Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 713: Shri Guru mandala rupini. (ōṃ gurūmaṇḍalarūpiṇyai namaḥ)

From Nama 684 to 741 the glories of the Divine Mother are discussed.

The Divine Mother has within Herself the lineage of Gurus.

The Divine Mother is holding within Her the Guru lineage which starts from Lord Shiva to Aadi Shankara to ultimately our own present Guru. There is an unbroken lineage of Gurus. It is like lighting a new lamp from an existing lamp. All the Guru lineages keep going with the Divine Mother’s grace. Shri Ramakrishna prayed that the Divine Mother blessed him being within, which the Divine Mother granted. Later another Guru guided him, which he considered as blessings from the Divine Mother. Those who are sincerely devoted to the Divine Mother get all Her blessings. Normal school education may not help in this process well, This must be achieved through Guru-disciple lineage.

There is no ending for this Guru lineage as it is in circular form. Ultimately, our present-day Guru’s guidance is from Sadashiva. The Divine Mother is in Guru form to guide us. The Divine Mother holds and controls the Guru lineage. Her traditional role imparts wisdom from Guru to disciples. The Namas 710 to 713, namely: Samprasdayeshvari, Sadhu, “Ee”, and Gurumandalrupini are beautifully linked to show the Divine Mother’s glories.

Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Shiva, Guru is the Supreme Brahman, Salutations to those holy Gurus.

India has a celebrated lineage of Guru. “I constantly bow to Narayana, Brahma, the lotus-born Shakti, Vasistha, his son Parashara, Vyasa, Gaudapada, Govinda, his disciple Shankara, Padma pada, Hastamalaka, Totaka and all my other Gurus.  This line of Gurus continues to grow.

The present Nama may be interpreted as “She who is secret of the Tantra of Kamakala, ‘as this secret is traditionally preserved by the line of Gurus. Since Guru is not distinct from the Divine Mother, the Guru lineage is a form of the Divine Mother.

The Divine Mother has within Her the lineage of Gurus 

C N Nachiappan

Singapore, 07 January 2022; Updated 16 March 2025.

References:

1.      The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.      Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.      The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Sithbavandar