Kundalini Yoga Glossary
Guru Dev
The Divine Teacher within, the second half of the phrase chanted in the Adi Mantra.
Meaning
What Guru Dev Means
Guru Dev appears in the Adi Mantra, Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo, which the manual translates as: I bow before the Creator and the Divine Teacher, which resides inside of me.
Guru speaks to the existence of eternal truths and their teachings across time: the purveyor of knowledge that sheds light on confusion and removes self-doubt. Dev is described as the angel within, a sense of transparency where darkness is wiped clean so unobstructed light can shine through.
In Practice
How It’s Used
The Adi Mantra is chanted at the beginning of a class or practice, sitting in Easy Pose with the hands in prayer mudra, as a way to relate, before starting, with the inner Guru or teacher. It's usually chanted three times in one breath, followed by three rounds of Aad Gure Nameh.
Opening a session this way helps shift out of the pace of daily life and into a different state of consciousness before the practice begins.
