Amrithavarshini Pallavi 32
Amrithavarshini Pallavi 32
Amrithavarshini Pallavi 32
PALLAVI # 32
Topic Page #
Editorial 3
Ganaathyakshar / Phaala Chandrar 5
Value of Bhakthi / Acquisition of Jnana 8
Kandhar Anubhuthi - Smt Uma Balasubramanian 11
"Abhivaadayae" - Sri Sarma Sasthrigal 15
Ashtavakra Manigal - Sri Harihara Sarma 16
Bhagya Suktham - Sri P.R. Ramachander 20
Sri Nisarga Datta Maharaj - Part 3 - Sri. Ramachandran Venkataraman 22
Aaththi Soodi - Smt B. Ramadevi 27
Meenakshi Pancharatnam - Sri Jawahar Kannan 32
Aksharamanamalayil Thiruppugazh Malargal - Smt Shanta Rajan 33
You Are That Poem by Smt Renuka Sury 36
Awareness to Self Awareness - Sri G. Sivaswamy 37
Azhwars & Acharyas - Sri J.K. Sivan 39
Sanat Sujatiya - Sri P.R. Kannan 42
Quiz on Sri Sadashiva Brahmendra - Sri S.K. Ramanathan 44
Ramana Vazhi - Sri P.K. Venkatachalam 45
Sri Swathi Thinunal Krithi - Sri Dasu Damodara Rao 47
Maneesha Panchakam - Sri O.V. Srinivasan 48
Introspection at Guruvayorr - Sri V.S. Krishnan 51
Lord Subrahmanya, God of Knowledge - Sri O.N. Ravi 53
Geethaamurutham - Sri Anand Vasudevan 57
Translation of Badrachalam Ramadas Krithi - Sri T.R. Pattabi Raman 60
Poem on Sri Thyagaraja - Sri Anand Vasudevan 61
Thiruppugazh 62
Squirrel Service 63
Page 2
EDITORIAL From Editors Desk
Swagatham to mritha Varshini!
We are fortunate to release the nd issue today on the auspicious occasion of shadi Ekadasi
coupled with nusham, the birth star of our revered Kanchi Mahaperiyava. mong the Ekadasi
shadi Ekadasi is special to devotees of Lord Panduranga. On this day people go walking in huge
processions to Pandharpur singing the bhangs which is known as Varkari Sampraday. Varkari
in Marathi means periodic travellers. The Varkari tradition was started by Sant Jnaneshwar over
years ago, sowed the seeds of hakthi in every individual irrespective of Caste, Creed, Religion or
Status. The Varkari Sampraday is so called because the followers travel hundreds of miles to the Ho-
ly town of Pandharpur on foot every year in the months of shada and Kartik on Ekadasi. This pil-
grimage is called Vari in the Marathi language and thus one who performs it in the path of de-
votion is a Varkari. Varkari tradition is being followed since th Century. However the current tra-
dition of carrying the Paduka Sandals of the saints in a Palkhi from their home town to Pan-
dharpur was started by the youngest son of Tukaram Sri Narayan Maharaj in . Sant
Jnaneshwar s image is carried from landi, Sant Tukaram s from Dehu, Sant Eknath from Paithan,
Sant Nivruthinath s from Triambakeshwar, Sant Muktaba s from Edlabad and Sant Sopan s from
Sasvad. Let us pray and invoke all these Sants so that we too get litle hakthi towards Vitala, the
Lord of Pandharpur.
Summer is now over and the rainy season has started. Many people would have spent their summer
holidays in their native place spending time with their friends and relatives, few would have availed
the grand summer package ofered by travel agents to enjoy their dream destination. Whenever I
saw the advertisements by travel agents on the Dream Destination I used to ponder and
introspect which should be an ideal Dream Destination . n ideal dream destination should not
only relieve a person of all his current worries and problems but should wipe out completely and
should give him an everlasting peace. If you measure with such a yard stick none of the so called
dream destinations will qualify. If you analyze the root cause of the problem is not in the place we
select but lie within ourselves. The dream destination may give momentary relief to forget our
current worries, but once the tour is completed and when we are back in our routines the problems
emerge and we are back to square one.
One may ask what is the alternate way to ind an everlasting solution. We buy many electronic
appliances and gadgets and if it is not working what we do? We irst take out the User manual
which was given at the time of purchase and we try to ind a solution from it. If the problem
persists we then call the customer care to ind a solution isn t it? Similarly the answers to all our
problems are mentioned in the Manual given by the Lord which are present in our Vedas, Shastras
and Puranas. The Ramayana, Mahabharatha, Srimad hagavatham, and various life of Mahans car-
ry such instructions to all our problems. ut what we really do? We listen them for time pass and
we don t go in depth. ll our scriptures say the everlasting peace is within ourselves!. However
we search them everywhere except within ourselves. Wish to highlight here the story of Kasturi
Deer Musk Deer .
Page 3
EDITORIAL From Editors Desk
Once while roaming about and frolicking over hills and dales, the Kasturi Deer was suddenly aware
of an exquisitely beautiful scent, the like of which it had never known. The scent stirred the inner
depths of its soul so profoundly that it determined to ind the source. So keen was its longing that
notwithstanding the severity of cold or the intensity of scorching heat, by day as well as by night,
the deer carried on its desperate search for the source of the sweet scent. It knew no fear or
hesitation but undaunted, went on it elusive search, until at last, happening to lose its foothold on a
clif, it had a precipitous fall resulting in a fatal injury. While breathing its last, the deer found that
the scent that had ravished its heart and inspired all these eforts came from its own navel. This last
moment of the deer s life was its happiest and there was on its face inexpressible peace.
ll the spiritual sadhanas of the aspirant are like the eforts of the Kasturi Deer. The inal
fructiication of sadhana involves the termination of the ego of the aspirant. t that moment there is
the realisation that he himself has, in a sense, been the object of all his search and endeavour. ll
that he sufered and enjoyed, all risks and adventures, all his sacriices and desperate strivings were
intended for achieving true Self knowledge in which he loses his individuality.
hagavan Ramana Maharshi has said, Happiness is the very nature of the Self, happiness and the
Self are not diferent. There is no happiness in any objects of the world. We image through our
ignorance that we derive happiness from Objects. The truth about happiness and sufering, which
has been correctly determined by the wise, is this outwardness of the mind is sufering its
inwardness is happiness. Just as the pearl diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the botom of the
sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-atachment, dive with-
in oneself and obtain the Self Pearl - Who m I?
The Guru purnima is round the corner and Let us worship and invoke the blessings of all our Gurus
and let us dive deep within ourself and get the Pearl within.
I am sure all the articles in this issue will help us inding that Pearl.
Kindly read and share your valuable thoughts and feedback to us.
Humble Pranams
nand Vasudevan
Gurgaon/ th July
shadi Ekadasi / nusham
[email protected]
Page 4
Invocation on Lord Ganesha
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Invocation on Lord Ganesha
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Invocation on Lord Ganesha
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Page 7
Anugraha Bhashanam Value of Bhakthi
In the above verse occurring in Sivaananda Lahari, Siva is conceived of as having ive faces, four of
them looking at each of the four directions, east, south, west and north, and the other turning
upwards. The upturned faced is called Eesaanam, while other four faces are called Sadyajaatam,
Vaamadevam, ghoram, and Tatpurusham. Siva holds in his right hand a deer hence
Valam Kai Maan in Tamil, symbolic of the mind which is unsteady or restless. This aspect of the
mind is found referred to in the Gita in the words, chanchalam hi manah Krishna. The deer is also
by nature restless and timid and continuously turns its gaze hither and thither. ut when the
same deer is held in the hand of Siva, it gazes into His benevolent eyes, keeps its look steady there,
forgets its fear and remains motionless, with a feeling of security and happiness. Siva wears the hide
of an elephant and that of a tiger. In the atmosphere of peace and security that pervades in His
presence, all creatures remain motionless and blissful, their mind concentrated on Him and Him on-
ly. Where is fear, asks the great charya, when this ive faced Siva is in the cavity of my heart?
There is an interesting story about the manner in which Siva came to wear the hide of an elephant. It
is said some sages who believed that the observance of the rites prescribed in the Vedas is
everything and that there is no need to have devotion or bhakti to God, created an elephant by their
mantra power and set it to atack Siva, towards whom the wives of the sages were atracted, even as
Sri Krishna atracted towards himself the devotion of the Gopis. Isvara performed his Oordhva
Taandava, tossed the elephant about like a ball and ultimately tore it up and covered Himself with
its skin. On account of this dress, He came to be known as Krithivasah. The Vedas use the
expression, Krithivasahpinaakee in several places, mara Simha, a highly intellectual person,
though a Jain has done full justice to the Vedic names of God in his Sanskrit dictionary. When
enumerating the names of Siva, he has included the Vedic name, Krithivasah.
Page 8
Anugraha Bhashanam Acquisition of Jnana
There is a story about the meeting between Sri di Sankara and mara Simha. oth Jainism and
uddhism expounded only truths which are within the comprehension of the intellect. di Sankara
was able to convince mara Simha that the Ultimate Reality or Isvara Tatva, is something beyond
the reach of mere intellectual comprehension. mara Simha thereupon started consigning all his
writing to the lames. di Sankara rushed forward to prevent him doing so, but was in time only to
save mara Kosa, which has become a book of eternal value. The Gita also teaches us that the Vedas
and the rites enjoined therein are not the be all the end all of our spiritual quest, but that there is also
the Vedanta or the highest conception of the Supreme which transcends the intellect. It is up to us all
to develop Isvara-bhakti and derive happiness herein and hereafter. The description of Siva, the
Lord of the universe, in this verse, can also be applied to the lion, the Lord of the
jungle, Panchaasya or Panchamukha is one of the names for the lion, derived from the fact that its
head and mane together present a broad Pancha appearance in contrast to its wiry body. While
roaming about, the lion catches hold of deer with ease and also kills the elephant or tiger that crosses
its path. Its den is known as kuhara, and when it is prowling about, the other animals of the jungle
remain hidden and motionless.
cquisition of Jnana
ll of us should strive to acquire Jnana. It is only then that we shall be able to endure any kind of
sufering. No man can escape sufering in some form or other. Each of us has his or her share of
sufering. We may think that a wealthy person, or a highly placed in life, is free from cares and anxi-
eties, and, so thinking may covet that wealth or that status in the belief that we can thereby get rid of
our worries. ut if you ask those persons, they will unburden to you their tale of woes. In fact, every
man thinks that his sufering is the greatest, even as he thinks that he is the most handsome or the
most wise. No person dares to express the later two feelings openly but each person thinks that his
suferings are greater than the suferings of others and likes to parade them with a view to elicit-
ing sympathy from others. In a sense, sufering seems to be our birth-right. Sufering is the fruit of
our actions in previous births. So when we came into the world in the present birth, we came with
the seeds of sufering deeply implanted into our being. There is no escaping from sufering.
ut it is in us to blunt the edge of sufering. n idiot or a lunatic, a Jada an Unmata, does not
"sufer" as we do. He becomes impervious to sufering. ut when this man is cured of his idiocy or
lunacy, as the case may be, and he is normal like us, he becomes aware of sufering and begins to
sufer as we do. Sleep is the soothing balm for all sufering. We are oblivious to sufering in
dreamless sleep or Sushupti. The consciousness of sufering in waking life is negated in sleep. ut
we relapse into this consciousness when we wake up from sleep. The Jnani "sleeps to sufering"
even when he is awake. It is not that he does not sufer in body but it is that he does not sufer in
mind. heavy log of wood is not easily lifted or shifted it requires a number of hands to do so. If
the same log is immersed in water, it becomes light and even a child can move it without efort. Sim-
ilarly, if we learn to immerse our load of sufering in the water of Jnana, it will become ex-
tremely light and we can make light of our sufering.
Page 9
Anugraha Bhashanam Acquisition of Jnana
What is this Jnana that can lighten our sufering? It is knowing a thing as it really is. That is the quest of
all scientists, namely, to arrive at the core of the truth of things. nd we know that a scientist, engrossed
in his research, loses himself in his pursuit and is undisturbed by any diiculty or distress. The pursuit
of his research and the joy resulting from the knowledge he thereby acquires, far out weigh his personal
sufering, which becomes very nearly non-existent to him. We seek a Vaidya or a Mantravaadi to cure
our ills. ut whatever relief either can give will only be temporary. The remedy they prescribe will not
drive out sufering from our system root and branch. The Jnani, however, is able to get our suferings,
because he develops a sense of imperviousness to it. Time is a great healer. Thirty years hence, our
present woes, viewed in retrospect, will appear insigniicant. We are also not alicted by suferings of
people in a distant place, as we are by the suferings of people close to us. In the face of present and
proximate suferings also we must develop such a detachment. When a person who has acquired such a
detachment is commiserated with for any loss or bereavement he has sufered, his reaction to the ofer of
sympathy will be "It is not anything of much consequence. It came of its own accord and it went".
How much greater will be sense of equanimity in the face of sufering when absolute Jnana dawns in the
mind? To a Jnani there is no distinction such as friend or foe. He looks on all as the Paramatma. He
allows nothing to irritate him. He detaches himself from his environment. He is not alicted by sorrow
or elated by joy. Such a sense of indiference and equanimity can come only from the knowledge of the
Ultimate Truth. This knowledge must be acquired gradually by intense meditation or Tapas, as detailed
in the hrigu Valli of the Taitiriya Upanishad. sking the question what is the purpose and purport of
life kim samsare saaram , Sri Sankara hagavatpada answers, in his Prashnotharamaalika, that it is
intense meditation on this question itself ahavopi Vichintyamaanam Idam Eva . The Jnana that ensues
from such meditation alone will teach us to make light of our own suferings and also prompt us to go to
help of others in distress, as a mater of duty. Engaging oneself in the acts of public benevolence and
devotion to God produce Chita Suddhi, cleansing of heart, so necessary for meditation and Jnana. Such
service is not for show or fame but for chastening one's own mind. In fact, one ought not to expect grat-
itude for the service one renders. The ingratitude of the other person is a test of one's purity of motive
and constancy of service. Rarely does the beneiciary feel beneited by the help rendered to him. y such
service one does not help the other man so much as one helps oneself to have Chita Suddhi.
Page 10
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Page 14
ABHIVAADAYAE Sri Sarma Sastrigal
regular doubt expressed to me very often is why should we do abhivaadayae to
people who already know us? Is there any need for introduction? Good question.
The answer is simple. bhivaadayae is not a mere introduction. It is much more than
that. Chanting abhivaadayae and doing namaskara to elders gives us a great many
beneits. What are these? gotra is associated with every Maharishi. Pravaraa is
a rishi who has achieved eminence. Three such Pravaraas of a gotra are recalled by
the person belonging to that gotra and chanting abhivaadayae . He seeks blessings of
the three Maharishis. The names of the Rishis will change according to the gotra. The
chant of abhivaadayae also includes the sutra to which one belongs, and one gets the
opportunity to remember and chant the name of the great Maharishi who gave that
sutra.
bhivaadayae also contains the names of the traditional rishis of the particular vamsa
loosely dynasty and seeks their good wishes. The ashirwada blessing of the elder to
whom we chant abhivaadayae and do namaskara is the proverbial icing on the cake
and conirms the Maharishis good wishes. It is presumably for this reason that the
daily trikala Sandhyavandana requires abhivaadayae with the namaskara a few times. Maharishi
apasthambha has also referred to abhivaadayae in one place in the Vedas. bove all abhivaadayae is
the golden path set by our parents and their ancestors this should be good enough reason for us to
follow the beautiful practice. nd this is why it is painful to see many people not just youngsters but
even their parents mumble abhivaadayae incoherently without the names properly spelt out. This
needs correction. nd it s no rocket science chanting a phrase that takes less than a minute should be
easy.
bhivaadayae is the formal seeking of blessings of elders after doing the namaskara or salutation, citing
our pravaraa, gotra, sutra, Veda shakha and naama name . The chanting has to be audible to the person
who is ofered the namaskara. bhivaadayae is said with the respective palms covering the ears, and
after it is inished the person bends down bringing the palms together in the closed position and
touching the ground before the elder s feet or touching the elder s toes with the front ingers. In certain
traditions the palms are opened out and the left wrist placed over the right wrist while doing the inal
bowing. Related to this is the practice of namaskara itself. Prostrating before elders is questioned these
days and berated as a demeaning act. How absurd!
saashtaanga namaskara before elders is bound to give us great beneits and should be done in line
with the respective tradition by everyone. There is nothing here that compromises one s self-respect in
any way. The saashtaanga namaskara signiies surrender to God. It is referred to as dandam
pranamaet i.e. just as a stick will fall the moment the hand is removed, this body is standing, oh God,
only with your support . For women panchaanga namaskara is prescribed and they are
not supposed to do saashtanga namaskara. When doing namaskara to ladies
abhivaadayae is not to be chanted, except when it is your mother before whom you are
prostrating. Namaskara is not to be done to people who are lying down, or doing japa,
wearing damp clothes or are subject to aasaucha impurity on account of birth or death in
their family. Inside a temple namaskara can be only to God and not to any human beings.
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Page 19
STHOTHRA MALA Translation by Sri P.R. Ramachander
HGY SUKTHM
In the morning we make as our own haga, who is the son of dhithi and a great
supporter, nd therefore even the gods who appear to be great are making haga
their own.
Oh haga, cross our way, Oh haga who gives true gifts, continue giving your gifts,
Oh haga add cows and horses to our store, Oh haga bestow on us men and kings.
Make us one with wealth/luck and when light breaks and at noon,
nd even at sunset , let us be under the good grace of the gods.
Page 20
STHOTHRA MALA Translation by Sri P.R. Ramachander
Let haga be the one who gives me wealth / luck, and Oh Gods, make us lucky,
Oh haga we pray you with all our mind, that you haga be our leader here.
Let due to our worship at dawn, make them come to a pure place like Dadikravan,
Similar to strong horses leading the chariot , let haga turn towards us the essence of
riches.
Let the dawns be with us, always safely with horses, catle and heroes,
Milking the world with plenty and look after us , Oh God with blessings.
Page 21
Glorious Grihastas # 5 Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj # 3 Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman
Simplicity and humility are the keynotes of his life and teachings physically
and mentally he never took the higher seat the essence of being, on which he
talks, he sees in others as clearly as he sees it in himself. He admits that while
he is aware of it, others are not yet, but this diference is temporary and of litle
importance, except to the mind and its ever-changing content. When asked
about his Yoga, he says he has none to ofer, no system to propound, no
theology, cosmology, psychology or philosophy. He knows the real nature -
his own and his listeners - and he points it out. The listener cannot see it
because they cannot see the obvious, simply and directly. ll they know, they
know with their mind, stimulated with the senses. That the mind is a sense in
itself, they do not even suspect.
The natural Yoga of Maharaj, is disconcertingly simple - the mind, which is all-becoming,
must recognize and penetrate its own being, not as being this or that, here or there, then or
now, but just as timeless being. The most commonly used word and most pregnant with There is no
secrecy in it and
feelings and ideas is the word I . Mind tends to include in it anything and everything, the no dependence;
body as well as the bsolute. In practice it stands as a pointer to an experience which is no preparation is
direct, immediate and immensely signiicant. To be, and to know that one, is most im- required and no
portant. nd to be of interest, a thing must be related to one s conscious existence, which is initiation.
the focal point of every desire and fear. For, the ultimate aim of every desire is to enhance
and intensify this sense of existence, while all fear is, in its essence, the fear of self-
extinction. To delve into the sense of I - so real and vital - in order to reach its source is the core of his teach-
ings. Not being continuous, the sense of I must have a source from which it lows and to which it returns.
This timeless source of conscious being is what Maharaj calls the self-nature, self-being, swarupa.
s to the methods of realising one s supreme identity with self-being, Maharaj is peculiarly non-commital.
He says that each has his own way to reality, and that there can be no general rule. ut, for all the gateway to
reality, by whatever road one arrives to it, is the sense of I am . It is through grasping the full import of the I
am , and going beyond it to its source, that one can realise the supreme state, which is also the primordial and
the ultimate. The diference between the beginning and the end lies only in the mind. When the mind is dark
or turbulent, the source is not perceived. When it is clear and luminous, it becomes a faithful relection of the
source. The source is always the same - beyond darkness and light, beyond life and death, beyond the con-
scious and the unconscious.
This dwelling on the sense I am is the simple, easy and natural Yoga. There is no secrecy in it and no
dependence no preparation is required and no initiation. Whoever is puzzled by his very existence as a
conscious being and earnestly wants to ind his own source, can grasp the ever-present sense of I am and
dwell on it assiduously and patiently, till the clouds obscuring the mind dissolve and the heart of being is
seen in all its glory. This Yoga, when persevered in and brought to its fruition, results in one becoming
conscious and active in what one always was unconsciously and passively. There is no diference in kind -
only in manner - the diference between a lump of gold and a glorious ornament shaped out of it. Life
goes on, but it is spontaneous and free, meaningful and happy.
Page 22
Glorious Grihastas Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman
Maharaj most lucidly describes this natural, spontaneous state, but as the man born blind cannot visualize
light and colours, so is the unenlightened mind unable to give meaning to such descriptions. Expressions like
dispassionate happiness, afectionate detachment, timelessness and causelessness of things and being - they
all sound strange and cause no response. Intuitively we feel they have a deep meaning, and they even create
in us a strange longing for the inefable, a forerunner of things to come, but that is all. s Maharaj puts it
words are pointers, they show the direction but they will not come along with us. Truth is the fruit of earnest
action, words merely point the way.
When I met my Guru, he told me "You are not what you take yourself to be. Find out what you are. Watch
the sense 'I am', ind your real Self." I obeyed him, because I trusted him. I did as he told me. ll my spare
time I would spend looking at myself in silence. nd what a diference it made, and how soon! My teacher
told me to hold on to the sense 'I am' tenaciously and not to swerve from it even for a moment. I did my best
to follow his advice and in a comparatively short time I realized within myself the truth of his teaching. ll I
did was to remember his teaching, his face, his words constantly. This brought an end to the mind in
the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am -- unbound. I simply followed my teacher's instruction
which was to focus the mind on pure being 'I am', and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with noth-
ing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal
state. In it all disappeared -- myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained
and unfathomable silence.
Sri Nisargadata Maharaj was born on pril , , at break of dawn, the full moon of Chaitra, to
Shivrampant Kambli and Parvatibai, in ombay, as the second eldest of six children. The day was the birth-
day of Lord Hanuman, hence he was named 'Maruti', after Lord Hanuman himself. Though born in ombay,
Maruti Shivrampant Kambli was brought up in Kandalgaon, a small village in the Ratnagiri district of
Maharashtra State, because his father Shivrampant, who had been employed by a merchant in ombay, had
moved the family to the countryside in when a plague-epidemic broke out in the city. Here he grew up
amidst his family of six siblings, and deeply religious parents. His father, Shivrampant, worked as a domestic
servant in Mumbai and later became a pety farmer in Kandalgaon. In his youth, Maruti performed all the
forms of hard labor required by life on a farm. Though he received litle formal education, he was exposed to
spiritual ideas by quietly listening to and absorbing the conversations between his father Shivrampant and
the later's friend, Vishnu Haribhau Gore, a pious brahman.
In , after his father passed away, and in , Maruti moved to ombay to support his family, following
his elder brother. Initially he worked as a junior clerk at an oice but quickly he opened a small goods store,
mainly selling bidis hand-made cigaretes, and soon owned a string of eight retail shops. In he married
Sumatibai and they had three daughters and a son. In , he was introduced to his guru, Sri Sid-
dharameshwar Maharaj, the head of the Inchegeri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya, by Maruti's friend
Yashwantrao aagkar. Maruti was given with simple instructions which he followed verbatim. Following his
guru's instructions to concentrate on "I m", he utilized all his spare time looking at himself in silence, and
remained in that state for the coming years, practicing meditation and singing devotional bhajans.
Page 23
Glorious Grihastas Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman
Maharaj said "My Guru ordered me to atend to the sense 'I am' and to give
atention to nothing else. I just obeyed. I did not follow any particular course of
breathing, or meditation, or study of scriptures. Whatever happened, I would
turn away my atention from it and remain with the sense 'I am'. It may look
too simple, even crude. My only reason for doing it was that my Guru told
me so. Yet it worked!" fter an association of nearly two and a half years, Sri
Siddharameshwar Maharaj passed away on Nov , . Soon Maruti adopted
a new name, 'Nisargadata' meaning the one who dwells in the natural state.
He was also appointed as the spiritual head of the Inchegeri branch of Navnath
Sampradaya, the 'Nine Masters tradition, a place he retained through his life.
Vanmali havan, th Lane, Khetwadi, Mumbai, India - This was where Maharaj lived. The room where the
discourses were given was a loft above the family living area. small room around 'x '. One must climb a
narrow and steep staircase to get to it. Today some of his relatives live here. The popular landmark for the
building is a public toilet opposite to it. Maharaj lived as an ordinary man, and only a very few people in the
neighbourhood know that such a great sage lived here. y the later s, the Maharaj's traveling had large-
ly dropped of due to old age and illness, and throat cancer was diagnosed in . During the last years,
- , though his body was very weak, the talks were highly advanced. These were taped and later edit-
ed by Jean Dunn and published as three books. Sri Nisargadata Maharaj passed away on September
, at the age of .
The short sessions during the last days of Maharaj was recorded by his translator Mr Ramesh S.
alsekar. few excerpts are given below
Sunday, July
He started speaking, and his voice was surprisingly irm. What I want to tell you is astonishingly
simple - if only it would be apperceived. nd the amusing part of it is that it can be apperceived on-
ly if the 'listener' is totally absent!
Page 24
Glorious Grihastas Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman
Then, only apperceiving remains and you are that apperceiving. What happens is that the unmanifest
bsolute expresses itself in manifestation Manifestation takes place through millions of forms consciousness
functions through each form, the conduct and working of each form being, generally, according to the basic
nature of the category to which the form belongs whether it is a plant, or an insect, or a lion, or a man , and
particularly, according to the nature of the particular combination of the basic elements in each form.
No two human beings are alike the ingerprints of no two persons are exactly alike because the
permutations and combinations of the millions of shades of the eight aspects the ive basic elements and the
three Gunas result in billions and trillions of forms, the nature of no two forms being exactly alike. Millions
of such forms are constantly being created and destroyed in the process of manifestation. clear perception
of this process of manifestation comports the understanding
a that there is really no question of any identiication with any individual form because the very basis of this
manifestation-show is duration of each form and duration is a concept of time and
b that our true nature is the witnessing of this show. It goes without saying that the witnessing can take
place only so long as the show goes on, and the show can go on only so long as there is consciousness.
nd who is to understand all this? Consciousness, of course, trying to seek its source and not inding it,
because the seeker is the sought. pperceiving this truth is the inal and the only liberation and 'the joker
in the pack' is the fact that even 'liberation' is a concept! Now, go and ponder this.
fter speaking these few words Maharaj felt totally exhausted. He lay back in bed. In a feeble voice he added
What I have said this morning is all the Truth anyone need know.
Tuesday, July
group of three was visiting Maharaj for the irst time. lthough languishing in bed and extremely weak,
Maharaj asked the group if they had any questions. They had a brief talk amongst themselves and decided on
asking only one question "Maharaj, all three of us have done certain Sadhana for some time, but the progress
does not seem to be adequate. What should we do?" Maharaj said that the purpose of any efort is to get some
thing, some beneit which one does not possess. What is it that you are trying to achieve? The answer was
quick and positive We want to become like you - enlightened.
Maharaj laughed and sat up in bed. When he was made a litle more comfortable with a couple of pillows to
support his back, he continued This is where the misconception lies thinking that you are an entity who
must achieve something so that you can become like the entity that you think I am! This is the thought
which constitutes 'bondage', identiication with an entity - and nothing, absolutely nothing, other than
dis-identiication will bring about 'liberation'.
s I said, you see yourselves and me as entities, separate entities I see you exactly as I see myself. You are
what I am, but you have identiied yourself with what you think you are - an object - and seek liberation for
that object. Is this not a huge joke? Can any object have independent existence and volition of action? Can an
object be bound? nd liberated?
Page 25
Glorious Grihastas Sri Ramachandran Venkataraman
The questioner joined his hands in a Namaskar and most respectfully submited that what Maharaj had said
could not possibly be challenged as a theoretical ideal, but, surely, he said, even though people may be
ictitious entities, nothing more than mere appearances in consciousness, how are we to live in the world, un-
less we do accept the diferent entities as 'real' enough in life?
This discussion seemed to give an extraordinary zest to Maharaj, and the feebleness in his voice gradually
disappeared. He said You see how subtle this subject is. You have provided the answer in your own
question, but it has eluded you. What you have said in fact is that you know that the entity as such is totally
ictitious and has no independence of its own it is only a concept. ut this ictitious entity must live its
normal life. Where is the problem? Is it so very diicult to lead a normal life, knowing that living itself is a
concept? Have you got the point? Once you have seen the false as false, once you have seen the dual nature
of what you call 'life' - which is actually living - the rest should be simple as simple as an actor acting his
role with zest, knowing that it is only a role that he is playing in a play or a movie, and nothing more.
Recognizing this fact with conviction, apperceiving this position, is all the truth. The rest is play-acting.
Sunday, July
There was the usual Sunday morning crowd. The room was illed to capacity. Maharaj smiled and said that
inspite of knowing that he was not in a position to speak people continued to visit him. What did they expect
to get? With considerable efort, and support from his atendant devotee, he sat up. He looked around and
said that he was not able to recognize people, but if there were any questions, let them not be kept botled up.
Do try, however, he added, to keep in mind that at the intellectual level there could be no end to questions.
One visitor asked During the course of the search for one's true nature, the world without and the mind
within create numerous obstructions. Why? nd what should one do? Maharaj quickly answered Hang on
to the one who is searching. That is all you need do, and indeed, there is nothing else you could really do.
If you do this - i.e. never leaving the one-in-search to escape you - you will ultimately ind that the seeker
is none other than consciousness seeking its source, and that the seeker himself is both the seeking and
the sought, and that is you.
Tuesday, ugust
This morning Maharaj was too weak to speak. The suggestion that one of the recorded tapes of his talks be
played was approved by him. fter about twenty minutes of this, he asked that the tape be stopped. He sat
up in his bed with some diiculty, and whispered a message "Think on what you have heard just now -
what you heard and, ininitely more importantly, who heard it".
fter this brief whispered message words failed the Master. His throat got choked. He closed his eyes, his
frail physical resources grappling with an excruciating pain. nd we watched helplessly.
Source
www.nisargadata.org, www.nisargadata.net
[email protected]
Page 26
- - Part 10 B.
vvaiyar warns against being unfaithful to one s wife. The wife lives a devoted
life sharing the joys and sorrows of her husband and supports him during
good times and bad times. s years go by, she may lose her beauty and
become matronly. ut, her concern for the family will never diminish. Some
men let their minds wander and end up in great misery. Kovalan from
Silappadhikaaram paid with his life for deserting Kannagi for Madhavi. Some
women commit suicide, not being able to digest the betrayal of their husbands.
The husbands lead a life of constant misery after that. Though physical
atraction plays a vital role in marriages, they will last only for a few years. fter that, the responsibilities of
the family become more important. It is not only correct but also safe to be faithful to one s wife, as there is
the danger of the dreaded IDS, in extra marital afairs.
Men Makkal People with high thoughts and a righteous way of living Sol - words Kel listen
Life is full of ups and downs. In prosperity as well as adversity, we do not know how to proceed. When we
are not sure of our future action, it is always beter to be guided by some experienced person. That person
should have good thoughts and good values. Otherwise, his guidance may land us in greater trouble. Great
people will always give proper guidance and help us tide over our diiculties.
Mai Vizhiyaar women of loose morals Manai - house gal get away from
The term does not always have a disrespectable connotation. Here it refers to those who dec-
orate themselves to atract men. vvaiyar had given a positive advice earlier that one should be faithful to
one s wife. In this, the same idea is put as a negative command. Many good people have lost their wealth,
health and reputation because of their extra marital afairs. When one is young, wandering away from the
righteous path may not appear to be so wrong. ut once old age sets in, one will have to face the
consequences and land in misery.
Page 27
B.
. - Mozhivadhu ra Mozhi
Mozhivadhu Whatever you say ra with clarity without any ambiguity Mozhi talk
This seemingly simple skill is so rare among human beings. How many people begin their talk with
unnecessary words like, What I am trying to tell you is , What I meant was.. , I mean. . Some others
will always begin their sentences with , I think. . Some parents will shout at their children saying, Take a
book and read something. Don t waste your time. In the work place, the boss would say, You must improve.
This is not enough. In all these expressions, is any idea conveyed? It is just a strain on one s throat muscles.
Thiruvalluvar has said,
person who is talking unnecessary things should not be considered a decent human being. He is hollow
like the paddy that does not contain a grain.
What one talks should be sensible, clear, crisp and concise. There should be no ambiguity in our talk. Clear
talk is efective and saves time.
. - Mogathai Muni
Detest Lust.
Lust has been the root cause of great tragedies. Ravana s excessive desire for Sita burnt down the golden
Lanka. Many kingdoms have been destroyed because of one person s lust for someone. Lust need not
necessarily be for a man or a woman. It can be a passionate desire for wealth or power too. Whatever it is,
excessive desire is harmful. Moha is one of the six enemies of mankind.
. - Vallamai Pesel
If a person is great, it will be known to others. well-bred man will not like latery. Modesty was considered
a great virtue, once. One should always be careful not to become too proud of one s achievements. Even as a
devotee, one should be modest. That is why even after an elaborate puja, the last shloka ofers everything to
Narayana . lowing one s own trumpet is a detestable quality one should be ashamed of. ut, in the present
day scenario, one needs to tell people what he is capable of doing. His resume should project his personality
impressively. Even then, one should state a fact as a fact, without being proud about it. Pride goes before a
fall.
Page 28
B.
. - Vaadhu Murkoorel
Gossip is baseless. In tamil, it is called vadanthi . ctually, it is a Sanskrit word which means, they say . It
is so convenient to spread an information without giving credit to anyone. People would easily believe a
gossip, especially if it is negative. They will convince themselves saying that, if there is smoke, there should
be ire. ut this is a dangerous habit. Some people indulge in it without meaning any harm to anyone. ut
they do not realize that such gossips can lead to even suicides or murders. It is beter to mind one s business.
If it is a fact that should be known to people, it will come out, anyway. Why should we take the trouble to
spread it?
. - Vidhai Virumbu
is derived from the word vidya which means- education . One should never stop learning.
esides learning those skills that help us to earn a living, we should also learn certain other things that will
improve the quality of our life. Literature, art, music, dance etc., add colourful dimensions to our lives.
There is a famous saying that says a man without literature, music and art is like an animal without the tail
and the horns.
,
||
,
|| - hartruhari s Neeti shatakam
person who develops taste in these things, can think beter, talk beter and act beter. He will gain pop-
ularity and his life will be useful and wholesome. This is especially true during old age when passing time
and loneliness are the two major problems. One will never be lonely if one is surrounded by books, music
and art.
.
- Veedu Pera Nil
Page 29
B.
. - Uththamanaai Iru
This dictum conceals many conditions. There will be challenges, dilemmas and embarrassments in this life. It
is quite diicult to be good always. One should be careful not to be carried away by emotions or by the force
of the present. Decisions should be taken after proper analysis. One cannot please everyone. ut one can be
honest to oneself. Such people may not earn a lot of wealth but they will certainly have peace of mind. The
world will respect them.
Oorudan with the people in the society Koodi Vaazh live amicably
Yes. When you grow old and look back, what will you consider as your achievement? Property, bank
balance, social recognition and other things are important, without a doubt. ut, what makes one really hap-
py is the feeling that you can be happy amidst the people you are living with. Geting along with people is
quite diicult. t the same time, it is possible with a litle bit of adjustment. If we do not think we are al-
ways right and try to persuade others to accept our views, we will certainly have lots of friends. When you
like being in the society you are destined to be in, life become enjoyable. While vvaiyar has given a positive
advice in this dictum, she has given a forceful warning that if you are hostile towards your society, you will
perish totally. .
. - Vetena Pesel
One s tongue is one s best friend and one s worst enemy. While words can be soothing and work as salve,
they can be very hurting and cause permanent scars. The whole world respects those who are pleasing. It is
not so diicult to be pleasant. It requires patience. When we talk to children, don t we use a honeyed voice?
It comes automatically because we love children. s children grow, we become more unforgiving. Though
not easy, we should practice patience and be pleasing always. Thiruvalluvar says,
When one sees that pleasing words bring about positive results, why does he use harsh words at all?
Page 30
B.
Do not wantonly do harm to others. Though the word vinai generally means work , here it refers to
harmful deeds. The poet warns us not to harm others purposely. t times we end up causing harm to others
unknowingly, either out of ignorance or carelessness. That is wrong still can be forgiven. When we indulge
in something in spite of knowing that it is wrong, we commit an unforgivable crime. We cannot escape
punishment for this. Such acts may afect our children and will cause us untold misery. eing good to others
is not only easy but also safe.
Wake up early in the morning. Early morning is the best time in a day. Our mind is fresh and clear at that
time. Whether we wish to meditate or study for the examinations we can do it with total concentration.
There is a lot of time for physical exercise and planning when we get up early. The beauty of the early
morning, the chirping of birds, the cool breeze and the clear sky ill our mind with inexplicable peace. When
we get into the habit of waking up early, we will be forced to sleep early. That is the secret of good health.
Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
. - Onnaarai Therel
Do not trust your enemies. person becomes our enemy because of what we said or did. We might not have
done it intentionally. ut the other person would have felt hurt. He will only be waiting for an opportunity to
take revenge. If it is not possible to do so directly, he will do it indirectly. Haven t we heard of Shakuni, who
stayed with the Kauravas and totally wiped out their family, in spite of pretending to be their well-wisher?
Such people are known as pleasing enemies- . Iago in Shakespeare s Othello , did the same. It is
beter to avoid making enemies. If someone becomes our enemy, it is beter to be wary of him/her always.
. Oram Sollael
Do not be partial. eing unbiased is a great virtue. It is very wrong to take sides. We have seen many false
cases based on false evidences. People of our generation will think that it is morally wrong. ut in vvaiyar s
times, it was considered a positive sin. vvaiyar, in one of her vehemently strong quatrains, has
said that all bad things will happen to the person who gives false evidence in the court. Her list
is long and frightening. She says, ;
. Vedhalam will go to their house, white erukku lowers will
blossom there, Moodevi will reside permanently and snakes will start living there.
Concluded [email protected]
Page 31
()
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Page 32
Part 1 Smt Shantha Rajan
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Page 33
Part 1 Smt Shantha Rajan
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Page 34
Part 1 Smt Shantha Rajan
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Page 35
Smt Renuka Sury
POEM - YOU ARE THAT
Life is a rainbow.
It passes.
Page 36
Awareness to Self Awareness Sri G. Sivaswamy
I chose this topic purposely because today India not only needs to
promote awareness among its people in order to improve living and
working conditions but also to utilize full human resource potential
through self-awareness individually. First of all let us try to understand
what is generally meant by awareness . It is understood as conscious of
or knowledge of a particular thing or being, anything that is related to
life and living. It is the most important functional knowledge a person has
to make life successful. If we are launching any programme or activity
for beterment of the general public or say for public good, irst thing is to
create awareness among the target group and slowly build belief and
awareness in them for their own beneit and for the beneit of the society
or nation as a whole. For example Swatch harat is the goal or ideal
and it can succeed only if enough awareness is created involving all sorts of people in its working or
implementation it is public participation that will achieve the goal.
I had experienced creating and building awareness while working for the Literacy Mission
The hagavad Gita
in New Delhi in the s and s of last century as Editor of the monthly periodical of the
recommends
Ministry of Human Resource Development titled also Literacy Mission . India was lagging
renunciation,
behind in Literacy having major population as illiterate. Innovative measures were needed
selless service and
to make common people aware of the value of education and make them send their children
meditation to cross
to schools instead of using them as labour etc. There were several allied beneits in the na-
tionwide literacy movement as literacy was not considered as merely knowledge of the the boundaries of
three R s reading, writing and arithmetic, it was more than that. It enabled the learner to thought and action
achieve self-reliance and participation in the process of development for improving his/her and become fully
economic status and general well-being. Gandhiji had said mass illiteracy was India s sin aware of the self in
and shame and must be liquidated literacy was essential for social change and the Tryst us...
with Destiny of which Jawaharlal spoke to be achieved. We realized that knowledge is
essential in order to make Satyameva Jayate make Truth victorious . So our Slogan was wake, rise and stop
not till the Goal is reached . We chose a missionary mode deliberately because everyone could contribute like
Each One Teach One etc. ll this is part of history now. I mentioned only to emphasize the awareness part in
it.
Whether it is business houses or government departments, awareness is a must for successfully carrying out the
programme or activity. It is also true Media plays a crucial role in building awareness even from the stage of
creating it and mritha Varshini is doing yeoman s service in disseminating knowledge and creating awareness
and building it up for purposeful ends any involvement in such activities brings lot of joy and satisfaction. If
awareness is that important to humanity, the next step that of self-awareness adds to the strength and
conviction and speed-up the process of achievement of the goal. So it is but necessary to understand what is
actually meant by self-awareness ? There are diferent deinitions about it both in the East and the West.
Nonetheless, it has been, I mean self-awareness most fundamental issue in psychology, both developmental and
evolutionary issues. In India all the Upanishads and the hagavad Gita, Yogavashista, Manu Smriti etc. talk very
high of it and it is the way to know Reality or Truth itself.
Let us see how people over the ages have looked at it Some writers and philosophers in the West have termed it
as the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the envi-
ronment and other individuals. It is not to be confused with consciousness. While consciousness is being
aware of one s environment and body and life style, self-awareness is the recognition of that consciousness.
Page 37
Awareness to Self Awareness Sri G. Sivaswamy
The Upanishads, on the other hand, airm the reality of a Supreme rahman, one without a second, without
atributes and determinations, who is identical with the deepest self of man. It is through spiritual experience
one comes to know the Reality. hagavad Gita Chapter II is fully devoted to the self or soul in man and how
it is identical to the Supreme rahman. East or West, individuals become conscious of their selves through
development of self-awareness for which a large number of ways have been prescribed both in the religions
and otherwise. Lack of self-awareness can cause problems such as health, education and what not? Of
course no one is perfect there can be laws, but knowledge can light-up the deiciencies and really speaking
knowledge is winning half the batle.
Self-awareness gives you the ability to be open, thoughtful, aware of how you impact others. It is because you
will have a clear perception of your personality including its strengths and weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs,
motivation and emotions. It allows you to understand other people. s to how to improve self-awareness
there can be a long list of Do s and Don ts but divine love, light instead of darkness, grace, puriication of
body and mind and surrender to the God s Will or General Will, Natural Will etc. Coming to Indian way of
building-up the process of self-awareness from childhood onwards, I must say the prescriptions for
rahmacharis after Upanayana, that of Trikala Sandyavandanam including Pranayama, Gayatri Japa with
Gnana Mudra, and allied daily rituals and prayers to lmighty etc. have been conceived by our great Rishis
to help the seeker to have pinpointed mind without vasanas and conservation of energy which alone can
ensure success in this mission. Even as a Grihasta the process of self-awareness is only strengthened and the
next two shramas that of Vanaprasta and Sanyasa carry forward the process to desired fulillment. No other
religion has such clear conceptions or practical methodology in this regard. I wonder why we are averse to
following these time-tested ways of living which is purely speaking the life of a universal being in substance
and practice. Every day if you think and worship as a universal being, you will inally become that and your
self will achieve its goal of life.
When we focus our atention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our behavior to our internal standards
and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluation of ourselves brings to light various emotional
states geting intensiied by self-awareness. It is in one s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of
action required to manage prospective situation. wareness and desire, irst two steps to success, are helpful
in all aspects of life. The hagavad Gita recommends renunciation, selless service and meditation to cross
the boundaries of thought and action and become fully aware of the self in us. Yoga or skill in action is the
secret of success. Gita warns that humanity does not take heed of the fact that which is known as reality in
one s life is impermanent, unreal and source of sufering the need is to know the Reality about your own self
Who are You? What you are? Senses responsible for desires cultivate uddhi know nature of action and
inaction know Supreme Self and develop Satva Guna in all maters. One of the most important thing of
self concept is that it is central in everyone of us it is not something that we are actually aware of every
moment of our life. Instead self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of life. One philosopher is of the
view that confusion means zero-self awareness diferentiation marks beginning of self-awareness
identiication of environment and performance is close to self-consciousness and practicing self-conscious
ways of living leads to self-awareness and self-realization. In India we consider
tmabhava as self-awareness proper, the inner sense of beings. ut western science is yet
to accept the conception of soul with a body and its punarjanma to complete the cycle of
karmabhala, but almost all religions in the world talk of tman in one way or other consti-
tuting the real essence behind human body and its desire to merge with the Cosmic Soul
the liberation from the birth-death sequences or Moksha, state of eternal and immortal.
[email protected] Page 38
# 3 Sri J.K. SIVAN
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Page 39
# 3 Sri J.K. SIVAN
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Page 41
SANAT SUJATIYA - Part Two Sri P.R. Kannan
GURU
Parents give birth to the physical body. ut the life one gets
from charya is true and immortal. Referring to the
disciple s duties in the Gurukula, Sanatsujata states that the
disciple should ever remain vigilant, , respectful to
the Guru and engaged in the three means of Gnana yoga -
listening, cogitating, contemplation, .
rahmacharya is indeed the discipline observed by the
disciple. It consists of four parts purity and observing the
rules of a disciple treating Guru s wife and son with the
same reverence as the Guru being happy in thinking of Guru
with gratitude for having been blessed with a new mode of
life centered in Sachidananda pleasing the Guru always by
thought, word and deed, even by sacriicing his life or
wealth. The aspirant gets one quarter of rahma Vidya by living with his Guru, one quarter by study and
discussion of Sastras along with co-disciples, one quarter by his own enthusiasm and application and one
quarter in time with due maturity. The twelve great vows Gnana etc. mentioned earlier can be made to
lourish and be rewarding, only when one lives with the Guru. rahmacharya becomes fruitful with the
atainment of the knowledge of rahman.
Even if one gets
RHMN
a thousand
The concept of rahman has no analogy in the world. rahman, being all-pervasive, is not wings and lies
an object to be seen with any form anywhere. It is realized in the Self of the spiritual seeker, with the speed
who follows the twelve great vows Gnana etc. mentioned earlier. rahman cannot be of the mind, one
negated. It is beyond all darkness of ignorance. It is pure great efulgence. The world is con- will not reach
tained in rahman as light and is illumined by it. It is the support of all beings. ll beings the end of the
are born of it and merge in it when they die. It is subtler than the subtlest and greater than ultimate cause
the great mountains. The knower of rahman realizes him through Gnana yoga. ll causes of the universe.
and efects are nothing but rahman. It is not dependent on anything outside of itself.
-
-
(:)
The wise ones say that from Paramatma, who is Purna whole , comes Jivatma, who is also Purna. From Pur-
na, Purna is taken out and what remains is again Purna. Yogis alone see the eternal Lord.
--
- - - (:)
He is eternal. His actions never fail to bear fruit. The three worlds are his chariot. The body of the wise man
is like the wheel of the chariot of rahman. One, who holds on to this wheel i.e. the body , reaches that eful-
gent eing, who is free from old age and death. The sense organs, which can be compared to the horses of the
chariot, take him, the wise one, to the world of Light .
Page 42
SANAT SUJATIYA Sri P.R. Kannan
That eing, who is the Indweller, has the Linga Sarira subtle body as the upaadhi atribute . With this Lin-
ga Sarira as upaadhi he transmigrates endlessly. He, the Primeval eing, enters every being as Jiva and fash-
ions it after Himself.
The inner Self, of the size of one s thumb, is not seen in his pure form, Sachidananda. He resides in the region
of the heart. The fool, who restlessly goes around in the well of samsara, does not realise the tma in his own
body. Without realising his essential nature he enjoys sense objects. Such a one is
verily an ass . The tma is common to both who practise spiritual disciplines and those who do not. This
tma is the same in both Liberation and bondage. ut those, who practise spiritual disciplines, atain the
source of liss, rahman. Even if one gets a thousand wings and lies with the speed of the mind, one will
not reach the end of the ultimate cause of the universe. Here Sanatsujata sounds a clear warning of the
inability of modern scientiic tools to ind God.
In a thrilling inale to his discourse, Sanatsujata speaks in the role of rahman himself, very much in the
manner of Vamadeva and Vagambhruni. Sage Vamadeva, while still in his mother s womb, declared Even
while lying in the womb, I came to know of the birth of all the gods. hundred iron citadels held me down.
Then, like a hawk, I forced my way through by dint of knowledge of the Self. itareya Upanishad II. . .
Vagambhruni, the female rahmarishi, airmed in Devi Suktam I reside in Rudras and Vasus as their
tma. I am worshipped by Devas as well as humans. The one whom I choose, him I make the most excellent
I make him rahma, Rishi or a wise man. t the time the worlds are created, I, on my own, move about like
wind. I am beyond the skies and this earth. I am in glory as the tma of all worlds.
Sanatsujata says to Dhritarashtra in similar Sarvatmabhava, feeling of oneness with all existence I am your
father and mother. gain I am your son. I am the Self of all that exists and exists not. O harata, I am the old
grandsire, father and son. You are all mine as Self. gain you are not mine, nor am I yours. s in hagavad
Gita, as Self it is all one but absence of atachment in the relative plane negates this oneness. The tma is my
support, my source. I am established in my own glory, which is birthless and deathless. I am the warp and
the woof of the world. I am always active with unwinking eyes. Knowing me, the wise remain blissful. The
wise know me, the father of all beings, as residing in the lotus of their hearts.
It is noteworthy that though he was a Trikalagnani knower of the three time frames - past, present and fu-
ture and knew the nature of Dhritarashtra very well, Sanatkumara did not consider it a wasted efort to teach
him the highest rahmavidya. He answered all his deep, spiritual questions patiently and pertinently. fter
listening to this nectarine teaching of the loftiest dvaita Vedanta, Dhritarashtra did not even walk the path
of ordinary dharma. Owing to his Putramoha deluded atachment to his son , he did not even atempt to
stop Duryodhana and his coterie from ill-treating and even trying to imprison Sri Krishna, the ambassador of
Pandavas, later in the royal assembly hall.
Though this is the story of the vast majority of mortals on earth, it should not dissuade us from making
atempts, howsoever feeble, to follow the path of viveka, discrimination and vairagya, dispassion.
Page 43
YAKSHA PRASHNA The Heritage Quiz Sri S.K. Ramanathan
. Who are the parents of Sri Sadashiva rahmendra? What was his birth name
and why was he so called?
. What was the turning point in his life?
. Who was his guru?
. s per whose orders he remained silent?
. What is the insignia or Mudra of his Keerthanas?
. He wrote his last message through which Keerthana ?
. He has authored a number of books. Please share few of them.
. He has composed several Krithis. Please share some of the famous Krithis.
. Shri sacchidananda Shivabhinava Nrusimha harati of Sringeri Sarada
Peetam had composed two slokas in praise of Sri rahmendra. What are they?
. Two prominent saints were his classmates in the Veda school. Who were they?
. Where is His dhishtanam located and When is his aradhana being
observed?
Winner of Quiz # 31
[email protected] Page 44
Sri P.K. Venkatachalam
The Path of Sri Ramana - Ramana Vazhi By Swami Sadhu Om - Part # 9
The Method of doing atma Vichaara Part
The Process When a Sadhak starts Self Enquiry, the I energy that is in the nerves which
identiies the Munnilai Padaikkaikal, gets converted into Self Enquiry energy and in this process it
gets churned and tries to rush to rain and from there to its origin - the Heart. This movement in
the nerves will cause a sort of heat & vibration. In Raja Yoga, this is being achieved by Pranayama
where the Prana is held in Kumbakam for a long time. This is a rough way and may cause nerve
and body ailments and make the process very diicult. This will not suit elders, those who have
ailments etc. On the contrary the Self Enquiry method is a soft process by which we are guiding the
energy towards the SELF instead of compelling it through a rough process. Witingly hagawan has
equated these two processes like this. The Raja Yoga method is like beating a cow, which is running
away, tying it and pulling it and bringing to the stable and tieing it on the pole, whereas Self
Enquiry process is like showing it the grass and making it come of its own behind us and when it
comes to the stable, tie it to the pole. When we try to recall the I energy which has spread from
the heart to all the nerves back to the heart itself, the path of experience through which the energy
travels is called Sushumna Naadi.
Page 45
Sri P.K. Venkatachalam
The Path of Sri Ramana - Ramana Vazhi By Swami Sadhu Om
This path is from the back seat to the top of the head Moolaadharam to Sahasraaram , In this pro-
cess sometimes someone may get some special powers, visions, light etc. because though the ener-
gy lows through sushumna nadi, it makes the Five Indriyaas shine with energy. In this Self En-
quiry process the Mind becomes very subtle and pure without desires on sense objects and due to
earlier subha karma vaasanaas, it gives through sense organs some experiences through sound,
igure, taste, smell, touch etc. These are all hindrances on the way as they are mental distractions in
Self Enquiry, pulling the Sadhak to the world of Desires. This shows that the Sadhak has lost
control.
When an iron piece covered with dust covering is placed in front of a magnet, it does not get pulled
by the magnet because of its coverings. Once the coverings go away, the iron piece gets pulled
towards the magnet. That does not mean that earlier the magnet did not work. It is the coverings on
the iron piece that came as a hindrance for the pulling and the magnet has always the pulling pow-
er. Similarly, when the Mind is pure without any blemish of sense objects and vaasanaas, then the
tma Sakthi in the Heart, having the power to pull the mind, pulls the pure Mind towards it and the
Mind loses its status and gets merged in the heart. Therefore, till the Mind is fully pulled to-
wards the Heart, we should continue our process with the question to whom these experiences
are? . This is the process to remove the blemishes fully in the Mind and make it pure and atain
Sahaja Samaadhi, where we will stay forever. Till then, we will be in a conscious dream state
atached to a false body and atracted by all these visions, powers etc. The state, where SELF
CONSCIOUSNESS alone exists, without the experience of things other than us, is the real PURE
CONSCIOUS state.
True Existence
For the sake of those who consider the three states as real and function, Saastraas say that there is a
Thuriya vastha. In fact when the three states are non-existent, what is existing is the Fullness,
which is not an vastha Status . This fullness state is vastha theetham eyond any status . In
an open space, where there is no boundary, we build a house with three rooms with walls. These
three rooms are like Jagrat, Swapna, Sushupthi. The limitless open space is now limited by the
walls. Once we remove all the walls, we again experience the limitless open space, which was
already there prior to building the house. Thus, the open space is the Real existence and the house
with three rooms is the limitations built by us. y pulling out the house, we are not geting to a
fourth status, but we stay in the original status that was existing prior to making the building. Sim-
ilarly, by SELF ENQUIRY, we are not geting into a new status but remain in the original Real status,
which is our TRUE EXISTENCE.
Thus we can safely conclude that Self Enquiry through WHO M I method will
take us easily to the True Existence which is atribute less, pure, true,
knowledge and LISS.
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Sangeeta Sudha Sri Dasu Damodara Rao
Deva Deva Kalayaami Te Raga - Mayamalavagowla Sri Swati Thirunal
Pallavi
Anupallavi
Oh Lord of Lakshmi, you are the Lord of all the three "lokas". Please dispel my
worldly afflictions.
Charanam-1
Supreme Yogis sing your glory. Listening to your holy stories obliterates our worst sins. You fulfill wishes of
devotees. Your glances bestow prosperity.
Charanam-2
You skillfully rescued Gajendra from unbearable suffering. Devendra and other Devatas adore your holy feet.
You are bestower of auspiciousness. You are extremely pleased with lotus born Brahma the consort of Bharati
who chants your praise.
Charanam-3
Your costume shines like gold. You dispel sins of my previous births compassionately. You are annihilator of
demon clan. You are the benefactor of desolate. You protect the devotees who take refuge in
you. Oh Lord Padmanabha, please protect me.
Here is the link to hear the song sung by Sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiW8-9Gfw7w
Page 47
Maneesha Panchakam Part # 1 Commentary - Sri O.V. Srinivasan
Preamble
We had the opportunity to delve into tma
odham. It is only apt that mritha Varshini is now
taking up Maneesha Panchakam. y deinition
mritha Varshini means showering amrita or
deathlessness. tma odham in essence said the
world is imaginary and only rahman is real.
Jagan mithya rahma satyam. rahman is
omniscient, omnipresent, all powerful and eternal.
Thus if one realises that the world and all that is
perceived by the perishable senses, are mere appearances only and hence should be discarded and
that rahman pervades everything and also at all times, one becomes that rahman and there
remains Sat Chit nanda, or eternal bliss. This stage is to be experienced or rather one becomes
THT. This cannot be explained in words, as words are inadequate to do so. How does one explain
the position of a person who was dreaming, probably of a tiger chasing him, and suddenly wakes
up to ind himself reclining on a sofa in his drawing room, after having fallen asleep, after a good
feast!
Adisankara
Having understood the basic truth rahma satyam Jagan mithya, one now goes understands that the
into Maneesha Panchakam. In just slokas Sri di Sankaracharya expounds the couple in front of
essence of the Vedas and the mahavakyas ensconced in them. Sankaracharya says him are none other
that this world is a stage and it is all HIS drama and this is brought out eloquently than Viswanatha
and his consort...
in his work called Sivananda Lahari.
You have created this world as your playground for your leela or play and in this play we are all
pawns. Whatever is done by me is only to please you and hence my protection by you is your
responsibility.
Once when Sankaracharya goes for a bath at noon to Ganges in Kasi, prior to anushtanam, he comes
across a Chandala, person of low birth, with spouse and four dogs in tow. Sankaracharya, as per the
norms in those days, tells him to make way. The chandala then asks poignant questions. From the
questions itself Sankaracharya understands that the couple in front of him are none other than
Viswanatha and HIS consort. Thus this play is a drama enacted by Lord Viswanatha as chandala
and Sankaracharya as Sanyasi so that the essence of Vedas are brought forth for the beneit of
mankind. In fact Sankaracharya Himself is an avatara of Siva, and we see Siva in a double role.
Page 48
Maneesha Panchakam Part # 1 Commentary - Sri O.V. Srinivasan
Once when acharya was walking in sacred Kasi, which is capable of delivering one from this
samsara , Viswanatha along with HIS consort Gowri came in the way as a chandala, the last caste .
Seeing HIM the acharya said go away go away!
Chandala asks the seer, Oh learned sanyasi! re you asking this material body to go away from that
material body or are you saying the spirit or internal energies should go apart!
pot or a planter is made from mud. So also the bangle or necklace is made from gold. Thus what is
the diference between them? They are both of the same material. So also are my body and your
body, made of annam. Further, both the bodies are inert and also are perishable. Thus there is no
diference. Then why should you diferentiate them and ask them to remain apart? ll right, if you
are saying that the internal potency of this body, should go away from your internal energy, that is
also not possible as rahman in me and the one in you, is one and the same and pervades all over.
Thus how can the same rahman be away from itself? It is the same rahman which is there inside
and outside and is enveloped by the ive sheaths. Thus how can there be one rahman that is the
one that moves away and another rahman the cause of this action of movement. How can water
move in sea, as the sea is all water itself?
Page 49
Maneesha Panchakam Part # 1 Commentary - Sri O.V. Srinivasan
Oh Great soul! The innate essence of all of us is the steady wave free ocean of bliss is well known to
you. Why then this delusory diferentiation as twice born and dog eater?
The sky jewel Sun falls on Ganges water and also the cesspool of a slum. Is there any diference in
the relection? Is there any diference in the space inside a golden pot and an earthen pot? They
appear diferent due to the covering, where as in reality they are one.
When rahman pervades everything how can one part of it be diferent from another? How can one
part of an ocean be sweet and another salty?
It is the same Sun that is seen as a relection when a handful of water is sprinkled on a smooth dark
surface. There appear several Suns, but are they not the relection from the same Sun. The Sun is just
a witness and is totally unafected by what is around it. The moon shines all over and its rays fall
equally on a mansion, hut or a thorn bush. It does not discriminate at all. It is the same chandrikai.
The space inside a golden pot and a mud pot appear diferent and if the pot is destroyed they
become one with the space all over. It is the same space which existed all over but appeared
diferent as they were in diferent pots, or coverings.
The slokas will be taken one by one from the next issue.
[email protected] Page 50
Introspection at Guruvayoor Sri V.S. Krishnan
s usual, the queue at Sri Krishna temple
at Guruvayoor was long. I took my
position at the tail end, wondering how to
cope up with the two hours that would
take to get the Darshan of the Lord. I then
remembered the Satsang I atended and
the words spoken by the saint there.
While the time you spend at home and at
workplace should be used for the
development of your environment, the
time you get while you are alone should
be utilised for your own development.
The best way you manage your time is by
being with you for as long as possible and by being in the world around you as less as possible. The
best time you have is to be with yourself. The state where you remain in communication with
yourself, where the atention is focused not on the seen and not on the seer is described in various
terms like Yoga, contemplation, meditation, introspection or self-enquiry. So, start discovering your-
self and go deep within, whenever you are travelling or standing in a queue", the saint had said.
I thought this queue at Guruvayoor was exactly meant for that. It gave me an
opportunity to turn my mind away from the surroundings and concentrate on
more serious questions. What is the purpose of my visit to this temple? What is ..it gave me an
opportunity to
my ultimate aspiration and what should I pray Lord Guruvayurappa? Should I turn my mind
pray for power, position or possessions? No, they would not last for ever. Should away from
I pray for good health? Good health is very essential. However, one day, some- surroundings and
time in future, death would come and snatch away my good health. Should I pray concentrate on
more serious
for a happy family? That will bind me to a limited circle of atachment and questions...
bondage. In short, whatever that I gain from this world would pass away because
this world itself is unreal. It is a world of Maya and illusion. Just as I see passing
dream images during sleep, I see the passing world images in the waking state. Therefore, that
which I pray and aspire for should be something real, something ever-lasting and something eternal.
In order to reach this state of eternal happiness, I should irst liberate myself from this world of
atachments, atleast mentally. Therefore, I get a clear vision now that what I should aim at my
highest end is liberation Mukti . My thoughts went on these lines.
The person behind me was pushing me forward. I moved forward along with others and reached
the entrance of the temple. Having got a clear vision that liberation from the world of illusion
should be my ultimate destination, I turned my atention to the question how could I atain that
objective? Liberation Mukti is a state where Jivatma becomes free from all worldly atachments
and realizes that he is rahman himself. Once this realisation is made, he reaches the state of
one-ness with Paramatman, the eternal reality, liberated even while living.
Page 51
Introspection at Guruvayur Sri V.S. Krishnan
My thoughts were suddenly disturbed when the gentleman behind me asked questions about
festivals in Guruvayur. I said there are three main festivals Guruvayur Ekadasi, shtami Rohini
and Vishu. Though every day Guruvayur wears a festival look, these three days, the gaiety and
festivity at Guruvayur reach all time height. s the gentleman was happy with my answer, I went
back to the line of my own thought. Now I came to the basic question 'how to atain Self-
Realisation'? tma odha . Here, hagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi's words came to my mind. He
said "Self-Realisation is not something to be atained. One need not make much efort towards Self
-realization because realization is already there. No efort is needed to be what you are . No efort
is needed to know one s own essential nature. Nitya Swarupa . ssuming that one is to realize
afresh, it implies that realization was not there before and it came subsequently. nything that
comes and goes is unreal. There is no time when one does not exist as truly as he is. The Self
tman is the ever existing reality Satya , non-dual dwiteeyam , ininite nanta , pure Sudha
and ever revealing itself Nitya Chaitanya .
"Then why I do not experience it? Why I seem to be geting atracted to the world around? Why the
Self knowledge is evading me"? So long I continue to forget my true and natural state and allow my
ego to prevail, I would conine myself within the concepts like 'I' 'and 'mine', 'likes' and 'dislikes',
'atachment and aversions' and bound by the chains of Samsara. When I come out of the limited
circle of 'my possession' and atain the state of truth-consciousness-bliss, I get liberated.
The queue was moving gradually forward. I have now reached almost the main gate to the temple.
Utering the names of Narayana, I pondered over the third question why I am here for ? "Should I
ask for Lord's grace"? Would I get the grace of Lord Guruvayurappa only when I stand before him?
"No". Lord Guruvayurappa is full of grace. He graces everyone who thinks of him. He graces those
who cherish the thoughts of Guruvayurappa deep in their heart. "He does not reside in Vrindavan.
He does not reside in the company of Gopikas. Other than temples and gardens, he resides in the
heart of devotees who sing his glory" "Na Ham Vasami Vaikunte
I never knew that I have almost reached the inner premises of the temple. In few seconds, I would
be standing right in front of the deity of Lord Guruvayurappa. Now I realise that I have nothing to
ask of him. tlast, when I stood right before him, I admired his beauty and quickly passed on so
that other devotees also can have the divine experience.
s I came out of the temple, after worship, I realized that the long hours I stood in the queue
contemplating on the teachings of Krishna were more rewarding than the few moments I stood in
front of the idol of Krishna. I realized that when the wrong notion of I or ego goes, the Lord
Guruvayoorappa takes a permanent place in the heart and the devotee can experience His presence
without necessarily going to Guruvayoor.
[email protected] Page 52
Lord Subrahmanya God of Knowledge [Part One] Sri O.N. Ravi
Lord Karthikeya Karthik , or Subrahmanya or Visakha or Muruga
or Shanmukha, son of Lord Shiva, is considered as the quintessence
of highest knowledge or Gnana. Lord Karthik, the younger son of
Siva and Parvati, is worshipped as the presiding deity of Dravidians
from time immemorial. The word Murugu, in Tamil means
beauty and as such He is the embodiment of the beauty itself and
hence Muruga. While Siva, Parvati or Devi and their elder son Lord
Ganesha are worshipped more or less throughout north and south,
the younger scion of Siva family is much adored and worshipped
mostly in Southern part of Indian peninsula. Lord Muruga and Tam-
il language are inseparable as He imparted this ancient language to
Sage gasthya. The Lord Himself adorned the irst Tamil Sangam,
the venerated assembly of scholars of this very old language, that
existed in the city of Madurai in the ancient times.
It is well known that Sage Vyasa had composed puranas. Of these, the
Skanda Purana is believed to be the longest one containing more than one
lakh shlokas or verses. This purana contains a number of divisions such as Lord Subrahmanya,
Sanatkumara Samhita, Siva Rahasya, Suta Samhita, Vaishnava Samhita, rah- as Supreme
ma Samhita, Sankara Samhita and Saura Samhita. Of these, it is the Sanka- lmighty is the sole
ra Samhita that deals with birth, deeds, the greatness of Lord Subrahman- owner of this
ya. s per this Purana, He is said to have been born out of six iery rays of Universe and Jivas
ire that emanated from the third eye of Lord Shiva. Hence, He is called present in all beings..
Skanda . The root word skand means to come out . s He came out of
those ire sparks that emanated from the third eye of the Lord, He is
Skanda . Though He is born as yonija , meaning not born from the womb of a woman, He still
represents the quintessence of both Lord Siva and Devi Sakthi. Lord Siva represents Sath the
eternal truth or mater and Devi represents Chit and Lord Skanda who came out of this
combination of Sath and Chit, is the ananth eternal joy , thus becoming Sachitananda .
Though He emerged out of Lord Shiva s third eye, still He is son of Lord Shiva and Devi. fter De-
vi Parvati, through intense penance, atained the left side of Lord Shiva, the Lord became
rdhanaareeswara Half Male and Half Female . It denotes that Formless rahman takes the
Form when the innate Mater Shivam is activised by its self created energy Devi . So Lord Skanda
is the real and pure Love that springs forth from Sivam and Sakti. Lord Skanda is also called
Subrahmanya. Su in Sanskrit means excellence and rahman means Supreme eing. Hence, it
means that one who emanated from the Supreme Reality. He is the all pervading, ever present,
immaculate and matchless Self permeating the entire Universe and as Jiva in all beings. Lord Skan-
da, is protector of Yagnas. There are references to Him in Rig Veda where He is adored as God of
Sacriices. He is also called gni hoo i.e. born of gni. oth Ramayana and Mahabharata, give
detailed account of His birth. s per Skanda Purana, an efulgent energy emerged from the third eye
of Lord Shiva, acquiring the form of ire sparks.
Page 53
Lord Subrahmanya God of Knowledge Sri O.N. Ravi
It was so ierce that it was only Lord gni who, at the instance of Lord Parameshwara carried forth ,
that too with great diiculty, to the Pond Sharavana in Ganges located in Himalayas. Out of these
self efulgent ire sparks, six children were born. Then the wives of the Sages collectively known as
Kritikkas Pleiades , who became stars as part of constellation later due to His boon nurtured the
six children born out of those six ire sparks. Later these six kids were united by Goddess Parvati
into one Divine Child with six faces and twelve hands, when she embraced them overlowing with
maternal love . Hence the divine child was called Shanmukha .
In the celebrated Chandogya Upanishad, Sage Sanatkumara, is approached by Sage Narada to learn
the highest knowledge. Sage Sanatkumara imparts to sage Narada, the Truth or knowledge of Self
upon which that chapter ends with a glorifying salutation to the teacher i.e. Sanatkumara, that He
is veritable Skanda Himself, thus spake the enlightened ones. There are some rare references
contained in some texts that Sage Sanathkumara, a rahma Gnani of very high order, is Skanda
Himself. Pujya Sri Maha Swami narrates in His own inimitable way the background to Lord
Skanda s birth. He has quoted from Sri Vyasa s rahma Sutra, Third Chapter, III part, nd verse
that those who have a particular mission to undertake, continue in their bodies until such time as
its fulillment warrants it . He states that while commenting on this verse in His hashya,
commentary , Sri Shankara hagavathpada, had stated that Sage Sanathkumara, the mind born
son of Creator, Lord rahma, was born as Skanda in order to fulill a boon that he granted to Ru-
dra. Sage Sanatkumara, as per Puranas, is born from the mind of Lord rahma, the creator, along
with his other three brother Sages namely, Sanaka, Sananda and Sanatsujata, collectively called
Sanakathi rishis . These sages were ever established in the Highest level of rahman and are
considered as the rahma Gnanis knowers of lmighty of very high order.
The background to the birth of Lord Karthik is not mentioned in any of the puranas of Vyasa but
only contained in a very old scriptural text called Tripura Rahasya , composed by Sage Parasura-
ma. This text deals with the Highest knowledge of rahman, its various states and the ways of
ataining it, the esoteric worship of Devi etc., as imparted to Him by his teacher Lord Datatreya.
It has diferent cantos. Of these, in the Mahatmya kanda, there comes an interesting episode giv-
ing the background to the birth of Lord Skanda.
Once Sage Sanatkumara, ever established in the state of rahman, had a strange dream that there
was a war between devas gods and asuras demons and he leads the Gods to a roaring victory. He
spoke about this dream to his father who replied that on account of his deep study of Vedas in his
earlier birth, he developed an intense longing to support the gods who are gloriied in the Vedas, in
their ight against the demons. That thought or longing had become a vasana and has come in the
form of a dream. ut the Lord told him that though it was a dream, it would come true as he was
deeply established in Truth both from within and without. s the days wore on, Lord Shiva with
Devi Parvati, decided to make the dream of Sage into reality. It was a divine scheme that only Shi-
va Kumara son of Lord could put an end to the repressive acts unleashed by a group of demons on
Gods and on earth, viz. Taraka, Gajamukha and Surapadma,. Lord Shiva, chose the Sage for that
purpose.
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Lord Subrahmanya God of Knowledge Sri O.N. Ravi
The Divine Parents of the World, visited the Sage Sanatkumara at his hermitage. The Sage was, as
usual, motionless established as he was in a Highest State of Samadhi Sahaja Samadhi , where he
could not diferentiate between animate and inanimate, pairs of opposite. Everything around,
including the Divine Parents of the World were appearing as part of Him. ll around Him was
permeated by the Supreme Self, rahman. The presence of the Divine Parents made no diference to
him nor he bothered to welcome them. fter a while, the Lord asked him how he could sit
motionless without bothering to ofer even customary respects to the Divine parents and would it
not amount to insulting them. He also asked the Sage what if He had to imprecate a curse on him.
The Sage stated that being in the State in which He is in, he did not bother about any curse as such
curses would afect only the body and the mind and not the ever shining Soul that is rahman
Himself. He further stated that he is abiding in that State and hence was not bothered about the
Lord s curse.
Only a person who had reached that State could speak so fearlessly. The Lord was immensely
pleased with his reply and stated that he would grant him any boon that he wished to have. Sage
Sanatkumara asked as to what was the use of any boon to one who had atained that State where
there no sense of ego existed. Hence, there was no desire or want left and hence boon even from the
Lord was of no use. The Sage further stated that the way the Lord was speaking it looked as though
He gave more importance to boon or curse etc and as such if the Lord desired he was willing to give
any boon that the Lord desired. The Father of the World was immensely pleased as He was only
waiting for that opportunity.
Immediately, Lord asked a boon from the Sage that he should be born as His son. Lord played the
role of a father who would try to placate his child , when it throws tantrums. He looked at the Sage
with a condescending paternal love willing to be bound by his stern conditions. Immediately, the
Sage agreed to be born as his son. ut he put one condition that he would not like to take birth from
any womb. ut he added that since only Lord asked the boon and not Devi, he would take birth on-
ly as His son and not as Devi s. He further added that as per Sastras, one should not give some-
thing to a person who had not asked for it. ut Devi maintained that wife is arthangi, half part of
Lord , she need not ask anything apart from what Her husband asked for.
The Sage maintained that he did not wish to be born through a womb of a woman and hence
requested in all humility to accommodate his request to be as ayonija . To accommodate the Sage s
request , as per the wish of Lord, Devi herself became the Pond called Saravana Poigai . Later, the
Sage emanated from the third eye as ire which was borne by Fire God to the Pond wherefrom Lord
Saravana or Skanda was born. The rest of the story , as contained in Skanda Purana, is that he killed
the demons such as Taraka, Surapadma with the powerful spear called Vel, given to Him by Devi
gracing it with her energy. The demon Surapadma became his vehicle the Divine Peacock and also
the cock adorning his lag. Then Lord Karthik married Devasena, daughter of Lord Indra, and Valli,
daughter of a tribal king.
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Lord Subrahmanya God of Knowledge Sri O.N. Ravi
While in north India, Lord Karthik is worshipped as brahmacharin, a bachelor, in the South, he is
worshipped along with the above two consorts metaphorically representing Icchha Shakti Desire
and Kriya Shakti ction with the Lord himself representing Supreme eing. In North India, there
are a couple of temples dedicated to Lord Kartikeya. There is also one such temple near Pune
Parvati Hills .
Pujya Sri Kanchi Maha Swami also states that it is only to Lord Skanda or Kumara, the expression
Swami is used. s per the Sanskrit lexicon, the renowned mara Kosa , compiled by king ma-
ra Simha, the word swami means only Lord Skanda. He further states that though all the Gods
have the word swami added to their names, the Sanskrit text states that it refers to only Skanda.
The meaning of the word swami means to own. The word Swam indicates own, property.
One who owns this world and the beings both animate and inanimate is Swami . Hence, the Su-
preme Lord is Swami. So Lord Subrahmanya, as Supreme lmighty is the sole owner of this Uni-
verse and Jivas present in all beings.
There are many scriptural texts glorifying the greatness of Lord Muruga. Sri di Sankaracharya
codiied the worship of diferent sects in our tradition into six parts. He established six types of
sects or Shanmatha namely Ganapathyam, worship of Lord Ganesha, Saivism, worship of Lord Shi-
va, Vaishnavam, worship of Vishnu, Saktam, worship of Devi, Sauram, worship of Surya and Kau-
maram, worship of Lord Muruga or Skanda. Hence Shri Shankaracharya, is eulogised as Shan-
matha Prathitacharya, one who has established six religious sects. In his famous eulogy on Lord
Skanda, namely Sri Subrahmanya hujangam, composed in bhujangam metre, he describes the
beauty of the Lord as He had seen him in the sea shore Temple of Tiruchendur, in South India.
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GEETHAAMRUTHAM # 1 Sri Anand Vasudevan
GEETHAAMRUTHAM
,
!
vvaiyar says, it is indeed very rare to take birth as human being. In the human birth it is even
rare to have the physical body without any defects. fter having this body without any defects it
is even rare to obtain wisdom and knowledge. fter obtaining the wisdom it is even rare for a
person to do charity and perform austerities. Thus ultimately performing of charity and
austerities opens the door to heaven.
", , , , , ,
,
Grass was I, shrub was I, worm, tree, many a kind of beast, bird, snake, stone, man, and demon.
Midst Thy hosts I served. The form of mighty suras, ascetics, gods I bore. Within these immo-
bile and mobile forms of life, In every species born, weary I've grown, great Lord ! Translation
by G.U. Pope
Thus all our scriptures asserts that taking human birth is indeed very rare. fter obtaining the
human birth one should realize the purpose of it. What is the purpose of our human life? For our
beneit the answer too is given by the Lord in this Sloka. The purpose of the human birth is to
realize the Supreme. The Lord says, t the end of many many births, the man of wisdom,
worships Me, realizing that everything is God. Such an exalted Soul is very rare.
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GEETHAAMRUTHAM # 1 Sri Anand Vasudevan
fter taking many birth among various species inally one atains human birth. In that human body
he ultimately realizes that Vaasudevah Sarvam . The word Vaasudeva literally means the
God who dwells within . Vasu means dwelling or dweller . The one who dwells within is
Vaasudeva. The Supreme Lord or the Paramatma resides everywhere and in everything. Realising
this Self, atman is indeed diicult. However one can realize the same by the sheer Grace of Guru
and God. The Lord further says the person who thus realize HIM to be a Mahatma sa mahatma
and such a person is rare to ind su durlabhah .
If it is rare to ind we can assume out of the total population only very few such Mahatmas or Jnanis
exists among us. Thus vast majority of the population reels under ignorance and experiences
both happiness and suferings in this world. However a Jnani, the realized person, is not afected
by dualities viz., Pleasure and Pain, Happiness and Sorrow, Heat and Cold and remains in the
state of bliss always. The Jnaanis lives like the water on the Lotus leaves. Their only worry will be
to make people realize this truth. For that they are ready sacriice anything. Such is their mercy. One
should go and worship such kind of Jnanis. The dust from their feet should be adored. Their very
presence will make that place a Sacred place. Their mere glance will bring joy and peace to the per-
son. If any one is fortunate to meet such a Jnani all his problems will be vanished. However ind-
ing such a Jnani indeed is very diicult.
Paul runton was in search of answers to many of his spiritual quests. He travelled far and wide
and inally came to India. In India too he travelled across the country but couldn't get a solution to
many of his pestering queries. y the sheer Grace of the God at the fag end of his Travel met Kanchi
Mahaperiyava, who told Paul runton to meet hagavan Ramana Maharshi at Thiruvannamalai.
Paul runton inally reached runachalam. He had so many queries to be clariied form Maharshi.
ut the moment he saw hagavan Ramana Maharshi his mind was quietened and when he sat
before Maharshi the divine grace entered him and all his queries in his mind were vanished without
utering a single word. The rest is History which one can read in his famous book Search in
Secret India .
Everyone should make sincere atempt to realize Vaasudevah Sarvam the God who dwells with-
in. The Katha Upanishad says,
The tman is smaller than the smallest atom and greater than the greatest
The tman is hidden in the heart of every being
The one who become free from material desires sees the tman Self and transcend all sorrows
He sees its Majesty when his mind and senses are serene.
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GEETHAAMRUTHAM # 1 Sri Anand Vasudevan
The Lord further airms in this sloka that after realization what that person will do. He says
Maam Prapadhyathe he then starts worshipping and gloriies me. Thus a person after realization
of the ultimate truth engages himself in devotion and gloriies the Lord in many ways. Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu before realization was a learned Pandit in Nyaya philosophy. He can defeat
anyone through argument or Tarka Sastra. Later He realized all this knowledge is not useful and
only unalloyed hakthi towards the Lord can help a person to cross the ocean of nescience. He then
ultimately became in the mood of Radha and started glorifying the Lord through Nama Sankirtana.
Mahaprabhu sang, cried and danced in ecstasy before the Lord. He fell unconscious upon even
hearing the Lord s name. Thus he showed us the way to glorify the Lord through Nama San-
keerthana.
The great state that was atained through Dhyana [meditation] in Kruta Yuga, performance of Yajna
[sacriicial rites] in Treta Yuga and Ofering worship through rchana in Dwaapara Yuga can easily
be atained in this Kali Yuga through mere Naama Sankirtana, chanting and singing the glories of
the Lord.
One who is suiciently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of
life, to practice the activities of devotional service. The human body is most rarely achieved, and
although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform
devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete
perfection.
Wish to conclude with the inal verse of the Gita Mahatmya sloka
Ekam Shastram Devaki Putra Geetam Eko Devo Devaki Putra Eva
Eko Mantras Tasya Namani Yani Karmapy Ekam Tasya Devasya Seva
Let there be one Scripture the Gita as told by Son of Devaki Let there be one
God, Sri Krishna, the son of Devaki Let there be one mantra, His divine holy
name Let there be one work, Service to the Supreme Lord.
Let us take advantage of this rare human birth by surrendering to the Lord and by
taking up devotional service. Let us engage our thought, word and deed only
towards HIM.
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Sri T.R. Pattabi Raman
" " .
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Kindly hear the audio by Sri Guruji Raghavans divine voice in the following link
http://kaumaram.com/audio_k/graudio057_u.html
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