Acharya's Call - Discourses OfHis Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal

Abhisheka to Paramasiva

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Iltham Seeltlm prabhootam taWI /canakasabhoanatllhtl sodhumkva- soJctih

Chilte nirveda-lOple JOdi bhllVllli na-le nitya-vQQSO 1tUJdu]e.

Sri Paramasiva carries on Ihe lOp of His head the Ganga SlId the

Moon. The water of Ihe Ganga is icy cold and the rays of themoon are also cool and soothing. On His bands and legs" and

. around His nect are entwined snakes which arc chill to &hetouch

(seetalaangah). On His left side. or the left half of His body, isParvali. HinulgiriduhiltUJ. born of the snow-cappecl peaks of theHimalayas. whose heart melts with motherly affection at the

sufferings of humanity. who are all Her children. DilJIlfUdra usedin the verse 1I1QDS. tllITdra or being wet. with dDya orcompassion- the idea being that the sympalhctic impulsesflowing constandy from the beart of Parvali add to Lhc cool

objects with which Paraniasiva has enveloped Himself. As if all

these cooling elements are not enough. abhisheJca (~) isperfonned to Siva with cold water and milk in the early hours

of the cold MQQTgazhi month. The time of the abhisheka is before

dawn when dew faUs like rain and plunges the world in the gripof a biting chillness. To crown all. His body is also smeared with

Acharya's Call - Abhisheka To Paramasiva Continued.

cooling sandal paste Chandmrom (~.Addressing Siva undersuch a freezing condition, Ihe devout poet asks, "By what powersare You able to endure Ihe cold of such magnilUde (Prabhooltlm

~), from things which form part of Your person and whichare also offered 10 You?" The devotee answers the query himselfby saying : "You cannotlcnow me reason, ob! Lord. I alone know

it and it is chis. You reside pennancndy in the innermost recessof my .hean. which is while hot (tapfa R) with anxieties and

afflictions. To .endure the scon:hing beat of my heart, You dorequire aU Ibese cooling aids.·

The mOlal of chis sloka is daat in order to get rid of our loadof wonies and grief (tIJllptUJS), we must worship Siva widt

earnestness and devotion and ped'onn abhisheka on His head, or

bathe Him with all these cold subslances. That cooling effect winget reflected in the lsvara in our heans and His soothing IOUCh

will extinguish the fares of our sorrows ..

Among the Tamil names of the 27 SIaIS (noJcshatraas), Aardra

and SrtnNlll/l alone have the prefix TiT. attached to them. InTamil, we c::aIlAardra as Tinwatirai (j)(!JQJgfJ-u) and Srawmaas TiTllVOMm (j)C!§CkvIT....:D). This .prefIX is not. found attached

to the name of any stat either in Sanslcrit·Of in.Telugu or in anyother language except Malayalam...Calling these two saars withthis Tim prefIX is the specialexceUence of Tamil and Malayalam.This signifies that Siva, who is associatedwilh Tiruvalirai andVishnu, who is associatedwilh TiTuWJnam.are considered oneand same by d1e people of Tamil Nadu, Siva and Vishnu beingonly two different manifesrabonsof the same plJTtun/llmIl. 'Thatis why we fmd in every village in our part of the country, templesdedicated to both Siva and Vishnu, 10 Siva in the «SlJfl1t]Qdi/c

(nonh-east) and 10 Vishnu in the paschimll dik (west). In factour people built these rempJes 'f"JI'St and built houses for

Acharya's can - Abhisheka To Paramasiva Continued.

tbemselves lhereafaer. From Vijayawada 10 Kashmir. in every

Siva temple. a big vessel with a small hole in the bouom. known

as chd'IJdaana, Will be round suspended over &he LingL Waat:r

win be continuously dripping on &he top of the Linga from this

vessel alllhe24 hours of ahe day. Every worshipper will lakewater in a pot and empty it into· the ChcIuJdoana when he goes

10 Ihc temple. Even in temples dcdicared 10 Sri Rama. Sri Krishnaand Ambika, Ihere wiD be a SiI1tJ LUa,tJ installed. and devotees

visiting Ibese lempIes, will not fail 10 reverendy empty a pot of

water over the UngIJ•

. Those who have visited. the ·cave tanple at EIIora will besuucIc willi the wonderful an fX the sculptOr who has c:arved out

a complete temple. with the sDnctUllt SMaOTlllll, rowers.prllllkaarlJllS. etC.. from a single rock. This sUpi (ftIftq-) was fromSoulh India and he excelled himself at EOom. He bas inscribed

a verse in this temple to the effect that after compleling the wort.he could not believe dlat it was he who bas execuled such a

magniflCel1t piece of art and that he finnly believed that theDivine had guided his chisel as it scooped die divi~ figures inthe temples cut in these rock caves.

Many people come to me everyday and pour into my earheart-rending tales of their sonows and afOictions. What solace

can I offer 10 them except to ICIllhem ~t. aheir heart-aches from

duhJchJl <!:~)and 'DIJfHJ (CIN) will be assuaged if they perfonnDbhisMktJ· to Sri ParllmuwQTQ with faith and devotion. doing

daily pooja to Him. In this sacred MtlQTgl.Uhi month. every one

should get up 31 the usluJh-kaola. long bef'0Ie dawn, and tumhis

thoughrs to God. performing poojtJ 10 Him or joining in blrajonand lbeeby fDld remedy fOl' all .his IIOUbIes and tribulations.

D«aIber 5. 1957.

Acharya's Call - Discourses OfHis Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Swamigal

-

Umamaheswara

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Vaagarthturviva samprlcltlU

YQ(JgarlM prat;palltlJejagalahpiltuDil yandePOlWltee-PoTameswarau.

As our earlhly parents auend to our material needs, Ihe DivineParents. Sri Parvati and Sri Parameswara~ auend to our spiritual

growth. As vaak and Qrth/l (word and its meaning) are inseparablyassociated together, so 100 are ParvaliandParameswara. in themanifesration as Umamahcswara. Kaarna.or desire is lhe cause

of birth and Sri Paramcswara· dcslroyedKaama with the flame

emanating from his third eye. Kaa1ais· the causeof death andParameswara kicked and vanquished Kaal8.HIn the glorious fonnof Umamaheswara, the third eye whichbumtKaarna is common

both to Parvati and Parameswara. 1.'bc.1eft. leg which kicked KaaIais that of Parvati. That is why by SWTCndering ourselves to

Parvatee- Parameswara in single-minded devotion, we can get ridof binh and death and attain eternal bliss.

OClobt!r 2S 1957.

./3.

4.5.

Eleven Rudraikadasini make one Laghu Rudram (121 times recitation)

Eleven Laghu Rudrams make one Maha Rudram. (1,331 times) and

Eleven Maha Rudrams make one Athi Rudram (14,641 times)

MAHANY ASAM

Before the commencement of the Rudra Japa and Abhishekam to the Lord, a specificmantra, titled Mahanyaasam, is recited. The term nyaasa relates to the assignment ofvarious parts of the body (fTom head to foot) of the reciter to different Devas, which isusually accompanied by prayers and corresponding mudras. It is specially to invoke allthe divine aspects of Rudra in ones body . There are some variations in the way theMahaanyaasam is practiced even among Krishna Yajur Vedins. What ever the format,.this recitation and procedure takes about an hour for an experienced pundit.

YEGNA

Yegna means an act of pious and devotional worship/sacrifice. It is the performance of aVedic rite with absolute devotion to the Paramaatman. Yegna is for our happiness andwelfare. Our life depends upon the five elements of nature. By the practice of Yegna, thecycles of nature are replenished and enriched.

When one performs the yegna without expecting any personal gain, it results in thepurification of the mind and leads to the path of knowledge (Gnana marga); thedestination is Moksha or release from the cycle of births and deaths or a state of totalbliss (Ananda). By performing Yegna, you will fulfil your duty to Nature. When you dothus, nature will bestow abundance upon you and your life becomes a happy one. But youmust repay with feeling of gratitude in the form of Yegna (Geetha Chapters 3 & 4). Whennature's cycle is broken and laws violated, nature makes re.;.adjustments throughearthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, emergence of newer destructive micro­organisms, social strife etc. That is why the sasthras prescribe performance of'panchamahayegnas'daily. We are unable to comply with this due to so many reasons.Performing Yegna also serves as prayachitham for the non-performance of the dailyYegnas, like Sandhyavandhanam, Samithadhanam, Brammayagnam, DevaRishiTharpanam etc ..