RE: [Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] The bilvadalam

[Guest guest]

!! Sri Rama Jayam !!

 

Hello Veena & dear group members,

 

A very good note .....Thanks for your effort.

" Shree Sooktham " is a very popular book containing commentaries of Shri

Pandurang Sastri Athvale.

There are some other very readable compilations by Athvale ji - " Ramayana

Darshanam " , " Dashavtar " , " Bilvapatra " etc.

I have the first two hard copies. And that is in Hindi. I don't know if that is

available in English too.

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1 - " Ramayana Darshanam " is a very exhaustive commentary on various aspects of

Rama Rajyam - like social, administrative, economic, technical (Military) &

education. Athvale ji has brought up the essence of the dominionship of

Saptarshi Mandalam over the kingdom of Ayodhya, lead by sage Vashishtha.

Vashishtha is personified as the " King Maker " in the history of Ayodhya

empire..........right from the time of kings like Sagar, Aja, Maandhata to our

dearmost Lord Rama. Athvale ji has pointed out a very crucial note on why only

" Rama Rajyam " could stand unaltered by the ups & downs of time......then he very

efficiently correlates the differences existed between the times of Rama-Empire

& Krishna-Empire. He gives a very practical idea as to why Krishna Rajyam could

not become an ideal establishment in the Dwapara age, as Rama Rajyam in Threta

age. Besides this, he also comments on other IMP figures of this all-time great

epic like Sri Bharata, Devi Sita, Sri Laxmana, Sri Anjaneya, King Dasharatha

etc.

 

2 - " Dashavtar " , as the name implies, is systematic review of the popular ten

incarnations of Narayana from Matsya to Kalki. One can find a strong scientific

logic hidden in these incarnations such as one starting with Matsya Avtar

(indicating that life originated in water); Kurma (...then limbs appearing

gradually...); Varaha (Life moved from water to land & born herbivores);

Narasimha (A superior hierarchy to monitor the uncontrolled growth of

herbivores); Vamana (Form of human civilization called " Dwarfs " that reveals

there existence from stone ages to this time - Brahmins, imparting knowledge as

their main occupation); Parashurama (Brahmin - turned - Kshatriya due to social

upheavals); Sri Rama (Ideal kshatriya - King - Ruling the society); Sri Krishna

(Vaishya - Business oriented sect - Occupation like milk products, gold

merchants, clothes, etc), & so on. This gives a clear cut view of cyclic growth

of varied forms of life on earth.

 

Usually, these publications are available in Gujarati & Marathi, as I feel.

Veena, can you let us know if the same English compilations are available.

This could benefit other group members also.

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Hare Krishna ....

Hare Rama ......

 

 

 

 

 

Veena Nair [vee_1807]

Friday, March 11, 2005 9:42 PM

Guruvayur Appan

[Guruvayur/Guruvayoor] The bilvadalam

 

 

 

This being the week when we celebrated Shivratri, I would like to share what I

have read about the significance of offering the bilvadalam to Lord Shiva. In

the ShreeSooktham there is a prayer

 

" Aadityaa-varne Tapaso-dhijaato Vanaspatis-tava-vrukshotha-bilva " --

 

" Mother -- who is radiant as the sun -- the bilva tree was the result of Your

penance. May the fruits of this tree banish the darkness within (the ignorance

inside my heart) and the poverty and despair without (in my outer life) " .

 

It is said that Shree Laksmi Devi planted/created the bilva tree and performed

penance under this tree. The leaf of this tree " the bilva-dal " is offered to

Lord Shiva. The bilva dalam has three parts. By offering this to God, Man is

asking for the threefold blessing of -Aatmalakshmi, Dnyan-Lakshmi, and

Artha-Lakshmi. In return Man also assures God that 'I will dedicate the three

stages of my life - " Kaumaaram, Yauvanam, Jaraa (childhood, youth, and old age)

to you'. And how do I do that? The Gita suggests the ways of Dnyan, Bhakti, and

Karma. But at the most basic level, what Man can do is eliminate the three

Tamasic vruttis from his life i.e. 1) the clinging to pleasure which leads to

error and heedlessness of the higher ideals, 2) laziness or indolence and 3)

sleep. Bhagavan Krishna talks abt these Tamasic vruttis in the Gita (14.8).

 

Everytime we take the Bilvadal in our hand it would do good for us to pause and

think for a second abt the significance of what we are doing before we place it

on the lingam of Lord Shiva.

Om Namo Narayanaya!

 

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This explanation is based on Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale's discourses on the

SheeSooktham. For more background on Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale please

checkout the website http://swadhyay.org/swadhyay.htm