Message of Soundarya Lahari

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MESSAGE OF SOUNDARYA LAHARI

 

(Attainment of all occult powers)

 

pradiipa jvaalaabhir divasa kara niiraajana vidhih,

sudhaa suutes candrOphala jala lavair arghya racanaa;

swakiiyair ambhObhih salila nidhi sauhitya karaNam,

tvadiiyaabhir vaagbhi stava janani vaacaam stutir iyam.

 

" Oh Goddess who is the source of all words,

This poem which is made of words,

That you only made,

Is like showing the camphor lamp to the Sun,

Is like offering as ablation to the moon,

The water got from the moon stone,

And is like offering water worship,

To the sea " .

 

Composing these verses in praise of You, O Mother, in words

originating from You, is like worshipping the Sun by waving a light,

offering arghya to the Moon with drops of water dripping from a moon-

stone and bathing the ocean with its own water.

 

This is the last verse in Soundarya Lahari composed by Sri Adi

Sankara. Through this verse, he brought home to us the truth that all

virtues and skills we claim to posses are derived from the Supreme

Mother through Her grace. The Soundarya Lahari is a composition, the

beauty of which has not so far been surpassed. It is in praise of

Ambika, Herself the embodiment and source of all beauty. The

beautiful words in which Soundarya Lahari is composed are also

derived through the grace of Ambika. That is why Sri Sankara

Bhagavatpada has expressed in this verse that singing the praise of

Ambika in the composition, Soundarya Lahari, in words originating

from Her, is very much like worshipping the Sun by waving a lighted

camphor before him, or offering the Moon drops of nectar emitted by

the Chandrakaanta stone under the influence of the Moon, or bathing

the ocean with its own waters. The lesson to be drawn is that

whenever any honour is done to a person, the recipient must remember

the divine source from which he derived the qualifications to receive

that honour, and feel humble and not elated with a feeling of self-

importance.

 

Sri Sankara Bhagavatpada, within the short span of his life, made

tremendous achievements. The world of intellect was at his feet. The

influence of all other creeds vanished into thin air. His fame

traveled far beyond the shores of India. A stone inscription

recovered from a temple in ruins in the jungles of Cambodia mentioned

that the temple was built by a King whose guru claimed to be a

descendent of a pupil of Bhagavan Sankara. French archaeologists have

recovered from Cambodia 700 to 800 Sanskrit inscriptions in stone.

All the inscriptions are in beautiful Sanskrit.

 

" yenaadhiitani SaaStraani bhagavat-Sankaraahvayaat,

niSSesha suuri muurdhaali maala liidhaanghripankajaat " .

 

This verse emphasizes the greatness of Sri Sankara. It says that all

the great seekers of truth (suuri) in the country, without exception,

acknowledged the greatness of Sri Sankara by bowing their heads at

his lotus feet. Such a great soul felt humble after composing

Soundarya Lahari and dedicated it to the Supreme Mother. In that way,

he taught the world and us the lesson of humility and the need for

eschewing from one's nature egoism or arrogance, realising that all

merits are derived from the divine source.