According to the Purana, once when everyone was worshipping Lord Shiva, the Ultimate Being and the protector of all, Goddess Parvati saw Lord Shiva bowing down and praying to somebody. Confused, she asked him, “When you are the Lord of all, and there is nothing beyond you, who are you prostrating to?” And the profound answer of the Lord reveals the great importance of a Guru. He said, “I am bowing down to the Guru Principle. He is the Absolute”, thereby establishing the stature of a Guru. Lord Shiva then became the Guru and revealed a series of verses on the glory of the Guru to Mother Parvati, who became his disciple. These verses have been passed on to us as Guru Gita.

The literal meaning of the terms Shri Guru Gita is as follows: Shri stands for the primal energy, Shakti, Guru for the spiritual master who bestows grace, and Gita refers to a song that is revealed in verses. A continuous stream of holy verses or mantras that evokes the energies within us and connects us to the grace of the Guru is the Guru Gita.