Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu, the Guru Shloka
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥
Gurur brahmā gurur viṣṇuḥ gurur devo maheśvaraḥ
Guruḥ sākṣāt parabrahma tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ
“The guru is Brahma, the guru is Vishnu, the guru is the great lord Shiva. The guru is verily the supreme reality itself. To that revered guru, I offer my salutations.”
Guru Gītā
Word by word
A shloka a child understands is a shloka they keep. Here is what each word is actually doing.
On Guru Purnima and Teachers’ Day, at the start of a class, and before beginning study with a teacher.
- Names the three great functions, creating, sustaining, transforming
- Builds genuine respect for teachers and learning
- One of the most recognisable shlokas in India
- A natural school-assembly and Teachers’ Day piece
The lovely thing to explain here is why the teacher gets all three names. A teacher creates something in you that was not there, keeps it alive with practice, and clears away what is wrong in your understanding, exactly what Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva do. Children find that a satisfying explanation.
Shloka Classes
Reading a shloka and chanting it correctly are different things. In our live online classes a mentor corrects your child’s pronunciation in the moment, teaches the meaning alongside the sound, and builds a repertoire verse by verse. Ages 4-14 · 45 min · Weekly.
Questions parents ask
It says the guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and is verily the supreme reality itself, and offers salutations to that guru. It honours the teacher as the one through whom knowledge reaches us.
Learn these next
All 28 shlokas
Teach your child Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu, properly
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