SKANDA SASHTI - THIRU AVINAN KUDI

SKANDA SHASHTI

Skanda sashti is a festival celebrated in Tamilnadu and the adjoining areas as a six day festival culminating in soora samharam on the Shashti day. The six days beginning with the day after deepavali in the month of Tulam – Vrischigam (Aippasi – Karthigai) are considered very sacred for the worship of Lord Skanda. There are people who fast for all the six days and take a sip of water only after soora samharam. As seen earlier, Tarakasura and Soora padman depict the obstacles that deter our progress in the evolutionary process and we require the aid of Subrahmanya to dispel the darkness and annihilate the innate evil in us so that we can become beings of light (devas).

Everything about Lord Murugan revolves around the number six.  To start with, the Lord has six faces and came from the six faces of Lord Shiva. He was nurtured by the six Karthigai devis and grew up to be a boy of six years in just six days. His bija mantra is six lettered and He represents the six good qualities that are required to demolish the six evil ones within us. His trusted lieutenants starting from Veerabhahu are also six in number and He is the lord of the sixth chakra Agjnya in our subtle body.  He is worshipped in six places called the six padai veedu in Tamilnadu.

Arunagirinathar, the famous Tamil poet blessed by the darshan of Lord Muruga has described the six faces of the Lord.  An attempt is made here to visit all the six shrines of the Lord and understand the intrinsic meaning behind His manifestations.

Thiru Avinan kudi or Pazhani:      Eru Mayil Eri Vilayadum mugam ondre
Salutations to the face of the Lord who sports with a peacock.

At the foot hills of the southern tip of the western ghats called the Pazhani range, is situated the holy town of Pazhani. The Lord has taken abode on top of a hillock which stands alone in the centre of the town.  The Lord’s form is that of a bala holding a danda (stick) and is known as Bala Dandayuthapani. He wears only a loin cloth and is clean shaven with the only ornaments being rudraksha beads hung around his neck, head and arms signifying renunciation. The idol is believed to have been fashioned out of nine ingredients by the great siddha Bhogar who was a disciple of sage Agasthyar. The nine ingredients called Nava Pashanam possess immense medicinal properties and the deity is used to be anointed with Panchamrutham (five nectars), a mixture of bananas, jiggery, honey, ghee and sugar crystals.  The sandal paste applied on the deity after the final puja in the night is found to have turned dark in the morning when the shrine is opened for the first puja.

There is another shrine for the Lord in the plains below the hill which is called Thiru Avinan kudi meaning the abode of shepherds (Avinan). The Lord here is again a Bala rupi but fully decked with ornaments and is seen mounted on a beautiful peacock. It is a wonderful sight to watch the deity as a playful boy about to take off on his peacock, just as He did to earn the coveted mango fruit from his parents.

Once in the court of Lord Shiva Deva rishi Naradha brought a mango fruit and offered the same to the Lord.  Shiva wanted to give the same to his sons, but decided that he should give it to as a whole fruit to one who could accomplish the feat of going around the world three times first. Karthikeya swiftly mounted his peacock and was gone within a wink of the eye. His elder brother Ganesha made no efforts even to get up from His seat prompting the onlooking devas to think that Karthikeya will surely win the prize.  When Karthikeya passed over Mount Kailash on his second round, Ganapathi slowly got up and went around His parents three times and prostrating before them claimed the prize. The astounded devas sought an explanation and Vinayaka sweetly told them that one’s parents were one’s world and hence he had completed the task. Lord Shiva agreed with His elder son’s explanation and gave the coveted mango to Him.  As the prize was being distributed, Murugan entered the court having completed the third round and was disappointed that He was outwitted by His brother. He flew into a rage and casting away His ornaments, dresses and hair, he took a staff on his hand like a wandering brahmachari mendicant and took His abode in the Pazhani hill.  Parvathi devi had to use all Her charm and persuasion on Her second son to calm Him. Lord Muruga was called Pazham Nee in Tamil, meaning You yourself are the fruit so why crave for another, by His mother and the name stuck.

The mango fruit is the karma phala (fruition of our action) and Lord Shiva-Shakti is the karma phala data, that is God is the giver of the fruit of action. The culmination of all our actions in so many births come back to us as punya and papa and is experienced by us either in the same birth or subsequent births. God is neutral in our enjoyment of our karma like the two upanishadic birds where one bird eats the fruit and the other is merely an onlooker. When the bird had finished eaten all the fruits of its action, it moves up and finds that there was actually only one bird and not two. We always make the mistake of blaming God for not answering our prayers or wish list, but God is very considerate in giving us the fruit of our own action at the appropriate time, that is if we pray to Him and seek His help.

Coming back to the story, we have to do karma as we have taken birth only to enjoy or suffer the fruits of our past karma which in turn impels us into further karmic deeds. What left over karma could be there for the God in His form of Vinayaka and Subhramanya? That is why they were asked to perform a karma of going three times around the world to earn the fruit. Subhramanya and Vinayaka shows us the two modes involved in the performance of karma. Lord Karthikeya chose to perform the karma on the gross level by physical exertion while Lord Ganesha did the same using His intellect to reduce the physical exertion, thus combining both the gross and subtle modes and won the prize. The drama of the God was to let us know that we should not blindly do any action as advocated by the Karma Mimamsis, but should combine Gnana and Bakthi with the Karma which alone will help us reach our ultimate goal. Here there was gnana that one’s parents comprise one’s world and going around them was the act of bakthi and Vinayaka earned the pleasure of the father and mother of the universe through this act.  It does not in any way belittle the efforts of Skanda as He Himself is total knowledge (Gnana Pazham - immortalized by K.P. Sundarambal through her song), but the entire drama was intended to be a lesson to us.

Pazhani is associated with the base chakra Mooladara whose presiding deity is Lord Vinayaka. Desire and the consequent Anger which arises out of non fulfillment of desire are depicted in the story above. As Lord Krishna says in the Bagavadgita, these two are the obstacles which one faces in his spiritual progress and cause misery to mankind. When we conquer desire, we automatically conquer anger. While Ganapathi is in the Mooladara chakra defining the grossest element earth, Skanda is in the sixth chakra Agjnya which represents the state beyond elements and hence the physical body. It is the centre of command which impels the five elements to act. When we surrender ourselves to Ganapathi in the mooladara chakra we are pulled up by Murugan to the state beyond elements.

We worship Skanda as a playful boy on His peacock mount in Thiru Avinan Kudi first. Here the Lord represents Iccha and Kriya shakti (Desire and Action).  We then climb the mountain to have darshan of the Lord as Gnana shakti (pure Knowledge). Thus both our material and spiritual pursuits are rewarded by a visit to Pazhani.

OM TAT SAT

SKANDA SASHTI

SKANDA

Skanda known as Karthikeya in the northern parts of India and Muruga in the south is the son of the supreme godhead Shiva and Parvathi.  In the north he is considered to be the elder son and a brahmachari and in the south he is the second son of the divine couple and has two consorts. He is widely worshiped as the warrior god who heads the army of the Devas  (Deva Sena Pathi or Senani) and annihilates the evil forces of Asuras and brings victory to the Devas.  The Skanda Purana speaks about Skanda, His manifestation as the son of Shiva – Shakti and His valour.  Kumara sambavam is a classical work of poet Kalidasa which narrates the coming of the God to lead the devas in their battle with the terrible demon Tarakasura.  Skanda is very dear to the people of the South where He is worshipped as Murugan, the personification of beauty of various dimensions. His abode is the hill top and the saying is that wherever there is a hill there is Kumaran.

The backdrop of Skanda’s advent is the conquest of the Devas by the demon Tarakasura who performed severe austerities and obtained the boon of invincibility from Lord Brahma. Not being able to get the boon of eternal life, he got as boon that he could only be killed by the son of the mighty Lord Shiva, who at that time, had withdrawn into deep penance after the immolation of His consort Sati at the sacrifice of Dhaksha prajapathi. Sati had subsequently taken the form of Parvathi, the daughter of Himavan, the king of the mountains and Mena, his queen, and was serving the tapasvi Lord Shiva with dedication with an yearning to be united with Him.  The Devas, having been routed in battle with Tarakasura and unable to bear the torture of the wicked demon prayed to Lord Vishnu, the protector, to help them.  Maha Vishnu told them that the time had come for the union of Shiva and Parvathi and the son born of them would lead them to victory. With Lord Shiva absorbed in contemplation and in no way inclined to marry Parvathi, the Devas turned to the god of love Kamadeva (cupid) to induce love into the stone like Lord Shiva.  Not realizing what he was upto, the insolent cupid shot his arrow of flowers at the Lord who opened His third eye instead of His normal eyes and burnt Manmatha to ashes.

The other Devas approached Lord Shiva and pleaded with Him for deliverance from the  oppression of the demon Tarakasura and requested Him to take the beautiful Parvathi as His consort. The wedding of the divine couple was celebrated in a fitting manner and the Devas prayed to the Lord to bring forth His son who could only conquer the wily demon as per the boon given by Lord Brahma. Lord Shiva assumed His form with five faces and from each face blazed forth a spark along with another one from His mind (the inner face) The six sparks joined together and presented an awesome spectacle. Devi Pavathi assumed the form of a pond called Saravana Poigai, which was fed by the perennial river Ganga, and the Lord commanded Agni (fire) and Vayu (air) to carry the conjoined sparks and leave them in the cool waters of the pond. When the sparks touched the water, they turned into six beautiful children who were taken by Parvathi in Her arms and cuddled to Her bosom. The six merged to form a child with six faces and was called Shanmugha. The six Karthiga maidens assumed charge of the son of the divine couple and tended Him for six days in Saravana poigai thereby giving the name Karthigeyan to the child. 

There is another story on the advent of Lord Skanda in this manner. Our Mahaperiyaval, the seer of Kanchi has narrated this from an upanishadic story. Sanathkumara is one of the sons of Lord Brahma who has attained perfection in all respects and is always absorbed in the state of the Pure Conciousness Bliss (Sad Chit Ananda) Brahman.  Lord Shiva and Parvathi came to Sanathkumara and blessed him and told him that he could ask for any boon that he wished. The young sage turned to the father and mother of the universe and replied that he craved for nothing as he was always in the state of Sadchitananda and if it would please the divine couple, they may ask for a boon.  The supreme god Lord Shiva and Parvathi immediately requested Sanathkumara to become their son, which he readily agreed but on condition that he would not be born out of their union through a normal process of birth.  The boon was granted and when the time came for his manifestation the sage came out of His father Siva as six sparks and was brought together by his mother Parvathi and was called Subrahmanya, the manifestation of the supreme Brahman.

Kumara was ready to assume charge as the commander of the army of the devas on the sixth day of his advent. He prayed to His mother in Her form of Durga and was blessed with the spear weapon called Shakti or Vel.  The valorous Skanda was attended upon by six veeras who were aspects of Lord Rudra Himself.  Skanda rode at the head of the Deva army and confronted Tarakasura. Like a forest fire burning out vast tracts of a forest without any effort, the huge armies of the demon were consumed by the fire of Shiva Kumara. Finally Taraka engaged the little boy in a personal combat and was felled by the spear.

Surapadman who was a cousin of the demon Tarakasura now began tormenting the devas and again the devas took refuge in Lord Karthigeya. The kind lord led the army of the devas to the gates of Mahendrapuram and challenged Surapadman and his brothers Simhamukan and sister Ajamukhi. The vast army of the demons were shattered by the army of the devas under the command of Veerabahu and five others called the six veeras (heroes). In the personal combat that ensued between Surapadman and Skanda, the demon was laid low by the unparalleled valour of Shiva Kumara.  Surapadman resorted to black magic and assumed various forms of a lion, an elephant, a goat and when each such form was destroyed by the valiant Karthigeya, he assumed the form of a massive tree which was split into two by the mighty spear of the Lord. From the two halves came two birds, a cock and a peacock. Muruga took the cock as His banner and the Peacock as His mount.

The victorious Lord was praised by the Devas who regained their position and their king Indira gave away his beautiful daughter Devayanai in marriage to the Valiant son of Lord Shiva, Subrahmanya, the personification of the highest order of spiritualism, valour and beauty all rolled into one form.

Puranas are the means for the common man, uninitiated in the process of spiritual pursuits to understand the intrinsic truth propounded by the scriptures. Outwardly they appear to narrate a story which is more palatable and easy to comprehend but when we analyse the story part deeply we find that they carry a lot of intrinsic meaning which would uplift us in our spiritual pursuits.

The process of evolution takes us step by step to the higher realms of spiritualism till we attain the supreme Brahmanhood. The path is strewn with a lot of obstacles which needs to be conquered and one has to fight ones way at each step.  We are supported in this endeavour by our good qualities which show us the light (Devas) and are pulled back by the bad tendencies (Asuras). In the fight between the good and the evil, sometimes evil triumphs at which time we turn inwards to pray for the advent of the Supreme in some form to deliver us.

Shiva – Shakti is the ultimate source of all creation representing the static and dynamic forces in the universe. The static force has within itself the potential to discharge and manifest its prowess as creation when induced to do so by its kinetic aspect. Shiva as static and potential energy remains passive (sthanu) in deep contemplation and when kindled by Parvathi, the kinetic energy, He brings forth the six sparks of wisdom which unite into one to dispel the six dark elements (Shat adhva) of lust, anger, etc., that block our spiritual progress. The light force of Kumara pierces the darkness through the Shaktivel the embodiment of gnana shakti, the knowledge that is required to remove the veils of ignorance.  Coming into contact with the Gnanavel, the latent tendencies (vasanas)  that were earlier clouding the truth and blocking our progress are converted into positive energies (the cock and peacock) to aid us in our progress.

OM TAT SAT

DEEPAVALI - PART 3

Festival of Lights - Part 3

In the north, Deepavali is celebrated over a period of four days. Deepavali heralds the arrival of the new accounting year and it is time for closing old books of account and open new accounts.  The thirteenth day of the new moon in the month of Ashvin-Krithiga is celebrated as the day of the advent of Lord Dhanvantari, incarnation of Bhagavan Maha Vishnu from the milky ocean when it was churned by the Devas and Asuras. The first to come out of this churning was the terrible poison Alahala spit by the great serpant Vasuki, which was taken and retained by Lord Shankara in His throat (Neela Kantam). Then came Dhanvantari bearing the pot of ambrosia, the nectar of longevity. Dhanvantari is the Lord of good health and His blessings are sought for an active and healthy life free from any ailments or diseases.
There is also a folklore that on this day the son of good king Hima was destined to die, but his clever wife light rows and rows of lamps and scatterd gold and other precious metals on the floor and keeping her husband with her in the centre of the lights, the young girls kept singing the praise of Devi Kathyayani. Lord Yama came as a serpent to take the life of the boy, but was dazed by the dazzle of lights and its reflection on the metallic objects and was lured by the sweet song of the girl that he forgot his task and remained in a state of enchantment throughout the night. When day broke, the time for taking the boy’s life had come and gone and Yama returned to his abode after blessing the girl and her husband. The practice of buying gold and other jewelery on the day of Danteras perhaps has its origin in this tale.
Chaturdasi, the day following Danteras is dedicated to the worship of the Lord of Death Yama Dharmaraja, with prayers for a full and long life.  The fourteen names of Lord Yama are chanted with fervor to earn his pleasure. In Bengal, this day is celebrated as Booth Chaturdasi and people cook fourteen different vegetables that grow in creepers and offer them to Lord Yama and his retinue of ghosts to ward off trouble from the bad and evil spirits (bhuta, pretha and paisacha).
The goddess of wealth Maha Lakshmi and the custodian of wealth Lord Kubera are worshipped on the day of Amavasya with elaborate pujas and offering of different varieties of sweets. The new books of accounts are opened on the night of Amavasya and the entire house is lit up with rows and rows of lamps of different shapes. Deepavali is celebrated with great gusto in the night of Amavasya with the bursting of crackers.
The day following deepavali is considered to be the day when Yama visits His sister, the sacred river Yamuna.  He carries a lot of gifts for her and in turn she welcomes him with an aarthi and decorates his forehead with vermillion. This ritual is still followed in the northern and eastern parts of the country with brothers greeting sisters and sisters in turn applying tilak on the forehead of their brothers what Yamuna did.
There is a deep meaning behind all these celebrations and festivities.  The month of Thulam – Vrischigam occurs during the middle of the Dakshinayana period which is considered to be the night time for the Devas.  Devas are divine beings and their blessings are invoked by lighting lamps to keep light up their night time.  It is a period of the dark six months of Dakshinayanam when the souls leaving their bodies are taken through the dark passage of hell to their destination and hence the belief that one should wait till the coming of Uttarayanam to leave the human body. But all are not blessed like Bhishmacharya to invite death at their will and therefore prayers are offered to Lord Dhanvantari to bless us with good health and cure us of ailments and then to Lord Yama to bless us with the boon that he will not take us away from our bodies during the Dakshinayana period.
We spend our life running after pleasures and acquiring wealth to enable us to fulfill our pleasure cravings. When the moment of reckoning comes in us that this life can ebb away and nothing comes with us, we are determined to close our old account and wash away the sins that keep on accumulating in our relentless efforts to seek pleasure. We understand that evil cannot triumph always and we make a good effort to annihilate the asuras within us, first the three headed Mura representing the three fold evil of Kama (lust), Krodha (Anger) and Ahankara (ego) which are the root cause for all our sufferings through the help of Lord Krishna the supreme being. Then we wipe away the latent tendencies that bind us to action (karma) in this physical and spiritual planes represented by Bhumi Devi. Again this happens with the intervention of the same Devi who binds us and when we are freed like Narakasura, there is unfettered joy waiting for us and we find ourselves in the company of the Divine beings of light, the Devas which we symbolically bring into a ritual by lighting lamps, bursting crackers and eating sweets, and so on. We then determine that we shall acquire wealth for the welfare of all around us forsaking our selfish desires and pray to Lord Kubera and Maha Lakshmi to give only what we deserve and then share the same first with our relatives to start with and spend the rest for the welfare of the community which ultimately extends to all the creation.
When we understand the meaning of the festivals and rituals it helps us in greater involvement and to look beyond the outer garb of the rituals. Let us therefore enjoy the festival of lights and welcome light and radiance into our lives. Let us dedicate our lives for the welfare of all creation, starting with our families and slowly expand the circle to embrace all humanity and finally the entire creation.

OM TATSAT

DEEPAVALI - PART 2

Festival of Lights - Part 2

On the night of the fourteenth day of the new moon (chaturdasi) in the month of Tulam, it is believed that the waters of the holy river Ganga are present in all the waters like lakes, rivers, ponds and wells and taking a bath in the waters on the late night and early morning of the next day (Brahma muhurtham) will give the benefit of taking bath in the sacred river itself.  This is the day of deepavali when we start the day with this customary bath with oil applied on our heads as it considered to be very auspicious and mangala snanam.
There are many stories and beliefs behind this festival of lights which is celebrated in different ways across the country.  In the south the people get up early in the morning of the day after Chaturdasi which is called Naraka Chaturdasi and take the ceremonial bath in their houses as Ganga is supposed to be present in all the waters during this period.  They then wear new clothes and light rows of lamps (Deepa – Avali) to herald the festival. While the children enjoy with bursting crackers, the elders perform prayers for the welfare of their families and partake of sweets to bring in sweetness into their lives.
It is believed that Narakasura, the son of Bhumi Devi and Lord Varaha moorthi turned demonic and tortured all mankind, devas and other beings. He took captive 16000 princesses and held them captive in a mystic place guarded by a three headed asura called Mura. He also insulted the mother of Devas, devi Aditi and plucked her ear rings from her ears and took them along with the hundred white elephants in the stable of Devendra.  Not able to bear his atrocities, his own mother Bhuma Devi cursed him that his death would be only from her own hands.  In Dwaraka Lord Krishna was approached by Devendra, the king of gods to help in destroying the scourge and Lord Krishna readily agreed. He took with him his consort Sathyabama an incarnation of Bhumi Devi and traveling on the celestial mount Garuda, soon they entered Prakjyothisha pura (now called Assam) the kingdom of Naraka.  Krishna destroyed the demon Mura and was hailed as Murari. Narakasura fought valiantly and felled Krishna to the ground with the power of his mighty arrows.  Sathyabama entered the battle and discharged an arrow that pierced the heart of Naraka, her own son. Realising that his end was drawing near, Narakasura saw his parents Lord Varaha murthi and Bhumi Devi in the divine couple Krishna and Sathyabama and pleaded for forgiveness for his sins. He requested for a boon that the day of his annihilation to be celebrated in the world with great rejoicing by lighting lamps and bursting of crackers to remind the world that all evil will meet its end one day and to urge the people to start on a clean slate from then on as their accumulated sins would vanish on taking a holy dip in the waters of the Ganga who would be present in all the waters of the world at this time.
Yet another story recalls the return of Sri Rama to Ayodhya after his exile for fourteen long years with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana and the welcome given by the residents of Ayodhya by lighting rows of lamps on the balconies of their houses. Sri Rama, the light of Mankind is venerated as the harbinger of peace, prosperity and the establisher of dharmic rule and hence the day he returned back is celebrated as the festival of lights.
In Bengal, though Deepavali is not celebrated as in the rest of the country, on the night of Amavasya, Kali puja is performed. It is a tantric ritual invoking the power of the supreme in its raw form. Maha Kali is the supreme unbridled energy which manifests itself to the seeker according to his/her level of spiritual attainment. If a man with a base intent worships Kali, she grants his desires but no more. Once his desires are satiated he falls back. The more nobler our intention is the higher will we be taken by the Devi of the dark hue.  She is dark in her form, but full of effulgence within. She is unclothed (digambara) but puts all her creations under many layers of ignorance. She has ten feet indicating that she covers all the ten directions. She has a protruding tongue to take in all our karmic vasanas. She stands on the prostrate form of Lord Shiva as a representation of kinetic energy risen from the Potential energy of Shiva. She is the origin of everything in this universe and the ultimate cause and effect, but very much misunderstood as her worship is of a purely tantric form involving the 5 Makaras and hence associated with bigots, black magic and evil whereas in truth it is worship of a very high order where the devotee, his devotion and finally the deity merge into one.  Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has established this in his life time and the Kali shrine at Dakshineswaram stands testimony to this truth. 
Goddess Annapurna is the presiding deity of Varanasi or Kasi. She sits on her throne with a pot full of sweet rice and a golden ladle and fills the bowl of anyone who approaches her with fulfillment not only of the material requirements, but making him full  and wholesome (Poornam) in every respect. Her story is quite interesting. Once during a verbal duel between Herself and Her consort Lord Shiva, Devi was hurt by Shiva labeling all the material creation as illusion and hence decided to withdraw into Herself. Removed of the basic shakti, the creation withered away and the universe craved for sustenance in the form of food (Annam). Not being able to bear Her children suffer the divine mother started serving them with her own hands and in the long queue that formed to take alms from Her, stood the Lord with his biksha bowl. On the day of Deepavali those in Kasi can have the delightful darshan of Matha Annapoorani in all Her golden splendour and Her garbrgraham is  filled up with sweets of all kinds for the devotees to partake as Prasad. She who is always Poorna and is the life of Shankara gives the poornathvam to Her devotee in the form of knowledge of the self and steadfastness to remain in that state (Gnana and Vairagya).

TULA SNANAM AND DEEPAVALI

TIME  FOR HOLY DIP, PRAYERS AND FESTIVITIES

Part - 1

The Month of Tulam called Aipasi in Tamizh, representing the zodiac sign of Libra, has arrived and it is time for festivities. After the Navarathri celebrations, it is time to welcome the festival of lights – Deepavali.  The month of Tulam is associated with the river Cauvery. A dip in its cool waters in the early morning is  believed to wash off any sin and bestow immense benefits on the seeker.
Cauvery has its origin in the Sahyadri hills and flows through the plains of the deccan to reach the Bay of Bengal in the ancient city of Puhar in Tamil Nadu. Like the Ganga, Cauvery is also considered to be a very auspicious river and has many similarities with the mighty river of the north.  Ganges descended from the heavens in response to the prayers of King Bageeratha to redeem his ancestors. She came down with all her might and force and her pride was humbled by Lord Shiva when He locked her up in His matted locks and released her to flow again in answer to Bageeratha’s prayers. She did try once more to go out of bounds when she circled the ashram of Jahnnu maharishi intending to sweep the ashram away by her force. The great sage just took her in the palm of his hands and sipped all her waters. Again to help Bageeratha, Jahnnu maharishi allowed Ganga to flow out of his ears thereby earning her the name of Jahnnavi. 
A similar incident also is reported in the story of Cauvery who in her exuberance disturbed the penance of the great sage Agasthyar. The sage who was born in a pot and is called Kumba Sambhava put all of Cauvery’s waters in his water pot (kamandalu) and resumed his penance. With her pride humbled, Cauvery prayed to Lord Ganapathi who assuming the form of a crow overturned the pot and allowed the waters to flow on.
All along the path of both Ganga and Cauvery are situated many temples of fame and the rivers are associated with the presiding deities of these temples in some form or other. Ganga devi encircles the holy city of Varanasi like a garland offered to Lord Vishvanatha while Cauvery weaves a garland around Lord Ranganatha in Sri Rangam. Shiva and Vishnu represent two aspects of the Supreme and the sisters Ganga and Cauvery offer their tributes to them by going around the holy cities of Varanasi and Srirangam.  Worshipping forefathers by offering pinda in holy places along the path of the Ganga is considered to bring material and spiritual prosperity to the lineage of the worshipper and the same is true if offered on the banks of the river Cauvery.
The holiest of all holy rivers, Ganga once felt despondent that she is defiled by all who wash their sins in her holy waters and wanted to purify herself. She approached Lord Brahma who prescribed a very simple solution. Brahmadev asked Ganga to go and merge with her sister Cauvery during the holy month of Tulam when all the gods and goddesses come and have a holy dip in her waters and that would make her fresh and pure as always. So Ganga is present in the waters of Cauvery all through the month of Tulam and gets rejuvenated and also rejuvenates all those who take a dip in Cauvery. If only this confluence of the two mighty rivers Ganga Cauvery had happened on the physical plane, it would have in one stroke, solved the problems of floods in the north and the dry run of the southern rivers.
The practice of taking bath in holy rivers is prevalent even in the north during this time.  The month of Krithiga is considered auspicious for taking bath in rivers. According to the lunar calendar, the month of Krithiga begins on the day following deepavali. Devotees carry the holy waters from the rivers in pots to the temples and perform abishekam to Lord Shiva. They even walk many miles and cover long distances to reach the temples. They carry the water in pots hung from a stick which they carry across their shoulders like Kavadi. The Shat puja performed by the Biharis also falls during the sixth day of the full moon. During this puja devotees assemble on the banks of sacred rivers and ponds and after taking ceremonial bath offer puja to the Sun god.
It is believed that the Tula snanam should be done in the Brahma Muhoortham, that is during the period preceding dawn, roughly about 4-30 to 5-00 AM. Normally, whenever one takes a bath in a sacred river a proper sankalpam is recited before touching the waters. However, during the month of Tulam, even if one takes a dip without a proper sankalpam, it would earn him/her all the material and spiritual gifts that one can aspire for and ultimately the person goes to the heavens.  There is a story of a person lame in both legs who aspired to take bath during the Tulam month in the holy river of Cauvery at least once before his life ebbed out.  He set out on the arduous journey by drawing his body, using his hands as feet on the first day of the month, but could reach the banks of the holy river at Mayuram (Mayil Adu Thurai) only on the day after the month had ended. He managed to take the dip, but those who had assembled on the banks of the river informed him that the Tula snanam period was over the previous day itself.  Quite disappointed, the poor man wanted to end his life as he thought he might not get another chance in his life to perform this austerity.  The Lord Mayura Nathar came and gave darshan to the forlorn man and blessed him that the day on which he had taken the bath would also be considered as auspicious and gave him mukthi. This day is called mudavan muzhukku, the holy dip of the lame person.
OM TAT SAT

SANATHANA DHARMA - PART 1

SANATHANA DHARMA - PART I

Sathyam and Dharmam

Truth alone triumphs – ‘SathyamEva Jayate’ is the motto adopted by the Indian government in its symbol of thelions with the Dharma chakra. This clearly shows that Truth and Dharma were heldin high esteem by the people at the helm of affairs when we became independent.It is our responsibility as good citizens of a country with a wonderful legacyto protect and practice these high ideals handed over to us from ourforefathers and we are duty bound to transmit their value to the nextgeneration. That is the reason for this article.

Sathyam and Dharmam have beenthe two pillars on which Sanathana Dharmam has been built. In the TaitireyaUpanishad, the Guru tells his disciple – ‘Sathyam Vadha Dharmam Chara’ that is alwaysspeak the Truth and follow the path of Dharma. These two attributes support allthe endeavours of an aspirant who seeks to attain perfection in thisbirth.  This is very profoundlyillustrated in the 18 holy steps that lead to the sanctum sanctorum of the SriSwami Aiyappa temple tucked in the recesses of the Western Ghats. The templerepresents Lord as jyothi or effulgence of the Supreme Truth which to theseeker is the true knowledge of the self (Athma gnana). The two banisters tothe mystic 18 steps are believed to represent Sathyam and Dharmam and the holy18 steps the 36 ideologies (Thatvas) leading from the grossest earth to thesublime supreme Shiva.

Sathyam:

Sathyam means Truth. Truth issomething which is absolute and not something which is relative. If Truth wererelative or dependant on some conditions, then it loses its validity as Truth.As such Truth or Sathyam is to be known differently from the truth which wespeak about in our normal parlance as not lying. When we speak about Truth(Sathyam), then there can be only one such truth without a second, else itloses its claim to be absolute.

What is the definition ofabsolute Truth? It is that which is permanent, that is, that which is notaffected by change, is both the cause and its effect, is both manifest and un-manifestand is without beginning or end. So we can take it that Sathyam transcends thelimitations of time, space and cause and effect and stands as ONE at all timesand in all places.  What then can Truthbe unless it is the Supreme force (God?) itself, that which had createdeverything and is both the creator and the creation.  

The ancient scriptures also talkabout ‘Rutham’ while speaking about ‘Sathyam’. Rutham means order which though subjectto change over a period of time yet maintains itself. Indisputably the entirecosmos consisting of many universes is subject to a supreme cosmic order whichenables the millions of suns and planets in various galaxies to function asordained with not even a fraction of a deviation or otherwise there would becosmic cataclysm. This order is maintained in all forms from the tiny atom tothe biggest of galaxies. The question that pops up is whether the cosmic ordercalled Rutham is also Truth akin to Sathyam? It may not be if we try to fit itinto a strict definition as the former is changeless while the latter issubject to change. Sathyam is the cause and Rutham is the effect.

It is said that ‘BrahmaSathyam – Jagat Mithyam’. Brahman represents the absolute and hence is Truth(sathyam) while the cosmos (jagat) is relative and hence is not the absolutetruth although it is conditional truth. That the universe exists cannot bedenied, but the fact that it is ever changing makes it dependant on somethingwhich impels it to change. In fact ceaseless change is its order. The followinglines of James Russel in his poem the Fountain is very apt in describing this:
“ Glad of all weathers still seeming best, upwards ordownwards motion thy rest” and
“Full of nature nothing can tame, changed every momentever the same”.

While the change isceaselessly happening within the Universe itself, the Absolute whole remainschangeless.

Truth as we know it, is however,subjective. It is qualified by two things - Knowledge and Belief. One cannothold something to be true or false unless he has knowledge of the subject.People believed that the earth was flat till a few centuries ago and that theSun was going around the earth while the earth itself was stationary. Anythingthat was held contrary to this belief was considered to be untruth and evenblasphemous. While knowledge is acquired through self effort of learning byoneself or from some one else, belief is something that evolves out of thecollective wisdom reflected by parents, ancestors, family and society.  This is called Apara Vidhya – that is,acquired knowledge and belief.  There is somethingcalled Para Vidhya, knowledge that comes automatically such as intuitions,sudden spark in the mind, thoughts of wisdom and the like which come from one’sinner core. The inventions and discoveries that science has witnessed areresults of such inspirational thoughts experienced by people that came from theinnermost recesses of their mind.

Truth is not tainted by thesubjectivity brought about by knowledge or belief.  It holds out for that particular period oftime and loses validity once the knowledge or belief is disproved, changed orbecomes inconsequential.

The Vedas ordain us to speakthe truth – ‘Sathyam Vadha’. If Truth which is always absolute and pure likethe colourless rays of the Sun becomes subjective and coloured when one viewsit through the prism of knowledge and belief, what is the truth that the Vedaswant us to speak?

It is said that there arefour aspects of speech. Speech is the culmination of thought expressed in wordsand communicated to the listener. The four aspects of speech are Para,Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikari.  Para isthe root stemming from desire and is located in the Mooladara chakra. When thedesire takes shape it becomes visible – Pashyanti, whose location is in theManipuraka chakra. The desire gets the cloak of thought in the Heart region –Anahata chakra and is expressed as the spoken word – Vaikari from theactivation of the Vishudhi chakra.

Desire, thought and word arethe three constituents of speech.  Whenthere is no difference between that which starts as desire, takes shape asthought and finally is expressed as the spoken word then there is no disconnectand that is what is meant by speaking the TRUTH. Unity in desire, thought andspeech is Truth. Where there is disharmony in any one of the above three, thenthere is no truth. So we can take it that the Vedas enjoin us to speak what wethink and think what we desire.

When we fail to practicethis, we get into stress – the stress caused by speaking untruth. Untruth causestress as it is divorced from our real nature which is Truth. Our sufferingsare due to the fact that we have moved away from our real nature which is Truthabsolute. We think that we are the body and the mind and lose track of ourinherent spiritual nature.  We are infact spirits who have taken a body to enjoy and exhaust our karmas. Karmas arethe root cause of desires which in turn become thoughts and words impelling usinto action leading into further karma. When we constantly meditate on our Self, our real nature of our beingthe absolute Truth gets crystallized and permeates our desire, thought, wordand action and we become one with Truth. Then whatever we do, speak or think ordesire it shall be the Truth and Truth alone as ordained in the Vedas.

The story of kingHarischandra who, for the sake of his ideal of always speaking the truthsacrificed his kingdom, his only son and finally his wife too has been the inspirationfor Mohandas Gandhi in his quest for truth which made him a Mahatma.  To take the vow of always speaking the truth underall circumstances and at all times is something which might not be possible formere humans like us.  There is a story ofa hermit in whose house a deer fleeing the pursuit of a hunter tookrefuge.  The hunter confronted the sagewith the question whether the deer had come that way and the wise man remainedmute. Had he failed to uphold his vow to always speak the truth when heremained silent? The inference is yes, since the hunter took the silence of thesage to mean that the deer was not there and satisfied left the place.  Here comes the conflict between speaking the Truthand following the Ahimsa Dharma. Our Maha Periyava aptly observes that whilespeaking the truth we should always bear in mind that we should speak onlyabout the good things and should never speak ill of others even if it weretrue. So not speaking out the truth in order not to hurt or bring hurt toanother is also deemed to be speaking the truth and the contrary is also true.