NAVADURGA SLOKA BY GURU MAHARAJ SHREE HARI SWAMIJI In English 1 An English Transliteration of the Sloka Originally divined & composed in Tamil by Guru Maharaj Shri Hari Swamiji with a translation of the Commentary, benefits of recitation, author’s instructions on Navaratri vrata & pooja. This work is an English transliteration of the Slokas in Tamil and an English Translation of the Commentary in Tamil, thereto by Shri K.K.Hari also known as Guru Maharaj Shri Hari Swamiji, author of the original work in Tamil published by Him in the year 2008 in India. Shri K.K.Hari also known as Guru Maharaj Shri Hari Swamiji is the owner of the copyright in the said original work.. First publication: August 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this work or even adaptation thereof may be reproduced, stored, transmitted or displayed in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical or otherwise now known or that may be hereafter devised – including photocopy, storage, on the internet on any website or any information storage & retrieval system without prior written permission of both authors. Any person who disregards this warning and commits an infringement of the authors’ copyright in this work is liable to pay damages and is also liable to be prosecuted under the provisions of The Copyright Act, 1957 which provides for imprisionment & payment of fine apart from seizure and destruction of infringing copies, dies, equipment etc. 2 Om! Mahapurushaaya Vidhmahae, Shri Krishnahamsaaya dimahi, thanno Shri Hari: Prachodayaat SHRI HARI SWAMIJI GURU MAHARAJ The ocean of infinite compassion & of divinity 3 offered unto the divine hands of Bhagavan Shri Hari Swamiji our compassionate, adorable, worshipful Guru Maharaj. It would not have been possible to bring out a work of this nature without the grace and omniscient guidance of this Divine Master Who imperceptibly executes every such work through the medium of His devotees, so as to wash away their sins and to inculcate spirituality in them. 4 INTRODUCTION TO THE NAVDURGA SLOKAM BY SHREE HARI SWAMIJI Ambal - The Mother Goddess Who embodies all the power of the universe - the ruler of the entire universe and all creation. She separates and manifests as 9 separate and distinct entities. Each such divine manifestation is a unique embodiment of distinct appearance, form and quality. Now one may ask why another treatise on Navadurga & Her manifestations when so many exist. Great & enlightened souls have authored certain Epics & treatises. The treatises are a record of what they witnessed. For example, Ramanujacharya1, the propounder of the Vishistaadvaita sect, contemplated upon the Dasavataram. In doing so He formed an idea/ opinion as to how & what He to write. While doing so it also occurred to Him that it would be even more beneficial to mankind if He writes a treatise on Srimad Bhagavad Gita. So He decided to translate Srimad Bhagavad Gita into Tamil. In those days it was extremely difficult to accomplish such a task. Lord Varadharaja Perumal2 Himself taught Him how to accomplish this great task. The Lord taught him every single verse. This commentary is one such treatise. It is observed that opposites exist darkness & brightness, good & bad, enemy & friend, even in gender, male & female, then there is Vaishnavism & Shaivism. Each sect has its own distinct caste mark. A Vaishnavaite is identified by his caste mark, the thiruman kaapu3 on the forehead & the Shaivaite is identified by his caste mark, Vibhuti4, holy ash smeared laterally in three lines on the forehead. Each sect has collated the Vedas(see footnote 12) in its own style. Similarly, each sect classifies the various manifestations of The Mother Goddess when She descends during Navaratri, in accordance with its own perceptions & doctrines. When the Vedas were being classified and collated The Mother Goddess was asked `You descend in the month of Purattasi, what are your various 1 Ramanujacharya: Ramanuja (traditionally, 1017–1137 CE) was a Hindu theologian, philosopher and scriptural exegete, born in a Tamil Brahmin family in the village of Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. He is also known as Sri Ramanujacharya, Udayavar, Ethirajar (Yatiraja), Emberumannar and Lakshmana Muni. He is regarded by Sri Vaishnavism as the most important Acharya (teacher) of their tradition who followed Nathamuni and Yamunacharya, and by Hindus in general as the leading expounder of Vishishtadvaita, one of the classical interpretations of the dominant Vedanta school of Vedic philosophy. (See Glossary for more) 2 Varadaraja Perumal: The presiding Deity of The Varadaraja Perumal Temple, an ancient and legendary Vishnu temple at Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu. 3 Thiruman kaapu: Holy soil used by the Vaishnavites to mark their bodies with their caste mark. (See Glossary for representative image) 4 Vibhuti: Holy ash that is used by Shaivaites to mark their bodies with their caste mark. (See Glossary for representative image) 5 forms then? What are the various forms manifested by you while descending? Now, we all know that a mother will cook & feed her child only that which the child loves to eat. Will a mother feed a child what the child hates? She won’t. Similarly, The Mother Goddess accepts whatever form of worship is lovingly offered to Her and accepts any name that Her devotees call Her. The Vaishnavites classified the various forms of the Mother Goddess as per their perceptions into 12-13 forms, Vaishnavi, Maakaali, Sundari, Bhairavi etc,. This was done in accordance with the Vaishnavite tradition as per their custom & practice. Similarly Shaivaites named the various manifestations of The Mother Goddess in accordance with their traditions, Bhadrakaali, Chamundi, Chandi, Mundi, etc, Now why was this done? Shaivaites chant the mantra (see footnote ) Om Namah Shivaayah, Masivaya, Sivaaya Namaha etc, The same mantra is recited/ chanted in various forms by altering the placement of the syllables. This gives varied results, both desirable & undesirable. Even a very potent mantra will give an undesirable result when it is chanted seeking an evil or bad result. In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana was in a position to be able to see Lord Krishna everyday. But he neither accepted not sought the Lord. On the other hand, the Pandavas, accepted Duryodhana as their younger brother. This is the reason why the Kauravas lost & the Pandavas won the Mahabharata war. So, the Shaivaites classified The Mother Goddess according to their mantras. Not only were the different manifestations of the Mother Goddess Who descended during Navaratri given different names by the Vaishnavaites & Shaivaites but also the Naivedya (food offerings) that each sect offered to each such manifestation were also determined by them in accordance with their respective customs & traditions. In these circumstances both Lord Vishnu & Lord Shiva approached their Mother Goddess Adishakti and requested Her to narrate to them Her actual manifestations when She descended during Navaratri. They told Her that their devotees had separately determined what Her various manifestations were as per their wish and had named them in the three different modes of Satvikka, Asatvikka & Aghora. Now, there are several slokas on the Mother Goddess such as The Devi Mahatmayam or The Durga Saptashati, Lalitha Sahasranaamam, Devi Suktam etc, Each of these treatises have separate sets of names for the various manifestations of The Mother Goddess descending during Navaratri. There are certain other devotees of the Mother who follow neither Vaishnaviam nor Shaivism philosophies. I visit a certain temple of the Mother Goddess for the past 30 years. It’s a wonderful temple. The Goddess indeed resides in this temple & She speaks. I am extremely fond of Her & She’s very fond of Me. Recently, about two weeks back, I visited the Temple. Haarati5 had been performed to the deity after Naivedya (food offering) and the plate was being brought out of the sanctum sanctorum. The plate contained all the food that had been offered to the Goddess Ven Pongal, Sakkarai Pongal, Vadai, (refer recipes) and then I also noticed that there were some cooked leaves of the drumstick tree in the centre and I had a doubt. I then saw a piece of Karuvaadu (a fried piece of salted & dried fish) beside the drumstick leaves. There was also an egg on that plate, nicely boiled & deshelled. Now, all this was being brought out of the main shrine after being offered to the deity. I was a bit shocked. My mind that dwelt in contemplation of the 5 Haarati or Aarati: It is a ritual in Hindu worship performed during and as part of pooja by Hindus. The flame of a lamp/s of ghee or oil with cotton wicks or of camphor are offered to a Deity by waving the flame in the deity’s prescence. 6 Divine Mother Goddess got distracted & began pondering upon the drumstick leaves & the fried dry fish. But then why should all these things bother me? How do they concern me? Someone offered non-vegetarian food to the Mother Goddess and She accepted it because a devotee offered it to Her with devotion & love. This does not mean that She prefers or relishes non-vegetarian food. Therefore The Mother Goddess accepts all types of prayers & offerings from Her devotees of varied contrasting backgrounds & traditions. Drinking of liquor makes one tipsy. This happens whether the liquor is cheap arrack or whether the liquor is expensive, but drinking water quenches one’s thirst. Similarly the manner of one’s prayer & offering will determine the nature of the boon or result that is bestowed by the Mother Goddess. There are numerous beeja mantras in the various mantras that exist. Certain beejamantras have the power to restrict/ restrain the Mother Goddess Herself. Even such beejamantras have been created by Her and if those are recited in the prescribed manner then She has to be bound by it otherwise the beejamantras will be proven false & inefficacious.