Friday, December 9, 2011

Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha

Hare Srinivasa !!!

Dharmo rakshati rakshitaha

Dharma protects one who protects Dharma.

There was a King; once during the night he noticed some movement in his palace. He woke up to see some effulgent people leaving his palace. He stopped them and enquired about their whereabouts. They mentioned one by one that they were; wealth, fame, opulance, abdunance, purity etc.. and dharma/satya. Due to change of planetary positions they had to leave the palace. They introduced themselves one by one and bade the King farewell. The King respectfully escorted each one out of the palace, thanking them for their stay. All them went out of the palace and waited for the others.
Finally Dharma/Satya requested to leave; the King refused. The King explained, that he had protected Dharma/Satya all his life and was not ready to let go of him. Dharma/Satya was pleased and agreed to stay behind. All other virtues were waiting for Dharma/Satya outside. Once this virtue stayed back all of the virtues came back saying they will stay only where Dharma/Satya reside.

The moral of the story is;
1. there are times when we loose all wealth/possessions/opulence. But no matter what we should never leave Dharma.
2. Choose your battles; the King fought for Dharma not for anything else. He was not perturbed by anyone else leaving.
3. If you have Dharma, you'll have everything eventually; without Dharma you'll never have anything in the long run.

Uptil the 60's-70's the general belief was that doing dana-dharma is mandatory for well being. If someone is good inspite of this; it must be the dharma of ancestors that is protecting that person.

Also noteworthy is the term "Satya-naash". If satya is naasha; then there is no hope for that person.

In the volatile economy like this; one has to look beyond the horizon. Investing in something long term and secure; is the greatest fundamental of Banking and Investment.

Dharma's effects can felt across generations. One small ex. recently my father was traveling to a temple in a bus. He was standing and was feeling tired. Immediately somebody recognized him as HRV's younger brother and offered him a seat. This is after 15 years of HRV's passing away; readers can have more powerful examples; but purport is that Dharma protects not only us, but spans generations. No matter how many instruments the financial industries create; ensuring 2-3 generations down enjoy good benefits is simply beyond it's scope.

In Mahabharata, Yudhishtira is generally portrayed as soft spoken and a push over sometimes. SriMadhwacharya explains that he is Yama(death) himself; it is a very frightful position; but Vayu Devaru keeps an avesha of "Sowmya" roopa; so he is seen as soft hearted. Also the forgiving nature of Yudhistira is representative of the nature of dharma. Dharma keeps forgiving; keeps giving second/third/fourth chances; keeps throwing us life lines and follows us everywhere we go to protect us.

So start investing in the easiest possible way; to get the maximum returns and the most secure way; sounds like a no-brain er investment to me :)

BharatiRamana MukhyaPranantargata SriKrishnarpanamastu,
Hrishikesh

Monday, November 21, 2011

Koravanji roopa of Sri Hari ( Sri Hari as an astrologer )


Koravanji Roopa of Sri Hari
Srinivasa Kalyana ( Venkatesha Parijata in Kannada ) VIth chapter has a special roopa of Sri Hari exclusive for women. Just like Sri Krishna gives gyana to Sri Arjuna and set his heart at ease in Bhagavad Gita. Sri Venkatesha does the same to all the women folk in Sri Padmavati's palace. Sri Venkatesha comes in a stree roopa and lays to rest all their doubts, especially relating to matters of the heart. This "stree roopa" to help the mother in the matters relating to the marriage of her daughter and for girls in relating to matters of the heart.
Sri Hari keeps providing assurance, guidance and keeps filling her with hope in the manner only he("stree roopa" ) can. This is the best example of "Girl Talk" :)

Sri Anantradeesha Dasaru has written it beautifully in Kannada, I pray to Sri Hari-Vayu, Sri Vyasarayaru, Sri Purundara Dasaru, Sri Vijaya Dasaru, Sri Mohan Dasaru and Sri Anantradeesha Dasaru to give me the strength to do justice to this.

Sri Venkatesha decides to take a Stree Roopa in order to get his work done; because two people trying to accomplish the same work is better than one. If a person needs his work done; then he has to contribute some effort to it and not just depend on others. ( Sri Hari does this as a loka shikshana; because Sri Hari can achieve anything by iccha matra ). Sri Hari also shows that if you follow his instructions; he would already have done most of your work, all you have to do is effort and SriKrishnarpanamastu . Sri Hari decides to take a Stree Roopa of a Koravanji or Tribal Fortune Teller. Sri Hari himself ( or rather herself ) as an astrologer; can it get any better?

Description of the "Stree Roopa"

Sri Venkatesha takes the roopa of middle aged and matured woman; SHE had a beautiful smile and no teeth within; HER age seemed to be 50+. SHE had long drooping ears, Lamba kuchagalu and a pot belly. She wore a long new saree and blouse, SHE tied her hair in a bundle knot; SHE made ChaturMukha Brahma as a seven months old child and lifted him with utmost ease; then SHE she made the whole Brahmanda along with it's 14 lokas as a basket and carried both easily. ( This shows that carriers both the creator and the entire creation effortlessly), SHE then filled the basket with the best grains of navadhanya. On her beautiful forehead; SHE applied Kasturi tilak. SHE then wore a necklace with a pendant. SHE wore a brilliant nosestud. SHE wore the sacred yellow thread (kankana)

SHE wore brilliant earrings; in  her beautiful ears. SHE then wore malas in the following order; shankamani mala, gulaganji mala, tulasimani mala, srigandha mala, karpurmani mala, spathika mala, kamalakshi mani mala, then a mala of different stones; then SHE tied her child to her saree; took her stick and left for Narayanapura.

On reaching Narayanapura

SHE left the hills and reached the gates of Narayanapura; her saree fluttering in the wind, SHE roamed about; started announcing her skills door to door. ( Again compare to Bhagavad Gita where Sri Krishna explains his powers; but this is totally female oriented ). HER voice was very soothing and satisfied their hearts.

"I'll explain your heart secrets; O ladies, I'll explain whatever are your desires and your troubles are. I will explain the past and present. I will predict correctly the future ( The ultimate astrologer :) ) I have predicted many things in the past; not one has been false; so please don't doubt my sayings !!! ( Satyavak in VSN)
I am expert in arts of Sama-Bheda. I know Samudrika shastra very well; I can prepare medicines for various illness. I know of the "love" fever which grasps young maidens; O young girls I can tell all this in advance especially for you. I can free one from ghosts and spirits trouble.  I can make dumb people speak; I can speak on Niti shastras; I am an expert in Astrology. O Ladies; if you are prepared to sit down and listen to me; I'm ready to tell all; I'll tell you all good fortune in a way that you will enjoy.  None of this is false; I swear on my baby. I can bring back confidence in anyone who has lost all hope. I am a famous Koravai the world over. I stay in the place of Nara-Narayana ( Badri ). "VaraAnanatadreeshina neravuLLa koravi".

The town people were mesmerized by the STREE roopa; hearing the words of the koravi; the town people immediately informed the queen about her arrival.

To be continued ....

Any mistakes are solely mine.

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Sunday, October 30, 2011

MangalCharana Sandhi - I



shrIramaNikarakamala pUjita
chArucharaNa sarOja brahma samIra vANi
phaNINdra vINdra bhavENdra mukha vinuta
nIrajabhavANDOdaya sthiti kAraNane kaivalya dAyaka
nArasiMhane namipe karuNipudhemage maNgaLava .HKAS_01-01

Explaination 1 #
Jagganatha Dasaraya has done Managalcaharana with Sri Lakshmi Narasimha. Sri Madhwacharya has composed Sri Narasimha Nakha Stuti and in Mayavada Khandana he has invoked Sri Lakshmi Narasimha's grace.
On the same lines; Dasarayu has also invoked Sri Lakshmi Narasimha's grace.
Sri Lakshmi Narasimha is the roopa responsible (niyamaka) for swaroopa deha.
shrIramaNi-kara-kamala pUjita - One who is worshipped by Sri MahaLakshmi's (soft like)lotus like hands
SrI MahaLakshmi is called "padma haste"; there is nothing more pure than Sri MahaLakshmi's hands (other than Sri Hari).
Sri MahaLakshmi pressing Sri Hari's legs is like worshipping with the best lotuses.
chAru-charaNa sarOja - Extremely attractive feet like lotus.
Each and every word has been used with precision. "Charu-Charana Saroja" is a superior compliment to  "kara kamala". Thereby showing taratamya; the article being worshipped is superior to the article being used for worship.
The worshipee is superior to the worshiper; Sri Hari is sarvothamma in every which way.
Sri Hari does not have swagata bheda vivarjita; no difference between limbs of Sri Hari everything is ananta.
Dasaraya has used similar style to SriMadhacharya ( LakshmiKanta Samantatopi naivesha tuste samam)
In Samudrika shastra; palms and feet being red are called lakshanas. This is the root of the custom of applying mehendi or gorantee to palms and soles of feet.
Brahma, Vayu devaru, Sesha, Rudra, Indra and all other deities are standing before Sri Hari and worshipping by singing praises.
Taratamya - Sri MahaLaxmi does pooje with her own hands, others by praying ( karakamala pujita-mukha vinuta )
All pooje to Sri Hari has to be done with Sri MahaLakshmi
Abhisheka - Abhisheka to Sri Hari is always through shanka as Sri MahaLakshmi is present in Shanka.
Mangalarti - All Mangalarti is done by keeping palm upwards because "Karagre vasate Lakshmi" so it is Sri MahaLakshmi who is doing Mangalarti not us.
During Naividya - "pariveshi teesham Streehi" It is Sri MahaLakshmi who is serving food to Sri Hari
Sri Krishnarpanamastu - While doing Sri Krishnarpanamastu we should always use Tulasi ( at least mentally)
brahma - ChaturMukha Brahma
samIra - Ira - to inspire (root of prerana) - samyakta ireti iti sameera - No body can inspire as much as Vayu devaru hence he is called samIra
vANi - Saraswathi/Bharati - Vaag Vani means Bharati Devi(amara kosha) so Vani can be used for both
phaNINdra - Sesh Devaru
vINdra - vI + Indra - Vi means Bird - VIndra - Garuda
bhavENdra - out of ekadasha Rudra; main in Parvati Patti hence called Bhavendra. Can also be split as bhava + Indra - Rudra Devaru + Indra
muka vinuta - singing praises ( vinuta - special praises )
nIrajabhavANDOdaya sthiti kAraNane -
Meaning 1#
nIrajabhavANDa -  nIra+ja+bhava+Anda - jala(nira)+ja+bhava- Brahma Devaru + Anda = Brahmanda
nIrajabhava - one who was born on a Lotus from nabhi of Sri Hari
nIrajabhavANDA - Brahmanda
Meaning 2#
nIrajabhavANDA udaya - one who was born in lineage of Sri Brahma Devaru ( hiranyakashipu) + udaya ( his son- Prahalad)
stithi karane - one who gave stithi to Prahalad ( Sri LakshmiNarasimha )
udaya +sthiti kArane- creation + maintainance + main cause
kaivalya dayaka - giver of moksha
Note: the moksha giving is kept separate from Srushti, Sthiti because there are others involved in this. But giving of Moksha is exclusively with Sri Hari.
Vishnu rithiata mokashcya Vayuscha tadanugneya
Moksha is the best purusharta out of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Therefore giver of Moksha is Sarvothamma.
nArasiMhane namipe karuNipudhemage maNgaLava -
namipe - Eshavasya Upanishad -15 - bhuyishtam te namuktim videma -
We can only pray to you O Sri Hari; there is nothing we can give.
With Bhakti Gynana we offer namaskara (bhuyistanti)
karuNipudhemage maNgaLava - Please shower your grace on us; maNgaLava ( moksha )
Explaination 2 #
In this explaination we shall see how the mangala shloka mirrors the mangala shloka of Sriman NyayaSudha
Narayana-Vasudeva-Sankarshana-Pradyumna-Aniruddha ( Pancha roopi paramatma ) - In any Alankara pankti consists of 5 brahmins to invoke the presence of 5 roops of Sri Hari in each.
Om ! Shriyah patye nitya-aganita-guna-maanikya-vishad-prabaaljallolla-soophat-sakalaa-vadya-tamase |
     Jagat-janmasthem-pralaya-rachana-sheel-vapushe
     namo-sheshamanaayaasmruti-hrydaya-diptaya haraye ||
     Shriyah patye - Lakshmi Pati - Narayana Roopa
     ara-means dosha - naraa ( no doshas; stri linga; feminine gender ) Lakshmi Devi - narayaha ayanam ayanam - narayana     
     nitya-aganita-guna - infinite gunas always
     vishad-prabaaljallolla-soophat-sakalaa-vadya-tamase - always dosha vidoora
     Jagta-janma (Creation) - Pradymna;  sthem (Protection) - Anirudhha; pralaya (Destruction)- Sankarshana
     Haraye - Hari - harata iti harihi - samsara bandham parhariti harihi- ( linga deha bhanga ) moksha pradayaka roopa - Vasudeva roopa
     Comparison to HKAS 1.1
     shrIramaNi - Narayana Roopa
     brahma - Lakshmi/Chaturmukha Brahma
     samIra - Vayu Devaru
     vANi - Saraswathi/Bharati
     phaNINdra - Sesha Devaru
     vINdra - Garuda Devaru
     bhaveNdra - bhavA + Indra - Rudra + Indra
     nIrajabhavANDa - Brahmanda
     Brahmanda udaya kAraNe - Pradyumna Roopa
     Brahmanda sthiti kAraNane - Anirudhha Roopa
     kaivalya dAyaka - moksha granting roopa - Vasudeva Roopa
     nArasiMhane - pralaya roopa - Sankarshana and Narasimha Roopa are both Pralaya roopas. Sankarshana roopa does pralaya within brahmanda; Narasimha does pralaya outside brahmanda.
     brahma - Lakshmi/Chaturmukha Brahma
     samIra - Vayu Devaru
     vANi   - Saraswati/Bharati
     phaNINdra - Sesha Devaru
     vINdra - Garuda Devaru
     bhavA  - Rudra Devaru
     INdra  - Indra Devaru
     mukha vinuta - all the above Gods ( includes people below them as well ) constantly praising gunas ( expresses the same emotion of Sri Hari being guna purna as defined by Sri Teekacharayaru )
     Sri Lakshmi Narasimha is the upasya murthy of Sri Jagannatha Dasaru as well.
     maNgaLa means "prashasta acharanam nityam; aprashastasya varjanam etatvi mangalam proktam"
     After a religious discourse or vratha or reading of holy granthas; Mangala is performed to indicate that a very important or Prashasta work has been done till now.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

ParaMatha Khandana III

Hare Srinivasa !!!
Jai Bedi Anjaneya !!!
Jai Vijayaraya !!!
Shree Raghavendraya Namaha !!!
In this article we shall see objectively how dvaita stands head and shoulders above
other systems.

We have seen in Paramatha Khandana II that Dvaita or Tattvavada is distinct from
other philosophies in that all other philosophies state equality with God at some
or the other point. advaita claims equality now, vishishta advaita claims equality
in moksha, dvaita-advaita claims difference and equality, iskcon claims continuous
difference and continuous equality.

Dvaita alone stands firm that you are not GOD and can never become GOD at any time  !!!
Pure milk is white; even if there is a spot of black it's not pure. There is no use
in arguing that the spot is not black but blue or green. Not pure means not pure;
no room for compromises.

Now, there are many accusations on Dvaita

#1) Dvaita scholars have not understood advaita
This is probably the most common accusation. The hidden agenda being, they can
refute any argument saying first understand then debate. But as long as you object;
you will never have "understood".
I had a discussion with my friend on this, I did'nt speak much and let him talk. He
did'nt tell me anything new that I had'nt heard, but I let him speak. When the
train reached our station, he said "Anyway, this is not of any use practically". I
picked him up on that and said what is the use of such a philosophy if you can't
apply it to your life.
An advaitee has to accept bheda and taratamya in his daily life. His bank account
number and signature is distinct; his juniors are juniors and seniors are seniors.
Not only this; if he is in pain, he cannot claim illusion; he has to treat his
pain. In his day to day life he has to accept Dvaita.So GOD makes him learn Bheda
Gnyana and Tartamya throughout his life; then why should it disappear with Gnyana?
It is like GOD making us study for a Maths paper and then setting a language paper
in the exam !!!
So what is the use of understanding a philosophy that cannot be used (according to
themselves) and one that is counter productive.

#2) Quoting Bhagavad Gita for advaita.
advaitees quote Bhagvad Gita for definiton of Maya and other quotes they claim to
support advaita.
Let us see the end of Bhagvad Gita:
Aham Brahmasmi?? Was Arjuna feeling he is the same as Sri Krishna or as his eternal
servant?
Jagat Mitya??? Was Arjuna feeling real or illusory? If it was all maya; then Sri
Krishna could have finished it in a few sentences; why worry Arjuna it's all maya?
Finish. But the detailed explaination and hierarchy proves it's absolutely real
!!!!
Nirguna Brahma??? Did Arjuna see nirguna or Vishwa roopa ? SriMadAcharya asks this question after showing Vishwaroopa how can you still uphold nirguna roopa.

Even an advaitee will answer the questions the same way. So if Bhagavad Gita was
really teaching advaita; then why this outcome?

After receiving Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna knew Sri Krishna was sarvothamma and not him; he knew his duties and felt real and he had seen a Paripoorna guna roopa of Sri
Krishna; which makes it an out and out Dvaita text !!!
Note Arjuna sees the various deities within the vishwa roopa, which shows the
deities are seperate even in the Vishwa roopa hence refuting Vishishta advaita
which claims that we become one with God on Moksha.

So just by taking a few quotes and twisting the meaning; it is wrong on their part
to quote Bhagavad Gita as supporting advaita. On the contrary the thunderbolt
statement on advaita comes in
BG 16.8
asatyam apratishtham te jagad ahur anishvaram
The demonic people say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in
control.

#3) Dvaita is always attacking advaita.
The claims are that Dvaita scholars are ill mannered and always attacking; where as
advaita scholars are more dignified and have always welcomed dvaita scholars.
This claim is very wrong; biggest proof is Sri Raghavendra Swamy; who graces
everyone. Secondly all the biographies of the Dvaita scholars clearly state that
the defeated advaita opponents were also honoured. In fact many a times it is they
that arrange for the Vijaya utsava for the Dvaita scholar; the claims are utter
nonsense. Some biographies infact shows the humiliating conditions for the debate
thrown by the advaita scholars and how the Dvaita scholars have excused the loser
of the debate from his own conditions. Sri Vyasa Yogi Charitre is a biography of
Sri Vyasarayaru; written by a advaitee; his tremendous respect for Sri Vyasarau is
evident in his writings. A lot of Dvaita scholars were tried to be ill treated and
poisoned because the advaitees were not able to defeat them.
As for attacking the philosophy part, Paramatha Kandana is part and parcel of
philosophy; so there really is no point for that. As for calling shankara a demon;
please see his philosophy and see BG 16.8; why is there any confusion at all ?

#4) shivoham
Most of non dvaita meditation techniques consists of thinking yourself as Shiva or
some other deity; just imagine you are imagining "Paravati Pattitva"??? The whole
scriptures shows who has such feelings and their fate.
The clarity of Dvaita is crisp compared to the confused mind of non-dvaitee
Conclusion: Most of the advaitees I know, have a bigger photo of Sri Raghavendra
Swamy than shankaracharya; they want the fruits of Dvaita. But they follow advaita;
when the chips are down Dvaita; when the mind has no tension advaita; more like a
fiction novel; but has no practical purpose.
Honestly, what problem can you solve by mithya gnyana, nirguna brahma and thinking
you are GOD?  So like my friend said; it's of no use in practical problems. So Why
waste time with something that cannot be used?
I have taken just bottom line statements; to make the choices simple and clear. This is to counter advaita quiet simply, without going into any intricate details.

Any mistakes are solely mine.

BharatiRamana MukhyaPranantargata SriKrishnarpanamastu !!!

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Saturday, August 6, 2011

YajurVeda Madhwa Sandhyavandana - II

Hare Srinivasa,
Source : vyasamadhwa.org

The motivation for Sandhayavandam is Shri Hari preeti and Shri Hari Prernaya.

Sandhya vandanam – means a prayer to Surya Mandala madhya Sri Laxmi Narayana
Sandhyavandam is a daily ritual to be done 3 times a day, during sunrise, noon and sunset.

If done with love and dedication, it probably the only prayer that needs to be said and can give all types of  results.

The Surya Mandala madhya Sri Laxmi Narayana is called Savitur.  There are many instances in the shastra where Surya Mandala madhya Sri Laxmi Narayana is invoked for example
 a. Aditya Hridayam
 b. Akshaya Patre for Yudishtira during vanvas

Giving argya to surya and doing Gayatri Japa with the above context gives all the results as described above and many more. Surya gives health, wealth, fame, etc when given argya regularly.

Importance:
 If a dwija does not do Sandhyavandane all other Sadhane is considered ineffective. It is the hall ticket to the exam, you can’t enter the exam hall without hall ticket irrespective of how much you have read at  home.

Why is it called Sandhyavandane?
Sandhi kala bhagavata roopa ge vandane
Night-Morning Morning-Noon Evening-Night
Vandane - vadi abhavadane stutya - stuti (with words) + namaskara (physical)

Why only during three times?
It's not practical to pray 24*7 therefore at least these 3 times

Why only these 3 times?
Ramayana - Sandhyakale tu rakshamsi duradarsha tu bhavanthi
Evil is very active during these times. Therefore we need protection during these times.
During morning; evil spirits don't let us get up in the form of laziness. Anything that induces laziness and avidya is evil force. Divine force always propels us forward, makes us knowledgable, makes us respectable and ever active. Since we cannot be happy on our own, we need help to be happy. Sri Hari is eternally independent and never helpless.

Narayana is the only indepent GOD ( sarva tantra swatantra) ; hence we pray to him to protect us.
Sandhyavandane is the prescribed form of prayer and full of veda mantras.
Every day the block keeps increasing and stops us from doing dharma karyas; to stop this block from increasing and spreading everyday it is essential to do Sandhyavandane.

The basic requirements for Sandhyavandane to be effective are
1. Timing - Has to performed at the correct time 3 times a day ( before sunrise i.e. while stars are visible,
before noon and before sunset )
2. Mantras - Has to be performed with the correct vedic mantras
3. Anusandhana - Has to be performed with the target in mind; i.e. Sri Hari sarvothamma has to be kept in mind
throughout the Sandhyavandane
4. Artha - Mantras have to be understood; atleast a basic understanding of the mantras have to be kept in mind. The more and deeper the understanding the better
5. Place - Has to be in a holy spot or in the pooja room - Bhagavad Gita 6.11 - Shucho deshe prathishthaya sthiramanasamatmanah
Anyone arguing that Sandhyavandane has not been effective has to check if the above points have been covered. If anyone does atleast a 1000 gayatris each day for a month; there will definetly be some effect.

These are the angas of Sandhyavandane.

No wet clothes ( 11 times wet cloth beaten against the wind is considered dry ).
GopiChanda dharana after snana is must. It's not required in afternoon and evening except after bath.

Brief Steps

0. Mudradharana – Applying Gopichanda and mudra dharana
For Ladies only tilaka and gada and narayana mudras

1. Achamana – Drinking a small quantity of water (equal to size of urad dal - hence the name "uddharane")
 Drinking water and Narayana Nama smarane Purifies the internal organs, necessary for Veda mantras pronounciation;
a grain of urad dal should be submersed and gokarana with the palm. Remembering the 24 names of Shri Hari in the
process of creation

The visualization for each name is cross referenced with Keshava Nama from Kanaka Dasa. It’s in Kannada, the
english meanings can be referenced here

http://www.dvaita.org/haridasa/song/2/040T.html

There is also a visulazation in TantraSara for each name which is Lord Vishnu with four arms, holding the conch,
the discus, the mace and the lotus. The positions of the four vary according to the roopa.

( Sip water three times chanting each of the following )
 Om keshavaya svaha [ Shreesha Keshava - Dosha rashi nasha,
 Katru Keshava - Satya patisuvodhu,
 Adi Keshava - Mukti koduva ]
 Om naarayana svaha [ Naarayana - Maran samaydalli Hari Smaraane; Ajamila ]
 Om maadavaya svaha [ Madhava - Yamana bhada bidisu through Gyana]
 ( Wash hand with this )
 Om govindaya namaha [ Govinda - Bahavada Bandha Bidisu ]

Om vishvanenamaha [ Vishnu - Srishti ollege kashta bidisu ]
 Om madhusudhanayanamaha [ Madhusudana - Hridaya dalli hudagisaya ]
 Om trivikramayanamaha [Trivikrama - Yamana bhada bidisu by destroying papa]
 Om vaamanayanamaha [Vamana - Ninna Nama premadinda paadiso ]
 Om sridharayanamaha [Shridhara - hrudayalli sadan maado ]
 Om hrishikeshayanamaha [ Hrishikesha - do not neglect me, thinking I'm interested in mundane pleasures ]
 Om padmanabhayanamaha [Padmanabha - Geddu Kopa, Buddhi Toru ]
 Om damodarayanamaha [ Damodara - Ninna Nama jivha dalli niliso ]
 Om sankarshanayamaha [ Sankarashana - Nanna kinkara aagi maadkolo ]
 Om vaasudevayanamaha [ Vaasudeva - Please ensure no hurt comes to me, as I'm your servant no matter what birth I
take ]
 Om pradhyumnayanamaha [ Pradyumane - Hridaya Tiddi Shudda maadu ]
 Om anirudhayanamaha [ Annirudhane - Yennage mukti palisu ]
 Om purushothamayanamaha [ Purushottamma - Ninna charandalli iddu ]
 Om adhokshajayanamaha [ Adokshaja - Beda maadi noddadiro ]
 Om narasimhayanamaha [ Narasimhana - Baara haakiruve ninage ]
 Om achuttayanamaha [ Achyuta - Sanchita paapa, kinchita peeda kallisu ]
 Om janardanayanamaha [ Janardhana - heena buddhi bidisu ]
 Om upendrayanamaha [ Upendra - Krupe maadi kshamiso ]
 Om hareyanamaha [ Shri Hare - Nanna ninna bhakatara jyotege iddu ]
 Om srikrishnayanamaha [ Shri Krishna - Innu huttisibeda, huttisidake nammana palisu ]

2. Pranayama – Takes in pure air and lets out impure air
 Gets us the control of the entire body – Dasha Pranava Gayatri Mantra
pranayamaihi dehe doshan - 
Rechaka ( exhaling) 1, Puraka ( Drawing in air ) 2 and Kumbaka (retaining air in) 4 -
Proportion for Pranayama 1:2:4
Draw in from left and exhale from right
* Achamane and Pranayama are repeated many times, not mentioned here for brevity.

3. Sankalpa – Recollecting the date, time and place in which the activity is being performed.
 Develops the willpower required for a successful mindset
Recalling place and time - Nasik to Rameshwara costal region is Parshurama Kshetra else South India is Ramakshetra
 Panchanga - Tithi, Yoga , Vara, Nakshatra &  karana
 Vishnu Prernaya and Vishnu Preethyartham

4. Marjana – Sprinkling of water on one’s body
 Completes the bathing ritual with the mantras (Mantra snana) - Jal abhimani devata - Vayu (H2O)

5. Jalabhimantrana – Drinking the sacred water
 Purification of the body – This mantra varies slightly for morning, afternoon and evening. It asks for
forgiveness for the paapa for the previous time period. For example morning Sandhyavandane asks for forgiveness
for the paapa ( if any ) during night time.
Ex - If we stamp on someones leg unintentionally and immidiately says sorry; it is forgiven. If not it becomes a
reason for revenge even if it is not intentional.

6. Punarmarjana – Sprinkling of water on one’s body
 Re-cleaning the body

7. Paapa Purusha visarjana - draw in water from right and exhale from the left; this will destroy the paapapurusha
in our body
8. Suryarghya – Offering the sacred water to Lord Narayana residing in the sun god
 Solar energy is recognized as having enormous powers in purification, ripening of fruits, medicinal powers in
curing skin and other related diseases.
3 arghyas  and 1 parischiita argya ( within 24 minutes of Sandhya kaala )
Surya needs to rise and set. 30 crore mandheha rakshasas try to stop the sun.
1 agrya - destorys their weapons
2 argya - destroys their chariot
3 argya - destroys the rakshasas
Without this argya, we lose the oppurtunity to perform seva and it becomes a paapa. Surya arghya ensures good
health.
Gayathryat anajalim dhyadvat dhyatva surya gatam Harihi
For Ladies "Bharati Ramana MukhyaPranantargata Surya Antargata Bharati Ramana MukhyaPranantargata Sri Lakshmi
Narayana idam argyam idam argyam idam argyam"

9. Bhoototchatanam – Drive away bad elements from disturbing our concentration. All unwanted thoughts during Japa are stopped by Rudra Devaru ( Mano niymaka )

10. Asana - Requesting Bhoomi devi for seating during Japa ( Visualizing that Vishnu Kurma, Vayu Kurma, Sesha Devaru and Bhoomi on Seshas hood )

11. Guru Namaskara - 12 gurus ; Sri Gurubhyo nama, Parama Gurubhyo nama, SriMadAnandTeertha Bhagavadpadacharya Namaha, Sri VedaVyasa Namaha, Sri Bharatye namaha, Sri Saraswathye Namaha, Sri Vayuve Namaha, Sri Brahmane Namahe, Sri MahaLakshmaye Namaha, Sri Narayana Namaha

12. Nyasa
 12a. Karan Nyasa – Placing Bhagvad roopas Using Fingers
 12b. Anagan Nyasa – Placing Bhagvad roopas all over the body
 12c. Digbandhana - seals all directions and stops all distractions

13. 3 Pranayamas

14 . Dhyana Shlokas –
 Dhyana murthy of gayathri is Vishnu [Badri Narayana] [ surya antargata Narayana ] with two hands resting on knees seated on a throne with Bhu and Sri in padmasana ] shankh chkra gada padma . surrounding the murthy is ashta narayana murthy of , vishwa taijas , pragnya turiya , atma , antaratma , gnyanatma and paramatma . lord has kaustubh mani , har , kirit , kundal [ makar] radiant as 1000 crores of sun , there is srivasta chinha on his chest. you must do sandhyavandane with this dhyana

15. Japa – Repetition of the Gayatri Mantra 10/100 /1000 or more no. of times and reciting the Narayana mantra
three times the no. of times one has recited the Gayatri mantra
 Sharpens the mind, leads to clear and sharp thinking, memory and leads to personal upliftment.

bhuhu - poorna
bhuvaha - Lakshmi(bhu) pati (vaha- superior )
suvaha - Ananda + Gynana
Tat - sarvatra vyapta
Savitu - creator of all
varenyam  - worshipped by all
bharga devasya - A God, carrying all the world
dheemahi -  Pray to
dheeyo - yonaha - prachodeyat - May such a God, please inspire me in the right direction
Sri Krishna tells in Bhagavad Gita that he is the giver of intellect.
Japa is repetition ( prachodeyate prachodeyat... )

16 . Narayana Ashtakshara Mantra – This is done 3 * ( no of Gayatri Mantra ) for Siddhi
 This is mentioned in Sadachara Smruti of Srimadacharya

17. Dignamskara – Prayer to the presiding deities of all the directions
 To get protection and success in all the 10 directions
Devate Namaskara
Mata-Pita Namaskara - All janmas
Pitru Namaskaras
Sandhya Namaskara

18. Durga Mantra & Vishnu Mantras
Jatadevasya (Sri Parshurama, Sri Durga Devi and Agni devaru stotra)...
tacharon yavarani ( release the happiness )
Bheesham stavaraja stotra - Namo Brahmanaya Devaya GoBrahmanaya Hitayacha Jagaddritaya Krishnaya Govindaya Namaha
Akashaat patitam toyam
Durga stotra - khalu durga devyo
Vasudeva roopa to obtain moksha - Vasanath Vasudevasyo
Sri Vishnu Sahasranama
Benefits of Abhivadanam - Dhirga Ayu, Vidya, Balam, Yash ( benefits of Namaskara )

19. Pravara with Gotra ( Ex. Yajushakaya Dhyaya, Srivatsa Gotra)

20. Krishnarpana – Offering the actions at the feet of Lord Krishna
 This completes the activity and gives it all the relevance. An action which is not offered on the feet of the Lord is useless and meaning less

21. Namatraya Japa – For any faults or shortcomings – Achyuta , Ananta and Govinda names are chanted three times –
This can be followed for all worship

To reiterate everything is for Shri Hari Preeti and is possible because of Shri Hari Prerna as stated each time in
the sankalpa.
Benefits of Sandhyavandanam
vishayo dheerga sandhyatvat dheergam aayu avapyanuhu - Manu Smriti
Pragyam yasha keerthitaha, brahma varchas. Ashwattamas Narayana Astra & Brahma Sheera Astra is both Gayatri Mantra
Similarly any aashriwada given fructifies for those with Gayatri Mantra siddhi.

Gayatri Mantra as saara of Vedas

Aa -> Aa + Uu + Ma -> bhuhu + bhuvaha + Suvaha ( matrikas ) -> Tat savitur varenyam + bargo devasya dheemahi +
dheeyo yonaha prachodeyat
Aum -> Aa + Uu + Ma + nada + bindu + ghosha + shanta + atishanta ->  51 letter Aa - Ksha -> 3 vargas Purusha Sukta
-> Rig Veda from 1st Varga, Yajur Veda from 2nd Varga and Saam Veda from 3rd Varga
Hence Gayatri Mantra is packed with Ananta Vedas

Lopa of Sandhyavandane

Source : chiraan.wordpress.com

When there is lopa of one sandhya sandhyavandana one gives additionl arghya as prayashcitta
If there is continuous lopa, then sanskara ceases; so one becomes vrat.
So vratyastoma homa has to be undergone and again upanayana sanskaar is done; this is janevu ceremony again.
Incidentally a recital of vishnu sahsranaam with meaning is equivalent to punahsanskaara; similarly sutra parayana
as each letter of sutra parayan gives phala of 24000 gayatri
Also 1000 japa of purushsukta gives punahsanskaara and 100000 ashtakshari gives deha shuddhi so those who have had
upanayana [ bramhins ] and due to foreign travel or shudra/mletcha stree sansarga /maans bhakshana or due to
irregular sandhya owing to night shifts etc feel like regaining bramhanatva [ sign of loss of bramhanatva is
mantra does not give phala, tejas of face dies down .....irregular breath ..... loss of capacity to command others
......... no screen/scene presence all these show loss of ojas ] in such cases the above remedies help.
Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Thursday, August 4, 2011

NagaPanchami

Hare Srinivasa !!!


Reciting the Sesha and Subramanya Stotras today and tommorow will give all the desires , relieve naagdosha, fear of snakes, relief from planetary afflictions, diseases due to abhichara ,sade sati ,ashtam shani, sashta guru dosha, astangata dosha,debilitated planets effects,skin diseases

Reciting 1000 times will increase satvik nature day by day ….. will give karyasiddhi


सर्पराजस्तुति ः

फणाष्टदलशेखरम् धृतसुवर्णपुंजप्रभम् सवज्रवरभूषणम् नवसरोजरक्तेक्षणम् । सुवर्णमुकुटोज्ज्वलम सकलवांछितार्थप्रदम् नमामि शिरसा सुरासुरनमस्कृतम् वासुकीम् ॥ सहस्रवक्त्रम् द्विसहस्र जिव्हाम् पिशंगनेत्रम् कपिलाशुकाद्यम । विषायुधम् प्रोज्ज्वलदंष्ट्रबाहुंतम् नागराजम् प्रणतोस्मि नित्यम् ॥ सहस्रशीर्षम् जगदेककुंडलम् पीतांबरम् धूम्रसहस्रलोचनम् । उदारवीर्यम् विषदंष्ट्रकाननम् नमाम्यनंतम् भुवनैकनाथम् ॥



SarpaRaja stuti

Fana-ashta-dala-shekaram drutsuvarna-punjaprabham savajra-varabhushanam navasarojraktekshanam
Suvarna-mukutojjvalam sakala-vaancchitartha-pradam namani shirasaa sura-asura-namaskrutam vasukeem
sahasra-vaktram dwi-shashra-jivham pinshang-netram kapilaashukadhyam
vishayudham projjvaldamshtra-bahumtam nagarajam pranatosmi nityam
sashasra-shirham jagadeka-kundalam pitambaram dumrashastralochanam
udaryaveeryam vishadamtrakaananam namamya-anatam bhuvanaikanaatham


सुब्रह्मण्यद्वादशनाम

शृणु पुत्र प्रवक्ष्यामि नराणामिष्टदम् परम् । सुब्रह्मण्यद्वादशनामस्तोत्रम् शुभप्रदम् ॥ प्रथमम् स्कंद इत्युक्तः शक्तिधारी द्वितियकम् । हेमचूडस्तृतीयम् तु भद्रसेनश्चतुर्थकम् ॥ भवानीजः पंचमम् तु भवपुत्रश्च षष्ठकम् । अन्नदानादिशीलश्च सप्तमम् कुक्कुटध्वजः ॥ अष्टमम् नवमम् चाथ मयूरवरवाहनः ॥ दशमम् च गुहः प्रोक्तो देवसेनापतिस्तथा ॥ एकादशम् द्वादशम च महासेनः प्रकीतितः । द्वादाशैतानी नामानि षण्मुखस्य महात्मनः ॥ त्रिकालम् यः पठेनित्यम सर्वाभिष्टमवाप् नुयात । सर्पबाधाप्रशमनम्सर्वसिद्धिकरम् शिवम् ॥ गृहपीढ्ाहरम् व्याधिदुःखदोषनिवारकम् ॥ गोप्यादगोप्यतरम् स्तोत्रम् त्वयि स्नेहात्प्रभाषितम् ॥

Subramanya Dwadasha Nama

Shrunu putra pravakshyami narayanamistadam param
Subryamanya-dwadasha-nama-stotram shubapradam
prathamam skanda ityuktaha shaktidhari dvithiyakam
hemachudas-tritiyam tu bhadrasenashravatuarthakam
bhavaneejaha panchamam tu bhavaputrashrava shashtakam
anndaanadesheelshrava saptamam kukkutadhvajaha
ashtamam navamam chaatha mayuravahanaha
dashama cha guha prokto devasenapatistha
ekadahsam dwadasham cha mahasenaha prakithitaha
dwadasheetaani naamani shanmukhasya mahatmanha
trikalam yaha patenityam sarvabhishtamvaap nuyaat
sarpabaadhaprashmanama-sarvasriddhikaram shivam
gruhpeedamheeram vyadhidoshanivarakam
gopyaadgopataram stotram tvayii snehatprabhashitam

Source : http://wp.me/plbXz-g5

Any mistakes are solely mine

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Nishkaam Karma


Nishkaam karma means don’t expect a reward, but you have to expect the results. If you don’t expect results, then how can you do karma correctly and with resolve.
If you don’t aim for a target and expect to hit the target, there is no way you can hit it. If you miss the target, can you say niskham karma and forget about the result? The action has to be goal oriented.
As explained, nishkaam means don’t expect a reward. Perform to the best of your abilities to win the match; but don’t expect the man of the match award. Your team winning has to be the goal i.e. the result; winning recognition for your efforts should not be the concern.

If the team is result oriented, then the team will perform on a merit basis. A star batsmen can be placed in the boundary or bat/pad position. The most economical bowler can be given more exposure. The opening batsmen can be sent down the order as and when the situation demands.

There was an experiment on Success in US, a certain person kept dunking the basket ball, thousands of times without missing even one shot. In his interview, he explained his thought process; he concentrated on the ball, how it felt, how high it bounced, how far away the hoop was, how active his arms were, how much force he need to apply.
At no point did he think about what had happened previously or how much he had acheived already or what would happen if he missed now ?

Staying with sports, let’s say a batsman hits a six; the crowd erupts, cheer leaders dance, action replays etc etc etc. Now the next ball, he cannot dvelve on the previous ball; he has to concentrate on maximising the score in this ball as well. Just because the previous ball was a six does’nt mean this ball is going to be a six as well.

One example is Akrura was bringing Sri Krishna and Balarama in his chariot to Mathura, on the way he stops at the Yamuna river to do his Sandhyavandana. Think about it, of all the excuses to skip Sandhyavandane this is probably the best; the person whom you are praying to is in your chariot. But Akrura alights from his chariot and performs Sandhyavandane in Yamuna and he is rewarded with Sri Narayana’s moola roopa darshana. Akrura was doing his nitya karma, he was not expecting any award (in fact he thought that Sri Krishna darshana was in itself was a huge reward); but he was graced with a wonderful wonderful reward.
Doing a result oriented action, is called Sankalpa. Sri Hari is called Satya Sankalpa, because whatever he desires happens. Our sankalpa has to be inline Sri Hari’s sankalpa; hence Jyoteesha helps us in this aspect.
Remember expecting results means we need to measure the effort applied, expecting rewards means you expect result irrespective of effort.

In this regard, we perform very little karma but reap extreme results. Also we perform extreme karmas but suffer very very little. Sri Hari is atyanta atyanta karanalu !!!

Sri Hari has provided us with so many opportunities for Sadhana we should utilize them with great zeal and thank him profusely for it. On the other hand if we criticize and complain about our situation all the time. It is a very big insult to Sri Hari’s sankalpa.

Sri Sri Sri 1008 Vishvesha Teertharu of Pejawar Mutt, gives a very nice analogy. The process to eat a Jackfruit is to cut it with a knife. Then apply oil on your hands and peel each fruit out of its covering.
Cutting with knife is gynana and applying oil to hands so that it does not get stuck is called Nishkaama karma.


Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Sunday, May 22, 2011

ParaMatha Kandana – II

Jai LakshmiNarasimha,
We have seen last post how Dvaita is different than the other mathas.
In principle Dvaita is the main truth. All other mathas are derivatives of these; a-dvaita ( not dvaita ) vishista a-dvaita (special case of not dvaita), etc.
Some people feel that Dvaita was formulated to counter advaita. While it is true that Acharya has countered advaita specifically, Tattvavada disproves all theories that question scriptures(Baudha), question God (Charvaka or Tarka) or claim that we will transform into God in any state ( advaita, vishishta advaita)
advaita is the work of demons, let us take historical examples.
i)hiranyakashipu claimed himself to be God and demanded that tributes be paid to him instead
ii)paundarika vasudeva considered himself to be krishna
iii)many people thought of Sri Krishna as human being
iv) kalyavana thought Muchukunda was Sri Krishna.
Let us take each case
i) hiranyakashipu claimed himself to be GOD
According to advaita, he should have realized GOD with such a chintane why such a terrible fate.
On the other hand, Bhakta Prahlada was the emodiment of Dasoham attitude, what did he achieve?
One blog I saw, gave an explaination that hiranyakashipu’s chintane was correct but he was not humble, hence he was killed. Prahalad on the other hand was humble hence he was saved.
This utterly absurd logic, ahankara is claiming to be someone greater than who you are. According to advaita if everyone is GOD; then where is the question of ahankara. Conversely what is humility, claiming yourself to lesser than your true capability.
If everything is brahma then what is the use of these two things and why should we even bow to Guru. Bowing to Guru will be like bowing to ourselves. SriMadacharaya raises this objection on the first day, his guru teaches the first shloka of advaita.
See how dangerous this line of thought is, and where it reaches. In fact it reaches to a point that God is just by chance God.
How can anyone even compare Tattvavada to a philosophy like this ? In fact SriMadAcharya proves that it is not a philosophy at all.
Result of Eeshoham chintane.
ii) paundarika vasudeva was an ally of jarasandha, he was defeated by Sri Krishna in the battle for Sri Rukumani Devi. he felt very disappointed; his subjects to cheer him up praised him to Sri Krishna and Vishnu incarnate. he himself started believing it and challanged Sri Krishna to handover his discus and mace over. Sri Krishna went to war with him, on arriving Sri Krishna found paundarika vasudeva dressed exactly like Sri Krishna.
Sri Krishna cuts his head off.
Result of Eeshoham chintane
iii) the kauravas always considered Sri Krishna as a magician and refused to believe he was GOD.
Result of Not beliving Sri Hari is sarvothamma; kula naasha.
iv) kalayavana chases Sri Krishna into a cave, every time Sri Krishna seems to be in his grasp but Sri Krishna escapes into the cave. he mistakes sleeping Muchakunda to be Sri Krishna and kicks him, he opens his eyes and instantly reduces kalayvana to ashes.
Result of thinking a jeeva as Sri Hari (beware baba believers)
In each case we see bheda gynana being propounded.
Bheda Gynana is of five types.
Jiva-Eshwara Bheda ( Jeevas are not GOD)
Jiva-Jiva Bheda ( all Jeeva are not equal ) – Taratamya Gynana
Jiva-Jada Bheda ( Jeevas and non living things are not equal) –
Jada-Eshwara Bheda ( God are Non living things are not equal ) – GOD is in idol; idol itself is not GOD.
and Jada-Jada Bheda ( All Non living things are not equal ) – Saligrama is different from other types of stone, etc.
This whole world is called pra-pancha because of the five fold bheda.
Bheda Gynana is Gynana. Think about it, the ability to differentiate is Gynana. Let’s take music, can people say all music is one, the ability distinguish between ragas, each note, each swara, tala is called gynana. The more you are able to distinguish and discriminate the more gynana a person has.
Many people claiming to be atheists have converted to Tattvavada after listening to it. The reason I’m telling this is that philosophies like advaita, create a horrible image of God and people prefer to be atheists than to follow advaita.

Any mistakes are solely mine.

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Dvaita Supremacy over other schools of thought

Jai Lakshmi Narasimha !!!

Shastra is divided into two categories : SwaMatha Stapana and ParaMatha Khandana.

These are some of the statements which are floating around the internet.
God – An Advaita or Dwaita or Vishishtadvaita ?
- every person has his own differen view and explanation about God. All the theories are based on guess.No one has evidence to support his view.
- God is an ‘ADVAITEE’. He has free will to be a ‘dwaiti’ and also ‘vishistadvaiti’. O.kay.
- Advaita – God is universe, including you & me
- These 3 are the color of the glasses. God will appear in a color through which you see Him.
- All the three are the ways to lead us to God. Hence all 3 are the forms of God
- These were some of the ways to define God who is beyond words.
- Even if someone prefers to worship other Gods, it ultimately reaches Govinda (Keshavam prati gachhathy). Instead of handing over the letter directly, why send it through a post man. The sages tell us Narayana resides in each and every one of us and He is closer to us than we are to ourselves (and therefore there is no need for a post man)
- all the three philosophies have an equal place in the system of Vedanta and it is just natural that each one considers his own system superior to the other.

#1
These are just some of the millions of statements and feelings of a lot of people. In fact people get angry when disproving advaita, to the extent that they say “Sri HariVayuStuti” is not be chanted since it condemns shankara.
Firstly this is an extension of their philosophy of abheda (non difference), hence they try not to see any difference in the philosophies. Dvaita is the only one that strongly propounds bheda, so being true to our philosophy let us examine the bhedas between the concepts.
advaita, vishishta advaita, bheda abheda, shudh advaita, kevala advaita, etc. all other schools of thought propound that we will become God at some level or another, famous example we are sparks of fire and we return to the fire.

Dvaita alone says that you were never God and will never be. If you claim to be GOD in anyway or at any stage; then you don’t know about GOD at all. Even a spark of GOD is infinite; and infinite is something that cannot be even fathomed forget becoming it.

Sri Hari is nirdosha, sakala guna paripoorna, sadchidananda, ananta ananta guna paripoorna with such qualities how can anyone stake a claim to be GOD.
Ex. Sri Krishna avataara is just a black hair of Sri Hari. He shows whole Vishwaroopa in that avataara. Even a part of infinity is infinity.

In “Pramana Lakshana”, SriMadhvacharya gives a detailed approach on what is proof, and what can be expected as proof?

Pratyaksha pramana is one such proof. Let me give an illustration; lets say the itenary of a person X says he’s supposed to be in a meeting at 1:00 PM; but you see him in the canteen at that time. Seeing him in the canteen overrides his itenary therefore; he is present in the canteen and not in the meeting.

If you try to argue just on the basis of his itenary that he is not X or that he has not seen X; then it is a foolhardy logic.

Applying this pramana, Sri Hari is Sakala guna paripoorna this is anubhava; can anyone else prove to be complete or incomplete. Sri Hari is sarvatra vyapta, Sri Hari is present everywhere; are you present everywhere?

Each guna is ananta in Sri Hari, can anyone claim to swim across the ocean, let alone be the ocean. I’m just trying to iterate bheda theory because all other philosophies at some or other point claim to merge with GOD.
Dvaita on the other hand, clearly proves that even in Moksha you are seperate from GOD. If you jump into the ocean, you don’t become the ocean you are just a body in the ocean. Even in Mukti, by GOD’s grace you experience happiness; but you never become GOD.
No matter how shastras are interpreted if this conclusion does not come forth, then it is a waste of intellectual effort.
* Note we have already seen “Swantantro Bhagvan Vishnuh”; if you are not independent then you cannot be Sri Hari. End of Discussion!!!

#2
The mother of all such statements is that Dvaita is the first stage of spiritual development, Vishishta Advaita is the next step and the last step is advaita.
The problem with this statement, is that people even if they are convinced of Dvaita, they quote this and escape. It then becomes a matter of faith and not of pramana.
As per my research, this statement has been made by Appaya Dixit. A little about Appaya Dixit, before his statement; he was Sri 1008 Vijayendra Swami’s contemporary. Starting from the introduction, he used everyday attack Dvaita and everyday he would be defeated by Sri Vijayendra swamy. His frustration is evident in many of his statements and works. Sri Vijayendra swami has the highest number of works attributed to a Madhva Yati (100+) and most of them are in response to appaya dixit’s works.
With this background, it is easy to see why he would have provided a faith based back door exit, when all other arguments fail. In fact appaya dixit is a renowned scholar in advaita world; but the whole picture is he used to massively fall short and was frustrated every day by Sri Vijayendra Teertharu.
#3
Instead of handing over the letter directly, why send it through a post man
This obviously questions taratamya and Vayu Jeevotama tattva. There are plenty of shastras that can be quoted as to why all souls have to approach Vayu devaru for mukti.
Taking the same example; Mukti is an official application, even if you live next door to the centre; the application will be accepted officialy only if you post it.
Sri Hari Vayu Stuti mentions that Vayu Devaru takes all the mukti yogya souls and makes recommendations to give Moksha to the souls. This recommendation alone is considered and Sri Hari decides based on this recommendation.
We are talking about scoring very very high marks in our life examination. Hence we need to manage time and answers need to be as per the shastras not as per intellect. If it really is so easy and anyone can do anything, then why need scriptures at all.There are numerous ways to fail and numerous ways to pass; but for Rank students all their papers will be similar and few.
Dvaita is an shinning parade of such Rank Holders !!!
I’m just comparing, one aspect of the conclusions; without going into the derivation. We can get into detailed discussion of each claim and see how great Dvaita is compared to the other claims. Lot of people consider it just another approach; but Scholars who dwell on it know that it is not just great; but it is by miles and miles the best approach.

Any mistakes are solely mine.

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Swatantro Bhagawan Vishnuh

Swatantro Bhagawan Vishnuh !!!

Tattva Sankhyana is a very unique grantha of SriMadacharya (part of Sarvamoola). It brings out the complete supremacy of Sri Vishnu in a very unique way.
The first shloka classifies the entire beings/things into two categories Swatantra ( Independent ) and Aswatantra ( Dependent )
Definition of Tattva
Pramiti vishayai iti avarta, tattva anavarat Pramiti vishayai iti avarta

Swatantra-aswatantram cha dvividham tatvamishyate
Swatantro Bhagawan Vishnuh bhava-bhavo dvidhetarata`|| TS – 1

Lakshmipati padambhojayugam natvaa gururopi
karishye tatvasankhyananavyakhyanam naativistaram` || Mangalacharana shloka of Teeka by TeekAcharyaru

Swatantro Bhagawan Vishnuh !!!
Sri Vishnu is Swantantra !!!
Teekacharya defines swatantra as
swaroopa-pramiti-pravrutti-lakshana-satta-traivide-paranapakshe-swatantram
Swaroopa – existance/roopa
pramiti – knowledge
pravrutti – behaviour/action
One who is not dependent on anyone for their existance, knowledge and action at any point of time is considered as truly independent.

All through shastras Sri Hari alone exhibits this complete independence.
Swaroopa – Sri Krishna is born with complete clothes, jewellery and Shanka, Chakra, Padma and Gada
Sri Narasimha appeared from a pillar ( non living thing giving birth to living )
Sri Narasimha roopa itself shows non binding to prakriti.
Sri Trivikrama shows roopa that prevades whole brahmanda
Sri Krishna shows infinite Vishwaroopa many times in various forms
Every avataara of Sri Hari is an appearance and not a birth, hence Sri Hari is not dependent on anyone for Swaroopa
Pramiti – Sri Hari himself propogates the vedas to Brahma Devaru, further more all the Vedas personfied themselves praise Sri Hari what else is knowledge?
Pravrutti – Sri Hari himself gives boons to Sri Brahma Devaru and Lord Shiva; who else can be self sufficient
Sri Krishna himself shows plenty of times that he is completely independent of all the devatas put together
One important point to note, is that MahaLakshmi is dependent on Sri Hari, in fact it is the only “defect” of MahaLaxmi.

Sri Hari is sarva tantra swatantra; completely independent. Therefore he has no defects, only one who is independent can claim to be defect free. Being Swatantra, Sri Hari can remove all doshas ( this just an illustration of swatantrata as Sri Hari is nirdosha )

Sri Hari is Ananta Ananta guna poorna.
1st Ananta – Quantity – Infinite number of gunas
2nd Ananta – Quality – Each Guna is infinite
So the entire ananta jeevas along with MahaLaxmi put together cannot enumerate all the gunas of Sri Hari; infact they cannot completely understand even 1 guna of Sri Hari; this will help shedding light on the infinite swatantra of Sri Hari
In stark contrast, we are subjected to aswatantra at every stage of our life. Right from getting up in the morning; each and every object/person we use or need signifies our aswatantrata. Infact needing something/someone itself is aswatantrata.
Sri Hari needs no one/nothing at any point of time. At the other end of the spectrum; jeevas are dependent on Sri Hari for each and every aspect.
All jeevas are dependent on something or other; a president/prime minister is dependent on his cabinet to decide and then implement his decision, army is dependent on people and arms, farmer is dependent on rain and sun, banks are dependent on money, countries are dependent on other countries or their own produce/climate, the whole word is dependent on Vayu. Brahma/Vayu are dependent on MahaLaxmi and MahaLaxmi herself is dependent on Sri Hari.
In this way each and every time, we use an instrument or take someone’s help; we can do chintane of Sri Hari’s swatantra tattva.

In this context, Sri Hari, full decorated (MahaLaxmi manifests as his ornaments) reclining on his serpent bed on Ksheera Sagara with MahaLaxmi pressing his feet makes complete sense now as he is completely Swatantra. Reaching Sri Hari's residence ( Vaikunta ) is called Moksha (freedom from bondage or Independence from Samsara). Sri Krishna completely nullifies our paapa and frees us from it's burden because that is his characteristic (One who is completely independent helping us achieve independence to our fullest limit).

In a nutshell, Sri Hari who is completely free, helps us achieve our freedom so that we can reach the land of total freedom.

With such infinite qualities of Sri Hari, the advaitins claim of being God himself is to be strongly chided; it is akin to throwing dust in the eyes so that people don’t appreciate the beauty of the sun.

Understanding/Manana of this tattva more and more is important because understanding of other Gunas of Sri Hari flows from this basis. With this tattva in mind, if Ramayana, Mahabharata and other shastras are read, the true meaning will become clearer.
Yat Bhava tat bhavati – Meditating on such a Sarva Tantra Swatantra Sri Hari will also help us acheiving independence to our fullest limit.
Every person desires happiness, this happiness avoids us as we become dependent/addicted to lesser things. Being dependent on Sri Hari Vayu alone is true dependence and this alone will ensure that we will become truly independent in all aspects of life to our fullest capacity.

Any mistakes are solely mine.

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Friday, April 15, 2011

RigBashya of SriMadhvacharya

 Jai VijayaDasaru !!!
Jai Bedi Anjaneya !!!
JAI SRI RAM !!!!





Alleged Classification of the Vedas and the schools of thoughts

advaitis classified the Vedas into Gynana Kanda (Upanishads and knowledge) and Karma Kanda ( dealing with rituals )
Advaitis pay more importance to Gynana Kanda and ignore Karma Kanda. This way they can skip over the explicitly dualistic parts and pay importance only to a few statements in Upanishads upon which their philosophy is placed.
All other schools agree to this classification and chose their corner.
Purvamimasikas chose Karma Kanda and lay more stress on Karma rather than Gynana
Buddhists reject both sections as they don’t accept the Vedas at all
Nayayika’s accept both but not as the main proof (also accept Vedas)
Foreign authors translating Vedas trying to retrofit it into their “biblical” frame of mind, claim it was written by nomadic poets while being drunk on Soma.
People with no other background, trying to read only Vedas; come to the conclusion that Indra is a Vedic God and Vishnu (Sri Krishna) is a puranic God.
In the face of all these challenges we shall examine Sri Madhvacharyas Rig Bashya and see how it clears all the confusion

I All vedas are sacred there is no classification, wherein we can ignore certain verses.
SriMadacharya questions this classification itself, with the following proofs
I
Mundaka Upanishad 1.4 -1.5
tasami sa hovaca: dve vidye veditavye iti ha sma yad brahmavido vadanti para caivapara ca.
tatrapara rig-vedo yajur-vedah sama-vedo ‘tharva-vedah shiksha kalpo vyakaranam niruktam chando jyotisham iti. atha para yaya tad aksharam adhigamyate.
The Atharvana(Mundaka) Upanishad states that there are two levels of knowledge viz. paravidya and aparavidya
The primary source of these two levels of knowledge is one and the same. The Vedas and Vedanga constitute this source. The ritual
knowledge obtained from these constitutes Aparavidya while the knowledge of Akshara i.e. the supreme GOD is ParaVidya. The latter is philosophical meaning.
Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda, phonetics, ritual, grammar, etymology, meter, and astronomy are all AparaVidya. Superior knowledge is what brings one to the imperishable Supreme.
Mundaka Upanishad 2.1
tad etat satyam mantreshu karmani kavayo
     yany apashyams tani tretayam bahudha santatani
tany acaratha niyatam satya-kama
     esha vah panthah sukritasya loke
The Supreme is eternal and real. The rites that the great mystics saw in mantras are recorded in the three Vedas. Desiring the Supreme, you should perform those rites. That is the path of piety in this world.
II
Bhagavad Gita 15.15
vEdaischa sarvaihi ahamEva vEdyO
All the Vedas describe Sri Krishna alone
III
KATOPANISHAD 1.15
sarve veda yat padamamananti
tapagmsi sarvani ca yad vadanti
That form which all the Vedas indicate, and all the penances they describe to realise it
No where has the vedas have been divided as proposed, all the rituals in the Vedas lead to the Gynana is also confirmed in the second line as well.
Therefore it removes the psuedo sheild created, all the philosophies are now answerable to all statements of the Vedas.

II Summary of all the Vedas is Sri Krishna

The entire Veda has philosophical meaning and conveys the supreme GOD.
I
Bhagavad Gita 15.15
vEdaischa sarvaihi ahamEva vEdyO
All the Vedas describe Sri Krishna alone
II
KATOPANISHAD 1.15
sarve veda yat padamamananti
tapagmsi sarvani ca yad vadanti |
Yadicchanto brahmacharyam charanti
tate padam sangrahena bravimyomityetat ||
Yama said: ‘That word (or place) which all the Vedas record, which all penances proclaim, which men desire when they live as religious students, that word I tell thee briefly, it is Om

III Meaning of Gayatri Mantra

OM      – Ashesha Goona Purana – Narayana
BHUR    – poorana
BHUVAHA – bhuti varaha – bhuti ( Lakshmi ) + varaha ( Husband ) = Sri Lakshmi Narayana
SUVAHA  – su + vaha – Sukha + anata = Ananta Sukha
- Therefore the meaning of the Vyaghratis are Narayan, Poorna, husband of MahaLakshmi and full of Ananta Sukha
TAT     – Gunaihi tataha – tat means Vyapta – Present everywhere with all Gunas
SAVITUR – pra savituhu – jagat savitaha – creator of the Universe
VARENYAM – vareniyaha – bhajaneyah – worshipped by everyone;
BHARGA – bharati gynana roopatva – bha + rati – Gynana roopas
DEVASYA – devaha gunotehe – Filled with Gunas
DEEMAHI – akila janerniya deehaha – Giver of Gynana to everybody
DHEYOYO NAHA PRACHODEAT – asheha buddhi naam preraka – Giver of all budhi and to everyone. (Quantitative and Qualitative)
Purusha – sa poornatva puman nama – there Purusha means Poorna ( Guna Poorna )
Om -> Gayatri ( 3 padas ) -> Purusha Sukta (3 vargas) -> Vedas ( Therefore each word of Veda talks about Sri Narayana )

IV All the words in the Vedas mean Sri Krishna

I Akashat Patitam toyam yata gachati sagaram | sarva deva namaskara keshavam prati gachati ||
II
vede ramayane caiva purane bharate tatha
adavante ca madhye ca visnu sarvatra giyate |
Harivamsa
“In the Vedas, Ramayana, Puranas and the Mahabharata, from the beginning till end, and also in the middle, Visnu is glorified everywhere.”
III In fact all the devatas have kept the name of Sri Hari just we name kids after Gods and great personalities all Gods have taken names of the Supreme God Sri Krishna.
Rig Veda 10.82.3 ( Vishakrama Sukta )
Yo devanam namadha eka eva
tam samprashanam bhuvana yantyanya
The name giver of all God is one; other Gods come to inquire of him
Rig Veda 1.164.46
Indram Mitram Varunamagnimahuratho divyaha sa suparano garutamaan |
Ekam sadvipro bahuda vandyatyagnim yamam maatarishwaanmaahuh ||
‘They (the men of wisdom) call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is the heavenly, noble-winged Garutman. The God is one, but sages call it by many names; they call it Agni, Yama, Matarishvan (and so on).
* Interestingly maatarishwan is the name of Vayu Devaru  Ref Vayu Stuti – Matarame Maatarishwan
Each verse/word of Vedas have atleast 3 levels of meanings as stated in Skanda Purana
1. Agryadidevataparatvena
2. tadantargatavishnuparatvena
3. adhyatmaparatvena
trayoarthaha sarvavedeshu dasharthah sarvabharate
vishnon sahasranamapi nirantarasatarthakam || Skanda Purana
Vedas have at least three meanings, Mahabharata has atleast ten meanings and Vishnu Sashranama has at least 100 meanings for each word.
* Note SuMadhvaVijaya records that in Kerala, SriMadhacharya demonstrated 100 meanings for the word Vishvam.
For Instance the Agni in the verse agnimile purohitam conveys both Agni and Vishnu; just like the word Ganga is used to indicate Ganga pravaha and Ganga Gatira
Another way of looking at it is, if the definition of Agni is to burn, then Agni has this characterstic but Sri Hari has it infinitness as he can burn the whole brahmanda with just a side glance.
So Agni primarirly means Sri Hari and then Agni devata.
Objections to this method of interpretation
1) Some people may raise objection that that the same word having two different meanings will cause the sentence to have two different meanings hence causing vakhyabehda.
SriMadAcharya clarifies that vakhyabheda arises only if the two meanings are conveyed by the same vritti. For Example the word aksha means chariot wheel and dice play.
In this case two sentences are need to accomodate both the meanings. However Agni etc words are conveyed by two different vrtti. pramamukyavrtti and mukyavrtti therefore does not lead to vakhyabheda
2) If all hymns convey Vishnu then why have separate names as AgniSukta etc, why not name them all as Vishnu Suktas.
This objection does not hold good as Sri Hari has to be meditated upon as being persent or antaryami in these dieties.
Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 6-2-21
Parokshapriya iva hi devaha
Aitareya Upanisad 2-4-3
pratyaksadishaha
Srimad Bhagavatam 11-21-35
paroksham mama cha priyam
All the quotes prove that Lord  likes only when referred to in a secret way. Devatas are interested in being referred to, openly but only in a secret way and they like such procedure. To be praised by so much clear words, they may not like.

V Rishis, Devata and Chandas

This is a critical point to understand, because all foreign authors intrepret this as the authors.
Vedas are authorless, then what is the point of Rishis? Rishis are the discoveres of the Vedas, by worshipping Sri Hari Vayu they make their minds pure and Saraswathi Devi blesses them and they are able to “see” the Vedas.
“Drushtva” is a term that has no real translation in English, so seeing is a loose translation.
Most importantly it is not the product of the “fertile imagniation of Aryan poets drunk on Soma” as is popularly believed in the West.
The fact that Vedas reveal themselves to the worthy, explains the importance of Guru. Without a proper Guru, we can never understand the depths of the Vedas. If we try to read only the Vedas without proper initiation we’ll wind up with useless meanings and wind up in misery.
SriMadAcharya gives the Rishi hierarchy.
|
Hayagriva Rupa Paramatma
|
ChaturMukha Brahma Vayu – Brahmani Bharati
|
Rudra Sesha Garuda aitesham patnyaha
|
Shakradyaha – aitesham patnyaha
|
Dakshadyah
|
Sankadyaha
|
Manvaha
This is the overall hierarchy. If there is a mantra for which you don’t know the rishi; just say Narayana Rishih :) simple trick taught by SriMadAcharya.
For the Vedas
RigVeda – Shakra
YajurVeda – Surya
SamaVeda – Soma
Atharvangirasa – Agni
Atharvana – ekarshi
There are Rishis for each of the whole veda, separate Rishis for each hymn. For some hymns more than one Rishi is acceptable; as this means that more than one Rishi discovered that hymn.
SriMadAcharya also states that one who masters a hymn twelve times is also a Rishi for that hymn.
* This discovery concept clears the confusion that may arise that one hymn has many rishis
The greatness has of ChaturMukha Brahma has to be admired in the fact that he was able to grasp the whole Vedas in one shot.
Here, a ticklish question is raised. In certain hymns, the Risi asks for a chariot, etc worldly things. In certain others, an appeal is made to free from the bondage.
For such hymns, Visnu or Brahma cannot be Risis. Therefore, the position that these are the Risis for the entire Veda cannot be justified. This is clarified by pointing out that the
statements in these hymns are seen as the future statements to be made by Sunashyepa etc persons concerned. The supreme GOD knows things that take place in future and are
recorded in Vedas. These are not the statements of GOD himself.
VI Glossary of the Vedas
Sri Veda Vyasa has create a unique glossary of words that needs to used when deciphering the meanings of words in the Vedas called Vyasa Nirukti.
For a detailed view on the 1st Sukta “Agni Mile Purohitam” see “RigBhashya Agni Suktam”

VII SriMadBhagavatam has an entire chapter (10-87) wherein all the Vedas personified go and pray to Sri Vishnu in the ksheera Sagara

Any mistakes are solely mine.

References
Rig Bashya Introduction on www.tatvavada.org
http://vyasamadhwa.org/upanyasa/SarvamoolaGranthagalu/0111RigBhashyaM001.mp3
http://gyanasampat.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12:prameya-ratna-no-1-sri-hari-vayu-stuti&catid=3:prameya-ratna&Itemid=15

Sri VijayDasara antargata Bedi Anjaneya antargata Sri Lakshmi Venkatesha Swamy arpanamastu! Sri Krishnarpanamastu,

Hrishikesh

Monday, April 11, 2011

Sri Rama Navami

Jai Bedi Anjaneya !!!!

JAI SRI RAAM !!!




Sri Raghavendra Swamy has done us an extremely great service by condensing the entire Ramayana in just 12 shlokas. Without missing a single important event, in a way that Sri Hari Sarvothamma is proved. It's an immense contribution and should be part of everybody's morning shlokas.

Source http://www.gururaghavendra1.org/articles/rama.pdf

[ [ SREERAMA CHAARITRA MANJARI -ENGLISH TRANSLITERATION ] ] :-

<1> Sreemaanpoorva Prajaatho Dasharathanrupatey Ramanaamaatha Neetho
Vishwamitrena Mantraahrudhanujasahitasthaatakaam Ghaathakostram
Bramhaadhyaa Praapya Hanthvaa Nishicharanikaram YajgnnapaaloVimochyaa
Halyaam Shaapaachha Bamkthvaa Shivadhanurapayan
Jaanakeem Naha Praseedheyth||
<2> Aayan Ramaha Sabaaryodhwani Nijahasahajyrbaarghaveshvaasaropaath
Thadhgam. Hathvaa Suraareem Puraga Utha Nuthasthaapasyrboopaprustyhi
Kalyaanananthadharmogunalavarahithaha Praaninaamantharaathmeyth
Yaadhryuktaschaabhisheke Purajanamahitho Mahyathaam Mey Vachobihi||
<3> KykeyiPreethiheythoho Sahajanrupajo Valkalee Yaanaranyam
Gangaathaaree Guhaacharyaha Krutharuchirajato Geespatheyhey Putramaanyaha
Theerthva Krushnaam Prayaathovathu Nijamamalam Chitrakootam Prapannam
Svaambaabirbraatharam Tham Shruthajanakagathihi Saanthvayan
Vyupthatheerthaha||
<4> Dhatvaasmyi Paadhuke Sve Kshithibaranakrutho Preypya Tham Kaakanetram
Vyasyaaraadhyothrinamnaa Vanamatha Samitho Dandakam Thaapaseshtam
Kurvan Hathvaa Viraadham Khalakuladhamanam Yaachithasthaapasaagryi
Stheshaam Dhathvaabhayam Svaanasidhanurishudheen Yaanagasthyaathsa
Paayaath||
<5> Aaseenaha Panchavatyaamakurutha Vikruthaam Raakshaseem Yo Dhvisaptha
Thravyaadhaanamapyanekaanatha Kharamavadheedh
Dhooshanam Cha Thrisheersham
Maareecham Maargaroopam Dhashavadhanahruthaamaakruthim Boomijaayaa
Annvishynaanrthagrudhram Svagathimatha Nayan Maamaveth Ghann Kabandham||
<6> Pampaateeram Sa Gachhannihaa Kruthavasathihi Bakthithustaha Shabaryyi
Dathvaa Mukhtim Prakurvan Hanumatha Udhitam Praapthasugreevasakhyam
Saptha Chithvaatha Thaalaan Vidhivarabalino Vaalibith Sooryasoonum
Kurvaano Raajyapaalam Samavathu Nivaasam Malyaavathkandharesou||
<7> Nithvaa Maasaan Kapeeshaaniha Dhasha Harithaha Preshya Seetaam Vichanthyaa
Yaathsreemadhanumadhgirimatha Samanusruthya Gachan Kapeendryhi
Sugreevadhyrasankhyayirdhashamukhasahajam Maanayannabdhivaacha
Dhythyajnaha Seythukaaree Ripupurarudhavedha Vaanaryvyirighaathi||
<8> Bhagnam Kruthvaa Dhashaasyam Gurutharavapusham Kumbakarnam Nihathya
Pradhvasthaaseshanaagam Padhakamalanatham Thaarkshyamaanandha Ramaha
Sarvaanujeevayatham Giridharamanadhaschaajaneyaath Kapeen Svaan
Vijgnaanaastreyna Rakshan Samavathu Dhamayan Lakshmanaachhathrashatram||
<9> Thravyaadhaan Ghannasankhayaanapi Dhashavadhanam Bramhapoorvyhi Sureshyhi
Pushpyraakeeryamaano Huthavahavimalaamaapya SeetaamVidhaaya
Rakshonaatham Svabaktam Svapuramatha Gathaha Pusphakasthyhi Samasthyhi
Saamraajye Chaabhishiktho Nijajanamakhilam Maanayan Mey Gathihi Syaath||
<10> Rakshan Kshoneem Mamrudhaam Nutha Utha MunibheermaanayanVaayusoonum
Preshyaadhithyaathmajaadheen Vyathanutha Bharatam Youvaraajyenumaanya
Kaarye Soumitreemaarthashvagadhithakrudharignotha Shatrughnatho Yo
Hathvaasou Dhustashoodhram Dhvijasuthagubhaveth Kumbhajaanmaalabhaaree||
<11> Yajnam Thanvan Trikoteen Vyathathudhatha
Bharathaadhyosuraaneeshavaakyaadh
Yaasyaan Dhamaathreeputram Bhujeematha Sa Nayannathmasoonoo Svaraajye
Krutvaa Shreehreehanoomaadhruthavimalachalachaamarachhatrashobhee
Bramhadhyihi Sthooyamaano Nijapuravilasathpaadhapadhmovathaanmaam||
Ithi ShreeRamachaaritramanjaree Leshathaha Kruthaa|
Raghavendreyna Yathinaa Bhooyaadh Raamaprasaadhadhaa||


[ [ An Attempted IMPROMPTU LINE SUMMARY ] ]
<1> *MahaVishnu^ who took birth in the Name of Rama, son of Emperor Dasharatha,
along with His brother in the Tretha Yuga, Slew the she-demon Taataki who was
tormenting the performance of Yagna by Sage Vishwamitra. Lord Rama soon dispatched
all such sworn enemies of the righteous to their doom, and thereby protected the
performance of Yagna of the renowned sages. Lord Rama ‘Broke’ the mighty Bow of
Shiva, and won over Janaki, the lithe daughter of King Janaka. May Such a Lord be with
me always ||
<2> After the marriage, Lord Rama Left the Kingdom of Mithila accompanied by his
new bride. En route Lord Rama was challenged by the fierce BaarghavaRama. In the
ensuing battle, the demon Atula hiding inside Baarghva Rama was slain by the Lord.
Consequently the Lord was Hailed by renowned Sages as the Most Auspicious One and
as the Most Renowned One in all The Three Worlds. Such bravery and fame of the Lord
made Him most qualified for being Crowned as King. I Offer flowers of my Composition
At the Lotus Feet of such a Lord ||
<3> In order to please Mother Kaikeyi, Lord Rama headed towards the Forests
accompanied by his devoted wife and brother, all attired in ordinary clothes. Then with
the help of a devoted oarsman Guha Crossed the River Ganga. Lord Rama wearing
matted hair also crossed many Holy Rivers and Arrived at the famous and scenic place of
Chitrakoota. Here on learning about the demise of His father from His brothers’ and
mothers’ who had followed Him to the forests, The Lord Performed ceremonial ablutions
in memory of His departed Father, Emperor Dasharatha ||
<4>Bequeathing His Paadukaas to His brother Bharatha and thereby empowering him to
rule the Kingdom on His behalf, Lord Rama in due course Slew the demon Kakaasura ;
and accepted the hospitality of Sage Atri and was much revered by him. Lord Rama
entered the thick forests of Dandakaaranya and soon became the cynosure in the eyes of
all sages present there. In this forest Lord Rama granted Salvation to Sage Sharabanga
and slew evil demons before proceeding towards the Ashrama of Sage Agasthya where
He Accepted many powerful weapons ||
<5> While residing at Panchavati, Lord Rama was accosted by the terrible she demon
who expressed her desire to marry him. On account of which she herself was disfigured
in the bargain. Lord Rama also Slew the evil demons named Trishira, Khara, Dhooshana.
Lured by the treacherous deceit of Mareecha, The Lord’s wife was carried away by the
Ten headed demon Ravana. In search of His wife, Lord Rama Found the grievously
wounded Jataayu ||
<6> Arriving at the banks of River Pampa, Lord Rama Met the awaiting Shabari and
granted her redemption. Then on being requested by the valiant Hanumantha, Lord Rama
Extended friendship towards Sugreeva. Lord Rama also Demonstrated His Strength by
felling series of mighty Trees. Lord Rama later Slew the powerful Vali and enabled
Sugreeva to become King before retiring to the Malayavantha Mountain ||
< 7 > As months rolled by, Lord Rama, The Son of Kausalya dispatched His monkey
brigades in all direction in search of His Wife. Acting as per the Orders of Lord Rama,
Hanumantha, searched the four corners of the World before heading towards Lanka
Patna with many comrades and slew many demons there. A huge bridge was constructed
to move towards Lanka Patna. The surrender of Vibheeshana was accepted with open
arms ||
< 8 > After Slaying the gigantic demon Kumbhakarna who had joined battle alongside
the demon king Ravana, Lord Rama feigned as if bound by the powerful spells cast with
the invocation of poisonous serpents. Lord Rama later expressed His indebtedness to
Garuda for releasing one and all from the vicious coils of serpents. Soon, Hanumantha
arrived with the Mountain containing Sanjeevini herbs and instantly revived the entire
fallen monkey armies. Lord Rama accompanied by His brother Lakshmana later Slew the
deceitful Indrajit ||
< 9 > At the end of the battle, Lord Rama annihilated countless number of powerful
demons including the invincible Ravana. Then amidst showers of flowers raining down
from the Heavens as a sign of respectful obeisance offered by Celestials led by Bramha,
Lord Rama once again regained His beloved Wife Seeta. Accepting the offer of
Pushpaka Vimana by the humble Vibheeshana as a mark of gratitude, The Victorious
Lord Rama accompanied by His Wife, journeyed back towards Ayodhya to reclaim His
Kingdom ||
< 10 > Lord Rama Reigned over the Three Worlds in accordance to the wishes of
eminent sages and His subjects. Lord Rama Reigned Supreme as the most beloved master
of the devoted Hanumantha, as well as to the crown prince Bharatha and to the faithful
Lakshmana. Lord Rama proved to be the Sole Protector of all His subjects. In due course
Lord Rama Instructed Shatrughna to vanquish the evil Lavanaasura and Himself
punished the evil Shambuka ||
< 11 > Lord Rama soon Performed the famed Ashwamedha and enabled the valiant
Bharatha to slay many thousands of demons. Lord Rama then in accordance to the
request of Maha Rudra pacified Sage Doorvaasa with an array of sumptuous meals. Thus
Emperor Lord Rama Under Constant Salutations by All Reigned as a Mighty Emperor
being much decorated with many Royal Insignia. Thus Reigning over such a vast empire
Lord Rama proceeded towards the Heavens in Full Glory. May such a Lord Rama Protect
me always ||
< 12 > May Lord Rama bestow His Famed Benevolence on all those who continuously
study this Work Composed by Sreemadh Raghavendra Theertharu ||

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh

Sunday, March 20, 2011

RigVeda Bhashya ( Agni Sukta )

* Rig bhAShya *



Most translators term Vedas as a composition of  nomads by poets "drinking" Soma. It's ridiculous to think our immensely vast and rich culture eroded by such translators. This is a small effort to show how revered each sutra of the Veda is and how much we need a Guru to understand the true meaning of the Vedas. I've presented the popular English translations as a reference point to show how much of the mark they are. Interpreting Vedas requires a lot of knowledge; can you decipher a medical report using a dictionary? You need a medical dictionary at least, you need a specialist with experience to understand what the report really means. If you attempt a surgery based on the English dictionary meanings of the medical reports, can you imagine the state of the patient.

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवं रत्वीजम |
होतारं रत्नधातमम || Rig Veda 1.001.01

aghnimīḷe purohitaṃ yajñasya devaṃ ṛtvījam |
hotāraṃ ratnadhātamam || Rig Veda 1.001.01

* Translation by Griffith in 1896
I Laud Agni, the chosen Priest, God, minister of sacrifice,
The hotar, lavishest of wealth.

* Translation by Sa_yan.a and Wilson
1.001.01 I glorify Agni, the high priest of the sacrifice, the divine, the ministrant, who presents the oblation (to the gods), and is the possessor of great wealth. [Agni = purohita, the priest who superintends family rites; or, he is one of the sacred fires in which oblations are first (pura) offered (hita); deva: a god, the bright, shining, radiant; fr. div, to shine; or, one who abides in the sky or heaven (dyusha_na); or, liberal, donor (in the sense of giving); r.tvij = a ministering priest, he is also the hota_ (Aitareya Bra_hman.a 3.14), the priest who presents the oblation or who invokes or summons the deities to the ceremony; fr. hu, to sacrifice; or, fr. hve, to call; ratnadha_tama: lit. holder of jewels; ratna = wealth in general; figurately, reward of religious rites].

You can easily see that the first translation is a word by word translation. Vedas will never reveal their true meaning to people who don't do Sandhyavandane.
The second translation is slightly better because it references other texts, so immidiately it is clear that only one who has complete grasp of Vedas should even attempt to translate. But even this meaning is highly superficial as we shall see.

Srimadacharya has stated that the Vedas have three meanings. He has illustrated this by writing a commentary on about forty hymns or 'suktas' from the Rig veda, starting with 'AgnimeelE purOhitam', explaining how this Sukta is primarily a prayer to Lord Vishnu. As in the case of all his works, in this commentary also he has shown that the Vedas uphold the supremacy of Lord Vishnu and the dependence of all the gods (devatas) on Him. Srimadacharya has explained the importance of 'Rishi, Devata and Chandas" in reciting Vedas. This work should be treated as the guiding principle for interpreting Vedic hymns.

The bashya of SriMadAcharya is presented as follows:

Agni shabdo ayamagra evābhipoojyatām
Agryatvam-agra-netrtvamattim-añgāganetrtām.
Aha tam staumy-ashesasya purvameva hitam prabhum.
Rtvin-niyāmakatvena yajñānam-rtvijam sadā.
Dyotanañd-vijayāt-kāntyā stutyā vyavahrter-api.
Gatyā ratyā-ca devākhyam hotr-samastham visesatah.
Agni-samasthena rupena yato agnir-hotr-devatā.
Indiriyāgnisu cārthānām yaddhotā hotr-nāmakah.
Ratidhārakottamatvātsa ratnadhātama iritah.

Each and every word has the main meaning or mukhya-artha as Sri Hari. Even though the above translations as valid, they are superficial.

Agni Meaning 1)Agre evea abhipujyatvatvat agnih - The one who is worshipped first Sri Hari and Agni.
Agni Meaning 2)agre bhava uttamma - Agni also means superior, Sri Hari is superior to everyone, hence called Agni. Agni is superior to those he controls, but Sri Hari is superior to everyone.
Agni Meaning 3)agrya netrtva or pratham pravartakatva - First activator; Bhagwan Vishnu created the sentient and non-sentient creations and was the first activator. Similarly Agni is also the first activator in sentient and non-sentient under the direction of the super controller.
Agni Meaning 4)Attrtva - being the destroyer - Sri Hari destroyes the entire brahmanda at the end of the maha pralaya hence he is called Agni. Fire God Agni who is partaker of ghee (atta) in the sacrifice can also be called Attrtva and hence Agni
Agni Meaning 5)Anga neta and sharira pravartaka - Sri Hari activates all bodies hence he is called Agni, Agni by his presence also activates bodies hence he too is Agni
Agni Meaning 6)Aga-neta - Aga is that which cannot move on it's own. Sri Hari is sarva tantra svatantra; he is completely independent. Hence this whole brahmanda "Aga" is completely dependent on Sri Hari hence Sri Hari is called Agni

Note: Fire God Agni has some of attributes but in a limited manner. Sri Hari has all these attributes infinitely; and infinite number of attributes. Hence all the mantras have Sri Hari as their mukhya artha.

The remaining words purohitam, yajñasya, devaṃ, ṛtvījam, hotāraṃ and ratnadhātamam all praise Sri Hari's glory in the main.

Sri Hari is called purohitam as he is the "hita"-conductive to the world since time immemorial.

Sri Hari is called as deva (Effulgence,victory,shine,praiseworthiness,knowledge and bliss)

yagnasya rtvijam - Though Sri Hari is present in all the rtvik's or brahmins performing sacrifice; it is in hotā that he is present in Agni form. It is this form that is especially praised by Agni Sukta.
So yagnasya rtvijam - mentions that Sri Hari is present in all the hotas and also in the specific form in Agni Sukta.

Sri Jayatirtharu has given an expalination for each meaning and shown the reference of the shastra where the specific meaning has been used.

Some people are of opinion that since Acharya's RigbhAshya has explanations of only 3 chapters, it is incomplete work. But Sri Jayatheerta in his commentary to the work has cleared this doubt by mentioning "with the explanation given in the first chapters , one should get enough guidance to understand remaining part of Rig-veds, that is the reason why Acharya Madhwa did not give further explanations".
There is a strong understanding that Sri mAdhavatIrtha - direct disciple of Acharya Madhwa has followed the Acharya's RigbhAshya and given explanations of all other vEdas. guruguNastavana mentions that shrI rAghavEMdratIrtaru has given explanations for all the three other vedas following the style of RugarthamaMjari which inturn is based on the RigbhAshya and its commentaries. There is a unique commentary by Sri Jayateertaru for Acharya's Madhwa's bhAshya and it is saMbhaMdhadIpika. For saMbhaMdhadIpika,TippaNis by bidarihalli srInivAsatIrtharu, vidyAdhIshatIrtharu,his brother kEshavAchArya pAMDuraMgi, kaMbAlu rAmachaMdratIrtharu, satyanAthatIrtharu,ChalAri narasiMhAchAryaru and sumatIMdratIrtharu are available but only tippaNis by satyanAthatIrtharu,ChalAri narasiMhAchAryaru and bidarihalli srInivAsatIrtharu is published

* Reference : Tatvavada English Magazine, June 2010 , "Sri Madhvacharya's Vedic Insights"

Any mistakes are solely mine.

Jai Bharateesha,
Hrishikesh