AArsha Vani (Voice of Sanatana Dharma) August 2017 Volume: 3 Issue: 7 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Title Page# Title Page# 1. Vandēmātaraṁ 1 7. Sri Vallabha Ganapati Tattvam 3 2. Vara Lakṣmī Prasannā Mama Sarvadā 2 8. Sri Vallabha Ganapati Temple, Kontamuru. 3 3. Hayagrīva 2 9. Saguṇa Nirguṇa Samaikya Avatāra 4 4. Śrāvaṇa Pourṇima – Rakṣā Bandhana 2 10. Pitr̥ dēvō bhava - Śrīmannārāyaṇa 4 5. Jivanmukta -Sri Sri Sri Chandra Sekara 2 Chaturavinśati Nāmāvaḷi Saraswati MahaSwami 11. śiva jñānaṁ - Aṣṭa Mūrti– Philosophical 5 Inquiry “सरस्वती श्रुततमहती महीयत 車" "Sarasvatī śrutimahatī mahīyatāṁ" (The above phrase in Rushipeetham logo is said by King Dushyanta in Sri Kalidasa’s Abhignana Sakuntalam. “Pravartatāṁ prakr̥tihitāya pārthivaḥ; sarasvatī śrutimahatī mahīyatāṁ; mamāpi ca kṣapayatu nīlalōhitaḥ; punarbhavaṁ........" - ‘Rulers shall strive to save nature. Education derived from Vedas shall become venerable paving the path to universal welfare. Vedic education stipulating the directives of Dharma shall thrive. Let there be no rebirth to me by the grace of Svayambhu Sada Siva’. King Dushyantha aspired for the above.) ‘Samanvaya is San tana – S marasya is Bh rat yata’ © Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma ā ā ā ī AArsha Vani (Voice of Sanatana Dharma) August 2017 Volume: 3 Issue: 7 Vandēmātaraṁ Upcoming Pravachanams Since ages, everyone in Bhārata worship their motherland as ‘Vandēmātaraṁ’. Date: Aug 7 - 11, 2017 6:30PM Let’s peek into this a little and understand how Topic: Sri Vishnu Rupaya Namassivaya Bhārata is the form of ‘Divine Mother’ too. At the Venue: Sri Sringeri Sankara Mutt, top, there are Himalaya mountains. One is Moti Nagar,Hyderabad Contact: TS Rao & C.S.R.Murthy 9848047217 immediately reminded of Mother Parvati, the daughter of Himavan and Mena Devi. All the Date: Aug 12, 2017 6:00PM states at the foot of Himalayan mountains such Topic: ‘Siva Padam’ – Musical Program as Himachal Pradesh etc. are abundant with Venue: Sri Sringeri Sankara Mutt, abodes of Divine Mother i.e. Śakti pīṭhas. In the Moti Nagar,Hyderabad middle, there are Vindhya mountains, which are Contact: TS Rao & C.S.R.Murthy 9848047217 home to Mother as ‘Vindhya Vāsini’. In this manifestation, She killed demons Shumbha, Date: Aug 13 -19, 2017 10:30AM Nishumbha and others. She is known by the Topic: Chidamabara Rahasyam epithet ‘Nandā Devi’. At the bottom, places such Organised By Rushipeetham Charitable Trust as Kanyakumari, Kerala are domiciles to Mother. In Kerala, there are Malaya Venue: Chidambaram mountains which are home to ‘Bhagawati’ also known as Malayāchala Vāsini. All Date: Aug 22 – Sep 2, 2017 the three are embedded in Sri Lalita Sahasranama stotra – ‘Māta Malayāchala Sri Ganapathi Navaratri Utsavamulu Vāsini..’, ‘Vindhya Vāsini..’, and ‘Umā Śailēndra tanayā..’. If one looks at the map Venue: Konthamuru, Rajahmandry of Bhaarata, It’s all Mother right from the beginning into the middle and at the (For details visit http://rushipeetham.org/ Event Calendar) end. Hence, we worship the Divine Mother as ‘Bhārat Māta’ also. Even Sri Bankim Traditions-Fulfilments Chandra Chatterjee who wrote ‘Vandēmātaraṁ’ extolls India as ‘Tvam Durgā To obtain the grace of Nārāyaṇa, Daśa Prahara Dhāriṇi..’, ‘Saraswati’, and ‘Lakshmi’. As mentioned, it is one divine worship Lord Viṣṇu’s idol as Damōdara and mother that took so many forms such as ‘Durga’, ‘Lakshmi’, ‘Saraswati’, give in charity on Damōdara Dvādaśi day. ‘Bhagawati’, ‘Bhārat Māta’ etc. Even our national theme written by Sri Rabindranath Tagore reflects the same. ‘Jana’ means that which is born. This On Śrī Kr̥ṣṇa Janmāṣṭami day, after includes the Five Elements, planets, stars, demi-gods etc. Each in itself is a ‘Gaṇa’ the puja, pray by chanting i.e. group, group of stars, group of planets. ‘Sarve Jeevā: Gaṇyā: Gaṇāha Tēṣām namastubhyaṁ jagannātha dēvakī Pati Gaṇēśa:’ – The presiding Lord of those groups who are born and can be tanaya prabhō; vasudēvātmaja ananta counted is ‘Gaṇapati’. Hence, ‘Jana Gaṇa Mana Adhināyaka Jayahe..’ is none trāhi māṁ bhavasāgarāt" . Offer arghya other than Gaṇapati. As said, Gaṇapati is ‘Bhārata Bhāgya Vidhāta’ i.e to Lord Krishna with sandalwood paste, orchestrator of Bhārat’s augury. Everyone sings His glory across the land right Akshatas, flowers mixed with coconut from Punjab to Kanyakumari seeking His blessings. Our national anthem is water by sitting on the knees while Gaṇapati Mantra. ‘Vandēmātaraṁ’ is veneration of Divine Mother. Entire India reciting “Jātaḥ kansavadhārthāya is abode to Śiva and Śakti. Bhārata is the place of worship in this universal home. bhūbhārōttāraṇāya ca; kauravāṇāṁ Let’s all sing Her glory. Bhārat Māta ki Jai! – Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma. vināśāya daityānāṁ nidhanāya ca; (Adapted from multiple sources) gr̥hāṇārghyaṁ mayā dattaṁ dēvakyā Sadhu Vachanam sahitō harē". Also, offer arghya to Lord mīṭhē vacana sukh phailāte hai | kisī kō bhī vaśa mēṁ karne kā ē ēk mantra hō tē haiṁ| Chandra by keeping silver image in a Isaliyē mānava kō cāhiyē ki kaṭhōra vacana chōḍa kara mīṭhā bōlanē kā prayāsa karē || plate. “Sweet words bring happiness. The constant mantra to make anyone listen to you is to talk softly and sweetly. This is why people should stop using harsh Worship Rati and Manmatha with words and talk in a subtle way”. — Saint Tulasi Das. sacred flowers, red akṣatā and chandana (Sant Tulasi Das was born on Śrāvaṇa śukla saptami 1497) on Śrāvaṇa Śukla Trayōdaśi by reciting the Bharateeyam following sloka. This day is known as "I have carefully and regularly perused the Hindu Scriptures, and am of opinion Anaṅga Trayōdaśi. that the volume contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, sarvōpamāna saundaryaṁ and finer strains of eloquence, than can be collected from all other books, in pradyumnā khyō harē: suta: whatever language they may have been written.” mīna kētana kandarpaka - Sir William Jones, English philologist. anaṅgā manmatha: tadā॥ Spiritual Quest (Answers by Sri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma) Krishna and Balarama are brothers. Krishna could as well have done everything what Balarama accomplished. What is the role of Balarama and why He also is worshipped as an incarnation? It is inevitable that the Seshu aspect of Vishnu always is by the side in the incarnations of Rama and Krishna. However, Krishna is ‘Purnaavataara’ i.e. the whole, whereas Balarama is the partial aspect. Performing within their respective limits, both accomplished what they should. It is the divine plan of the Lord to accord roles to everyone and accomplish what needs to be achieved. Hence, both are divine incarnations and should be worshipped accordingly. ‘Samanvaya is Sanātana – Sāmarasya is Bhāratīyata’ © Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma 1 Vara Lakṣmī Prasannā Mama Sarvadā Hayagrīva Śrāvaṇa is the month when efforts are made to extract riches from earth. In this season ‘Sabda Brahma’ of rains, harvests are initiated. Hence, our ancient sages stipulated this time for the devout worship of Go ddess Lakshmi on the Friday before the full moon day in the form of ‘Vara Lakshmi’. ‘Vara’ means wish or boon. One who grants whatever is wished for – success, liberation, victory, knowledge, wealth etc., - is ‘Vara Lakshmi’. In the sloka mentioning about six Lakshmis, ‘Siddha lakṣmī mōkṣa lakṣmī jaya lakṣmī sarasvatī Ś rīrlakṣmī vara lakṣmī ca prasannā mama sarvadā ’, Vara Lakshmi is mentioned at the end indicating that the form of Vara Lakshmi is the harmonious form that blends all other forms into Her and in fact is the basis for all the other forms. Though many worship Maha Lakshmi on every day, on this day every woman makes sure to perform the worship of Vara Lakshmi. Indeed, this worship is performed as ‘Vara Lakshmi Vrat’. Though many methods are prescribed for worship such as in idol, lamp, lump of turmeric, kalasa, Sun God etc., it is auspicious to worship Vara Lakshmi in kalasa on this day. Goddess in invoked into this kalasa with proper Lord Vishnu, the embodiment rituals and traditional worship is performed. Indra, the king of celestials, obtained of all the Vedas, gave His other affluence with the grace of Mother. Hence, She is known as ‘Indira’. Since Indra is the form of Vedas to Brahma. Vedas presiding deity of Friday, performing Vara Lakshmi Vrat on Friday is even more auspicious. have phonetic prominence. Friday is also known as ‘Bhrigu vāra’. Mother Lakshmi manifested as the daughter of Accurate pronunciation of Vedic Bhrigu Prajapati and is known as ‘Bhārgavi’. Another meaning of ‘Bhārgavi’ is the mantras in the right meter and effulgence present in the epicenter of Sun. Likewise, Goddess Lakshmi is resplendent with exact voice levels yields great golden hue as said in ‘Hiraṇya varṇāṁ hariṇīṁ suvarṇa rajata srajām’. Let’s worship Vara merits. Hayagrīva’s form is half- Lakshmi and be bestowed with Her grace! - Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma. horse and half-man. His horse (Adapted from ‘Varalakshmi Vratam’ Pravachanam) face represents all the root syllables (Bīja Akṣara), whereas ṣ ṁ Varalak mīVrata , Dāmōdara Dvādaśi – It is a great yoga to get Dvādaśi thiti the lower body represents the which is dear to Hari on VaralakṣmīVrata Friday. Cleaning the house, applying remaining letters (Varṇamāla). turmeric and kumkuma, hanging mango leaves to the thresholds are the good Hence, His embodiment is customs given by our ancient sages. To get the grace of Varalakṣmī, worship as combination of root syllables praised by Charumati "Padmāsanē padmakarē sarvalōkēna pūjitē; and letters i.e. the ‘Sabda nārāyaṇapriyē dēvi suprītā bhava sarvadā" in your own traditional way. Brahma’. When Vishnu appeared in the form of Śrāvaṇa Pourṇima – Rakṣā Bandhana ‘Hayagrīva’ and neighed, all the Śrāvaṇa Pourṇima is very auspicious with divine powers. Tying the sacred demons ran away just hearing His neigh. This means that the thread is the symbol of attachment between brothers and sisters. Wearing of very sounds of Bījākṣara auspicious thread gives wholeness to the rituals to be performed and hence frightened the demons. yields desired results and removes evil effects.