May (our) salutations be to You, O Bhagavan, who is vishvesvara (the lord of the universe), mahadeva (the great God), triyambaka (the three-eyed One), tripurantaka (the destroyer of the three cities), trikagnikala (the time of the agnihotra when the three fires garhapatya, daxinagni, and ahavanIya are used), kalagnirudra (the Rudra who consumes everything as the fire of kalagni at the time of destruction), nilakantha (the bluethroated One), mrityunjaya (the conqueror of Death), sarveshvara (the lord of all), sadashiva (the ever-auspicious One), and shriman mahadeva (the celebrated and great God).

As we can see from the above verse, Lord Shiva has several names. ‘RUDRA’ is one of the several names of Lord Shiva. Have you ever wondered why Lord Shiva is called ‘Rudra’? The word ‘Rudra’ is derived from two words – ‘Rud’ means Dukham (sorrow) & ‘Ra’ meaning Eliminator. So Lord Shiva gets the name Rudra because he removes sorrows which are caused by ignorance.

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth, Worship the Lord with gladness; come into His presence with singing.” Psalm 100

Since ages, all religions praise God with music in different forms. One of the most gratifying of such praises is the Vedic chanting in Hindu religion. ‘Shri Rudram’ is one of the most magnificent hymns from the Vedas and is part of the Yajurveda. Shri Rudram has two parts. The first part, chapter 16 of the Yajurveda, is known as Namakam because of the repeated use of the word “Namo” in it. The second part, chapter 18 of the Yajurveda, is known as Chamakam because of the repeated use of the word “Chame”. The purpose of this hymn is to instill into our minds with an affirmation that God is imminent in every speck of space, in every unit of time, in every nook and corner and in every particle of creation. Just as by pouring water at the root of a tree, all its branches are nourished, so by pleasing Rudra (Lord  Shiva) through Rudra Japa, all the Gods are pleased.

According to Vedic and scriptural lore there are four types of Rudra parayanas (recitations) that can be performed. These are Rudram, Ekadasa Rudram, Maha Rudram and Ati Rudram – each being more potent than the preceding one. Chanting Namakam once followed by chanting Chamakam is called Rudram. The second one is Ekadasa Rudram. First the eleven Anuvakas (verses) of Namakam, followed by the first Anuvakam of Chamakam are chanted. Next, the eleven Anuvakams of Namakam are repeated with the second Anuvakam of Chamakam. Thus, for 11 full chantings of Namakam, one full chanting of Chamakam is completed. This is called Ekadasa Rudram.

Following the above method, if eleven Ekadasa Rudrams are repeated, it is called Laghu Rudram. Eleven Laghu Rudrams is one Maha Rudram. Ati Rudram, the biggest of all Rudra japas, is Maha Rudram recited eleven times (i.e., 14641 Namakams and 1331 Chamakams will be chanted in 1 Ati Rudram). A verse in the Hindu scriptures says: “A person reciting and applying daily the Namakam, Chamakam and the Purusha Sooktam is honored in the brahma loka.”

By now, you must be wondering, what is the connection between the ‘SKY beyond Sky’ with Rudra Japa. This summer, I was fortunate to join a Vedam study group from California on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash to offer Ati Rudram along with 70 other pilgrims for world peace. We named our team the SKY (Sai Kailash Yatra) team. Mount Kailash located in Himalayas is regarded in many sects of Hinduism as the abode of Lord Shiva, the ultimate destination of souls and the spiritual center of the world. Lord Shiva is therefore believed to dwell at its summit. Hindus generally perform a pradakshina of the deity by walking around it in a clockwise manner in a temple. Mount Kailash is the abode of Shiva and thus in reverence, pilgrims perform a parikrama (similar to a pradakshina), by walking around the entire mountain. This is not as easy as it may sound. A parikrama of Kailash involves trekking through rough terrain, crossing streams, climbing steep trails, camping on the mountain side and traversing a pass high in the mountains reaching approximately 19,000 ft. above sea level. The hike usually takes three days and is slightly over forty two kilometers, the same distance as a marathon.

If you ever had set a goal to run a marathon, how would you train your body and your mind? How soon would you start your marathon practice? Life is too short to just go to work, come home, watch some TV, rinse and repeat. If you are an adventure seeking person like me, I bet you would certainly have some goals like ‘I want to climb Mt. Everest one day’, or ‘I want to participate in a triathlon’, or ‘I want to travel around the world’, or ‘I want to hike the Appalachian Trail which is 2200 miles long’, etc. These goals may sound crazy to some people. We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come true, it takes tremendous amount of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.

When I learned about the trip, six months before starting the journey to Kailash, the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘I never ran a single mile on the road; can I prepare for a marathon in six months?’ I didn’t know how to chant Rudram and I had never hiked a mountain. Now, I had set two big goals for myself – being fit physically AND mentally.

Being physically fit would make hiking the mountain which is approximately 21000 ft. high possible, and learning to chant the Rudram would enable me to be mentally fit. The goals motivated me to learn the Rudram and increase my activity every day to improve my physical fitness which comes with other perks like good health and wellness. Eating healthy, staying fit and constantly engaging in a mental affirmation that ‘I can do it’ are really important to successfully completing an adventure of this magnitude.

I started with baby steps – learning one Anuvakam of Namakam and Chamakam a week. It took close to three months to learn 11 Anuvakams of Namakam and 11 Anuvakams of Chamakam, leaving just three more months to the start of the big journey. In those three months, the whole SKY team practiced chanting ‘Shri Rudram’ once every morning together as a group for 90 days. Also, the team organized hiking trips every weekend to slowly acclimatize our bodies to the higher altitudes. Most of the people in the group were from the west coast, a few were from the east coast; I was the only one on the team from the midwest. I used to join the chantings every morning on the phone through a conference call and, at the same time increased my physical activity by regularly exercising at a local gym, and incorporating physical activity during the course of my day like climbing stairs and running on inclined surfaces. When we pray passionately, purposefully and collectively, and according to God’s will, God will respond powerfully. After three months of collective Rudram offering in the form of Sadhana (spiritual practice), our Journey to Kailash began on June 23, 2012 and it truly turned into an adventure of a lifetime.

by Pranavi Tella. Reproduced from Shanthi Sandesh, vol 7. no. 4, Nov 2012

Shanthi Sandesh – February 2013

(from Shanthi Sandesh, Volume 7, no. 3, August 2012)

The vastness and glory of the Cosmos continues to baffle mankind. All religions have their creation myths as a part of their belief system. Rig Veda, the founding document of Hinduism, dating back to five millennia, is no exception to this. The sages of that time imagined the Universe in the form of a supreme Purusha who emerged out of the primordial energy as the source of all creation.

The Purusha Sukta, a poem of extraordinary imagination and poetic beauty (hymn 10.90 of the Rig Veda) goes on to say:

“Verily have I witnessed that supreme Person, that Great Truth, whose brilliance is beyond compare! Knowing Him is really knowing the true end of life and of this existence! Knowing Him thus is to transcend Death. There is no other path, save that of knowing Him, that leads unto liberation! ”

vedAhametam purusham mahAntam | Aditya varNam

tamasaH parastAt | tam evam vidvAn amRta iha

bhavati | na anyaH panthA vidyate ‘yanaaya ||

Purusha Sukta, Rig Veda 10.90

The Purusha Sukta hymn is also found in the Atharvaveda (19.6), the Samaveda (6.4), the Yajurveda (VS 31.1-6), and the Taittiriya Aranyaka (3.12,13). Several Upanishads and ancient treatises have commented on it. The Mahabharata and the Bhagawatha Purana also contain the description of the cosmic Purusha.

The word Purusha literally means Male. In this context the allegory implies the source of creation, the primordial energy (deemed masculine) as Purusha in contrast to Prakriti symbolizing the substance out of which the cosmos is put together (deemed feminine). The Purusha here is no ordinary male but Purushottama, the supreme one.

The eleventh chapter of Bhagawadgita describes the Purusha in a delightful poetic imagery. I give a flavor of it by quoting stanza 11.16 in which Arjuna who witnessed this divine form through a supreme vision granted to him by lord Krishna says:

anEka bAhUdara vaktra nEtram

pashyAmi twAm sarvato anantha rUpam |

nAntam na madhyam na punastavAdim

pashyAmi vishveshvara vishvarUpa ||

“I behold thy form as numerous arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes. I see your infinite form encompassing everything. It has no end or middle and there is nothing like it to compare. I see your cosmic form, oh lord of the cosmos!”

As mentioned earlier, Bhagawatha Purana also describes Purusha in the second Skandha. I quote stanza 2-6-4 as an example:

tad-gātraṁ vastu-sārāṇāṁ

saubhagasya ca bhājanam

tvag asya sparśa-vāyoś ca

sarva-medhasya caiva hi

“His body is the breeding ground for the active principles of everything and a harbinger of grace. His skin, like the moving air, is the generating center for the sense of touch and is the place for performing sacrifices.”

In verses 2 to 5, Purusha Sukta describes Purusha as a being who pervades everything in the  Universe, the conscious as well as the unconscious. He is depicted as a being with thousands of heads, eyes and legs, enveloping the world from all sides and transcending it.

Then the Sukta describes the process of creation: “He brought forth beings, that inhabit the sky, the earth and the sea. Then he brought forth the Vedas and the meters to chant them. Humans attained aspects of cerebral intellect, physical prowess, skills of trade and the vitality for physical labor from parts of Purusha’s being symbolizing these qualities.

The moon was born from his mind. The sun came from his eyes. Water and fire came from his mouth, From his vital energy, air was born. The firmament came from his navel. The heavens were produced from his head, the earth from his feet and quarters of space from his ears.

Thus this creation myth describes the underlying unity of human, cosmic and divine realities because they all arose out of the same original reality, the Purusha. In this imagery Purusha has a concrete form (Akara) and totality of attributes (saguNa). It should be remarked that He is the same Brahman depicted as formless (nirAkAra) and without distinguishable attributes (nirguNa) in the Vedas, Brahma Sutra and Upanishads (For details see Shanthi Sandesh Volume 4, issue 3; volume 4 issue 4; Volume 5, Issue 1).

W
hat is Hinduism? What makes a true Hindu? What does Hinduism teach her flock?

These are questions asked by those who want to be true Hindus and by those who are curious about Hinduism. A short answer would be glib at best. As Yudhishtira wondered in the great epic Mahabharata (Mahabharata, Aranya Parva,Yaksha Prasna): “Debates lead to no certain conclusion. Scriptures are many and differ from one another. No interpretation is accepted by all. The truth about Dharma is hidden in the caves of our heart. The great among us have searched and found theanswers there.”

The fifteenth century poet saint Narasinh Mehta, who hailed from Gujarat, wondered about the same questions we raised at the beginning. A great mystic and scholar that he was, Mehta distilled his thoughts in a delightful poem “VaishNavajanato.” This poem contains teachings of Hinduism in the simplest yet profound manner. Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by this poem and used it as the guiding principle of his brand of freedom movement – the Satyagraha.

A man of God feels the pain of others. He serves those in grief with devotion devoid of pride.

A man of God respects all and speaks ill of no one. His thoughts, deeds and words are pure. Verily he is a treasure to his parents.

A man of God sees the world without prejudice. He abhors greed and avarice. He treats women as he does his own mother. His tongue may tire but untruth will never be spoken. He never as much touches the property of others.

Worldly attachments do not touch a man of God. His mind is firm and detached from them. Prayer rejuvenates him and holy places are in his thoughts.

A man of God has no greed and deceit. He has conquered lust and anger. Such a man liberates those around him.

The lessons drawn by the poet are universal in spirit. They can be found in all great religions and they are at the heart of the teachings of Hindu scriptures. We shall expand on some points that have a distinctly Hindu perspective.

Subhashitas are a compendium of sayings expressed in short verses that contain the wisdom of the ages. Their repeated use over the centuries have made them so popular their authorship is lost. The following Subhashita brings out the message conveyed by Saint Mehta at the beginning of his poem: “Plants bear fruit for the enjoyment of others; Rivers flow to nourish others; Cows give milk to feed others; Hence this body is made to serve others.”

Service should be rendered with humility, not with pride or with an expectation of reward or recognition. This aspect of the teaching is hard to appreciate and is seldom followed. However, Hindu scriptures are emphatic about it. “Do your duty,” exhorts Bhagawadgita, “You have no right to demand the fruits of your action (Bhagawadgita 2-47).”

It should be recognized that this statement does not contradict the basic dictum of Hinduism: “All actions have consequences. One must and will reap rewards or pay the price in the present life or in future lives. No one, even the gods, can escape from it.”

The point made by Bhagawadgita is this: The fruits of labor will surely come but one has no right to demand what they should be or when exactly they arrive. Our actions are not isolated. In a complex world, a certain action may or may not have the intended outcome. Good deeds will be amply rewarded ultimately, not on the time table one desires. Being focused solely on the outcome leads to unhappiness and impedes the desire to do good.

One who knows this, is least concerned about it and his humility keeps him persist on the right path. Bhagawadgita addresses at length the attributes of “Sthita Prajna,” which mirror the man of God described by Saint Mehta.

A Sthita Prajna does his duty with a steady purpose, unflinching in the face of success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga by the sages (samatvam yogam ucyate) (Bhagawadgita 2-48).

Happiness and sorrow of daily life do not distress him; he is free from attachment, fear and anger. Such a person is called a sage of steady mind (Bhagawadgita 2-56).

In the material world, he isunaffected by success or failure. Neither does he praise it nor despise it. His mind is firmly fixed in the true purpose he seeks (Bhagawadgita 2-57).

As the mighty ocean remains unperturbed as waters from many rivers flow into it, a Sthita Prajna remains steady and calm as desires and temptations ofthe world around him come to him. They do not affect him (Bhagawadgita 2-70).

 

Bhagawadgita concludes: “Such a person who is detached and is devoid of false ego can attain true peace (Bhagawadgita2-71).”

nirmamo nirahankarahsa shantim adhigacchati

Narasinh Mehta was a true Sthita Prajna. The simplicity and elegance of his poem, while carrying a profound message, has inspired and continues to inspire many over the centuries.