The Secret Formula

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta

Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

The Formula

 

 

 

We are told that Alibaba became rich by stumbling accidentally upon a

secret formulation, which was the key to the cave of treasures. It is clear from

this that there are some combinations of letters and words, which are capable of

conferring on us the desired ends. The Mantra Shastra tells us of numerous such

formulae, the mastery of which bestows various benefits. We thus hear of the

Mrityunjaya mantra, which is supposed to enable one to conquer death, the Garuda

mantra which is capable of freeing one from fear of snakes, the HayagrIva mantra

which bestows wisdom, the SanthAna GOpAla mantra capable of making barren couple

beget progeny, and so on.

 

 

 

Each of these formulations is said to confer a specific benefit upon the

upAsaka. One mantra would not bestow on its votary any additional advantage

other than what it is meant to. For instance, the Mrityunjaya mantra would not

make us wealthy, nor is the Garuda mantra meant for bestowing progeny. And none

of the minor mantras are capable of liberating us from SamsAra. Though these

mantras may be potent formulations in their own right, yet they are meant to

redress specific grievances.

 

 

 

In days of yore, people were endowed with the long life and determination

required for individually acquiring and focussing on these mantras, for

achieving various goals. This, however, is the jet age, wherever everybody is in

a mad rush to get somewhere. We may not know exactly where we are headed, but we

are in a terrific hurry to get there. Some of us, like the Fairy Queen in "Alice

in Wonderland", are running hard to stay in the same place. Given this lack of

time and inclination, we would hardly be able to learn and worship the numerous

mantras that would help us achieve life's varied goals.

 

 

 

What we require, therefore, is an omnibus formulation, a panacea for all ills

and a KamadhEnu (the divine cow) that would provide us with all we need both

here and in other worlds. This would be a one-stop-shop for all our

requirements, a single mantra of sufficient potency, which would ensure

satisfaction of all our desires. This seems to be a tall order. Even the

biggest of malls and shopping arcades has its limitations and there are some

things that it cannot supply ex-stock. It would therefore appear to be well near

impossible to find such an all-in-one mantra to suit our requirements.

 

 

 

Looking at our avarice and helplessness, Azhwars, the true spiritual

scientists they are, have indeed discovered such an omnibus formulation. Unlike

modern scientists who insist on keeping their discoveries\inventions to

themselves, patent them and appropriate to themselves all the attendant

benefits, Azhwars, in their anxiety to ensure the upliftment of the suffering

masses, proclaim their discovery from the rooftops, for all to hear and benefit.

 

We find almost all Azhwars generously sharing with us the benefits of their

arduous research. The foremost among these is Sri Thirumangai Mannan. Lest

people should lack the patience to plough through his voluminous outpourings,

Sri Parakala presents the discovery at the very beginning of his Peria

Thirumozhi, in the very first Tirumozhi.

 

 

 

The potency of this formulation is such that it bestows on us the benefits

of good birth and unlimited wealth, guarantees freedom from troubles and

travails that plague the average man on the street, and, after ensuring a full

and satisfied life, also transports us to the Eternal Land from where no one

returns to this world of misery and misfortune. It is a mantra guaranteed to

confer 100% satisfaction, says Sri Thirumangai Mannan-

 

"Kulam tharum selvam thandidum adiyAr padu thuyar Ayina ellAm

 

nilam taram seyyum nIL visumbu aruLum aruLodu peru nilam aLikkum

 

valam tharum mattrum thandidum pettra thAyinum Ayina seididum

 

nalam tharum sollai nAn kaNdu kondEn Narayana ennum nAmam"

 

 

 

It is the mother who, even without being requested, anticipates every need of

her child and fulfils them fully and in time. This mantra, however, is greater

in glory than even the mother, for, while the mother can cater only to one's

material needs, this mantra takes care of our spiritual health too.

 

 

 

Like a potent medicine that not only eradicates the crippling illness but also

ensures a disease-free life, this mantra too rids us of troubles when they

plague us and reserves for us an existence of unalloyed bliss. Even if one

doesn't require anything from life and is perfectly satisfied with what it has

to offer, this mantra can be recited for the pure pleasure it offers and for its

own sake, says Sri Kalian-

 

"thunjum pOdu azhaimin, thuyar varil ninaimin

 

thuyarileer sollilum nandrAm

 

nanju than kandeer nammudai vinaikku

 

Narayana ennum nAmam"

 

 

 

This is not the opinion of one single Azhwar- others too join the virtual chorus

of its votaries. Look at Sri Satakopa Muni, for instance-he swears on all that

he holds holy that the Narayana mantra is the one for us, if we wish to meditate

on the Lord's lotus feet-

 

"KaNnan kazhal iNai naNNum manam udayeer

 

eNNum tirunAmam thiNNam NAraNamE"

 

 

 

When there are other mantras too, which are equally popular and effective, what

is the reason for the Azhwars' preference for the ashtAkshara or the

eight-lettered Narayana mantra? After all, mantras with Sri Vishnu and Sri

VAsudEva are included in the three "VyApaka" mantras and are endowed with no

mean powers. Why forsake them for the ashtAkshara? Does this have any special

sanction? Aren't Vishnu, Vasudeva and Narayana different names of the same

Deity?

 

 

 

Azhwars are ever faithful to the Vedas, which form the basis for all their

outpourings. It is the Vaidika matham that is espoused by the discoverers of the

Dravida Veda. Not a single word of their compositions is out of tune with the

Shruti, to which their averments are firmly moored. We thus find that their

preference for the Narayana mantra is due to its espousal by the Shruti. We find

further that this mantra enjoys the enthusiastic endorsement of the Veda Purusha

in the Narayana anuvAka, where he proclaims that it is indeed Sriman Narayana

who is the Supreme Being, the Guiding Light, the subtlest of Truths, the

indestructible pervader of the Universe, the greatest and the most glorious of

all, the inner-dweller of all sentient and non-sentient beings. Everything this

world sees and hears is indeed His glorious form and name. He is endless,

unchanging and resides in a microscopic form in everybody's heart. The Narayana

anuvAka repeats this particular tirunAmam of the Lord time and again with joy,

much like a child with a new toy-

 

"Visvam Narayanam dEvam"

 

"Visvam Narayanam Harim"

 

"Narayanam mahAgyEyam, VisvAtmAnam"

 

"Narayana Parabrahma, tatthvam Narayana: para:"

 

"Narayana parO jyOti: AtmA Narayana: para:" etc.

 

 

 

We also find in the atharva shikhOpanishad a reiteration and expansion of the

concepts expounded in the Narayana anuvAka. It confirms that the entire Universe

is indeed the Lord's body, so that all beings, however exalted they are, are but

an insignificant part of Him. Those who realise the glory of this ashtAkshara

are blessed with all they need in this world and attain immortality thereafter,

eulogizes the Upanishad.

 

We find a reflection of this pleasurable repetition in Sri Thirumangai Mannan's

Peria Thirumozhi, where he ends all the pasurams of the first decad with the

words, "Narayana ennum nAmam".

 

 

 

It is customary in our Sampradaya to prefix "Thiru" to all that we hold holy and

sacrosanct. It is an indicator of the greatness of this mantra too, that it is

called the "Thirumantram". Though we have mantras aplenty, none other than the

ashtAsharam is glorified by this prefix. It is also known as the "Moolamantram".

Swami Desikan says that it is this mantra which forms the basis of our very

existence, "DhArakam", elucidating, as it does, the basic concepts of who we

are, who the Lord is, what is the type of relationship subsisting between us,

what are the hurdles to our liberation, the strategy we should adopt to rid

ourselves of samsAric sorrow and what awaits us when we reach the Lord's place.

 

 

 

Commensurate with its exalted status as the best of all formulations for

freedom, the ashtAkshara is also held to be the most precious of all treasures,

to be given only to those with a yearning for the Lord and His service. It is

not supposed to be doled out indiscriminately to all and sundry, which would

result in an erosion of its glory. Emphasising the discretion with which this

mantra is to be handled and given out, the NAradIya Kalpam says,

 

"MantrANAm paramO mantrO guhyAnAm guhyam utthamam

 

Pavitram cha pavithrANAm Moolamantra: sanAtana:"

 

 

 

It is in honour of this dictum that this mantra is preserved as a secret till

today by our Acharyas, who give it only to the selected few who, in their

opinion, would protect, preserve and worship the mantra and its precepts with

the reverence it deserves. The upadEsa of this mantra is done till today in the

"ashatkarNa" fashion-with only the Acharya and the eager disciple being present

during the initiation ceremony, as part of the PanchasamskAram. It is the Lord

Himself who set such a tradition by whispering the mantra in the ears of Sri

Thirumangai Mannan. The disciple is also enjoined with the responsibility of

preserving the precious mantra and not to distribute it among the undeserving,

for material or other gain.

 

 

 

It would be no exaggeration to say that this is the only mantra that finds

favour with Azhwars, if one were to go by their frequent reference to it with

reverence-

 

"nin thiru ettezhutthum kattru"

 

"ettezhutthum OduvArgaL vallar vAnam ALavE"

 

"nAdum nagaramum nangariya namO nArAyaNAya endru"

 

"nal vagayAl namo nArAyaNA endru" etc.

 

 

 

Some mantras are subject to strict and forbidding eligibility criteria and are

reserved for the elite few, with the majority denied of their benefits. The

glory of the ashtAkshara is that it is accessible not only to traivarNikAs, but

to everybody else too, with minor modifications in its form. Thus this is a

universal mantra, from which everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, sex

or economic status, can derive full benefit, the only preliminary requisites

being an abiding faith in the Lord and His dispensation, and unflinching

devotion towards the merciful Acharya who entrusts the sacred treasure of the

mantra to us.

 

 

 

And what is our duty, after having obtained this priceless heirloom from our

Acharya? We must meditate on the mantra and its purport regularly and guard it

closely and jealously as we would any precious treasure. This glorious

formulation is indeed a mirror, which reflects the ParamAtma, in all His glory,

with astounding clarity. Unlike other mantras, the ashtAkshara is short and

sweet, consisting of just eight letters, making for convenience of retention and

repetition.

 

 

 

"yathA sarvEshu dEvEshu nAsti NArAyanAt para:

 

tathA sarvEshu mantrEshu nAsti cha ashtAksharAt para:"

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LalshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, Sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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