Gems from the acharya: On Lord Shiva

Continuing our study on the Harikatha by Smt Sharada Gannavaram, we are now going to focus on the 4th deity in the Shanmata (6-deity) pantheon- i.e. Lord Shiva.

As mentioned in the previous articles, this harikatha is unique because all the verses are taken from compositions by the 34th acharya of Sringeri - Sri Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati mahaswami.

Resolving the "samasya", the riddle:

Mahaswami's guru, the 33rd acharya of Sringeri, gave out a puzzle, a "samasya" that had to be solved by the paathashaala students. He rendered a quarter of a verse in Sanskrit that said- "We are unsure if it is awake or if it is asleep (nidraati vaa...jaagarti vaa?). But it is still an expert in bestowing mukti (mukti daana nipunaa)". He left the verse hanging. This was the puzzle, the samasya. The students had to use their imagination to complete the verse and explain this strange phenomenon!

Once the acharya was back from his yatra, he asked if anyone had solved this puzzle. The 34th acharya, who at this point in time, was still a youngster, had completed the verse. He incorporates the above verse quarter in a stanza describing Lord Shiva as Dakshinamurti. He describes the Lord in the following manner. He is seated under a banyan tree (vata vrksha) and holds a sacred book (pustaka) in one hand. The other hand is held in "chin-mudra"- with the thumb touching the index finger. This deity teaches his devotees through silence (mauna-vyaakhyaa). And surprisingly, this teaching in silence, is so powerful, that it gives liberation (mukti) to the students! Hence, "mukti-daana nipunaa", such an expert teacher!

Further, the acharya says, that when we look at Dakshinamurti's eyes, they are half-closed. They are neither fully open, nor fully shut. Hence, we feel like asking, "Is he awake or is he sleeping?"

Thus, in a masterly way, the acharya solves the riddle using the imagery of Lord Dakshinamurti. The beauty of this verse, as completed by the acharya, is such that, he does not mention the name "Dakshinamurti" anywhere. Through the imagery of the pustaka in one hand, chin-mudra in the other, he paints a word picture, and leaves the inference to us, so that we are sure it has to be Lord Dakshinamurti and none else!

Needless to say, his guru, the 33rd acharya, was extremely pleased with his disciple for solving the "samasya" in such a novel and beautiful way!

Gireesha stuti

Next, we come to a set of verses composed by the 34th acharya called "Gireesha stuti". As the name suggests, these are verses on Lord Shiva who is "Gireesha", the Lord (eesha) of mountains (giri), the Lord of Kailash. In this composition, we find a description of every part or aspect (avayava) of Lord Shiva, from the head to the toe. Some of the descriptions are given below:

Lord Shiva's Ganga-pravaaha:

Talking about Ganga on Lord Shiva's head, the acharya says, this ganga pravaaha is not just the Ganga river. In fact, this is the torrent of compassion, O Lord, tava karunaa-pravaaha....that gushes forth and drenches the devotee completely!

What is this karuna-pravaaha? Lord's compassion can express itself in several ways- it can solve a particular problem that the devotee may have. However, it is said, that the best form of compassion, is the teaching tradition coming down from Lord Shiva (sadaashiva samaarambhaam). This teaching bestows knowledge, such that, it does not solve one specific, topical problem of the student, but solves all problems...for all time.  This is the karunaa-pravaaha emanating from Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva's trishula:

Next, he focuses on the trident, "trishula" carried by Lord Shiva. The acharya says, the trident, with its 3 prongs refer to "taapa trayam". We are afflicted with problems (taapa) at 3 levels: problems centred on us (our body-mind related problems), problems afflicting our immediate neighbourhood (e.g. family related issues) and problems emanating from afar, i.e. supernatural forces like earthquake and tsunami that afflict the world at large. Lord Shiva holds a trident to show that he will protect us at all 3 levels.

We may wonder how Lord Shiva can protect us from all 3 calamities. In some cases, the problem melts away, in some cases, the impact of the problem is lessened...and in some other cases, he gives us the necessary mental strength to go through the crisis with cheer and confidence.

Lord Shiva as mrga-dhara:

From the trishulam, the acharya now comes to the other hand of Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva is mrga-dharah. He holds a "still deer" in his hand. We see this iconography in the vigrahas of Lord Shiva.

What does this mean? The deer is never quiet. It is hyper-active and keeps moving. The deer refers to our mind. Like the deer, the mind runs amok! However, once the mind surrenders to Lord Shiva, the mind is quietened and stays still (achala) like that still deer with Lord Shiva. 

Thus, the Lord mothers the mind of the devotee.

Lord Shiva's nuupura:

Finally, the acharya comes to the feet of Lord Shiva. Shiva is "naagendra bhushana". Snakes are his ornaments. Shiva wears the snake around his neck. In fact, his entire body is decorated with snakes. Here, the acharya says, Shiva wears the snake "Adishesha" as his "nuupura" (anklet).

What does this mean? We are supported by the earth. The earth is supported by Adishesha. In the puranas, we read how the hoods of Adishesha support the world (dharani-dharah). By wearing Adishesha as his anklet, the acharya says, Lord Shiva supports even Adishesha!

There is an "associative property" here- we are supported by the earth, the earth is supported by Adishesha, and Adishesha is supported by Lord Shiva. Through this, we understand that the "ultimate supporter" is Lord Shiva.

Hence, we are never isolated and alone. We are ever supported by the Lord. And as the supporter, he takes care of all our problems- "bhava bhaaram cha vahasi". We see in the Geeta also- "yoga-kshemam vahaamyaham" where the Lord says, "I take care of all your needs!"

With this, we pray to the acharya and to Lord Shiva for their grace. 

May Lord Shiva's compassion, karuna-pravaaha drench us. May we surrender to him and feel that he bears all our topical problems. And finally, we ask Lord Shiva for that ultimate teaching, through which he solves all problems...for all time!

References:

The Harikatha that served as the inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQwb35PxNg

Gems from the acharya: On Lord Surya

Continuing with the Harikatha series by Smt Sharada Gannavaram, we have come to the third deity in the "shanmata (6-deity)" pantheon- i.e., Lord Surya.

Sringeri's 34th acharya Sri Sri Chandrashekhara Bharati mahaswami has composed a stotra on Lord Surya called "Megha-aavrta-surya-varnanam".

It looks as though the acharya looked at the sky on a cloudy day and that sight...triggered this stotra. As the name says, the stotra is a "description of the sun"- "surya varnanam". What kind of sun is it? The acharya says, the sun...that is presently covered (aavrta) by the clouds (megha).

Hence, these verses are composed on the sun....that is now covered by the clouds!

Verse 1: 

Clouds, the children...cover the sun, their parent!

In this stotra, we get the following verse:

It seems the clouds were conversing among themselves! The clouds (abdaih) ask, "What is the harm if we cover our parent, the sun?" (kah asmaakam dosha?). The context is this- the sun is the creator of the clouds. After all, the sun evaporates the water and that leads to the formation of clouds. But the irony is, though the clouds are created by the sun, they manage to cover their creator, the sun itself!

Having covered the sun, the clouds are looking for some justification. They argue, "What harm is there? We are following a precedent that is already seen in the creation! Hence, we are perfectly justified!" 

What is the precedent? That explanation is given in the first line of the verse. The acharya makes the Vedantic leap by connecting the "sun and cloud" (line 2) with "atma and maya" (line 1). As per Vedantic teaching, there is only one reality- the atma. It is present everywhere. "Maya" is a mysterious entity, that is seen as an "appearance in the atma". It is like the "mirage in the desert". The sand is the reality of the desert. In that dry sand, we see an appearance of water. So too, with maya. It is like the mirage water. The world that we experience is this maya.

Maya owes its appearance to atma, much like the mirage water owes its appearance to the desert sand. Atma is the basis, the substratum...the "parent" and maya i.e. this world, is the "child" for this atma. The irony is, though the world/maya is the "child" of atma, the world manages to successfully cover the atma. We do not notice the atma ever! Our attention is so much on the world...that we miss atma altogether and never notice its presence! It is like the cinema characters that distract us, so much so, we never notice the screen! 

The acharya says, this is the precedent that is seen in the creation. The clouds argue, "When such an example already exists in the creation, where the child covers the parent, what harm is there, if we repeat the same mischief and cover our creator, the sun?"

Answer from the Hastaamalaka stotra:

The acharya leaves the verse open-ended. We get the answer to this riddle from the Hastaamalaka stotra, a poem composed by Adi Shankara's disciple. In this poem, we get the same example of the cloud covering the sun. The poem says, "People conclude that the sun is covered by the clouds. They miss the presence of the sun. What they fail to realise is the fact, that the cloud itself is seen, because of the sun! In and through the sight of the cloud, the sun is very much present. So too, we feel that atma is covered by maya, covered by this world. But every experience of the world, is the experience of the reality, the atma, in and through the things and beings of this world!"

Verse 2:

In another verse in the same "megha-aavrta-surya-varnanam" stotra, the acharya gives a "neeti", makes a particular observation. The verse goes as follows:

The acharya says, the sun is shining and resplendent. This is the fact. For such a bright parent, a child may be born (i.e. the cloud) that manages to dim and dampen the effulgence of the parent, i.e. the sun! It is indeed a wonder! 

The acharya says, sometimes, in this world, we notice a similar phenomenon. The parent may be outstanding, but his child may be "dush-putra" and may successfully cover the brilliance of the parent! We can take many examples from the Puranas. Ravana had an illustrious lineage. His father was Sage Vishravas, his grandfather was Sage Pulastya (one of the sapta-rishis) and his great-grandfather was Lord Brahma himself! Coming from such a noble lineage, Ravana managed to dampen the brilliance of all his ancestors.

We need not end the verse on this solemn note that we have "dush-putras" in this world. Adi Shankara answers this problem in his Subrahmanya Bhujanga stotram. He says, even if we are "dush-putras" and guilty of offences, just like a father and mother forgive "sahatey" the faults of their children "sva-putra-aparaadham", so too, the Lord, as the eternal and affectionate parent, must forgive even this dush-putra! Shankara says, there is redemption for everyone, under the Lord's benevolent, parental ambit!

We pray to Lord Surya, the pratyaksha devata, to bless us. May we invoke his blessings through our daily sandhya-vandana. May he brighten our mind and lead us to the ultimate goal of life.

References:

Smt Sharada's Harikatha that served as the reference for the above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yy9hAkjNN4 

Also, many thanks to Smt Sharada for sharing the above verses from the "Gururaaja-sukti-maalika"

Gems from the acharya: Harikatha on Lord Subrahmanya

In the previous blogpost, we looked at the "Shanmata (6-deity)" mode of worship, through Smt Sharada Gannavaram's Harikatha at Sringeri. We will continue from where we left off.

In the last article, we enjoyed the verses centred on Lord Ganesha. In this article, we will look at the next deity in the Shanmata pantheon- i.e., Lord Subrahmanya. 

As in the previous post, this Harikatha is also unique because the verses presented on Lord Subrahmanya are taken from the shlokas composed by the 34th acharya of Sringeri- Sri Sri Jagadguru Chandrashekhara Bharati mahaswami (1892- 1954).

From the acharya's compositions, 3 verses are presented here.

Verse 1: 

Subrahmanya as Guha- the one who destroys ignorance:

The first verse is from the "Sharavanabhava Maanasa Puja" stotra by the acharya.

Firstly, what is a "maanasa puja" stotra? A maanasa puja strotra is like a session in Guided-Meditation. The entire puja ritual involving the 16-step procedure (shodasha upachaara) is described in the verses. As we mentally chant the verses, it is as though, we are sitting in front of the altar and mentally performing the entire puja. We imagine the deity, we offer a seat for the deity (aasanam) mentally, we wash the feet of the deity (paadyam) mentally, we bathe the deity (snaanam) mentally, we light the lamp mentally (deepam) etc. Every aspect of the puja is described in the verses and the stotra paints a mental picture... to take us through the entire puja process. Stotras that follow this format are called "maanasa puja" stotras.

Adi Shankara has composed the famous "Shiva Maanasa Puja" stotra. Here, the 34th acharya presents a similar maanasa puja stotra, on Lord Subrahmanya. This is the "Sharavanabhava Maanasa Puja" stotra. 

The first verse in this stotra explains the significance of the name "Guha" for Lord Subrahmanya. The verse goes as follows:

The name "Guha" is divided into 2 syllables "Gu" and "Ha". The first line says- the syllable "gu" (gukaara) stands for "intense darkness" "prabalam tamah". What is this darkness? All kinds of negativity, starting from "ignorance" onwards, can be taken as darkness here. 

The second line says- the syllable "ha" (hakaara) stands for "destruction" (haani).

Taken together,  "gu + ha" stands for destruction (shithilaya) of all negativity- called "moha" (delusion) in the third line. The one who is an expert in removing darkness and negativity is "Guha" (yan-naama guha).

Finally, the last line says, I meditate (dhyaayaami) upon such a Lord Subrahmanya, the one who destroys ignorance.

This derivation of "Guha" (as gu + ha) reminds us of the famous mantra that defines a guru (as gu + ru) in the Guru Geeta. "Gu" stands for darkness. "Ru" stands for "tan nivartakah" (the one who removes that darkness) says the Guru Geeta.

Thus, Guha does the same job as the Guru. The Guru is Guha...and Guha is the Guru. After all, Subrahmanya was the Guru for even Lord Shiva (as described in that famous story). 

We are also reminded of Muthuswamy Dikshitar who combined both Guru and Guha as "Guru Guha" and used that expression as his "mudra" in his musical compositions!

One last point related to this verse and maanasa puja. We first imagine and meditate upon Lord Subrahmanya as described above in the first verse of the stotra. Having imagined the deity, the subsequent verses in that stotra, describe the 16-step procedure of the puja (aasanam, arghyam, snaanam etc.)

Verse 2:

Subrahmanya as the bestower of knowledge:

This verse is the second verse from another composition by the acharya called "Shanmukha Pancharatna Stuti". The verse goes as follows:

Here, the acharya explains why Lord Subrahmanya stands with the spear ("vel", shaktyaayudha) and with Valli and Devasena by his side. This description of Lord Subrahmanya is seen in the 3rd and 4th lines. 

In the first two lines, the acharya says:

If a person is blessed by Subrahmanya with "Complete Knowledge" (line 1) (gnyaana shaktyaa), that Gnyaani...becomes Subrahmanya Himself (subrahmanyah  bhavet (line 1)). (We are reminded of the Upanishad phrase- brahma veda...brahma eva bhavati).

And what happens to this gnyaani, the who has become Subrahmanya himself? The acharya says in the second line- the gnyaani becomes so great and has such power (siddhi) that he commands respect (patitvam, i.e. lordship) from the entire army/retinue of the devas (deva-senaa) (line 2). Even devas worship this gnyaani, the verse says.

We notice the pun on the word "Deva-sena". It is used as both "Devasena" (Subrahmanya's consort) as well as "Deva sena" (army of the devas (in the gnyaani context)). Similarly, the word "shakti" is used in 2 ways: as "gnyaana-shakti" (power of knowledge for a gnyaani) and as the weapon ("vel"/spear) wielded by Subrahmanya. The word "subrahmanya" is also used in 2 ways: for a gnyaani and for the Lord. The word "pati" is used twice- in the sense of "lordship" for a gnyaani and again as the spouse/consort of Devasena! Almost every word is repeated in this verse...once for Lord Subrahmanya and a second time for a gnynaani (who is now identical with Subrahmanya!)

In Verse 1 (that we saw earlier), Subrahmanya was presented as the "destroyer of ignorance". In this verse, we see the same idea presented positively- as the "giver of knowledge". 

Thus, the 2 verses are connected.

Verse 3:

Subrahmanya at Tiruchendur- Rivers merge in the ocean:

The next verse is taken from yet another composition by the acharya called "Subrahmanya Bhujanga Strotra". 

Readers will recall that Adi Shankara has composed the famous Subrahmanya Bhujanga Stotra. The 34th acharya has also composed a stotra by the same name, on the same deity at Tiruchendur. Another common point in both compositions is that Subrahmanya, Tiruchendur, the ocean etc...everything is described using a "spiritual metaphor" and compared to the spiritual journey of a seeker.

Bhujanga is a snake. Subrahmanya is often worshipped as a snake. Hence, the name Bhujanga here. Bhujanga is also a particular "metre" in Sanskrit poetry. In the Bhujanga metre, each line of the verse will have "1 short syllable followed by 2 long syllables" repeated. As a snake moves, it coils and expands. This spring-like movement is shown using the repetition of a short syllable followed by a long syllable. These verses- though called "bhujanga", do not follow the bhujanga metre. However, we can still see a natural "flow" and "movement" in these verses. 

This verse is a natural progression from the above 2 verses. In verse 1, ignorance was destroyed. In verse 2, knowledge was gained. In this verse, Lord Subrahmanya blesses the devotee who becomes a gnyaani, and how that gnyaani relates to the varied experiences of the world. We can call this "gnyaana phalam", the result of knowledge.

The verse goes as follows:

 At Tiruchendur, Lord Subrahmanya stands majestic...facing the ocean. 

This verse too starts by talking about the ocean, samudram. The acharya says, rivers (tatinyah), travel from afar and finally abide (samshrayantey) in the ocean. And how do the rivers unite with the ocean? By losing their "names" (abhidhaa) and "form" (rupa). One river may be white in colour and named Ganga. Another river may be dark in colour and named Yamuna. But once they merge in the ocean, they lose (viheena) their identity. There is no Ganga and Yamuna anymore. There is only...one ocean...devoid of all names and forms. We see this merger described in the first line.

The acharya says- a similar "merger" is seen in a gnyaani, the one who knows "Me" (maam pra-vignyaaya) (line 2). Like the river that loses its identity in the ocean, a gnyaani has no more connection with "particular names and forms" of the world. He becomes one with the totality, even while he is living in this world.

It is to convey this message that Lord Subrahmanya stands like an ocean of compassion (dayaa-abdhi) on the ocean-front (says the last quarter of the second line).

We are reminded of the famous Bhagavad Geeta verse (Chapter 2) that uses the same "ocean" metaphor for a gnyaani and how "rivers of experiences", some good, some bad, all merge in him, causing no ripple whatsoever.

With this, we pray to Lord Subrahmanya and the acharya to bless us. May we lose our ignorance. May we gain that complete knowledge. May we...become one with the totality....and be totally free...here and now.

References:

The Harikatha: (Do listen to the narration and music here! The above essay is based on this.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpl54unHoe4  

The stotras:

https://vairaagya.wordpress.com/2017/12/03/34th-sringeri-jagadguru-shri-sharavanabhava-maanasa-puja-stotram/

https://vignanam.org/hindi/sri-shanmukha-pancharatna-stuti.html

https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_subrahmanya/subrabhujanga4.html