Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS-34)

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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 -

34

(Digest of pp.929-935 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume, 4th

imprn.)

 

I was saying that there are many shlokas where we cannot

in any way infer what results will accrue from a

mantra-japam of the shloka. Shloka 35, for instance, says

that ambaal lives in the six chakras as the five elements

and the mind. It is said that this shloka has the effect of

curing tuberculosis. Obviously there seems to be no

connection. Like this there are several shlokas where the

meaning and the results said to accrue from it are totally

disconnected. It all means that the vibrations of the

sounds created,the words themselves, not their meanings,

have that effect. We may make a doll in the shape of a red

chili, with sugar as the material base; the outer will look

like a hot chili, whereas the whole material is sweet. In

the same way the meanings of the words may be something,

but the power of the words as a mantra may be something

else.

 

Also, the same shloka may give different, almost

contradictory, results for different persons. Shloka no.84

(ShrutInAM mUrdhAno) has been said to give the power of

leaving one’s own body and getting into the body of

another. But the same shloka has also been earmarked as a

sAdhaNA for moksha!. One has to remember, in such cases, it

is the attitude of the devotee in question that comes into

play. The attitude of the upAsakA (the practitioner of the

sAdhanA) has a value. Depending on the needs and desires of

the upAsaka, the results will vary. Honey can induce sleep

in some one who is habitually a non-sleeper; and the same

honey, in the case of a lazy and constant dozer, may

produce wakefulness and alertness. Thus the same shloka

might give different results depending on the mental

make-up of the user. Shloka 63 (“smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM”) is a

sAdhanA shloka for the merging of jIva in brahman; but if

one does not want this high noble effect, it will give the

other effect of attracting people to oneself! Again, Shloka

73 which talks about the breast feeding of ambaal’s milk

and the consequent effects on Ganesha and Subrahmanya can

lead to two different results: if the goal is jnAna, the

mantra-japam of this shloka with that as goal, will lead

step by step from the blessedness of celibacy all the way

up to the obtaining of brahma-jnAna; on the other hand if

the same shloka is used as a mantra by a lactating mother

who is lacking the necessary breast-milk, she will have her

problem solved.

 

Here is a lemon. It has several uses. It can be used in a

garland of lemons for the Goddess. It can be used to give a

lemonish touch to an edible combination of vegetables. It

can be used as dirt remover while cleaning vessels. It can

be used for a medicinal purpose. It may also be used in

occult practices. In the same way, the effect of a word or

word-vibrations can vary over a wide spectrum. That is why,

the ideal way is to have the attitude: “I don’t want this

or that. Whatever you think as good for me, Oh Mother, give

me that. Even if you don’t want to give anything, let me do

the recitation for just the love of it”.

 

Whether you want it or not, there are effects of such

recitation. For instance, the shloka #44 beginning with

“tanotu kshhemaM nas-tava vadana soundaryalahari” gives a

general cure for all ailments and sicknesses. Specific

cures for specific diseases of the body have also been

noted for several shlokas. Each of these only trumpets the

power of shabda ( sound ). There is a shloka for the cure

of diseases of the eye and the ear. “Your eyes have an

extent up to the ears” says the shloka (#52) “gate

karNApyarNam ... ime netre”. Just by thinking that ambaal’s

eyes extend up to the ears, the power of sound is so much

that the diseases of both the eyes and ears are cured! Here

it appears there is some kind of correlation between the

effects of sound and the meanings of the words which make

the sound. In another shloka (#58), though both these

(eyes and ears) are mentioned, the effect is said to be

‘cure of all diseases’. What is the logic behind this? You

cannot answer the question. We have only to say “Sound

value is such”!

We started all this account from Shloka #20 which contains

the mantra for two kinds of ailment – one, a poisonous bite

and two, fever.Let us go to that shloka now.

 

AmbaaL is thought of as having a form that shoots forth

amRita-rasa (nectar essence) through the rays emanating

from every part of Her body. Hers is that kind of form

which is crystal-like in colour that reflects moonlight

with a cool and delightful shine; it is a colourless

colour. And nectar springs forth from every spot of that

form. The very thought of this divine feat gives us a

cooling effect. One who meditates on this himself gets the

qualities of nectar. What is the opposite of nectar?

Poison. That is why no poison, no snake can touch him!.

 

Poison is the opposite of nectar. The opposite of snakes is

Garuda. Actually there are two opposites of a snake. One is

Garuda; the other is a peacock. Lord Vishnu has Garuda as

his vehicle and Lord Subrahmanya has peacock as his

vehicle. But the same Vishnu is also reclining on the

snake. And Subramanya is Himself called Nagaraja (the King

of snakes). All this looks self-contradictory.

 

The snake has two facets. When it sleeps as the kundalini

shakti in a person it only promotes lust. Even the little

prANic energy in them is lost in that lust. Therefore the

snake in that situation is said to be poisonous and evil.

It is this poison that Garuda and the peacock destroy. When

the poison is eradicated, the same snake of the kundalini,

when it rises to the sahsrAra cakra, it pours forth nectar!

Now it is a ‘good’ snake - not the corresponding Tamil

word, which means a deadly snake! The fact that energy is

lost because of lust is accepted by all. But the same

energy becomes immortal energy (nectar-flow) by yoga is not

generally accepted by people; and that too, by the people,

who have never done the experiment!

(To be Continued)

 

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

praNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess

profvk

 

 

 

 

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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.