How does God protect us?

[Guest guest]

Srigurubhyo NamaH

  

  How does God protect us?

  

  A Vedanta sadhaka recites the Shanti mantras every day.  In those mantras there are prayers to the Gods for protection from the various obstacles that could arise from (1)natural forces like earthquake, floods, etc., (2) bodily (and mental) ailments and (3) other elements inimical to us like thieves, wild animals, etc.  A life that is free from such afflictions is ideal for sadhana.  But, owing to the past karma of the aspirant, troubles do come, taking one or the other of the forms mentioned above..  It is with a view to seek protection from these difficulties and a smooth progress in sadhana that the scriptures have handed down to us the Shanti mantras to be chanted every day.

  

  There is a nice verse that talks about how the Gods protect us:

  

  Na devaa daNDamAdAya rakShanti pashupaalavat |

  Yam hi rakShitumicchanti buddhyA samyojayanti tam || (source not known)

  

  A cowherd tends the cows with a stick in hand.  This is not the way of the Gods.  When the Divinities will to protect someone, they do it by blessing him with the appropriate intellect to handle the situation.. 

  

  When one prays 'Dhiyo yo naH prachodayAt',  'impel our intellects with the right thoughts', it is this kind of protection that is prayed for.  For, right thinking is essential both to take preventive measures and also to handle a situation by taking corrective action.  

  

  In the Brahmasutra bhashya (III.ii.41) the scriptural view of the role of God in man's actions and reaping the fruits thereof is mentioned:

  (quote)This view is proved by the circumstance of scripture representing the Lord not only as the giver of fruits but also as the causal agent with reference to all actions whether good or evil. Compare the passage, Kau. Up. III, 8, 'He makes him whom he wishes to lead up from these worlds do a good deed; and the same makes him whom he wishes to lead down from these worlds do a bad deed.' The same is said in the Bhagavadgîtâ (VII, 21), 'Whichever divine form a devotee wishes to worship with faith, to that form I render his faith steady. Holding that faith he strives to propitiate the deity and obtains from it the benefits he desires, as ordained by me.'

  All Vedânta-texts moreover declare that the Lord is the only cause of all creation. And his creating all creatures in forms and conditions corresponding to--and retributive of--their former deeds, is just what entitles us to call the Lord the cause of all fruits of actions. And as the Lord has regard to the merit and demerit of the souls…..(unquote)

  

  Some 'Peace Chants', Shanti PaaTha-s are given below:

  

  Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;

May we work conjointly with great energy,

May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).

Om ! Let there be Peace in me !

Let there be Peace in my environment !

Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

  (Om! Saha naavavatu…etc. chanted at the beginning of the Taittiriya Upanishad)

  Om. May Brahman protect us both! May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of Knowledge! May we both obtain the energy to acquire Knowledge! May what we both study reveal the Truth! May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other!

  Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

  

  Harih Om.

  May Mitra be propitious unto us! May Varuna be propitious unto us! May Aryaman be propitious unto us! May Indra and Brihaspati be propitious unto us! May Vishnu, of wide strides, be propitious unto us!

Salutation to Brahman! Salutation to Thee, O Vayu! Thou indeed art the visible Brahman. Thee indeed I shall proclaim as the visible Brahman. Thee indeed, O Vayu, I shall proclaim as the right. Thee indeed I shall proclaim as the true. May It protect me! May It protect the teacher! May It protect me! May It protect the teacher!

  Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

  

  Om! O gods, may we hear auspicious words with the ears; while engaged in sacrifices, may we see auspicious things with the eyes; while praising the gods with steady limbs, may we enjoy a life that is beneficial to the gods.

  May Indra of ancient fame be auspicious to us; may the supremely rich (or all-knowing) PUsHaa (god of the earth) be propitious to us; may GaruDa, the destroyer of evil, be well disposed towards us; may BRhaspati ensure our welfare.

  Om. Peace! Peace! Peace!

  

  Pranams,

  subbu

 

           

 

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[Guest guest]

advaitin, V Subrahmanian <subrahmanian_v>

wrote:

>

> Srigurubhyo NamaH

>   

>   How does God protect us?

 

>   There is a nice verse that talks about how the Gods protect us:

>   

>   Na devaa daNDamAdAya rakShanti pashupaalavat |

>   Yam hi rakShitumicchanti buddhyA samyojayanti tam || (source not

known)

>   

>   A cowherd tends the cows with a stick in hand.  This is not the

way of the Gods.  When the Divinities will to protect someone, they

do it by blessing him with the appropriate intellect to handle the

situation. 

>   

 

  

    A slight variation occurs in: Mahabharata, Udyogaparva, ch. 35,

v. 33

 

(Vidura's advice to Dhritarashtra) -

 

http://sanskrit.surasa.net/mirrors/mahabharata/txt/05.txt 

 

 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m05/m05035.htm (Engl. transl. by

Ganguli)

 

na devA yaShTimAdAya rakShanti pashupAlavat .

ya.n tu rakShitumichchhanti buddhyA sa.nvibhajanti tam || 33 ||

[Guest guest]

advaitin, "advaitins" <advaitins> wrote:

>

> --->   

>     A slight variation occurs in: Mahabharata, Udyogaparva, ch. 35,

> v. 33

>

> (Vidura's advice to Dhritarashtra) -

>

> http://sanskrit.surasa.net/mirrors/mahabharata/txt/05.txt 

>

>

> http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m05/m05035.htm (Engl. transl. by

> Ganguli)

>

> na devA yaShTimAdAya rakShanti pashupAlavat .

> ya.n tu rakShitumichchhanti buddhyA sa.nvibhajanti tam || 33 ||

>

Pranams,

 

Thanks for the information on the source.

Regards,

subbu