Dakshinamurthy Stotram - Part 2

Dear Seekers,

We begin with the first Dhyana shloka today. 

We will be first taking up initial explanation of each verse and then, go deeper into each verse, line by line, expression by expression

Dhyana shloka - 1

(Teaching through Silence the highest knowledge of the Supreme Reality, the young Guru is surrounded by Rishi-disciple (s) and Vedic scholars, themselves established in the Truth.

He is the Teacher of teachers, holding his hand in Chinmudra (the sign of knowledge), and his form is Bliss.

He ever revels in His own Self, and is ever content – I worship that Sri Dakshina murthy)

Mauna: “Silence”. The class conducted by the Lord is in Silence! Some may enjoy such a class – they can have undisturbed sleep! Sri Shankaracharya says that ‘Maunam’ should be taken to mean minimum talking and explanation. The teacher has to explain, but he does it in a manner that uses the least words. The student reflects deeply upon what has been said in order to extract the full meaning.

‘Mauna’ is also from the same root as the word ‘Muni’ or sage. The Muni speaks very little, but what he says is very sublime.

Yuvaanam: The Teacher is “very young”. Youth today is associated with indiscipline. This is only a perception. Here we have the greatest teacher who is a youth Himself!

Brahma Nishtha: The disciples themselves are of the highest calibre, being Self realized souls. What to speak of their Guru then! This is indirect praise of the Guru. This is also to indirectly tell us that spiritual accomplishment is independent of age.

Ante Vaasi: This refers to the Ashramites “living in the Ashram” with the Guru. The simple life in an Ashram signifies that the students are full of dispassion, and practicing all the disciplines needed to make their studies fructify into direct experience of the Self.

Chin-Mudra: ‘Chit’ becomes ‘Chin’ when followed by a nasal word. The Chinmudra is a sign used to symbolize the integration of the individual soul to the universal Soul. The silence in the class could be due to instructions given to students through such signs.

In this position, the tip of the index finger is held to the tip of the thumb, forming a good circle, leaving the other three fingers pointing downwards. The thumb stands for Brahman; it is the support for all the other fingers, and without it nothing can be lifted. The index finger is the Jeeva, and the remaining three fingers stand either for the 3 Gunas (Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas), the 3 states (waking, dreaming, deep sleep), or the 3 bodies (gross, subtle, causal).

When the Jeeva dissociates with these other 3 principles, and unites itself with Brahman, then the knowledge learnt from the Guru is perfected. This is the symbolism.

Ananda Roopam: Where does the realized sage enjoy so much Bliss from? 

The answer is - Ananda finds its origin from the realized sage.

Swaatma: It is from “his own Self”. There in the depths of his Being is the limitless spring of joy and happiness, independent of outer objects. The very nature of the Self is pure Bliss. Mudita is “being contented and ever-cheerful”; not a superficial state just to show others, but a deep state of complete contentment and fulfillment arising from being firmly established in one’s Self.

Dakshina: “south-facing”. 

South is also the direction of Lord Yama, the God of Death. Lord Shiva is facing Lord Yama directly, not afraid of death. This indicates “fearlessness” and the conquest of death. Spiritual realization makes one immortal, as one is freed from all bondages to body, mind and intellect. This is the implied or indicative meaning.

When Markandeya hugged the Shiva Linga, Lord Yama could do nothing to him, because Yama is afraid of Lord Shiva. This story is told in the Puranas.

We will take up line by line, from the next post. All seekers have to imprint in their heart that this Stotram is the most sacred and is the essence of all vedanta teachings. 

So, it is with such sincerity that you are all requested to take up the posts on this most sacred stotram given to the world of spiritual seekers by Adi Sankara Bhagavat Pada, revered by spiritual seekers for centuries as incarnation of Lord Siva.

Love.