May 29: Tiruvannamalai
The Nama Sankirtan was led by Boomaji from Dallas, TX.
Sri Narayananji from Boston talked about the significance of satsang from Gopika Geetham.
The reason why attaining God is so difficult is because we don’t find a place for him in our hearts and minds. Our mind is filled with ego. Ego never manifests itself as ego. We never realize that we possess this ego and the fact is that it is found in all of us. People may have ego of wealth, riches, good health, happy families, good children, good power at work, a commanding position in the society and so on. It is one task to destroy such egos. Even if such egos are destroyed, the devotees of the Lord are still not able to get the darshan of the Lord. It is because they still possess one ego – the ego of devotion. – that ‘I am the greatest devotee’. The Lord doesn’t like this thought too. He tries to destroy this as well as clearly seen in Gopika Geetham. The gopis were ever in the thought that “they are the devotees of the Lord” and so the Lord wanted to remove this ego as well. During Rasa Leela, the Lord came in many different Krishna’s and danced with each and every gopi. In the midst of the Rasaleela., when they were in the thought that they were the sole devotees of the Lord, he disappeared and all the gopis cried and longed to get him back but in vain.
They first went out in search of him in Brindavan one after the other. They enquired with all the different plants, animals if they saw Lord Krishna or not. Then the gopis all gathered at one place and started to sing praises of the Lord, which is what we sing today “Goopika Geetham”. “jayathi te adhikam janma na vraja..”. Even after singing His glories, He did not give darshan. The gopis started crying for Him, “Ruruthuhu susvaram rajan”. Then they were led to a state of viraha (longing and separation from the Lord). They couldn’t imagine a life without Lord Krishna. That is the supreme state to be in for the Lord to come before the jivas. Once the devotee is in the state of Viraha, the Lord appears. And this state of viraha doesn’t happen to everyone just like that. It takes so much of effort to get there.
Prahlada showed us the steps to reach God. Here the Gopis show a different set of steps – First, gathering together as a satsang (just like the Gopis did), and then chanting of the Divine Names of the Lord and singing his glories (Gopika Geetam). This will, in due course of time, lead give us the supreme Prema Bhakti and finally enable us to reach his Holy Feet.
Following this, Sriramji from Houston talked about the stala purana of Tiruvannamalai.
Our land of Bharat is pure in many ways. The very fact the great Mahans are born in this great land would suffice to substantiate this very fact. The love for the nation (desa bhakti) and love for god (deiva bhakti) is present in all of them. If we take the life-history of Yogi Ram Suratkumar, a devotee once walked up to him and asked him if he had read the newspaper that day. Yogi said, “Where does this beggar have the time to read the paper. He was busy fighting the war in Kargil and saving the country”. This is just one example to show that mahatmas are indeed very patriotic.
When we talk about the glory of India, there are so many rivers flowing through the length and breadth of the country. There are seven holy places (saptha moksha puris) from kasi to kanchi in this country. The Lord has incarnated in various avatars and all these avatars took place in India. All the thirty-three crore devas desire to be born in india. Even though Bharat might not be the top few countries which is advanced in technology and medical science, it is much more advanced in one field and it is SPIRITUALITY. The divinity is reverberating in the air and people from different parts of the world travel to India to get peace of mind. Just like how southern Indian soil is conducive to grow rice, akin to how northern India soil is fertile to grow wheat, the soil of India is very rich to produce mahans. Right from Adi Shankara, Vashishta, Agastiya, Vishwamitra who are all contemporary, it is even today that we see mahans being born in the consecrated land of India. There are a lot of pilgrimage places in India Varanasi, Brindavan, Ayodhya and Pandarpur to name a few. Why is it that they are called as holy places? It is because of the presence of the Lord (sannidhya) in these locations. A trip undertaken to these places will accrue of lot of merits and it is to be said that to only step in these places will need a lot of previously earned good merits. But there are certain ways in which one should undertake a pilgrimage. When one desires to embark on a pilgrimage, he should go with the Sadguru as he will explain the divine history ( sthala purana) of the place in minute detail. If one is not fortunate to go with a sadguru then he needs to be accompanied by religious minded people who chant the Divine Names of the Lord and always sing his glories. Any other means followed, will not earn the full merits of undertaking a pilgrimage.
Talking about great holy places, Sriramji talked about the greatness of Tiruvannamalai. It is one of the pancha bootha kshetra. It is one of the five sacred places for Lord Shiva that represent the five elements namely (the water, fire, wind , earth and space). Tiruvanamalai symbolizes fire (agni swarropa). Kalahasti represents air, Thiruvanaikal, water, kanchi, land and chidamabram, sky (aaskasa).
The Midnight of Sivaratiri is called Lingodhbhava Kaala. It is that time when the mountain (Tiruvannamalai) is supposed to have come into existence and had the form of Lord Shiva. It is a known fact that a lot of people take a voyage to Kailash which is the residence of Lord Shiva. Our Guru Maharaj very beautifully says that even though Kailash is the residence of Lord Shiva, Tiruvannamalai is Lord Shiva himself in the form of mountain. It is not possible to do any kind of offerings (like offering flowers, vastra etc.) to the mountain which is verily the Lord. Hence a small Linga who is verily Lord Arunchaleshwara was consecrated for all the rituals to be performed.
Why is it called Agni Kshetra? There is a festival called Thee-midi utsavam in Tamil Nadu. On the day of this festival, people walk on burning charcoal. That is generally not celebrated here as per the agama rules. But in the tamil month of aadi on the day of Pooram (Pushya) star, this festival is performed right in front of Abitakuchalambal who is the consort of Lord Arunachaleshawara, verily corroborating the fact that it is an Agni Kshetra. Another point to elucidate that it is indeed an agni kshetra is that the Kaman festival (‘Manmada Dahanam’) is celebrated in front of Lord Arunachaleshawara in the spring time.
There was a king by name Vallala maharaja who was an ardent devotee of Lord Arunachaleshwara. He built a big tomb and it was named as Vallala Maharaja Gopuram. The king was not blessed with a child. He offered his prayers to the Lord Arunachaeshwara and the Lord promised that he himself would be his son. And how did he accomplish this? When the king died, the Lord himself came down and performed the final rites for the king akin to how a son would perform the same rites for his father. Even today after six hundred years, on maasi maka day (tamil month maasi and on the day of Maka nakshatra), the Lord goes to perform the ceremony of the great king.
It is a common belief that the Brahdeeshwar temple is Tamil Nadu is the tallest temple. It is hundred and twenty six feet tall. But the temple of Lord Arunachala is a foot taller than this Brahadeeshwar temple and is indeed the tallest temple. One other thing that is unique in this town is the penance (tapas) of woman. It is common notion that women should not undertake spiritual austerities but in Thiruvannamalai goodeess Parvati herself performed penance and she became part of Lord Arunachaleshawra. The deity of Ardhanareeshwara who is half man and half woman is enough to show that Goddess Parvati became part of Lords Shiva.
It is a known fact that Goddess Parvati is still performing penance in Kannyakumari and it is not known if it has concluded or not but we can clearly see that the penance has concluded in Thiuvanamalai through this divine deity Ardhanareeshwara. We know that Rama and Krishna have temples built for them and no temples exist for Devaki or Kausalya. However, the mother of Sri Ramana Maharishi is said to possess a temple and it is called Maatru boothewara temple.This is another evidence to show that the power of tapas in woman greatly work in this temple town.
If we take the case of Lord Muruga in Pazhani, it is a common belief that the prayers get answered when undertakes a pilgrimage to Pazhani. Akin to this belief is Vaitheeswaran temple in Tamil nadu. People who visit this temple are cured of ailments. If we think why this is the case, it is verily the existence of a Samadhi of great mahans. The Samadhi of Danvanthiri is located in the same town of Vaitheesawaran temple. Danvanthiri is the Lord who bestows one with good health. It is a fact that sepulcher (Samadhi) of Jeevan Mukthas really bless people with good health, prosperity etc.
So one may now wonder as to how many such samadhis/anushtanams can be found in Tiruvannamalai. When we undertake a pilgrimage to Ayodhya/Mathura/Kaladi (the birth palce of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Adi Shankara respectively) it gives us lot of good merits. It is due to the fact that the place where they are born is instantly purified.
One fact that stands distinctly out regarding Tiruvannamalai is the fact that Mahans who visited that place never left that place again for instance Ramana Maharishi, Seshadri Swamigal and Bhagawan Yogiramsuratkumar.
Five jeevan muktas are living in Tiruvannamalai eternally. It is the greatest of all the holy places.
There is a saying in Tamil that goes this way -
“Jnana thapo dhanarai vaa endru azhaikumam Tiruvannamalai”
The great mountain Tiruvannamalai calls out all the people who do tapas/penance and brings them unto its feet. Srimad Bhagavatam talks of a sage called Katvanga who attained Mukti in a ‘muhurta’. Even though we see that Ramana got the experience of Brahma Sakshakshatkara at his home in Tiruchuzhi, we see that He came to Tiruvannamalai.Ramana went to a cave and shut himself in, and reveled in that state. When people located him after several years he was in a dilapidated condition with long grown hair, long nails and with insect bites all over his body. Such great Mahan was in Tiruvannamalai.
It is said that Dakshinamoorthy resides in the summit of the mountain under a banyan tree and no one has claimed to have seen this, for this is considered a dangerous expedition. This was actually seen by Ramana just like we human beings would see each other.
The mountain is famous for strong pressures in certain pockets of the hill. Upon placing an ear, one can hear several mantras that are being chanted. It is very hard for ordinary human beings to comprehend the contents in a stala purana but Mahans have actually witnessed all these.
Seshadri Swamigal was born in Kanchi, which is one of the seven moksha puris. He had earlier settled down in Kanchi but after the demise of his mother he moved to Tiruvannamalai. He was a Realized soul. He used to behave like a lunatic – but every action of his would cause only goodness – he once entered a marriage hall and emptied the vessel that contained a stew. They were shocked to see a snake that was sitting deep inside the vessel. It is also true incident that he used to walk in water and by just tapping his hands, thousands of peacocks would appear from nowhere. He would walk into a shop and open the vault and throw some coins all over the place. That day that shop-keeper would do great business with good profit. He was living without food or water.
His ashram is right next to the ashram of Ramana Maharishi. It is to be told that Seshadri Swamigal performed Giri Pradkshinam a lakh and eight times around Tiruvannamalai. Giri Pradkshinam is a fourteen kilometer walk around the Thiruvnamalai which is the manifestation of Lord Shiva.
Our Guru Maharaj says that Giri Pradkshinam is not just circumambulating a normal mountain and it is indeed a spiritual sadhana by itself. Ramanar who has not advocated any spiritual practice (like japa/tapas etc) has actually urged people to do Giri Pradakshinam.
Yogi Ramsuratkumar Maharaj’s ashram is also located in Tiruvannamalai. He had only lived a few decades in Tiruvannamalai. By his very presence, today, incessant chanting of Nama is happening in his Ashram. Karthigai Deepam is a very important festival that is celebrated with lamps lit in the apex of the mountain. On this day about two million visit Tiruvannamalai on this day. On Full Moon days, the town is packed with devotees for Giri Pradakshina, which was was not the case a few decades ago.
It is only the power of divine name chanting in Yogiji’s ashram that attracts millions of people today.
The satsang ended with Namasankirtan.
May 22: Jnaneswar
The Nama Sankirtan was performed by Mukundji, Sriramji and family from California.
In the eleventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, talks about supreme Vedantic Truths. Akin to Geetopadesha to Arjuna, the Lord gave Upadesha to Uddhav, a Prema Bhakta. The eleventh canto starts with the Nava Yogi Charitra, in which the yogis expound on the Bhagavata Dharama, and the Yuga Dharmas. Then comes the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Uddhava. The first message that Lord Krishna gives to Uddava is about the twenty-four gurus, which is called the ‘Avadhoota Gita’. Avadoota had twenty four different gurus and learnt different things from each of them.
When Uddava questioned him on the easiest way to attain the Lord, Sri Krishna replied that the easiest means is the path of Bhakti. In order to cultivate Bhakti, the spiritual aspirant needs to be in the divine association of a Jivan Mukta. The Lord replied that he resides in the heart of these realized souls. Lord Sri Krishna revealed a secret to Uddhava.
Na rodayati maam yogo na saankhyam dharma eva cha
na svaadyaayastapas tyaago neshtapoortham na dakshinaa
vrataani yagnaschandaamsi thirthaani niyamaayama:
yatavarunde satsanga: sarvasangaapaho hi maam ||
‘Oh Uddhava! It is only satsang that entices me. Yoga, Svadhyaya, penance, meditation, renunciation, sacrifices, charity, recitation fo the Vedas and undertaking pilgrimages, observing strict austerities – none of these allure me as does satsang’
The Lord also gives a long list of great devotees who have attained His feet only due to Satsang – starting from the Devas and Asuras.
Satsang is the preliminary requirement in Bhagavata Dharma. We are indeed fortunate to have taken refuge in our Guru Maharaj, chanting the divine names of the Lord, making it a great satsang.
It was then followed by introductions after which Ramyaji from San Jose talked about Sant Jnaneshwar.
The devotees of Lord Panduranga in Pandarpur have sung crores and crores of abhnags. Abhangs are musical compositions in bhujangam style. One abhang stands out and is like this: “Namacha Bazaara Pandari Namaacha Bazaar”. Unlike a fruit or a vegetable bazaar where one pays moneys to get something, people give only one thing and get the same thing in return. And it is verily Nama. A unique bazaar isn’t it!. So what do we benefit out of this bazaar? The abhang says “Koti kulavudar”. It says just not you but all your ancestors are greatly benefited by the mere chanting of Nama. All the great devotees of the Lord have lucidly shown the path of Bhakti. The term Bhakti comes from the root “Bhaj” which means attached to god. It is pure and unconditional love for the Lord. How should one perform Bhakti. Sadhana Bhakti is the first step in the path of Bhakti. Lord Prahalada very beautifully mentioned the different ways to do sadhana bhakti.
“Sravanam Kirtanam Vishnoh smaranam pada sevanam archanam vandamam dasyam sakhyam and athma nivedanam”
- Sravana ( is hearing about God’s Lilas , his virtues and stories),
- Kirtana (singing of His divine glories),
- Smarana (remembrance of His name and his charithra),
- Padasevana (service of His feet),
- Archana (worship of God). Our Guru Maharaj always says that one should do Bhakti in a very soft way (lalitham). One should place the flowers at the Lord in a soft manner and instead not throw them/
- Vandana (prayer and prostration to Lord),
- Dasya (cultivating the servant sentiment with God),
- Sakhya (cultivating the friend-Bhava) and
It is said that “praptam durlabham haridasyam”. It is rare thing for even Lord Brahma to do service to Lord Hari. Having given a good health with all limbs intact the nama should always be in our lips forever. One great devotee of the Lord says “Bhava Brihmaadi Sura gana manyoham Bhuvantra yepi dhanyoham”
In which that devotee says that he is the blessed one in all the three worlds when compared to Lord Brahma, Indra and the Devas. Why? It is because he has the divine name of Lord Hari in his lips.
Arunagirinathar in his Thirupugazh says
“Maa malargal kondu malaigal panindhu maa padam anindhu paniyaenae”
He expresses his desire to place flower at the holy feet of the Lord.
It is also said that a Bhakta (devotee of the Lord) should be in the company of the like minded people.
Andal says, “Koodi iruthu koolir thaelor embavai”
Sag Sukha when he was about to expound on Srimad Bhagavatam, says “Rasikhaha Bhuvi bhavukaha”. He calls all the like-minded people to come and listen to Srimad Bhagavatam.
Our Guru Maharaj says that this nava vida bhakti should be congenital and not something that should be inculcated by someone. If that is the case, then that is pure bhakti. This is very clearly seen in Jivan Muktas. Sri Seshadri Swamigal did penance ever since he was a child. Tulasidas was chanting the Rama nam when he was a child. This is the case with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Meera and other great devotees of the Lord. It is also said that one needs certain sounds (sabdas) to go reach the state of tranquility. It is verily the sound of Nama Sankirtan that will take us to that state.
It is always said that one needs to be indeed blessed to be bestowed with good things in worldly life. Say a good husband/ good wife/ lucrative job/ fit health etc. If these things itself needs blessing from the Lord, then what to talk about attaining the holy feet of the Lord.
Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada in his Viveka Chootamani says there are three things that are indeed very rare: The first of them being Manusyatvam (blessed with a human birth), Mumukshyatvam (thinking about the means to attain the Lord after being blessed with a human birth) and lastly “Maha Purusha Samsrayam” (one who is in the association of a Jivan Mukta).
It is said that Jivan Muktas are very rare to be seen in the age of Kali. It is only once in so many thousands of years that a realized soul is born. In the life-history of Jnaneshwar we see tht just not him but all his siblings are all Jivan Muktas.
Vittoba was a ‘vairagyasali’ – deeply dispassionate person. His mind was set upon attainment of the Lord as his goal in his life. He had won over all his ‘indriyas’ – senses. Nothing affected him, neither happiness nor sorrow. There was no happiness or sorrow experienced by him. He sought nothing of the Lord. His mind was set on embracing an ascetic life. One night, he lay on the banks of the Chandrabagha river in Pandaripuram. Lord Panduranga and His wife Rukmini are on their rounds. Wherever there is a temple, the God of that temple goes wandering around at night. Looking at this lone Vittoba, Rukmini’s heart goes out to him. She points out Vittoba to Panduranga and requests of Him, “Please do something for Vittoba”. Panduranga asks, “What do you want me to do?” Rukmini said, “Find a nice girl for him to marry”.
Lord Panduranga appears in Vittoba’s dream and informs him, “Tomorrow a brahmin couple will come to you offering the hand of their daughter. Accept the offer and marry her”. The aghast Vittoba tells Lord Panduranga, “Lord! You do know that I am totally dispassionate towards this world. Nothing matters to me. Please do not ask me to marry.” Panduraga points out, “Well, then, it is all the more easy for you to marry and live in this world. It is my wish and Will that you marry this girl and lead a householder’s life.”. And Panduranga also appears in the Brahmin couple’s dream and instructs them, “Go to the banks of Chandrabagha river tomorrow, taking your daughter along with you. You will find Vittoba (the Lord here describes the physical attributes of Vittoba to the couple) there. Offer the hand of your daughter in marriage to this young man.”
The brahmin couple do as they are bid. Vittoba gives his consent to the marriage. The marriage is conducted as laid down by the Shastras (‘vaidihic way’). They live together happily but no child is born to them even after many years. So, Vittoba feels he could now leave the family and embrace ’sanyasa’ (ascetic life). He quits home and goes to Kasi (Varanasi) where he meets Ramananda, a great Mahatma, with 800 sanyasi disciples. Kabirdas was also the disciple of Ramananda. When Vittoba puts forth his desire and is accorded sanyasa.
Here at home, Rukmini is in grief over her husband’s disappearance. She enquires of everyone but is unable to learn of his whereabouts. Ramananda undertakes a pilgrimage along with his disciples. Vittoba offers to stay back to take care of the ashram. This is because in their wanderings the Master might pass through Ramananda’s native place and he might happen to meet his relatives. He does not desire any such meeting and wishes to avoid it. Ramananda, during his wanderings reaches Prathishtanapura. He spends some days here. Rukmini, Vittoba’s wife, is told that circumambulating the peepul tree will bring her husband back to her. So, she visits the local temple and goes around the peepul tree every day. It so happens that Ramananda notices this lady going around the peepul tree every day. Rukmini finds crowds of people going to meet someone and on enquiry learns that a Mahatma has come to the town. She, too, pays a visit to him. She prostrates before him and Ramananda blesses her with a fruit and the words ‘puthravathi bhava!’ (let you be blessed with children!) Only a childless woman goes around the peepul tree. Since Ramananda had noticed her going around the peepul tree, he blesses her, “puthravathi bhava”. The distraught Rukmini confides to the Mahatma, “Swami! You have blessed me so. But I know not the whereabouts of my husband”. Ramananda very kindly enquires about all that had happened. Rukmini explains, “We were leading a happy and peaceful life. There has been no reason whatsoever for my husband to quit home. But on enquiry I heard that he is in Kasi and has embraced ’sanyasa’. I also learn that one Ramananda, a great Mahatma, has initiated him into the ascetic life.”
Ramananda learns that her husband’s name is Vittoba. His other disciples inform the Mahatma that they have heard Vittoba mention this as his native place and this must be his wife. Ramananda immediately sends a sepoy to Kasi to bring Vittoba. Ramananda informs Vittoba all that had taken place and tells him. “My words cannot be a bluff. It is Bhagavan who has made me utter these words. You must at once shirk the ascetic life and return to a householder’s life. Do not worry about the repercussions for, I take the responsibility. So do not worry about it and do as I instruct”. Vittoba has no second thought over the matter. All he desires to do is obey his Master’s order. When the Guru instructs you to act in a certain way he takes responsibility of all the repercussions. The four ashramas in a brahmin’s life is ‘Brahmachari’, ‘grahastha’, ‘vanaprastha’ and ’sanyasi’ – life as a celibate, life as a family man, life in the forest and finally the ascetic life. In this order of life, one can move from brahamcahri to grahastha to vanaprastha to sanyasi and never the other way round. From the first to the next way of life one can move but not vice versa. And to turn from an ascetic life to the householder’s life is verily a grave sin. Unpardonable one! But here Vittoba, a deeply dispassionate person, enters the householder’s life in sheer obedience to the Master. Adhering to the words of one’s Master is the biggest dharma. And four children are born to this couple. Though Vittoba had spent many a year with his wife earlier no child had been born but now (only) due to the blessings of the Mahatama, four children are born to him. Nivritti deva – was the first to be born, Jnaneshwar the second child, Sopana – the third and Mukta bai the last. Nivritti is the incarnation of Parameswara (Lord Siva), Jnaneshwar of Lord Vishnu, Sopana of Lord Brahma and Mukta bai of Goddess Durga. They incarnate only to show and spread the glory of Nama Sankirtanam in the world. Vittoba, having spent the life as bid by his Master, now decides to quit home and spend the rest of his days on the banks of the Ganges. Rukmini, too, joins him.
The small children are left to fend for themselves. Days pass by and Jnaneswar feels it is time for them, the boys, to be initiated into ‘upanayanam’ (the thread ceremony for the Brahmins). Jnaneshwar approaches the local elders to help initiate them into upanayanam. The locals rebuke the children, “All of You are children of an ascetic. We cannot perform upanayanam for you. However, go seek the advise of the scholars. ” Prathishtanapura was filled with Scholars (Vidwans). So, Jnaneshawar along with his siblings meets the Vedic scholars. They ask, “What is your gothra?” (Each brahmin family bears the name of the particular Rishi as its ‘gothra’, in whose lineage the family has descended). Jnaneswar replies truthfully, “We do not know. But the shastras say that one who is not aware of his ‘gothra’ can adopt the ‘gothra’ of the one who performs the upanayana ceremony to him”.
The scholars scoff at him, “Oh! you know shastras?” Jnaneswar asserts that he sees Brahman in the form of Panduranga in everything around and so he is a brahmin. Jnaneswar explains, “Everything is Panduranga. You, I and everything around is Panduranga”. The Scholars laugh at the child. They think that this young boy must be speaking from what he must have heard from someone or read about it in some book. Just then a buffalo passes by and they order the child, “You seem to know everything. If everything is Panduranga as you say, is this also Panduranga?” Jnaneswar say, “Yes, of course! this is also Panduranga!” The Scholars then throw a challenge to the child, “Lord Panduranga likes ‘Sama ganam’. If this buffalo is also Panduranga make this buffalo chant the Sama Veda.” Jnaneshwar moves up to the buffalo, caresses it and says, “Hey! Panduranga! Chant the Sama Veda!” and lo! The buffalo chants Sama Veda to the astonishment of the on looking Brahmins! Jnaneswar truly saw everything as Lord Panduranga and that is why he addressed the buffalo as ‘Panduranga’ and did not look at it as a buffalo. The difference lies only in the external form; only the Lord permeates everyone and everything. With our mind as the base we see one as a man another as an animal or a bird and so on. The dumbfounded Scholars realize that these are not commonplace children. They declare, “You do not need the upanayanam at all, for, you are knowledgeable.” The buffalo, however, continues to chant the Sama Veda and the shocked owner refuses to take back his buffalo! None in the town is ready to take the buffalo that chants the Sama Veda! So, it falls on Jnaneshwar to take it along with him. The Samadhi of the buffalo is found in this region and people throng here to worship the buffalo.
Jnaneshwar later wrote a commentary on the Bhagavat Gita and it was called ‘Jnaneshwari’. It is a wonderful piece of work. While writing ‘Jnaneshwari’, at the end of the commentary for each verse, he used to read it to the buffalo beside him and only after it nodded its head in acceptance did he proceed to the next verse!
Sarngadeva was a siddha who lived in the same town as Jnaneshwar and his siblings. He was a thousand years old! It is said that as soon as he completed a hundred years, he would leave the body and hide himself in a nearby tree. Seeing the body lying down dead, Yama (the god of death) would leave, satisfied that the work had been done. As soon as Yama left, he would get back into his body and live another hundred years. In this way he had lived a thousand years! He performed miracles that attracted people from all over the country. One should never develop bad habits, for, habits die-hard. He lived in a huge palace attended by thousands of disciples. Wealthy devotees surrounded him. Performance of miracles is a very silly affair. A true Mahatma ignores it. This Sarngadeva used to walk on water, produce objects, etc. Ignorant as they are, it is miracles that attract people. A real Mahatma, a Sadguru blesses ‘jnana’ (knowledge) to the people and does not entertain them with miracles. Sarngadeva developed the ’siddhi’ of reviving the dead! So the dead were brought to his doors. Every morning there was a long line of the dead brought by ‘its’ relatives. Sarngadeva would touch the dead and the body would jump up and walk away! That which had been brought in by four people now jumped up and walked away on ‘its’ two legs!
One day, Muktha bai, the three-year old sister of Jnaneshwar happened to see the long line of dead surrounded by relatives. The little one went up to one of them and inquired what it was all about. They tried to send the child away saying, “You are but a child. These are dead bodies. You may get frightened seeing them. Go away from here.” But the child insisted in knowing what was going on. So they explained, “Sarngadeva, living here in the big palace, is a great Mahan. He bestows life to the dead. So we have brought our dead to him.” To their surprise, the three-year old Muktha bai said simply, “Is it just this? Even I can bring them around to life!” The people took it to be a disoriented talk of a mere child and tried to send her away. But she was not to be thrown out so easily. Some of them said, “Well! Why not let the child try?” Muktha bai went up and whispered, “Vittala!’ into the ears of the dead, one by one. And all of them were up and what did they do? Unlike the ones risen up by Sarngadeva who uttered some worldly gibbering, those that were brought to life by Muktha bai with their hands held up and clapping, cried out ‘Vittala’ ‘Vittala’ and danced away! When Sarngadeva came out that morning he found an empty front yard! Though wonder struck for a moment he drew up the conclusion that his power must have increased to the extent of the dead being revived with the mere proximity to the walls of his palace! To his disappointment, he soon learnt that a mere child had brought all the dead to life! And it was none other than the three-year old sister of Jnaneshwar, against whom Sarngadeva nurtured enmity.
A man who performed innumerable miracles, who lived in a huge palace, who had people thronging his palace, who had the wealthy at his beck and call, who had innumerable disciples serving him, was jealous of the poor Jnaneshwar who lived in a hut with his brothers, sister and just a handful of friends! He had attained ’siddhis’ and performed miracles but could not win over desire, anger, greed and lust. He was jealous of Jnaneshwar! Sarngadeva decided to settle matters with Jnaneshwar right away by showing off his ‘powers’! He, therefore, saddled a lion with a snake (!) and rode on it to Jnaneshwar’s hut. People thronged to see the ‘great man’ riding a lion. Jnaneshwar was repairing the broken down wall of his hut! When he saw Sarngadeva come riding on a lion, Jnaneshwar sat on the wall and patted it. The wall moved up – ‘tut, tut, tut’! Sarngadeva was aghast. The foolish people looked at Jnaneswar with amazement. To ride a lion is not great for the lion is a living creature. But to make a non-living (‘achetanam’) thing move! The mortified Sarngadeva jumped down from the lion and moved towards Jnaneshwar prostrating to him with every step taken! He did not feel mortified because of Jnaneshwar’s ability to make the wall move. But due to the blessings (‘Kataksham’) of Jnaneshwar the fountain of devotion had sprung up in his heart. And he sought refuge in Jnaneshwar and begged to be shown the right path. Jnaneshwar asked Muktha bai to initiate him. Accordingly, Muktha Bai initiated him into the Nama of ‘VITTALA’. Sarngadeva at once, then and there, threw away everything – his palace, wealth, the foolish disciples and devotees – and going to the banks of Chandrabagha river carried on the incessant chanting of the Nama ‘VITTALA’ and attained salvation. When I see the beautiful roses being sold I always wonder, “What greater thing could this person buy with the money earned in selling these beautiful roses!”
Sopana means staircase, Nivrithi means liberation/renunciation, Jnaneshwar means knowledge and Muktha means ‘avidyai’- removal of ignorance, true knowledge. Durga is one who cuts asunder the ignorance and shows the light of knowledge. Jnaneswar, Nivritti deva, Sopana, Muktha Bai, Nama devar, Jana bai were all great Mahans who lived to show the way of Nama Sankirtanam for the attainment of the Lord.
The satsang ended with Nama Sankirtan prayers, led by Sri Mukund from California.
May-1: Guru Mahima in Ramcharitmanas
One needs to follow Ramayana. The word ‘ayana’ means path and Ramayana thus means the path shown by Lord Rama. Bhagavatham on the other hand is not called ‘Krishnayana’. Bhagavatam is for listening, enjoying and reminiscing the leelas of Lord Krishna.
Our guru Maharaj gives a beautiful explanation as to what Ramayana truly shows us. He says Ramayana shows a path and that is nothing but listening to glories of the Lord.
When we read Valmiki Ramayana, it says, “Vishnor balam vardataam” By reading Ramayana, the strength and power of Lord Vishnu grows. The story in Ramayana has proved to be an elixir for Lord Rama Himself!
Mother Sita was separated from Lord Rama and it was only the story of Ramayana narrated by Lava and Kusha (His own sons) that brought Sita back to him and hence happiness to his own family. That is the greatness of Katha Sravana that Lord Rama himself experienced.
It is true with Hanumanji too. Hanumanji says that He will be present wherever Ramayana is being expounded. He further says that he will not only be listening to the Ramayana but prostrating unto them all time.
“yatra yatra raghunatha kirtanam tatra tatra krutamastakaanjalim”
Sita Mata’s lifeline is listening to the nectarine Rama Katha. In Ashokavana, she was about to end her life since the ogresses threatened her and since Ravana had given her an ultimatum of two months and that he would take her life if she failed to concede. It was Rama Katha which was sung by Hanumanji saved her life. It is beautiful how Hanumanji sings the glories of Rama. Sitting on the top of the tree in the Ashoka Vana, Hanumanji witnesses all the happenings until a point when Sita Mataji is ready to hang herself. Hanumanji wanted to help her out, but he was afraid that the Mother would only get more frightened if he appears before Her, him being a monkey, a speaking monkey! So merely sitting on the branches of the tree, He starts singing the divine glories of Lord Rama – right from His birth in Ayodhya up until the point when He is suffering having lost her.
Here it is shown how a satsang should be. A satsang is verily chanting the Divine Names of the Lord and listening to the glories of the Lord. Hanumanji shows here that it is immaterial whether we see each other face to face. Thus, our telecon satsangs are indeed true satsangs where we merely sing the Divine Names and listen to the glories of the Lord, and we all should thank God for giving us a satsang opportunity.
Following the short talk on the significance of Satsang by Sri Narayanan from Boston, Sri Narayan Daveji from Pearland, TX, discoursed on Ramayana.
Tulsidas wrote the divine story of Lord Rama and this is called Ram Charit Manas.
Lord Shiva is continuously reciting the name of Lord Rama in His meditation. So with the divine blessings of the lord, Lord Shiva was able to portray Lord Rama’s divine play that he intended to do when he incarnated on earth. He kept this in His mind and He passed this to mother Bhavani and hence the name Ram Charit Manas (Since Lord Shiva had depicted the form of Lord Rama in his mind).
Lord Rama is considered as a Maryaada Purushottam. His incarnation clearly shows how one should lead a life as a son, a husband, a ruler and a father. Since his life is too ideal to be followed in this age of Kali Yuga, we can keep his Charitra in our minds and very slowly our lives will become akin to Lord Rama. Hence it is called Ram Charit Manas.
Lord Shiva gave this to Tulsidas and he in turn gave it to the world.
It is said in Ramayan,-
Sambat sorah sai ekteesaa | karau kathaa hari pad dhari seessaa ||
naumi bhaum baar madhu maasa | avadpuri yah charita prakaasa || (3) (C-34)
On the day of Rava Navami in Ayodhya, Shri Thulsidas wrote the Ram Charit manas for the benefit of the common man in this Kaliyuga. This wonderful Ram Charit Manas depicts the divine plays of Lord Rama, it also contains the significance of Rama Nam, importance of satsang and the greatness of the Guru.
Daveji expounded on the Guru Mahima from Ram Charit manas.
At the start of Ramcharitmanas, in Bala Kand, Tulsiji offers his salutations to the Eternal Guru, Lord Shiva and then to his own Guru in the following doha –
Bandau guru pad kanj krupaa sindu nararupa hari |
mahaamoh tam punj jaasu bachan rabi kar nikar ||
I bow to the lotus feet of my Guru, who is an ocean of mercy and none other than Lord Hari Himself in human form and whose words are akin to the rays of the Sun which removes the darkness called ignorance.
Further, in the subsequent chaupayi, he says,
Bandau guru pada padma paraagaa | suruchi subaas saras anuraaga ||
Amia moorimaya choorana chaaru | samana sakala bhava ruja parivaaru || (1)
sukrti sambhu tana bimala bibhooti | manjula mangala moda prasooti ||
jana mana manju mukur mal harani | kiyen tilak gun ganbas karani || (2)
Sri gur pad nakh mani gana joti | sumirat dibya drishti hiyam hoti ||
Dalan moh tam so suprakaasu | bade bhaag ur aavayi jaasu || (3)
Ugharahim bimala bilochana hi ke | mitahim dosha dukh bhav rajni ke ||
Sujahim raam charit mani maanik | guputa pragata jahan jo jehi kaanik || (4)
Guru pad raj mrudu manjula anjana | nayana amia druga dosha bibhanjan ||
Tehim kari bimala bibeka bilochana | baranaum raam charita bhava mochan || (1)
I greet the dust of the Lotus feet of my Guru as a salve, which is an elixir for the defect in my eye. I touch the lotus feet of my Guru, to take the dust to treat my troubled eye so that I can describe the glories of Lord Rama”
In Balkand, we have read that Lord Dasaratha was not blessed with a son for long and this very much worried him. Now let us see why Lord incarnated on this earth as Lord Rama. In the previous birth, Dasaratha and Kausalya Matha were born as Manu and Shatrupa. They did immense penance and the Lord appeared in front of them and asked them for a boon. This ideal couple declined the offer and instead they requested for a son akin to Lord Hari who was standing in front of them. The lord agreed to this. Later He realized that there was none like him in this world. So He Himself decided to incarnate in this world as their son. Even though Bhagwan decided to incarnate again, this happened only with a guru’s blessings.
Ek baar bhoopati man maahi | bhai galaani more sut naahi ||
Guru grah gayau turat mahipaala | charan laagi kari binaya bisaala || (1)
Nija dukh sukh sab gurhi sunaayau | kahi bashishta bahu bidhi samujaavu ||
Dharahu dheer hoyihahim sut chaari | tribhuvan bidita bhagat bhaya haari || (2)(C-189)
The fact that King Dasaratha was not blessed with a son made him very depressed. Dasaratha, being a great king went to seek his guru’s advice to seek a remedy for his sorrow.
It is said that one can confide their concerns to their guru and it is only a guru who can direct us in the right path.
And Sage Vashishta said,
“You will have four sons and these four sons and they will be very learned and will be known throughout the three worlds and wipe out the fears of the devotees”
Sage Vasishta having blessed King Dasaratha, invited a very learned sage, Shringi to perform Putra Kameshti Yagna. Following the yagna, Kausalya Maata gave birth to four sons, the eldest of them being Lord Rama and the other being Bharatha, Lakshmana and Shatrugna.
It is very clearly seen in Balkand, King Dasaratha consulted his Guru SageVashista for every advice during the childhood face to ensure that his sons cultivated good habits.
It was Sage Vashista who had named the fours sons to be Rama, Lakshmana, Bharataha and Shatrugna.
Kachuka divas bheet ehi bhaanti | jaat na jaaniya dina aru raati |
naam karana kar avasaru jaani | bhoop boli pataye muni gyaani || (1)
Kari pooja bhoopati as bhaasha | dhariya nam jo muni guni raakha ||
Inha ke naam anek anoopa | main nrup kahab svamati anuroopa || (2) (C-197)
King Dasartha performed pooja to Sage Vasahista and requested him to name his four sons. We can see that even though the Lord incarnated in this world, king Dasaratha requested his guru, Sage Vashista to name his sons.
As the brothers grow up in Ayodhya, the brothers are accorded ‘yagnopavita’ by their Guru and their parents, as it is said in the following verse –
Bhaye kumaar jabhi sab bhraataa | deenha janeu guru pitu maata ||
Gurugraham gaye padhan raghuraayi | alp kaal bidhiyaa sab aayi || (2)
jaaki sahaj svaas sruti chaari | so hari padh yah kauthuka bhaari ||
Bidyaa binaya nipuna guna seela | khelahi khel sakala nrupleela || (3) (C-204)
Even though it was the lord who had incarnated as Lord Rama, he took the Yagnopavitra as any other common man. And then the lord leaves for Gurukul for education and within a short span of time, Lordess Saraswati herself came to the Lord.
The four Vedas are verily the breath of the Lord. The significance of the guru and that of Gurukul is stressed here. One needs to be in the sight of the guru after the Yagnopaveeth. Thus the Lord shows the importance of Gurukul here.
The Lord finished his education in the Gurukul and came back to Ayodhya. At that time, Sage Vishawmitra once visited the kingdom of Ayodhya. Here it is very nice to read how King Dasaratha welcomed the Santh. Even though we offer our respect our guru, it is equally important to receive any Santh with same respect when they visit our place.
Muni aagaman sunaa jab raaja | milana gayau lai bipra samaaja ||
Kari dandavat munihi sanmaani | nij aasan baitaarenhi aani || (1)
Charan pakaari keenhi ati pooja | mo sam aaju dhanya nahi dhooja ||
bibid bhaanti bhojan karuvaavaa | munibar hrudaya harash ati paavaa || (2)
…
Tab man harashi bachan kah raau | muni as krupaa na keenhi hu kaavu ||
Kehi kaaran aagaman tumhaara | kahahu so karat na kaavum baara || (4) (C-207)
When King Dasaratha was informed that Sage Vishwamitra was visiting his kingdom, he immediately went out and prostrated in front of him and offered his throne as a seat for him. There are two interpretations here, “Nij aasan” means king Dasaratha’s own seat was given to Sage Vishwamitra. In a symbolic way, it means that king Dasaratha was ready to accept Sage Vishwamitra’s advices and thus act accordingly. If we look at it in a different perspective, “Nij aasan” – king dasaratha being a very learned man, knew that lot of Mahans and saints will be visiting his kingdom and hence he had allocated seats for them- and he gave the right seat for Sage Vishwamitra.
He performed pada pooja to sage Vishwamitra and told him that he is immensely blessed to have such a great saint visit his kingdom. He then asked Sage Vishwamtira for the reason for his visit.
In reply to this, Sage Vishwamitra asked king dasaratha if he can take Ram and Lakshman to his place. He mentioned that he was doing some yagna and Marich and Subahu were creating hurdles and not allowing him to do yagna.
Sab sut mohi praan ki naayi | raam det nahi banayi gosaayi ||
kaham nisichar ati ghor katoraa | kaham sundar sut param kishora || (3)
Suni nrup giraa prem ras saani | hrudayam harsh maanaa muni gyaani ||
Tab bashishta bahu bidhi samjhaavaa | nrup sandeh naas kaham paavaa || (4)
ati aadar dou tanaya bolaaye | hrudayam laayi bahu baanti sikhaaye ||
mere praan naath sut douoo | tumh muni pitaa aan nahi kouoo || (5) (C-208)
He said to sage Vishwamitra that all his four sons are his lifeline. He further told him that his sons are beautiful and tender when compared to demons, which are strong and wild. He also requested sage Vishwamitra that he will give his entire army to fight the demon.
King Dasaratha is now filled with doubts. He thinks Ram as his own son and ignorance overpowers him and he fails to come to realty that he is indeed Lord. Secondly he didn’t implicitly adhere to the words of Sage Vishwamitra to send his sons along with him.
It is very beautifully seen as to how the guru removes this ignorance in king Dasaratha’s mind. Sage Vashista spent time to explain the king. After having been convinced by Sage Vashista, he very affectionately called his two sons and advised him
He told Sage Vishwamitra that his sons are his very breath and asked him to take good care of them.
The key take away point is that, we should implicitly obey the words of our guru and that will only bring glory to our family.
It is seen that Lord Rama goes to Sage Vishwamitra’s ashram and he gave Moksha to Maricha and Subahu then went to the court of Janak Maharaj where he broke the bow and subsequently married Sita Mata.
Having thus beautifully expounded the greatness of Guru in Balakand, Daveji concluded with first two lines of Hanuman Chalisa that speak of the significance of the Guru.
Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj
Nij man mukure sudhar
Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu
Jo dayaku phal char
I clean my mind with dust of lotus feet of Guru. The mind is tainted with bad thoughts and we need some thing to clean the mind and it is only that dust that can clean our minds.
The satsang was opened for prayer requests and ended with Nama Sankirtan by Ranjaniji and Rajasekarji from Boston.
May 15: Vrittrasura & Purandaradasa
Nama Sankirtan was performed by Sri Nagarajan’s family and Sri Thiagarajan’s family from Dallas.
Narayananji from Boston talked about the significance of Satsang.
We all know that there are twelve cantos in Srimad Bhagavatam. The sixth canto talks about the glories of Divine Names of the Lord. But then we look at the Purana Lakshana (the characteristics of a Purana), the sixth canto talks about Poshana. Poshana refers to the compassion and mercy of the Lord. No matter how wicked, cruel, or ignorant or dirty we are, the Lord is so compassionate that he takes all of us unto his Feet by some means or the other. That’s the definition of Poshana. The episode of Vritrasura who is an asura, shows the love for the lord by a demon.
Virtrasura was born so, because of the mistakes done when chanting the Vedas when praying to bestow him with a strong person who can kill Indra. Instead of praying for this, they started praying “Oh Lord! Please bestow me with a strong person who can be killed by Lord Indra”. As a result of the prayer, Vritrasura was born and was indeed a very strong person. As expected Lord Indra was not able to confront Vritrasura by himself. He went to a great sage who was called as Dadichi and requested for his back-bone. Sages who are compassion-personified gave away his back-bone and with that Indra made a weapon called “Vajrayuda” and with this weapon he went to accost Vrithrasura. One should note the Viveka (discrimination) and knowledge that Virdhrasura possessed. On seeing Indra, he just laughed and said, “Oh Indra, Do you think I am a coward and will run away? Oh! Not at all. There is the Almighty who is very compassionate and he knows how to take our lives. It is destined that you will kill me and it will happen that way”. But, he requested Indra to wait as he had to complete his morning prayers. It was not a long drawn pooja routine. He had just four Slokas which he recited every morning. However, he did not disclose his prayers. Prayers done with love are not normally boasted about.
The four slokas are as mentioned below –
“Aham hare tava padaika moola dasanu daso bhavitaasmi bruthya:
Manah smaretaasu pater gunaamste grneeta vak karma karotu kaaya: || (6.11.24)
Na naga prushtam nacha parameshtyam nasarvabhaumam narasadhipathyam
Nayogi sidhir apunarbhavam samanjasatva virahaiya kaankshe || (6:11:25)
Ajatha pakshad iva maataram kaaga: stanyam yata vatsadhara sudhartha: |
Priyam priyaeva vyushitam vishanna Manoravindaasksha didrukshate tvaam” || (6:11:25)
Oh my lord, Let me always be in your service. If I am not able to be in your service then please bless to be in the service of your greatest devotees. If I am not fortunate enough to be in the association of your greatest devotees, then let me be in the divine satsang of their devotees (dasanudasa). When I am in the service of all your devotees, then I offer my body, mind and thoughts unto you.
And then in his second sloka, he says, let me always be in contact with you. If you offer me anything that removes the contact with you, then I don’t need it even if it is the greatest heaven. In his third sloka, he says, “Oh Lord, Take me unto you akin to how a small bird is being taken care by its mother bird, a calf craving for the love of its mother-cow and a fiancee waiting to join her fiance.
His fourth sloka has a very deeper meaning. He knows that it is not easy to get the divine company of the Lord. So he says,
“Mamottama sloka janeshu sakyam samsara chakre bramtah smakarmabi: |
Tvan maayayaatmatmaja daara geheshu asakta chityasa na naatha bhooyaat”
He says,”Oh Lord I know that I am caught deep inside the ocean of Samsara from which it is not very easy to be absolved. If at all you are an epitome of compassion then may I request you to do one thing? Please put me amidst a group of devotees in a satsang.
Make me friends with those devotees who are in a satsang and that way everything will fall into place. That is the greatest compassion and path that you can show and that way I will be freed from this samsara as well.
So what is a satsang? It is a divine association with a Jivan Mukta and who is ever chanting the Divine Names of the Lord and is in the eternal bliss.
This was followed by introductions and Nishaji from Houston discoursed on the life-history of Sri. Purandaradasa.
India is a land of Mahans. Akin to how certain type of soil is conducive to grow specific plants for example, southern India’s staple crop is rice whereas the northern part of India is fertile to grow wheat. Similarly the soil of India grows Mahans. Right from the time of great sages like Vashishta, Vishwamitra, India has been a home to enlightened souls.
In the life-histories of Mahans, we see that some incident usually triggered the spitritual quest and they did not stop that quest till the end. If we take the life-history of Sadasiva Brahmendra, he went and asked his mother for food. She told him that it would take some time and he thought that what is the use of this house when one cannot get food when he is hungry. He left home at that instant of time. Hunger brought a great change in his life.
Another classic example is Sri Tulasidas. He went in search of his wife who was at her parent’s place. He encountered many hardships to reach his in-law’s place. Upon reaching, his wife tells him that the earnestness with which he had to come to see her, if he had a quarter of it to see lord Rama, he would have had the darshan of Rama long ago. That comment totally changed Tulasidas’s life. Another great mahan whose life was totally changed was Sri Purandara Dasa. We all know him as the grandfather of carnatic music. Apart from this, we should all see the Bhakti he possessed towards the lord. He was never like that since birth. Let us see what changed him.
The earlier name of Purandara Dasa was Srinivasa Nayaka who was born to a devout couple, who were childless for a long time. They had begotten him after praying to Lord Srinivasa. Srinivasa Nayaka’s father, Varadappa Nayaka was an affluent person and was a pawn-broker by profession. He was very devout and did lot of charitable deeds. On the contrary, when Srinivasa Nayaka grew up, he was a miser. He took over his ancestral business but charity was not in his blood at all. When his father was ailing, he refused to spend for his medical treatment and this eventually led to the death of his father. This however did not disturb him at all. On the other hand, his wife was very generous and she always wanted to gift people. This was the situation when Lord Panduranga Vitala decided to make Srinivasa Nayaka his devotee.
He came to his shop in the guise of a poor Brahmin. He begged for alms for his son’s upanayanam. Srinivasa Nayaka in his customary style drove him away and asked him to come back the next day. The Lord came the next day as well and he kept sending him away. This happened for about six months and everyday the Brahmin came back in a persistent manner and Srinivasa Nayaka did not have the heart to give him a dime. After six months, Srinivasa Nayaka gave the Brahmin a fake coin which was given to him by his father when he was a child. The Brahmin very well knew that it was indeed a fake coin and he took that coin and went to his wife and he pretended that he didn’t know that Srinivasa Nayaka was her husband. He told her that some pawn broker had given him a fake coin after asking him to come for six months. She immediately knew that the pawn broker was none other than her husband and she felt very ashamed of her husband’s act.
So she gave away her nose ring. The Brahmin promptly took the nose ring and went to Srinivasa Nayaka’s shop and he requested him to pawn the nose-ring. As soon as he saw the nose ring, he recognized that it belonged to his wife. He immediately locked the nose ring in his shop and went to confront his wife. He asked her to show him the nose-ring. Unable to accost him, she prayed sincerely to the Lord and found the nose-ring in her home, miraculously. She immediately went to give it to her husband. He went back to the shop to see if the nose ring that he had kept inside was safe. But he was not able to find it.
This incident completely changed his life. He realized the futile life that he had been leading all along. He could vividly see that it was the Lord who had disguised himself as Brahmin. He renounced himself and along with his wife and four children he took to the streets and since then sang praises of Lord Vittala. His songs are popular even today.
One should note the Bhakti that Purandaradasa had for the Lord. An interesting point to note here is that, he was a great devotee of Sri Hari and he has composed several kirtans on Lord Krishna, before he found a guru. His guru was Vyasa Theertha. He was the one who conferred on him the name Puranadara Dasa. In one of his kirtans, he sings “My only refugee is the feet of Vyasa Theertha. I could understand Purandara Vittala only through his grace.” Purandara dasa was a great devotee of the Lord before he met his guru. After meeting his guru, he said that is when he understood the Lord himself.
See the humility in some one to whom Lord Panduranga himself appeared in person!
He is among the many Mahans who has sung the glories of Nama Kirtan.
In one of his kirtans, he pleads the Lord for his grace so that he can always remember the Lord’s name.
“nArAyaNA ninna nAmada smaraNeya sArAmrtavenna nAligege barali”
He says “Narayana, let the sweet nectar of the essence of your name come in my tongue”
Whatever situation I am in be it prosperity, poor let your name as Krishna Krishna be in me.
In the final verse he says “santata hari ninna sAsira nAmavu antarangada oLagirisi
entO purandara viTTala rAyane antya kAladalli cintisOhAgE”
He says “Oh Lord! Please place your hallowed names in the depths of my heart and Vittala please shower your grace on me so that I remember your name in my last moments of my life”.
Our Guru Maharaj emphasizes that the key thing in our lives is to remember the lord in one’s last moments. If we think of god during our final moments then we are saved. This fact is also emphasized in Ajamila Charitra in Srimad Bhagavatam.
In our last moments we will think of whatever we have been doing all our life. If we are not chanting the divine names of the lord in our lifetime then it is very difficult to think about the lord in our final moments. When the fear of death overpowers us, we fill try to find solace in whatever we have been doing all our lives. If there is no Namakirtan in our entire lives, then how will it come in our last moment? That the reason we have to chant the names of the Lord and that is a practice for us to think about the Lord in our last stages of life.
Our guru maharaj in one of his lectures mentioned that there is a test to see if one has reached the state to think Lord Narayana in his final moments. If one reminisces about the satsang and about the Lord when we come home after satsangs, then there is a chance that we think about the Lord in our last moments. If we delve into the materialistic chores and not think about the satsang that we just attended, then we are not there yet!
The satsang ended with Nama Sankirtan by the Dallas satsang members.
May 8: Prahlada and Gajendra
Narayananji from Boston, talked about the significance of Narasimha jayanthi which was then followed by a lecture on Gajendra stuthi by Gayatriji from Boston.
“The eighth of May 2009 was a very auspicious day indeed. It was lord Narasimha Jayanthi and also Chitra Poornima.
There is one thing that is special of Narasimha avatar. Our Guru Maharaj says that if one of the three things doesn’t exist, then we cannot see God – Stead-fast faith (Druda Vishwasa), truthfulness (Satyasandha) and thirdly strictly adhering to dharma (dharmatma). Prahalad had all the three qualities. However, the Lord liked Prahlad’s truthfulness and steadfast faith – and verily for the ‘satya’ of Prahlada, He came out of the pillar. Such is the greatness of a true devotee.
In the sloka remembering the Gurus, we have ‘Prahlada Narada Parasara Pundareeka…’. We see that here, Prahlada is being invoked even before his guru Narada! He even excels his own guru. It is interesting to see what this guru of ours (Prahalada) advices us. He has instructed his father, mother; and he has advised his own gurus (Chanda and Amarka)!
What is the first advice that he gives? This is a piece of his learning that he shares with his father – He talks Vedanta. He says destroy the two thoughts. The first of them being “I” and secondly “Mine”. The characters “Hiranyaksha” and “Hiranyakashipu” are verily “I” and “Mine”. Hiranyakashipu is the quality of ego ,which is“I”. The hiranyaksha is the quality of “mine” (possessiveness).
Hiranyaksha is the younger sibling and the Hiranyakashipu is the elder. If we see the order in which the Lord kills this duo, its Hiranyaksha who goes first. That is, the Lord doesn’t destroy “I” first but only destroys the quality “mine”. Only when the possessiveness (mine) is removed can the ego be removed.
Prahalad advices his father saying “Oh Father! One who feels that the human body is futile and wishes to destroy the qualities of I and mine is indeed great”. The second part of his advice was to renounce all the worldly possessions and go to the forest. The second part was very difficult to comprehend for people who are tied in the world of samsara, leave alone Hiranyakashipu! When his father asked him to repeat the learning again, at a later date, Prahalad made it simpler and showed the path of Bhakti. He apprised his father on the Nava vida bhakti which goes like this.
“Sravanam Kirtanam Vishnoh smaranam pada sevanam archanam vandamam dasyam sakhyam and athma nivedanam”
The first two components of bhakti namely sravanam (listening to the stories of God) and kirtanam (singing the Divine Names) is what our satsang focuses upon.
What does the word Azhwar mean? It means people who are filled with deep faith and devotion. One such azhwar is Gajendra Azhwar. He was a divine elephant. He lived in the Trikuta mountains and ruled the ‘Ritumath’ forest. It is really surprising to see an elephant being a king when it is usually the lion or a tiger being the king of a forest. This divine elephant was protecting small creatures like the hare, deer from the ferocious animals. The divine elephant was following the divine law – “Dushta Nigrahamam and Sishta paripalanam”, which translates to destroying the wicked and protecting the good folks.
If we ponder on the fact as to how this elephant knew this shastra, Gajendra was born as a Pandya king Indradhyumna in his earlier birth. He was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu and belonged to the lineage of Manu. Sage Agasthya was his guru.
Once, Sri Agasthya visited the king at his palace. The king was performing pooja to this deity. What should one do when they see their guru? He should stop whatever chore he is doing and run to welcome the Guru and get his blessings. This was however not the case with Indradhyumna. He did not acknowledge the Guru’s presence and continued with his pooja. He had various utensils made of silver and gold which were decorated with precious gems. He also had a lot of food which were waiting to be offered to the Lord and wanted to show it off to his Guru, whose puja routines were fairly simple.
We very well know that Sadhus and Mahatmas are the personification of compassion. The guru thought that there was everything found in the pooja except Vinaya (humility). He thought that if the king continued performing pooja without being humble, then there will be no point in doing the pooja. Ego is a quality of an elephant. He cursed the king to be an elephant in his next birth. It is said that whatever the Sadhus do are verily for our benefit. Immediately the Guru felt compassion for the king and said that the king would be relieved from his curse when the Lord’s divine hands touch him.
Similarly there was a Gandharva by name Hu Hu. One day, Sage Devala (who always accompanies Narada) was performing his daily ablutions. Hu Hu for the sake of fun, caught the feet of Devala from the bottom of the pond. Devala cursed him saying that this was a quality of the crocodile and that he will be born as a crocodile in his next birth. However, he also promised that he will be relieved when the Lord’s chakra touched him.
One day, it was very hot and all the elephants including Gajendra were feeling very thirsty and went around in search of water. They spotted a pond and all of them were happy to see the water and started playing in the pond. This disturbed the crocodiles in the pond and they knew that it was the king of the elephants who was responsible for this.
The crocodile head went and caught the feet of the king of the elephant herd. How did the crocodile know who the king was? He had the memory of the previous birth and he knew that could be relieved from his sufferings only by catching the feet of a Bhagavata! Gajendran was in deep distress and all other elephants tried to pull him out but in vain. Days passed by and he was the struggle was still on.
A thought struck him. How long can a crocodile or an elephant survive for so long without any food or water and neither of them winning over each other? He realized that there was indeed a Divine power and started singing praises of that Formless Lord.
So who is this Brahman? It is independent and it not bound with any qualities and is eternal. Does this Brahman exist everywhere? Yes, indeed. Sarvam Brahma Mayam
The mind is filled with a lot of dust and we need to cleanse our mind to see the ultimate Lord.
Gajendra begins with his beautiful stuthi on that Supreme Lord who is formless, nameless and had no properties associated with it and it is completely independent.
“Namo Bhagavathae thasmai yatha yeth thath chithathmakam
Purushaya adi bheejaya pareshayadi deemahi”
I surrender and bow down to bhagawan who is the ominpesent and is the creator for everything.
Since gajendran is not able to see that Supreme Being, he says”I surrender unto him”. So why should one accept something that we are not able to perceive visually?
There are many different things that we are not able to see, for example, happiness and sorrow. We have only experienced happiness and sorrow and our mind knows what happiness and sorrow means. However Brahman is not in anyone’s experience just like happiness or sorrow. It is because, Brahman cannot be understood by mind and the sense organs. So why should one complicate their lives to decipher something that cannot be perceived by the mind or the sense organs?
It is indeed true that the brahmam who is the ultimate does exist. And how can we prove that? This Brahman is the chaitanya that is present in each one of us. As long as this chaitanya is present in ourselves, we are able to dance, sing move around. The moment chaitanya leaves our body, we fall dead. The sense organs of the dead man might be intact but he is not able to use them anymore. It is the key inside every human and it is this that makes the sense organs do what they are supposed to be doing.
Gajendra says, I surrender unto that bhagawan who is the chaitanyam inside each and every one.
“Yasmin idham yaenaetham yahitham swayam
Yosmath parasmath cha parastvam prapathyae swayambuvam”
“Yasmin nidham:” translates to ‘from whom the universe originated’, “ yathascha itham” from whom the universe
Now let’s consider a wooden table. This wooden table came into existence from the material called wood. The carpenter carved this wooden table. For any object, we need two things, namely the creator and the raw material.
So for the universe, Brahman is the creator and the raw-material. Why is it that we are not able to see this Brahman when we can see everything else in this universe. It is because of a defect in our eyes. The saints can see Brahman as “Sarvam brahma mayam”. Hiranyakashipu says that he can only see a pillar, whereas Lord prahalad says that he can see only Brahman.
Kabirdas in one of his dohas very beautifully says that he had a disease called samsara and because of this ailment he had duality in his vision. He then went to a physician who is called as Guru. He made him wear a kajal (eye liner) called guru krupa and after applying that kajal bad vision was cured. So there are people who can only see the Brahman. So instead of proclaiming that Brahman does not exist let us pray that we be blessed to experience it. Gajendra says, “I bow down to that Brahman who created the universe, and who Himself is the universe”
If Brahman is everywhere, then where can one see it. It is there in each and everybody’s heart! This would mean that every cardiac surgeon has seen it, which is simply untrue!
That’s because we can’t see brahmam just like that. We all know that Narasimha bhagawan came from the pillar. But did He really come from the pillar? He really came from Prahalada’s truth! It is true that he was inside the pillar. In order to see him, it was just not enough to break the pillar.
Just like how ash hides the fire, the Brahman that is within us is covered by vasanas (latent impressions). The yogis have the power to blow up these impressions. So the Brahman reveals itself to them. So is it true that only yogis can only see the Brahman? So what about the people who are entangled in this worldly life? Gajendra thought about all the worldly people in his prayers.
He says –
‘Maadruk prapanna pashupaasha vimokshanaaya….’
People like me who have completely surrendered to unto You, you are the ‘pasupaksha vimokshana’. Now if a cow and its calf are separated by tethering them to two opposite poles, the calf desperately tries to unite with the cow and be with the cow. Since it is tied to the pole it is unable to do so. We are akin to this calf. The jeevas are taking every possible effort to reach the god, but are tied to this samsara by some ties. Now who will come to free one from these ties. It is of course mukthaya, one who is completely independent and has a freewill can only liberate the souls from the bondages. Only bhagawan or a guru can do this. Bhagawan says, “Well, it is true that I have a free will. But why should I free you?” Gajendra could have said that “Lord! I surrender unto you. So please set me free.” If he had done that then it means that Gajendra trusts his ‘ability’ to surrender. Complete surrender is defined as one who completely believes in God and does not believe in his sadhana including surrender.
Gajendra says “Buri karunaya” which means “infinite compassion”. Free me! O! Lord, not because I surrendered unto you, but out of your own limitless compassion. Gajendra requests the Lord to free him from the clutches of the crocodile because setting everybody free is his ‘svabhava’(very nature)!
All the Devas including Lord Brahma are listening to this prayer and are awestruck. They very well know that they don’t fit Gajendra’s description and hence cannot help Gajendra. But they are very curious and excited to see who is the personification of the qualities described by Gajendra. They also feared that the Lord might give his darshan only to Gajendra and hence start reciting the Gajendra Stuti. If Gajendra had prayed to the Lord to free him from the clutches of the crocodile, then it does not necessitate the Devas to recite the Gajendra Stuti. But he requests the Lord to free him from the samsara!
And guess who addresses Ganjendra’s call?
Sitting on the garuda, who is verily the form of Vedas, Lord Vishnu appeared with his conch and disc on his hand, wearing a pitambaram, having a mark called srivatsam on this chest.
The Brahman that Gajendra alluded to had no form or possession. But the person who came to address his call had a form, adorned a ‘Pitambara’, he had a lotus, chakra and a place called Vaikunta. Then how come he came to address this call? The very fact that he came to address the call proves that his form, name and characters are way different from other deva’s including Lord Brahma and are no different from the formless Nameless Brahman. If we take Brahman and add qualities to it (kalyana gunas) like omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence etc, what we get finally is Bhagavan. What character does the bhagwan not have? He does not possess any qualities that belong to Maya like Satvika, Rajasa and Tamasa.
In Bhagavatam Sri Sukha says “Brahmeti Paramatmeti Bhagavan iti Shabdyate”, which means Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan are all the same.
Is Bhagawan going to be of any use to us? How does it matter if he is omnipresent, omnipotent or omniscient? He has a unique quality that Gajendra refers to – ‘Sarva sharanyatva’ – he is the refuge for everyone who surrenders to Him. We know that we are incapable of doing any sadhana. If we just go and pray to him whole heartedly that we belong to him the Lord is very happy and takes care of us.
It is said that the Lord himself begs “tavaasmi vacha yachatae”. The lord says, “please tell me that you belong to me.”
When Lord appears in front of Gajendra, it is only then that he addresses Him with His name, “Narayana akila guro bhagavan Namaste”. He takes a lotus from the pond and offers it to the Lord. The Lord releases his chakra to kill the crocodile and Hu Hu is liberated to the Gandarva world. He put forward His hands to take Gajendran to His abode.
Gajendra asked the Lord to show him a way to attain liberation. The Lord himself gave a phala shruti that one who remembers this episode of Gajendra Moksha every morning will attain liberation.
The satsang ended with prayers and Nama Sankirtan.
