Bhaja Govindam - Talks from Chinmaya Mission

These were published by Brni.Nidhi Chaitanya of Chinmaya Mission. Reproduced here. Shankara points out some of most common stupidities of the human race in further verses. Often we wonder how to overcome these stupidities? Shankara very plainly says, "See the flip side!" This is called Pratipaksha Bhaavna. Often our perception of things, people, situations is very fractional. We only see what is convenient, favourable, or instinctive. But Bhaja Govindam is a thorough training in holistic vision. Shankaracharya or spirituality is not out to criticise all that is good, dear, beautiful n enjoyable. Instead, Shankara says "Enjoy with alertness and awareness" Shankaracharya gives us as though an ariel view of our priorities, making us understand how shallow our understanding of the most significant things of our life is - whether it is wealth, passion, relationships, family, society, our own body, or even life itself!! We live with these, but dont understand them at all!! Shankar says understand each of them. Analyse them. Question the obvious. Enquire into the everyday affairs of life. Unless i know these well, i cant ever progress. But we rarely bother!! Why do we go to school? Why marry? Why remove footwear outside a temple? Why do i need wealth for? Why am i working?? Why do i need a family?? Why follow values? Why do arati at the end of the pooja? We rarely ask!! Even if a question arises, we dont pursue it and it dies down. Even if we pursue, we do not find the right answers usually. It is important to question the obvious. Then Knowledge arises. Newton questioned the obvious "Why apples fall?" and Knowledge arose!! The students in the Upanishads, the Soldier prince Arjuna in Geeta, the great Janmajaya in Mahabharata... They questioned, they thought, they analysed... And so the Lord came in the form of Gurus, Scriptures or their own Higher Intelligence and answered! Knowledge was revealed and transformation happened. Unless we question, we wont be able to see the stupidity of our stupidities(Moha)!! Many people ask "I know, but why cant i do?" The answer is bitter but true "Because we love being stupid!" It is like the dog who chews a bone. He is enjoying the juice n keeps chewing the bone, until he realises that what he was enjoying is not the juice of the bone but his own blood. The bone was cutting his mouth n he was bleeding continuously, n yet enjoying it not knowing it is its own blood. Now it has ulcers all over its mouth!! Are we all not like that?? Enjoying our own stupidities, which are silently keeping us on the path of stress, suffering n finitude? Shankara then discusses about Wealth. What is wealth? "Worldly possessions" So it isnt just the money n the house. Its EVERY"THING"! But Shankara isnt telling us to leave it all or to give up the pursuit of wealth or to stop enjoying it. Not at all! In fact Shankaracharya says "Earn n Enjoy"!! But what Shankaracharya asks us to renounce is the insatiable craving for possessing wealth!! Why? Because wealth is never enough. It is important in order to live life. In fact, in our culture, we worship wealth in the form of Mother Lakshmi. But an insatiable lust for worldly possessions is also what causes stress, crime, corruption. Here some analysis would help... Why do i want Wealth? To enjoy myself n be happy! But if wealth takes away my happiness n makes me selfish n stressed out, is it still worth pursuing wealth? Some of us educated people may say "I am not after wealth". But dont we all want the latest phone/car/dress/jewellery/etc? How is it different? Our lifestyle becomes our identity. So much so, that if we cant afford the MacDonalds and the Dominos, or send our children to the best International Schools, we start losing confidence, feeling miserable n helpless...as if life otherwise is not worth even talking about!!! For the sake of wealth, we sacrifice our Family, our health, our values, our peace of mind!! We feel so deluded by wealth that we feel we can do anything if we have money. Our dignity as human beings is determined by how much wealth we possess. So we talk of "class" and dont interact much with ppl of another class!! Loss of wealth sometimes even makes some people suicidal!! Can u imagine! "A place for Everything and Everything in its Place" they say. It is NOT WRONG to own wealth. But it is important we know its place. We need to keep wealth rightly placed. It IS VERY IMPORTANT. Without Lakshmi, even Narayana cant run the World. Desiring wealth also is not wrong. Why not? Artha(Pursuit of Wealth) is one of the 4 most important human goals as per scriptures. So yes, "Earn n Enjoy"! But DO NOT DEPEND. Dependancy Tests- 1) If all my wealth is taken away n i become a pauper, will i be able to smile n say "Its ok. We can do it again. May be not as much as before. But we can"? If i can, it shows that i know that human potential means more than money power. 2) At least once in a year, live in an ashram for a week - WITHOUT COMFORTS & LUXURIES - like ordinary people do. N watch how badly u miss the wealth. Then u will know how dependent on wealth u r. 3) During the month of Shraavan or any holy month, instead of not eating, try NOT SPENDING. Dont touch or transact in cash or card at all. See what happens!! We suddenly realise how much we depend on our "Spending Power"! It gives us all a great sense of security to be able to just spend! THINK 4) When u do charity, always force urself to give a little more than u r comfortable giving. Thats the reason, in our culture they always add 1! So if u can give £100 or $100 or Rs.100, give 101!! The idea is give a little more than what is comfortable. See urself losing a little bit of that which the mind is attached to. 5) Share what u r attached to. If it is the house, offer it out for some community service (eg.a Satsang). If it is the car, offer it for some community use once in a while(may be to take patients to hospital). Idea is, when i share what i am attached to, i realise how possessive i m about it. A small scratch, a little misuse makes me hate the very person who may have caused it!! Think! When we realise our dependency, it is important to make efforts n think clearly. Life is not to be taken for granted. Anything can happen at any time. If i lose my dear ones, what will i do with all this wealth n comfort? Will it still be worth it? Will my bank balance really matter to me on my death-bed? I wont be able to take along a single thing! Then why am i constantly living dependent and stuck to such stuff? Earn n Enjoy! But never be overwhelmed. Remember, Narayana cant run the world without Lakshmi, but Lakshmi is always at His feet!

Reflection of Sky in a Pot of Water

'Ghata samvritham aakaasam leeyamaanay ghatay yatha
ghato leeyetha naakaasam thadwajjeevo nabhopama:'

The reflection of sky can be seen in a pot of water. It gives the impression of seeking the sky itself. However, if the pot breaks, there is no reflection of sky. Does that mean no sky exists?
The human body is like the water in the pot and sky the absolute brahman. When the body withers away, the absolute brahman still exists.

With this sloka on Advaitha, I wish you all a very joyous Diwali.

Sri Ranganatha Ashtakam

Sri Ranganatha Ashtakam

Aananda roopay nijabodha roopay brahma swaroopay srutimoorthi roopay

Sasaanka roopay ramaneeya roopay Sri Ranga roopay ramathaam manomay

Kaveri theeray karuna vilolay mandaara moolay dhritha chaaru kaylay

Daithyaantha kaalay akhila loka leelay Sri Ranga leelay ramathaam manomay

Lakshmi nivaasay jagathaam nivaasay hridpadma vaasay ravi bimba vaasay

Kripa nivaasay guna vrinda vaasay Sri Ranga vaasay ramathaam manomay

Brahmaadi vandyay jagadega vandyay mukunda vandyay suranaatha vandyay

Vyaasaadi vandyay sanakaadi vandyay Sri Ranga vandyay ramathaam manomay

Brahmaadi raajay garudaadi raajay vaikuntha raajay suraraaja raajay

Thrailokya raajay akhila loka raajay Sri Ranga raajay ramanthaam manomay

Amokhamudre paripoorna nidray sreeyoga nidray sasamudra nidray

Srithaika bhadray jagathaika nidray Sri Ranga bhadray ramathaam manomay

Sa Chitra saayee bhujagendra saayee nandaanga sayee kamalaanga saayee

Ksheerabhi saayee vatapathra saayee Sri Ranga saayee ramathaam manomay

Itham hirangam thyajathaamihaangam punarna saangam yathisaangamaythi

Baanou rathaangam charanembu kaangam yaanay vihangam sayanay bhujangam

Ranganatha Ashtakam punyam praatharutthaaya ya patheth

Sarvaan kaamanavaapnothi Ranga saayoojya maapnuyaath

Ranganatha Ashtakam was composed by Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada when he stood before Lord Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam, which he visited during his travels. This Ashtakam (an octet) reveals that Adi Sankara was overwhelmed by Lord Ranganatha that his mind is instantly captivated and he revels in that feeling. As a Sanskrit sloka mentions

‘Pratikshanam yannavathaamupaithi thadayvaroopam ramaneeya thaayah’.

Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada sings in praise of Sri Ranganatha in 8 slokas, of which 7 of them end with the words ‘Ramathaam manomay’. He is immensely captivated by the Lord and he sings by bringing out all the attributes in every word.

In the first sloka he addresses the lord as the cause of all happiness (Aananda roopay), pure consciousness (nijabodha roopay), and manifestation of the ultimate truth (brahma swaroopay) and as the embodiment of the learnings of the Vedas (srutimoorthi roopay) and says that his mind is reveling in Lord Ranganatha.

River Kaveri finds mention in the second sloka. We can visualize Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada taking a holy dip in Kaveri before going to offer worship to Sri Ranganatha, as any devotee would. He addresses Sri Ranganatha as extremely merciful (karuna vilolay) and as the lord of all times (Daithyaantha kaalay) and that the whole world sings in praise of Sri Ranganatha (akhila loka leelay).

In the third, he addresses Sri Ranganatha as he in whom Goddess Lakshmi resides (Lakshmi nivaasay) and in whom the whole world resides (jagathaam nivaasay). This is a reference to Purusha Sooktham in which is said that the whole world emanates from the Lord (Sahasra sheersha purushah….). Jagatguru sees Sri Ranganatha in everything around him – in the sunshine around him (ravi bimba vaasay) and in the heart of every devotee! The fulfillment that Jagatguru experiences when he is standing in front of Sri Ranganatha can be visualized with the flowery language that he uses.

The deity of Sri Ranganatha that is in Srirangam was first worshipped by Lord Brahma himself, before passing it onto the kings of Ikshwaku clan in which is born Lord Ram. After defeating Ravana in the war, Lord Ram thanks Vibheeshana by gifting the deity of Sri Ranganatha to him. But en route from Ayodhya to Sri Lanka, Vibheeshana stops at Srirangam on seeing a big crowd on the banks of Kaveri. The deity of Sri Ranganatha stays put there and Vibheeshana leaves for Sri Lanka as he could not carry it from Srirangam. Most temples are facing east but in Srirangam, Sri Ranganatha is facing south, looking at Sri Lanka. A reference to the fact that Sri Ranganatha was worshipped by Brahma, Vyasa, Indra, Sanakaathi rishis and by every devotee in the world is brought out in the 4th and 5^th slokas.

Sri Ranganatha is in blissful sleep on the bed (paripoorna nidray) provided by the body of Anantha or the serpent king, in the milky ocean – Paalaazhi. Goddess Lakshmi is at his feet (srithaika bhadray).  These attributes find mention in the 6^th sloka.

References to Lord Krishna’s childhood could be found in the 7^th sloka – of sleeping on the lap of Nandagopa, his foster father (nandaanga sayee). Sri Ranganatha, who sleeps with his head resting on his right arm (bhujagendra sayee) is the one who slept on Nandagopa’s lap, on the leaf of peepal tree (vata pathra sayee)  and he is referred to as the one who sleeps in the milky ocean (ksheeraabdi sayee).

After singing in praise of Sri Ranganatha in the first 7 slokas by mentioning his attributes, Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada praises Srirangam, in the 8^th sloka as the place where if a devotee leaves his body, will attain nirvana.

The ‘phalasruti’ – the benefit of singing Sri Ranganatha Ashtakam is mentioned outside of the octet. The devotee who sings this in the morning will fulfill his wishes and will attain the abode of Sri Ranganatha.

Shiva Trilogy, the Novel and Advaita Vedanta

'The Immortals of Meluha', a novel written by Amish is quite interesting. Its an attempt at portraying Lord Shiva as a warrior who saved a country of righeous people called Meluha from its enemies. What is prompting me to write is a pep talk that Lord Shiva gives the army of Meluha just before they launch an attack on the Chandravanshis, their enemies. Before this pep talk, Shiva had proved his valour and expertise in fighting in many instances and is called 'Mahadev', the lord of the lords, by the kingdom of Meluha. Shiva, during this pep talk is invoking the spirit of all the Meluhan soldiers by giving a new interpretation to the chant 'Har Har Mahadev', which Meluhans say in praise of Lord Shiva. Shiva interprets this as 'HAR HAR Mahadev', meaning every soldier is a 'Mahadev'. This interpretation brings out the valour in every soldier of the Meluhan Army and they eventually win the war, though they were outnumbered by the Chandravanshi army.

This reminds me of the essence of Advaita Vedanta that runs through all the scriptures. Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada said

"Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya
Jeevo Brahmai Na Parah".

The chaitanya that is there in every human is no different from the eternal Brahman.
Shiva's interpretation, though with the intention of arousing the passion of every soldier before the war, is soaked in this very philosophy.

Guru Vandan

Sadaasiva Samaarambhaam Sankaracharya Madhyamaam Asmathaacharya Paryanthaam Vande Guru Paramparaam.

 The lineage of teachers start with Lord Shiva himself, Adi Sankara in the middle and my current Guru in the end. I offer my respects to all.

It is said that the first Guru is Lord Shiva himself. From him, the teachings are given to us through our Acharyas. In that lineage, Adi Sankara Bhagawatpada is in the middle and towards the end of the line is our own Guru who taught us the scriptures. Since all that we have learnt till now and what we are going to learn from now on are all due to the blessings and efforts of this Guru Parampara, it is customary to invoke this Guru Vandan every time we start any chants or prayers or any lesson being learnt newly.