Devas vs Asuras

Very often, we find that we are helpless against our own inner difficulties, our own inner urges, passions, or reactions. We find that these enemies have entered our heart, which at the moment is ruled by the demons.

Who are the demons ? They are subsequently mentioned to be kāma (lust), krodha(anger), lobha (miserliness), moha (delusion), mada (pride or arrogance) and mātsarya (jealousy). Thus, the demons of lust, anger, jealousy, pride, arrogance, resentment etc. are ruling my heart and there is no room for God. The devatās that inhabit my heart have disappeared.

We read in the purāṇas, stories of constant struggles between the devas and the asuras in which the asuras often win the battle and the devas are driven away from the heavens. The poor devas then go to the Lord seeking his intervention. The Lord comes to their help, the asuras are driven back and the devas regain the kingdom of heavens. My heart is comparable to the heavens, and should be really be inhabited by the devas, but what do I find ?

It is conquered by these demons instead, and unfortunately, I cannot do anything about it. I just can’t help it. All these reactions and passions take hold of me, and I find myself helpless. When there is helplessness, there is prayer. It is said that when there is prayer, the Lord definitely comes and saves you.

~ Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati

NAMASTE ASTU BHAGAVAN

Namaste astu bhagavan viśveśvarāya mahādevāya tryambakāya tripurāntakāya trikālāgnikālāya kālāgnirudrāya nīlakaṇṭhāya mṛtyuñjayāya sarveśvarāya sadāśivāya śrīmanmahādevāya namaḥ

Meaning :

Oh Lord, may this salutation be unto you who is the Lord of the universe, limitless and effulgent, all-knowing, the one who projects, sustains and takes back this universe, the one who is timeless and also the destroyer of time, all-pervasive, the conqueror of death, the Lord of all, and the ever auspicious one who is always a blessing.

Explanation :

This is a beautiful mantra. It is very good, especially for prāyaścita, and can be chanted when one feels guilty for one’s omissions and commissions.

Namaḥ, namaskār. Te, to you, astu, be. Bhagavan, Oh Lord! My namaskār unto you Oh Lord!

Namaḥ astu viśveśvarāya. You have to repeat namaḥ astu with each name. Viśveśvarāya. Īśvara, the Lord of the entire viśva, the entire jagat, the world. My namaskār unto the Lord of the entire world.

Mahādevāya, unto the one who is mahān, limitless and a deva, effulgent.

Tryambakāya, unto the one who has three eyes. He knows the past, the present, and the future. He is all-knowing.

Tripurāntakāya, unto the one who is antaka, the one who brings an end of Tripura, the three puras, cities or worlds, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and suvaḥ. Tripurāntakāya is the one who takes all the three worlds unto himself.

Trikālāgni-kālāya, unto the one who devours the three kālās, or time, which consists of the past, present and future. Kāla eva agniḥ kālāgniḥ. Agni means fire. Kālāgni, time, is such that, like fire, it distorts and devours everything, and the Lord devours time itself. In other words, he is timeless, being the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer of time.

Kālāgnirudrāya. He is the kāla-agni-rūpeṇa rudraḥ, the one who in the form of the kāla-agni, time, makes everybody weep, or in other words, he is the chastiser, the giver of the fruits of action, karmaphaladātā.

Nīlakaṇṭhāya, unto the one who is all-pervasive and manifest in the form of the jagat, whose kaṇṭha or neck is the blue sky. This is a beautiful vision of the whole jagat as a manifestation of Īśvara, with the blue sky being Bhagavan’s neck.

Mṛtyuñjayāya, unto the overlord of mṛtyu, death. The Lord of Death thought that he was the greatest, until he was made to realize that Īśvara was supreme. There are many interesting stories about this. The story of Mārkaṇḍeya is based upon this aspect of Īśvara.

Sarveśvarāya, unto the Lord of all the worlds, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and suvaḥ. He is the Lord of all beings, including the various devatās, deities.

Sadāśivāya, unto the one who, despite being the Lord of everything, is himself untouched by anything. The entire jagat is his manifestation, sustained by him and absorbed back unto him, but who is he ? He is sadāśivā, of the nature of pure ānandā, the limitless Consciousness.

Śrīmanmahādevāya namaḥ, my namaskār unto the one who is śrīman mahādeva. Śrīman is śrimat, which means śrimān, one who is a blessing. In reciting this verse, we invoke the Lord in the form of śriman mahādeva and seek his blessing.

~ Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati

MAHA MRTYUNJAYA MANTRA

Oṁ tryambakaṁ yajāmahe sugandhiṁ puṣṭivardhanam
Urvārukamiva bandhanān mṛtyormukṣīya mā 'mṛtāt

Meaning :

We worship the fragrant, three-eyed Lord Siva who nourishes us. May He liberate us from the bondage of death like the urvāruka fruit (which separates effortlessly from the vine). May He not let us turn away from immortality!

Explanation :

This mantra is taken from the Sri Rudram, which is a hymn on Lord Śiva. It is also called mṛtyuñjaya-mantra, meaning, it invokes the grace of Lord Śiva for conquering death .

This verse contains a beautiful metaphor. The urvāruka fruit is a melon which grows on the ground attached to a vine. It takes its time to ripen. When fully ripe, it does not have to be plucked. It detaches itself from effortlessly, remaining where it is, but free from the vine.

Amṛta is total freedom from the sense of all inadequacy and limitation. An essential requirement in gaining amṛta is emotional maturity, which is gained by the process of inner growth, by living a life of values and prayer. This maturing of the mind is likened to the ripening of the fruit.

There is another important aspect in this example. Freedom being the essential nature of the self, the mature mind does not have to seek outside itself to gain this freedom. When a mature mind is exposed to the teaching, it effortlessly comes to recognize that freedom. That is the gain of that which already has been gained. Thus, this is a prayer of mumukṣu, a person who has desires that total freedom and who makes it his main pursuit in life.

It is also a mantra which is traditionally chanted by family and friends for a person who is ill and approaching death. This prayer should be learned and recited using the three svaras, tones that are used in Vedic chanting.

NAVARATRI (Part 2)

In the following three days , Goddess Lakṣmī is invoked . She represents all forms of wealth . The pursuit of wealth is associated with the rajas guṇa - an active personality with ambition, passion , perseverance , motivation and etc.

As long as one's worldly desires are not fulfilled , one tends to inhibit himself from pursuing the śāstras (scriptures) . Only after getting exhausted in the pursuit, one gains the maturity to come to śāstras.

The Vedas encourage the pursuit of wealth and validate them as puruṣārthas - as artha (material desires) and kama (emotional desires) . Even emotional desires are a wealth . A lot of people own luxurious houses but lack the prosperity of a family .

Lakṣmī Maa is the bestower of wealth. As Dhana Lakṣmī , she provides us gold , coins and currency . As Dhanya Lakṣmī , she nourishes us with food and grains . As Santāna Lakṣmī , she blesses our generations to grow by bestowing children .

The abundance of worldly wealth is futile without inner wealth . Lakṣmī Maa provides inner wealth (good virtues) as well . As Vidya Lakṣmī , she gives us knowledge to lead a life of dharma . As Dhairya Lakṣmī , she cultivates courage and perseverance to overcome obstacles . As Vijaya Lakṣmī , she guides to be victorious over our inner enemies - kāma, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, mātsarya .

May Lakṣmī Maa grace our lives with all forms of wealth !

Om mahā devyais ca vidmahe ,
Viṣṇu patnyais ca dhimahe ,
Tanno lakṣmī prachodayāt ||

NAVARĀTRI (Part 1)

During Navarātri , the three incarnations of Goddess Shakti are invoked - Durgā , Lakśmi and Sarasvatī . Each form represents the growth from or towards a particular guṇa (personality) .

According to the purāṇas , Navarātri signifies the destruction of the demon Mahishasura . The demon Mahishasura is portrayed as having a buffalo head . The buffalo is a symbol of tamo guṇa - a lethargic personality .

A lethargic person dulls his mind and senses by indulging in unrighteous activities such as gossiping , gambling , and even crime . His entire life is a chaotic one . Such a person requires external help to relieve him from the disorder . That help comes in the form of Maa Durgā .

Goddess Durgā is depicted with many hands wielding various weapons . The weapons represent the diverse resources that are available to guide oneself to grow out of his tamo guna . Living really starts from this liberation .

May Maa Durgā destroy the Mahishasura that dwells within us !

Om katyayanaya vidmahe ,
Kanya kumari dhimahe ,
Tanno durgai prachodayāt ||

Gurupurnima 2017

GĀYATRĪ MANTRA

GĀYATRĪ MANTRA

The Gāyatrī-mantra is a Vedic mantra originating from the Rg Veda . In fact , the mantra is exalted as the essence of the Veda . In this mantra , Īśvara is invoked in the form of Savitā (the sun deity) .

Thus , the Gāyatrī-mantra is chanted during the Sandhyāvandana period – dawn , noon and dusk . Furthermore , the mantra is not recommended to be chanted at night . The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad mandates that the Gāyatrī-mantra must only be chanted in the gāyatrī-meter , in which the 24 syllables are divided into three parts with eight syllables each .

Here is the mantra and the meaning :

Oṃ bhūrbhuvassuvaḥ , tat saviturvareṇyam

bhargo devasya dhīmahi , dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

“ Om , is the basis of everything . The Lord is the one who is the most worshipful . We meditate on that all-knowing Lord in the form of the sun’s effulgence . May that effulgent One illumine and set our intellects in the right direction . ”

The Gāyatrī-mantra is glorified in various Vedic scriptures . For instance , the Chāndogya Upaniṣad aptly praises the mantra as “gāyati ca trāyate ca” , meaning “it sings and protects” . Chanting the Gāyatrī-mantra itself protects the devotee because it is a prayer . Upon learning and assimilating the meaning of the mantra , it protects oneself from sorrow and limitations by bestowing self-knowledge .

The Gāyatrī-mantra expounds the nature of Īśvara as limitless awareness by equating the Lord with the sun’s limitless effulgence . As such , if the Lord is limitless , everything is the Lord , including oneself . Thus , the Gāyatrī-mantra is a mahāvākya – a statement that reveals the identity of the individual as non-separate from Īśvara . In the Bhagavad Gītā (10.35) , Lord Kṛṣṇa identifies Himself as gāyatrī in the Bhagavad Gītā (10.35) when the Lord says , “gāyatrī chandasām aham ” – “among the meters , I am gāyatrī ”

The Vedic vision is unique . The śāstra reveals that Īśvara , the creation and oneself are not separated . All that is here is only Īśvara . Om Tat Sat .