Sri Lakshmi Shobane - Part 6

[Guest guest]

Hare Srinivasa ! Shree Vadiraja gurubhyoh namah! The previous postings may be found at: http://www.aarshavani.org/mainpage/bhajansmainlakshmishobane.html Sri Vadirajru continues to describe Sri Mahalakshmi . She is wearing pearl ear rings . The decoratiion

for the ears is ear rings, when looked at from the physical angle. From the spiritual angle, the decoration for the ear is the pearls of the Lord's glory. muttina oleyanniTTaLe mahalakShumi kastUri tilaka dharisidaLe kastUri tilaka dharisidaLA devi sarvatra vadhU-varara salahali ||9|| In one devaranama Purandara dasaru talks about this pearl. muttu kollirO janaru muttu kollirO muttu baMdide koLLi sachchitAnaMda divya muttu .......................... poDavigella puraMdara viTTala ODeyaneMbo divya muttu Sripadarajaru also describes the apt

ornament for each organ of the body. In that he says bhooshana ke bhooshana idu bhooshana nAligege bhooshana nArayaNana nAma ........ kivige bhooshana harikatheyu Sri Mahalakshmi is the abimAni deity of the Veda's which describe the glory of the Lord and proclaim His supremacy. So when we sing the words , muttina oLeyanniTTaLe mahalakshmi ... it would be

appropriate to contemplate on the special pearls which decorate mother Lakshmi's ears even as we visualize Her auspicous form in our minds eye. Kasturi tilaka is the symbol of auspiciousness being composed of fragrant musk and red colour. SriLakshmi is the one who gives aupisciousness to all and she gets this power from the Lord. It is red in colour and signifies strength and love both of which are necessary for any successful wedded life. Strength to forgive other's faults, strength to improve one's virtue constantly by continuously enhancing one's integrity in all relationships and strength to sacrifice one's selfish interests with a view to serve others wholeheartedly. Behind all these is the intention which is most important. And that can be learnt from Lakshmi Shobane . Vadirajaru

talks of the tilaka worn by Srimahalakshmi which firstly shows her extensive , inexhaustable love to the Lord her beloved consort. Her strength is directed outwards without any selfish interests because she is without any defects and complete in all aspects within Her ability which is the maximum possible for any being other than the Lord Himself. So her strength lies in coming to the aid of other devotees who love the Lord and seek Him in thier spouses as well as other relationships. All service, all duty and all pleasures become a worship of the almight if one remembers that the Lord exists and is the preraka for all these activities and that the tatvabhimani devatas serve Mukya prAna who in turn serves the Lord. Kasturi tilaka is the red tilaka worn on the central part of the forehead. It is just at the place where the Agnya chakra is

located in the human form. The Agnya chakra plays an important role in dhyAna and the presence of this tilaka highlights that Srimahalakshmi is constantly in the contemplation of the infinite attributes of the Lord. The agnya chakra is the symbol for the inner knowledge and the upward direction of the tilaka shows that when Agnya chakra is fully active or open then superconsciousness results. If this is the case for a human who has acheived the result limited of course by one's inherent abilities ,through yogic practices of pranayama and dhyana then one can imagine the extent of the knowledge of srImahalakshmi who is always present with the Lord in time and space. Her knowledge about the Lord is the maximum that any concsious entity can have. Vadirajaru is subtly hinting at Her

great abilities of contemplation and the extensive knowledge she possesses of the Lord as well as the Brahmanda and all the sentient and insentient things in it. Her knowledge about all things of matters related to things/beings other than the Lord exists all the time, with regards to the Lord's glory she keeps on contemplating ,exploring His infinite attributes continuously. It also signifies that SriLakshmi never gets confused mentally. Her thoughts are always pure and as per the Will of the Lord. This is highlighted by Sri Vadirajaru in "Sarasa Bharathi Vilaasa" Our mother Lakshmi has Neither birth

nor death and Is ever free from all bondage And never gets confused mentally 3.4 Lakshmi is deeply attached to Sri Hari who protects the world Clears our sins, punishes the wicked And never waives His wishes 3.10 Sri Vadirajaru says ,'sarvatra vadhuvarara salahi" .Here savatra means in all places and at all times. Since Sri Mahalakshmi is on par with the Lord in space and time, she is definitely capable of knowing the difficulties of different couples existing at different times and places and enabling them to solve thier difficulties and problems if and when she is sought by them in the right manner. Here the manner refers to the entreaty for help addressing both herself and her consort Sriman NarayaNana. She is always pleased by those who within thier limitations are aware at least to a little extent of the glory of the Lord . SriLakshmi also listens with great attention to one who ennumerates the glory of Her Lord and lifts one to greater heights when contemplated on as the mother with beautiful pearl earings (Lord

Hari's gUNa gAna) and the kasturi tilaka. aMbujanayanagaLa biMbAdharada shashi- biMbadaMteseva mUgutimaNiya shashi- biMbadaMtesevamUguti maNi mahalakShumi uMbudakIyali vadhu-vararge ||10|| biMba- reflection or shape shashi biMbA - the reflection of the moon ; the roundshape of the moon maNi - bead or to pay obesiance as in manida The shape of the motherLakshmi's eye is like a lotus and inside it the black eyeball is round in shape like the moon. The moon gets its full round shape due to Mother Lakshmi(she being anAdi nitya and nitya muktalu while the moon is not so) and not

vise versa though we mention it like that to enable easy comparison for lay people like oneself as we have seen the roundness and brightness of the full moon but not the beautiful eyes of Srimahalakshmi. SriVadirajaru also describes the beautiful nose rings worn by SriMahalakshmi. The reflection of the beautiful radiant precious stones in the nose ring of Mother Lakshmi in the beautiful lotus shaped eyes of Sri Lakshmi looks as if the moon is shining on a dark night. The eyes are said to be beautiful if the contrast between the black eye ball and the white part is to the maximum and to show the beauty of the eyes along with the description of her nose rings , Vadirajau gives a wonderful analogy which can be visualised by the lay person,of the

contrast between the brightness of a full moon during a clear but dark sky. Even this moon gets its brilliance from Lakshmi only. How so? In the Dwadasha stotra : braHmEsha shakra ravi dharma shashAMka pUrva gIrVANa saMtatiriyam yada pAMGa lEsham Ashritya vishwavijayam visrijatyachintyam sriIyatkaTAksha balavatyAjitham naMAmi " By the side glance of shrI's eyes , Brahma, Vayu , Garuda, Shesha Rudra, Indra, Kama, Surya and his kaksha devatas, chaMdra and his kaksha devatas and all thier consorts get their respective powers, that shrI also is able to do this with the full grace of Lord ajithA -the inconquerable Lord and to that Ajitha I pay my heartfelt obesiances." Srimadhvacharyaru has clearly mentioned one devata in each kaksha so that the rest in the kaksha as well as thier consorts come in the group of people who have been favoured with the tiny side glance from Mahalakshmi . So it is clear that this moon which is now being compared to the reflection of the nose ring in her eye also get's the attribute of beauty only because of her grace. Next SriVadirajaru is entreating Mahalakshmi to provide the wedded couple with food to eat. Food for the body , mind and soul are implied here. Stoola or gross food for the body and subtle food for the mind also is dependent on the moon . Here Mahalakshmi's control on the moon and moon's cycle of waxing and waning have a direct relationship on both types of food. Firstly, the moon affects the prolificity of the growth of food in plants and most plants follow a cycle according to the way they store thier excess startch and this cycle depends on the waxing and waning of the moon. Since all the powers of the moon are also dependent on Mahalakshmi it is relevant to understand Her reign on the entities affecting the growth of food and seek her blessing for proper nourishment. Going further we remember Her as the Lord's inseperable consort and pray for her blessings for the wedded couples in all times present and future. Subtle food for the mind also depends on the moon because the waxing and waning of the moon affects the mental faculties of a human. It is beleived that mental faculties reach thier highest levels during the 11 day of the fortnight and are minimum on the first day of the fortnight. This is because the chakras Agnya and Anahata are active on the eleventh day of the fortnight and enable one to concentrate easily. So people are advised to do more contemplation/ intellectual study on ekadashis and to do this effectively it is necessary that time and energy is conserved for this task. So refraining from food and drink is an excellent way to devote oneself entirely to study and that is what Srimadhvacharyaru has laid down as the rule for all sadhakas. More on this subject has been discussed in detail by Srimadhvacharyaru in his Krishnaamrutha maharnava. Even subtler food for the soul is the energy, one's soul imbibes as a result of correct usage of one's bodily and mental faculties to fulfill the prime purpose of life- to incessantly contemplate on the infinite auspicious attributes of the Lord. So let us pray to Srivadirajaru antargata Sri Bharathiramana mukyaprana antargata Sri Lakshmi Hayagreevaru to bless us with the proper food for all the relevant tasks we need to accomplish to fulfill our life's purpose. To be continued..... By the Lord Sri Hari, Vayu and Guru's grace. Written within the scope of my limited abilited. Any corrections or extra inputs are welcome. SrI krishNArpaNa mastu I am not the doer, Lord Hari is the doer Whatever He makes me do is His worship by His grace R.Parimala

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.