re:rudram chanting

[Guest guest]

on the above subject I wish to submit my humble views

as under for whatever it is worthy of:

whether one does parayana of Bhagavad gita or recite

Vishnusahasranama or chant Rudram the ultimate aim is

the same to chant the name of the supreme Lord be it

in the form of Vishnu or Siva. The goal is

Realization through path of Bhakthi and Namasmarana.

Lord Krishna himself has said " RUDRANAM SANKARASCHA

ASMIN" He also said "SARVA BHOOTHA STHITAM YO MAAM

...."(ref gita ch6 sl 31) whereby He said that he who

worships Me residing in all beings in a spirit of

unity,becomes a Yogi and, whatever his mode of life,

lives in Me.

I also would like to refer sloka 21 of ch 7 " YOYO

YAAM YAAM THANUM BHAKTAHA...." Whatever form a

particular devotee wishes to worship with faith -

concerning that alone I make his faith unflinching.

Even Lord Srirama invoked Lord Siva before crossing

the sea at Rameswaram.

In the daily sandhyavandan of all Yajurvedis we recite

the sloka" SIVAAYA VISHNU RUPAAYA, SIVARUPAAYA

VISHNAVE SIVASYA HRUDAYAM VISHNUHU VISHNOSCHA HRUDAYAM

SIVAHA,,YADHAASIVAMAYOH VISHNU EVAM VISHNU

MAYYAHSIVAHA...." SO ON.

Niraakaara worship is difficult and hence we have

taken up Saakara worship. While doing so we are

bogged in formalities, rituals and different ways of

worshipping the same SUPREME LORD by different names

and forms. That is why Lord Krishna said in Sl 3 or

ch 7 " Among thousands of men one perchance struggles

for perfection; even am;ongst those that struggle (one

perchance becomes perfect), and even amongst those

that are perfect, one perchance know Me in reality."

Hence all our actions should in my opinion be done

with dedication and deep devotion whether we worship

siva , Vishnu or any other chosen form of God. I do

not think there is anything wrong in chanting Rudram

or Vishnusaharanamam whether one is a Saivite or

Vaishnavite. In fact to attain Immortality or Moksha

besides these ritualistic practises one has to

practise Karma yoga through Saadhana and Jnaana.

Thanks for yr patience

Harinarayana

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Aravinda Raman,

 

I am also anxiously waiting for HH Sri Jeeyar Swamy to enlighten

us on this discussion. Until then, though, here are a few

unqualified thoughts of my own:

 

All our Acha:ryas throughout history have clearly emphasized that

there is only One Supreme God, Sriman Narayana, the abode of all

Good Qualities, the one of Indescribably Beautiful Form, the very

Soul of this Universe. And, as prapannas or bha:gavathas, it is

He who should be the sole Being to whom we offer our adoration

and service. The Acha:ryas have also emphasized just as

strongly, however, that the ve:das are the absolute truth, and it

in only in understanding and believing in them unconditionally

that we can begin to understand the nature of this universe and

the meaning of life.

 

There can be no question that our Acha:ryas are the sources of

true knowledge, so then why on earth would they put us into a

paradox by speaking to us of Sriman Narayana as the only God and

then making us put our faith into sacred works that speak

otherwise? I would like to suggest that they have not and would

like to offer the following example to illustrate otherwise.

 

In our diya de:shams, we find so many beautiful names for God,

Veerara:ghava, Sri:nivasa, LakshmiNarasimha, Aravindalo:chana,

Pundarika:ksha, etc. Each of these names seems to signify a

unique deity, and indeed each form looks somewhat different

unique when we first enter. But, upon closer examination, one

see the same Lord, our Lord, Sriman Narayana, carrying the

Sankham and Chakram, wearing a vanama:la, holding Lakshmi on His

Chest, etc. If this is the case, then could it be possible that

names like Rudra, Indra, Agni, Va:yu, as presented in the ve:das

are also Him in unique forms, too? In Vishnu sahasrana:mam, in

which there is no arguement as to whom we are worshipping, we

find these very names. Sri Krishnamachary has spent several

years in elaborating on each, so he could probably could go into

more detail as to their literal meanings and how they relate back

to Sriman Narayana. So, then Rudra is a name for Narayana,

Shiva is a name for Narayana, Agni is one of His Names, and so

on. So many names, and yet none other than Sriman Narayana Alone

can begin to fully describe the Wonder that He is.

 

Now, does this mean then that the other gods are false, and that

people should not chanting to a lingam when reciting rudram? To

understand this, let us take a look at our own names. As

Vaishnavas, we are very happy to name our children after Sriman

Narayana. Just in the responses to this posting, you see

Aravinda Raman, Harinarayana, Mohan, Krishna, and so on. It

would be ludicrous to think that simply because we are named

after him, someone would say that Mr. Aravinda Raman is the same

as Dasaratha's Son, or that Mr. Krishnamachary is an avatara of

the Cowherd Prince, or that Mr. HariNarayana has four arms and

carries a sankham and chakram We are named these names because

our respective parents felt Love for Him and wanted to honor Him

by naming their son after Him and their daughter after His

Consort. Since the de:vas are beings just like ourselves, could

it be that they are being honored by being named after Him, too?

If this is the case, chanting rudram to the one who appears as a

lingam is not saying that one deity and Vishnu are one, or even

that this deity is at the same level as Him. Instead, it is a

means to express love and adoration for a higher being through

the process of bathing him while by calling out to him using

names that are unique only to Vishnu Alone. it can be likened

to a mother who sings Ma:nnikam katti or an Annama:cha:rya

keerthana to her baby, thinking of Her Love for the Lord, and

then transferring this same mood of Love to the baby.

 

rama:nuja da:san

mohan

[Guest guest]

The same arguments stand for a saivite wrt to vishnu