July 30, Sivananda
Discourse on Sivananda Lahari
Day 3, July 30
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Ganesaya Namaha
Sri Saraswatyai Namaha
Sripada Vallabha
Narasimha Saraswati
Sri Guru Dattatreyaya Namaha
Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Sadgurubhyo Namaha
asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrityor ma amritam gamaya
Om Santissantissantihi
Please lead me from untruth to Truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. May there be peace.
Bhajan: Modamodalu vandanamu
I pray to you first and foremost O Ganesa. Please accept my first worship. You have wrapped a snake around your belly. You ride on a mouse. You are the son of Siva and Parvati. You are against hurdles in the path. You protect all good souls, O friend of Sachchidananda.
Om Namassivaya
4th verse:
Sahasram vartante jagati vibudhāh ksudra-phaladā
Na manye swapne vā tadanusaraṇam tat krutha phalam
Hari brahmadeenamapi nikata bhājām asulabham
Chiram yāche shambho shiva thava padāmbhoja bhajanam
Yesterday we studied the 3rd verse which began with the word Trayee. It is a very interesting usage. It means three. It spontaneously emerged like that. The 2nd verse also began with an appropriate word like this.
Now the 4th verse begins with Sahasram which denotes infinity. After 3, naturally it becomes infinite because ‘3’ covers everything. The disciples of Sri Adi Sankara have handed down to us this work.
The perfection of the deity whom we worship should be extolled. All other gods become the subordinates of this God. Puranas are named after deities such as Siva, Vishnu, Skanda, Agni, Vayu, Garuda, and so on as Vishnu Purana, Siva Purana. The life story of the concerned deity, the glories, and the teachings given by the deity are described.
This stotra/hymn says Siva is the Supreme Soul. That idea must get fixed in our minds when we offer worship to Siva.
A devotee sat down to worship Siva. Someone told him that he will benefit by doing so. To develop concentration, he must be one-pointed in his focus.
What the Vedas tell us, we must accept and believe. It may be possible to count the grains of sand on the seashore or the stars in the sky but we cannot count the exact number of deities or celestial powers. 33 are the main deities. Their helpers are in infinite numbers.
Foreigners have doubts about the several gods whom we worship in India. 333 crores of deities we have. Do they not have progeny? Does that number remain the same through all time? Some make fun. Some ask out of genuine curiosity. We must avoid the hecklers. What do we know of the significance of numbers? We listen to wrong interpretation, believe them, and lose our faith.
12 Adityas are the 12 aspects to the Sun, the Vedas have described. Before Creation itself it was determined. Is the Sun traveling? Is the earth rotating? So much science was known then. The Ekadasa Rudras are there, the 11 Rudras. We do abhishekam to Siva chanting the Rudra mantra 11 times.
8 Vasus are there.
Plus the 2 Aswini devatas. 12+11+8+2
It adds up to 33.
Each has one crore as their entourage. We do not keep 333 crore images for worship. The Sun is worshiped as one. Rudra is one. The 11 rudras are His energy.
Ganapathy’s temple is the same as a temple for Siva. Vishnu’s temple is the same as a Sun temple. We give names for our convenience. We perform yajnas. They are for Vasus, the eight of them. We give different names during the Sankalpa for clarity. If one understands the oneness of all, then there is no problem at all. Who are the Aswini deities? They are the celestial physicians for curing diseases. They are not given any form. Dhanvantari is a representation of divine healing.
33 is a significant number. Their helpers are infinite. Sahasra is not just 1000. It represents infinity. God has faces, eyes, hands, and glances everywhere. Arjuna was given darshan by Krishna with 1000 faces, the Bhagavad Gita says. We must understand this properly as we understand the ten heads of Ravana as one Ravana.
Vibudha is deity.
Siva’s greatness is described here.
There are many deities who grant inferior boons.
Even in my dream I do not wish to contemplate upon these ancillary deities, says Sri Adi Sankara. They only grant inferior boons, only what we ask for. It is detrimental to worship these lesser gods.
To fill our hearts with total devotion, Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada emphasizes that we should only focus on the Supreme one God only.
We only remember the stories. We fail to grasp the essence, the moral of the story. We remember the story of the crow. But do we remember that the story taught us not to try to imitate others?
I do not wish to follow the lesser deities who satisfy only petty desires.
Even they have to perform intense penance to obtain such grace as to be able to worship Lord Siva. In all the deities and in all the gurus, I see only my God and my Guru.
I now pray for the grace of being able to serve Lord Siva’s lotus feet. I pray for the great good fortune of praying to Him fervently.
We select a mantra. We chant and perform japa. We remain unaware that we have already received the fruit of our penance. Even to recognize our achievement is yoga. Unless you know the talent that you have achieved, how can you put it to use to benefit others? Why do they hold exams? It is to determine the extent of knowledge that you have gained. It is to know how efficiently you can apply the knowledge that you have gained, in real life.
If you are in the middle of the ocean, you have to decide in which direction you wish to swim and adhere to it to reach the shore. If you keep changing the direction you will get nowhere.
On Sivaratri you must pray to Siva. You have heard and studied that it is most effective to pray on that day. You have seen your Guru do that.
It is said by some, that Vishnu is Supreme. Now, how to accept this contrary idea?
The prayer here is only for developing one-pointed focus on God, with no wavering between choosing this god or that god for worship.
Bhajan means, washing the feet, serving the feet, offering flowers and worship. If even Hari and Brahma are unable to obtain Siva’s darshan, how is it possible for you to obtain Him? When they both attempted to find the beginning and the end of the huge pillar of Light, they failed.
Siva’s feet are the Vedas, the words of Truth from an enlightened soul, the Sadguru. Following the path shown by Guru will take us to the feet of Lord Siva. That is how we pray.
Bhajan: Jyotirlingakara dwadasa roopa parama Siva
O Lord Siva, you are the Pillar of Light containing twelve aspects. You are the Supreme benefactor. Your forms are Truth and Time. You are changeless. You favored Ganesa to teach a lesson to Subrahmanya. You reside at Srisailam in the company of Mother Bhramarambika. You are Lord Mallikarjuna, the eternal light Sachchidananda.
5th verse:
Smrutou shastre vaidye shakuna-kavitha-gāna-phanitou
Purāne mantre vā stuti-naṭana-hasyeshwa chatura
Katham rāgyam preethirbhavathi mayi ko ham pasupate
Pasum mām sarvagna prathita kripayā pālaya vibho
Instead of following the lesser gods for achieving small favors, let me follow the Vedas and worship the one Supreme God.
Adi Sankara claims not to know anything. That is the sign of greatness. That is the first step before gaining knowledge, to accept that you know nothing. Unless one believes that, one cannot learn. Smrti I do not know. It explains the meaning of the Vedas which are mere hints into much deeper and more profound knowledge. I do not know the 6 Sastras which explain the Vedas. Medicine, I do not know. I do not know even herbal medicine or nutrition. I do not know what to eat or not to eat. Nor do I know astrology, or the science of omens or almanac. The calls and actions of animals and birds predict future events. Animals go round and round and birds make strange sounds.
Dasaratha noticed such a strange phenomenon during the journey and asked Vasishtha to interpret the meaning when this occurred as the marriage party was traveling back to Ayodhya from Videha. Like a whirlwind Parasurama arrived and challenged Rama. How knowledgeable Vasishtha is! Dasaratha acknowledged sage’s wisdom.
If someone sneezes, or if a cat crosses our path and goes to the left of us we believe that we should pause before proceeding. Our people who earn lakhs of rupees at their jobs think that all our beliefs and ancient sciences are worthless. They have no qualification to comment. One who sneezes because he has a cold, it does not create a bad effect. But one who is healthy, if he suddenly sneezes, you are asked to sit for a few minutes before proceeding, because it is a bad omen. Perhaps some dust that disturbed him might disturb you also. In all countries such beliefs exist. Some countries consider a cat crossing the path as a good omen. They deliberately have it go across.
We are always ready to criticize and speak ill of our own traditions and beliefs. If we do not believe, or understand, that is not a justification to criticize and blame others who do believe in ancient traditions. Do we perform marriage on New Moon? Astrology tells us the good days for marriage and housewarming. Does one enter a new home during an eclipse time? Following the movement of planets, the science of astrology exists. It should be respected. People arrogantly blame astrology and Vedas as if they have complete knowledge. They are in complete ignorance. Not everyone is like that. I address those who ridicule the ancient valuable knowledge that we have inherited.
You throw one stone at someone, and it will boomerang on you as 1000 stones. Either follow tradition or keep quiet. Respect the beliefs of others. I agree that blind faith and superstitions exist. Some subject infants to terrible trauma out of blind belief. When the same results occur to everyone, such are the ones that are to be followed, not things that worked at some random or rare instance.
In all of our actions we notice omens. Blaming without knowing deeply the significance, is wrong.
Bhagavatpada says he has no knowledge of poetry or music. He does not know how to compose songs, or to sing them. He is ignorant about oratory, mantras, or Puranas. He has no knowledge of acting, dancing, or being humorous. He does not know how to be funny or to make others laugh. He claims to be totally ignorant. Which king will patronize me? He laments. In ancient times it was the kings who supported scholarship and good talent. The kings of Kasi, Ujjain and so on. How will I earn a living, being ignorant as I am? Who am I? What is my life?
Although Bhagavatpada claims not to know, he actually knows everything.
‘Ka’ is the sound produced by babies when they cry the moment they are born. If they do not cry on their own, they are pinched or slapped to make them cry. It is good for the baby to cry. It gives strength to the baby.
All I know is that I am like an animal. All the Vedas describe you as the all-knowing Supreme Lord.
I know nothing. The inhalation and exhalation of the Lord is Veda. The seers have experienced this knowledge and have passed it on to us. I do not even know who I am. That is why I believe that I know nothing. What is my address? I know zero. Not even one mark will I earn in an exam. Even the questions on the question paper I cannot copy. O Lord of Creatures, please come to my aid. I am like a bound beast. I am born. I exist. That is all I know. You know everything. You are famous for being all pervasive and all-knowing. Please take care of me. A true poet thinks about how to improve upon his work. How to add to and enhance its effect. O Supreme Soul, please protect me. That is the meaning of this hymn. I know nothing. He knows everything. That is his firm conviction. We have not studied or explored. We only know what we have heard or read.
So pathetically he prays. Generally, in prayer, we must pray for everyone. Do not pray just for yourself. If you are selfish in prayer, even the flow of compassion that is approaching you, will stop in its tracks. But here, Bhagavatpada does not include others in the description of himself as a beast. How can he speak about others as being ignorant? He is teaching us to be respectful towards others.
We scold everyone, excluding ourselves when things go wrong. He, the Jnani, is blaming only himself, and excluding all others in the blame. In Nepal, the lord is called Pasupatinatha.
I am speaking a few words in Tamil also, as requested by some devotees.
Swamiji has inaugurated Datta Deepam, an online teaching program. Many NRIs, Americans, and also Indians have worked very hard to create this website. They are sorry that many are not utilizing this resource. It teaches how to chant prayers and sing bhajans. It also gives the meanings of the prayers. Please enroll and gain benefit from it.
Bhajan: Nagabhoosha nada tosha.
O Lord Siva, adorned with snakes, reveling in music, your anger is only a pretense. You are expressed through the Rudra Mantra. O destroyer of Tripurasara, you hold the poison in your throat. Please wash away all the filth from me. You destroy illusion with your powerful weapon. You shower your compassion upon all the three worlds. You enjoy rhythmic dance. You are the personification of Sat Chit Ananda.
We will study the 6th verse tomorrow.
Worthless arguments should be avoided, the 6th verse says. One small word sometimes leads to war.
Jaya Guru Datta
Sri Guru Datta