“Teaching through Silence the highest
knowledge of the Supreme Reality, the young Guru is surrounded by
Rishi-disciples and Vedic scholars, themselves established in the Truth.”
Meditation on the line
The one who is
surrounded
Surrounded by whom? Surrounded by the group of
four rishis.
What kind of rishis?
Who is living with guru, meaning the students.
In ancient time, students always lived with teacher in the ashram. These rishis
were elderly. They, because of Dakshinamurti’s teaching, became established in
the knowledge of Brahman. Dakshinamurti himself was young.
How did
Dakshinamurti teach to these four rishis? How did rishis become established in
Brahman? How did they become enlightened?
The ultimate reality (the truth of GOD) is
revealed through a silent exposition. This is symbolic. What could silent
teaching mean?
Is it possible to express the reality of Brahman in one or two sentences? Is it
possible to express the reality of Brahman
in one or two books?
Any extent of teachings is not adequate to
define what is Parabrahman. No number
of words could ever define the reality.
We truly must admit that the reality that is Parabrahman is beyond words.
There is a famous quotation from “Taittiriya
Upanishad”.
“The reality we seek is
that from which words fall back, failing to grasp that reality.”
This is very profound Vedantic teaching. Does
that mean words are useless? No. Words help to remove the misunderstanding. The
words of Vedanta (the teachings) can not reveal Brahman.
Ultimately, they don’t need to reveal Brahman. However, the words are useful
to remove the ignorance.
An exposition of silence is a poetic way of
saying that the TRUTH being conveyed is beyond words, beyond the reach of
language.
It would be known to sincere seekers that
whatever glimpse of that divine SELF which they have experienced for few
seconds, could be possible only when they have gone into absolute silence,
silence of the mind, silence of the body and silence in terms of speech.
So, the Guru of Gurus, Sadhguru Dakshinamurty
chose to impart the Brahma Vidya
directly to the disciples in the depth of silence.
This was possible then, this was possible even
in few cases like few disciples who realized SELF, seated at the feet of their
Guru Ramana, in absolute silence.
But in the present day world, with materialism
at its peak, it would be very difficult or rather impossible for disciple to
observe his master’s silence and get absorbed in silence, as the restless mind
would wander here and there within seconds.
So, the masters have to impart knowledge
initially through spoken discourses till the time they know that their disciple
has reached a ripe state in sadhana
where nothing more needs to be taught through words.
In the contemporary world, when it comes to
teaching the disciples through silence, it is impossible not to think of, not
to meditate on Sri Ramana, who taught and even graced liberation to few, though
His silence.
Maharishi’s disciple, Sri Muruganar, who
attained liberation under his Master, writes,
“He
is the teacher of the eternal law through whose glance the truth unfolded,
filling my heart with the dazzling radiance of blissful consummate grace, so
that the body, ego and intellect were all no more. I became merged in
the divine silence, which is abiding knowledge of Lord Siva.
My poor helpless mind was swept along in the swirling
torrent of objective phenomena until my Lord guided my deluded
understanding into the broad calm of his holy silence so that the light of his
majesty shined in my heart.
Setting me on the straight path of true knowledge he
led me to the glorious goal of union with him in the one-pointed state of holy
silence. My
heart’s gracious jewel, true wisdom’s sun, he dissipated the dark clouds of the
senses’ illusory world.”
(Extract from Ramana Anubhuti, written
by Sri Muruganar, about his sadhguru Sri Ramana)
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.
