Nirguna Manasa Puja - Shankaracharya - 3/33

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

nirmalasya kutaH snaanaM vaaso vishvodarasya cha .

agotrasya tvavarNasya kutastasyopavItakam.h .. 3..

 

nirmalasya = (of the) Taintless

kutaH = how

snaanaM = bath

vaasaH = garment

vishva-udarasya = (of the One who) contains the whole universe

cha = and

agotrasya = (of the One) without ancestry

tu = indeed

avarNasya = (of the One) outside the bounds of social order

kutaH = how

tasya = His

upavItakam.h = sacred thread

 

How is the Taintless one to be bathed, and what garment to clothe for the

One who contains the whole universe?

Indeed, what (is the) sacred thread ceremony for the One who has no

ancestry, and is outside the bounds of the social order?

[Guest guest]

Namaste Sunderji.

 

I am delightfully reminded of our Mother's sweet

name "brahmANdabhANdOdarI" in AnnapUrNA StOtram by the same Sankara!

How thrilling!

 

Thanks and praNAms.

 

Madathil Nair

______________________________

 

 

advaitin, "Sunder Hattangadi" <sunderh>

wrote:

..........................

> vishva-udarasya = (of the One who) contains the whole universe

[Guest guest]

dear all!

 

Our Sunder-ji will be soon posting the rest of the 33 verses of

Nirguna manasa puja which would involve the steps involved

in 'ritualistic' puja...but done manasically or internally!

 

For the benefit of the non-hindus in the audience, let me outline the

steps.

 

Avahana - the invocation of the deity.

 

Asana - a seat is offered to the deity.

 

SvagataM - the deity is welcomed

 

Padya - the feet of the deity are washed with water.

 

Arghya - a respectful offering of water is made to the archa-

vigraha . This water is laced with sandalwood paste, vermilion and

rice.

 

Achamania - water is then offered for washing the face and mouth of

the deity.

 

Madhu-parka - a beverage made of honey, sugar, and milk is

offered to the deity.

 

Snanajala - the deity is offered water for bathing.

 

Bhushana abharanasya - clothes, jewels and ornaments are offered

next.

 

Gandha - sandalwood paste or any other fragrant object is

offered.

 

Akshata - grains of rice mixed with vermilion are offered.

 

Pushpanjali - flowers are offered.

 

Dhupa - incense is lit.

 

DEEPA - the lamp is lit and waved in front of the deity .

 

Naivedya - rice, fruit, butter and sugar are offered next.

 

Visarjana - the deity is finally bidden farewell.

 

At the end, arati is performed.

 

These are the basic steps. But, there are elaborate pujas as well .

we will not go into that now. But there is meaning and significance

behind each act and this will be clear to you when our Sunderji poSts

all the thirty-three verses.

 

The key ingredient is Pure Love and devotion... do not worry if you

miss a step or two !

 

Our divine Mother is an embodiment of forgiveness!

 

For example, Our divine Mother likes Hibiscus FlowerS! Can you

imagine reciting 108 names of KALI with 108 Hibiscus flowers? The

pushpanjali will be Taller than the idol of Kali!so, SUBSTITUTION is

allowed. It is the 'Bhava' that counts.

 

ALSO, the puja-paddhati varies from deity to deity ... for example,

you cannot offer 'yagyopavit' (the sacred thread) to a female deity!

 

well, story time!! being a Grand-ma, i luv telling stories...

 

Saint Kabir's Guru was a hindu saint named Ramanand . When Saint

Ramanand accepted Kabir as his disciple , his Hindu disciples were

outraged. They were upset with their master how a Hindu Guru can

accept a Muslim disciple.

 

Swami Ramanand performed a daily puja to Lord Ram, his chosen deity,

ishta-devata .

 

He performed this puja with his mind not with his hands. ( manasika

puja)

 

Ramanand started his Manasika puja by following the usual steps -

inviting the deity, offering the seat, washing the feet etc etc ....

but at one stage he got stuck!! He could not proceed any further .

Ramanand had placed the beautiful jewelled crown (Mukut) on Lord

Rama's head !!! and now came the next part, Ramanand had to PLACE THE

BEAUTIFUL FLOWER Garland around Sri Rama's neck!! but try as he

might, the crown was too big and he was simply unable to offer the

flower garland to the Lord! the circumferance of the Garland was not

large enough to fit over the crown and the Crown could not be removed

once it is placed ! that would be an APRADHA!!! ( a blemish)

 

 

Now, his disciple Kabir was sitting in the next room seperated by a

curtain. Kabir, the Jnani-bhakta , realized his Guru's pedicament!!!

..

>From outside, from behind the curtain, Kabir spoke:

"Gurudev, untie the knot of the garland and then tie it

around Shri Rama's neck."

 

The guru was wonder-stuck! How could Kabir have known his problem?

No words had been spoken. Nothing was there to be seen. After all, he

was performing a 'manasika' puja!

 

The swami called all his hindu disciples "Remove the curtain, for

what can one hide from Kabir?" Ramanand stood up and

embraced his disciple. He also began to embrace Kabir's

outspoken views. Kabir's knowledge of the Inner Path would

soon gain the guru's acceptance.

 

 

Kabir, we should go back to his roots. Born of a low, but skilled,

caste, between the two worlds of Hindus and Muslims, Kabir understood

life.

 

"I do not quote from the scriptures," he wrote. "I simply see what I

see." Kabir rejected the outward show of the sadhus, ascetics,

all "God men" around him, who he described as "the thugs of Benares."

God is to be found, not in the temple, but inside:I have met Him

in my heart.When a stream enters the Ganges,it becomes the Ganges

itself.Kabir is lost in the Ganges.

 

when the wave merges with the ocean it becomes the ocean itself!!!

 

but, i still like to be 'drop'so i can woo the Ocean !!!!! (

premasagara- our Krishna Paramatma)!