[1] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

guru meditation n. amiga equivalent of `panic' in unix sometimes just
   called a `guru' or `guru event'. when the system crashes, a cryptic
   message of the form "guru meditation xxxxxxxx.yyyyyyyy" may appear,
   indicating what the problem was. an amiga guru can figure things out
   from the numbers. sometimes a guru event must be followed by a vulcan
   nerve pinch.

   this term is no surprise an in-joke from the earliest days of the
   amiga. an earlier product of the amiga corporation was a device called a
   `joyboard' which was basically a plastic board built onto a
   joystick-like device; it was sold with a skiing game cartridge for the
   atari game machine. it is said that whenever the prototype os crashed,
   the system programmer responsible would calm down by concentrating on a
   solution while sitting cross-legged on a joyboard trying to keep the
   board in balance. this position resembled that of a meditating guru.
   sadly, the joke was removed fairly early on but there's a well-known
   patch to restore it in more recent versions.


see also:
guru vulcan nerve pinch 

[2] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

guru meditation
     
         the amiga equivalent of
        unix's panic sometimes just called a "guru" or "guru
        event".  when the system crashes, a cryptic message of the
        form "guru meditation xxxxxxxx.yyyyyyyy" may appear,
        indicating what the problem was.  an amiga guru can figure
        things out from the numbers.
     
        in the earliest days of the amiga, there was a device called a
        "joyboard" which was basically a plastic board built onto a
        joystick-like device; it was sold with a skiing game cartridge
        for the atari game machine.  it is said that whenever the
        prototype os crashed, the system programmer responsible would
        concentrate on a solution while sitting cross-legged, balanced
        on a joyboard, resembling a meditating guru.  sadly, the joke
        was removed in amigaos 2.04.
     
        the jargon file claimed that a guru event had to be
        followed by a vulcan nerve pinch but, according to a
        correspondent, a mouse click was enough to start a reboot.
     
        2002-06-25
     
     
see also:
amiga unix panic jargon file guru vulcan nerve pinch 

Meditation >> M Words
Meditation, definition of term: Meditation
meditation_pag1.html

Guru >> G Words
Guru, definition of term: Guru
guru_pag1.html