Kailash-18

Dear Friends

In the course of the last week, we have received information about Rudrabhishekam to be performed by us each day from 3^rd July to 16^th July. A pertinent question that arises in the mind is “What is Rudraabhishekam?” One of the names of Lord Shiva is Rudra. The typically understood meaning of this word is anger or destruction caused by anger. Such a constricted meaning would be incorrect. In one of my earlier posts, I had mentioned that the Lord, as the destroyer, helps us in destroying our ego, false tendencies and vain passions. So Lord Rudra enters our hearts, destroys wrongful notions about ourselves, creates an attitude of peace and calmness within us and assists us in climbing the pinnacles of happiness, which is nothing other than the Mount Kailash which is inside our hearts.

Sri Rudram is a sacred text appearing in the Yajurveda, which salutes different names of Paramashiva, extolls different virtues of Mahadeva and seeks blessings from Sadashiva, who is residing in Mount Kailash. Divided into 11 sections, the Sri Rudram is followed by the Chamakam which seeks gains on the material plane through the Lord’s blessings. Collectively, it is the single-most auspicious chanting for Jagadeeshwara. At the end of the first section there is one verse that offers salutations to different names of the Lord, which I am reproducing here

Namaste Astu Bhagavan,Vishveshvaraaya, Mahadevaaya, Trayambakaaya, Tripuraantakaaya, Trikaagnikaalaya, Kalaagnirudraaya, Neelakantaaya, Mrutyunjayaaya, Sarveshvaraaya, Sadashivaaya, Shriman Mahadevaaya Namah

Abhishekam as we all know is offering of different substances like fruits, milk, honey, butter, water, flowers, etc to the image-form of the Lord, called shivalinga. So as we chant His holy names, we will be offering different material possessions to his image-form, in utter surrender and prayer unto his qualities and grace. The material substances that we offer, symbolically would represent our wrong tendencies, ungainly passions, our anger, greed, jealousy, pride, fear, and all other negative thoughts.

In the course of our parikrama, if we remember the Lord, His names and His benign grace and thereby surrender our bundle of ego and wrong vasanaas, He is sure to grant us His blessings and provide all the benefits that we seek on this material plane. We are going to be moving very slowly during our parikarama. As we take every step forward, let us pause and think of Mount Kailash as the shivalinga and at every step, let us remember His name and His grace, surrendering our ego unto Him bit-by-bit for each step. That will be the best Rudrabhishekam that we can perform for the Lord who is none other than our Inner Self. Let not the physical challenge of ascending or descending the mountains deter us from remembering Him at all times. Because finally He is the One Supreme Being who is going to be our companion in the yatra and who will enable us to complete this Holy Pilgrimage, for which we had taken a sankalpa about 4 months ago.

This is my 18^th and the last message in the course of this Kailash Yatra. I thank the Lord for inspiring me to share my thoughts with you. I thank each one you as the Shiva-Amsham (part of the Lord) for tolerantly reading my posts and at times responding to them as well. I must confess that it has been a selfish act on my part, because as I have shared, I have grown within myself. So to that extent each one of you is a contributor to my growth in this journey. May the King of Kailash Bless one and all! OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA

With Prem & Om

Kailash-17

Dear Friends

Jains worship Kailash as “Ashtapad’. It is a spot on Mt Kailash; where it is believed that, Saint Rishabdev, their first Tirthankara, attained ‘nirvana’/’salvation’. The saint is called Adinath, who initiated the process of renunciation of material possessions and encouraged following the path towards liberation after fulfilling our duties on the material plane. A brief sketch of the saint’s life-story is as follows: -

He was born as Rishabkumar, prince to a royal family, ruling over what is today called Ayodhya. It is said that he had a bundle of punya karmas from previous lives, which prompted his birth as a very pious and humble prince. During his rule, he was renowned as righteous, fair-minded and was instrumental for the development of civilization in his kingdom. After many years of just rule, he gave up the kingdom; to pursue a Higher Calling of Life; the pursuit of happiness, which is not determined by material well-being alone. His teachings thereafter encouraged charity, chastity, silence, purity and freedom from bondages of the mind. As he was the precursor to subsequent followers, he is called Lord Adinath. His name, Rishabdev, symbolizes the Bull, which we all know is the vehicle of Shiva. There is also an inner parikrama of a hill facing at Kailash which is called Nandi Parikrama. So the connect between the first Tirthankara of Jains and Shiva at Kailash, is right there; at the Summit.

The story provides a significant message to humankind. Our bundle of past deeds and actions, if they are good and pure, they will result in our reincarnating amidst noble and progressive surroundings. If we continue the journey likewise in the present embodiment, we are sure to reap the harvest of fulfillment, satisfaction and bliss; which will provide a path to liberation from future cycle of births and deaths. We can also attain to the status of a Tirthankara!! While prakriti (nature) will bestow its riches upon us, let us not forget the qualities of Saint Rishabdev in every station and action of life.

Bhaktamar Stotra is a composition by one of the Jain Munis extolling the virtues of Lord Adinath. Among the various recitations, there is one pertaining to knowledge, which means that ‘Maybe I am ignorant and the wise scorn me, but my devotion to you is like the cuckoo who sings as the mango fruit comes out during spring-time; my devotion to you and singing praises for you is never-ending’. The emphasis on devotion to the Lord and singing in his praise is all too poignant. Devotion to the Lord generates the state of mind within ourselves to appreciate and love all things and beings around us. In that state, the inner image of the Lord that we see is full of peace, compassion and happiness. Obviously we experience these qualities within ourselves at those fleeting moments. Our songs / chanting at those times reflect our own state of mind.

As we near the day of our departure for Kailash, obviously there will be anxiety pangs and goose-bumps. The one all-pervading remedy for this mental condition is utter surrender to the Lord, seeking His umbrella and singing / chanting His praises. The resultant calm and peace will allow us to enjoy this Holy Pilgrimage to the fullest.

Prem & Om

Kailash-16

Dear Friends

I was in USA last week, and the compulsions of work there and on my return, prevented me from writing earlier. Whilst in USA, I was fortunate to visit a temple-site which is planned for construction. As I set about talking with the committed devotees who were trying to accomplish the divine task, their challenges in surmounting the limitation of resources, was palpable. Looking into the surrounding woods and trees, I suggested to them that their limitation of financial resources was more than met by the strength of “nature” being their bountiful friend. A thought occurred that they could create a pathway amongst the woods, trees, the birds and Mother Nature; and in those pristine surroundings they could put up tablets made of stone or wood, on which they could carve stories and teachings of the Lord.

On my return I remembered that the Vedas contain a divine hymn called “Purusha Suktam” which speaks of the entire creation as a single form of the Lord; the Supreme Purusha - the Cosmic Being. The sky, the waters, the trees, the mountains, the sun, the moon, the stars and the entire phenomenal creation is considered to be a single being, constituted in time and space. He is the Conscious Being, enveloping the entire Universe; is the past, present and the future. The entire study of environmental science as we know it; is contained succinctly in a single ancient text, that describes the Lord as manifested in all the things and beings that we perceive with our senses.

One of the immortal Abhangs of Sant Tukaram goes as follows: -

वृक्षवल्ली आम्हा सोयरी वनचरे, पक्षी सुस्वरे आळविती || ध्रु || 

येणे सूखे रुचे एकांताचा वास, नहीं गुणदोष अंगा येत || १ || आकाश मंडप पृथ्वी आसन, रमे तेथे मन क्रीडा करी || २ || 

कथा कमण्डलु परवडी विस्तार,करोनी प्रकार सेवु रूचि || ३ || तुका म्हणे होय मनासी संवाद,अपुलाची वाद आपणासी || ४ ||

Literally translated, this means that trees, creepers and flowers are part of me, where the birds sing melodiously. In absolute solitude, without any incompleteness or faults, I am happiness and bliss myself. Under the canopy of the sky and with the earth as my seat; my mind plays joyfully. My body is no different from my blanket and pitcher and the breeze tells me the time. Speaking about His creation is like food for me, and my conversations begin and end within myself.

In a beautiful and succinct manner, the saints who composed the sacred hymn called Purusha Sukta and the saint who sung this melodious poem have made us realize that Mother Nature is the Lord manifested as the Universe that we know of. We must remain in melody with Him, derive happiness and bliss from Him, enjoy His company and be in conversation with Him.

As we ascend and remain in communion with Him at Kailash, let us perceive Him and His Creation in all things and beings around us. Let us remember that we are only enjoying His play amongst the various experiences that we come across during our sojourn.

With Prem & Om

Kailash-15

Dear Friends

In the course of various readings on Kailash, we come to know that as much as Hinduism places it as the Ultimate abode of Lord Shiva, it is equally important spiritually for Buddhist and Jain folllowers. I used the name 'Chakrasamwara' as one of the names of Lord in Tibetean Buddhist worship. The Internet describes that He is a union of the male and female aspects of the Lord with multiple limbs and is a destroyer of all evil forces. Transferring the description to our own learnings of Hindu mythology, we realise that the combination of Shiva and Shakti is the cause of destruction of all evil forces, ungainly thoughts and unwanted egoistic pursuits. We realise that there is great commonality between the two faiths and both extol the virtues of silence, meditation and non-injury. 

If I speak something that hurts you, I have injured you. If I speak something ill about you to someone  else, unknowingly I have injured you. If I try to create a situation that will ultimately result in some disadvantage or loss for you, I have injured you. So non-injury really means that whatever I do, speak, think or perform, should not result in being resoponsible for my fellow-beings' suffering. This can be best practiced by becoming conscious at all times and remembering that my thoughts, acts and reactions are meant for the common good of my fellow beings. Such a mindset will at least ensure that if anything adverse does come about, it is an unconscious or unknowing act and not with an intent to injure others.

When we were in school, we remember that during 'free' periods, when the subject teacher hadn't come to the class, we used to make a huge ruckus in class. At that point, some other teacher enters class and shouts.... 'silence'. Immediately, the whole class went quiet for about 20-30 seconds. Then the teacher asks.....'whose class was this?' Suddenly everyone jumps up and tries to be the first to say 'miss x or miss y.....whatever'. The momentary silence is broken. If we relive that experience for a moment, we understand that silence is our inner nature, it is always present. We create noise and disturbance, with our constant inner-chatter and compulsive thinking process and consequently remain unhappy. A constant vigilant watch on the mind and it's habit pattern will slowly help us to remain silent in our within, and use our thinking faculties only when confronted with a need to find a solution or react to a given situation in life. That way we can remain in the 'present' and not hallucinate about the future or brood over the past.

We have heard the word 'meditation' many times, but those who are unfamiliar with it tend to feel scared about it or think that is something to be done in old-age after retirement from day-to-day working. Actually meditation starts from understanding, what is breathing. We all breathe; without that we cannot live. If we pay attention to how we are breathing at any moment, we'll realise that when we are calm and serene, our breathing is very normal.  The moment there's any sorrow, joy, excitement, depression or any such change in the emotional condition, our breathing becomes erratic or heavy. If we pay attention to our breathing at these times and focus on breathing normally, suddenly the power of that moment's emotion to overpower us diminishes. Meditation can be practiced by initially concentrating on maintaining this normal breathing pattern. Once the mind learns the habit of focussing on the present, we can gradually travel 'inwards' to know ourselves in our within. 

Let us pray to Lord Viswanatha (who is the lord of the world / 'vishwa') to help us gain access to these knowledge and grow into our happiness and bliss which is our right.

Prem & Om

Kailash-14

Dear Friends

Lord Sadashiva, the ruler of Kailash, is always blessing us in whatever we do. This belief is what keeps us engaged with faith in our daily undertakings, our great ambitions, our purposeful actions and achievements in life. If He is always with us, then why it is that good people suffer the various trials and tribulations in life. Why is it that sincerely devoted 'bhaktas' undergo sorrow and pain? Why some apparent wrong-doers enjoy prosperity and some righteous people undergo penury? Why Ravana, a Shiva Bhakta, lives and rules an empire and Rama, also a Shiva Bhakta, suffers troubles, separation and test of character in his 'vanvaas'? I have chosen the last example with reason, if Rama himself, who is the Lord incarnate, had to suffer, then why not mere mortals like us?

In olden times, in villages, food-grain used to be stored in barrels after they were received at home from harvest. These barrels were very tall, therefore, for removing the grain to use for cooking, there used to be a 'tap' at the bottom, which when opened, used to release as much grain as was needed to be used for cooking, and when the tap was closed, the supply stopped. Now, the grain that comes from the harvest is of different shades, fibre or size at each harvest, and they are piled up one on top of the other; harvest after harvest. Whenever the tap is opened, irrespective of the grain that was filled from top, the ones available nearest to the tap are released for our consumption. Extending this example, instead of grains, if we pour in "pebbles" from the top, obviously the barrel will receive that also. But the tap will still release the grains because those are nearest to the tap. Now again, on top of the pebbles, if we pour in fresh grain, and then open the tap; it will now release pebbles instead of grains, because by now the pebbles have percolated nearest to the tap. 

Our experiences of sins and virtues; "paapa" and "punya" is exactly like the grain-pebble inputs that we provide in the barrel. Whatever good we do now, it reaps its rewards invariably at some future period. And whatever bad we did in the past, results in our experiencing the sorrows for those, now in the present. And this "past", "present" and "future" is not limited to the life that we are enjoying at this moment; it applies to each and every embodiment that we had, we have and we will have at all times. So the happiness and bliss that we enjoy are directly determined by the amount of "grains that we put into the barrel" as compared to the "pebbles that we dump". It is our conscious practice of thinking, acting and doing good at all times, that will result in the "barrel of our mind & intellect" always remaining full of peace and happiness. 

In many spiritual texts, two special terms are used; "shreyas" and "preyas". Shreyas means that which is good, that which is right, that path which is to be followed at all times and which will yield satisfaction and fulfillment in the long run. Preyas means that which is pleasurable, momentarily attractive but which we could be the harbinger of disappointment in the long run. We are many times confronted at cross-roads in life to choose between these two options. The choices we make through such experiences will determine our "paapa-punya" quotient.  The Lord will bless us as HARA (the remover of all sins) and KAILAS (one who bestows peace).

Kailas is called “Gang Rinpoche” by the Buddhists. It is believed to be the abode of Chakrasamvara, whose traditional description is similar to a combination of “Nataraja” and “Ardhanariswara”. Although not competent to write on the intricacies of the Buddhist ritualistic practices, I will attempt to write on how “silence”, “meditation” and “non-injury” are practices that we could cultivate in ourselves reaching to pinnacles of Peace, Bliss and Happiness; in my next post.

Prem & Om / Suresh