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.
Sri Dakshinamurti Stotram is written by Adi Shankaracharya. It is most profound
Advaita Vedanta and extra ordinarily beautiful poetry.
Verses in this stotra are rich in
Vedantic teachings. At the same time, they are presented in very elegant poetic
manner. It is a wonderful prayer. It is the prayer to the Lord Shiva. It is
filled with pious Vedantic teachings.
This stotram is addressed to a form of
Lord Shiva known as “Dakshinamurti”. It is important to understand the meaning
of Dakshinamurti.
The word “Dakshinamurti” is a samasa
(composition). It has two ways to break the composition:
1.Yasya murti Dakshina abhimukha
One whose murti (form) is facing South.
Here, Dakshina means south.
2.Dakshin Amurti
Dakshinascha asau amurtischa iti saha
One who is Dakshin and also Amurti (both
adjectives). One who is skillful and formless.
Here Dakshina means Skillful. Skillful in
removing the ignorance.
Traditionally, south direction is considered
inauspicious direction as it is associated with death, ignorance and all the
things that are undesirable in life. That is why; in some tradition people are
cautious of directions while sleeping.
They keep head towards south. It symbolically
represents that ignorance needs to be removed through knowledge.
In Hindusim, the south is regarded as the
direction of death, which subtly implies the demise of the old making way, for
the new. Hence, the south is regarded as Shiva’s domain since he is responsible
for the destruction of the old.
Lord Dakshinamurthy is a powerful Avatar of the
Hindu God Shiva, who appears as a Guru (teacher) to guide one on the right
path. This divine form of Lord Shiva is the personification of all types of
knowledge and symbolizes awareness, understanding and wisdom.
He is also revered as a teacher of the arts like
yoga, music, meditation and various other artistic abilities. Shiva is
considered as the master of the Shastras and his expositions of these texts are
unparalleled. In Hindu philosophy, having a Guru is all important and those who
do not have one are advised to consider Lord Dakshinamurthy as their teacher.
Depiction of Lord
Dakshinamurthy
The Avatar of Lord Shiva as Jnana Dakshinamurthy
is generally depicted with four arms and seated under a banyan tree facing the
south. He is shown seated upon a deer-skin with several sages listening in rapt
attention to his teachings. His right foot is placed on the mythical demon of
ignorance ‘Apasmara’ and his left foot is folded on his lap.
One of his upper arms wields a snake or rosary
and the other holds a flame. His lower right hand is shown in the
Vyakhyanamudra posture and the lower left is shown grasping a bundle of kusha
grass which represents the Holy Scriptures. His fingers symbolize the
‘Gnana/chin Mudra’ pertaining to knowledge and wisdom. Lord Dakshinamurthy is
always immersed in a deep yogic state of meditation and represents the potent
force of ever flowing bliss indicative of supreme joy. Several seers portray
him as the absolute hidden power inherent in all enlightened ‘Gurus’ or
teachers.
Dakshinamurthy’s chin mudra conveyed much more
than words could ever convey. In the cin
mudra, the thumb and the index finger are brought together, and this
indicates the jivatma-Paramatma
connection.
The thumb indicates the Paramatma and the
forefinger is the jivatma. These two are brought together in the cin mudra. The other three fingers
represent the three malams (impurities) that stand in the way of our attainment
of liberation. The three malams are anava(ego), kanma(effects of our actions) and maayai(illusion).
When these three impurities are conquered, the
jivatma reaches Him. These three malams keep our connection to the material
world alive. In their absence, the jivatma automatically comes close to the
Paramatma. This is what Lord Siva, as Dakshinamurthy, points out through His
cin mudra.
Significance of Lord
Dakshinamurthy
In keeping with the Indian tradition of holding
the teacher in the highest esteem, Lord Dakshinamurthy embodies all the aspects
of emulation and reverence. He is the ultimate Guru or teacher in Hindu
culture, as the propagator of knowledge and dispeller of ignorance. His limbs
and body denote various aspects of the enlightened man and signify his
willingness to impart knowledge to whoever seeks him out.
Once a devotee came to visit Bhagawan Baba
and said that the great Sages of the past had travelled extensively preaching
the Truth and thus had served the world at large. Similarly, if Bhagavan were
to travel thus it would be beneficial to many. Smilingly, Bhagawan replied,
that His being settled in one place is also beneficial and narrated the
following story.
“Brahma, the Lord of Creation, once lost interest
in the work of creation and thought of taking to a life of tapas(penance). So, out of his mind he created Sanaka,
Sanatkumaru, Sanandana and Sanatsujata, with the intention to hand over to them
his job in the course of time. They grew up and mastered all of the branches of
study. Brahma then decided to hand over to them his job and to retire. Sage
Narada came to know of his father’s intention.
Since Narada knew that his brothers were full of
dispassion and fit to be initiated into the path of Self-knowledge, he decided
to warn them beforehand of Brahma’s intention. On hearing this, the four
brothers, who had no intention to follow the path of action, left home in
search of a Guru without informing their father.
They all proceeded to Vaikunta, the abode
of Vishnu.
There they saw Lakshmi sitting on Vishnu’s couch
massaging His feet. On seeing this, they thought, “How can this family man
bound by the intimate glance of his consort render us any help in learning adhyatma-vidya(Knowledge of the Self). Look at the splendour of this
palace and this city! This is enough. Let us seek the help of Lord Siva”.
Lord Siva, who was in Kailas with His family,
knew beforehand about their coming and understood their plight. He was sure
that they would be disappointed on seeing him with a family, so taking pity on
them, He decided to impart spiritual knowledge to them.
The kind-hearted Lord, left Mount Kailas and
taking the youthful form of Dakshinamurti, seated Himself with Chinmudra(lotus position), under a Banyan tree on the Northern side
of Lake Manasarovar, just on the way by which these disappointed devotees were
returning to their respective homes.
When they came and sat before Him, He went into samadhi(Absorption in the Self). He was in Perfect Repose. Silence
prevailed. They saw Him. The effect was immediate. They fell into samadhiand their doubts were cleared.
Silence is the true upadesa. It is the perfect
upadesa. It is suited only for the most advanced. Others are unable to draw
full inspiration from it. Therefore they require words to explain the Truth.
But Truth is beyond words. It does not admit or explain. It merely indicates
the truth through self-discovery.”
Love.
PS : As we begin the sacred journey of contemplation of this stotram, seekers can / may listen to this stotram as per this link, daily once, in the Brahma Muhurtham.
Dhyana Vahini blog posts END today, with the only aim to
invoke an irresistible urge in you to BEGIN your spiritual journey,
with a re-kindled spirit, with a conviction now, like never before.
"Be comfortable in all environments
The capacity to
concentrate is a very useful qualification. You must watch the vagaries of your
own mind — how it travels, what objects it runs after, etc.— and, slowly, by
means of meditation, you should teach it to stay still and to behave
beneficially.
Do not worry about the
unsatisfactory environment you may have. Of course, the place may have some
drawbacks and it may not be ideal. But it is no use trying to run away from all
that. You can overcome the drawbacks by training your own mind. Stay in your
environment and pray to the Lord!
Pray that He may fill
you with His thoughts and His vision, making you ignore the defects of the
environment. Do not seek comfort, for comfort might not be conducive to
meditation. Learn to be comfortable in any place; that is better.
Live in joy wherever you
are; that is the way. Revel in the realm of your mind; worship in the mind the
Lord you have chosen as your goal and be free of all the defects of the natural
or human environment! Then, no spot can be irksome to you, nor will any place
seem disgusting.
Concluding admonitions
Pride is an insidious
vice, so at the slightest inkling of the disease, try your best to eradicate it
by retiring into a lonely spot and engaging yourself in meditation. Delay is
dangerous. “Even divine nectar (amrita)
becomes a poison if the dose is delayed,” says the proverb. Remember this and
act swiftly. Meditation stills the agitated mind and makes it clear and full of
joy.
Many in this world, even
among the learned, do not spend their allotted span of life in the pursuit of
certain selected ideals. Hence, their earthly careers are like the voyage of a
storm-tossed ship that has lost both its anchor and its compass and is caught
in mid-ocean.
They are torn between
opposing ideals and goals; they listen to diverse appeals; and their lives end
in waste and failure, for they say one thing and do another in their ignorance
and fear. Meditation gives them fixity of purpose, courage, and wisdom.
The feelings that arise
in the mind, which are classified as serene, restless, and ignorant (sathwic, rajasic, and thamasic), also have to be watched and cleansed. The
restlessness and ignorance have to be uprooted. Meditation is the weapon for
this task.
The path of meditation (dhyana-marga) will destroy ignorance (a-jnana), and it will grant the individual union with
the Godhead (Brahmaikyatha).
Introspection
on the concluding post
Swami has emphasized on the following
things in this last, concluding part of Dhyana Vahini
1)Do
not pay attention to the unfavorable environment for taking up Dhyana.
2)Don’t
try to run away from your existing environment to a better environment, if you
have not still controlled your mind.
3)Stay
wherever you are and take up meditation intensely
4)Get
rid of “pride” which is a worst quality.
5)Do
not delay sadhana, do not delay meditation. Don’t get stuck up between your
desires and your goal.
6)Watch
the three qualities of Rajas, Tamas and Satvic arising in you, transcend
all of them through meditation.
7)The
path of meditation (dhyana-marga)
will destroy ignorance (a-jnana),
and it will grant the individual union with the Godhead (Brahmaikyatha).
We will delve on the 5th point today,
which is the concluding post on this theme, given to us by the Avatar.
A disciple of Swami Sivananda writes,
“An aspirant put this question once to
the Holy Mother of the Aurobindo Ashram: "I have been practising Sadhana
for so many years, but there has been no significant progress. Why?” Said the
Holy Mother: "Because you have not taken the spiritual plunge!"
To the same question put by different
aspirants at different times, Gurudev Sivananda used to say: "You have not
progressed much, because you have not given 100% of your mind to God, because
you have not given your whole mind to God".
It is the same answer given in two
different ways. Most aspirants stand on the shore of the spiritual sea,
deliberating whether to take the spiritual plunge or not. This deliberation,
this hesitation, this vacillation, goes on for years.
As long as this vacillation is there,
there is little progress. Because the mind is not made up. If the plunge is not
taken, the lower mind retains its strong hold on the aspirant. The worldly Samskaras have their sway. The earthly Vasanas rule supreme. They put up a
tough fight. In this tug-of-war which goes on in the mind of the aspirant, the
lower mind exercises the stronger pull.
Think of a foolish child in a dark room
which cries for light, while at the same time refusing to come out into the
open. Identical is the position of the weak-kneed Sadhak who refuses to give
his whole mind over to God, who refuses to take his feet off the world, who
refuses to take the spiritual plunge, but keeps crying all the time that there
is no light in his life, that there is no spiritual progress. How can the
Sadhak have spiritual progress when he is refusing to enter the spiritual
waters?
"You cannot have light and darkness
at the same time. You cannot have nectar and poison in the same cup." How
many times has not Sivananda stressed this basic point that a person can have
either this world or that, but not both! Yet, if you check on the generality of
spiritual seekers all over the world, you will find that their feet are
clinging fast to earth and things earthly, while a fraction of their mind is
vaguely given over to God.
Now, who can take the spiritual plunge?
Who will take the spiritual plunge? He will take the spiritual plunge who feels
that the world is afire. He who feels suffocated in the world, who feels he is
being roasted in the world as if in a furnace, will long with his full mind,
with the entirety of his mind, to take an immediate plunge in the ambrosial
waters, in the cooling waters, of the spiritual sea. He who is totally
disgusted with the world will yearn to get away from it all by entering the
spiritual path. He will not retrace his steps. He will not look back. He will
not become a spiritual turncoat.
In normal day-to-day life, we do not
generally act unless compelled by external circumstances or inner motivations.
Very often, action starts only when it becomes inescapable or inevitable, only
when it becomes a dire necessity. To cite a couple of common instances, the
child in its cosy bed does not get up in the morning until it is time for
school. The father does not think of his daughter’s marriage until she is grown
up.
And if you look closely into it, all
actions, even the most humdrum actions of daily life, are coloured by a sense
of urgency in the moments immediately preceding those actions. In other words,
action results only from a sense of urgency. Thought or desire must reach a
state of urgency in order to precipitate into action, in order to materialize
into action.
In the moment preceding any action, the
desire to perform that action, the thought to perform that action; comes to a
climax.
That is why perhaps my revered Master
Sivananda once told a visitor, with regard to a particular course of action,
"Want to do it!" "Want to do it!" was the sage’s simple
advice. But, what a wealth of meaning! What deep psychological implications!
Buddha realized, because he sat under the
Bodhi tree with the firm resolve: "I must realize God now". In recent
times, Sivananda resorted to Sadhana and the Swargashram jungle with the same
resolve. And he too realized.
Ramana realized, because a sense of
urgency possessed him to get out of the inscrutable fear that filled his heart.
He had to find an answer to the question, "Who am I?" And find out he
did.
If this element of compelling urgency is
not there in the life of a spiritual aspirant, his progress is bound to be
slow, because complacent Sadhana is no Sadhana. Sadhana is a battle. And a
battle is not fought with complacency. If it is fought so, it will end in
defeat and regret.
Is Samsara burning you? If your answer is
"Yes", and on top of it if you are a practising Sadhak, there is
every chance of your success. The Sadhak who is hard-pressed by Samsaric fire
will act like the cornered cat. He will give battle and fiercely too.
Gurudev tells the story of a certain
Chaubey who wanted to go from Mathura to Varanasi by boat and went on rowing
all night only to find himself at the same point in Mathura the next morning.
Bystanders pointed to the bewildered Chaubey that his boat was secured to the
bank and he had not untied the rope. So, if you are tied to the world through
kith and kin, through position and power, through desires and cravings of all
sorts, then do not ever dream of going anywhere near God despite all the
mechanical Sadhana you may do!
Before you become completely old, before
you become an ugly old man, an object of ridicule and contempt for others,
before senility overtakes you, plunge into Sadhana. Think of God. Your efforts
will be rewarded, and the rewards will exceed your best expectations. Your body
may grow old, but your spirit is ever young.
Identify yourself with
the Spirit within. Do Sadhana. Evolve. God will bless you. The world will
respect you. You will be at peace and you will radiate peace. Do not delay.
Waste not time. Be up and doing. Start the spiritual life today. Remember: IT
IS AN URGENT TASK.
