Courtesy:Sri.K.Muralidharan Iyengar
Dear All,
Greetings and Namaste. At the outset, may I wish you all a very Happy Pongal and Makara Sankranti, which marks the start of Uttarayana, northern trajectory of Sun. In Tamil there is a saying which means "when the Tamizh Month (Thai or Makara) dawns, it will bring solutions all the pressing issues and needs". May Lord Surya, through His Divine rays, bring abundance in all your endeavors.
As Makara Sankranti is an occasion to pay obeisance to Lord Surya, without whom the world will perish, I am delighted to share a 10-stanza stotram by Lord Brahma taken from Bhavishya Puranam, Saptami Kalpa, Chapter 71 titled Surya Nama Varnanam. Lord Brahma mentions that one who recites this thrice a day will get all the benefits He himself got when he recited before. It is essentially a collection of important names of Lord Surya.
May We also pray to Lord Surya to direct His Divine Rays at our inner darkness and egos and replace them with genuine knowledge, humility, tolerance, compassion and resolve to protect Sanatana Dharma in our humble ways! This is especially important in the current milieu of Hindu society. One the one hand there is an increasing interest in Hindu values and teachings outside of Hindu fold and on the other hand there is a serious and sustained attack of Santana Dharma by vested interest and the so-called liberals (intolerant people seeing everyone else as intolerant) and rampant conversions.
It will be natural for ordinary folks to look upto the learned torch bearers of the Sanatana Dharma to close ranks, bury their silly differences, take actions to protect Sanatana Dharma by leading others. But unfortunately it is the exact opposite which is coursing through right now. The learned have been busy promoting sectarian views, quarreling on forms over substance and what not. They are like Rip Van Winkle still sleeping.
I am sure all of us read this story and it is going rounds in WhatsApp - A learned pundit showing off his knowledge on various subjects to an uneducated boatman while crossing a choppy river. When the boat capsizes, the boatman asks just one question, "Do you know swimming?" and the pundit says no. The same analogy can be applied to erudite scholars in Santana Dharma. If they can't comprehend a simple truth that a divided Sanatana Dharma house a fertile ground for conversion and therefore the extinction of Sanatana Dharma itself, it does not matter what other esoteric knowledge of scriptures they have - it is all utter waste. All philosophies are theoretical reflecting perspectives from one dimension. Multi-dimensional perspectives are possible and permitted in Santana Dharma and will of course be varied but can coexist and be complementary. All we need is empathy of other perspectives instead of abhorrence that arises from human ego.
May Lord Sun bless us all with divine knowledge!
No comments:
Post a Comment