Glory of The Padukas

Namasankirtan and Katha Shravan are verily the two flags of Bhagavata Dharma. The beautiful precept is that by verily listening to Bhagavatam, Bhagavata Dharma, Bhagavan Nama and Bhagavat Gunas one can attain the greatest of the greatest. It is is said in Upanishads – ‘ Bhadram Karnebhih Shrnuyama Devah’- ‘Please protect my ears and may they be good so that they can hear to the auspicious things’.

It is said in Puranas and Ithihasas that listening to the lord’s glories is being underlined and in Srimad Bhagavatam in Venu Gitam, it is said that the cows used its ears  as verily their mouth to imbibe the lord’ venu.

Thriuvalluvar also  glorifies the fortune of listening and how one should deploy the sense organs, especially  the sense of hearing in a satsang- ‘selvathul selvam sevichelvam achchelvam selvathul ellam thalai’.

He repeats the word ‘chelvam’ five times verily because each ‘selvam’ refers to one of the five sense organs. He clearly proclaims that the fortune of hearing is indeed the greatest and extols the asset of listening.  While the ears are indeed the greatest fortune , Tiruvalluvar goes beyond the ears and says ‘selvathul selvam sevichelvam’ which refers to the art of listening is indeed the greatest. Tiruvalluvar signifies the art of listening to the best of the things is indeed the greatest and he glorifies the greatness of satsang.  He further says that the ears are benefited when they are given a choice to listen to the best selvam, which is verily going to a satsang and being bestowed to listen to divine qualities of the lord.

If one does not listen to divine leelas of the lord even when one is bestowed with good ears. He does not enjoy the greatest fortune of listening. The moment one uses his ears to listen to divine glories of the lord, he is indeed a wealthy person as Thiruvalluvar says-’achchelvam selvathul ellam thalai’.

That’s verily the import of GOD satsangs as well. All the sense organs may be used in worldly matters, but the ear is tuned to listen to the lord’s divine glories and the chanting of divine names of the lord.

 

Sri Narayananji from Boston delivered the satsang lecture

Samartha Ramadas wrote a beautiful abhang extolling the greatness of Sadguru. If there is one thing that can destroy all the three kinds of Tapas namely Adhyathmika, Adibouthika and Adideivika , bestow one with knowledge, usher in peace and bless with bhakti and darshan of bhagvan then it is verily the holy feet of Sadguru. Samartha Ramadas in his Abhang -’trivida thApAsi hAraka hE guru pAya’ glorifies the Sadguru and he beautifully mentions that the holy feet of Sadguru is verily his life-line.

The divine incarnation of Sadguru is for the sake of normal mortals so that just by reminiscing the holy feet of Sadguru instantly cleanses the soul -’sakala jIvAmchI pAvana  hE guru pAya’.

Bhagawan and Mahatmas incarnate in this earth for the sake of satsangs. ‘Sanga’ is something that matters to us. The characteristics of a person is determined by the sanga (company) the person is associated with and that is verily why all the scriptures time and again signify the greatness of a satsang and how being in a satsang for a split second instantly purifies one-’kshnaRdhEnApi thulyaE  na swargam nApunarbhavam | bhagvath sangI sangasya marthyAnAm kimushAshIshaha’.   

For Mahamatas, ‘Sanga’ is not important but their mere presence ‘swayam hi thirthAnI punanthi santhaha theerthI kurvanthi theerthAnI’ is alone enough to purify the entire universe. Mahatmas presence becomes the sanga for us, the normal mortals and so Mahatmas are also here in this universe for Satsangs . They incarnate to give satsangs to all the normal mortal –

’sangI bhAthyatha eva   loKa ithI vA  vaIyasIkam yadvachaha

thasyA  yadhbhutha gouravam vishAdayan sangam thyajan  loukikam

swathmAnandara rasAnubhoodhihi  barithO pApAdhi yasthAdrishaha

srimad chandra kishora  sekhara gurOhO  sri padukamaE gathihI  ’

The above stuti was written by Sri Vidyathirtha Swami of Sringeri Peetham on the greatness of the divine Padukas of his Sadguru Sri Chandrasekarendra Bharathi Swamigal . In the above stuthi, he mentions that one has to leave all the worldly communion and join the company of Bhagavathas.  For Mahtmas who are verily SwathmaRamas satsangs don’t impact them as said by Adi Shankara – ‘Sathsangathve nissangathvam’ . Mahatmas are present here in the form of their divine Padukas to bless all of us with satsangs to make us all pure.

 

Samartha Ramadas abhangs has references from Ithihasas and Puranas. ‘ nayanIm raghuvIra thAvIti ‘ where he says that the holy feet of Sadguru will bestow one with Lord Rama’s darshan. There are two instances from Ramayana to substantiate this precept. First one is Sabari. Ramayana is one grantha where Valmiki gives the essence in just a handful of slokas. Lord Rama travels along with Lakshmana in search of Sita. He was in a weary state and reached Pampa Saras and he saw Sabari eagerly waiting for Lord Rama. She was a hunter and she had been completely transformed after she had the sanga of her Sadguru, Sri Mathanga Maharishi, who amply blessed her with his darshan . Sabari’s character changes from being an wild uncouth hunter to a gentle women who incessantly chanted the divine names of the lord, and by being in a satsang along with her Guru’s kataksha. By being in a satang she developed so much love for her Sadguru so much so that when her Sadguru Madhanga Maharishi was about to attain his divine abode, Sabari cries and seeks the darshan of her SAdguru and darshan alone-’kAmayE thava eva pAduka sAmibhyam’ . She doesn’t seek anything else but for the divine padukas – ‘kAmayE nAham thIrtha snAnam, kAmayE nAham kshetra yAtra, kAmayE nAham sAkshAthkAram, kAmayE thava eva pAdhuka sAmibyam” . He blessed Sabari with Rama Nama  with the blessing of the Sadguru  she incessantly chanted the divine names with unflinching devotion to her Sadguru. Everyday she would look at the fire that was still burning in the pyre, she would look with reverence, her Guru’s clothes [valkalambaram] which were still wet and would look at all the artifacts that her Sadguru used while she chanted the divine names of Lord Rama. One fine day when all her senses had given up, her eyes still shone brightly just because they could behold the beautiful form of Lord Rama and Lakshmana. When Lord Rama and Lakshmana met Sabari, she introduced herself and spoke about her Guru ‘nayanIm raghuvIra thAvIti’.

The other instance glorifying the divine pAduka is that of Bharatha.  In this case it was not the feet of the Sadguru but the divine Padukas of the Sadguru that brought Lord Rama in front of Bharatha. The moment Bharatha heard about Lord Rama’s departure, he swooned and fell down showing his love for Rama  when Kousalya had misunderstood him. After executing the last rites for his father, he immediately set out in search of Rama. Sumanthra helped him prepare everything and they set out to find Rama and entire Ayodhya populace followed Bharatha in search of Lord Rama. More people set out in search of Rama than the previous exodus, when Lord Rama himself embarked on his journey to the forest. When he left, the entire Ayodhya did come  but the kingly retinue including Vashishta stayed back along with the three wives of King Dasaratha. This time when Bharatha went in pursuit of Rama, the entire army and the people of Ayodhya accompanied Bharatha. Bharatha wanted to have Rama come back and rule Ayodhya and his intentions were completely driven by the chord of love that he had for Rama. They crossed Ganges river and met Guha who initially doubted the actions of Bharatha later realized Bharatha’s devotion to Rama and said that even a hundred Ramas cannot equal one Bharatha.

The Lord depicted how a Bhagawan should be when incarnated in the garb of a human being and Bharatha showed how a devotee should lead a life and how he should always be devoted to the lord.

 

Bharatha and the retinue stopped at Bharadwaja’s ashram for the night. Bharadwaja provided a sumptuous food and even when the entire retinue had a great feast, Bharatha didn’t eat a morsel of rice and was meditating on Lord Rama and yearning to meet him. After they depart from the ashram, Bharatha along with Shatrugna and Vashista walk faster and reach the place where Rama was staying.  On seeing Rama, Bharatha immediately prostrated unto his brother and he immediately gained all that he had lost, his mind was at total peace and regained his mental condition.  Bharatha pleaded at the holy feet of Rama  and beseeched him to come back to Ayodhya. Lord Rama enquired Bharatha about the welfare of Ayodhya. Bharatha started off by rebuking his mother Kaikeyi and stopped short of upbraid his father, Dasaratha and Rama swooned when he heard the demise of his father. Rama clarified Bharatha’s false belief that Rama’s ordinance to go to forest was not to satiate Dasaratha’s pleasures but only to uphold Dharma. When Dasaratha married Kaikeyi, he had promised unto the king of Kekaya  that the son born to Kaikeyi will indeed become the crown prince. He wanted to keep this vow of his come true and that’s verily the reason why he had sent Rama to forest.  Bharatha pleaded to Rama in various ways urging him to come back to Ayodhya and become the king. Jabali and Vashistha also joined hands with Bharatha to convince Rama but all in vain. Rama didn’t pay any heed to the conversation and went inside his hut.

“Evam bruvanam bharathaha kousalya sutham abravithu”
“thEjasa Adithya sankAsham pratipahath chandra darshanam”
“adIrOhArya pAdAbhyAm pAdukE hembhushithE”
“Yaethe hi sarva lokasya yOga kshemam vidhAsyatha”
“sO adiruhya nara vyAgraha pAduke hy avaruhya cha”
“prAgyagacChath sumaha teja bharathAya mahamtmane”

 

He presented the pair of Padukas to Rama and said “Oh Rama, you are not going to come back to Ayodhya and not go back on your stand”. Rama was steadfast and adamant like the sun  on his stand (thEja sa Adithya sankAksham), but his face like the moon and by just beholding the lord’s countenance one the mind will be instantly calmed down (pratipahath chandra darishanam).

 

Bharatha requests the lord to alight on the Padukas and that they will bestow all goodness to the entire populace. He looked at Rama and told them that he will offer the ruling of Ayodhya to the divine pAdukas  and that the Padukas will also be the lifeline for him. He went on and mentioned that he will lead the life of a renunciate wearing the robes of bark and matted hair and will leave on the outskirts of the city.

sa pAduke sampraNamya rAmaM vachanambravIt |
chaturdasha hi varShaaNi jaTAchIradharo hyaham ||
phalamUlAshano vIra bhaveyamra guhnamdana |

Bharatha further added that if he does not meet Rama the following day after the fourteen years he will end his life.

tavAgamanamAkANkSan vasanvai nagarAdbahiH ||
tava pAdukayornyastarAjyatantraH paramtapa |
chaturdashe tu sampUrNe varSe ahAni raghUthama ||
na drakSyAmi yadi tvAM tu pravekSyAmi hutAshanam |

 

Lord Rama fondly embraced Bharatha and Shatrugna and requested them to take care of all the mothers. He also exhorted Bharatha not to be angry or ill-treat his mother Kaikeyi and requested him to take care of the mothers. He said that this is the Upadesam given to Bharatha from both me and Sita.

 

tathetI cha pratig NAya taM pariSvajya sAdharam |
shatrughnam cha pariShvajya bharataM chedamabravIt |
mAtaram rakSha kaikeyIm mA roSham kuru tAM prati |
mayA cha sItayaa chaiva shapto si raghusaTama |
ityuktvAshruparItAkSho bhrAtaraM visasarja ha |

 

As soon as Bhartha was about to depart, Lord Rama’s Gambhirya which was taken over by the love for his devotee, made Rama shed tears. After having blessed Bharatha with the divine Padukas, Rama does not perceive Bharatha as his brother but as a devotee (bhakta). The lord didn’t explicitly show his tears and subtly went inside his hermitage after offering his obeisance to everyone.

 

sa pAduke te bharataH pratApavAn |
svalamkRitE samparigRuihya dharmavith |
pradakShinam chaiva cakAra rAghavam |
chakAra caiva uTama nAga mUrdhani ||

Bharatha was cognizant of all dharma and lives by it every moment. Bharatha placed the Padukas on his head and circumambulated and prostrated Lord Rama.  He then placed the divine Padukas on Lord Rama’s favorite elephant, Shatranjaya  who also wanted to carry Lord’s Padukas on its head. Everyone alighted the chariots and reached Bharadwaja ashram. Everyone inquired the events that had happened and Bharatha was very happy to share with them that he was blessed with the divine Padhukas of his Sadguru. He said that he sees the holy feet of his dear Rama (his Guru) in the Padhukas and that the divine Padhukas are going to rule the entire kingdom. Saying so he prostrated to Sage Bharadwaja and took leave from him. He crossed Ganga and Yamuna with the Padhukas thereby cleansing them akin to the sloka ‘thirthim kurvanthi thirtani ‘. Vedanta Desikar takes 20-30 slokas and glorifies the dust on the divine Padukas -’paraga pandathi’. Paraga connotes dust. The dust are verily the atoms that can create more atoms . The dust can make a human being out of the thin air as seen in Ahalya Sapavimochanam. When the dust from Lord Rama fell on the stone, it was instantly converted into a feminine form human-being. Dust in sanskrit means ‘rajahah’, and it is capable of destroying the Rajas and Tamas qualities in all of us and bestow us with Sattva.

Everyone reached Ayodhya and at the outskirt they looked at the crestfallen city. Valmiki describes Ayodhya in its current state. The reason he describes Ayodhya as crestfallen is because the Lord’s divine Padhukas are not going to go there and only stay in a village called Nandigram.  He dropped his mothers at Ayodhya and got ready to go  to Nandhigram. He had not lost the sense of guilt that he was also responsible for sending his brother to the forest. He wore the robes of bark and matted hair as he placed the Padhukas  on his head, he requested the umbrella to be raised a little above the divine Padhukas and said that the divine Padhukas are not his dear brother Rama but that of his Sadguru.

etad rAjyam mama bhrAthrA datham samnyAsavat svayam |
yoga kShema vahe cha ime pAduke hema bhUShite ||

He told the ministers and everyone there that his brother Rama bestowed him with two things . Firstly the reign of Ayodhya to take care of the administration. He further added that Rama knows that he is not indeed capable to manage the administration and so Rama bestowed him with the Padhukas to help him. He then ordained them to fan the divina Padhuka with ven chamaram and hold the huge white umbrella (shwetha chatram )on the Padhukas.

chatram dhaarayata kSipramaaryapaadaavimau matau |
abhyAm rAjye sthito dharmaH pAdukAbhyAm gurormama ||

He said that it is indeed the feet of his Sadguru that is placed on the top of his head and that it going to rule Ayodhya for the next fourteen years. He told the ministers that he will take care of the welfare and comfort of the Padhukas which in turn will take care of the welfare of the city.

bhrAtrA hi mayi samnyAso nikSiptaH sauhrIdaadayam |
tamimam pAlayiSyAmi rAghavAgamanam prati ||

 

Bharatha mentioned that as soon as Rama is back, he will give both the reign and Padhukas to him and he inturn will become the Padhukas for Rama (marayadi ennai Atkolla vendum).

kshipram samyojayitvA thu rAghavasya punaH svayam
charaNau tau tu rAmasya drakSyAmi sahapAduke|

 

The Padukas have been placed on the royal throne and Nandigrama has become the makeshift kingdom because the entire administration of Ayodhya is  going to be facilitated from Nandigram for the next fourteen years.  On the throne is the royal bided bejeweled Padhuka which has been coronated as the king.

rAmAgamanamAkANakSan bharato bhrAtRuivatsalah |
bhrAturvachanakArI cha pratijJNApAragastadA ||
pAduke tvabhiSichyAtha nandigrAme.avasaTathA |

 

Bharatha thus made the PAdhukas as the king in the lineage of Kakustha.  

abhiSikthe tu kAkuThse prahrishtamudite janE |
prItirmama yashashcaiva bhavedrAjyAchchaturguNam

 

Desikan says that Lord Rama wanted to look at his lineage of Raghuvamsa.  From the Surya clan, Raghu was the first king followed by his son Aja and then Dasaratha. The next in the line was Rama. Coming from this great clan, he thought it will be appropriate to have Padhuka Maharaja and his name as a descendant of the divine Padukas and that is another reason for Padhuka Pattabhishekam.  Coronating the Padukas will bring greatness to the clan.

sa vAlavyajanam chatram dhArayAmAsa sa svayam |
bharataH shAsanam sarvam pAdukAbhyaam nivedayan ||

Bharatha carried the  white umbrella (shwetha chatram)  and  fanned (chamaram ) the Padhukas for fourteen long years and offered everything to the Padukas.

tatasthu bharataH shrImAnabhiSichyAryapAduke |
tadadhInastadA rAjyam kArayaamAsa sarvadA ||

Bharatha carried over the administration under the able guidance of the divine Padhukas.  He offered everything to the Padukas  and then dealt with it in proper way only after offering to the Padhukas.

adA hi yatkAryamupaiti kimchidupAyanam chopahrhitam mahArham |
sa pAdukAbhyAm prathamam nivedya chakAra pashchAdbharato yathAvat |
The satsang ended with prayers and Namasankritan.

Dec 23: Hanumad Jayanthi

The Lord says that he is indeed Margazhi among the twelve months.

mAsAnAm mArgasirsho ham [Bhagavad Gita 10.35]

One year in earth is equivalent to one day in Vaikunta and in Deva Loka, and starting from the day of Kaishika Ekadasi [Vaikunta Ekadasi] is the time is the early morning time [Brahma Muhurtham] for the Lord. Since the Lord wakes up during the month of Margazhi, it is indeed very auspicious to perform spiritual austerities during this month and yield more results than any other month.

Lord Vishnu is the most celebrated Lord in the month of margazhi. When the word ‘Vishnu’ is uttered during this month, it verily connotes Perumal, and Perumal is none but Lord Ranganatha. All Azhwars have sung praises on Lord Ranaganatha who is considered as a representation of all Divyadesams. Performing a ThiruvAradhanam [lighting a lamp] in Lord Ranganatha’s sanctum sanctorum is equivalent to doing a ThiruvAradhanam in all Divyadesams. Lord Ranganatha is considered as an epitome of love and compassion, who always showers his grace on all the people to rescue them from the samsara whirlpool. Another precept about Lord Ranganatha is that he is very easily accessible. He goes around the streets of Srirangam giving darshan to everyone. He has Utsav’s almost every other day during the year and he loves to come out and enjoy his ride in different vehicles [vahanas]. When one goes to have the darshan of Lord Ranganatha and cast a glance on the Lord’s beautiful countenance, his form is so beautiful and enticing that one cannot end his/her relationship with the Lord abruptly. The Lord being an epitome of compassion sows the seeds of his beautiful form in one’s heart and one yearns to have the darshan of the Lord forever. The Lord is so beautiful, youthful and wears the appearance of a bridegroom and hence he is called as “Azhagiya Manavalan”.   One beholds that beautiful form of the Lord resting on a snake.

There is another form of the Lord where he is standing majestically akin to a bridegroom and goes out to bless his devotees. Above all the Lord is an  epitome of forbearance, since he takes the devotees unto him no matter how bad they are and this verily because, he has the embodiment of forbearance and patience [Bhoodevi], residing in him. He establishes the cord of love between him and the devotees that one cannot stop looking at the beautiful countenance of the Lord and this is verily because he has Niladevi, embodiment of love in him always. It is that divine love that binds us unto the Lord. It is that form of the Lord that all of us would love to propitiate. Andal is that form of love, verily Niladevi who has infinite love for the Lord. The term compassion comes on the basis of inequality. There is a reason for compassion and forbearance, but there is no reason needed for love. This month of Margazhi is celebrating the way that she followed to attain the Lord. Her Thiruppavai is a stunning example depicting how one should do bhakti to the Lord.

 

Sri Narayananji from Boston delivered the satsang lecture on the auspicious day of Hanumad Jayanthi which is celebrated on the Ammavasya day in the Margasirsha month in Tamil Nadu, while people in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh celebrate this great occasion differently.

It is said – “Handumad Samena Guruna” – Hanumanji is said to be the best comparison for Guru Tattuva, verily because he was chosen by the Lord to reach out to Sita Devi. When we perceive Ramayana in philosophical terms, Lord Rama is a representation of the Paramatma Tatva, Sita Devi being the icon of Jeeva Tattva and the union between Jeeva and Paramatma is eternal which is clearly depicted in Sita Kalyanam. It is Lord Rama who went in search of Sita Devi to get married to her. The marriage is completely officiated by Sage Vishwamitra.  Sage Vishwamitra only appears to have Sita Devi engaged to Lord Rama. He doesn’t appear anywhere else in Ramayana. He requested King Dasaratha to take Lord Rama along with him as he would be the only one to fight the demons and make sure the Yagna is completed without any obstacles. He then took Lord Rama and Lakshmana to his ashram and got few demons killed by Lord Rama, but that was not Sage Vishwamitra’s real intention. His real intention was to get Mother Sita married to Lord Rama. In one of Sri Swamiji’s kirtan, he sings “Gambhira Nadaiodu Vandan Sri Raman Mithilaiku”

The marriage between Lord Rama and Sita Devi depicts the eternal bondage between the Jeevatma and Paramatma. The moment Sita was wedded to Lord Rama she never left him even for a moment and she depicts devotee’s devotion who is wedded to the Lord. One has to be with the Lord whatever be the case. When Lord Rama was exiled for fourteen years, Sita Devi accompanied him to the forest and refused to be separated from Lord Rama. She happily wore the clothes made of wooden barks when she departed to the forest where she lived with the Lord happily. A golden deer once passed by and she got enticed by it. Deer in philosophical terms connotes ‘samsara’. Jadabharata was enthralled by a deer, which means that he was attracted by samsara. Any saint who performs his duties righteously may still be attracted by samsara [deer].

Sita Devi is attracted by Samsara and the ten headed Ravana abducted her. The ten heads refers to the ten senses [Indriyas]. She was in Ashoka vana for ten months. The ten months represent the “Garba Vasa” that every child has to endure in the womb of a mother. Ravana was always assisted by three people; Vibhishana, Indrajit and Kumbakarna who are the epitome of Satvik, Rajasika and Tamasa Gunas. Sita, who is the jeevatma is bound by a human body and the struggle between the Jeevatma and Paramatma is depicted. Sita was in despair in Ashoka Vana after getting separated from Rama. But Valmiki does not portray Sita’s longing for Lord Rama in Ramayana. He beautifully depicted the sufferings of Lord Rama and the pain he underwent in search of Sita Devi.

Ramayana takes a new dimension and is very interesting from Kishkinda Kanda. It is verily because Hanumanji makes an entry in Kishkinda Kanda. Lord Rama meets Sugriva and cries for Sita Devi. It is believed that during the rainy season, the clouds stopped raining water but the water from Lord Rama’s eyes never ceased.  Lord Rama had not found a Guru to take Sita Devi back. With Lord Rama’s prowess, he could have easily slayed Ravana and brought back Sita Devi. He confided in Sugriva that he had the ability to destroy the entire earth with the tip of his finger. The reason Lord Rama didn’t go to find Sita was verily because he wanted Lord Hanuman to first meet her. After bestowing liberation to Sabari, Lord Rama waited to meet Hanumanji, the Sadguru. The reason the Lord undergoes the struggle is because he waited for the right person to pick up that Jeeva.  The Lord was in Pampa Lake, on the hills of Rishyamukha which was inhabited by Sugreeva and his minister Hanumanji. Sugreeva was afraid of anyone and everyone he met, since he considered any stranger to be in the guise or an associate of his brother Valli. He was overcome by the fear that he would face death anytime. It was verily Lord Hanuman who was always with Sugreeva and boosted his confidence with positive thoughts. They spotted Lord Rama and Lakshmana from a faraway distance.  Sugreeva who was scared of strangers was about to run away but was stopped by Lord Hanuman, who later went down the hill to meet Lord Rama and Lakshmana. This is the very beginning of Kishkinda Kanda. Hanumanji casted off his monkey semblance and went in the form of a Sadhu [mendicant] at the behest of Sugreeva when he met Lord Rama, verily because a Sadguru is always sent by the Lord. A sadguru is none but the Lord himself who comes in the form of a human being. Hanumanji takes a normal human when he goes to meet the Lord.

“Tvam kapatangi krutha manusha vesha”

“Aham kapata hrudaya bhakta vesha”

 

The way Hanumanji asked questions to Lord Rama was indeed very beautiful. He asked as to how they landed in this forest when they had the kingly appearance.

“Rajarshi deva prathimou thapasou samshita vrathau [Kishkinda Kanda, chapter 3 sloka 5]

 

The way Hanumanji introduced himself to Lord Rama was a classic example to substantiate that Hanaumanji was indeed a personification of humility.

“Sugreevo nama dharmathma kaschith vanara pungavaha”

“veero vinikrutho brathaha jagath bramathi dukithaha”

 

He humbly introduced himself as a servant of a great king called Sugreeva who was indeed a Dharmatma. He further added that he was born to the Lord of the wind [Pavanakumara].

Sage Valmiki beautifully portrayed Lord Rama and Lakshmana who were listening to Hanumanji all this time. After hearing to Hanumanji, Lord Rama’s face wore a pleased look. The Lord thus spoke to Lakshmana that it was indeed that he was waiting to meet Hanumanji all his life. The Lord was choked for words.

“tvameva kankshya manasya mamantikam ihagatha”  [Kishkinda Kanda, chapter 3 sloka 26]

Vakyagnam madhuraihi vakyaihi sneha yuktam arindamam

Na an rigveda vinithasya na a yajurveda dharinaha

Na a sAma veda vidushaha shakyam evam vibhashitum

Nunam vyakaranam kruthsnam anena bhahuda shutham

Bahu vyaharatha anena na kinchith apa shabditam  [ Kishkinda Kanda, chapter 3 slokas 27-29]

 

In the short conversation between Hanumanji and Lord Rama, the Lord concluded that Hanumanji was an exponent of Rig, yajur and Sama Vedas, a Nava Vyakarana Pandit and one who had mastered the entire Sanskrit Grammar. No one could ever find fault in the way Hanumanji spoke to Lord Rama. His choices of words were such that there was no negative connotation [Apashabda] in any of the words that he used. This precept is true in all Mahatmas. Our Guru Maharaj’s style of speaking is also akin to Hanumanji. During any discussion, he brings out his intelligence in a very subtle way that only the Lord can comprehend.  There is no negative connotation not only through Mahan’s way of speaking but they also don’t exhibit any negative gestures through their feet and hands movements. The brilliance in the voice and speech that emanates from his diaphragm and throat was so stunning that even captivated Lord Rama. When Hanumanji is made to stand in front of an evil person, he will be absolved of all negative forces and totally surrender unto the holy feet of Lord Hanumanji. Guru’s grace is so potent that anyone with negative thoughts when surrendered unto the holy feet of the Guru will be immediately transformed.

All the beautiful qualities of the Guru is being extolled by Lord Rama himself verily because only the Lord really knows the greatness of a Guru.

If we visualize this whole scene, Sugreeva was in a deep corner and Hanumanji had come down as a Sadhu in the guise of a mendicant and met Lord Rama and Lakshmana and got acquainted with each other. The moment Hanumanji realized that it was indeed Lord Rama and Lakshmana who were standing in front of him, no time was wasted. He immediately carried them on his shoulders and took them straight to Sugreeva, because Sugreeva was longing to meet the Lord and was in need of a relief from the pangs of samsara. A Guru brings the Lord unto his devotee as soon as possible.

He introduced Lord Rama and Lakshmana to Sugreeva. He then lit a fire and took one hand of Lord Rama and one hand of Sugreeva and united them in friendship in the presence of Agni [the Lord of fire]. There is no mention in any of the scriptures or Puranas that the friendship should be confirmed in the presence of Agni, but Hanumanji does so. It is verily because he desired to make that bonding very strong because of the fear that Sugreeva might run away any time from the Lord. From that point in the Lord executed whatever chores as ordained by Sugreeva.

It is a precept that a Brahma Jnani Is being followed by the Lord and other Devas and they will execute any instruction as ordained by the Brahma Jnani, verily because they are bound by the Mahatma. The moment the union between the Lord and Sugreeva happened with the blessings of the Guru Hanumanji, Sugreeva was very successful in all his endeavors. He met no failures and had no downward graphs in his life at all. A Guru’s association verily leads the devotee to the Lord – “Narayanam dhadathi ithi Naradha”. The greatest Guru is Sage Narada and all Gurus are indeed manifestations of Sage Narada because they bring Lord Narayana to all the devotees. Hanumanji verily did this for Sugreeva –“hanumad samena Guruna”.  

After the rainy season Sugreeva was crowned as the king after the slaying of Vali. The entire monkey clan was split into four as they set out to search the divine mother. Lord Rama gave the ring only to Hanumanji as he thought that it was very likely that Hanumanji would only meet the divine mother. He went to Lanka and met Sita Devi which is the crux of Sundara Kandam. He gave the divine names and the divine story of Lord Rama [Raja Dasaratho nama ratha kunjara…] in the ears of Sita Devi when she was in misery. When she was about to end her life, he spoke about the greatness of Lord Rama and gave her the ring that had the divine name Rama inscribed in it – ‘Rama nama ankitha anguliyakam’ which denotes “ABhayam”. The Guru conveys the message of the Lord to Jeevatma and the message is verily the chanting of the divine names of the Lord. The Guru does not bring back the Jeevatma to the Lord but it is indeed the vice versa. The Guru only brings the Lord to the Jeevatma.

Lord Hanumanji was instrumental in constructing the bridge along with the other monkeys [Vanaras] and in bringing Lord Rama unto Sita Devi. In the Madhwa traditions, Lord Hanumanji is considered to be the lifeline [Mukya Prana] in Ramayana. When Sita Devi was about to end her life, it was verily Lord Hanumanji who saved her life. Sugreeva was saved by Hanumanji. Bharatha was in state of despair and was about to end his life. It was only Hanumanji who delivered the message that Lord Rama was on his way back and also saved Bharatha from ending his life. When Lakshmana was injured during the war, it was verily Lord Hanumanji who brought the Sanjeevini Mountain and cured him. It is very evident that all throught Ramayana, Hanumanji induced life into all the lives who are in the pangs of samsara. It is truly enough to just reminisce the Guru and no other special sadhana is needed to bring in happiness in all of us and that is why it is said – ‘Hanumadh samena Guruna’. The greatest thing the Guru bestows his devotees is the Mahamantra which takes all the misery out and ushers in Guru Smaranam.

 

Sri Swamiji has established many Hanumanji temples. In Govindapuram, the divine abode for Sri Bodendra, adjoining the Adishtanam of Sri Bodendral there is a beautiful hall and there is a Hanumanji who resides in that hall. He is called Bhagavata Anjaneyar and he incessantly chanting the divine names of Lord Rama. There is a Sundara Anjaneya consecrated in Bangalore. Sri Swamiji had earlier planned on building a Panduranga temple. The devotees had purchased the land needed for the temple construction and were eagerly waiting for the nod from Sri Swamiji to go ahead with construction. Sri Swamiji came to Bangalore after visiting Nasik then and was in deep state of meditation. When he opened his eyes, he told all the devotees that a Hanuman temple would soon be built in the premises. Immediately the clouds took a beautiful shape of Lord Hanuman. Sri Swamiji himself suggested the name – ‘Sundara Hanuman’ who is so beautiful to behold and is standing with his mace [Gadha] on his shoulders and bestowing his grace [Abhaya Ashtam] to all the devotees. He is also incessantly chanting the divine names of Lord Rama and speaks to all the devotees.  He is located in Ramamurthy Nagar in Bangalore. There is a Veera Hanuman in Sri Srinivasa Perumal in Madhurapuri Ashram. He is standing there guarding the entire Madhurapuri Ashram. Even now it is a practice to give the keys to Veera Anjaneyar after locking the temple and he goes around the village and protects the people from any evil force.

Kanyakumari Anjaneyar is also consecrated in Madhurapuri Ashram. He wanted to be in Madhurapuri Ashram since it is the house of the best in class Brahmacharis students and wanted to be in the midst of them. He had earlier visited Mahabalipuram and Kannyakumari but later settled in Madhurapuri ashram.  He is 24 feet tall and playing divine leelas every day. He loves Hanuman Chalisa and Aditya Hrudayam and is also incessantly chanting the divine names of Lord Rama.

 

The satsang concluded with prayers and Namasankirtam.

Apr 29: Greatness of Satsang

Bhikshu Gita of Bhagavatam says,

dAnam svadharmo niyamo yamascha shrutam cha karmANi cha sadvratAni |
sarve mano nighraha lakshaNAntA parohi yogo masah samAdih ||

In the 11^th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna speaks about all the paths that can be treaded to reach Him.  Giving charity, sticking to one’s Dharma, following rules and regulations prescribed in the Shastras, learning and reciting the Vedas, performing the Karmas ordained, and undertaking vows and injunctions – all of these cannot give Bhagavan directly – merely following or doing something will not give the Lord to us. Instead, they are aimed at the destruction of the mind (‘mano nigraham’)  There is a difference between ‘Mano layam’ and ‘mano nigraham’  – the former is a state when the mind is still, and the latter is the death of the mind.   The former happens to us everyday, for instance during deep sleep. Mind is like a thread tied at both ends. When slightly plucked, starts vibrating vigorously, and can be easily kept in the state of non-equilibrium, the vibration of the mind is the thoughts.  When the mind is still, as in sleep, it is called Mano-layam, which no doubt gives us peace and happiness.  The moment one wakes up, the equilibrium is disturbed. Given a choice between curling up on bed and doing some activity, we would chose the former, wouldn’t we?  That is because, mano-laya gives peace.  Beyond this is the annihilation of the mind, a state in which the vibration cannot be resumed.

All the Sadhanas take us to the destruction of the mind and that is the greatest Yoga.  The death of the mind can be done by various means.  Bhagavatam speaks about an easy way of silencing, quieting and destroying the mind – by offering it to Krishna.    Oscillation of the mind is contained by offering Krishna’s feet to the mind and making the mind strongly hold on to ‘That’ thought.

The mind has a tendency to go out to various objects and cling on to them.  One way is to forcefully pull the mind back into its source – Krishna.  The other way is to relate each and every of these objects that the mind holds on to  – to Krishna and the latter is the essence of Bhagavatam – especially the 10^th canto.  There is not one dimension of the world and one entity on this Univere which you cannot relate to Krishna or His Leela.

Take age, Krishna has friends of various ages – there is no age in Krishna’s lifetime that you cannot attribute a leela to.  If your mind has a disposition to toddlers, the toddler Krishna played so many pranks, the Youth Krishna played Rasa, slayed Kamsa  etc.  Gender  – any male entity can be attributed to a Gopa, and female, Gopi.  Of all the entities, the nature is the greatest entity.  A  lush green plant reminds us of tulsi – Krishna’s favorite.  A champak flower is the favorite of Krishna.  Magizhampoo – that adorns our Premika Varadan’s neck all the time, the Lotus flower, that is on Krishna’s Feet etc.

Look at birds and they are instantly relatable to Krishna.  A peacock reminds us of its feather on Krishna’s head, a cuckoo reminds us of the beautiful song from Krishna’s flute. Thus, all different birds and animals remind us of Krishna.  Likewise, all seasons remind us of Krishna too.

Rainy season immediately brings into our memory Govardhan Lila – when It poured cats and dogs and Krishna lifted the Hill to give refuge to Gopas and Gopis.  Andal says Tiruppavai that the moment she sees dark clouds  and rains, she is reminded of the Lord –

‘aazhi mazhai kkannaa aazhi un kai karavel aazhi ul pukku mugarndhu kodaartheri
oozhi mudhalvan uruvam pol meikaruthhupaazhiyum tholudaya padmanaabhan kaiyil
aazhipol minni valampuripol nindradhirndhu thaazhaadhe saarngam udaitha saramazhaipol
vaazha ulaginil peithidaai naangalum maargazhi neeraada magizhndhelorempaavaai ‘

Dark clouds remind her of Krishna’s complexion, the drops of rain remind her of Rama’s arrows, lightning reminds her of the Lord’s discus and thunder reminds her of the conch!

Summer reminds us of the summer in Brindavan as explained in Bhagavatam. It was so hot that the entire forest (muncharanyam) caught fire and the Lord asked all the gopas and gopis to close their eyes and drank the fire.  Summer reminds of ‘daavagni paanam’.

Autumn / Fall season reminds us of the Lord’s venu gitam-
‘ittam sharad svaccha jalam padmAkara sughandinA, nyavishad vAyunAvAtam sagogopAla gochyutah’

The still waters carrying  the lotus, the humming bees, the cuckoos singing, the peacocks dancing – setting a beautiful orchestra for the Lord’s flute!

Winter again reminds us of the Gopis’ Katyayani Vrata
‘hemante prathame mAse nandavraja kumArikA cherur havishyAm bhunjAnAm kAthyAyanascha navratam’

The penance the Gopis undertook to attain Bhagavan – akin to Aandals’ Paavai Nonbu in Margazhi – winter season.  Over and above all, the Lord Himself says that He is Margazhi among all the months!

Likewise, when we think of the beautiful spring season, our mind instantly goes to the beautiful play of Krishna with the Gopas and Gopis – it is a season that He chooses to enjoy his childhood, sporting all the interesting Lilas.  Out of all seasons, He is the Spring!  The jasmine flowers that bloom in the evenings during the spring season set the mood and theme for the Lord’s sport!

‘bhagavAnapi tArAtri sharadotpulla mallikA’

A few ponds in Brindavan have water and Krishna goes with Radha Devi to these ponds and performs Lilas!  Mahans enjoy these Lilas in utmost Bhava.

Just like the Navaratri in the fall season, the Navaratri (9 auspicious days) during Spring, known as Vasantha Navaratri  starting from the Ugadhi day, makes us remember Krishna even better. Vasanthotsav is celebrated during this season, just as Jayadeva sings in his Gita Govindam –

‘vasante vAsanti kusuma sukumAraih avayavaih bramantIm kAntAre bahuvihida krishNAnusaranAm..’.

Back in Chennai, our Guru Maharaj decorates a beautiful pond filled with lotuses and aroma and in the center, places Thakurji with His consort in a pedestal / swing and sings kirtans celebrating the Utsav.

After introductions, Narayananji from Boston spoke about the greatness of Satsang.

Tulasidas Maharaj says,
‘binu satsang viveka na hoi, rAma krupA bin sulabha na soi ‘

When the intellect alone prevails, one becomes very dry; on the other hand, when emotions alone prevail, he is a very dangerous, as he is very week, impulsive and emotion-driven.   One should use his intellect when needed and also emote when appropriate.  Viveka  – or discrimination indicates the state where there is a beautiful balance between the heart (emotions) and the intellect.  And this balance, according to Tulsidasji, can be brought about only by Satsang.

In this sloka, he uses two negatives – ‘no discrimination is possible without a satsang’.  Had he used a positive sentence as ‘Satsang gives discrimination’ , then that would have left the door open for other factors to bring in discrimination.  By using double negatives, he rules that no other Sadhana / means can bring about ‘viveka’ but Satsang!  And going on to qualifying what the satsang is, he says, its impossible to understand what the satsang is – and only Rama Krupa will make one understand it!  Only the Lord’s grace can give a satsang, and one step further, only His grace can make us understand the Satsang.  Realizing the satsang is important because, one might very well be in the immediate vicinity of a satsang, but unless he realizes the value of it, it is futile.   In Srimad Bhagavatam is an episode where a Brahmin seeks protection of his children and Krishna politely denies, prompting Arjuna to hastily offer protection.  Arjuna miserably fails because that was the Lord’s plan.  Then Krishna and Arjuna, along with the Brahmin are led to the gates of Vaikunta where they have the darshan of the Lord of Vaikunta. Even in this blissful state, the Brahmin does not realize the divine state He has been put in; he still keeps thinking of his family!   That is what happens when one doesn’t have Rama Krupa – even if he is in a satsang, he doesn’t realize its greatness!

Bhagavatam and Ramayana go to speak volumes about the Satsang.  In Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna speaks about the greatness of Satsang every now and then in His upadeshas, whereas in Ramayana, Lord Rama doesn’t have time to discourse!  In Ramayana, the greatness of Satsang is shown in action every so often!

Of all the 24000 gems of Slokas in Ramayana, there is one that can be considered crest-jewel – in Bala Kanda.  Bala Kanda speaks about the birth and infancy of the Lord.  In Valmiki Ramayana,  Dasharata’s sacrifice, His receiving of the “Payasham”, distributing to his queens, and the birth of Lord Rama and His brothers are spoken of in great detail. Interestingly, Valmiki does not describe a single ‘Bala Lila’ of Lord Rama.  He does not speak, even in a single sloka, about Rama’s childhood.  Soon after the birth, he shifts to Rama’s youth – when Rama is just under sixteen – in the same chapter!   Why?  Because Valmiki is restless to give this beautiful sloka!

yathA amrutasya samprAptaih yathA varsham anaudake
yatha sadrusha dhAreshu putrajanmA prajasya vai
pranashtasya yathA labho yathA harsho mahodayah
tathaivAgamanam manye swAgatam te mahAmune!

Dasharata longs for a satsang and Satsang is at his doorstep – in the form of Vishwamitra.  Welcoming the Sage, he speaks of the greatness of Satsang –

‘yathA amrutasya samprAptaih’ – Amruta  is that which can bestow deathlessness, to humans, ‘mrutas’ – (who have death by nature)  – getting the impossible!  Indeed!  But let us not get that far, says Dasharata!  In a drought-ridden area, when the entire populace is expecting a drop of water, suddenly, there is a heavy downpour, how happy would one feel?  Even a common man wouldn’t feel happy, sitting inside a home, but a king that Dasharata is, he would be so happy for his subjects!    Such is the happiness that a Satsang can usher.  To make us, common men, understand better, he gives us a third example : ‘yathA sadrusha dAreshu putrajanmA prajasya vai’ –

A couple who has been married for years together have no children.  They hear about our Guru Maharaj, and during His darshan, speak about their woes.   Sri Swamiji asks them to come on an Ekadasi day to Madhurapuri Ashram.  Hundreds of people are gathered there on Ekadasi day, yet Sri Swamiji recognizes them as soon as they enter and lets them witness the ‘Tirumanjanam’ from the first row.  Right after that, Guru Maharaj offers them the honey from the Tirumanjanam, even before a word is uttered.  The couple consumes it and in three months time, they come to Guru Maharaj with a good news that the wife is in the family way!  There are tens and hundreds of such examples – where even after having medical tests turned negative, Bhagavan seeks to bless them through our Guru Maharaj.

How happy they would feel, on first hearing the good news!  That is the happiness the satsang would bring in, Dasharatha says, for he himself has experienced this, when Rama was born after a long hiatus.

‘Brahma Sparsham’ and ‘Putra Sparsham’ are the two great feelings that a person could possibly have – one the experience of the Brahman, and only next to it, the father’s experience of the touch of a newborn.

Still, a few people may not understand this bliss, so Dasharata gives us a 4^th example  – one that all of us would have experienced in our daily life – ‘pranashtasya yatha labho yatha harsham ..’  All of us would have misplaced small or big things – be it valet, car keys, some important documents that were extremely important for that day – and we lose it momentarily and  frantically struggle upto the 11^th hour to find the same, without much luck.  Then a quick prayer to the Lord chanting the Mahamantra – and there it is! Our eyes immediately spot the lost entity.  How happy one would feel, when he receives it back at the nick of the moment!

Saint Thyagaraja had exactly the same experience – with his Rama Parivara. Once his brother thew the deities into Cauvery because of jealousy, and the Saint writhed in pangs of separation and agony.  Then Rama Himself came in Thyagaraja Swamigal’s dreams and showed him the spot where he was.  Early next morning, Thyagaraja ran towards the spot and lo! He discovered his Rama! ‘kanukontini…’ How happy he felt then – one that even Dasharata wouldn’t have had!

These four examples may seem like random ones, but they are not so!  They reveal some beautiful truths.

The first one (amrutha) is about procuring the impossible – Getting a Satsang with a Mahatma is indeed next to impossible.  The second one (rains) is like being in such a  satsang at one point in time, but not having it anymore for reasons beyond one’s control (like the rains) – how one would long for the satsang, knowing the greatness and comfort of it.

The third example (birth of a son)  is like one who has heard about the Sadguru and His satsang in lectures, discourses but not having met Him, when everyone around him have gone to Madhurapuri and have had his darshan, and eventually, getting enough vacation days, getting the tickets and landing in Chennai – and meeting the Sadguru eye-to-eye – how happy one would feel?

The fourth (lost and regained), is likened to one knowing very well about the satsang, being in one himself and enjoying the bliss of it, but out of his own carelessness, go far away (physically  or mentally) and then long for it.  Has the Sadguru left him? No.  It is only his perception! [just like the lost object only gets outside the line of one’s sight, but doesn’t physically go anywhere else].  When eventually, through the grace of the Guru Maharaj, He calls you and says, “You have not gone anywhere! You are always under my super-‘vision’! “, how happy he would feel!  That is the greatness of the satsang!

One can boldly say that the satsang is not even the satsang with the Bhagavan – because when one speaks of his worries to the Lord in the temple, He just stands there!   But in the case of Mahatmas, they acknowledge it with a smile; they merely say ‘everything will be alright’ and take care of it completely, creating a protective shield around us.   He may just utter three words ‘Krishna blesses you’ – but that will take care of everything! And only those who have experienced this can appreciate this!

And that is why, Tulsidas Maharaj says, ‘Ramakrupa binu sulabh na soi’ – only by experience can one understand the Satsang  – and that is due to God’s grace.

‘Akhanda mandalAkAram vyAptam yena charAcharam |
tatpadam darshitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah ||’

The Supreme Truth that pervades the huge and vast universe – is being shown to us by that descent of Divinity – called the Sadguru – the ‘Sath’ – and the company of this ‘sath’ is indeed Satsang!

All of us are blessed to be in such a company, and be blessed with such a beautiful Mahamantra, which we are all committed to chant, not for material pleasures, not even for Vaikunta or Goloka, but     for  the pleasure of the Sadguru, which is experienced by one and all day in and day out through His grace!  Let us pray that we realize this grace more and more and have more opportunities to chant!

The satsang concluded with prayers with Mahamantra.

Oct 22: Ananthazhwar

The twenty-second of October is a very auspicious day indeed since a lot of festivals are lined up on this day. The most significant of them is Valmiki Jayanthi, the great saint who gave the first sloka in Sanskrit grammar and that sloka happens to be the first sloka in Ramayana –

mA NishAda prathishtAntamagamahsAsvati SamA
yat kraunchamithunAdekam avadhI kAmamohitam

Even though the Vedas which are composed in Sanskrit came to be known before Ramayana, the Vedas are referred to be the voice of the Lord himself and hence the first sloka in Sanskrit is the one mentioned above which was recited by Valmiki.

It was only through this great Saint Valmiki that we got the Divine Name Rama. It was through his guru’s grace, Sage Narada and Lord Rama that he chanted the hymn “MaRaMaRa” and so we all could get the great name “Rama” and also get to know the beautiful Charitra of Lord Rama.

In Ramayana, the Lord was banished to the forest by his step mother Kaikeyi. He departed to the forest and the first river he crossed was Yamuna. The divine mother Sita and Lakshmana were very depressed with the sequence of events that happened before their departure to the forest. After crossing Yamuna, the Lord tried to dissuade their hard feelings and make them feel lighter and hence decided to show them different places in the forest. When they were en route to Chitrakutam, Sita Devi was enticed by the beauty of Yamuna river and she requested the Lord to spend some time in river Yamuna. Lord Rama exhorted to her request and said that it was not the right time to spend time in Yamuna since he being a “Eka Patni Vrita” and that their river was Ganga and politely said that they will spend not just one or two days but a lifetime in river Yamuna. He promised to Sita Devi that he will take another incarnation to spend the entire lifetime in river Yamuna. Since Lord Rama was a Sathyasankalpa his words would never go falsified and so in next incarnation of the Lord he came down as Lord Krishna and did many leelas on the banks of river Yamuna. The above dialogue between Lord Rama and Lordess Sita is not present in Valmiki Ramayana but it an exposition of the Mahans. The greatness of river Yamuna is that it is river of Prema [divine love untainted by any needs and wants]. Lord Krishna was so enticed by river Yamuna so much so that the Gopis were also jealous of river Yamuna.  Krishna never drank the water from Yamuna with a cup or bowl, instead he sucked the water through his mouth with his hands tied back akin to how a cow drinks water from a river. The Lord realized that the Gopis were envious about this and so he decided to please them as well.  During the fall season [Sharad Ritu], it was on this auspicious day of Sharat Poornima [aka Rasa Poornima], the Lord played Rasa Kreeda with the Gopis. The divine play, Rasa Kreeda was so enchanting that Sage Narada was the first one to witness this scene. He wanted to share this joy with everyone and hence proceeded to Mount Kailasha and requested Lord Shiva to come down and he also viewed the divine play of the Lord. This day also marks significance to Lord Shiva. In South India, all the Shiva Lingas are decorated with different food items. Such is the greatness of this day in which the three Lords namely Lord Rama, Krishna and Shiva are worshipped.

After reminiscing the glories of Lord Venkateshwara the previous week, Hemaji of Dallas spoke on one of His devotees….

We know that Perumal did Kamsa Samhara, Ravana Samhara and even Hiranya Samhara. But he was not able to do Kali Samhara and successfully win over Kali. But the devotees of Lord Hari by chanting the Divine Names of Lord Hari and by extolling his divine glories were able to win over Lord Hari. There was a disciple of Ramanujacharya and his name was Ananthazhwar.

akhilAtma guNAvAsam ajnAnatimirApaham |
AshritAnAm sucharaNam vande anantArya desikam ||

This hymn was composed by Lord Venkateshwarea Himself on Ananthazhwar where the Lord extolled his greatness, the one who possessed all the qualities and absolves the darkness of ignorance, the one who gives a safe aboard to dwell to those who surrender unto him and the Lord offers his prayers and obeisance to Anantharya.

Tirumalai was once in dilapidated state and the worship of Lord was not happening as expected. Ramanujacharya visited this place and shed tears looking at the state of affairs.  He called all his devotees and confided to the congregation the plight of the seven hills and posed them a question if anyone would be interested to serve the Lord on the hills on a day to day basis. Everyone was hesitant fearing the hard life up the hills.

There rose Ananthazhwaar, a silent devotee in the midst of the gathering and said “Oh revered Acharya, please bless me to serve the Lord of the seven hills” and he said that he will be immensely happy to take up the service. Ramanujacha was mightily pleased and happy and embracing Ananthazhwaar proclaimed in front of the gathering, “Oh Ananthazhwaar, You are the right man to undertake this service “.

Ananthazhwaar departed from Srirangam along with his pregnant wife and settled down in Tirumala to serve the orders of his guru. He served the Lord of the seven hills under Sri Arulalaperumal Emperumanar guidance who was another devotee of Ramanuja. In Tirumala, he started to grow a flower garden atop the hills. He would collect the flowers from the garden and make a beautiful garland and bedeck the Lord every day. This was the routine for Ananthazhwaar every day. He had to carry water for the garden from the down-hills and when it rain slammed the hills, it was extremely difficult for him to carry the water from the down hills. A thought struck Ananthalvar to build a water tank for his garden.  He started to digging up the earth to build the tank and he was assisted by his wife to empty the dirt to another place. The couple toiled hard to construct the tank. Since she was pregnant, she became tired very soon and the compassionate Lord of the hills was unable to see this. So he disguised as a young lad wearing a religious and requested Ananthazhwaar if he can be of any help to construct the water tank.

The couple toiled day and night to serve their Guru. Their only aim was service to the Guru.  Ananthazhwar quipped, and asked him to mind his own business since he wanted to build the garden and the tank all by himself.  The lad did not deter and proceeded straight to Ananthazhwar’s wife. She feared her husband but the young lad said to her that he will help her in running chores to build the water tank. She being a compassionate lady could not deny the boy’s offer to render help and so she took his help.  The boy’s help really started to expedite his wife’s work and hence the removal of earth was happening faster than ever before and she was now productive than ever. This really surprised Ananthazhwar and so he secretly followed his wife. He saw the young boy helping his wife and severely chastised the boy and hit him with a crowbar and the boy started to bleed started to ooze from his chin. He chased the boy away.

The Lord through Sri Arulalaperumal Emperumanar ordained Ananthazhwar to the sanctum sanctorum.  He said that he would come to the temple after stringing the flower garland. The Lord was not happy to hear this and belittled that he will not wear the garland. Upon hearing this, Ananthazwar said that it was his duty to serve his Guru and to obey his orders. The Lord then ordered him to leave the Divya Desam. Ananthazhwar refused to move out of the seven hills and humbly said that he would leave Tirumala if he is ordained by his Guru.  In the evening Ananthazwar went to the Temple to offer worship, he noticed that the Lord’s chin was hurt and was oozing blood and he immediately realized that the boy was none other than the Lord himself.  He pleaded to the Lord for forgiveness and the Lord replied that it was not blood but was indeed the tears of joy coming out from his chin. So he immediately took a flower and applied on the wound and the bleeding stopped. He then applied some camphor on the Lord’s chin. To remember this incident, some camphor is applied on the Lord’s chin even today. The crowbar with which Ananthazhwaar  hit the Lord is hung at the right-hand side of the temple Gopuram to remember the divine play of the Lord.

After finishing the water-tank construction, he started to grow a beautiful garden and named the garden with his Guru’s name- Ramanuja and grew a lot of flowers.

One day, the Lord of Tirumala decided to play a divine play with Ananthazhwaar. One night, the Lord along with his consort, Goddess Lakshmi visited the garden and plucked all the flowers. The next day, Ananthalwar was not very happy to see this. So the next day, he decided to keep a vigil in the night and during the middle of the night, he saw a young boy and a girl with glowing radiance playing in the garden. He started to chase them and the boy escaped but Ananthazhwaar caught hold of the girl. He tied her to a tree and she stayed there over-night. The next day when the Pandits opened the temple door they were surprised to see the goddess missing from the Lord. The Lord then directed them to go to Ananthazhwaar’s garden and requested them to bring Goddess Lakshmi along with Ananthazhwaar. The Pundits then rushed to Ananthazhwaar’s garden and explained the divine play of the Lord. Ananthazhwaar then realized that he had tied Goddess Lakshmi and immediately released her and accompanied her to the Lord to get her married. Ananthazhwaar is known as the father-in-law of the Lord.

Ananthalwar once decided to embark on a pilgrimage tour. He took some Prasad along with him for his trip and descended the Tirumala hills and came down to Tiruttani. He was hungry and so he opened the Prasad. As soon as he opened them, he saw some ants coming out of the Prasad. He immediately closed the Prasad and started to go back to the hills. He did not want to separate out the ants from the Lord and climbed the hills again to unite the ants with the Lord.

After expounding on the Lilas of Srinivasa on His devotee Ananthazhwar, the satsang ended with prayers and Namasankirtan.

 

Jun 19: Guru – The Sorcerer’s Stone?

The Nama Sankirtan was led by Nainar Mohamed and family from Mountain View, California.
This was followed by a talk by Narayanan from Boston.

We have been starting our satsangs by talking about the glory of satsang over the past few weeks and hence I thought we will talk about that, today too.
In Srimad Ramayana we see people with different characteristics. One is Sugreeva who is terror stricken at the thought of his brother Vaali. His life is in danger as Vaali can kill him any moment and he hides to save himself. He had lost all his materialistic possessions [his share of the kingdom] On the other side of the spectrum is Ravana. He was one of the most learned person, adept in shastras and a very powerful ruler indeed. This is at the beginning of Ramayana. However at the end of Ramayana, we see that Sugreeva is the ruler of Kishkinda and he leads a happy life. On the other hand, Ravana dies a miserable death. The main difference to note is that Sugreeva had Hanuman has his pal and that bought all the fortune for him, whereas Ravana set fire to Hanuman’s tail, thereby insulting the Bhagavatottama. He got rid of all the satsangs that he had destroyed Vibishana’s kingdom. These acts verily lead to the downfall of Ravana. The company of Sadhus and taking a refuge in the holy feet of Sadguru and not insulting any Bhagavatottama will keep one happy in this life and beyond.

Then, who is a Guru?  Anyone who shows us the Lord is verily the Guru. There are many different Gurus illustrated in our scriptures.
It would be surprising to note that even Kamsa and Sukracharya were Gurus?  How?  It was Kamsa who showed the place of Lord Krishna to Akrura and created an opportunity for Akrura to meet Lord Krishna, although his intent was to slay Krishna.  That way, Kamsa becomes Akrura’s Guru.  During Vamana Avatara, when Lord Vamana comes to the place of King Bali’s sacrifice, Sukracharya, the preceptor of King Mahabali, warns the King ‘Hey Vairochana! this young lad is none other than Hari. Beware!’.  By showing the Lord to King Bali, Sukracharya becomes a Guru.

But who is a Uttama Guru?  Some say that the Uttama Guru is like a sorcerer’s stone.  A sorcerer’s stone is one that when brought into contact with any object turns that object into gold.  But Mahans beg to differ.  The object may turn into gold. However that very object cannot be used to turn other objects into gold.  Whereas in the case of a Uttama Guru, by a mere touch, a Uttama Guru can turn his disciples into Jnanis and the chain does not stop there.  The disciples can turn other disciples into Jnanis by their touch.  Now, do we see why a Uttama Guru cannot be compared to a sorcerrer’s stone?

There was a pious brahmin couple who lived in the state of Andhra Pradesh, whose family had been continuously doing ‘Soma Yaga’ (Soma Yaga is a particular sacrifice that has been advocated in our scriptures for all brahmin householders).  It was said that when he had completed a hundred soma yagas, the Lord Himself will be born to them.

This couple had shifted to Varanasi to earn their living, for he was a Vedic scholar and Varanasi was the seat of Vedic education during that time.  It was the time of Muslim invasions in India and often dacoits and looters came in horses and scared the lives out of the residents.  During one such attack, fearing for life, the couple moved into a forest.  The wife was bearing the aforesaid god-child in her womb as they made their way into the forest.  One night, in the middle of the forest, the wife gave birth to a beautiful boy.  There was no help to reach out to, and it is said that the animals and other natural forces verily guarded the child after it was born.   They named the child “Vaishvanara” (Vaishvanara is the name of Agni – the God of Fire, which was their primary deity worship).

Vaishvanara grew up to be a great scholar in his later life and came to be called by everyone as Sri Vallabhacharya.  Sri Vallabhacharya has written commentaries on the Upanishads and various other scriptures.  His commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam – called as “Subhodini” is till date, considered as one of the best commentaries of Srimad Bhagavatam till date.  He propounded the path of worship known as “Pushti Marg” and had temple establishments in various places, including Allahabad and Brindavan.

Krishnadas was one of the disciples of Sri Vallabha.  Sri Vallabha had appointed Krishnadas as the Manager of the Srinathji temple in Mathura he founded.  Sri Vallabha instructed Krishnadas that only the best of the best products be offered to the deity.  This, Krishnadas, took as the initiation of the Guru and followed it in word and spirit.  Even today, the betel leaves for the deity come from Vellore in Tamilnadu (which is known to produce the best betel leaves in the country), water from the Yamuna is brought to this place daily and saffron from Kashmir is flown to the temple on a daily basis!

Once Krishnadas was going on a horse carriage to Mathura to get groceries for the temple when he heard a melodious music coming from somewhere.  He was so much drawn to the music that he asked the carriage driver to halt. Later, he asked that the carriage be driven towards the source of the music and finally, he reached a place where a beautiful maiden was singing in a melodious voice and dancing in front of a few rich people.

Krishnadas sat mesmerized by the elegance of the maiden’s dance and the melody of her voice.  He felt there could not be a greater vocalist and dancer than her in the whole world.  He approached her after the dance and learned that her name was Ranjani.

He remembered his Guru’s instruction and told Ranjani, ‘Ranjani! will you dance in front of my Master?’

Ranjani immediately turned down Krishnadas’ request – ‘I don’t come outside to dance. Ask your Master to come here!’

‘My master wouldn’t come. But I assure you, you will be very satisfied after having danced in his presence.’

Ranjani, ‘Well!  Will your master pay me enough? I demand a large sum when I perform outside.’

‘Don’t every worry about it. My Master is extremely affluent. No one in this world is as rich as him, so much so that, the Goddess of wealth herself is at his feet!’

Ranjani said, ‘I don’t dance in front of oldaged people. Is your master handsome enough?’

Krishnadas said, ‘My master is the most handsome person on earth! He is like a million cupids put together, and he is ever a young man in his sweet-sixteen.’

Ranjani asked, ‘Is your master a rasika (conneisseur)? I will be really upset if my audience cannot appreciate and enjoy my music and dance and hence will not perform if he is not a rasika.’

Krishnadas immedately said, ‘My master is the greatest conneisseur of music and dance. He is ‘akhilakalaadi guru’ – the master of all arts!

Having convinced Ranjani, Krishnadas took her along with him to the temple.   When Ranjani asked him to take her to his master, Krishnadas pulled open the screen that kept the deity of Lord Krishna from her… and lo! Ranjani was speechless when she gazed at the divine beauty of the Lord.

She immediately started singing and dancing.  Her performance for the ‘Master’ was extra-ordinary that particular day and went on for a long time. With bhaava filled in her dance and music, her performance reached a cresendo. Eventually, as she finished her performance, in a lightning flash, she went into the sanctum and merged into Lord Krishna.

Within a single performance in front of the Lord, that very state that Mirabai had attained, by merging into the Lord of Dwaraka; that very state that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had attained by merging into Lord Jagannath of Puri, Ranjani had attained, inspite of the fact that Ranjani did not even perform a fraction of the devotion that the Mirabai and Mahaprabhu had performed all their lives! – The only reason being the fact that she was shown the Lord by Krishnadas, who as the disciple at the feet of the Uttama Guru Sri Vallabhacharya.

Vallabhacharya had many such disciples who have delivered so many souls by their mere presence and touch.

Poojya Poornimaji surprised the satsang by her presence and talked about the path of complete surrender to god. She is currently visiting Australia for satsangs.

We all have numerous questions that we want to have cleared when we have our Guru Maharaj’s darshan, don’t we? I happened to read a nice incident in the life of Bhagavan Ramana in this connection, which I am happy to share in this satsang.

Muruganaar is the disciple of Ramana who, today, is the person behind bringing out all of Bhagavan Ramana’s works to light.  Once, Muruganaar when in the presence of Bhagavan Ramana, put forth a bunch of questions to Bhagavan.  ‘How come I have so many doubts’, asked Muruganaar. Bhagavan replied that it was common to have doubts even if one is in the abode of the Sadguru and that is because of the fact that one has not reached the point of complete surrender.

In this context, Bhagavan Ramana narrates the story of Sanatkumaras.  This is slightly different from the one we find in Srimad Bhagavatam, but nevertheless, conveys the idea very well.

‘Once Sanatkumaras had numerous doubts which they wanted to get clarified. Firstly they reached Vaikunta, the abode of Vishnu. Seeing Vishnu along with His divine consort Lakshmi, they felt that being a householder, Vishnu would not be the right person to answer their questions.  So they moved on and decided to meet Lord Shiva to pose their questions.

Knowing beforehand that the Kumaras would turn Him down if he was with Goddess Parvati, Shiva took the form of a young man and penance under a banyan tree.  The Kumaras approached Dakshinamurthy and decided to stay there until their doubts were cleared.  They sat in front of Lord Dakshinamurthy and started firing their questions.  Patient as he was, Lord Dakshinamurthy answered their questions one by one, and this went on for about a year.  Although time passed by, there was no sign  of cessation of doubts and questions.  Sanatkumaras kept volleying their doubts.  A year passed and Lord Shiva decided, ‘There is not going to be an end for this. Let me go into meditation.’.  Thinking so, He went into deep meditation and enquiry.  This very dynamic silence created peace and bliss in the Sanatkumaras.!

When Bhagavan  Ramana completed the anecdote, Muruganaar looked extremely addled. He said, ‘But Bhagavan, I have never heard of a story that Lord Dakshinamurthy spoke volumes to Sanatkumaras! I have heard of Lord Dakshinamurty as a guru in silence always! This story sounds so new to me!’

Bhagavan Ramana smiled at Muruganaar and exclaimed, ‘True! It is not found in the Puranas, But that is what happened!’

Having narrated this incident from Bhagavan Ramana’s life, Poornimaji added,

‘The very silence of the Guru explains it all. ‘Gurostu Maunam Vyaakhyaanam’.  Seeing this in conjunction with the story in Srimad Bhagavatam reveals a very interesting fact…

What is the story in Bhagavatam?  The Sanatkumaras long to cherish and behold the beauty and bliss of the Almighty Lord Vishnu and reach the gates of Vaikunta.  At the entrance, they are stopped by the gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya, and they are cursed. The story goes on…

Now, what do we see?  Initially, when the Sanatkuamaras saw Lord Vishnu, although He was the Lord Almighty, they saw Him only as a householder!

Then after they acquired the supreme knowledge at the feet of their Guru Lord Dakshinamurthy and have been recipients of the Guru’s grace they longed to behold the beauty and cherish the bliss of the same Lord Vishnu, whom they considered a mere householder earlier!

Without the grace of the Guru, even if you meet God face to face, you will not realize the grace and Glory of the Lord.  It is only with the Guru’s grace that you can realize God.

The satsang ended with prayers and Namasankirtan.