Day 5, Shivananda
Line by Line summarized meaning of the sanskrit verses in Shivananda Lahari discourse
Day 5 - August 1 - verse 8 and 9
Now Gradually Adi Shankaracharya Swami introduces us to māya, its influence upon us and the mistakes that we are committing under its influence. Bhagavat Pādacharya has also written a ‘Māya panchaka’ which teaches us about the grip of maya upon us. In that He states- aghatita ghatanā patīyasi māya- maya makes that which is impossible, possible. Such is its power. She is addressed as ‘Maha maya’. We should not make attempts to understand Her, for it is impossible. We should instead try to cross over Her and this is possible solely by holding on to Guru’s / God’s feet- mām eva ye prapadyante māya mevām tarantite states Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita.
Māya is a very special word. Yā Mā saiva māyā – Ma includes all the grandeur and luxuries, all those objects which we feel we cannot live without. All this is māya.
Verse 8
Yathā buddhi sshuktou rajatham iti kāchaśmani maṇir
Jale paiśte ksheeram bhavathi mrigathrishnasu salilam
Thatha deva-brānthyā bhajati bhavad anyam jada jano
Mahā deveśam twām manasi ca na mathwa paśupathe
Yathā buddhi sshuktou rajatham iti - Just as the shining sea shell (shuktou) on the beach is mistaken for a piece of silver (rajatam) by the buddhi
Kāchāśmanir maṇi - Just as the painted glass piece is mistaken for a precious diamond (maṇi)
Jale paishte ksheeram – Just as some flour mixed with water is mistaken for milk
Bhavathi mrigathrishnāsu salilam – Just as the mirage is mistaken for an oasis
In a similar manner, because of māya,
Thatha deva brānthya bhajati bhavad anyam jada janah - The ignorant people (jada jana) forget that you are the only God and are worshipping (bhajati) all other Gods (anya) assuming them to be real.
This stanza is the basis for Eka Devata upasana.
One person was standing and staring at a mountain. Very soon a big crowd gathered there and all began staring at the mountain. No one knew what the initial person was trying to see. Finally in the evening, they asked him the reason. He replied that he had thrown a stone on that hill the previous evening and was wondering why it hadn’t returned. The people then cursed themselves for having uselessly wasted their time. Such is our ignorance.
A lady visited Kashi and wanted to bathe in the river. She turned her *** upside down and covered it with sand, kept a flower on it for identification and entered the water. She did this that her *** would not get stolen. Another lady who saw this assumed this to be the practice for Kashi yatra, and likewise turned her *** upside down, covered it with sand and placed a flower on it. A man who saw this assumed this to be the process for installing a sand Shiva lingam and followed this. By the time the lady returned from her bath, there were hundreds of Shiva lingams there and she could not find her ***.
Mahā devesam twām manasi ca na mathwa paśupate - You are Mahādeva, but these ignorant/foolish people do not even mentally think of You, O Paśupate.
Mahat+ deva is Mahadeva. We are paśu, o Lord, pull us back into the shed and tie us down whenever we go astray and forget you… is the bhavana behind the prayer.
Verse 9
This verse explains the process to worship Shiva and the flower to be offered to Him. It is a very deep meaning shloka.
Gabhīre kāsāre viśati vijane ghora vapine,
Vishāle shaile ca brahmati kusumārtham jada mathih
Samarpaikam chetha sarasijam-umanātha bhavate,
Sukhena awasthātum jana iha na jānāti kimaho.
Gabhīre kāsāre viśati vijane ghora vapine – In the dense thick forest (ghora vapina), in which no ray of sunlight seeps
Vishāle shaile cha bhramati – the person is encircling that a huge (vast) mountain
Kusumārtham - searching for a flower (to be offered)
Jada matih - this foolish/ dim witted person
Samarpa ekam chetha sarasijam – Could he not have offered that single lotus which was blooming in his lake called heart?
Wouldn’t this single offering suffice? We instead buy baskets of flowers, but manage to offer only a few to the Lord because the Sahasranama recitation got over quickly. We pick the basket and throw the entire contents on the idol. Can such a puja be considered great?
Umanatha bhavathe – O great (bhavān) Uma nātha?
Uma is the daughter of the Mountain. He is Her lord, i.e. He is the Lord of all mountains. As Parvati had performed sincere tapas for attaining Him, She was addressed as U-Ma. Uma also means Omkara. In other words, this Lord can be known through Omkara.
Sukhena avasthātum – He could then have rested happily
Jana iha na jānāti kimaho - It is so surprising that people are not able to understand this. There is no answer to this. Why?
Isn’t this māya? Why do people assume that loads of flowers have to be offered to you, O Lord, when the lotus from the heart would suffice? We should have the bhavana that all our indriyas are flowers and with this bhavana we should offer the same to the Lord during worship.
Our Shastras dictate that every person in his lifetime, should plant the ‘Pancha pallava’ plants at least once and should care for them at least until they are 4 feet tall. But strangely, we have deleted from our life, all such important Shastras which dictate such rules.
Once a student asked his teacher to bless him with special powers. The Guru asked to offer to the Lord the many petalled flower that grows in the huge mountain that has a dense forest in which are 3 rivers, of which one is invisible. The student searched everywhere but failed. He then returned to the Guru and expressed his helplessness.
The Guru then answered. ‘the mountain is the Sahasrara chakra. The three rivers are Ida, Pingala and Sushumna of which shushumna is invisible. You have to travel on the path of shushumna. You will reach the flower called mind. Offer this to God’.