Sri Rudrantargata Narasimhaya namah!
Sri Shreedavittala dasaraarya namah!
In this devaranama Sri Shreeda vittala dasaru explores the sway of Lord Shiva on the mind. In the pallavi and anupallavi he states the position of the sadhaka and seeks the grace of Shiva to uplift him from the vagaries of the restless mind. The special medicine for the freedom from samsara is the Srimad Bhagavatham . Shiva is reminded of his upadesha to Parikshit raja with the implied entreaty to do the same for oneself. Dasaru goes on to describe the glory of Shiva and gives reasons for seeking his grace . The role of Rudra in this creation is hinted at and his sway over the abhimani devatas of the indriyas makes him the most suitable one to seek for stability in thought , word and deed. Dasaru glorifies him as the victor of death and the one who can take one accorss the dangerous ocean of samsaara which is caused by papa karmas .
shivanE naa ninna sEvakanaiyya
durmana biDisayya karuNadi piDi kaiyya
shivanE naa ninna sEvakanaiyya
O Shiva, I am your servant! Please remove the negative thoughts from my mind and hold my hand. Lead me towards the purity in thought."
Shiva means mangala – mangala means that which takes you to great heights of thought, which in turn takes the soul to the heights of perfection.
Shiva is the manObhimani devatha and entreating him for the removal of bad thoughts is most apt as one speaks or acts based on the mind's inclination. One's speech and action should be tuned towards the good of others or atleast refrain from hurting others. This can be achieved if the thoughts can be controlled . Positive thoughts will give rise to good speech and action which is pleasing to those around oneself as well as lead one to spotless character which is the main requirement for a sadhaka. Once this state has been reached then the study of the scriptures with the guidance of a guru makes the person advance in spirituality. The study is facilitated by the pure mind as the nature of spiritual truths are too subtle to be perceived by a polluted mind.
bhavamOchaka bhagavata shaastrava
avaneeshage pELdavaneennallavE / shivanE/
O Shiva, aren't you the one who revealed the Bhagavatha shastra to Pariskshit raja the king of Hastinapur ? Didn't you reveal the shastra which is the passageway to moksha. "
Here the inferential entreaty to Shiva is to come to the aid of oneself and help one to free oneself from the bonds of the samsaara, with the help of the study of the Bhagavatha which is also called as moksha shastra. Note that Dasaru has referred to the Bhagavatha as bhavamochaka shastra.
vaikaarika-taijasa-taamasaveMba traitatvagaLeMba
saakaari shaarvaridavadharashaaMba surapaadyara biMba
surapaadyara biMba
vaikalyaaspadavaa kaLedommege
vaikuMThake karedoykarigoraLa /shivanE/
saakAri – the giver of form
shaarvaridava – the one who loves the night - moon
Dasaru says, " O Shiva you are the giver of form to the three tatvas vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa ahankaras . You have the moon on your head as an ornament You are the holy one, and the bimba of the devathas who are in turn the controllers of the indiryas. Please remove the state of constant conflict in my mind. I plead with you to control the roving of my mind and take me to Vaikunta , O one with the blue throat! "
vaikaarika-taijasa-taamasaveMba traitatvagaLeMba
saakaari
The tamo guna contained in the rajo guna used for shrishti is the cause for the birth of the ahankara tatva. The ahankara tatva is of three types – vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa. From these all the other things are created. The five elements are created from the tamasa ahankara, the senses and sense organs are created from the taijasa ahankara and the mind is created from the vaikarika ahankara along with the tatvabhimani devathas for the pancha bhutas, the karmendriyas and jnAnendriyas.
Hence you are most suited to make my senses and mind toe the straight path to the flawless kingdom of vaikunta. You wear the moon as an ornament on your head. Your head is spread in the entire sky and you carried the sacred water ganga which is hari's paadodaka on your head . You are entirely pure and sacred because of this sparsha of Hari. You are the inner reflector of Indra and other dieties and hence you can actually direct what they should do. So I beseech you to enable me to seek the Lord and use my senses and mind in this endeavour."
The goal of all mukthi yogya souls in named here by Dasaru as Vaikunta , the flawless abode. In order to reach this place one needs to shed one's flaws, acquire the knowledge of the Lord and reach the heights of devotion which would earn the grace of the Lord. So in order to do any of these the dhyana of the Lord is the only way. Whatsoever work or karma one does is efficacious only if the thoughts of the Lord, His all doership, His sway on all the souls, the matter and everything as well as His independence is reflected on. Sri Jagannatha Dasaru says in HKS 11th sandhi . Here the word ninna refers to the Lord Hari.
ninna smarisade snAna japa hO
mAnna vastragajAshva bhU dhana
dhAnya modalAdakhiLa dhaRmava mADi phalavEnu...HKAS_11-08
This is possilbe only if the mind is able to focus and stops wandering to the worldly matters which are accessed constantly by the senses. This is only possible with the grace of the manObhimAni devatha, Shiva.
The mind is prone to paradoxical thoughts. It always thinks first one thing and then another quite opposite to this thought. It is a continous flow of disrupting thoughts which makes the soul unable to focus on the purest of the pure, the Lord of Vaikunta.
Dasaru says, "I plead with you and beg you to remove these misgivings and make my mind steady in the thought of Vishnu and instill the requirements for the journey to the land without any blemishes- Vaikunta."
Arjuna in the BG says to Krishna ," chanchalam hi manaH krishna pramati balavad driDam"
"The mind is very strong and fickle and hence very difficult to keep under control. Therefore it is impossible to do dhyana yoga correctly. He goes on to compare the wind in the sky to the mind. Just as the wind cannot be contained to a certain place but runs free in the sky, so also the mind runs free in its thought process. How is it possible to focus?"
Krishna answers that ," By practise it is possible!"
Here Dasaru is pleading with Shiva to enable one to practise for even that is not possible without the grace of the ManobhimAni Shiva.
In another song KailAsha vAsa gowrIsha Isha , Sri Vijayadasaru asks Shiva to bestow on him the dhyana of Hari which is continuous like the flow of oil. Unlike water, oil just flows continuously without gaps!
tailadhAreyaMte manasu koDu hariyalli shaMbO….
mRutyuMjaya muppura hara mahadEva dEvarkaLa kaava
stutyaadrija ditija tatimanadaava duritaaMbudinaava
kRuttivaasa ennatyaparaadagaLeTTeNisade
kRutakRutyana maaDai shivanE /shivanE/
" You are the one who is victorious over Mrutyu. "
Why so ? It is because Rudra is the controller of the mrithyu under the direction of Narasimha. It is because the lord as Sankarshana makes Shiva as the medium for the dissolution of the entire world.
Then Dasaru says, You are three fold!
He is threefold being the originator of the Vaikarika, Taijasa and Tamasa ahankaras. He is threefold because He has three eyes too. He is Hara, the remover of distress and is a great diety who is always singing in praise of Vishnu. He protects the dieties below him in taratamya. He is worshipped in the form of a linga and sets fire to the minds of the daityas ie does not empower the thoughts in the daitya's minds. He thus removes the effects of the daityas on the minds of his devotees and takes them across the sea of miseries.
What is the relation between the misery and the daityas ?
Just like tatvabhimani devathas there are tatvabhimani daityas and they under the instruction of the heirarchy of devathas as per the Lord's will . They inspire the jiva towards that which is detrimental to its lasting happiness.
By burning up the thoughts in the daityas who are getting ready to attack his devotees , Shiva tides the devotees over the treacherous ocean of samsaara. He provides them with the right attitude to minimize their pain, all the while keeping the goal of Vishnu smarane in their minds.
Dasaru says ,"O Shiva, You are the embodiment of Vairagya wearing only the skin of animals as your clothing.Please forgive my sins and make my life a purposeful one, Engage me in the deeds which would make my life fruitful. I am your servant, please make me pure."
It is noteworthy that sins are the byproduct of desire. The desire to possess, own,achieve etc etc drives the soul to do actions which add to the storehouse of sins. If detachment to worldly pleasures is reached then these actions become minimized and slowly come to a stop. Shiva is to be meditated on as the one with the perfection in such detachment.
sphaTikaabaka paali kaamitaaphalada
phalguNasaka shreedhaviThThala
shrayavitta pavitra dvirada charmaaMbaranaada
charmaaMbaranaada
kuTilarahita doorjaTi vRuShabhadhvaja
niTilanayana saMkaTavanivaariso //shivanE//
spatika – crystal, Abha- splendour,kapali- skull, cranuim
"Your head is splendourous and shines like a crystal. It is completely pure as well as full of brilliance. You bring the wishes of devotees to them. You are the cause for wishes to be fulfilled because you are always in the shelter of Lord Krishna the friend of Arjuna. You are hence pure. You wear the elephant skin . You are free from deceit. You have hair which is very massive and spread out. You ride on the Vrushaba or bull. You have an eye on your forehead. Please rescue me from the miseries of samsara. "
In this charanam Dasaru gives a wonderful description of Shiva which one could use to contemplate on. The wonderful way in which Dasaru says that the cause for all the devotees desires to be fulfilled is because Shiva is always in the ahsraya of the Lord Krishna,Phalguna sakha, Shreeda vittala . Shiva is referred to as Vaishnavottama with reference to all souls below his kaksha in taratamya. He is always in the thoughts of Vishnu and gives such thoughts to those who seek him for this. Dasaru has given a beautiful picture of Shiva's place in Srimad Acharya's philsophy which is the true interpretation of the Shastras -Tatvavada.
sri krishNArpaNamastu
I am not the doer, Lord Hari is the doer
Even so, whatsoever He makes me do is His worship by His grace, not otherwise.
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