Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS - )

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’,

from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

V. Krishnamurthy

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

29

(Digest of pp.903 - 909 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume, 4th

imprn.)

 

We were talking about Shiva-sAyujya-padavI (the status of

unity with Lord Shiva). To reach the world of the

ishhTa-devatA (Chosen favourite deity) and live in that

world is called sAlokya-padavI. The next stage is the

sAmIpya stage. This is the stage where one lives in the

beatific presence of that God. The next stage which is

sArUpyam is the process of becoming that very form by

continuously meditating on the form. The ultimate is the

sAyujya-padavI where one becomes in essence the object of

one’s adoration. This is an identity status, both in form

and essence.

 

There are devotees of Shiva who seek that sAyujya padavI in

their unquenchable thirst for becoming one with the Lord.

In their case the sAyujyam is an end in itself. On the

other hand, the divine damsels (go back to Shloka 12) who

are seeking that sAyujya status with Lord Shiva do not seek

it as an end, but as a means to be able to see the beauty

of the Supreme Goddess. It is an irony that in the hands of

these damsels even the greatest goal (sAdhyam) of

shiva-sAyujya status has become a sAdhanA (means) for the

sadhyam (that is, that which is sought, and therefore, a

further goal), the darshan of the fullest beauty of ambaal!

 

Well, just because these damsels have sought that status is

it going to be within their reach? It is something which is

inaccessible even for the hardest penance. These damsels

know only to disturb and destroy the penances of the

rishis. The sense-control needed for the hard penance is

beyond their reach. So what do they do? They only try to

achieve it mentally. But that status indeed is not

reachable even by the mind. ‘yan manasA na manute’ says the

Upanishad, meaning, ‘What cannot be thought of even by the

mind’. The bottomline therefore is, even they cannot

ultimately know the beauty of ambaal!

 

It is to be noted that this shloka, which elevates the

beauty (soundaryam) of ambaal to its apex, is actually in

the midst of the first part, that is Ananda-lahari.

 

Another shloka (#14) describes ambaal as the

personification of Time (kAlam).There are six seasons in a

year. These 360 days of the year are the 360 rays of light

emanating from the infinite Light of Shakti. Each of the

chakras represents one of these seasons and there are as

many rays there as there are days in the corresponding

season.For instance, in the mUlAdhAra chakra, there are

fifty-six rays, corresponding to the fifty six days of

vasanta-ritu (the spring season). She thus contracts

Herself as a ritu in Time and stays as such in that chakra.

In reality She transcends Time; She is kAlAtItA. It is in

that transcendent state, She manifests as the divine Feet

in the thousand-petalled chakra, beyond the six chakras.

The pair of Her lotus feet – ‘tava padAmbuja-yugam’ -- is

there in that sahasrAra chakram.

 

Amidst the Anandalahari shlokas I will now pick up one

shloka (#15) which depicts Her, not in Her lalitA form, but

in another form consistent with the ShrI VidyA tantra.

 

Sharat-jyotsnA shuddhAM shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM

vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM /

sakRn-na tvA natvA katham-iva satAM sannidadhate

madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH paNitayaH //

 

satAM: For (those) noble ones,

sakRt : just once

natva: having prostrated

tva : to You

Sharat-jyotsnA-shuddhAM : who is as pure and white as the

autumnal moonlight

shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM: who has the crown of matted

hair that includes the moon, and

vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM: who holds

in the (four) hands, the boon mudrA, the fear-protection

mudrA, the crystal bead necklace, and the book

Katham-iva : why(would)

paNitayaH : the speech capabilities

madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH: which are

pregnant with the sweetness of honey, milk and grapes

na sannidadhate: not accrue?

 

Here the Goddess depicted is the the Goddess of Speech,

(vAg-devi or Sarasvati), but without Her usual VINA in Her

hand.

 

The word ‘sharad’ becomes very apt when one refers to

Goddess Sarasvati. It is in sharad-ritu (the autumnal

season) that we do pUjA to Sarasvati. She is called ShAradA

because of that. Our Acharya had a special affinity to the

ShAradA name. Sarasvati is very important to him because we

know he reached the peak of excellence in scholarship.

 

[Note by VK. It is a miraculous coincidence

that the turn, in this series, of this posting,

has come on the ninth day of navarAtri,

which is the day of Sarasvati-Puja,

that falls on Saturday the 4th of October, 2003.]

 

ShAradA is one of the more important names of Sarasvati.

It indicates simultaneously the perfect purity of whiteness

and the cool Grace that combines pleasantness and goodness.

Very often ‘sha’ and ‘sa’ get interchanged in tradition. In

north India there is the custom of referring to ShAradA as

SaradA. The latter word means, SAra-dA, the One who graces

you with the essence (sAram) of Knowledge.This may be

another reason why the Acharya had an affinity toward the

name. The name of the deity he installed in Sringeri is

ShAradAmbAL. In spite of the fact that he had a liking

towards this name, just as he never mentioned either lalitA

or Tripura-sundari in this stotra, he did not also mention

ShAradA. Still, by the words ‘Sharad-jyotsnA’ in the

beginning of this shloka, he reminds us of ShAradAmbAl.

 

The second line of the shloka talks about the four hands.

Two of the hands show the vara (boon) and abhaya

(fearlessness) mudrAs. Earlier it was said in shloka 4 that

all others other thanLalitAmbAL show the vara-abhaya

mudrAs. So in this shloka he presents Saraswati with the

vara-abhaya mudrAs. The dual word ‘trAsa-trANa’ indicates

the ‘abhaya’. For ‘trAsa’ means ‘fear’ and ‘trANa’ means

protection. Protection from fear is just ‘abhaya’,

fearlessness.

 

SphaTika-ghuTikA is the crystal bead necklace. In Sanskrit

it is called ‘aksha-mAlA’. This is the same as

‘akshara’mAlA’. The aksharas are the alphabets. The 51

letters of the Sanskrit alphabet from ‘a’ to ‘kshha’

correspond each by each to the beads in the necklace; that

is why it is called ‘akshara-mAlA’, also called

‘aksha-mAlA’. Here I have to tell you a very important

component of the ShAkta tradition and scriptures.

(To be Continued)

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess.

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.

[Guest guest]

Wishing all members here a very auspicious Saraswati Puja !

 

This installment of Saundarya-lahari is very timely as our

professorji has pointed out ! Today is Saraswati Puja the day we

honor the Goddess Of Learning, Sree Saraswati Devi! All due to Devi's

infinite kripa that we are blessed with this divine gift from the

Paramacharya's sri mukham!!!

 

Professorji writes....

 

"The word `sharad' becomes very apt when one refers to Goddess

Sarasvati. It is in sharad-ritu (the autumnal season) that we do pUjA

to Sarasvati. She is called ShAradA because of that. Our Acharya had

a special affinity to the ShAradA name. Sarasvati is very important

to him because we know he reached the peak of excellence in

scholarship."

 

Yes, it is because of this (saraswati denotes scholarship) , that all

great Scholars and swamis have the suffix attached after their name -

Chandrasekhara SarAswati swamigal or Dayananda Saraswati etc... or

even the suffix Bharati is added to men of scholarship! as Bharati is

also one of the names of Saraswati, the goddess of learning!

Subramanya bharati , the poet for instance!

 

Professorji has explained the meaning of Saraswati BEAUTIFULLY !

yeS, SARA MEANS "ESSENCE" ! SARA also means "flow" -

since 'knowledge' is never stagnant and is always continuous - it is

always flowing continuously like a 'river' ! it never dries up ! and

please do not allow 'knowledge' to ever dry up!

 

Let me live like I am going to die any minute with The DEVI'S NAME on

my lips !

 

Let me *Learn* Like i am always going to Live!

 

Aum SARASWATYAII NAMAHA!

 

 

Professorji has also mentioned that ADI shankara installed the deity

of sharadambaal at Sringeri!

 

Adi shankara established Four mutts in India to propogate the Advaita

philosophy. Sringeri Sharada Peetham (karnataka) is the first mutt

established by the great Acharya!ADI SHANKARA ESTABLISHED FOUR MUTTS

TO CARRY ON HIS TEACHINGS...

 

(Sringeri in the south. Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and

Joshir Math Badri in the north.)

 

It is believed Adi Shankaracharya saw a cobra, raising its hood to

provide a pregnant frog with shelter and protection on the banks of

the river Tunga. Moved by the sight, Shankara decided to stay there

for good.

 

Sringeri in Sanskrit in fact means a snake and a frog.

It was after he saw the rare sight of a hooded king cobra giving

shade to a pregnant frog, saving it from the burning rays of the sun,

that Adi Sankara chose this mountain location for establishing

a "Peeta". A place that makes the worst of enemies help each other is

a place where a temple for the Goddess should come up, he felt. We

wanted to pray at the shrine of Goddess Sharadamba and take a dip in

the holy waters of the Tunga.Bathing in the 'tungabhadra' river is as

sacred as bathing in the Ganges river.

 

The deity Sharadamba who is the embodiment of Supreme KNOWLEDGE is

shown as seated on top of a Sri Chakra consecrated by Adi

Shankara . .

 

"The navarathiri festival essentially celebrates three aspects of the

goddess — kriya shakti (action) as Durga on the first three days;

ichha shakti (desire) as Lakshmi on the next three days and jnana

shakti (knowledge) as Saraswati on the last three days. The 10th day —

Vijayadasami — indicates triumph of good over evil and the

achievement of the final purushartha of the unity of jeevatman into

paramatman through the wisdom and knowledge bestowed by the grace of

the goddess. " - in south indian tradition!

 

here is hymn to goddess Saraswati by adi shankara

 

Amala-kamalaadhivasini

 

maanaso vaimalyadaayini manoine i

 

sundara-gaatri susheele

 

tava charanaambhoruham

 

narnaami sadaa ii

 

O Goddess, You live in the lotus of purity,

 

You make the mind pure, and You are known by the inner mind.

 

You are beautiful as well as virtuous. I offer my salutation at Your

lotus feet at all times!

 

 

**********************************************************************

Well, folks ! ON THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY OF sARASWATI PUJA , join me in

offering prayers to Goddess Saraswati and Adi SHANKARA BHAGVADAPADA ,

JAGADGURU!

 

a heartfelt thanks to shriman krishnamurthyji also for bringing

such 'gems' to this forum!

 

( adi_shakti)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

advaitin, "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk>

wrote:

> Namaste.

> Recall the Note about the organization of the `Digest',

> from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

> V. Krishnamurthy

> A Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

> 29

> (Digest of pp.903 - 909 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume, 4th

> imprn.)

>

> We were talking about Shiva-sAyujya-padavI (the status of

> unity with Lord Shiva). To reach the world of the

> ishhTa-devatA (Chosen favourite deity) and live in that

> world is called sAlokya-padavI. The next stage is the

> sAmIpya stage. This is the stage where one lives in the

> beatific presence of that God. The next stage which is

> sArUpyam is the process of becoming that very form by

> continuously meditating on the form. The ultimate is the

> sAyujya-padavI where one becomes in essence the object of

> one's adoration. This is an identity status, both in form

> and essence.

>

> There are devotees of Shiva who seek that sAyujya padavI in

> their unquenchable thirst for becoming one with the Lord.

> In their case the sAyujyam is an end in itself. On the

> other hand, the divine damsels (go back to Shloka 12) who

> are seeking that sAyujya status with Lord Shiva do not seek

> it as an end, but as a means to be able to see the beauty

> of the Supreme Goddess. It is an irony that in the hands of

> these damsels even the greatest goal (sAdhyam) of

> shiva-sAyujya status has become a sAdhanA (means) for the

> sadhyam (that is, that which is sought, and therefore, a

> further goal), the darshan of the fullest beauty of ambaal!

>

> Well, just because these damsels have sought that status is

> it going to be within their reach? It is something which is

> inaccessible even for the hardest penance. These damsels

> know only to disturb and destroy the penances of the

> rishis. The sense-control needed for the hard penance is

> beyond their reach. So what do they do? They only try to

> achieve it mentally. But that status indeed is not

> reachable even by the mind. `yan manasA na manute' says the

> Upanishad, meaning, `What cannot be thought of even by the

> mind'. The bottomline therefore is, even they cannot

> ultimately know the beauty of ambaal!

>

> It is to be noted that this shloka, which elevates the

> beauty (soundaryam) of ambaal to its apex, is actually in

> the midst of the first part, that is Ananda-lahari.

>

> Another shloka (#14) describes ambaal as the

> personification of Time (kAlam).There are six seasons in a

> year. These 360 days of the year are the 360 rays of light

> emanating from the infinite Light of Shakti. Each of the

> chakras represents one of these seasons and there are as

> many rays there as there are days in the corresponding

> season.For instance, in the mUlAdhAra chakra, there are

> fifty-six rays, corresponding to the fifty six days of

> vasanta-ritu (the spring season). She thus contracts

> Herself as a ritu in Time and stays as such in that chakra.

> In reality She transcends Time; She is kAlAtItA. It is in

> that transcendent state, She manifests as the divine Feet

> in the thousand-petalled chakra, beyond the six chakras.

> The pair of Her lotus feet – `tava padAmbuja-yugam' -- is

> there in that sahasrAra chakram.

>

> Amidst the Anandalahari shlokas I will now pick up one

> shloka (#15) which depicts Her, not in Her lalitA form, but

> in another form consistent with the ShrI VidyA tantra.

>

> Sharat-jyotsnA shuddhAM shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM

> vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM /

> sakRn-na tvA natvA katham-iva satAM sannidadhate

> madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH paNitayaH //

>

> satAM: For (those) noble ones,

> sakRt : just once

> natva: having prostrated

> tva : to You

> Sharat-jyotsnA-shuddhAM : who is as pure and white as the

> autumnal moonlight

> shashi-yuta-jaTA-jUTA-makuTAM: who has the crown of matted

> hair that includes the moon, and

> vara-trAsa-trANa-sphaTika-ghuTikA-pustaka-karAM: who holds

> in the (four) hands, the boon mudrA, the fear-protection

> mudrA, the crystal bead necklace, and the book

> Katham-iva : why(would)

> paNitayaH : the speech capabilities

> madhu-kshhIra-drAkshhA-madhurima-dhurINAH: which are

> pregnant with the sweetness of honey, milk and grapes

> na sannidadhate: not accrue?

>

> Here the Goddess depicted is the the Goddess of Speech,

> (vAg-devi or Sarasvati), but without Her usual VINA in Her

> hand.

>

> The word `sharad' becomes very apt when one refers to

> Goddess Sarasvati. It is in sharad-ritu (the autumnal

> season) that we do pUjA to Sarasvati. She is called ShAradA

> because of that. Our Acharya had a special affinity to the

> ShAradA name. Sarasvati is very important to him because we

> know he reached the peak of excellence in scholarship.

>

> [Note by VK. It is a miraculous coincidence

> that the turn, in this series, of this posting,

> has come on the ninth day of navarAtri,

> which is the day of Sarasvati-Puja,

> that falls on Saturday the 4th of October, 2003.]

>

> ShAradA is one of the more important names of Sarasvati.

> It indicates simultaneously the perfect purity of whiteness

> and the cool Grace that combines pleasantness and goodness.

> Very often `sha' and `sa' get interchanged in tradition. In

> north India there is the custom of referring to ShAradA as

> SaradA. The latter word means, SAra-dA, the One who graces

> you with the essence (sAram) of Knowledge.This may be

> another reason why the Acharya had an affinity toward the

> name. The name of the deity he installed in Sringeri is

> ShAradAmbAL. In spite of the fact that he had a liking

> towards this name, just as he never mentioned either lalitA

> or Tripura-sundari in this stotra, he did not also mention

> ShAradA. Still, by the words `Sharad-jyotsnA' in the

> beginning of this shloka, he reminds us of ShAradAmbAl.

>

> The second line of the shloka talks about the four hands.

> Two of the hands show the vara (boon) and abhaya

> (fearlessness) mudrAs. Earlier it was said in shloka 4 that

> all others other thanLalitAmbAL show the vara-abhaya

> mudrAs. So in this shloka he presents Saraswati with the

> vara-abhaya mudrAs. The dual word `trAsa-trANa' indicates

> the `abhaya'. For `trAsa' means `fear' and `trANa' means

> protection. Protection from fear is just `abhaya',

> fearlessness.

>

> SphaTika-ghuTikA is the crystal bead necklace. In Sanskrit

> it is called `aksha-mAlA'. This is the same as

> `akshara'mAlA'. The aksharas are the alphabets. The 51

> letters of the Sanskrit alphabet from `a' to `kshha'

> correspond each by each to the beads in the necklace; that

> is why it is called `akshara-mAlA', also called

> `aksha-mAlA'. Here I have to tell you a very important

> component of the ShAkta tradition and scriptures.

> (To be Continued)

> Thus spake the Paramacharya.

>

> PraNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess.

> 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.