The following vedic mantra is chanted
before Sri Rudram. This blog gives the meaning of Gaṇapati Dyānam.
ॐ ग॒णानां
त्वा ग॒णप॑ति हवामहे
क॒विं क॑वी॒नामु॑प॒मश्र॑वस्तमम्।
ज्ये॒ष्ठ॒राजं॒
ब्रह्म॑णां ब्रह्मणस्पत॒
आ न॑
शृ॒ण्वन्नूतिभि॑स्सीद॒ साद॑नम्॥
om ga̱ṇānā̎ṁ
tvā ga̱ṇapa̍ti havāmahe
ka̱viṁ
ka̍vī̱nāmu̍pa̱maśra̍vastamam |
jye̱ṣṭha̱rāja̱ṁ
brahma̍ṇāṁ brahmaṇaspata̱
ā na̍ḥ
śṛ̱ṇvannūtibhi̍ssīda̱ sāda̍nam ||
Meaning:
havāmahe ─ We worship.
How do we worship Gaṇapati? By praising him.
Who is ga̱ṇapati ?
tvā ─ You (ga̱ṇapati)
gaṇānāṁ ─ of all devatas
gaṇapatim ─ their leader. The word pati means the
leader.
Gaṇapati is invoked and worshiped as the leader of
all devatas.
Who are all the other devatas?
Is Gaṇapati greater than even Śiva? Or do we
understand thatGaṇapati as the leader
of bhūtagaṇā ─ attendants of Śiva?
Here, Lord Gaṇapati is looked
upon as Parameśvara and not as a given devata. How?
brahmaṇaspate ─ O Lord of Vedas.
Since Gaṇapati is also addressed by the word brahmaṇaspate,
he is Parameśvara.
This word can also mean Hiraṇyagarbha ─ the creator of Brahma.
kavīnām kaviḥ
kaviḥ is the one who knows the past, present and the
future. Gaṇapati is the kavi of all kavis─ seer of all seers, meaning
that he personifies all knowledge.
upamaśravastamam
Gaṇapati is superior to those who can be compared as
having fame.
Upama is comparison or approximation. While he is
praised in various upamās, there is no one equal to him and he is beyond comparison.
We cannot flatter Īṣvara and anything
we say falls short of his glory.
Īṣvara can be understood as one who is free from all
attributes and eveything else is only his manifestation.
Quote from Vālmīki Rāmayaṇa – “the battle between Rāma
and Rāvaṇa was like the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa”. Meaning that there is no other similar battle.
What is upamā?
Śruti gives many upamās – metaphors or similies, a
figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a
different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Such as space to point out all pervasiveness
of Īṣvara. The sun is used as an example for one being many; there is one sun but
reflections are many.
jyeṣṭharājam
The one who always shines in the hearts of the
devotees is rājā.
jyeṣṭha – the eldest as in jyeṣṭha putra – the eldest
child.
It also means an epithet of the Supreme Being.
naḥ śṛṇvannūtibhissīda sādanam
Please sit at the altar of homa – a fire ritual (or in
our heart), with all protective means after listening to our praises.
Full meaning:
Through praises we worship You – Lord of the Vedas
Leader of all groups of devas; Visionary of
visionaries
One who has great fame through various metaphors
Most exalted of the Knowers of Brahman
One who shines in the heart of devotees, hearing our
prayers
Please sit at the altar in our hearts with all
protective means.
Reference: Sri Rudram - Book by Swami Dayananda This post is part 002 of a multi part blog on the meaning of Sri Rudram.
Śri
Rudram appears in Kanva and Mādhyandina sākhas of the Śukla-Yajur-Veda, and the
Taittirīya, Kātaka, Maitrayānī sākhas of the Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda. Pujya Swami
Dayananda Saraswati has written a commentary based on the mantras on Taittirīya
sākha of Kṛṣṇa Yajur Veda.
Śri
Rudram blesses the vaidika with prosperity in this life and in the after-life.
When the mantras are chanted as a prayer supported by an understanding and
contemplation of the Lord as revealed in the mantras, it can lead to jnānam.
Among
the various Vedic hymns recited daily by a vaidika, the crown jewel of all of
them is the Śata Rudrīya. This vedic hymn is the source of inspiration for all
other sahasra namavalis such as Vishnu Sahasranāma and Lalita Sahasranāma. Both
in form and content these nāmavalis are not different from the Vedic Rudram.
Even in the Vedas, one does not see a section like Śri Rudram consisting of
many names of the Lord along with the word, namaḥ, salutation.
The famous five-syllabled mantra, namaaśśivāya, is from this great hymn.
Nāma japa
Nāma
japa is an important element in the religious life of a vaidika. Repeating
different names of the Lord is nāma japa. The most ancient source of this mode
of prayer is Śata Rudrīya. Śri Rudram is also called as namaka because the word
namaḥ is added to each name depicting the Lord.
Three type of Prayers
Kāyika,
vācika and mānasa are three ways of praying to Īṣvara.
(1)
Kāyika: A vedic homam is kāyika ─ meaning physical action is involved with
hands and materials. Abhishekam done in the temple or in the house,
namaskarams, sounding of counch and all actions where physical activity is
involved is a kāyika type of prayer.
(2)
Vācika is a verbal prayer. In this type of prayer, vāk, the organ of speech and
the mind are involved. Vedic chanting, bhajans, sahasranāma chanting and
singing rāma nāma are some examples of this type of prayer.
(3)
Mānasa type of prayer is done only in the mind ─ manaḥ. Dhyāna, meditation is
any physical act of worship done mentally. You perform an abhishekam only in
the mind. If you chant rāma nāma only in the mind, it is a mānasa pūja.
Śata
Rudrīya is used in all these three forms of prayer. During a vedic fire ritual
– homa it is kāyika. If you just chant it, it is vācika. When you meditate on
the meaning, or mentally repeat Om namaaśśivāya, it is mānasa.
Rudropaniṣad and the benefits
of chanting Sri Rudram
Īṣvara
is both manifest and unmanifest. Īṣvara, the Lord is both with attributes ─ saguṇa
and and without attributes ─ nirguṇa. Sri Rudram is used for praying to Īṣvara
either with form or without a form.
Upaniṣad
is the end portion of veda, which reveals the essential nature of an
individual. Śata Rudrīya when chanted with direct and simple meaning of the
words provides a means of purifying the mind and creating a conducive
atmosphere in our lives as puṇya phalam. Chanting of rudram is karma yoga in
the form of upāsana. Upāsana yoga ─ physical, verbal and mental prayers to Īṣvara
is part of karma yoga and provides eligibility for jnāna yoga.
When
we understand the implied and philosophical meanings in Śri Rudram, the very
same words become an Upaniṣad.
Sri
Rudram is very effective in freeing one from many pāpams, incurred by any
wrongful action against dharma. It frees one from emotional depression, mood
swings and all mental disturbances.
Even
a renunciate ─ sannyāsī, is advised to recite this hymn daily with understanding
of the words.
Name of the Lord is greater
than the Lord
Devotees
believe that the name ─ nāma is greater than Īṣvara, who is addressed by that
name. We hear that Hanumānji was doing rāma nāma japa, even when Rāma was
around. Why? Because Rāma as a person cannot be put in the mind and repeated in
japa! Japa is an act of repetition and the named person – nāmi does not have a
place there, because the life story and the personality of nāmi can cause distractions. When the nāmi
is no more, the nāma lasts forever, serving as a focus point for the devotees.
When
we say gold, it represents all the manifestations of gold such as a bangle,
chain, ring and such. When we say clay, it represents all the forms such as pot, cup
and utensils. So when we say the word Rāma as the Lord of this universe, the
name includes all manifestations in this world. Thus nāma becomes greater than nāmi,
since the name signifies all creations.
Consists of eleven anuāvkas
Śata
Rudrīya consists of eleven sections – anuāvkas. The first anuvāka is prayer to
Lord Rudra asking him to be kind and giving. From the second to to ninth anuvāka,
salutations are offered to Īṣvara as all forms constituting the world. The
tenth anuvāka consists of prayers to the Lord and in the eleventh, the Lord is
prayed to in the form of many devatās sustaining different spheres of
experience. In the first nine sections of the Rudram, the word namah occurs three
hundred times which is why the Śata Rudrīya is popular as Namaka.
Camakam
Namakam hymn is invariably followed by another hymn where the syllables, "ca"
and ‘me’ occur in every sentence and that hymn is called Camaka.
Can I be spiritual without being religious? Part 2 – जीव ईस्वर सम्बन्धः ─ jīva – īśvara sambandhaḥ
The highest goal for all religions is jīva – īśvara sambandha. All dvaita philosophies teach that viṣṇoḥ paramaṁ padaṁ – reaching the abode of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and so on is the ultimate aim of human life.
Advaita darśana teaches jīvātma – paramātma aikyam – that brahman is the only reality and this approach is different from jīva – īśvara sambandha. Mokṣa is either the knowledge of oneness of jīva – īśvara (advaita) or the most intimate personal relationship between jīva – īśvara (dvaita).
As we saw in Part 1 of this blog, only Isvara Bhakti can provide long lasting emotional security.
Īśvara-Praṇidhāna ─ ईश्वर-प्रणिधान represents surrender to, and love for Isvara. We go ahead with our daily lives with the attitude that everything belongs to the Lord and we are only custodians. Īśvara-Praṇidhāna is a core tenet of patanjali yoga philosophy.
Īśvara arpaṇa buddhiḥ ─ ईश्वर अर्पण बुद्धिः Any action we do is done with the attitude that it is our offering to the Lord, isvara-arpana-buddhya.
Īśvara prasāda buddhiḥ ─ ईश्वर प्रसाद बुद्धि: Since every result comes from Isvara, I take it as prasāda, a Sanskrit word that does not have an exact English equivalent. The word `grace’ has a somewhat intangible connotation, whereas prasada covers both the tangible results and the intangible, the grace.
Karma Yoga is defined as a prayerful life of dharma with attitudes of
Īśvara-Praṇidhāna, Īśvara arpaṇa and Īśvara prasāda buddhi.
We accept our inability to change things in our lives to our liking. We accept all results of our actions as prasāda – a gift from the Lord. Note that we do have some control over our actions, because of our free will. We cannot determine the outcome. In vedantic terms this is defined as – I am karma hetuḥ - I am the cause of my actions. Whereas Isvara is karma phala hetuḥ - Isvara decides the outcome as per my papa and punya.
All bhakti literature describe the different kinds of īśvara – jīva sambandha, such as creator – created, parent – child, husband – wife, teacher – student, king – citizen, prabhu – dāsa, shepherd – flock, cat – kitten and so on.
When we shift our dependency from worldly ephemeral things and worldly relationships to Isvara, our support for emotional and psychological security is the strongest and the most stable. We maintain and nurture appropriate relationships with all living beings, with everything in this universe and then with Isvara. We follow a life of dharma as karma yoga. This life is stress free and extolled by all scriptures. Nature of this universe:
Rajiv Malhotra describes the unity and the diversity of this universe in his book “Being Different”. Isvara created this universe with sufficient similarities and differences so that we are able to practise jiva-jagat-isvara sambanda.
In Vedic literature, numerous myths recount the creator Prajapati's efforts to beget a universe that would hold the two forces of order and chaos in equilibrium. His first attempt results in a creation which is insufficiently differentiated ('jami'), as it possesses too much order. This precludes integral unity because there are no sufficiently distinct components to cohere in the first place. They are undifferentiated and simply merge into each other, a state the Pancavimsa Brahmaņa (24:11.2) refers to as a 'nightmare'. The second attempt at creation yields a universe which is too fragmented or chaotic ('pŗthak', 'nanatva').
When entities in the universe are too individualistic, scattered, separated or different from each other (pŗthak); they cannot connect. What is desired is a creation which possesses a measure of distinction and individuality but avoids the quality of jami – i.e., it would be interconnected yet circumventing the equally undesirable state of pŗthak.
Can I be spiritual without being religious? Part 1 – सम्बन्धः ─ sambandhaḥ ─ Relationships
Nowadays it is fashionable to claim that one is spiritual, but not religious.
Swami Paramarthanandaji examines the question “Can I be spiritual without being religious?” from the view point of emotional security gained by relationships. That analysis is given in Part 1 of this blog.
Please listen to 1 hour of Swamiji’s talk as per the following link.
Religion has become unpopular due to several reason, such as fundamentalism, social inequality due to caste system, superstition, empty rituals, outgrown customs and practices. People do not want to be sterotyped as a religious fanatics; many wish to be politically correct and dissociate themselves from any kind of ritualistic prayer. There is also a widely popular opinion that religion is unnecessary and a hindrance to spiritual progress. Many try to practise secular vedanta without any prayers, worship, bhajans or mantra japa to a personal deity.
What is religion? What is spirituality? What is the difference between these two? What is the difference between religious life and spiritual life? Is any of them optional? Which one is optional? Sambandhaḥ
There are many views on religion and spirituality. Swamiji discusses from the standpoint of our śāstra ─ vedic scriptures.
The word religion or religious life is something connected with relationship ─ sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ. The word sambandhaḥ means relationship, connection, link, bond or connectivity.
Vedas are divided in karma kāṇḍa and jñāna kāṇḍa. Karma kāṇḍa portion of vedic scriptures deal with relationships. Relationships are inevitable due to the emotional security and support provided by these.
In the womb, we are related to our parents. After birth, we are related to our family members. Then we are related in the society. Relations start from the womb and continue upto the tomb.
Sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ, सङ्गः saṅgaḥ , these words mean inevitable relationships. The relationships influence our life very deeply. All relationships affect us both positively and negatively. Some of the aspects of our lives which are affected by relationships are
- Our physical health
- Our mental condition or emotions
- Our performance in life
- Our successes and failures
- Our prosperity
A very few good relationships can convert the earth into heaven and a very few bad relationships can convert the earth into a hell. Our mental conditions are affected either positively or negatively by varieties of relationships alone. The religious part of the scriptures point out that a human being should know and understand about relationships. This is said in karma kāṇḍa ─ the first part of the vedas.
After introducing the importance of relationships, the religion categorizes all our relationships into three major classifications, which shall be discussed in detail. There is no fourth classification and every relationship will fall into one of these three categories.
Home Work: Pause at this point and note down as many relationships that you can think of such as pets, plants, family, parents, children, school, friends, sports, temple, a mountain, a beach and so on. Check later if you can put these under any one of the three categories as below. 1. jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ:
This is relationship with all the other living beings, especially with the human beings. All family, neighbour and customer relationships come under this category.
Relationship starts in the womb itself, then expands to include family members, neighbours, guru kulam - fellow students, then the entire humanity - all of these are - jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ.
And this plays an important role in the society. Problems with bonding or lack of it can cause problems in the society. Swamiji gives an example where physical needs were met, but emotional needs were not provided for. Human bonding is very important and therefore scriptures point out the importance of jīva - jīva sambandha. 2. jīva - jagat sambandhaḥ:
Even at the time of birth we are related and connected to the environment. The child has to take the first breath - namaste vāyuḥ. We are all connected to jagat - consisting of the five elements and their products. We are connected to mother earth, water, agni ─ fire, sūrya - another form of agni, stars, planets, vāyu ─ air and आकाश ākāśa ─ space.
When human - jagat relationship is strained, environmental problems occur. An example is global warming. Religion says that it is due to the improper bond between humans and the environment.
Watch, note and appreciate the importance of jīva - jagat sambandha.
3. jīva - īsvara sambandhaḥ:
All of us are the created being, and Īsvara is the creator. We have a relationship of creator - created and sustainer - sustained with īsvara. Īsvara is विश्व आधारं ─ viśva ādhāraṁ ─ Supporter of this universe. This relationship which is often ignored and forgotten is the most important one because this alone is the strongest and the longest.
All the other worldly relationships are fragile, unpredictable, uncontrollable and unsustainable. Even the strongest relationship is limited by time. Time can end any worldly relationship at any time. So the only stable, permanent relationship is with Īsvara. And this relationship is not in this janma. But janma janmāntarebiḥ ─ This relationship between humans and īsvara is in every birth. This is beginningless. Because jīva is anādhi. Īsvara is also anādhi and the relationship is also anādhi.
Jīva - Īsvara sambandha alone is the most stable relationship which alone can give lasting emotional security. If we want emotional insurance, that can only come from Isvara.
The advise from Veda is - do not neglect, but appreciate, acknowledge, preserve and nourish jīva - īsvara sambandha.
The teaching of the religion is appreciation, acknowledgement, preservation, promotion and nourishment of all these three important relationships which influnce the quality of our life. How do I preseve and nourish these relationships?
We do many activities at thought, verbal and physical levels to maintain all these three relationships. Religion gives many practices which are based on very well known principles. We will take an example of the relationship between a child and its mother. Mother practices nitya dyānam at the thought level with the constant thought of the child.
All the religious rituals, customs, festivals and practices are nothing but kāyika, vācika, mānasa karmaṇi – physical, verbal and mental actions. All of them are meant for appreciating, acknowledging and preserving the three fold bonding. Many of our relgious practices are connected with human - human bonding – raakhi bhandan is an example. Mattu pongal – மாட்டு பொங்கல் day is celebration of bonding with cow. Sankranti day is meant for the sun – jīva - jagat sambanda. During Kumba Mela – we offer our prayers to the rivers. During śiva rātri, rudrābhiṣekam is performed to signify the bond with the lord - īsvara. Everyone requires a religious life and a ritual. Everyone should follow a traditional ritual or if traditional rituals are renounced, these have to be replaced by a fresh set of rituals. Religion and rituals are nothing but the bonding for our wellbeing. The ethical and moral values taught in the scriptures are meant for preserving these three fold bonds only. Whenever I violate any value, there will be a rupture in one of these bonds.
Any value – dharma is to preserve our bonding with jiva, jagat or Isvara. When dharma is violated the relationships become sour.
The rituals in the form of mānasa, vācika and kāyika are only a means and not the end. The end goal is keeping jiva-jagat relationship. Give importance to religious practices. But do not get carried away by that and miss the original purpose.
Some do research on the rituals and practices like the material used in Siva puja during Sivarathiri, like rudraksha, vilvam, honey and milk. Some do scientific study on the symbolism. We forget Siva after researching in vilvam. Priorities get misplaced. We need not probe into the details of the rituals. If it is interesting, one can pursue them. But getting carried away and missing the original purpose is unfortunate. We should not forget the bond, the relationship with me and Īsvara.
An atheist can avoid jiva-isvara sambanda, but needs to value the other two and do appropriate rituals. If we want long lasting security, it is possible only with our relationship with Īsvara. Hence one cannot avoid being religious. What is spiritual life?
Handled in end part of veda - veda anta. Religious life is in veda pūrva. It is a life style connected with spirit. Spirit in this context is the absolute reality, which is the support of all relative things in the world. The absolute reality which transcends all relations, transcends all duality and which is the ādhāram – basis behind all the changes. If we want absolute freedom, it is possible only by pursuing the absolute reality.
In the relative world, we can never have absolute freedom.
Our freedom is only relative freedom. We do not have total control over our lives. We do have some freedom to control. Prarabdha karma heavily influences our lives.
Even Īsvara who is in the relative world has only a relative freedom and does not have absolute freedom. Īsvara cannot create a world as per his liking.
He being omniscient, omnipotent and compassionate he could have created a world free from diseases,atleast a world free from mosquitoes. His world has to be in accordance with conditioned by jīva’s punya papa karma. If you want absolute freedom you have to go beyond jīva-jagat-īsvara relativity and you have to go to the absolute which is beyond all these three. You have to go beyond relationship, beyond duality and beyond desa ─ space and kāla ─ time.
The moment I choose absolute freedom as my goal and I begin to pursue that absolute freedom or that absolute spirit, the pursuit of that spirit is called spiritual life.
Puruśārtha Niścayam
In religious life, I am interested only in maintaining an appropriate relationship with īsvara. Whereas in the spiritual life I have fixed mokṣa as the primary goal. The religious life can be used either for material prosperity or for spiritual goal by changing the priorities of puruśārtha.
A person who is not interested in mokṣa is religious without being spiritual. When one addresses all the prayers only towards material prosperity, that person is not interested in moksa. When I seek kāma, artha and dharma alone, I am a religious person but not spiritual. When my prayer to Isvara is for leading me to moksa, then I become a spiritual person.
You can never be spiritual without being religious. We need īsvara’s grace for all our endaevours. Only Isvara Bhakti can provide long lasting emotional security.
Part 2 of this discussion will analyse the same topic from the view point of astika and vaidika darśaṇa.
