Guru Govinda Dou Khare
A Doha, or Couplet, by Kabir
Sung by Lakshmi Joyce Wells
©Ⓟ1995 SYDA Foundation. All rights reserved. Please do not copy, record or distribute.
Photograph of roses by Devadatta Best
The recording of this doha is available in the Siddha Yoga Bookstore.
In the peacefulness of the first rays of sunshine, tranquility and serenity filled the morning. Magpies carolled their praise. All plants were still. Light gleamed through their leaves. I felt that I was stretching into the light of the Lord with thankfulness for having found my Guru.
I wanted to be outside despite the frosty cold of Melbourne’s winter. Do I go outside to bathe in the light of the Lord or do I stay inside to meditate and chant? My heart brimmed with gratitude to Gurumayi for her grace, which quenches my inner longing, for the Meditation Sessions, and for so much more. I renew my devotion and step outside. I have time for both! Sunshine warms my back. Dew glistens. Birds sing.
Soon, at my meditation mat, I listen to this bhajan, and I hear the words of my heart.
I wanted to be outside despite the frosty cold of Melbourne’s winter. Do I go outside to bathe in the light of the Lord or do I stay inside to meditate and chant? My heart brimmed with gratitude to Gurumayi for her grace, which quenches my inner longing, for the Meditation Sessions, and for so much more. I renew my devotion and step outside. I have time for both! Sunshine warms my back. Dew glistens. Birds sing.
Soon, at my meditation mat, I listen to this bhajan, and I hear the words of my heart.
Melbourne, Australia
I close my eyes and listen with my heart to the voice of Lakshmi Wells singing this beautiful bhajan. My heart opens up and deep inner peace rises up. I could listen to this divine bhajan for hours.
Thun, Switzerland
This is one of the most beautiful bhajans I have ever heard in my life֫—both in its meaning and the music. The way it was sung made me try to sing along with the singer. That experience filled me with the rasa of ecstasy.
California, United States
I read this doha several times this past month, and each time, I wondered about the question it poses: “To whom should I bow down first?”
Then just recently, I participated in a Muktananda Dhyana Saptah at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland. As the event ended, I went to the Temple to sing the Evening Arati. As I stood in front of Bhagavan Nityananda’s murti for darshan, I could sense the sun shining on my face. Remembering this doha, I smiled to myself. I performed pranam to Shri Guru, Bhagavan Nityananda, and then bowed to Lord Surya.
Then just recently, I participated in a Muktananda Dhyana Saptah at the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland. As the event ended, I went to the Temple to sing the Evening Arati. As I stood in front of Bhagavan Nityananda’s murti for darshan, I could sense the sun shining on my face. Remembering this doha, I smiled to myself. I performed pranam to Shri Guru, Bhagavan Nityananda, and then bowed to Lord Surya.
Florida, United States
When I read and listened to Kabir’s doha this morning as part of my review of the teachings for 2018, I instantly recognized Kabir’s sentiment. The couplet reminded me of my experience since participating in the recent Shaktipat Intensive.
These days, when I turn my awareness inside, I feel I am filled with light. At the same time, I’m aware of the unmistakable presence of the inner Guru. More clearly than ever before, I understand the Guru as the grace-bestowing power of God, the one who shows us the Truth.
This morning, I was so touched by Kabir’s doha that I decided to memorize the Hindi and English words, and I’ve been singing them with great joy all day: "balihari guru apaki jin govinda diyo batay. O Guru, I totally give myself to you. You have shown the Lord to me."
These days, when I turn my awareness inside, I feel I am filled with light. At the same time, I’m aware of the unmistakable presence of the inner Guru. More clearly than ever before, I understand the Guru as the grace-bestowing power of God, the one who shows us the Truth.
This morning, I was so touched by Kabir’s doha that I decided to memorize the Hindi and English words, and I’ve been singing them with great joy all day: "balihari guru apaki jin govinda diyo batay. O Guru, I totally give myself to you. You have shown the Lord to me."
Massachusetts, United States
For many years prior to meeting the physical Guru, I longed to know God and to learn from God about the Truth. But God is formless, and this makes it difficult to perceive and be guided by God. As a human being, I need someone to guide me who I can see, who can teach me, by whose living example I can learn from.
I think this is why in their poems, in their treatises, the poet-saints and sages of India compassionately and emphatically give this guidance: for one who seeks to know God, the Guru is the means – the way. This is why, for me as a seeker, the Guru holds the most cherished position. Although there is no difference between God and the Guru, I offer my reverence and respect first to the Guru, because God’s power of grace is fully manifest in the Guru, and it is through learning from and serving the Guru that I recognize the Lord, who is formless and all pervasive.
I think this is why in their poems, in their treatises, the poet-saints and sages of India compassionately and emphatically give this guidance: for one who seeks to know God, the Guru is the means – the way. This is why, for me as a seeker, the Guru holds the most cherished position. Although there is no difference between God and the Guru, I offer my reverence and respect first to the Guru, because God’s power of grace is fully manifest in the Guru, and it is through learning from and serving the Guru that I recognize the Lord, who is formless and all pervasive.
a Siddha Yoga Swami
I remember that when I first heard this doha by Kabir some time ago, I felt a sense of deep gratitude and great good fortune for having found my Guru and thus a way to fulfill my yearning for God.
Thank you for reminding me of that experience, and enabling me to reconnect to that feeling once more.
Thank you for reminding me of that experience, and enabling me to reconnect to that feeling once more.
Versoix, Switzerland
Before I came into contact with Baba Muktananda and the Siddha Yoga teachings, God could have been standing right before me and I’d never have recognized him. I could not imagine God in a form. It was only when I received shaktipat diksha and began to experience the presence of God within my own being that my perception of the world started to change.
When I was a teenager, my grandfather, whom my family thought of as an atheist, said to me, “God is either everywhere or He’s nowhere.” At that time, I certainly did not see what I thought of as God everywhere, so I assumed that He was nowhere. Through the grace of my Guru, I now understand what my grandfather was trying to teach me. And I bow to Baba and to Gurumayi for opening my eyes and teaching me that wherever I turn my head, God is standing before me.
When I was a teenager, my grandfather, whom my family thought of as an atheist, said to me, “God is either everywhere or He’s nowhere.” At that time, I certainly did not see what I thought of as God everywhere, so I assumed that He was nowhere. Through the grace of my Guru, I now understand what my grandfather was trying to teach me. And I bow to Baba and to Gurumayi for opening my eyes and teaching me that wherever I turn my head, God is standing before me.
Wisconsin, USA
Reading the translation of Kabir’s doha brought up a wave of immense gratitude, expressing my deepest appreciation for Gurumayi. The final line gives me an affirmation that I can continually contemplate in remembrance of the supreme blessings of the Guru and the Guru’s teachings.
California, USA