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