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Second day - Murugan Talk

 

Murugan as a Real Being

In some religions the ultimate experience the religion offers is

having a strong belief in the existence of God. In Hinduism,

however, believing in God is only a first step toward an ever

deepening personal experience of God’s presence.

 

In this regard many of the great saints and sages of Hinduism

have had visions of Lord Murugan and shared them with their

devotees, thus strengthening the devotees’ faith and

understanding of these Divine Beings.

 

In ancient times such great saints as Arunagirinathar had

visions of Lord Murugan and wrote of his experiences in his

devotional poems such as in Kandar Anubhuti. Swami Sivananada ,

Divine Life Society Founder, wrote an excellent description of

this work. “The term Kandaranubhuti is derived from Kandar and

Anubhuti. ‘Kandar’ in Tamil is ‘Skanda’ in Sanskrit. ‘Anubhuti’

means ‘becoming one with’, or ‘Experience.’ Hence Kandaranubhuti

means to become one with Skanda and denotes God-Experience. This

is a work sung by Saint Arunagirinathar as a result of his

God-Experience or ‘Kandar Anubhuti’, which also directs others

to that Experience. It is the experience of the Saint given

expression to in such powerful words that when it is repeated by

others, it is capable of bringing the same experience in them,

in due course. Such is the glory of the work.” A sample verse

reads:

 

“Lord Murugan, wielder of the vel, whose form shines like the

crimson sky! On that day you revealed to me the unique divine

experience. Having it and experiencing it is the only way to

understand it. Is it something to talk about? How can it be told

to someone else?”

 

In modern times Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyawami, has shared

some of his mystical perspectives and experiences of Lord

Murugan in his writings and stories. One story has to do with

the founding of our Kadavul Hindu temple in Hawaii in 1973. A

large Nataraja bronze had recently arrived from India and

Gurudeva was wondering where in the building to place it. That

night in a vision, Lord Murugan came and struck His Vel three

times on the spot where the Nataraja Deity was to be placed. We

placed the Nataraja there the next day and worship began.

 

On many other occasions, Gurudeva would casually mention that he

had a vision of Lord Murugan the previous night in which they

were flying through akasa, or inner space, on their sides next

to one another. Gurudeva named a book we hope to produce one day

on Lord Murugan “Flying with Murugan” because of these frequent

visions.

 

We have arranged group pilgrimages to India since 1969, and some

pilgrims on various programs definitely had visions of Lord

Murugan as well as other Deities. The vision would often come in

the form of the stone or bronze murthi moving and smiling at

them, or turning into a human like figure that would move, or

also with their eyes closed seeing the Deities face as a living

being.

 

You may find it interesting to know that Gurudeva enjoined all

his devotees to revere and pilgrimage to Nallur temple in

Jaffna, Sri Lanka and Murugan’s six South Indian temples.

 

Though not too many living today have had visions of Lord

Murugan, in the year 1995 Hindus saw first hand the milk miracle

where in temples around the world devotees offered milk to the

murthi of Lord Ganesha, and it was drunk by Him. This surely

increased the faith of many in the reality of Lord Ganesha and

Lord Murugan. (Did any of you see this happen in person?)

 

Second: Blesses Us through the Temple

Knowing that the Gods are real beings and that the purpose of

going to the temple is to experience Their blessings is what

transforms the temple from a cultural hall to a truly sacred

place.

 

Here is a comment from Gurudeva on the reality of Lord Ganesha:

“There are a great many liberal Hindus and/or Western-influenced

Hindus who don’t think of Ganesha as a real being. To them He is

a symbol, a superstition, a way of explaining philosophy to

children and the uneducated. But this has not been my experience

of our loving Lord. I have seen Him with my own eye. He has come

to me in visions several times and convinced my lower mind of

His reality.”

 

When giving talks in temples over the years, Gurudeva often

explained that stone or metal Deity images are not mere symbols

of the Gods; they are the form through which their love, power

and blessings flood forth into this world. This is like our

ability to communicate with others through the telephone. We do

not talk to the telephone; rather we use a telephone as a means

of communication with another person who is perhaps thousands of

miles away. Without the telephone, we could not converse across

such distances; and without the sanctified murti in the temple

or shrine we cannot easily commune with the Deity. His vibration

and presence can be felt in the image, and He can use the image

as a temporary physical-plane body or channel. As we progress in

our worship, we begin to adore the image as the Deity's physical

body, for we know that He is actually present and conscious in

it during puja, aware of our thoughts and feelings and even

sensing the pujari's gentle touch on the metal or stone.

 

Though occasionally a devotee may have a vision of the God, the

more common way we experience the Gods and devas is as an

uplifting, peaceful, divine energy, or sakti, that radiates out

from the image. It is easiest to feel their blessings at the

high point of the puja when the flame is held high.

 

The blessings or shakti of Lord Murugan is a particularly

powerful force. It has the ability to temporarily activate the

kundalini force within the spine. Kundalini is also called the

serpent power and when activated takes us deeper into our inner

self. If someone is use to this happening, then outwardly they

do not show any change but inwardly find themselves deeper into

their spiritual nature, perhaps drawn inward for a short

meditation. However, if someone is not use to the kundalini

being active, they may find themselves shaking some and feeling

quite hot. This is nothing to worry about as it will soon pass.

 

In the Saivite tradition there is a definite relationship

between the worship of Lord Murugan and being successful in

advanced yogic practices. Gurudeva describes it as follows:

 

“To attain even the permission to perform yoga one must have the

grace of Lord Ganesha and the grace of Lord Muruga. Lord Muruga

is the God of the kundalini, of the advanced yogic practices.

Unfoldment all happens within the kundalini and the chakras

within our subtle bodies. Once a profound relationship is

developed with Lord Muruga, then with the guru's permission and

guidance, true yoga may commence. Otherwise, no matter how long

one sits in meditation, no matter how hard one tries, it is just

sitting, it is just trying. There is no fire there, no shakti,

no power, no change. It is the Gods who control the fire and at

this stage help the devotee immensely, bringing him closer and

closer to the supreme God, Siva. Quite often the yogi in his

deep internalized state may see in vision the feet or form of

God Siva before he begins to blend into the mind of God Siva,

called Satchidananda. It is God and Gods in form that help us to

find the formless God.”

 

Developing a Close Relationship with Lord Murugan

You can develop a close relationship with Lord Murugan, in which

He feels like a good friend, if you take the time to get to know

Him through bhakti yoga, the practice of devotional disciplines,

worship, prayer, chanting and singing with the aim of awakening

love in the heart and opening oneself to the Deity’s grace.

 

Cultivating Devotion

Bhakti, devotion to Murugan, can be increased, or cultivated.

Here are some specific suggestions:

 

1) Make the travel time to the temple a religious time. Don’t

allow yourself to focus on problems at home, work or school.

For example, play some religious music, bhajans or Sanskrit

chanting on the car’s audio system.

 

2) Bring an offering. Ideally bring a flower for each shrine at

which you are going to worship or, if that is not possible, than

at least a leaf. The act of giving opens you to the blessings of

the Deity. Never visit the temple empty handed.

 

3) Put as much time and prana into the offering as possible.

Prana is the energy that exudes from your hands. Buying a

garland at the store is good but making it yourself is even

better. When the garland is place on the Deity, your prana in

the offering is as if you had touched the Deity and this, of

course, creates an even greater closeness.

 

4) During the puja keep focused on the murthi and the priest’s

chant. Pay attention, don’t let the mind wander. When singing

bhajan keep focused on the meaning of the words.

 

5) The blessings, the shakti of the Deity, is stronger on some

days than others, so attending the temple on the strong days is

helpful to attuning oneself to the shakti. For example, there is

a stronger shakti on yearly festival days such as Skanda

Shashthi.

 

Pujari Story

One of the disciplines that Gurudeva gave to his monastics was

do learn to do the traditional temple puja, parartha puja, for

Ganesha, Murugan and Siva. Therefore, all the monastics have had

the opportunity to do regular pujas in our temples. Speaking

from experience we can all say that performing daily puja is

definitely an effective way to deepen your personal relationship

with Lord Murugan. Pujas can also be done in the home, the

atmarta puja, and again provide an effective to become closer to

the Deity.

 

Invoke the Forces of Divinity

Lord Murugan is traditionally worshipped to invoke the forces of

divinity to overcome the forces of darkness. (Repeat) This

process takes place both in the world and in the individual. It

takes place through the power of His Vel, which represents

wisdom or jnana shakti. Gurudeva often stressed that the world

changes because the individuals in it change. In other words,

the world becomes a more divine, peaceful place as more

individuals find divinity and peace within themselves. And

certainly the worship of Lord Murugan and His Shakti Vel, His

Vel of wisdom, is a potent force in moving the world in this

direction.

 

Man’s nature can be described as three-fold: superconscious or

spiritual, intellectual or mental and instinctive or

physical-emotional. It is the instinctive nature, the

animal-like nature, which contains the tendencies to become

angry and harm others. The goal is to learn to control these

animal instincts as well as the ramifications of the intellect

and the pride of the ego and manifest one’s spiritual nature.

This is the inner process within the individual of divinity

overcoming darkness and the regular worship of Lord Murugan

helps us become a wiser person, better able to make these inner

changes and therefore make tangible progress on the spiritual

path.

 

The Symbolism of the Three Saktis

Hindu icons in our temples all have mystical symbolism. A common

symbolism is to depict the God as male and the God’s energy, or

Shakti, as His spouse. God is everywhere seen as the beloved,

divine couple. Philosophically, however, the caution is always

made that God and God’s energy are One, and the metaphor of the

inseparable divine couple serves only to illustrate this

Oneness.”

 

In the case of Lord Murugan his consorts are Valli and

Deivayanai. Additionally, we have the Vel as an important

symbol. These three represent three distinct energies, powers or

shaktis.

 

Valli represents iccha shakti, the power of desire.

Deivayanai represents kriya shakti, the power of action.

The Vel represents jnana shakti, the power of wisdom.

 

Desire, Action and Wisdom

Important insights into the soul’s maturing process can be

gained by looking at the three saktis of Lord Murugan: the power

of desire, the power of action and the power of wisdom, which

are also the three powers of the soul.

 

We first have a desire, when the desire becomes strong enough we

act. In young souls the action may be ill conceived and

adharmic. For example, we want a computer so we simply steal

one. Money is needed so we rob a bank.

 

The soul is repeating a cycle of similar experiences, moving

back and forth from desire to action, desire to action. In the

case of the adharmic action of stealing eventually the soul will

learn the lesson that this is not the best course of action to

take to acquire possessions. This learning is the jnana sakti,

wisdom coming in and causing one’s behavior to improve.

 

This process also works for dharmic actions as well. We are

helping out as a volunteer at the temple in teaching children’s

classes once a month. We like the feeling it gives us of helping

others in a meaningful way and decide to help out every week and

even participate in the meetings which plan out the classes. We

are doing a selfless action and the reaction it has on us is to

feel more inner joy. Therefore the jnana is to decide to do even

more of it and thus feel more joyful. We have again improved our

behavior.

 

We can see in both of these examples how it is that the soul

undergoes experiences in the world with desire leading to action

which eventually leads to wisdom and the improving of our

behavior. This is the divine pattern through which our soul

matures over many lifetimes, moving ever closer to God.

 

Whether an action we have committed is dharmic or adharmic, the

worship of Lord Murugan and the power of His Vel of jnana

shakti, can help us understand the wisdom or lack of wisdom of

our actions more quickly. In fact, in some Murugan temples the

importance of the Vel is stressed by the fact that the Vel is

the only murthi in the main sanctum.

 

Not Suppose to Make Mistakes

Let’s look now more closely at the process of learning from our

mistakes. For all of mankind, no matter where one is on the

path, spiritual advancement comes from improving one’s behavior.

Said another way, it comes from learning from one’s mistakes.

Unfortunately, this process is often inhibited by the idea that

somehow we are not supposed to make mistakes. We grow up being

scolded for our mistakes by our parents. Some teachers ridicule

students when they make mistakes. Supervisors at work yell at

workers when they make a mistake. No wonder many adults feel

terrible when they make a mistake. Therefore, to spiritually

benefit from our mistakes, we need a new attitude toward them.

Gurudeva described mistakes as “wonderful opportunities to

learn.” He also compared learning from the experiences of life

to progressing through the classes at a university. He

proclaimed:

 

Life the Great Experience

“Life is a series of experiences, one after another. Each

experience can be looked at as a classroom in the big university

of life if we only approach it that way. Who is going to these

classrooms? Who is the member of this university of life? It’s

not your instinctive mind. It’s not your intellectual mind. It’s

the body of your soul, your superconscious self, that wonderful

body of light. It’s maturing under the stress and strain.”

 

Mistakes are Natural

Those who are parents can teach their children that making

mistakes is not bad. Everyone makes mistakes. It is natural, and

simply shows we do not understand something. Mistakes are

wonderful opportunities to learn. The story I give to try and

impress that point is of a young family. The wife is at home

taking care of the five-year old and the five-year old makes

some horrendous mistake and almost burns the house down. So, the

wife calls up the husband and says, " Dear, you will be so happy

to hear this news. Our son made this huge mistake today. He

almost burned the house down. Isn't this wonderful? He has such

a wonderful opportunity to learn such an important lesson and I

wanted you to think about it on your way home. What lesson do we

need to teach him so he does not make this mistake again? " Of

course you all get the point which is that unfortunately most

parents don't think that way!

 

Usually, it is just a question of punishment. But punishment

misses the point, if it does not go along with a teaching so

that you are helping the child learn how not to repeat the

mistake, helping to awaken jnana shakti. The important point is

the child does not know something. Otherwise, he never would

have made the mistake in the first place. There is some

knowledge the child is missing and the parents need to figure

out what that knowledge is. It is fine to punish the child with

positive discipline methods, such as time-out and appropriate

natural and logical consequences, and using reason without blame

and shame. However, it is good to avoid the use of physical

violence, anger, irrational punishments, blame and shame as they

all cause the child’s consciousness to drop into intense fear

and therefore make it very difficult for the child to remember

what he or she is told. This, of course, is counter productive

to the child learning the lessons from the experience and thus

not repeating the same mistake again.

 

First Reaction

Moving on, we have four reactions to making a mistake. A common

first reaction to having made a mistake is to become upset that

we made the mistake, get emotional about it, or if it is a

serious mistake to become quite burdened and even depressed.

That is a natural first reaction, but if it is our only

reaction, it is not enough. We need to deal with the emotional

reaction to the action and move on to the learning stage

 

Second Reaction

Thus a good second reaction to a mistake is to think clearly

about what happened and why the mistake occurred and find a way

to not repeat the mistake in the future. Perhaps we were not

being careful enough, and resolving to be more careful next time

will prevent the problem from occurring. Perhaps we did not know

something, and now we have that knowledge and can simply resolve

to use that knowledge next time. Perhaps we created unintended

consequences that caused significant problems to us or others.

Now that we are aware of the consequences, we certainly wont

repeat the action. Those who are striving to live a spiritual

life are self-reflective and learn quickly from their mistakes.

In fact, one way to tell a young soul from an old soul is to

observe how quickly he learns not to repeat the same mistake.

 

The worship of Lord Murugan can be quite helpful in giving us

the wisdom that helps us learn from a mistake quickly. The fewer

times we make the same mistake, the faster we are moving forward

spiritually. We can go to the temple and pray to Lord Murugan to

help us understand the pattern of desires and actions we are

experiencing and ask for His Vel of wisdom to help us see

clearly how to learn from this cycle of experiences, improve our

behavior and move forward on the spiritual path.

 

Story

Quite often, I get an email in from someone who made a mistake

and they are saying, " Oh, I should not have done this. Of

course, that is just getting stuck at the first level of

reaction. " I shouldn’t have done it. I am sorry. " But I

encourage them to move on to the second level and instead of

saying, " I shouldn’t have done it, " to say " I shouldn’t do it

again. " That is the point we are striving for. Not to simply

feel sorry that we made a mistake, but to commit to not making

it again or at least, trying not to make it again.

 

Taking that step is being self-reflective and it is how we

progress on the spiritual path, because the spiritual path is a

series of experiences and sometimes we make mistakes. If we can

learn from those mistakes and learn to not make them again, then

we progress. If we are constantly making the same mistake over

and over and over again, we are not progressing.

 

Third Reaction

A third reaction may be needed if the mistake involved other

people. Perhaps we have hurt their feelings or created a strain

between us. A direct apology can fix this if we know them well.

However in many situations we are not close enough to the

individual to be able to apologize. In that case a generous act

toward them can adjust the flow of feelings back into a

harmonious condition. For example, hold a small dinner party and

include them among the guests.

 

Fourth Reaction

A fourth reaction may be needed if the mistake is a major

misdeed: for example, if we did something that was dishonest. In

this case, even though we have resolved to not repeat the

misdeed, apologized to those involved, we may well still feel

bad about having done it. In this case we need to perform some

form of penance, prayaschitta, to rid ourselves of the sense of

feeling bad about ourself. Typical forms of penance are to fast,

perform 108 prostrations before the Deity or walking

prostrations up a sacred path or around a temple.

 

Thai Pusam

The worship of Lord Murugan during the Thai Pusam festival is

the traditional time for performing penance to atone for

misdeeds. Carrying Kavadi and other forms of penance should

never be done for the purpose of impressing others. Rather it

should be done having in mind specific misdeeds you are atoning

for as well as promising to Lord Murugan not to repeat them

again.

 

One of the theme’s of this talk is that Lord Murugan is

traditionally worshipped to invoke the forces of divinity to

overcome the forces of darkness and the process of atoning for

misdeeds is an excellent example of this. Gurudeva describes

atonement from a mystical point of view: “When we perform

penance and beseech Murugan’s blessing, this merciful God hurls

His vel into the astral plane, piercing discordant sounds,

colors and shapes, removing the mind's darkness.”

 

Let me conclude with another quote from Gurudeva which provides

an excellent summary of the power of Lord Murugan’s Vel of

wisdom: “The shakti power of the vel, the eminent, intricate

power of righteousness over wrongdoing, conquers confusion

within the realms below. The holy vel, that when thrown always

hits its mark and of itself returns to Karttikeya's mighty hand,

rewards us when righteousness prevails and becomes the kundalini

serpent's unleashed power thwarting our every effort with

punishing remorse when we transgress dharma's law. Thus, the

holy vel is our release from ignorance into knowledge, our

release from vanity into modesty, our release from sinfulness

into purity through tapas.”

 

 

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