Advaita Bhakti thro. Contemplative Practice of Narayaniyam ( ABCPN - 1 )

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ABCPN - 1

(Note: Please read the Introduction

– post #15182 - if you have not already read it)

 

Sloka No. 1 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 100 – 10)

 

yogIndrANAM tvad-angeSh-vadhika-su-madhuraM mukti-bhAjAM nivAso

bhaktAnAm kAma-varSha-dyu-taru-kisalayaM nAtha te pAda-mUlaM /

nityaM citta-sthitaM me pavana-pura-pate kR^iShNa-kAruNya-sindho

hR^itvA nissheSha-tApAn pradishatu paramAnanda-sandoha-lakshmIM

//

 

Tr. Oh Lord! To the great yogins, Thy feet are the most beloved

of all Thy limbs. They form the abode for the emancipated ones.

For the devotees they are like the celestial tree which yields

them all their wants. Oh Lord of Guruvayoor! Oh Krishna! Oh

Ocean of Mercy! May those feet of Thine ever rest in my heart,

destroy all my sufferings and bestow on me the treasure of

Supreme Bliss!

 

Comment. The first ten of this series of 36 slokas constitute a

variety of different prayers to the Absolute Lord Krishna. These

prayers are intended to help us embark on the divine path to

Realisation. This first one offers prostrations to the lotus

feet of the Lord. Quite fittingly we are asking for the Lord’s

Grace to descend on us by figuratively asking for the Lord’s

feet to rest in our heart. Here the heart is the spiritual

heart. The spark of the Absolute is already there, whether we

recognise it or not. By requesting God to have his feet rest

in our heart we are only praying that His omnipresence there may

be ‘felt’ by us.

 

Sloka No.2. (Ref. nAryaNIyaM: 92 – 9)

 

gangA gItA ca gAyatry-api ca tulasikA gopikA-candanaM tat

sAlagrAmAbhi-pUjA para-puruSha tathaikAdashI-nAma-varNAH /

etAny-aShTApy-ayatnAny-ayi kali-samaye tvat-prasAda-prasiddhyA

kShipram-mukti-pradAnIty-abhidadhur-R^iShayas-teShu

mAM sajjayethAH //

 

Tr.: Oh Supreme Lord! there are just eight items, namely,

Ganga, Gita, Gayatri, Tulasi leaves, sandal paste, the worship

of sAlagrAmaM, (the fast on the day of) Ekadasi, and Divine

names. These eight, declare the sages, are the easy and quick

means of salvation, in this age of kali-yuga, as they secure Thy

abounding grace. May I be intensely devoted to them all!

 

Comment: This asks for karma-yoga with the stamp of bhakti.

There is a folk-lore sloka which says:

gangA gItA ca gAyatrI govindeti catuShTayaM /

catur-gakAra-samyukte punar-janma na vidyate //

 

Meaning, ‘when the four that begin with the consonant ‘ga’ are

integrally present, the four being gangA (the river Ganges),

gItA, gAyatrI and govinda (standing for God’s name) – then there

is no rebirth’. Bhattatiri adds to these four, another four.

In the orthodox traditions initiated by Adi Sankara, five main

divinities are worshipped through a sophisticated ritual called

pancAyatana-pUjA, meaning, worship at five altars. Here the

divinities are worshipped not in their human-like forms but in

certain symbols in the form of stones, which are nothing but

certain rock formations available in specified locations in

India. The Sun-God, sUrya, is taken as inherent in certain

crystals normally found in Vallam in Tamilnadu. The Mother

Goddess, shakti, is represented by the svarNamukhi stone found

in the bed of the river of that name in the Andhra region of

South India. VishNu is worshipped in the sAlagrAma (mentioned in

Bhattatiri’s verse) stone that can be had in plenty on the bed

of the river Ghantaki in the Himalayas. Ganesa is the red

shonabhadra stone found on the bed of the river Sone flowing

into the Ganges. Finally shiva is the bANa-linga found in the

Omkarakunda of the river Narmada, near the island of Mandhata.

The pancAyatana pUja tradition may be taken as an intermediate

stage between the worship of Godhead with form and the worship

of the formless, because the symbols of worship as rock

formations have certainly a form but they are also formless in

that they have no parts like face, eyes, body, hands and feet.

It is as though the devotee trains himself to take the mind from

the formful to the formless while at the same time allowing full

scope for one’s devotional feelings. Also note that in the

Vaishnava tradition, the emphasis is on the sAlagrAma to such an

extent that the other four of the pancAyatana tradition are

mostly omitted.

 

Sloka No.3: (Ref. nAryaNIyaM: 94 - 10)

 

aikyaM te dAna-homa-vrata-niyama-tapas-sAnkhya-yogair-durApaM

tvat-sangenaiva gopyaH kila sukR^iti-tamAH prApurAnanda-sAndraM

/

bhakteSh-vanyeShu bhUas-svapi bahumanuShe bhaktim-eva tv am-AsAM

tan-me tvad-bhaktim-eva dR^iDaya hara gadAn kR^iShNa vAtAlayesha

//

 

Tr.: That state of supremely blissful union with Thee, which is

difficult to obtain through (disciplines like) charity, (ritual)

sacrifices, observance of vows, self-control, austerities,

knowledge (sAnkhya), and yoga, was attained by the blessed

gopikas (cowherdesses) of Brindavan, through just personal

attachment to Thee as their own beloved. Numerous are Thy other

devotees, but it is this loving personal devotion of the gopikas

that has received Thy highest appreciation. Therefore Oh

Krishna, Oh Lord of Guruvayoor, May Thou strengthen my devotion

to Thee and destroy my ailments.

 

Comment. This underscores the importance of personal involvement

with the Lord in intimate terms, from the heart of hearts. All

the formalities of our religious observances pale into

insignificance before such a personal relationship with God. So

whatever we may do, we must strive to see that this innate

feeling of love for the Lord is the undercurrent. This is the

only thing He asks from us. More than intellectual understanding

of the various nuances of scriptures and philosophy, what He

expects from us is this self-negating love for Him and all that

stands for Him, namely, the universe. One may recall here Gita

Ch.IX – 34:

manmanA bhava madbhakto madyAjI mAM namaskuru /

mAmevaiShyasi yuktvaivaM AtmAnaM mat-parAyaNaH //

 

meaning, Saturate your mind with me; be devoted to me; work for

me; bow down to me; having thus united your whole self with me,

taking me as the supreme goal, you shall come unto me. This

self-negating love has been defined by Narada in his

bhakti-sutra, as follows (Sutra 54):

guNa-rahitaM kAmanA-rahitaM pratikShaaNa-vardhamAnaM avicchinnaM

sUkShma-taram anubhavarUpaM.

Meaning, (This pure love is) without attributes, without the

poison of desire, every moment increasing, unbroken, subtlest,

and of the nature of sheer immediate experience.

 

(To be continued)

praNAms to all advaitins

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

"tvat-sangenaiva gopyaH kila sukR^iti-tamAH prApurAnanda-sAndraM"

 

Prof. Murthy-Ji, I am reminded of this song which a Vedanta teacher

used to sing melodiously to drive home his point:

 

"AnganA, AnganA, AntarE MAdhava!"

[Gopikas, Gopikas, in the middle MAdhava (the Lord)!].

 

The gopikAs are dancing in sheer joy, MAdhava stands in the middle

playing the flute. Our thoughts are the gopikas whether they pay

attention to the MAdhava in the middle or not. MAdhava is the Self

(Consciousness). The gopikas cannot be without MAdhava like thoughts

cannot be without the Self. They shine after Him. Then, when those

GopikAs are aware of MAdhava and offer themselves unto Him, what

results is the Ananda-Sandram (concentration of joy) where there

cannot be any feeling of separation any more. The GopikAs virtually

become their object of adoration – the one andonly MAdhava.

 

Shri Bhattathiri has stressed the importance of directing all

thoughts to His Lotus Feet. In one line, he has condensed the whole

of pure advaita!

 

I grew up near a temple in Kerala and got up early every morning

listening to the loud-speaker playing melodious Leela's (a renowned

Malayalam singer) rendering of the precious NarAyanIyam. In the cool

early morning breeze, that used to send waves of joy through this

ignoramus although most of the intended meaning escaped my

understanding then. Of course, there was a great appreciation of

Shri Bhattathiri's literary genius and sense of rhythm. You have now

rebuilt the old nostalgia and brought in enlightenment with it.

Thank you very much, Sir.

 

Pranams.

 

Madathil Nair