Gist of Sri Rudram

Today is Shivaratri and it is an auspicious night for the worship of Lord Shiva. It is not Shiva’s ratri but our ratri for us to worship Shiva throughout the night. Generally Shivaratri is celebrated in the form of Shiva puja in the form of Rudra Abhisekam. As Shiva is supposed to Abhisekam priyah while Vishnu is supposed to be Alakara priyah and all those ornaments like pitambaram, gada, chakra etc. Therefore rudra abhisekam is done on Shivaratri and it can done in different ways. 
            We did rudra abhiskem today chanting one time Rudram and one time Chamakkam. This kind of worship is called namaka worship. Then you can chant Rudram eleven times and after the end of each round of Rudram you chant one chapter of Chamakkam and thus 11 times Rudram and once Chamakkam is called Rudram. Then the next higher grade is chanting Rudram 121 times (multiple of 11) – you can do it any way like one person chanting 121 times or 11 people chanting 11 times or 121 people chanting once – and chamakaam will be chanted 11 times. This type of worship is called Rudra Eka dhashinih. The next higher grade is chanting Rudram 121 times 11 which 1,321 times and this you can do in any manner (121 people chanting Rudram 11 times and if there are 1,321 people who know Rudram they can chant it once) and this kind of worship is called Maha Rudram (1,321 times rudram and 121 times chamakkam).  And if you can manage still higher as we have got one more. We must chant 1,321 times 11 which is 14, 541 times rudram. And we chant chamakkam 1,321 times. This is called athi rudram. Thus namakam is one time, 11 times is rudram, 121 times is rudram eka dhashini, 1,321 times is Maha rudram and 14,541 is athi rudram. Therefore you’ll find that in India especially South India they will chant Rudram or Rudram Eka Dhashini chanting rudram throughout the night. But we have not able to go higher than namakam (laughs). Since we have been chanting Sri Rudram each Shivaratri I thought I will briefly give you the meaning. We may spend our lifetime chanting Rudram without knowing what it contains. I’ll not go to elaborate level except furnish the salient features in this talk.

            Rudram is a very sacred mantra or prayer occurring in the Krishna Yajur Veda. It occurs almost in the middle of the yajurveda. It is considered not only most sacred in yajurveda but whole Vedas. Among all the shastra, the Vedas are supposed to be most sacred and among Vedas the Rudram is the most sacred and revered. And in the Rudram itself the “panchakshari” which occurs almost in the middle which is “Namah Shivayya”. And further the most auspicious part is in the middle which is “Shiva”. Since the word “Shiva” occurs in the Rudram and it means the “most auspicious one”, the most magala kalah this is considered to be most auspicious and sacred.

            And before chanting Rudram there are some preparatory mantra called “nyasa” mantrah. This is invocation of the deity on our own body. This is because when we worship we should also be as pure as the Lord at least at the time of puja! We purify the body by invoking various deities at various parts of the body. In Rudram we have two kinds of invocation. Before doing Rudram Eka Dhashini, Maha Rudram and Athi Rudram we do a bigger invocation called “Mahaanyasah”. This is one hour of chanting where we invoke the lord in different parts of the body. And we cannot do Mahaanyasah then we need a shortcut which is the vogue of Kali yuga  as we are always short of time! We have a shorter invocation which is called “Laghunyasah”. prajanane brahmā tiṣṭhatu | pādayor-viṣṇustiṣṭhatu | hastayor-harastiṣṭhatu | bāhvorindrastiṣṭatu | jaṭhare‌உagnistiṣṭhatu | hṛda’ye śivastiṣṭhatu | kaṇṭhe vasavastiṣṭhantu | vaktre sarasvatī tiṣṭhatu | nāsikayor-vāyustiṣṭhatu | nayanayoś-candrādityau tiṣṭetām | karṇayoraśvinau tiṣṭetām | lalāṭe rudrāstiṣṭhantu | mūrthnyādityāstiṣṭhantu | śirasi mahādevastiṣṭhatu | śikhāyāṃ vāmadevāstiṣṭhatu | pṛṣṭhe pinākī tiṣṭhatu | purataḥ śūlī tiṣṭhatu | pārśyayoḥ śivāśaṅkarau tiṣṭhetām | sarvato vāyustiṣṭhatu | tato bahiḥ sarvato‌உgnir-jvālāmālā-parivṛtastiṣṭhatu | sarveṣvaṅgeṣu sarvā devatā yathāsthānaṃ tiṣṭhantu | māgṃ rakṣantu |

So we invoke so many deities not only on our body but also in the surroundings also. And again another invocation. agnirme’ vāci śritaḥ | vāgdhṛda’ye | hṛda’yaṃ mayi’ | ahamamṛte” | amṛtaṃ brahma’ṇi And that is also invocation of the deity. So after invocation I have also become a mini-Shiva as it were. And only this purification one is supposed to do rudra abhiskem. The word “Rudra” itself has various different names. “Ruth” means dukham, Dukha Hathuh means the cause of sorrow like disease, death, famine etc. The “Drah” means “One who drives away.” Since Lord Shiva removes all the sorrows and the causes for sorrows, therefore HE is called “Rudra”. Therefore positively HE is called “Shiva” the most auspicious one. When you say HE is the “remover of sorrow” you say “Rudra” and by removing the sorrow what do you get?  Mangalah and Anandah. You call HIM “Shiva” as the bestower of Magalam and Anandah. Since Lord Rudra is glorified in this prayer, this is known as SRI RUDRAM. 
Otherwise they call it “shatha rudriyam” as in Kaivalya Upanishad and here “shatha” means hundreds and “rudriyam” means aspects or glories of Lord Rudra. Since this contains hundreds of glories or lilas of Lord it is called “shatha rudriyam”. Another name is “Rudra Upanishad” which also means “Rudram”. Another name is “Sri Rudra Suktam” and finally “namakam – all these are names of Sri Rudram (Shatha Rudriyam, Rudra Upanishad, Rudra Suktam, Namakkam etc). 
Before chanting “Rudra” we invoke the grace of Lord Shiva by meditating on him. Here the prayer or meditation mantra is beautiful as two aspects of the Lord are brought in. One aspect is Shiva as a personal God. That is what we get in the beginning śuddhasphaṭika saṅkāśaṃ trinetraṃ pañca vaktrakam | gaṅgādharaṃ daśabhujaṃ sarvābharaṇa bhūṣitam as Shiva is described as a person with three eyes, carrying Ganga, and jatta is there, and various ornaments are there, and Parvathi is also seated. This is for a beginner and for an advanced seeker sarva vyāpina-mīśānaṃ rudraṃ vai viśvarūpiṇam | Lord Shiva is not seating at one place but he is sarvathmatah in the form of virat swaroopam or vishwa rupah. In the later slokas the vishwa rupa is beautifully described āpātāḷa-nabhaḥsthalānta-bhuvana-brahmāṇḍa-māvisphurat- jyotiḥ sphāṭika-liṅga-mauḷi-vilasat-pūrṇendu-vāntāmṛtaiḥ. So the whole cosmos is taken as the cosmic Shiva lingah and the abshisekam is done by the moon’s rays that contain water droplets. This is maha yagna. We take a small lingam and meditate on it as a cosmic Viswa rupam before doing the abhisekam. brahmāṇḍa vyāptadehā bhasita himarucā bhāsamānā bhujaṅgaiḥ  ord Shiva’s body pervades the whole “brahmandam” (the cosmos). In another prayer we saw Jala Kala Kalasam Akasha Moorti, nakshatram pushpamalyam, graha kara kusum – the whole akasha is Shiva linga, the stars are the flowers, the sun and moon are the eyes, the ocean the base, pathalam or the lower world are the steps veda, vakram, shadagam and veda is the mouth of Lord Rudra. The difference between Shiva and Vishnu is there as long as you consider them as a personal god. Their forms, colour, abaranams, etc are different. The difference between Shiva and Vishnu is only at a lower level. Once we expand our minds to see Vishnu as “Vishwa rupa” and Shiva as “Vishwa rupa” then both Shiva and Vishnu are one and the same. Therefore at the end of Rudram we have Om Namo Bhagavate Rudraya Vishnavay Mruthyurme Paahi, they knew we would quarrel as whether Shiva is greater or Vishnu. Likewise in Vishnu Sahashranama they added Sarva Sharva Shiva to indicate that both are one and same. They are both nothing but Virat Swarupa. This is laghunayasa or the dhyana sloka.

Now I will quickly go through the contents of Rudram. It consists of 11 chapters, we call it eleven anuvakam (sections or chapers). In this the first anuvakam and the last two anuvakam are prayers seeking the grace of the Lord. In these three sections – 1, 10, and 11- we are asking for Ishwara Kripa and Ishwara Anugraha. We see them later. I shall take the middle portions first. From the second anuvakam to the nineth anuvakam it is the glorification of the Lord Shiva. These are Shiva Mahima Stotram or Shiva Shruthi or Ishwara Shruthi. In these sections Shiva’s glories are seen from different angles. In Rudram we find three aspects beautifully brought out.

            One glory is Sarva Ishwarathpm, Lord Shiva is the Ishwara of all. The god for all gods. Sarvasham pathihi and Sarvasham Ishwarah, in Vedantic jargon the “nimitta karanam” is highlighted. The Lord has the intelligent creator and the lord has the protector of the universe.

            The second aspect that is highlighted Sarvathma Kathvam of Lord Shiva which means HE alone is appearing as everything in creation. Previously we said that HE is the Lord of all which means people are different and Lord is different. There is bhedam. Now we say that the Lord does not protect the world standing separately as the LORD HIMSELF is there in the form of the world. This is Viswarupa we get in the Bhagavat Gita of the eleventh chapter, what we get in the Purusha Suktam is conveyed in the Rudram as Sarvam Shiva mayam jagat. This I call Sarvathmakatvam.

            Then comes the final and the subtlest aspect and that is the sarva antharyami thvam. The Lord is the inner essence or nirgunathvam, sarva athisttanam of everything. So there are three stages: Sarvasham Ishwarah, Sarva Rupah, Sarva Antharyami. 
            Now I will quote from the rudram just to show how these three aspects are brought out. Sarvasharathvam we get in the second anuvakam Namo hiranya bahave , senanye ,dhisaam cha pathaye  nama, HE is the Lord of all quarters  pasunaam pathaye namo nama HE is the lord of all pasus, meaning all animals including human beings and therefore HE is pushupathih. padheenaam pathaye nama, HE is various margas – Karma, Upasana, Jnana – which are the sadhanas prescribed in the scriptures. annanaam pathye nama , HE is the lord of annam (food)  and thereafter pushtanaam pathaye nama, HE is the lord of nourishment. kshetranaam pathaye nama, HE is lord of lands (fields) of the fourteen worlds. vrukshaanam pathaye, kakshanaam pathaye , oushadinaam pathaye, patheenam pathaye, sathvanaam pathaye, HE is the lord of forests, oceans and all of them. Then interestingly Rudram HE is not only the lord of good things, HE is the lord of so called negative things also. When you say “lord” HE is absolute.

            In the third section Rudram talks about varieties of thieves. Like leaders of thieves, dacoits, cheats etc. The Lord is all of them!  sthenaanam pathaye means thief, thaskaraanam pathaye  means another kind of thief, sthayoonam pathaye , aranyanam  pathaye means  the thief in the forest like Veerapan. Shiva is the lord for all of them…laughs. Mushnathaam, prukrunthanaam, kulanchaanaam means army people and all that. That HE is the lord of everything.

            Then the next aspect is “Sarvaatmakah” we get in the next section. Ganebhyo ganapathibyascha vo namo nama, Viroopebhyo Viswaroopebhyascha vo namo nama, Mahadbhya  kshullakebyascha vo namo nama, HE is in the form of all ganams meaning groups of people. And if there is a leader for a group then HE is also Shiva. Mahadbhya means bigger one while kshullakebyah means smaller one. Radhibhyo aradhebhyascha, Radhebhya radha pathibhyscha means one who drives the chariot or all the drivers. Kshathrabya sangraheethrubyacha, Sthakshabhyo rathakarebhyascha , Kulalebhya kamaribhyascha, HE is carpenter also. Next time you get angry with a carpenter, remember this. Carpenter is also Shiva, pot maker is also Shiva, Ikshukrudbhyo, those who make arrows and also those who make bows. Mrugayubhya swanibhyascha, HE is also the dog leader who drags the animal after a kill. It is Shiva dragging Shiva.

Then it gets interesting: bṛhate ca varṣī’yase ca namo’ vṛddhāya’ ca saṃvṛdhva’ne ca namo agri’yāya ca prathamāya’ ca nama’ āśave’ cājirāya’ ca namaḥ śīghri’yāya ca śībhyā’ya ca nama’ ūrmyā’ya cāvasvanyā’ya ca nama’ḥ strotasyā’ya ca dvīpyā’ya ca namo” jyeṣṭhāya’ ca kaniṣṭhāya’ ca nama’ḥ pūrvajāya’elderly people, younger people, standing people, sitting people, laying people, those with pains …..all are Shiva. All these are enumerated and it is said that Lord Shiva alone is everything. So sarvathma bhavah.
Then comes the last “sarva antharyami”. namo’ dundubhyā’ya cāhananyā’ya ca , Dhndubi is a drum and Shiva is inside that! …(laughs). You use a stick to make a sound to the drum and who is inside the stick? Lord Shiva. srutyā’ya ca pathyā’ya ca nama’ḥ kāṭyā’ya ca, Shiva is pathi which means marga, inside the well also Shiva is there, inside rivers also, inside sara (means lake), in the dry land also Lord Shiva, in the wetlands also, in the grassy land Shiva is there, in the grass less land also he is there, in the dust also HE is there, meghyaya cha HE is the clouds also, vidyutyā’ya ca nama īdhriyā’ya cātapyā’ya ca namo vātyā’ya ca reṣmi’yāya ca namo’ vāstavyā’ya ca vāstupāya’ ca, HE is the prithvi also, HE is the prarna also which is leaf. Therefore Shiva is in everything possible, HE is all of them. In what rupam? Satchitananda swarupam.

            Now I will conclude with the prayer part that I left out. We seek the blessings of Lord Shiva in the first portion and the last two portions. The prayer is interesting and it is like a child’s prayer. Imagine the devotee is standing before Rudra and HE has many aspects like Pancha vaktram, etc and one of the aspects is “gora rupam”. HE is terrible to look, Shiva has got a bow and arrow (Pinakam), then there is a quiver and there are arrows with the sharp tips coming out. And Lord Shiva is an embodiment of “manyayu” (anger). Now when a devotee sees such an image, he is extremely scared and afraid. nama’ste rudra manyava’ utota iṣa’ve nama’ḥ, first I prostrate to your anger! Then he takes each aspect one by one. “O, Lord! When I see your bow I am terribly scared. When I see the arrows I am terribly frightened. When I see your gora rupa I am frightened. So for my sake you have to change your form. yā te’ rudra śivā tanūraghorā‌உpā’pakāśinī, you please show your agora rupa. So please show me your Shiva rupa and please ensure you don’t harm me in any manner. I plead and you must imagine Shiva saying, okay, okay. Inspite of Shiva’s acceptance the devotee is not satisfied. When I see your bow which is already strung, I get scared because YOU may suddenly use it. Therefore I suggest YOU please unstring it. pramu’ñca dhanva’nas-tvamubhayorārtni’ yorjyām, Please keep the bow and string in your hand but loosen the strings. Then imagine Shiva saying,” Sure, I will do that.” By this time the devotee sees the sharp arrows. The tip of the arrow is jutting out from the quiver. The devotee is scared of that as he says yāśca te hasta iṣa’vaḥ parā tā bha’gavo vapa. I suggest YOU keep the arrows upside down so that I don’t get to see the sharp side. Then Shiva says I WILL DO THAT. Then vijyaṃ dhanu’ḥ kapardino viśa’lyo bāṇa’vāgm uta even if the arrows are upside down it is so sharp that YOU may take it anytime and use it. I am afraid. Therefore I suggest that YOU take the arrow and rub the tip of it and make it blunt. Lord, please blunt the arrow and then YOU may keep it. Shiva says,” Okay, I will do it.”

              By this time the devotee thinks that my request is not correct. Because even though the Lord may remove them for my sake, I must request the Lord for my protection from various dangers from outside. And Lord has to protect me from these dangers then HE must have all HIS weapons. Now the devotee says,” I am taking back all my prior requests. Even here the devotee is weak minded and unsure. He says,” You keep the bow strung, let there be arrows and let them be sharp. Now my prayer is Please do not use it against me. Lord, I have a list of enemies and please finish all of them. ane’śan-nasyeṣa’va ābhura’sya niṣaṅgathi’ḥ | yā te’ hetir-mī’ḍuṣṭama haste’ babhūva’ te dhanu’ḥ | tayā‌உsmān, viśvatas-tvama’yakṣmayā pari’bbhuja | nama’ste astvāyudhāyānā’tatāya dhṛṣṇave” | ubhābhyā’muta te namo’ bāhubhyāṃ tava dhanva’ne. Paribhuja means please save me. I prostrate and salute your hands. I salute your arrows and kindly do not use against me. 

            It has an important use and I’ll tell you. pari’ te dhanva’no hetirasmān-vṛ’ṇaktu viśvata’ḥ | atho ya i’ṣudhistavāre asmannidhe’hi tam. I have a hit list of enemies which is called “aarah”. Please use all your arrows to them, hurl your arrows to my enemies …(laughs). There is a similar prayer at the end also. mā na’stoke tana’ye mā na āyu’ṣi mā no goṣu mā no aśve’ṣu rīriṣaḥ | vīrānmā no’ rudra bhāmito‌உva’dhīr-haviṣma’nto nama’sā vidhema te, O Lord, you protect us and all the people belonging to the family and especially protect our servants with your bow and arrows. Even the servants are mentioned to show the importance, they knew it even then! Let them not fall sick, viran mano means servants. And if there are pregnant women let them be protected. The child within the womb be protected, the husband be protected. Let all those people be protected, O lord. Let the animals be protected, like pets.

            In the end it says namo’ rudhrebhyo ye pṛ’thivyāṃ ye”‌உntari’kṣe ye divi yeṣāmannaṃ vāto’ var-ṣamiṣa’vas-tebhyo daśa prācīrdaśa’ dakṣiṇā daśa’ pratīcīr-daśo-dī’cīr-daśordhvās-tebhyo namaste no’ mṛḍayantu te yaṃ dviṣmo yaśca’ no dveṣṭi taṃ vo jambhe’ dadhāmi. I worship the Lord Rudra who is in infinite forms. Who is in the northern direction with hundreds of forms, southern direction in hundreds of forms. For all of them I offer my prayers and prostrations. And what do I want? I want to destroy all my enemies. So finish off “whoever I hate and whoever hates me”. This appears a terrible boon, we say our true enemies are not outside but they are inside as in raga, dvesha, kama, kroda, mada, matsarya etc. O Lord destroy all of them. Give me sadhana Chattustayai Sampathi. Once I have purity of my, what is my next request? trya’mbakaṃ yajāmahe sugandhiṃ pu’ṣṭivardha’nam | urvārukami’va bandha’nān-mṛtyo’r-mukṣīya mā‌உmṛtā”t. Then I can work for moksha for how long will be caught in the snares of samsara.          

And how should I be liberated? There is a beautiful example. Just like urvaruma, the valeri pazham, say a type of cucumber. The fruit will be strongly connected to the creeper. The fruit does not come away from the creeper. As the fruit grows the original creeper breaks and goes away. O, Lord I am like the valeri pazham and because I am not ripe I am strongly attached to the creeper like father, mother, wife, child and all of them. Actually in the old age the attachment seems to be stronger. O, Lord I should mature and I should not give up, let them give me up. This is best way of sanyasa. O Lord give me such a situation that I will be naturally free from all these bonds. And I will attain immortality. And oneness with you. With the last prayer for moksha and chitta shudi the rudram is concluded.

Rudram is a very sacred mantra for all seekers especially Vedantic seekers. That’s why in Kaivalya Upanishad it is said that even a sanyasi should chant rudram. Therefore Rudram is one mantra that is good for brahmachari, ghrista, vanaprasta, and sanyasis. There are five things we should chant daily: Asvashasa is whatever veda he belongs to, some chanting of any Upanishad, Bhagavat Gita, Vishnu Sahasranama, Rudram, and Purusha Suktam. Rudram is very sacred and on Shivaratri it is very very sacred. And we have done that abhisekam today and let Shiva bless us with all mangalams.

Dhyana Slokas of Sri Rudram

Shivaratri is considered to be a very auspicious day. The word “Shiva” itself means the auspicious one. Therefore Shivaratri means “night of auspiciousness” during which we worship Shiva. HE is the embodiment of auspiciousness, who is the embodiment of Mangalam, and who is the embodiment of Ananda. By worshipping Shiva today we can attain all the purusharthas – artha, kama, dharma and moksha. And on this day Shiva puja is done in the form of rudra abhisekham. Sri Rudram is supposed to be a very sacred mantra occurring in the Vedas. Sri Rudram is the glorification of Lord Shiva who is none other than Rudra, which means one who removes all sorrows or pains from one’s mind. “Ruth” means “dukham” and “dra” means “remover”. So the very meaning of Rudram is ‘remover of sorrow” and so we chant Rudram and do abhisekham today. The glory of Rudram is mentioned in Kaivalya Upanishad: a person becomes free from pappas and sins he has committed. Rudram not only sets us from our sins but also give us all the four purusharthas. We chant some Dhyana slokas before chanting rudram and these verses are used for the meditation on Lord Shiva. These prayer verses are beautiful verses and with beautiful meaning. So I thought I will give you briefly the meaning of the dhyana sloka today.

            These Dhayana Slokas of Rudram is beautiful as Lord Shiva is described in three different ways depending upon the stage of the seeker, depending upon the maturity of the devotee the Lord HIMSELF is seen from three different perspectives. All the three angles are given in the dhyana slokas and we’ll discuss them.

            The first way of looking upon the Lord as a human being, as a person. A beginner looks upon the Lord as a person (as a personal god). Therefore the initial description of the Lord is as a person with hands and legs, asanams and ornaments etc. But once the devotee is evolved enough then he has to change his perspective. The Lord should not be seen as one particular person but Lord must be seen as total creation endowed with all the forms of creation. This is called viswa rupa ishwaraha. Once we have evolved sufficiently then we have to go beyond the viswarupa also. We have to learn to appreciate the same Lord as formless, attribute less, the absolute nirgunam Brahman. In Sanskrit the first stage is “eka rupa” bhakti, the Lord in one particular form. The second stage is “anaka rupa” bhakti, the Lord in manifold form and ultimately the “arupa” bhakti where the Lord is formless. Every devotee has to start as “eka rupa” bhakta and here the devotee has a lot of options. You can choose your personal god as personal gods are many with different names and forms. You can choose Shiva as your Ishta Devata, you can choose Vishnu as your Ishta devata, you can choose Devi as Ishta Devata – all of them you see as a person in the beginning. But once I do sufficient puja then the very same Shiva or any personal God I learn to look upon as the very creation. Viswa, prapanja, eka rupah shariram as Viswarupah. Thus for a Shiva Bhakta, Shiva becomes the whole creation or the whole creation is nothing but Shiva. Similarly for a Vishnu bhakta starts with Vishnu rupam initially with Shankar, gada, chakra etc and he should also evolve to see Vishnu as the very creation. Then all the bhaktas – whether Shiva bhakta or Vishnu bhakta – must go to the final goal stage where he sees Vishnu or Shiva or Devi as Sachithananda nirgunam Brahman which is the ultimate devotion. 

           The beauty is when we are in the beginning stage there will be differences between Shiva and Vishnu and Devi because the forms are different, the weapons are different, the vahanams are different. Therefore in the first stage every personal god is different from the other. But once you go to the second stage where you see the Lord as the very creation then there cannot be any difference between Vishnu and Shiva because Vishnu represents the whole creation, Shiva also represents the whole creation. How many viswarupams are possible? Viswarupam can only be one and in this stage there is no difference between Shiva and Vishnu. Similarly when you go to nirgunam Brahman stage there cannot be any difference between Shiva or Vishnu or Devi. We start with difference but ultimately we end in non-differences. So initially alone we have got quarrels “Whether Shiva is bigger or Vishnu is bigger” or “whether Shiva worships Vishnu or Vishnu worships Shiva” do both of them worship the devi. So all the quarrels are only when the devotee is in the first stage of personal gods. Veda affirm that we should not grade Brahma or Shiva or Vishnu and if we do so then it is a big sin. And if a person grades gods as superior or inferior etc then he is doing a papam and the Lord will give that person a punishment with “stomach pain”.  So if you don’t want “stomach ache” you should desist from comparisons and grading! I am not saying but shastra: if you rank Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as “uttama” or “madhyama” (inferior superior etc) then you will be condemned to pains in the stomach. Therefore remember all the three are one and the same, one god seen in three different forms.

            All the three levels of Bhakti is there in the dhyana sloka. We will briefly see the meaning of the sloka.

śuddhasphaṭika saṅkāśaṃ trinetraṃ pañca vaktrakam |
gaṅgādharaṃ daśabhujaṃ sarvābharaṇa bhūṣitam
         

This is the first stage where we look upon Lord Shiva as a person. And what is HIS complexion? Suddhaspatika Sankasam, Shiva is very, very fair. Mrs. Shiva, Parvathi, is dark. Maybe this is to show that there should not be any fights over black and white! Shiva is as fair as a crystal. Then trinetram, HE has three eyes represented by the sun, the moon and the fire. The sun and moon represent the ordinary eyes. Agni the third eye represents knowledge. In the mythology you’ll find that Lord Shiva with the third eye destroyed everything including Manmatha (god of kama) and HE also destroy tripurantaka asuras etc. Philosophically the third eye represents Janani Agnih. When we mean Lord destroys Kama we mean HE destroys all our petty desires. IF we have the third eye of wisdom like Shiva we can also burn Kama, kroda, loba, etc. Tripura rakshasas represent the three sharirams, the three gunas, and the three avasthas. With the help of the third eye a person destroys all the sharirams (sthula, sukha and karam). In short, HE destroys samsara, thereby HE destroys all our problems. Pancavaktrakam – the Lord who has five faces or five heads.  Four heads on four sides and one head looking up (you should not ask where is the place!). The five heads are enumerated in the Vedas in the well known mantra sandyo jatham prapadh is the first one, vamadevayah is the second,  agorabyo is the third one, tat purushaya is the fourth one, eshanah is the fifth. The fifth head is very important for those people who seek self-knowledge, all the apara vidya and also para vidya. It is from the standpoint of eshanah that we look upon Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurthy. Lord Shiva is the authority of Vedas. Then Gangadaram means is one who has got Ganga devi or Ganga river on his jatta. From Lord Shiva head only Ganga is blessing all people. Philosophically Ganga represents brahma vidya or self-knowledge. There are a lot of similarities between Ganga and self-knowledge. Both originate from the Lord’s head. Ganga is a perennial river not like our local Madras river that dry up, similarly the tradition of self-knowledge is also perennial. Ganga flows from higher plane to lower plane, atma-vidya too flows from guru in the higher plane to sishya in the lower plane. If you dip into Ganga it refreshes your body and mind, similarly if you dip in brahma vidya (self-knowledge) you like refresh yourself. Ganga has got various ghats (steps). You should approach only through the ghats otherwise you’ll be swept away. Ganga is a powerful river. There are lot of rocks and it;s ice cold. Even a powerful swimmer cannot swim in this river. So if you want to have a bath you must go to a ghat. Likewise if you want self-knowledge you must follow a tradition of approaching a guru. You insist on self-efforts like using translation it will only cause confusion. There are so many common features and the Lord is called Gangadarah. Dasabhujam – the Lord who has ten hands which are stretched in all the ten directions (four main quarters, four secondary quarters and then up and down).  Sarva bharana Bhushitam – One who has many ornaments on HIS body. All the ornaments of Shiva are made up of snakes!

nīlagrīvaṃ śaśāṅkāṅkaṃ nāga yaṅñopa vītinam |
vyāghra carmottarīyaṃ ca vareṇyamabhaya pradam             

Nilagrivam is the one who is blue necked and one who swallowed the poison to save the whole world. Sasankankam is one who has got moon on HIS head. Philosophically the moon represents the time principle for we determine “thiti” and kala from its movement. Therefore Shiva has Kala under HIS control.  nāga yaṅñopa vītinam – HE has got the sacred thread which is another snake.  vyāghra carmottarīyaṃ ca is the tiger skin that HE is wearing as a dress. Varenyam means that HE is the goal of all the people as HE is the nature of Ananda. Abaya pradam is ONE who gives protection, refuge to all the devotees.       

kamaṇḍal-vakṣa sūtrāṇāṃ dhāriṇaṃ śūlapāṇinam |
jvalantaṃ piṅgaḷajaṭā śikhā muddyota dhāriṇam

HE has got Kamandalu and aksha mala and that’s why HE is the representative of all sanyasis. Shivaratri is considered to be very sacred as many take sanyasa deeksha on this auspicious day. Shiva represents tyaga and Vishnu represents bhoga. Shiva has got jatta and HE does not even have a proper dress. Shiva represents the sanyasi parampara. HE has got sulapaninam to destroy all the asuras. Jvalantam is ONE who is shining, one who is bright. Pingalajatta means jatta  is golden yellow in colour as it is not washed (there is no shampoo etc) and it has become brawny colour. And sikha that is standing upward like a plane and one who is keeping Ganga jalam in HIS matted hair.       

vṛṣa skandha samārūḍham umā dehārtha dhāriṇam |
amṛtenāplutaṃ śāntaṃ divyabhoga samanvitam

HE is amrutham as abhisekam is indicated, HE is ananda and HE is one who has Uma devi as the second half of HIS body. Even after sanyasa HE has got a peculiar problem for he cannot leave his wife. Wherever HE goes Uma devi will also come. And one who is seated on a divine simhasanam that is the Himalayas. And one who has all the bhoga as Himalayas have all the gold, gems etc.

digdevatā samāyuktaṃ surāsura namaskṛtam |
nityaṃ ca śāśvataṃ śuddhaṃ dhruva-makṣara-mavyayam

One who is surrounded by dig devatas and one who is worshipped by all suras and asuras. Until now you got description of Shiva as a personal god. Now the sloka give a different and higher angle of nirgunal brahma swarupam. nityaṃ ca śāśvataṃ śuddhaṃ dhruva-makṣara-mavyayam and these are all definitions of formless Brahman. It is nitya, (eternal), sasvatam (changeless), suddham (pure), druvam (without any movement), aksharam (without any distraction) and avyayam (without any taint). According to the level and maturity of the seeker we can see Shiva as personal god or we can see Shiva as nirgunam Brahman. Then having given these two aspect the dhyana sloka gives the third aspect, that is anaka rupam or vishwa rupam.      

sarva vyāpina-mīśānaṃ rudraṃ vai viśvarūpiṇam |
evaṃ dhyātvā dvijaḥ samyak tato yajanamārabhe

The very same lord is not seated in Kailasa but HE is the form of whole vishwa or cosmos and who is all pervading and who is the ultimate lord. Here we have to reverse the order, first eka rupa then anaka rupa and finally arupa. Having meditated on Shiva in one form or the other according to the maturity of the devotee thereafter rudra abhisekham should be done. First we have to meditate and only then do the rudram puja.

There are two more dhyana slokas and those two I will briefly discuss.

āpātāḷa-nabhaḥsthalānta-bhuvana-brahmāṇḍa-māvisphurat-
jyotiḥ sphāṭika-liṅga-mauḷi-vilasat-pūrṇendu-vāntāmṛtaiḥ |
astokāpluta-meka-mīśa-maniśaṃ rudrānu-vākāñjapan
dhyāye-dīpsita-siddhaye dhruvapadaṃ vipro‌உbhiṣiñce-ccivam

This is a beautiful sloka whee Shiva is seen as a jyotih linga, a shining linga which is pure like sphatikam. We have different kinds of linga. In fact the pancha bhootas are seen as five lingas: prithvi linga, jala lingam, agni linga, vayu linga and akasha lingam to show that everything is the Lord. In this sloka Lord Shiva is seen as Akasha lingam. If you look at the sky it also looks like a linga with a curvature. An akasha in which all the lokas, the entire brahmadam is there. From pathala to nabhasthalanta upto brahma loka. The total cosmos (the 14 lokas) are located in the aksaha and the akasha is the linga. If the akasha is the linga then who will do the abhisekam? You cannot do it with the local 1 litre or 2 litre of milk! The sloka says that the abhisekam is done by purnendu chandrah. According to mythology when the moon emits rays it is also emitting some water also. Because of the water content the moon rays are cool. That moon emits amruta jalam on a full moon day that pervades the whole space. And that is coming from the moon partum for the akasha lingam or cosmic linga. Therefore on every full moon day rudra abhisekam is taking place.

            And what kind of Lord is HE? He is ekam, misam, manisam. He is one absolute ultimate God we should worship by constantly chanting the Sri Rudram mantram. One should worship Shiva for dhyaya, dipsita, sidhaya dhruvapadam. For attaining all the four purusharthas. The people are many and their desires are not one but many. Suppose I say: choose one boon from the Lord not everyone will opt for moksha. Some will ask for relief from water problem, another person will say that his stomach pain should go or this and that. By chanting Rudram one can ask for any purushartha from Shiva who is abhishekam. One should worship that Shiva who is ever changeless. Dhruvapadam means nirguna swarupam (changless).

brahmāṇḍa vyāptadehā bhasita himarucā bhāsamānā bhujaṅgaiḥ
kaṇṭhe kālāḥ kapardāḥ kalita-śaśikalā-ścaṇḍa kodaṇḍa hastāḥ |
tryakṣā rudrākṣamālāḥ prakaṭitavibhavāḥ śāmbhavā mūrtibhedāḥ
rudrāḥ śrīrudrasūkta-prakaṭitavibhavā naḥ prayaccantu saukhyam

brahmanda vyaptadeha, here one Lord Shiva is worshipped in eleven different forms. They are all pervading in nature, they are snow white like vibhuti, they all have serpa abaranam (snake as ornaments). All have necks dark in colour from poison and all of them have got moons (shashikala) in their eleven heads. All of them have got bows and arrows as their weapons (ścaṇḍa kodaṇḍa hastāḥ) to destroy the asuras.

            Tryaksa, all of them are three-eyed and all of them have rudraksha mala. They all remove fear from the minds of the devotees. All the eleven are different aspects of the one and the same Shambu. And if you want to know the glory of the Lord Shiva śrīrudrasūkta-prakaṭitavibhavā the source of knowledge is Sri Rudram. Those whose glories are mentioned in the Sri Rudram of the eleven lingas, may all these rudras bless us with happiness and all the four purushartas. That is why after chanting rudram we chant chamakkam indicating all our desires. Remember chamakkam includes not only material desires but also spiritual desires also. We are asking vivekam, vairagyam, shashta sampathi, mumukshatvam, sadhana chatustaya sampathi we are asking for self-knowledge, we are asking for moksha. That is why chamakkam is required for all of us. Therefore chanting rudram and chamakkam we can ask for any purushartha. On this auspicious day when we chant we will be blessed in the path of moksha ultimately. 

Is Moksha Pursuit selfish? (Guru purnima, 2014)

Is Mokha pursuit selfish? (12th July, 2014)

In our scriptures all the human goals are classified into four types. In Sanskrit the goal of a human being is called purushartha. The four human goals are Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.

Artha is all those things that are required for our security, all the things we seek for our security and survival. After making sure we have the basic needs, the next thing we look for is entertainment or pleasures. All those things that we acquire for pleasure is called Kama. Once these two are taken care of reasonably well, the next thing a human being seeks is Dharma. It means pleasure and joy and well-being that I get when I contribute to others. By doing good or noble actions through one’s efforts, whatever satisfaction or self-respect and feel-good factor is enhanced and that is called dharma. In shastra we call it punyam. In modern language it would be self-esteem. The last one is called Moksha, liberation or freedom (spiritual freedom). Therefore Artha, Kama, Dharma, and Moksha are four purushartas. According to our scriptures the greatest purusharta is the fourth one, namely moksha. It is said that those human beings who pursue moksha are superior and discriminating people. In Katha Upanishad ……the majority of people seek the first three called preyas and they are mandas (foolish) while deerah are those matured and wise people who seek shreyah or moksha. In Viveka Choodamani …….Sankaracharya says that three things are very rate for a jiva. The first rare thing is being born a human being. After human birth, being interested in spiritual knowledge is because of lot of punyam. A person who does not dedicate his life for the pursuit of moksha is wasting the precious human life and Sankara calls him “moodathi”. Our scriptures affirm that moksha is the greatest goal for a human being and pursuit of moksha is the greatest pursuit.

But unfortunately majority of people are lost in the pursuit of other three. Either they are busy pursuing Artha (pursuit of wealth, real estate etc and the whole life is spent). Or they are after Kama or entertainment. Earn for five days and entertain yourself for two days. So during weekdays you work and become weak during weekends! They so busy in parties that they don’t come anywhere near moksha. There are some people who are more mature, they are not interested in artha and kama too much. They have come to dharma and they are noble people engaging in some many community service activities, either is neighborhood service or religious service or national service or varieties of NGOs etc. They do a lot of good work to the society. They are highly dharmic people and according to scriptures they are ideal to come to moksha. But many such people get stuck in service unable to come to Moksha. They service has purified their minds and they are fit for moksha but they are still busy serving. They are varieties of obstacles for them to come to the fourth goal. Among many obstacles to pursue moksha there is this misconception. That is going to be my main topic today:  misconceptions regarding moksha that prevents them for coming near it. I want to analyze those misconceptions in this lecture. Some dharmic people look upon pursuit of moksha has a selfish pursuit. Their argument is “I don’t want to pursue moksha for it is for my benefit only. I want to sacrifice as I want to serve the society.” Serving the society is an unselfish activity no doubt, and pursuing moksha is a selfish activity is their contention. This is a view held even by some matured people and this prevents them from coming to moksha. But we as students of Vedanta must be clear about this misconception. Because someone even in our family may charge us that we are pursuing a selfish goal. They say,” You are dropping your duty for the family and running after Swamiji and running after weekly classes” When they charge us, we may ourselves feel guilty whether we are selfish or not. Here I want to analyze “what is the definition of selfishness” according to our shastra and “what is the pursuit of moksha’s aim is”.

            According to Vedanta every human being except a liberated or spiritually enlightened person are naturally selfish. A liberated person is one who has got self-knowledge and who is a jnani who is free from selfishness. According to scriptures except for a jnani all others have selfishness has their instinctive characteristic. Selfishness is a most natural trait of a human being and it is caused by self-ignorance. As long as we are spiritually ignorant, selfishness is natural and no one can avoid it. This is the first lesson of scriptures regarding selfishness. Just as hunger is natural, thirst is natural “selfishness” is instinctive and universal for a human being. According scriptures this selfishness is expressed in three ways.

            Selfishness is manifest in three different expressions and these stem from self-ignorance is something you should note. The first expression of Selfishness is “Ahamkara”. Ahamkara is a notion or idea that I am an individual with a body and mind sense complex. Ahmakara is a misconception or notion or idea that I am a human being with a body-mind sense complex. This is a universal expression of selfishness.

 The second expression of selfishness is a natural corollary of the first. The Ahamkara in an individual is connected to a few things and beings around – my house, my property, my land, my extra land in kodaikanal, etc. These are connections with a few things and few human beings; my wife, my child, my grandchild, etc. These connections represented as MAMAKARA. Mamakara is extended Ahamkara. Mamakara is universal second expression of selfishness. I am also selfish to find out whether you get the message or not!

            The third expression of selfishness is an extension of Ahamkara and Mamakara. I divide the entire world into two groups: a favourable group from the standpoint of my Ahamkara and my Mamakara. I make a list of few things and people as giving me happiness. This is RAGA or attachment where a segment of world is classified as favourable and to those objects/people I develop RAGA. I also classify a few things as unfavourable, a source of sorrow and so I develop a dislike or hatred towards them which is DVESHA. Raga and Dvesha are twin brothers stemming from Ahamkara and Mamakara.

            Therefore according to our scriptures every living being and every human being is bound by Ahamkara, Mamakara, Raga-Dvesha. So the nature of every being is SELFISHNESS. As long as this selfishness is there, all the human pursuits are conditioned by (directed by and determined by and governed by) selfishness only. Wherever I have RAGA I run after those things. Wherever there is dislike I run away from it. Life is always either running to or running away. As Swami Dayananda says, first they will say “I love you” after a few days of dating. Dating or baiting I don’t know. Initially a person is categorized as favourable and become raga-vishayah (object of desire) and I run after that person saying “I love you, I love you.” Then they decide to live together and after a few weeks or few years, the very same person who was raga-vishayah becomes aragah-vishaya or still worse dvesha-vishayah. Swami Dayananda humorously says: First I love you and now I allow you! (smiles). Even in English it is correct     a-love. You go your way and I go my way. Then another person is trapped and again “I love you and I allow you.” Throughout life selfishness prevails….pravruthi and nivrukti. Artha pursuit is selfishness governed and kama pursuit is selfishness governed. Even dharma pursuit is selfishness governed. Ethical people have got fine selfishness and unethical people have got gross selfishness.

            I generally give this example. When there is school anniversary, there will be several programmes. There will be one drama enacted by school children. It is a long drama with several scenes. And after a few scenes a bunch of people will vacate the hall. When you observe closely you will find a group of people going out with a boy or girl in some costume. Then it hits you: they came to the programme only to watch their son or daughter or grandchild who is present in a particular scene. They are not interested in the school or anniversary and not even interested in the drama. They are just interested in “their child who is playing a particular role” for a few minutes. That too a very minor one! – in a palace scene the grandchild is a gatekeeper. There is no dialogue. This child stands for 5 minutes during which a dozen of family members take hundreds of photographs. This is Mamakara for “my child is there” and therefore I have raga to the school, the management, anniversary and all of them. After that particular scene they leave the hall. After each scene, groups and groups of parents walk away when their child’s role is over. For the last child they will only be 5-6 people! Therefore every jiva’s life is governed by Aham, Mama, Raga-dvesha. These are packaged together as SELFISHNESS. And you cannot blame anyone for this is instinctive. So all pursuits are this package then what is the pursuit of moksha?

            Our scriptures say that if all pursuits are selfish, we admit that moksha pursuit is also a selfish one. Then our scriptures add that moksha pursuit is most intelligent selfish pursuit. Because one who pursues moksha has an understanding about selfishness. That understanding is “as long as a person has selfishness consisting of aham, mama, raga-dvesha, the life will be miserable. AS LONG AS MY LIFE IS GOVERNED BY AHAMKARA, MAMAKARA, RAGA-DVESHA MY LIFE WILL BE MISERABLE. This understanding a seeker of moksha has got. How do you say life will be miserable? As long as you have raga and dvesha, I want the world, the people and the event to conform to my likes and dislikes. I want everyone to conform to the norms of my raga and my dvesha. How the child should be, how the daughter-in-law should be and for everything I have my own personal likes and dislikes. I want the setup to conform to my raga-dvesha. But unfortunately most of the time the setup does not conform to my raga-dvesha. Because the world is governed by so many factors over which I have no control. I have no control over the behavior of my own spouse. I kept calling my spouse for gurupurnima day talk and he has not come! (repressed laughter in the audience). I have no control over my child or government or neighbor or even an event like rains. Since the setup does not conform to my raga-dvesha I am upset most of the time. Reverse “setup” and you get “upset”. I get upset at my failure as the world does not conform to my likes and dislikes. Therefore definition of selfishness is “my likes and my dislikes”; I am going to be miserable. Because most of the time the setup in the family or setup in the neighborhood or the setup called society or setup called government does not conform to my raga-dvesha. I find myself helpless. Helplessness leading to anger, anger leads to frustration and frustrations lead to depressions. This will be the cycle – helplessness, anger, frustration, depression – of a selfish person who is trapped in his/her Ahamkara, Mamakara, Raga-Dvesha.  

In the case of a moksha seeker, his entire endeavour is to get rid of this selfishness package. A moksha pursuit is a selfish pursuit to remove this selfishness as it keeps me miserable and upset most of the time. In other pursuits of artha, kama, and dharma the selfishness is perpetuated while only in moksha pursuit the aim is to remove and dilute selfishness. Life is all about the lists in artha and kama and dharma changing from Raga list to Dvesha list. In the earlier generation they tolerated their spouse when they became a dvesha item in their list, now people separate and move. Therefore all pursuit perpetuates selfishness while moksha pursuit is the only noble pursuit where a spiritual seeker has diagnosed the problem. What is the problem? Selfishness is the problem. So a mature person works to remove this problem so that setup does not make him or her upset. Setup based upsets will never go away unless I remove this selfishness. This the seeker of moksha has a clear understanding. He is an informed selfish person. Besides he also has another very important information. A selfish person has this package of selfishness called Ahamkara, Mamakara, and Raga-Dvesha and this is born out of what? SELFISHNESS IS INSTINCTIVE AND IT IS BORN OUT OF SELF-IGNORANCE. Self-ignorance is the result of Aham, mama, raga-dvesha and if selfishness has got to go away then “samasara” has to go away. I have to remove self-ignorance and self-ignorance only goes away with self-knowledge. Just like Chemistry ignorance will not go away with physics-knowledge, it only goes away with Chemistry knowledge. Therefore self-ignorance goes away only with self-knowledge. And moksha pursuit is nothing but knowledge pursuit. This pursuit is a long pursuit and as we gain this knowledge the ahamkara, mamakara, raga-dvesha will have to go away. This is a very long journey and I want to highlight three important lessons which are inimical to ahamkara, mamakara, and raga-dvesha.

            The first lesson is a understanding or new insight with respect to my body.  What is my relation to my body? This knowledge will eliminate ahamkara. The scriptures teach that body and mind is not me. I AM NOT BODY AND I AM NOT MIND, they are temporary medium through which I transact with the world. Much like the spectacles I wear both body and mind are temporary mediums that I use for experiencing and transacting with the world. It is temporary for in the waking state I use both body and mind, in the dream state I use mind, and in the deep sleep state where both mind and body are resolved “I” am still there. In that state I am not using body and mind as I am not doing any transactions with the world. I gain in understanding that I AM NOT THE BODY and it is just a temporary medium. The body will be with me for some time and then it will go away whether you like it or not.

            The second lesson is I am not the body and I also not the owner of the body. It is temporarily given to me for my use only. I am the user of the body but not the owner of the body. Bhagawan is the owner of my body and HE has given it to me for my temporary use only according to the law of karma. And HE will take away the body without notice, without even three months notice, two months notice, one week notice. HE gives no notice and HE will take it away the body at any moment. HE does not require my permission indicating that I am not the owner of the body.

            And lastly I am not even the controller of the body also. I am one of the factors that determine the destiny of the body. There are so many factors that determine the future of the body. There is time, there is place and there is the law of karma and so many other factors. I AM N OT THE BODY, I AM NOT THE OWNER OF THE BODY AND I AM NOT THE CONTROLLER OF THE BODY.  Once my understand this clearly my ahamkara becomes weaker. For ahamkara is claiming body-mind complex has myself and claiming I am an individual human being. Ahamkara becomes weaker with self-knowledge. Then who am I? I am ATHMA the consciousness principle who is the experience of the body. I am athma and this is only remedy for weakening the ahamkara. This is lesson number one.

            By repeated study of scriptures Mamakara will also be dropped. For once I don’t claim ownership of this body itself, how can I claim the ownership of other bodies? Whether it is my wife or husband or child or my grandchildren? Therefore mamakara also has no scope at all and I conclude that I am not the owner, not the controller of other bodies. Majority of the problems arise as I want to control other family members. I want everyone to behave as per my norm. Many parents will educate the children to chant guru stotram or gita gyna stostram. They will train them to chant these stostram as Swamiji is coming home for bhiksha. The kid will nod this head when asked if he will chant the slokam before Swamiji. For the proud parents even the bhiksha to Swami is secondary. The child is called before all others and parents badger it to say the slokam but the child will stand mute. Even a five year old baby whom you claim as your son or daughter, you cannot control. The more you try to control the more we become miserable. Samsara is trying to control the uncontrollable. Therefore mamakara also will drop as I hand over everything to Bhagawan. Tana, man, dhan and sub kuch tere!     Ahamkara and Mamakara is dropped and as I understand my relation with God.

            The third important lesson is understanding of my nature. If I am not the body and mind, the next question is who am I? What is my real nature? Our scriptures points out a mind-boggling thing. Initially it is very difficult to accept but ultimately we have to gain this knowledge. What is that? I am the ATHMA and this is ONLY source of happiness in the creation. I realize that nothing in the world is a source for happiness. We have raga or attachment to the objects and people in the world for I mistakenly think they are a source of my happiness. Vedanta blasts that misconception and don’t get attached to anything. The only source of happiness is the realization that I am the ATHMA. Whenever the world seems to give happiness it is only my raga and dvesha that creates a particular state of mind. In that state my own happiness is evident or manifest like seeing my own reflection in the mirror. The biggest delusion or brahma is the people and things in the world give happiness. This delusion is like the baby sucking the thumb. The baby sucks its own thumb thinking it is getting mother’s milk. Till the baby is weaned it is attached to the mother, and it delusion (brahma) it sucks its own thumb. When it sucks, what does it get? It’s own saliva. Saliva not from the mother but its own body. That its own saliva the baby mistakes it for mother’s milk. And it goes so sucking, similar is the state of us. We mistake the world to give happiness but it’s sucking our own thumb. We think the husband gives happiness, children give happiness or grandchildren when it in fact our own saliva. It is our own Athamananda that gives happiness and we attribute it to worldly factors. That mental state is contentment and detachment. Through self-knowledge if our mind becomes content and detached, we can enjoy our own happiness all the time. We need not be attached to the world. Therefore the more joy I discover in myself; neither raga nor dvesha will affect me. The second lesson is the I AM THE ONLY SOURCE OF HAPPINESS and nothing in the world can give me happiness.

            Thirdly and finally when we realize that as long as ignorance is there, selfishness is very natural. I am now able to understand the nature of the world. The world is in a continuous flux where change is constant. Therefore I learn to adjust to different conditions of the world, by hating or resistance you cannot change the world. Learn to accept the nature of the world as it is. Then I won’t hate old age, I won’t hate by own body in the old age. When we are young we pray for long life and when we are getting old we pray for a short one. First you long your body and now in old age you hate your body and others in the home! You must learn to adjust to different conditions of the world without generating rage or dvesha. Once you understand the whimsical nature of world, you learn the virtue of acceptance. Slowly I learn to accommodate the nature of the people also. The nature of people is selfish!

A wise person who has accomplished self-knowledge by dropping the Ahamkara and Mamakara understands and accommodates the selfishness of ignorant people. He realizes that others are selfish and they are helpless. They are helplessly selfish because of their ignorance. Their selfishness does not surprise a wise man. If I expect others to help me as I have helped them in the past, you are bound to be disappointed. They would always look for their convenience first. They have to cater to their ahamkara and mamakara and only then consider yours! I will accept their selfishness without hating them. As Krishna says in the Gita that a jnani is one who is free from ahamkara, mamakara, and  raga-dvesha. A jnani has consideration for others, he knows all others would be naturally selfish. Therefore it does not shock him. And he will try to help them fulfill their raga and dvesha but he himself is above them. He has destroyed his selfishness and he does suffer from raga-dvesha based samsara.

Moksha is freedom from selfishness through self-knowledge and accommodating others selfishness. Therefore he does not hate anyone and he is not attached to anyone. Therefore Mokha pursuit is a selfish pursuit but that is the best selfish pursuit for it destroys selfishness and gives ananda. On this auspicious guru purnima day we worship the entire guru parampara which helps in destroying our selfishness.  

Sivaratri Talk –What is God’s grace? (27/02/2014)

Our culture which is based on the Vedic scriptures is a religious culture which appreciates the presence of God in everything. Our scriptures define Ishwara as Shisti, Struthi, and Laya Karanam – not only Bhagawan creates this world, not only does Bhagawan resolves this world, in between also the world is surviving because of the presence and blessings of the Lord only. The entire universe is operating according to several laws and that’s why everything in creation performs in an orderly manner. We as human beings can only know the laws governing creation, we cannot create or maintain this universal principle. Therefore we appreciate the presence of the Lord, and also the grace of the lord in the uniform functioning of the creation. In Brihdaranya Upanishad, Yagnavalkya tells Gargi: If the planets are moving round the sun, and if they are maintaining some orderliness because of which alone days and nights are possible, because of which alone all the seasons are possible, because of which alone we get rain and food etc; when we are experiencing all of them, a Vedic person appreciates the unseen hand of God behind all of them. I see the grace of the Lord in the sunrise, I see the grace of the Lord in the sunset; in Sri Rudram we are only appreciating that glory of the Lord. In the Bhagavad Gita also Lord Krishna tells the same thing: In the form of Surya Bhagawan, I alone absorb water from the ocean. I alone generate cloud at the right season, and I alone make the cloud pour in the form of rain. In all these, may you appreciate the unseen hand of Ishwara. Thus everything is possible in our life because of the provisions given by the Lord only. Dayananda Swamiji beautifully says,” When a person goes to a 5 star hotel, he need not carry everything. Because in a 5 star hotel everything will be provided; you don’t have to carry a bucket or a mug. And if you do, you are a mucku!” …(laughter). If I appreciate what has been provided, I will appreciate the person who has organized all these things. As Swami Dayananda would say,” If that is the glory of a 5 star hotel, when we are born, we are born in a creation which is not 5 star but a multi-star creation. When we come into this world, we come only with a suitcase called the physical body. We don’t bring oxygen for our need, imagine if you have to carry oxygen cylinders, what kind of pregnancy will it be? If we have carry water, food etc; we don’t bring anything but we just land and everything is provided for us. In all this multi-star facilities that we enjoy, there is an unseen hand and that is Ishwara.  Therefore a Vaidika, a Hindu, must appreciate Ishwara’s grace in everything for whatever is happening in the creation. This is not only to be appreciated at the macro level, at the individual level also we appreciate the grace of the Lord in all our activities. So whenever we accomplish something, everyone may appreciate us, but we will add “all this is possible because of grace of the Lord” only. If I am able to give this talk because of Lord’s grace, two weeks back I had to cancel the class, remember. Therefore in every activity and in every accomplishment, we appreciate the grace of the Lord.

But when it comes to the life of the individual living being, we do face a problem. With regard to the creation at the macro level Ishwara’s grace is always there; everything functions perfectly. But in one’s individual’s life, I do experience the grace of the Lord on several occasions. In some instances I find the situations very, very favourable to me and immediately appreciate HIS grace. “I went there and there was this last ticket, I got the ticket…God’s Grace.” Whenever extraordinary things happen, I experience God’s grace. But when I look at my life, at the individual’s level, God’s grace does not seem to be uniform. There are many situations I face a lot of unfavourable and adverse circumstances; in such trying circumstances I would wish God to rescue me from those difficulties. I desperately look for God’s grace. I desperately pray for God’s grace. There are lots of situations that despite my expectations, in spite of my desperate prayers, God’s grace seem to elude me. And problems after problems come and they say Patta kal ayala Paddam….(the same leg is hurt once more) I face problems like a wave coming one after the other. Each problem being worse than the previous one. In desperation, I pray to the Lord. Sometimes the prayers are answered, and sometimes the prayers are not answered. Sometimes Bhaktas sing the song also: O Lord, I have been screaming. Aren’t you not listening? Are you also hard of hearing because YOU are growing old? Do you require an audiogram test as my prayers seem to fall on deaf ears? Only this morning I heard this song on Kapalieswara: Kathinain Kadarinain (I shout and I crawl) and Lord you don’t seem to look at me even with the corner of the eye. When such difficult situations come and when God seems to desert, we get a question: WHAT ARE THE NORMS FOR GOD”S GRACE? When will grace come and when will grace not come? Is it an arbitrary choice of God? HE looks around and says: let me send grace to this person. There are times when HE sees the devotees crying also and HE chooses to ignore him. So what are the norms for the Lord to favour the devotees with HIS grace? Are there any norms or is it Bhagawan’s choice? When we are in dire states; they say Bhagawan is Karunamaya, Karusindhu, Karunasagarah, Karunandhi….I don’t want to say that ..(laughter). Some bhaktas pray to God very intelligently: O Lord, I am dinahah and you are supposed to dina saranyah. You are the protector of the desperate one. If YOU have to protect your title, better you save me.”….(laughter). Otherwise YOU will lose YOUR name. Bhaktas try all kinds of methods and sometimes everything fails. Then there is a doubt,” Whether there is a God at all; or whether there is God’s grace at all?” Some people turn nasthikas also. “Swamiji, I have stopped praying to God and I have stopped the pujas.” And there are some who don’t know how to answer the question, therefore they suppress the intellect. We don’t know the basis for Bhagawan’s grace. Whenever HE feels, let him bless. I have no right to question HIM? Therefore Bhagawan’s ways are inscrutable; whenever HE feels, HE blesses. Whenever HE doesn’t feel, HE does not bless. I should not ask any question because I don’t understand the ways of the Lord. When these questions arise some suppress the intellect and don’t raise the question, and some reject the Lord HIMSELF. Two extremes! But our scriptures point out that when we get such questions, what is the norm with regard to the grace of the Lord, neither suppress the intellect nor reject Ishwara but try to understand the principle behind Ishwara Krupa. 

What exactly is Ishwara krupa? And how come Ishwara krupa works for some people for some time and does not work for another at that time? In an accident the whole bus falls into a ditch, some people survive the accident while some people die. Some people have Ishwara’s grace while some people don’t have HIS grace. Why is there a reason, is there a norm behind it? The scriptures say we have the answers to these question but we must study the scriptures to understand it. And what do the scriptures say with regard to Ishwara krupa or Ishwara anugraha? It says Bhagawan does not select the people with regard to HIS grace. If Bhagawan were to choose some people and favour some people and does not favour other people, then what will it mean? Can you guess the answer? Suppose in an accident Bhagawan saves some people and allows some people to die, if Bhagawan is responsible for choosing the people then HE will be open to the charge of favouritism. The Lord will be polluted with RAGA and DVESHA. We human beings have this problem of raga-dvesha, strong likes and dislikes, HE will also suffer the same problem if HE favours some and doesn’t favour some others. In Brahma Sutra Vysacharya dedicates an exclusive adikaranam that clearly states that Bhagawan does not choose the people for favouring with grace. Bhagawan does not choose, HE cannot afford to choose, and if Bhagawan does choose, HE will be open to the charge, in Brahma sutra, it is called Vaishamya Nairgrunya dosah.  Vaishamya means favouring someone and helping them to escape an accident. No doubt the person who is alive will come and say,” All this is due to God’s grace” and Swamiji nothing happened to me”. It is very nice to hear but we should ask the question: If Bhagawan saved that person with grace, why didn’t Bhagawan save the other person with the same grace? This means the Lord is partial with regard to this person and HE is very cruel to the other person. So Vaishamyam means partiality or favouritism and Nairgrunyam means cruelty. And if Bhagawan were to choose objects or people for HIS grace, HE will be accused of FAVOURITISM and CRUELTY. We had the recent flood havoc in Kedarnath, the temple itself was saved because a huge boulder came before the temple. All the waters were diverted and so the temple was saved from destruction. And everyone was praising the glory of the Lord as HE was able to save HIS temple. They talked about the miraculous role of God in protecting the temple. But if you go to the villages and those people who lost their near and dear ones, many lost their entire savings and livelihood and you tell them,” Bhagawan saved HIS temple, they will argue what kind of Bhagawan is HE? HE is so selfish to look after HIS temple but not my wife and children. So if you say Bhagawan is great because HE saved some people, will it not imply that HE is cruel as HE did not save some other people. Therefore in Brahma Sutra Vaishamya Nirgrunya Adhikaranam, Vysacharya clearly states that the Lord does not select people for HIS grace. Bhagawan is an embodiment of grace and his infinite grace is open to all. It is not directed towards a person or a society or a particular country, it is not unidirectional but it is omni-directional – HIS grace is there for all people. It is available. Therefore HE does not have Vaishamya Nirgrunya dosah, Bhagawan is uniform with regard to availability of HIS grace. This is lesson number one. And Lord Krishna says this in the Bhagavat Gita amo 'ham sarva-bhutesu  na me dvesyo 'sti na priyah  ye bhajanti tu mam haktya mayi te tesu capy aham I am uniform with regard to everyone. In an accident if someone is saved, it is not because I directed MY grace to some person and withdrew MY grace to some other. I don’t DIRECT and I don’t WITHDRAW. Then there would be this question: if Bhagawan’s grace is uniformly available for all people, how come only some people benefit and some does not in an adverse situation? How do you explain the disparity with regard to enjoyment of Bhagawan’s grace? In an accident some survive and some die; what is the reason for this disparity?

The scriptures say the differences or disparity is not because of Bhagawan. The disparity is caused by the individual jiva, they alone are responsible for the disparity with regard to availability and non-availability of his grace. Grace will be available for me only if I earn my grace. Only when I tap the grace, only then it will be available. And if I don’t tap I am only the loser. Grace is available for all; but you must know how to tap it. The disparity in grace is not caused by Bhagawan but by the individual jiva – by tapping or non-tapping, by earning or non-earning. Several examples are given in the scripture but let me take a modern one. Solar energy is available is everywhere. But if you want electricity, whether I should get or not that I have to decide and not the sun. I have to fix solar panels to avail this energy. The sun god gives the solar energy uniformly to all the people, but I have to work if I want to tap this energy for my electricity. Then I can light up my lamp. But if my neighbour’s lamps glow and mine does not, then I cannot complain about Sun’s partiality. I must fix these solar panels like my neighbor to access it. In Soundarya Lahiri, Sankaracharaya says,” O, mother you are like the moonlight available uniformly for all.” Therefore tapped grace alone will be useful for us. As long as we don’t tap, we will not be able to benefit from the grace of the Lord. Therefore TAPPING THE GRACE is required. As Lord HIMSELF says you can have MY GRACE by tapping it using a solar panel. The question is, what is the panel I need to fix, Can I just look at the picture of Lord and ask,” Give me 500 units of grace.” Grace is not available for asking but you have to deserve. By mere asking nothing can be gained. You can’t go to a shop and say,” Give me 5 kg of sugar.”

Many people falsely propagate that Lord will provide anything you ask. Thattuga Kadavu Tharaka Pattum; Kelunga and Kuttaka Padam (meaning Knock , and the door will be opened. Ask, and it will be given). That God is a karunamurthy and HE will give anything is asking is an exaggeration. We have to earn grace by putting forth the right effort; mere asking will not help. I read a joke in Readers Digest. A religious preacher was telling people about the glories of the Lord and telling them how kind HE is. You pray and ask; prayers will move mountains. You just have to ask, and the Lord will give.” This preacher goes to several villages and gives this talk. In a gathering there was a young boy. The preacher wanted to inculcate this Bhatkti to the boy. He told the boy,” The Lord is so great that HE will give you whatever YOU want. And I have got everything in my life through HIS grace.” The boy was very impressed by the talk and he looked at the beautiful watch of the preacher. The boy asked for the watch, he looked at it admiringly and the boy asked,” How did you get this watch?” The preacher said,” Everything including this watch is God’s grace. Whatever you want, lord will give.” The boy said,” Preacher, I will suggest this. I will take this watch, you can pray to the Lord and get another watch.” ……(laughs). After by praying, if you are going to get just like that, you will ask for a palatial bungalow in Nungambakam or in the centre of the city and you will get a house. God’s grace is definitely there but not merely by praying or asking but by earning, by doing appropriate karma. Therefore karma is compulsory for earning the grace of the Lord. In scriptures Lord HIMSELF has talked about different kinds of karma that will earn the grace of the Lord. Several karmas are suggested but we have seen one karma in our Gita classes, in the context of Karma yoga I have mentioned those “grace earning karmas” (GEK). GRACE EARNING KARMAS ARE CALLED PANCHA MAHA YAGNAS. I have to earn the grace of the Lord by doing one or two or three or all the Pancha Maha Yagnas. All with the pure motive of serving the lord, worshipping the lord, or for the welfare of the entire creation – loka skhemartham, sarva bhavantu sukinah.

Today’s puja was also “loka schema” with a pure and open motive of doing pancha maha yagna. Deva Ygnah, all kind of pujas I do and praying for loka skhema. Instead for praying for my children and grandchildren and family centric prayers, the more puja I do for loka skhema. Every such prayer will bring me grace in my saving account. Everyone has got a bank account in which Bhagawan deposits grace. If a devotee performs such selfless prayers, his/her grace amount will increase. The first is “deva yagnah”. “

Pitru yagna” is the second, all forms of service we do for our parents which is slowly dwindling now. Because of a nuclear family and no one is interested in taking care of the old parents – scriptures insist on that karma. Service to parents in particular and service to elders in general is extremely wonderful karma when it is done without any expectation. Without having an eye on the property; without hoping for any favours in the will of the parent! If I serve the parents for the sake of parents, matru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava that is another powerful grace earning karma.

These are all solar panels; second of the five panels! Deva Yagna is grace panel, Pitru yagna is grace panel, and the third is “Brahma Yagnah”. It means spreading the message of the scriptures especially this message of performing pancha maha yagna to as many people as possible. Brahma means Veda. Thus preserving and propagating the message of the Vedas will come under Brahma Yagnah. Even regular parayanam will come under Brahma Yagnam; chanting Vishnu Sahashranam or Gita or all of them. Any parayanam done without having any motive for one’s worldly gains but when done for loka samastha sukhino bhavatu. If this is the attitude before any chanting, then Bhagawan will deposit in my grace account. Since grace is invisible which we don’t see but definitely it increases.

The fourth one is called “Manushiya Yagnah”, any service done to any human being around. Any kind of social activity I do, even a simple smiling. Some people even in smiling are very stingy. What are they going to lose, even a simple smile is beyond them. If you smile, it makes the other person comfortable and Lord will add one unit of grace in your account. At the end of the class, do it freely….(laughter). Even a thought that when someone is suffering and I cannot do anything, a simple prayer: O Lord, may he/she have your grace. Such a prayer will come under manushiya yagnah.

Every service to other human beings is grace earning karma (gek) and the last one is “Bhuta yagnah”. This is very popular in our culture, service done to all animals that serve us. So many animals are serving us, we also have a duty to serve animals and plants. So many Mahatmas are undertaking “go samrakshanam”. Cow is such a sacred animal that it serves us even in its excretion. Even cow dung and cow’s urine are useful, only one animal whose excretion is fragrant. Any other species, it would stink. We will hold our noses and run away. So cow is worthy of worshipping and serving; sadly slaughter houses are increasing and in lacs and lacs they are slaughtered. So many people have started “go samrakshnam kedram” to protect aged cows that cannot give anything. Thus anything we do to protect the animals, plants, and environment which will in turn bless us will come under “Bhuta yagnah”.

Thus pancha maha yagna will help me deserve Ishwara’s grace. So if a person escapes an accident with God’s grace, it is not because of god’s favoritism but this person has got “tapped grace”. The other person, don’t say does not have grace, he does not have tapped grace. Whether I should tap god’s grace or not, who should decide? I or Ishwara?  If Ishwara decides or makes some people to tap and others not to tap, then what will be problem? If that were to be the case then the Lord will be open to the charge of favouritism. Whether one should tap grace or not; Bhagawan will not and cannot decide. Therefore whether I should tap or not is dependent on my own freewill. We should accept every jiva has a freewill with which he/she can decide to tap or not to tap Ishwara’s grace. By doing what? PANCHA MAHA YAGNA.

That is why Lord Krishna says in the Gita: samo 'ham sarva-bhutesu  na me dvesyo 'sti na priyah I am uniform to all. Arjuna if some people get moksha, it is not because I chose them. But they chose moksha. Therefore the choice is yours. You can get Bhagawan’s grace and accomplish all the goals that you want.

Here the scriptures add one more point. Tapping the grace alone is not sufficient because the tapped grace will not become operational instantaneously. Just as a seed cannot produce a tree or a fruit instantaneously; the seed can give benefit only after a duration and manifestation to become operational. Therefore the tapped grace will be there in the account of all living beings who chose to tap through pancha maha yagna. So in all our accounts, what kind of grace will be there? The tapped grace will be there, but it will require some time to become operational which is gestation period, incubation period, manifestation period. In Sanskrit it is called “Pari pakvam” which means to fructify.  It is like some fruits we buy and wait for it to fully ripen. Tapped grace will not benefit you, but only tapped grace which has become ripened. Therefore TAPPED RIPENED GRACE will be available to me by giving me favourable situations and condition. Therefore TRG, whoever has more trg will have an extra advantage. And whoever does not have TRG or ERG (earned ripened grace) will not have that advantage. This earned ripened grace alone is called “pari pakvam punyam”. When an individual has ERG or pari pakvam punyam they will find all the situations favourable. Without that, they will not have that extra advantage. So grace requires two conditions: a) it should be earned grace and b) it should be ripened grace. Unearned grace will not benefit, earned and un-ripened grace also will not benefit; earned ripened grace called pari pakvam punyam alone will bless us. So when you find some people have advantages and so people don’t have that advantage, what should we understand? Don’t say Bhagawan is partial; or HE is blind and deaf; don’t complain against Bhagawan. It will only means that I don’t have enough in my grace account, ERG is missing. So we can all work for EARNED RIPENED GRACE only if we choose and practice Pancha Maha Yagna in our daily lives.

And lastly when we practice pancha maha yagna for pari pakva punyam or Ishwara Anugraha (both these words are synonyms) we can earn it for two types of purposes. This punyam can be allocated in both ways, just like in those charitable trusts. We can allocate money for building fund or temple fund etc likewise when we have Ishwara krupa; we have a freedom for any one of the two purposes. We have the choice. One for spiritual purpose, meaning I should grow internally and my mind should become purer and purer – kama, kroda, moha, mada, matsarya; all of them should get diluted. Sadhana Chatushtai Sampathi I should gain; my mind gets spiritually oriented. That I should get a spiritual guide so that I can pursue moksha; when I seek grace for that then it will come under “spiritual purpose”. Guru is available but I am not able to go? For what, you need HIS grace. For Shravanam, Mananam, Nidhidyasanam; I must have grace. So self-enlightenment and moksha is spiritual purpose. When I earn Ishwara’s grace, I can allocate it for spiritual purposes. That I should tell in my sankalpa: Annpurne sada purne shankar pran vallabhe Gyana vairagya siddhiartham; immediately God will mark it for spiritual purpose. Suppose you say: Putra Pautra sidyartham, dhana dana sidyartham ….(laughter) promotion sidhyartham; so any non-spiritual things you mention that Lord allocates accordingly. One is called “Sreyah” and another “Preyah” – there are two types of anugraha Sreyah Ishwara Anugraha and Preyah Ishwara Anugraha. We can decide which one we want. Today we did puja, and when you offer flowers; watch your mind. If you pray for your son, daughter, father, mother while doing namaskaram, then the grace will be attached to it. But spiritual gain will not be there, we will be dying an ignorant person. Punarapi janam, punarapi maranam. Today’s puja will come under deva yagnah. And if you dedicate these prayers for Jnana Yogyatha Prapthi. Jnana Prapthi, Jnana Nistta Prapthi then desire for knowledge of spiritual knowledge comes.

All these will come only from Ishwara’s grace. Can you use the right word? EARNED RIPENED ISHWARA ANUGRAHA (ERIA). This grace will bring you to Vedanta class. And ERIA will keep you awakened in Vedanta class. ….very tough (laughter). ERIA will help you understand the teaching. Therefore we should increase earned ripened Ishwara anugraha, flow must be there continuously. If you want continuous flow of ERIA, what should you do? There is only one way and that is you should do pancha maha yagna continuously.

Therefore Ishwara Angraha is available for some and not available for some not because Bhagawan is partial because some have earned and some don’t have the earned ripened grace. Let us all earn Ishwara’s grace and accomplish either preyas as you like or if you are an intelligent bhakta you can use it for jnanam and moksha.