Post by saidevo on Sept 27, 2012 9:47:44 GMT 5.5
Pages 145-149
Gitacharya divides bhaktAs into four classes: those who seek wealth, those who seek mitigation of sufferings, those who seek jnAna and the jnAnis who seek nothing. All these four classes come to SriCharaNar. Of them, the majority will be those who pray for betterment of their worldly life and those who seek mitigation of their physical and mental diseases. A few may be here who seek jnAna, bhakti and a good heart. And those who have already attained fulfilment, so need to ask for nothing, will be the rareest among the rare.
SriCharaNar has accomplished as a sAdhanA, the equity of taking all these people with similar anutApa (warmth).
Everyone has the right to come to this sannidhanam (holy place) and converse. There is no necessity for any prior appointment. Our Gurunathan is one who does anugraha (favour) to all the levels of people in status, society, spirituality or age, giving his ear to everyone in the same manner. If it is asked where one can look for equality, it can pointed out, with both hands extended, that the concept will be found here. With the suppleness of his mind glistening in all his body parts, the beauty of his sitting with laLitam (sweetness, grace) and conversing with laLitam (charm, grace)! One can understand why Goddess Ambika has the special name Lalitha!
In this morning hours, he would also go through all the important news from the newspapers.
After this the first session of puja. If there rises an AnandA in looking at a lotus flower with its layered petals, its pedestal within them, its kesaras (filament) around the pedestal and the yellow knob in each kesara, there is also a delight with the sight of a simple coral jasmine flower with its red stalk and ten or twelve petals. The short morning session puja ends like the simple coral jasmine flower. Not even the instruments play at that time.
Amidst thick silence our Gurunathan does arcanA to the spaTika (quartz) lingam that is ChandraMauleesvara and the mEru chakra that is Kamakoti Tripura Sundari. He would then be seen with the intense shine that differentiates him as the tejo giri (shining mountain) Annamalai that is distinct from the man of moon we stared at early morning, raising our heads.
Darshan for the devotees, after the puja is over; and the dialogues of grace. It might stretch long hours at times.
Thereafter, finishing his mAdhyAnihakaH snAnam and anuSTAnam, he comes like a bunch of pearls for the second session puja.
AhA, it is a bhAgyam to see him doing japa and dhyAnA. Especially when he meditates sitting on the banks of a river or pond under the vast expanse of the sky, a shanta saukyam (peaceful health) would be seen sprouting over him! His kolam (position) of meditation under the tree would spread cool shades in our heart! It is not as if his inner peace is refelected depending on the outer environment; even if he is seen doing meditation sitting in some dark room, the peace will gush into our hearts!
The second session worship is as elaborate as the beauty of the multi-layered lotus flower. To the spaTika (quartz) lingam that is ChandraMauleesvara; to Goddess Tripura Sundari in the form of Sri Chakra of gold in three dimensions that is known as Meru; to the Goddess Herself in the form of a two-dimensional Sri Chakra in stone, known as bhu prastAra (a spread-out on earth)--made and gifted to SriCharaNar by the Bobbili Raja several years back, after employing a great Sivacharya who was also well learned in the Shastras, who made the SriChakra in its two-dimensional form in stone and sanctified it with special rites involving mantras; to the small svarNa vigraha (golden icon) Vinayaka; to the svarNa nAga (golden cobra) that is Lord Muruga (a Vel would be inserted in its mouth); to Narayana Murti residing in the Salagramam; to Surya Narayana remaining in the form of a crystal; and to Durga Devi in yantra rupa, he now performs an elaborate puja. Many people would have known that one of the Pancha Lingams given to Kaladi Sankara by sAkSAt Kailasha Sankara is in our MaTham. It is also the belief that the Salagramam here is the one that sAkSAt PerumaL gave him when Sankara sang his Karavalamba Stotra on Narasimha Murti.
In addition to these mUrtis (icons) to which SriMaTham Acharya SwamigaL himself does puja, there are many other vigrahAs (icons) such as Sri Adi AcharyaL (Adi Sankara) and Sri Rama. The MaTham SastrigaL would do the puja to them.
It is a custom to give the principal rank to Adi AcharyaL in the Guru Vandanam that occurs in the beginning of all pujas and japas and do mAnasIka (mental) worship, by those who are Acharya SwamigaL here.
During the elaborate second session puja, Sri PeriyavaaL performs it with abhiShekas (ablution) of milk and sandal paste, lots of arcanAs and nivedanam (offering). Depending on the bhakti exuding from the bhaktAs, the milk will be received either in pots or in pitchers. He would once do the milk abhiSheka to the spaTika lingam for the entire time Sri Rudram is recited. Holding in his right hand either a cattle-horn with a hole or a dhAra (showering) vessel, he would shower milk on the God through it. Like his mind his hand also would remain fixed at that time. We would then see the hand that the Vedas adore as the hand that has attained the state of bhagavat (godliness) by worshipping Bhagavan daily.
After SriCharaNar completes the pUrva bhAga (initial parts) of the puja, when the curtain in front of the puja maNdapam (pavilion) is opened aside, devotees will only witness this scene of milk abhiSheka that would shower milk over the hearts. During this time, brahmins will recite the hymns meant for puja times such as the Yajur Veda Rudram, Chamakam, Rig Veda Pancha Rudram, Devi Suktam, Purusha Suktam and Sri Suktam, filling up the ears.
When the curtain that is closed after the milk ablution reopens, our hearts will be cool at the sight: ChandraMauli and Jagan Mata would give darshan, lying buried in sandal paste and accepting the camphor ArAdhanam done by our Gurunathan. The curtain would be closed again.
When it reopens, SriCharaNar would have started his arcanA. In the meantime, he would have done decorations to the Murti that had the abhiSheka and the pUja gRuham (puja room). That lovely decoration would be a proof of the subtlety of his artistic mind.
(The pUja maNdapam, pUja gRuham referred to here is chiefly the small, chariot-shaped contruct. There is also another pUja maNdapam smaller than that, made of wood.)
Gitacharya divides bhaktAs into four classes: those who seek wealth, those who seek mitigation of sufferings, those who seek jnAna and the jnAnis who seek nothing. All these four classes come to SriCharaNar. Of them, the majority will be those who pray for betterment of their worldly life and those who seek mitigation of their physical and mental diseases. A few may be here who seek jnAna, bhakti and a good heart. And those who have already attained fulfilment, so need to ask for nothing, will be the rareest among the rare.
SriCharaNar has accomplished as a sAdhanA, the equity of taking all these people with similar anutApa (warmth).
Everyone has the right to come to this sannidhanam (holy place) and converse. There is no necessity for any prior appointment. Our Gurunathan is one who does anugraha (favour) to all the levels of people in status, society, spirituality or age, giving his ear to everyone in the same manner. If it is asked where one can look for equality, it can pointed out, with both hands extended, that the concept will be found here. With the suppleness of his mind glistening in all his body parts, the beauty of his sitting with laLitam (sweetness, grace) and conversing with laLitam (charm, grace)! One can understand why Goddess Ambika has the special name Lalitha!
In this morning hours, he would also go through all the important news from the newspapers.
After this the first session of puja. If there rises an AnandA in looking at a lotus flower with its layered petals, its pedestal within them, its kesaras (filament) around the pedestal and the yellow knob in each kesara, there is also a delight with the sight of a simple coral jasmine flower with its red stalk and ten or twelve petals. The short morning session puja ends like the simple coral jasmine flower. Not even the instruments play at that time.
Amidst thick silence our Gurunathan does arcanA to the spaTika (quartz) lingam that is ChandraMauleesvara and the mEru chakra that is Kamakoti Tripura Sundari. He would then be seen with the intense shine that differentiates him as the tejo giri (shining mountain) Annamalai that is distinct from the man of moon we stared at early morning, raising our heads.
Darshan for the devotees, after the puja is over; and the dialogues of grace. It might stretch long hours at times.
Thereafter, finishing his mAdhyAnihakaH snAnam and anuSTAnam, he comes like a bunch of pearls for the second session puja.
AhA, it is a bhAgyam to see him doing japa and dhyAnA. Especially when he meditates sitting on the banks of a river or pond under the vast expanse of the sky, a shanta saukyam (peaceful health) would be seen sprouting over him! His kolam (position) of meditation under the tree would spread cool shades in our heart! It is not as if his inner peace is refelected depending on the outer environment; even if he is seen doing meditation sitting in some dark room, the peace will gush into our hearts!
The second session worship is as elaborate as the beauty of the multi-layered lotus flower. To the spaTika (quartz) lingam that is ChandraMauleesvara; to Goddess Tripura Sundari in the form of Sri Chakra of gold in three dimensions that is known as Meru; to the Goddess Herself in the form of a two-dimensional Sri Chakra in stone, known as bhu prastAra (a spread-out on earth)--made and gifted to SriCharaNar by the Bobbili Raja several years back, after employing a great Sivacharya who was also well learned in the Shastras, who made the SriChakra in its two-dimensional form in stone and sanctified it with special rites involving mantras; to the small svarNa vigraha (golden icon) Vinayaka; to the svarNa nAga (golden cobra) that is Lord Muruga (a Vel would be inserted in its mouth); to Narayana Murti residing in the Salagramam; to Surya Narayana remaining in the form of a crystal; and to Durga Devi in yantra rupa, he now performs an elaborate puja. Many people would have known that one of the Pancha Lingams given to Kaladi Sankara by sAkSAt Kailasha Sankara is in our MaTham. It is also the belief that the Salagramam here is the one that sAkSAt PerumaL gave him when Sankara sang his Karavalamba Stotra on Narasimha Murti.
In addition to these mUrtis (icons) to which SriMaTham Acharya SwamigaL himself does puja, there are many other vigrahAs (icons) such as Sri Adi AcharyaL (Adi Sankara) and Sri Rama. The MaTham SastrigaL would do the puja to them.
It is a custom to give the principal rank to Adi AcharyaL in the Guru Vandanam that occurs in the beginning of all pujas and japas and do mAnasIka (mental) worship, by those who are Acharya SwamigaL here.
During the elaborate second session puja, Sri PeriyavaaL performs it with abhiShekas (ablution) of milk and sandal paste, lots of arcanAs and nivedanam (offering). Depending on the bhakti exuding from the bhaktAs, the milk will be received either in pots or in pitchers. He would once do the milk abhiSheka to the spaTika lingam for the entire time Sri Rudram is recited. Holding in his right hand either a cattle-horn with a hole or a dhAra (showering) vessel, he would shower milk on the God through it. Like his mind his hand also would remain fixed at that time. We would then see the hand that the Vedas adore as the hand that has attained the state of bhagavat (godliness) by worshipping Bhagavan daily.
After SriCharaNar completes the pUrva bhAga (initial parts) of the puja, when the curtain in front of the puja maNdapam (pavilion) is opened aside, devotees will only witness this scene of milk abhiSheka that would shower milk over the hearts. During this time, brahmins will recite the hymns meant for puja times such as the Yajur Veda Rudram, Chamakam, Rig Veda Pancha Rudram, Devi Suktam, Purusha Suktam and Sri Suktam, filling up the ears.
When the curtain that is closed after the milk ablution reopens, our hearts will be cool at the sight: ChandraMauli and Jagan Mata would give darshan, lying buried in sandal paste and accepting the camphor ArAdhanam done by our Gurunathan. The curtain would be closed again.
When it reopens, SriCharaNar would have started his arcanA. In the meantime, he would have done decorations to the Murti that had the abhiSheka and the pUja gRuham (puja room). That lovely decoration would be a proof of the subtlety of his artistic mind.
(The pUja maNdapam, pUja gRuham referred to here is chiefly the small, chariot-shaped contruct. There is also another pUja maNdapam smaller than that, made of wood.)