Guru Stotram – 12

–

मन्नाथः श्रीजगन्नाथः मद्गुरुः श्रीजगद्गुरुः ।
मदात्मा सर्वभूतात्मा तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ १२॥

mannātha śrijagannātha: madguru: śri jagadguru:
madātmā sarvabhutātmā tasmai śrigurave nama:

Salutations to my guru who is the Supreme Lord, who is the also the teacher of the world, who taught me that my Self is the Self of all beings.

—-

Let us expound the meaning of the above verse:

I began my journey as an individual seeker, filled with questions, longing to grasp the ultimate truth. Bound by duality, I perceived myself as separate—a limited being navigating a world filled with distinctions, seeking guidance from an external source. The Guru, the compassionate revealer of truth, dismantled my illusions, stripping away the layers of ignorance that veiled my vision.

Through the Guru’s wisdom, I came to realise that my Self is the Self of all beings (madātmā sarvabhūtātmā)—that there never was a separate “I” apart from the whole. The distinctions that once seemed so real, the conditioned beliefs that framed my reality—all dissolved in the radiance of truth. No longer was I bound by the idea that knowledge was something to be attained externally, nor was the Guru merely an external guide.

With the complete dissolution of duality, even the limiting notion of “my Guru” faded away. The ego that once clung to identity—holding onto distinctions like “this is my Guru, my teacher”—vanished. In its place arose the recognition that my Guru is the Guru of the world (jagadguru), my Guru is the very Lord of the universe (jagannātha). The personal transformed into the universal, the finite merged into the infinite. The very source of wisdom stood revealed as the essence of existence itself.

With this realization, reverence deepened—not merely as an emotion, but as an absolute surrender to truth. I bow in gratitude to the Guru, who has gifted me with this supreme knowledge, who has dissolved all false notions, and who has awakened within me the recognition of unity that had always been present. The journey that began with a longing for truth now culminates in its direct realisation—an unveiling of that which never changed, never moved, never was apart.