Shiva Mahimna Stotra

Shloka 35

Meaning:  There is no god superior to Mahesha (Lord Shiva). There is no hymn superior to Shiva Mahimna. There is no mantra superior to Aghora (Omkar) Mantra.  There is no ‘Tatva’ (Truth, the Ultimate Reality, or Goal) superior to the Spiritual Guru.                                                                                   

Reflections:  Most spiritual seekers, in their initial stage, select a form of God as a chosen ideal to focus their minds on and to develop a love for God. This chosen ideal is called an “Ishta deva’. Initially, one must consider this form as the best form of God. By doing this, the seekers develop spiritual roots and make spiritual progress. As the spiritual seekers make progress, they realize that this form is just a representation of the One God, Brahman, and the selection of an ‘Ishta deva’ was only for their spiritual progress and not to put down the other forms of God. Real ‘Ishta Nishtha’ (one-pointed devotion to one’s likable form of God) does not develop fanaticism. Rather, such a devotee understands and appreciates other people’s “Ishta Nishtha’. If I love my mother dearly, I understand and appreciate other people’s love for their mothers.

Swami Adiswarananda, Spiritual Head of New York’s Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center, used to say that ‘Ishta Nishtha’ helps develop spiritual roots. If there are no roots, there will not be any fruits.

Thus, the devotees of Lord Shiva initially should consider Him to be the most superior form of God. Similarly, they must consider the mantra related to Lord Shiva as the best mantra and Lord Shiva’s hymn as the best hymn. Many devotees worship Lord Shiva as Aghora.

Finally, Pushpadana says that there is nothing higher than the spiritual teacher. Proper spiritual guidance is extremely important.

In Viveka Chudamani (3),

Shri Shankaracharya says: “Three things, namely, a human birth, desire to realize God (One’s true divine identity), and spiritual guidance, are very difficult to get and they can only be acquired by God’s grace.”

We can read many scriptural books, but without proper spiritual guidance, we may not be able to grasp the essence of these books. Also, without seeing a real living example we may not know how to practice the essence of the scriptures. Thus, proper spiritual guidance is essential. A genuine spiritual teacher who has a direct experience of God (the Ultimate Spiritual Truth) or one who is sincerely doing proper spiritual practices can wake up our inner spiritual guide. This spiritual guide is our inner conscience which helps us decide what to do and what not to do for our spiritual progress.

Sant Kabir gives the highest honor to Guru, a spiritual teacher.

Sant Kabir says, “Guru and Govinda are standing together. To whom should I salute first? I will salute my Guru first because my Guru has shown me Govinda.”

Pushpadanta, in this shloka, is saying that there is nothing higher than a spiritual teacher. The spiritual teacher takes us to our Ishta deva and in the last stage, our mind along with our Guru merges into the Ishta deva and Ishta deva merges into Brahman.