm, unflinching faith in the words of the guru. You should understand that “My guru manifests before me in various forms to help me and to shower his mercy on me.” This is how one serves the guru through one’s mind. That is mänasika-vandanä.

All Vaiñëava sädhus in the world are manifestations of Gurudeva. Guru-kåpä, the mercy of guru is my only asset, nothing else. Therefore we say, “vando mui sävadhäna mate – I do guruvandanä with the utmost care.” Never be careless!