The revered Adi Shankaracharya was an incarnation of Lord Shankara himself. During that time, all the sages and seers prayed to Lord Shankara, requesting him to come to this earth in human form. They expressed that in the current situation, humanity desperately needed guidance, and no one but him could provide it. If he took on the role of a guru, everyone would receive proper guidance. Lord Shankara accepted their request and, approximately 1200 years ago, incarnated as the revered Adi Shankaracharya to re-establish the Vedic religion.

Feeling that he needed to master all sciences to perform his special duties, he set out in search of a guru and arrived at the banks of the Narmada. There, in a cave, he saw the revered Govindacharya deep in meditation. It was the rainy season, and the water level of the Narmada was rising rapidly. Govindacharya was meditating in the cave, and the water had reached the cave. Although Shankaracharya had not yet met his guru, he thought that if the water entered the cave, it might disturb his guru's meditation. Using his yogic powers, he contained the Narmada in his kamandalu (water pot).

When Govindacharya came out of his meditation, he asked, "Why has the Narmada dried up?" Shankaracharya explained, "To prevent the disturbance of your meditation, I contained the Narmada in my kamandalu." The guru was delighted and wondered how a disciple he had not yet seen could be so dutiful. He asked Shankaracharya, "Who are you?" Shankaracharya replied, "Shivo'ham, Shivo'ham!" (I am Shiva, I am Shiva!). Govindacharya then accepted him as a disciple. Despite being born as a highly knowledgeable person, Shankaracharya did not abandon the guru tradition. Serving the guru, touching the guru's feet, and seeking the guru's blessings are part of our guru tradition.

It is because such disciples were blessed by their gurus that this guru tradition has continued to this day. However, a disciple should not only be for chanting mantras but also for fulfilling duties.

|| shree gurudev datta ||