The Divine Touch

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

 

Aum Namo Narayanaya

 

A few weeks ago, in my post called 'Buffet Society', I said that the physical India is no different to our own country. I was not at all surprised then when my good friend who happens to regularly read the blog started to question the reasons for my pilgrimage to India, over a cappuccino. Earlier in the week, when Swami Vimokshananda addressed the congregation at the Shree Veeraboga Emperumal Temple annual festival, He explained that the Lord is all pervading and that there is no place where He cannot be found.

 

Relief found me in the words of Swami Shantatmanandaji Maharaj when He succinctly explained the concepts of Staan Mahatmyam and Thithi Mahatmyam. If God is present everywhere, what then is the need for us to visit temples and ashrams etc. when we can perhaps worship in our homes? Maharaj explained that in a place where devotees with intent of sincere prayer gather, the atmosphere and vibrations of that place is divinely charged... because, it is beyond the physical plane that waves or processes of the mind emanate. Apart from this, a place where great sages or holy men have done

intense tapasya or sacrifices is an enormous reservoir of spiritual vibrations.

 

Once when Sri Ramakrishna was travelling by boat in the middle of the Ganga, He felt a huge surge of divine energy and went into samadhi. Upon investigation, the devotees found out that it was at that exact spot where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu discarded His mortal remains. So this is the emphatic importance of visiting a particular place of pilgrimage, in the same way the thithi is important. On a particular date when an important event has occurred, for example, the birth of a saint or observance like Shivarathri - the mind dwells on that, concentrates on the thought and creates an upsurge of divine vibrations. When people gather on that day, a field of positive divine energy is created at that point.

Shiva Lingam

 

 

A divine coincidence that my next port of call from Thirupathi, being Chidambaram (Shiva Temple) conincides with the ensuing festival of Maha Shivarathri. At this ancient and glorious temple, Lord Shiva is worshipped as Nadaraja - the King of Dance. It is said in the Puranas that at the time of prahalaya, He performs the Thandava dance - the dance of dissolution. A visit to the temple bathes one with immense energy created by visiting saints like Thiru Gyana Samandar, who at the tender age of 3, after having gained wisdom from the Divine Mother was able to compose beautiful hymns in praise of the Lord. These hymns have contributed to the healing and peace of many devotees.

 

This incident brings to the fore the amazing concept of the Lord's grace and touch. This single moment in one's life can have a life altering effect. We see how an unlettered child of just three years old, by the mere touch of the Divine Mother, was transformed into a saint of extraordinary proportions. In the week that passed, we also celebrated the birth thithi of Swami Adbuthananda - affectionately known as Latu Maharaj - who himself was an unlettered orphan who worked as a servant doing menial labour in Ramachandra Datta's house. One day, upon visting Sri Ramakrishna - a mere touch by the Master caused an upsurge of dormant spiritual qualities in him. Latu Maharaj, although illiterate, was able to experience all the divine truths in the scriptures by simply engaging in sincere and unwavering sadhanas.

 

The incidents in the lives of these two spiritual giants teach us that without first seeking and accepting the grace of God in spiritual life, success becomes difficult. It is therefore imperative that one earnestly seeks the grace of God. The essence of spirituality is to transcend the body into the mind. The festival of Maha Shivarathri is essentially a valuable technique to access this. The prayer consists of singing bhajans and the offering pooja, meditation and japa on the Divine for a 12-hour period. Gathering at sacred places (Staan Mahatmyam) on an auspicious date (Thithi Mahatmyam) with the intent to raise the consciousness of the self, provides all the necessary components in assembling an spiritually elevated mind.

 

The glorious first song that was sung by the child saint Tiru Gyanan Sambandar: "THODUDAIYA CHEVIYAN VIDAIYERIYOR THOOVEN MATHICHOODIK KAADUDAIYA KADALAIP PODI POOSIYENNULLANGAVAR KALVAN" presents the attributes and qualities that will help us transcend the body consciousness, and enter the realm of the mind. The translation taken from the net explains as follows:

 

The Lord has an ear on which a ear-jewel is worn.
He rides on a bull.
having worn a spotlessly pure white crescent moon of a single phase.
He smeared himself with the ash in the cremation ground which has the nature of a forest.
the thief who has captivated my mind.

 

As we contemplate on Lord Shiva on Shivarathri, we must take cognisance of the following: As He sits in deep contemplation, He is oblivious to His ear ornament (material world) and the turbulence and tribulations of mundane life (represented by the crescent moon). The Lord who is smeared with ash of the cremation ground - the symbol of renunciation - (the Gita says work in the world without attachment)... it is then by following these simple methods that the Lord will take posession off and occupy your mind.

 

 

On this auspicious occasion of Maha Shivarathri, I pray that Shiva Peruman touches us with His divine grace, and through this may we be able to raise our consciousness to an elevated level, is my sincere prayer.

 

 

With Love and Prayers always

Yogan