(Salutations unto that Dakshinamurti who is the meaning
of “Om”. Salutations to the one who is described by the word ॐ whose form is only pure
knowledge.
To that Dakshinamurthy, who is ever-pure and ever-calm, I
offer my salutations.)
“OM represents the underlying order that
sustains all creation, and to one who understands the true significance of the
word, it is indeed the name of the Lord.”
The chanting of Om is the most common
spiritual practice to render the mind meditative. The chanting may be done
aloud, or in a whisper, or in complete silence. Whatever way we look at it in
practice, the thing that matters is that which it signifies. Om is a symbol
which signifies or indicates the Divinity within.
“Om is the symbol of the unchanging
eternal universal supreme God .... Om is the sound of the movement of the stars
in the firmament; it is the sound that manifested when the dawn of Creative
Will stirred the Niraakaara (the Attribute less) into activity".
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
(SSS6, Chap. 42)
Shuddha Jnana: “Pure Knowledge”. There are two important points to keep
in mind when Om is chanted.
The first is that it
must relate to Pure knowledge, which is knowledge free from all mental
concepts, terminology, elaborate explanations, etc.
The second point about
Om-chanting is that the practitioner must feel connected to his heart; he must
be filled with a rare stillness and silence, ever steady and calm. This is
described as Pure Bliss in many Vedanta texts. It is the Pure Atman, the
supreme Indweller within our heart. What is the perfect reminder of this state?
Shri Dakshinamurti is
described as taintless, free, and unaffected by anything whatsoever.
Pure consciousness
remains unaffected by your thoughts even when you are angry, sad, depressed, or
frustrated. Whatever your thoughts / emotions are, your consciousness remains
unaffected.
Yesterday, in a talk on
Ashtavakra Gita (uploaded in the youtube channel), the author spoke on “Purity
of awareness” at length.
Awareness, when it is
related to any object which one gets aware, the mind and intellect play a part
in such knowing or such awareness and once mind and intellect are present, the
awareness does not qualify to be said as “pure awareness”
Pure awareness or Pure
consciousness is Pure, because it is objectless awareness. It is not awareness
of something but it is awareness itself which illumines our intellect with
which we are aware of all other objects in the creation.
Sri Dakshinamurti is
thus understood as one’s own consciousness, the divine Sadguru within.
These Dhyana Shlokas are technically not part
of the Stotram. But they are
traditionally chanted before the Stotram.
It is helpful to develop an image in one’s mind for the sake of prayer and
meditation.
From the next post, we
will start with actual Stotram.
To the abode of all learning, to the healer of all who suffer the
disease of Samsara, to the teacher of the whole world, to That Sri
Dakshinamurti, do I offer my salutations!
A tribute is paid to the teacher of the knowledge which heals us
from the disease of Samsara. The Teacher who imparts that knowledge is offered
salutation:
Sarva Vidyaanaam: “all
learning”. Indian culture places all learning on a very high pedestal, whether
it is secular or scriptural. Any learned person is honored for his learning,
quite apart from any other quality he may possess.
The treasure is not with reference to the material wealth such as
Gold, Platinum or Diamonds. Rather, treasure among all forms of knowledge.
Is it possible for you to have a vast treasure of Gold or Diamonds
and still be miserable in life? Many people are. Having material wealth is no
guarantee for happiness in life.
In fact, it is not hard to make an argument that too much wealth
will make you miserable. Obviously not enough wealth will make you suffer. But
similarly, too much wealth also leads to suffering.
Since material wealth cannot guarantee peace, happiness, and
contentment in life, what can guarantee is spiritual wisdom.
Swami: “Tell me what you understand about ‘Prajnanam Brahma’.”
Devotee: “Swami, ‘Knowledge is God’. Prajnanam means ‘knowledge’ and
Brahma is God. So, it means, ‘Knowledge is God’.”
Swami: “There are four forms of knowledge. First is Jnana, second is Vijnana, third is Sujnanaand fourth is Prajnana.
First, Jnana, what is Jnana? All information, all knowledge, all worldly
information is Jnana. Everyone has this. Material knowledge, secular
knowledge, education, humanities, science, technology -- that is all Jnana.”
Second, Vijnana. Vijnana is the knowledge based on investigation, cause
and effect, experimentation, observation, and inference. So, Vijnana is science and technology. Jnana, Vijnanathe third one is Sujnana. What is Sujnana? Sujnana is spiritual knowledge.”
“The fourth one is Prajnana. What is Prajnana? Prajnana is your very being. Prajnana is your very Self. Prajnana is awareness. Prajnana is ‘Constant Integrated Awareness’. That Supreme Self, knowledge
of the Self, awareness of the Self, the very core of your life, the very being
of your life, that is called Prajnana. That Prajnanam Brahma, that
Prajnana is Divine. That’s the reason why Vedanta says, ‘You are the
Children of Immortality. You are the Children of Eternity. You are the
embodiments of Divine Atma.’”
Bhava Roginaam: “the
disease of worldliness (literally of existence)”. The view of the world is that
we are suffering it as a disease if we do not use our existence to progress
towards God, towards Oneness with the Lord in everything.
Na hanyate hanyamane sarire(BG 2.20).
After the annihilation of this body the soul does not die. He
accepts another body. This is our disease. This is called bhava-roga. Bhava-roga means
material disease.
Bhava-roga, the
disease of repeated birth and death in the material world, and being in oneness
with God / Self is bhavauṣadhi, the medicine to cure this bhava-roga.
We exhaust or wear ourselves out or make ourselves sick, by
seeking / chasing happiness, peace and contentment in all the wrong places.
Typically, this wrong search takes place outside in the external world. The
true source of happiness is found within oneself. Shri Dakshinamurti himself is
the one who revels in one’s own
self.
The moment the knowledge given by the Guru penetrates our heart, the
world is no longer seen as a disease, but as a medicine that cures us of it.
There is no pessimism in this view. It is the view which always
looks optimistically at the world to remind us of the highest. The knowledge of
God is such that it compels us to view the world as the manifestation of God.
The world remains as before, but our outlook is healed of worldliness. There
can be nothing more positive than this.
That is why Shri Dakshinamurti is worshipped as the medicine for
this illness. He cures the illness by removing the ignorance to reveal the knowledge.
Sarva Lokanaam:
“Teacher of the whole world”. This clearly means something very symbolic. It is
not referring to a person, but to a principle of learning that has taken a
human embodiment and to whom we relate as a disciple. We need the attitude of
discipleship towards the universal Teacher. This means keeping ourselves open
to learn from all our encounters in the world. In other words, the teacher of
the whole world, really means the whole world is our teacher.
Dakshinamurthaye namah:
Salutations are offered to such a Guru again and again during meditation. It is
the means, by which the meditator connects himself to the Lord within. An
attitude of adoration and surrender to the inner Guru is conveyed in this last
line of the verse.
“Satchitananda” is the
common name for all of us and everything. Satchitanandais
our own essential name. And that is the real Guru within. That essence is
what you call Satchitananda. It is
divided into three parts: Sat, Chit, Ananda. Sat is
existence, Chit is
knowledge; the Truth revealed. And then by knowing that, the outcome is Anandaor bliss.
For example, wood pulp exists. That is the Sat. Then it expresses
as a piece of paper. The existence expresses, so you get the Chit, the
knowledge of it. And then when you use it, you have the Ananda. So, existence‑knowledge‑bliss.
The Guru within you is Satchitananda. It directs you continuously. We call that the antar Atma, the inner Self which constantly guides you. It
is your conscience. “Be true to your Self,” we say. That is the Self. Listen to
that Self!
(Strange
sight indeed! Under the banyan tree, there are aged disciples around the young
Guru. He teaches them in the language of “Silence”, but the doubts of the
disciples are all dispelled)
The glorification implied in this verse
is self-explanatory. In today’s culture, it is not often that we see a young
teacher with elderly students.
This is a rare sight indeed. It also
conveys the prevailing tradition, wherein age was immaterial to one’s learning.
Old did not mean ‘more learned’, nor did young mean ‘less learned’.
It is amazing that at the root of the
Banyan tree students are old and teacher is young. Typically, teacher is
expected to be elderly.
This is a conventional idea, not only
in the modern times but in the ancient times as well. It is however based on
logical reason. We acquire wisdom as we grow older – at least we hope to
acquire.
So, we give the benefit of doubt to
seniors that they must have gained wisdom over the time. The longer and wider
the beard grows the more evidence of wisdom. This is where the origin of the
idea is, that the teacher would have white beard.
However, that is not the picture
painted here in this mantra. Here teacher is young. But students are old.
That is not the only amazing thing.
Another amazing thing is that the teaching of the guru take place in silence.
Interestingly if we sit and teach in
silence, what would be the result? Nothing. But when Shri Dakshinamurti is
teaching in silence, surprisingly, the doubts of the students are destroyed.
Therefore, this is astonishing.
The Mudra
or “sign language” is again a topic of discussion around this verse. There are
numerous Mudras each having a
specific meaning. Those interested in the subject can obtain all the details
and will realize that by just using a hand sign, a whole instruction is taught
to the student.
Sometimes a sign would be tailor-made
to give an instruction to one particular student amongst a whole group; only
that student would know what was meant! Such were the ways of the great Masters
of spiritual science.
Spiritual instruction is a one-to-one
communication, especially at the highest level. This is another reason why the
instruction is done in “Silence”. Each student is given the instruction that is
needed by him. Students need not know what another student is being instructed.
In this way, the doubts of every disciple are individually cleared.
There are some requirements, certain
pre-qualifications for the disciples so that all their doubts are cleared
through their master’s instructions.
Ashtavakra says,
Yatha tatha upadesena krtarthah sattva budhimaan
Ajivam api jignasuh parah tatra vimuhyati
(A person of pure intelligence realizes
Self even by instructions casually imparted. A man of impure intellect is
confused in trying to realize the Self, even after enquiring throughout his
life)
(Chapter 15, V1, Ashtavakra Gita)
A person of pure intelligence is the
one who has evolved from Tamasto Rajasand then from Rajasto Satvic. With a sattvic mind, his desires and passions
have reduced and come to almost zero level.
Whatever instructions are imparted by
his Guru, the disciple receives it from his utmost sattvic intellect, with
none of the limiting factors – vasana or desires or passion playing in his mind
when the transmission of knowledge takes place.
Such a disciple can get greatest
revelation even from a casual conversation with his master or a casual line
spoken by his master while the master passes by the student.
Whereas, a person engaged in Self
enquiry, but not rendered his intellect pure, still continuing with vasanas,
desires, passion, attachment, aversion etc, does not get a glimpse of
SELF, even if he spends his entire life in contemplation of his guru's
instructions/revelation by mother shruti.
(In fact, such sadhakas do not spend
their life time in self-enquiry. They leave sadhana very soon, as they do not
get a taste of success in sadhana, they do not get glimpse of SELF which is the
core subject/ essence of Shrutis. They leave the path of sadhana even more
intensely than the intensity with which they had started their sadhana)
The picture painted in mind through
these verses is a poetic representation. What is being taught is beyond words,
beyond language, beyond concepts, beyond ideas.
To represent this truth poetically or
symbolically, the best way is through silence. The guru teaches in silence. The
teachings still take place. The teaching of Vedanta is present in Chinmudra.
This is the symbol Shri Dakshinamurti
signifies through his hand gesture. The symbolism is provided in these initial
three mantras.
The remaining two versus of Dhyana
Mantras praise Shri Dakshinamurti. It is a prayer / worship.
