Gems from the acharya: On Lord Vishnu

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

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.

In this essay, we will see 3 verses by the mahaswami on 3 aspects of Lord Vishnu- as Lord Narasimha, as Krishna and as Rama.

Verse 1: On Lord Narasimha

The Narasimha parvata at Sringeri is sacred. The acharyas of Sringeri visit this mountain peak from time to time and offer prayers to Lord Narasimha.

In this verse, the mahaswami shows his intense yearning to visit this mountain. He says, "O Narasimha, kadaa tvaam pashyeyam...When will I see you?  When will I be present at that sacred mountain...pravara giri shringa sthitam aham?" What does acharya want to do, having reached that spot? He says, "I would like to sit there and do your mantra japam...tava manu japam kartum uchitah".

The longing continues in the next line. He says, "kadaa sat-chit saannidhye...When will I be immersed in your divine presence? When will I be in your saannidhyam...such that all the divergent thoughts can be gathered...and focused on you....vishama vishaya aasakta hridiram....sadaa saktam kuryaam?" These words are addressed to Lord Narasimha, who is extolled as the one destroys the cycle of birth and death..."jani-mrti harey....hey nara-harey".

This verse is similar to Adi Shankara's verses in the Shivananda Lahari, where he expresses the same yearning, in similar words- "When will I see you at Kailasa (kadaa vaa kailaase), where the happiness is so intense that even yugas and kalpas pass off...as though in an instant (kshanam iva)?" Similarly, Adi Shankara expresses the same longing in Saundarya Lahari for Devi...where he uses the same  "kadaa" construct..."When will I get the opportunity to worship your feet..."kadaa kaaley maatah...kadaa dhattey" etc.

Spiritual progress is measured in terms of the intensity to reach the goal. That burning aspiration, that anguish...as though the hair is on fire...and we need instant relief...is expressed through the repetition of "kadaa...kadaa...kadaa"...when...when...when? We see that extreme intensity in these verses.

In the Harikatha, this portion is sung in "Aahiri", a raaga used to portray "yearning" and "longing".

Verse 2: On Lord Krishna

The mahaswami has composed a sweet verse on Krishna as a baby, baala-krishna. We are familiar with Krishna and the adorable stories centred on butter. He is after all the "navaneeta chora", the one who steals butter. 

Poets and composers use their rich imagination to describe these butter episodes in interesting ways. For example, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, in his composition "Cheta shri Baalakrishnam bhajarey" (Dwijavanti raaga), says, Krishna has been eating so much butter, that when you go close to him, his face itself exudes the fragrance of butter! We see this in the line "navaneeta gandha vaaha vadanam"!

The mahaswami lets his imagination loose in his verse on Lord Krishna. He says, in the Vedas (in the Chandogya Upanishad section), it is said, that the "food that we eat" (annam) consists of 3 parts. The "gross part" of the food caters to the tongue alone and is ejected by the body. The "middle part of the food" nourishes the physical body. And finally and most importantly, the "subtle part" of the food, becomes the mind. The mahaswami expresses this point in the words- "annamayam maanasam iti shruti ukta". At this point, the mahaswami expresses surprise, that only now (adya), he understands what this message in the Veda means (shruti ukta arthah anvabhaayvam adya)!  He says, this statement in the Veda, that the subtle part of the food...becomes the mind of the person, is seen in Lord Krishna! 

Note- The term "mind" and "heart" are used interchangeably in scripture. "Manas" is the "hrdayam" and hrdayam is manas.

The acharya says, Krishna has been eating so much butter...that the "subtle part of butter" has become Krishna's mind. Butter is soft, the subtle part of butter, must be softer. And Krishna's mind, being the subtle aspect of butter, must be softest! Hence, he ends the verse, by saying...compared to butter also, "tasmaad api" komalam hrdayam...Krishna's heart is softer than the softest butter! 

Any number of examples are available to illustrate Krishna's soft heart. When he met his long, lost friend Sudama...and hugged him and served him, we get a glimpse into Krishna's heart. How easily Krishna moved with Arjuna..even tolerating and enjoying Arjuna's pranks (as confessed by Arjuna...in his own words in the Geeta, Chapter 11), shows how soft Krishna was!

As far as we are concerned, Krishna's softness is seen in his "pratignya vaakyam" in the Geeta. Krishna says, "Api chet su-duraachaarah, even if you are the worst of criminals (su-duraachaarah), the moment your heart turns to Me, I will accept you...entirely! This is my promise!" 

This is..."tasmaad api komalam hrdayam"!

Verse 3: On Lord Rama

The acharya composes a verse to illustrate a particular point (a neeti), by taking an incident from Lord Rama's charitra. He says, "A devotee must cultivate the mindset to have bhakti towards the guru, even if the disciple feels that the guru has treated him in a harsh way". Sometimes, the guru may be harsh towards the student. The student may require such chastening so that he can evolve as a better person. He must give this benefit of doubt to the guru, even if the student feels aggrieved (adhari krtopi mahataa...nityam seveta saadaram bhuushnuh).

To illustrate this point, the mahawami takes Rama's paadukas. Rama's feet presses against the paadukas when he walks with them. Figuratively, it is as though, "Rama is trying to put-down the paadukas". But the paadukas do not protest. It is as if..."It is Rama who is pressing me. My rough edges are getting smoothed. It is for my own good!"

And what was the end result of going through the "harsh" treatment? The paadukas got elevated...to such an extent...that they ruled the entire kingdom of Ayodhya! Such was the bhaagya that the paadukas enjoyed! Hence, the mahaswami says- "paadaakraantaa-api paadukaa raajyam samaye alabhata".

So too, with every student. The guru may chide him in a particular context. It can even be life's painful situations that the student goes through. The student does not complain. He remembers, "These harsh experiences are for my growth. They have been gift-wrapped for me. I will go through them...without protest or murmur! And one day, just like the Rama paadukas, I will also inherit the entire kingdom...raama-bhakti saamraajyam...the moksha saamraajyam!"

This is the lesson that we learn from Rama's paadukas.

With this, we have completed the study of "shan-mata" (6 deities) through the harikatha. We pray to the acharya and to bhagavan in his 6 aspects to bless us with "sakala mangalam"....all auspiciousness...now and always!

References:

The Harikatha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8do3so7s0M

Gems from the acharya: On Devi

Continuing our study on the Harikatha by Smt Sharada Gannavaram, we are now going to focus on the 5th deity in the Shanmata (6-deity) pantheon- i.e. Devi.

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.

Verse 1: 

The first verse is taken from the Sharada Bhujanga stotram composed by the 34th acharya. The verse is the following:

When we think about Devi, what stands out is her compassion- kaarunya bhaava. Here, the mahaswami makes an interesting observation on how the Mother's compassion expresses itself. 

He says, "O Mother, I now understand why you have chosen to keep our punya-paapa hidden and unseen!" (tvayaa punya-paapey parokshe krtey)

As per tradition, every being is born with a "punya-paapa" bank-balance. The punya-paapas are collected over infinite past janmas. This punya-paapa bundle accounts for the pleasant and unpleasant experiences that we face in life. If we are born with a greater punya-proportion, life is filled with more happiness and vice-versa.

While we go through this life, our fresh actions add to the punya-paapa bank-balance! Thus, the cycle of life continues. 

Though punya-paapa affects us in terms of experiences we go through, their relative proportion, is kept hidden from each person. Here, the mahaswami says, he knows why this proportion is kept hidden (parokshey krte)!

Talking about himself, the mahaswami says, he is a great sinner (mahaa-paapinam maam)! Had his punya-paapa bundle been visible to the people, it would have shocked everyone and he would have been totally forsaken! To ensure that such a predicament does not arise, Mother, in her infinite compassion, has chosen to keep punya-paapa hidden from everyone's prying eyes! This shows the Mother's supreme compassion, the mahaswami says! 

Through this shloka, we notice the mahaswami's humility. If He thought of himself as a maha-paapi, what would be our lot? 

There is a reason why this shloka is composed in first person. When we recite this shloka, we will get an opportunity to own up our paapa, and pray for the Mother's grace. The jagad-amba will lift us up (samuddhartum eva) even if we are a mahaa-paapi! Thus, this shloka serves as a fitting prayer for each one of us to earn the Mother's anugraha.

Verse 2:

The next verse is taken from the shri Meenakshi stotram composed by the acharya. The verse goes as follows:

This verse is composed on Goddess Meenakshi at Madurai. Here, the acharya makes an interesting point related to the eyes of the Goddess. As Meenakshi, her eyes are shaped like the fish. The acharya says, there is a reason behind this.

In the world of fish, we notice an interesting phenomenon. Apparently, the mother fish nourishes (pari-paalayanti) the baby fish through her mere sight! The mother fish transfers her love and care to the baby fish....using only her eyes. 

The acharya says, the same phenomenon holds true in this non-fish world too! Each one of us...is the baby fish. Goddess Meenakshi is the mother fish. It is not necessary that we need to be in Madurai to be blessed by Her. Her kataaksha extends to all, regardless of where we are. And through her glance, we...the baby fish, can derive all the care, comfort and love from her!

In this verse, Meenakshi devi is called "Jhashaakshi". The word "jhashaa" means a fish. Hence, Jhashaakshi is the same as Meenakshi.  Apparently, this verse was composed when the Devi vigraha was gently rocked on a swing. Hence, the reference to "dolaa-vihaaram" in the verse.

Verse 3:

This verse is taken from the acharya's "Tunga stavah". Devi manifests herself as all forms in this world, in the form of rivers also. This verse is in praise of the River Tunga.

In this verse, the acharya says, we know how the river got its name. Tunga means something which is "big" or "high" or "abundant". Bhadra stands for auspiciousness- mangalam. 

When we immerse ourselves in the Tunga river, we are blessed with abundant mangalam! Hence, the name of the river itself became Tunga-bhadra, the acharya nicely connects!

Verse 4:

The last verse is also taken from the acharya's "Tunga stavah". In this verse, the acharya says, he knows why "water is defined as both "amrtaa" and "vishaa" in the Amarakosha!"

The Amarakosha is a "traditional dictionary" where we get meanings for various Sanskrit words. In this dictionary, surprisingly, the word "water" is defined using 2 opposite words- "amrta" (nectar) and "visha" (poison).

The acharya says, this definition of water in the Amarakosha comes from the river Tunga. The water of the Tunga is so sweet that it tastes like amrta (nectar), he says! And because, Tunga water is so sweet, the meaning got extended to all water in general, so much so, water anywhere is now called "amrta"!

Acharya goes further and says, compared to the sweetness of the Tunga, water in any other place, tastes like "visha"! Hence, this meaning coming from Tunga and its comparison to water elsewhere, got extended to water in general, so much so, water got the name "visha" (poison)!

Thus, Devi's maadhurya, sweetness...expresses as the water in the Tunga...and to water in general.

We pray to the acharya and to Devi to bless us with all auspiciousness....tunga-bhadra!

References:

The Harikatha that served as the reference to the above article:

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