Sridakshinamurtistotram ( Part X )

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Sridakshinamurtistotram

(Part X )

 

Na tasya kAryam karaNam ch vidyae na tat-samashcha-abhyadhikashcha

dRRishyate |

parAsya shaktir-vividhaiva shrUyate svAbhAvikI jnAna-bala-kriyA cha

||

 

[He is neither a source nor any instrument. None equls or surpasses

Him. Supreme is His power which is spoken of variously. His

knowledge, power and activity are spontaneous - The

ShvetaashvatarOpaniShad VI – 8]

 

 

The ninth verse of the Hymn is now taken up for a detailed

exposition. The verse reads:

 

bhUrambhAmsyanalo-`nilo-`mbaramahar-naatho himAmshuH pumAn-

ityAbhAti charAcharAtmakamidam yasyaiva mUrtyaShTakam |

nAnyat-kinchana vidyate vimRRishatAm yasmAt-parasmAd-vibhO-

stasmai shrIguru-mUrtaye nama idam shrIdakShiNaa-mUrtaye ||

 

Obeisance to Him, whose eight-fold form alone is the earth, water,

fire, air, ether, Sun, Moon and the jiva, in which manner this – the

moving and the unmoving – appears, beyond whom, Supreme and All-

pervading, nothing else exists for the discerning, to that

resplendent DakShiNaamUrti, incarnate in the glorious figure of

one's own Guru.

 

The anvaya:

 

Bhuh, ambhAmsi, analaH, anilaH, ambaram, aharnAthaH, himAmshuH,

pumAn iti chara-acharAtmakam idam (yat) aabhAti, (tat) yasyaiva

mUrtyaShTakam ,

vimRRishatAm yasmAt-parasmAd-vibhOH anyat-kinchana na vidyate,

tasmai shrIguru-mUrtaye, shrIdakShiNaa-mUrtaye idam namaH ||

 

The position of this verse in the Hymn:

 

The Hymn, as it was seen in the foregoing discussion, addresses the

problem of bondage, its cause, ignorance and its removal by

knowledge. In the process of setting forth these, the Hymn

elaborately dealt with the nature of Atman, the various types of

identifications that come about owing to ignorance, etc. While it

is acknowledged that the path of Jnana, Knowledge, is readily

acceptable to the aspirant of a high order, his having prepared

himself with the pre-requisites of Karma Yoga and UpAsana Yoga, the

aspirant who has not yet prepared in this manner has also to be

shown a way to equip himself with the necessary qualifications.

This aspect is catered to by the Hymn in the ninth stanza that we

are now in.

 

The central teaching of the Hymn is based on the recognition that

all this that is experienced as the world, moving and unmoving,

sentient and insentient, is Brahman/Atman alone appearing as the

variety. The appreciation of this teaching is not readily possible

for an aspirant of a lower caliber. He has to be taught to learn to

look upon the entire creation as the manifestation of Ishwara, God,

and develop devotion for the VishwarUpa Ishwara. This exercise,

undertaken with diligence and sincere application for a length of

time, will create the necessary condition in the mental make up of

the aspirant by regulating the emotional faculties, moulding the

outlook and result in a mind that is capable of dwelling upon one

idea or concept for a length of time without getting distracted. In

other words, the capacity to concentrate the mind on sublime things

of life is achieved.

 

The Hymn thus condescends to countenance the mandAdhikArin in whose

case the word dhyAna is to be understood as aham-grahopAsana.

Brahman is the Self of the meditator, the aspirant. This exercise

wards off other types of upAsana which are not conducive to the

attainment of the identification he is seeking. Says the

ShivAnandalahari, 83, for example:

 

//By worshipping the deities who themselves are subject to birth and

death, not an iota of happiness results; there need be no doubt

about this. Blessed are those who are devoted only to the birthless

eternal supreme Lord associated with Amba, the BrahmavidyA (Brahman-

Atman), for they secure Bliss beyond measure, even here.//

 

The Hymn prescribes this upaasanA of the ashTa-mUrti-svarUpa (the

eight-fold form of the Supreme), which is the attributed-form of the

Supreme. The Panchadashi (IX – 155, 156 and 157) says:

 

155. Even if there is no direct experience, one must constantly be

in the thought `I am Brahman'. Through meditation a man achieves

even other things (like the Deities), why not Brahman who is ever-

achieved?

 

156. If a man, who is convinced by his experience that meditation,

practised day by day, destroys the idea that the not-Self is the

Self, nevertheless becomes idle and neglects meditation, what

difference, tell us, is there between him and a brute?

 

157. Destroying his idea that the body is the Self, through

meditation a man sees the secondless Self, becomes immortal and

realises Brahman in this body itself.

 

This kind of upasana results in obtaining a closeness to the

SarvAtmatva bhAva which will result in the opening of the immediate

doorway to attain the very Universal Self-hood in one's own

experience.

 

Yet another reason why this upasana is ordained by the Guru is given

by the MAnasOllAsa: IX :

 

shhaTtri.nshattattvaruupaasu parameshvaramuurtishhu .

pratyaksheNopalabhyante sarvairapyashhTamuurtayaH .. 2..

 

[Of the thirty-six principles in which Parameshwara is regarded as

embodied, the eight forms are immediately perceived by all.]

 

 

ameyaasu manaH kshipramaaroDhu.n naarhatiityataH .

muurtyashhTakamayiiM bruuta guruH sarvaatmabhaavanaam.h .. 3..

 

[in as much as manas cannot readily ascend to things known only

mediately by inference, the Guru teaches the contemplation of the

universal Self in the eight forms.]

 

The Panchadashi (IX 78) points out:

 

78. He should continue the practice of meditation until he realises

himself to be identical with his object of meditation and then

continue this thought till death.

 

This would culminate, according to the maxim: what he thinks, he

becomes – in securing for the saadhaka the sAyujya of the upAsya,

the Lord, and eventually enlightenment by His Grace. The

MAnasOllAsa: IX : 1 says:

 

kathameva.nvidhaa maayaa nivarteteti pR^ichchhataH .

iishvaropaasanaaruupastadupaayaH prakiirtyate .. 1..

 

[`How can MAyA of this sort cease?' – To him who thus asks, devout

contemplation on Ishwara is taught as the means to that end.]

 

A unique but effective method:

 

The upAya that is the modus operandi pertaining to the upAsana of

SadAshiva is described in detail in the MAnasollaasa by utilizing

the thirty-six tattvas of the Shaivaagamas which are mentioned in

the second ullAsa (chapter) much in the same way as the

MAndUkyopaniShad uses the VyAkaraNashAstra prakriyaa of tAdAtmya-

sambandha between shaba and artha for effecting yugapat pravilApana

(simultaneous resolution). The mention of the dhyana involving the

thirty-six tattvas is seen in the vaidika-sampradaya as for example,

in the MahAnyAsa prayoga in the verses that mean:

 

// The essence of the thirty-six principles, which transcends them,

which is beyond the manifest jagat as also its cause the unmanifest,

the MAyaa, and thus absolutely taintless, the imperishable, is to be

meditated upon as the very Self always by the Yogins; I bow to

(i.e. dissolve myself in Him by erasing the ego) this fifth face,

the IshAna mukha, of the three-eyed Lord, Ishwara, which is beyond

ignorance, subtler thatn the subtlest, the Serene, the Effulgence

enveloping the sky.]

 

The MAnasOllAsa: IX points out that the aggregate of the thirty-six

principles is present everywhere in the Cosmos, BrahmAnDa, virAt,

which may be construed as the body of Maheshwara as also the

pinDAnDa, the body of each individual:

 

viraaTchhariire brahmaaNDe praaNinaamapi vigrahe .

shhaTtri.nshattattvasa~NghaataH sarvatraapyanuvartate .. 4..

 

 

The two are one, as cause and effect, the one being evolved out of

the other. The devotee should regard every principle in the

individual or the microcosmic body as one with the correspoinding

principle in the macrocosm. He should also regard the PuruSha

embedded in the former as one with Him, as embedded in the latter.

The detailed method can be seen in the The MAnasOllAsa: IX : 5 – 19.

 

[The complete transliteration of the The `MAnasOllAsa' of Shri

SureshwarachArya can be found in the following link:

 

http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_shiva/manasollasa.itx ]

 

The entire practice must be taken up under the direct control of the

Guru whose grace alone ensures the protective care and safety that

is vitally necessary throughout. The MAnasOllAsa: IX - 46 gives:

 

guruprasaadaallabhate yogamashhTaa~NgalakshaNam.h .

shivaprasaadaallabhate yogasiddhi.n cha shaashvatiim.h .. 46..

 

 

//By Guru's grace, the disciple attains the eight-stepped yoga; by

Shiva's grace, he attains perfection in yoga which is eternal.//

 

The underlying principle in this upAsana is this: The raw aspirant

is not right now prepared to take up the Atma VichAra, enquiry into

the Self. To bring about this preparation, the scriptures ordain a

structured exercise. At first, depending upon the temperament, one

chooses a formful deity, IshTadevatA, and worships the deity with

devotion. This is known as `eka rUpa Ishwara bhakti'. To this

aspirant, God is present in the deity, idol, form, only. He is not

able to visualize God as all pervading. When this devotion

sufficiently matures, he comes to look upon God as omnipresent:

Vishwa rUpa Ishvara Bhakti. It is this stage that is spoken of in

the ninth verse of the Hymn that is being studied now. This bhakti

enables the aspirant to take up the sadhana to realize the Formless

Non dual Truth, `arUpa Ishwara Bhakti'. The Bhagavadgita chapters

7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 contain detailed exposition of the Vishwa

rupa Ishwara. The journey is from ekarUpa Ishwara to vishwarUpa

Ishwara to arUpa Ishwara.

 

The emotional content of the aspirant, thus suitably tuned, will go

a long way in succeeding in the path of Vedanta saadhana,

culminating in ParA VidyA, Identity with the Supreme Truth.

 

In the next part we shall take up the study of the final verse of

the Hymn, the tenth stanza.

 

(end of part X)

(to be continued)

 

A subhAShita:

 

PRRithivyAm trINi ratnAni jalamannam subhAShitam |

MUDhaiH pAShANa-khanDeShu ratna-sam~jA kRRitA nanu ||

 

Three are the gems in the world: water, food and subhAShitam (A wise-

saying). It is only fools that consider pieces of stones as gems.

 

Om Tat Sat