Navaratri wishes

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

Sri maatre namaha.

Wishes to all readers across the world for a good Navaratri. May the supreme ParAmbA shine Her light and through that take each of you across this ocean of samsara.

May all your prayers and wishes be successful.

May the meditation / introspection be deep!

And I will see you all after the vrata period............

PS. Have uploaded some tracks on the player (on your right) for the Navaratri. Enjoy the song divine!

Mantra 33 - Adore Him

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

Now that I am on the site, I might as well spend a few minutes on the next post or two! A little something to tide you over the next period without updates (seeing as its nearly Navaratri time of the year now). Here is the next installment in the Thirumandiram series, the 33rd mantra.

பதிபல வாயது பண்டுஇவ் வுலகம்

விதிபல செய்தொன்றும் மெய்ம்மை உணரார்

துதிபல தோத்திரம் சொல்ல வல்லாரும்

மதியிலர் நெஞ்சினுள் வாடுகின் றாரே. 33.

Adore Him

Many the Gods this hoary world adores,

Many the rituals; many the songs they sing;

But knowing not the One Truth, of Wisdom bereft

Un illumined, they can but droop at heart. 33.

Com - Many the Gods this hoary world adores Since time immemorial there have been many Gods in this world, to whom the people direct their worship Many the rituals and many are the forms of worship (rituals) and many the rules that govern such worship But knowing not the One Truth and because of this they (the people of this world) do not understand the one truth which is Siva. many the songs they sing Even those that sing many songs in praise of the Lord, of Wisdom bereft Un illumined are bereft of the true wisdom, which can only be realised by being merged in Siva- and not obtained through the mere words of the songs. they can but droop at heart As a result; they suffer by being without peace in their minds.

* The sage expounds the Siddha view, which holds that all actions (rituals, prayers, worship etc) when performed without realisation of the one truth (the union with Siva) do not have the power to confer the wisdom or peace that is sought by the performer of such actions. Without wisdom, they are but mere words and as such are powerless. Here I have to note that this is not a view restricted to the siddhas alone - many sampradayas (spiritual traditions) hold the same view. Refer for example the words of the great Bhaskararaya in Varivasyarahasya where he notes that '' the utterance of the mantra without the full and complete understanding and absorption in it, is but like offering Havis (a sacrificial offering of cooked rice mixed with ghee) into the fire pit that has only the ash (and no fire)'' - meaning that such offering will not be consumed by the fire (as there is an absence of fire) and thus taken to the gods it is intended as an offering for. It is to be understood that the awareness and intelligence is what makes a sound of group of sounds into a mantra, or a stone or a piece of wood into a living deity - without that crucial awareness and absorption in that awareness (union) the sounds remain merely sounds and the idol merely stone or wood.

The Four Nandis - Mantra 70

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

In case the regular readers are wondering about why I have suddenly jumped to the 70th mantra of the Thirumandiram, it is not because the mantras in between will be skipped! This post with the commantary of the 70th mantra is in response to a mail from a reader as the version in her(or is it his?) possession does not have the first two lines of the verse. Even though the mantra has been posted here now, we will once again come to this mantra when slowly following along in the series of the Thirumandiram posts.

நால்வரும் நாலு திசைக்கொன்று நாதர்கள்

நால்வரும் நானா விதப்பொருள் கைக்கொண்டு

நால்வரும் யான்பெற்ற தெல்லாம் பெறுகென

நால்வரும் தேவராய் நாதர் ஆனார்களே. 70.

Four Nandis

The Four, each in his corner, as Master ruled,

The Four, each his diverse treasure held,

Each in his turn spoke, "Take all I've;"

And thus, Immortals and Masters became. 70.

Com - The Four, each in his corner, as Master ruled The four gurus namely Sanakar, Sanandhanar, Sanatanar and Sanatkumarar took to each of the four directions (of the earth). The Four, each his diverse treasure held Each of the above named four gurus gathered immensely varied and deep experience of the various tantras and other texts. Each in his turn spoke, "Take all I've;" And the knowledge that they gained through all their respective sadhanas, they freely shared with the people of the world by explaining the esoteric texts and by initiating disciples. And thus, Immortals and Masters became Thus the four, rose to the position of being Gurus of the world. (as a result of their deep wisdom and the compassion they had for the people of the world)

* Through the above mantra the sage explains the method through which the above named four were elevated to being teachers of the world. Note that the importance attached to personal experiences with regard to spiritual knowledge.

A quick note here as we are not following the mantras in order - the above mantra comes in the section detailing the guru parampara of Thirumular and traces the lineage from the Guru Nandi down. The four (Sanakar & c) are the four disciples who are evident in the image of Dhakshinamurthy (the guru of gurus) and are the mind born sons of Brahma. Another interesting (and unique aspect of the siddha masters) point that is evident in the above mantra is the siddha policy of sharing their wisdom for the betterment of humanity. (Yaan petra inbam peruga ivvayagam - let the universe obtain the bliss that I have obtained [through sadhana and intense spiritual practices] ) Like mentioned elsewhere in this blog, the siddha masters possesed extra ordinary social consciousness and never hesitated to use their tapas, magic, consciousness, wisdom etc for the upliftment of the 'common man'. Here the sage conveys that above and beyond the incredibile wisdom and enlightenment possesed by the four (sanakar & c), their compassion and love for mankind is instrumental in them being elevated to the seat of being the teachers of the world.