NARAYANEEYAM Part -11

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Hari OM!

 

Dear Bhagavathas

 

Since today is Janmashtami... The concluding three parts of Narayaneeyam by Prof V.Krishnamurthyji, is being posted

Please refer to the eralier Narayaneeyam posts for all the portions.

 

With Love & OM!

 

Krishna Prasad

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Namaste. Sloka No. 31 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 94 - 7):shabda-brahmaNy-ap-Iha prayatita-manasas-tvAM na jAnanti kecitkaShTaM vandhya-shramAste cirataram-iha gAM bibhrateniShprasUtiM /yasyAM vishvAbhirAmAH sakala-malaharA divya-lIlAvatArAH

saccit-sAndraM ca rUpaM tava na nigaditaM tA na vAcaM bhriyAsaM//

Tr. There are some with mind wholly absorbed in Sabda-brahman(or study and exposition of the Vedas and other scriptures). Butthey have no knowledge of Thee (in spite of all their learning).Alas! Their efforts are therefore sterile, and they are like

owners of cows that never calve. May I not therefore indulge inthe study, exposition or composition of works alien to thedescription of Thy blissful form and Thy sportive Incarnations,which are universally inspiring and destructive of all mental

impurities.

Comment. There is a beautiful sloka in Sivananda-lahari (Sloka6) of Sankara, which carries the same thought, however, in theMaster's inimitable style. ghaTo vA mR^it piNDo'pyaNurapi dhUmo'gnir-acalaH paTo vA tantur-vA pariharati kiM ghora-shamanaM /

vR^ithA kaNTakShobhaM vahasi tarasA tarka-vacasApadAmbhojaM shambhor-bhaja parama-soukhyaM vraja sudhIH //meaning, Whether it is the lump of clay (that is the truth) orthe mud-pot,or the atomic fragment of it, whether it is the smoke beyond the

mountain (that is the reality) or the fire, whether it is thecloth (that is the ultimate) or the threads (of cotton), howdoes it remove (man's) suffering? You are wasting your throat onsuch questions of logic, Oh! Man of intellect! Worship the lotus

feet of Lord Shambhu and attain the highest bliss!

Sloka No. 32 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 94 - 8):yo yAvAn yAdR^isho vA tvamiti kimapi naiv-AvagacchAmi bhUman-nevam-cAnanya-bhAvas-tvad-anu-bhajanam-ev-Adriye caidya-vairin /tval-lingAnAM tvad-anghri-priya-jana-sadasAM

darshana-sparshanAdir-bhUyAn-me tvat-prapUjA-nati-nuti-guNa-karm-AnukIrty-Adaro'pi //Tr.: Oh All-pervading Being! Oh Destroyer of Sishupala! I am notable to comprehend Thy greatness or Thy nature even in the

least. But despite my imperfect understanding of Thee, I shallcontinue to serve Thee wholeheartedly, depending on Thee as mysole support. May I be always blessed with opportunities ofseeing Holy Images and contacting congregations of Thy devotees,

and be endowed with devotion to the worship, salutation andpraise of Thee as also the recital of the deeds and excellencesof Thy Divine Self.

Comment. The greatness ( yAvAn - who, what?) of the Lord isshown by the Lord Himself by opening out His cosmic form througha divine vision to Arjuna in the 11th chapter of the Gita. Thenature (yAdRsho - how, of what nature?) of the Lord is

described by Himself in the tenth chapter of the Gita. Bothchapters are difficult to understand, says Bhattatiri. There are two categories of people in the world: firstly, thosewho grant the supernatural status (10th and 11th chapters of the

Gita) of Krishna and therefore all his miraculous deeds, butfind it difficult to follow his spiritual teachings in the restof the chapters of the Gita because of its philosophicalnuances; secondly, those who seem to be comfortable in studying

and learning the philosophy embedded in the Gita, but find itdifficult to swallow his divine mischief-like miraculous doings.To both these types of people Bhattatiri addresses this sloka.He says whether you understand Him or not, whether you can

imbibe His philosophy or not, worship Him with all the sincerityyou can command. Go through any one of (if possible, all of) the nine forms (described in the Bhagavatam 7-5-23 by Prahlad)in which bhakti might be expressed:

• Listening to recitals of the names and glories of God(shravaNa) as did King Parikshit;• Oneself reciting the names of God (nAma-sankIrtana) as didNarada, Chaitanya, Mira and Thyagaraja;• Recalling Him and His excellences (smaraNa) as did the sage

Suka;• Waiting on Him (pAda-sevana), as did Lakshmana;• Worshipping Him (archana), as did King Ambarisha;• Prostrating before Him (vandana), as did Akrura and Uddhava;• Serving Him (dAsya), as did Hanuman and Garuda;

• Befriending Him (sakhya), as did Arjuna and Sugriva; and • Dedicating oneself to Him (Atma-nivedana) as did King Bali andKannappa Nayanar.

Sloka No. 33 (Ref. nArAyaNIyaM : 98 - 10):satyaM shuddhaM vibuddhaM jayati tava vapur-nitya-muktaM nirIhaM

nirdvandvaM nirvikAraM nikhila-guNa-gaNa-vyanjan-AdhAra-bhUtaM /nirmUlaM nirmalM tan-niravadhi-mahim-ollAsi nirlInam-antar-nissangAnAM munInAM nirupama-paramAnanda-sAndra-prakAshaM //

Tr. There shines Thy Being – eternal, immaculate, ever awake,ever free, desireless, transcending the pairs of dualities,changeless, conserving and manifesting all values, causeless,free from the taint of ignorance, inconceivably great, latent in

noble hearts free from attachments, dense with the luminosity(of Consciousness) and inimitable supreme bliss.

Comment. Now we are starting to wind up our selection of 36slokas. So here comes an exhaustive-looking listing of the'attributes' of the attributeless Brahman, as conceived in theUpanishads. A fitting sloka for meditation purposes.

Transcendence (T), Immanence (I) and Perfection (P) - - the T,I and P, constituting the TIP of the Iceberg, that is God – areall three in this sloka. One may refer to the following web pageon this topic of 'TIP of the Iceberg, that is God':

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/31.html

(To be continued and concluded in the next two post)

 

=====Prof. V. KrishnamurthyMy website on Science and Spirituality ishttp://www.geocities.com/profvk/You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought

Vision andPractice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from thesite.-- dotcompals: www.dotcompals.in .Org domain Nemes for just 2.5 USDKrishna PrasadDare to give up the comfort of the 'known' and venture into the 'unknown' The more we know, the more we will come to realize what we do not know.If we want to achieve our true potential and live life to the fullest. As Poojya Gurudev said it, "Open your eyes. Burst your shell. Spread your wings and fly!"Swami ChinmayanandaHate not the sinner - hate the sin; and always hate the sin even with an excess of hatred. "