Hamsa --- significance

[Guest guest]

pranams.

 

Some thoughts on “ Hamsa “

 

 

 

Hamsa is said to have the divine gift of separating Milk from Water.

Accordingly Hamsa implies for a person’s pure intellect , a person who has

realized the supreme Consciousness and free from ignorance.

 

 

 

These Jivan Mukthas are also called the “ Paramahamsas “ like the Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa. As they are pure in heart And no attachment to the mundane world,

they are graced by Devi.

 

 

 

Therefore , the divine Vehicle of Vagdevi , the Saraswathi is also the Hamsa

representing the pure intellect.

 

 

 

I am also trying to understand the mantra as given below, chanted in

Mahanyasam,.As soon as I get this I will add this on the topic of discussion.

(also the mantras dealing with breath " Hamsa Soham " etc )

 

 

 

“ Hamsa Hamsaya Vidhmahay Parama Hamsaya Dhemahi Thanno Hamsa Prachodayth.”

 

 

 

Jai Mahasaraswathi

 

 

 

ganapathy

 

 

"M. S. Ravisankar" <ravi wrote:

>

> Can you please help me understand the derivation of "haMsa"

> from "ha.nti"?

>

 

The bhaashhya uses the phrase "hanti gachchhatiiti hamsaH" in two names: a)

hamsavaahana and b) hamsagatiH. One of the meanings of the dhaatu "han.h"

is "to go". There is another way to look at haMsa (han.h + sak.h + ach.h --

vide Anand Hudli's post in Advaita-l on rudram). Aarathi, can you add more

on this topic?

 

In fact, Sankara elobarates on the meanings of Sun, breath etc. in the

context of hamsagatiH (which you can bring into hamsavaahana) in detail,

this runs more than half a page in the book I have.

 

 

Ravi

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Pranaams Shri Ganapathyji,

 

Please allow me to add some more thoughts on this fascinating subject

of Hamsa.

 

Hamsa represents 'swan' -This bird has a very lovely and majestic

gait ... that is why Poet kalidasa must have used it in his 'Abijnana

shakuntalam' -maybe he compared the heronie shakuntala's gait to a

swan!

 

but, there is a deeper meaning of the word hamsa...

 

"The incoming and outgoing breath in a human being are the two wings

of the swan. When a Yogi unites his mind with the inflow and outflow

of his casual breath he enters the natural state of stillness (Sahaj

Samadhi). The mystic meaning of Hamsa is "I am merged with the

Divine""

 

YEs! indeed! our beloved shri ramakrishna was honored with the title

of paramahamsa...

 

Param means "supreme" and hamsa means "soul". It is the highest

spiritual title-it is given to only those souls who have reached a

very high state of Cosmic Consciousness, Divine Joy, Wisdom-Bliss and

God contact in Self-Realization.

 

ALSO, "The ancient scriptures speak of a fabled swan which when

drinking can separate the milk from the water if the two are mixed.

In this sense, the title Paramhamsa means the divine swan or he who

is able to extract the milk of spiritual bliss from the waters of

material life. The swan also floats in water without drowning or

getting its feathers wet. So the royal divine swan or Paramhamsa is

he who can float on the waters of material life without getting

attached to it or drowned in it."

 

 

every breath that we take is because of devi. the inhalation and

exhalation. that is why she is called Prana shakti.

 

Devi Lalita is described as hamsa-gatiH : The simplest meaning

is "She whose gait (gatih) is lovely and majestic like the hamsa,

which is the carrier-bird of Creator brahmA. But there are several

esoteric meanings.

 

The passage of life-giving air in and out of the

human body is called 'hamsa'.

 

More on this fascinating topic by Shri V, Krishnamurthy from his

wonderful website... "science and spirituality" ...

 

Professorji observes...

 

hakAreNa bahir-yAti sakAreNa punar-viSet /

 

It goes out by the (vocalisation of) 'ha' and comes in by (that

of) 'sa'.

 

This hamsa- mantra therefore is the constant routine of human life,

inspite of its involuntariness. It is called ajapA-mantra - where

ajapA stands for that which is not being recited. She, the Mother

Goddess, is of this form.

 

Also hamsa denotes the indiviual soul who gets a body appropriate to

the merits and demerits acquired by it in its eternal journey. gati

is the ultimate destination, of these souls. She is the One who is

the ultimate Destination of all souls.

 

brahmvid-Apnoti param (taittirIyopanishad; 2 - 1) meaning, the One

who knows brahman, reaches the Supreme. 'From where he never returns'

says the scripture in another place - 'yad-gatvA na nivartante'.

 

Also hamsa denotes a renunciate who has had the Enlightenment of the

absolute and therefore has no attachment to any particular place or

individual. So such renuciates roam from place to place. Such are

those who know Her as She is. So She is the One who is known by such

hamsa's.

 

(hamsa-mantrArtha-rUpiNI : She personifies in Herself the

significance and meaning of the mantra 'hamsa'. The 'ha' syllable

connotes the word 'tat' (= 'That')of the upanishads. The 'sa'

syllable connotes the word 'tvam' ('You'). 'That ' is not amenable to

direct perception. 'You' is direct experience. The mantra 'hamsa'

contains within itself the conglomerate identity of both obtained by

what is called the definition which discards and does not discard --

jahad-ajahal-lakshaNa .

 

Sree LALITA SAHASARANAMA describes HER AS muni manasika Hamsini! One

who dwells in the heart of Sages as the majestic Swan!

 

There is a upanishad called Paramahamsa Upanishad and it beautifully enumerates

what are the qualities of a paramahamsa .

 

as FAR AS THE HAMSA GAYATHRI IS CONCERNED , it is a fascinating

subject by itself. I am waiting for learned sadhakas in this forum to

elaborate on the Hamsa Gayathri!

 

OM hamsa mantra rupinayaii namaha!