ll Vijayat˜ ¹r¤ B¢lak¨¾´aª Prabhuª ll
Articles
HOLY NAME - The only source of deliverance
N¨dehamadya¼
sulabha¼ sudurlabha¼, Plava¼ sukalpa¼ gurukar´adh¢ram I
May¢nuk¦lena nabhasvaterita¼ , Pum¢n bhav¢bdhi¼ na taret sa
¢tmah¢ II
It is rare to attain a human body. Without the Divine Grace itis extremely difficult, but because of it one is blessed. This human body acts as a boat to cross the ocean of materialism. It is not an old shatterred boat but a beautiful one. To control the boat you need a helmsman. Here the spiritual master acts as an helmsman to steer this boat. Nothing can be achieved without a spiritual master.It is very essential to have a spiritual master, "" sa gurumev¢bhigacchet samitp¢´iª ºrotriya¼ brahmani¾°ham. '' One cannot find a spiritual master without the Grace of the God.
How should a spiritual master be ? One who is devoid of sins like hypocracy, arrogance and malice, one who is an intent devotee of K¨¾´a, one who is not pompous, one who does not have thinking distortions like " I am a devotee ' and " I am very capable ' and one who has a very natural fondness in the Lotus Feet of K¨¾´a, is a perfect spiritual master (Guru). Such a guru is capable to steer the boat of human body across the ocean of materialism. The ultimate destiny of this boat is the Lotus Feet of K¨¾´a.But alone a helmsman cannot steer the boat without the breeze. Without the breeze all efforts of the steersman would go in vain. Here, K¨¾´a Himself is the breeze. This human body with the blessings of his guru and the Grace Divine of K¨¾´a, fails to cross the ocean of materialism, is a self assasin.
The essence is that one cannot acquire the Supreme Personality of Godhead without His Grave Divine.All other medias do not have the ability to reach to Him. He Himself is the media or His Divine Grace can take you to Him. There is no differrence between His Grave Divine and Him. There are obstructions in other medias in acheiving the ultimate fruit. But here K¨¾´a Himself is the media and there can be no hindrance over here. Where K¨¾´a Himself is showering His Grace Divine then who would dare to oppose. Therefore, the Grace Divine of K¨¾´a is most essential for the deliverance of the divine soul. But the human is impatient. He starts searching for various paths leading to the Ultimate. By this, he never reaches the ultimate destiny and at the same time his degeneration is certain. Therefore one should make constant efforts to achieve His Grace Divine and make his life fruitful. All these efforts should be done before death lays its icy hands.
Influenced by K¨¾´a's delusion, man is engulfed in the ferocious ocean of materialism. The wise and the ignorant are both sailing in the same boat. He performs good deeds only when he is blessed by K¨¾´a.
"" e¾a hyeva s¢dhu karma k¢rayati ta¼ yamebhyo lokebhya unnan¤¾ate e¾a hyev¢ s¢dhu karma k¢rayati ta¼ ta¼ yamagho nin¤¾ate. ''
If K¨¾´a wishes to upgrade a soul, He makes him perform virtuous deeds and vice versa. A question may arise here why does K¨¾´a does like this ? Such an act is against His nature. The answer to this is that there is no skewness and abominable feeling for His own creation.
"" ¡tma s¨¾°e na vai¾amya¼ nairgh¨´ya¼ c¢pi vidyate ''
The cause trnsforms into the creation. For example, gold is the cause and bracelet or ear-rings are the creations. Gold was there before the making of bracelet or ear-rings, it is there when these articles are made and will remain even on breaking them. Likewise, K¨¾´a existed before the creation of the universe, He still exists and will exist after annihilating the universe in Himself. "" ¹i¾yate ºe¾asa¬j®aª ,'' K¨¾´a with His wish only, creates and annihilates the universe. Various resources are required to transform causes to creative forms. For instance, to make a earthen pot one requires mud, thread, a revolving wheel etc. The potter sits and gives shape to the mud by spinning the wheel to make the pot. Unlike this, K¨¾´a does not require any resources to create the universe. Therefore the question of skewness or detestation does not arise. It is not sinful to upgrade or degrade a soul.
The creation
of the universe itself has this feeling of upgradation and
degradation of the soul. K¨¾´a says,
"" dvau bhutasargau loke 'smin daiva ¢sura eva
ca '', from these, those who posess divine qualities are
inclined towards K¨¾´a and those who posess evil qualities are
disinclined from Him. Such evil persons dislike the Holy name.
They are neither comfortable in the company of a devotee nor do
they like to go to the temple. All matters related to K¨¾´a
are unfavourable to them. One who suffers from acidity, his taste
buds become inactive. How much ever sweets he eats , he still
tastes sour. In the same way, devotion to K¨¾´a and chanting
His Holy name does not appeal to such a person. But I do not want
to waste time describing such persons. We are here to think of
the deliverance of the divine souls who are inclined to worship
K¨¾´a.
It is said in the º¢stra, " ¾a²bhiª sampadyate dharmaste durlabhatar¢ª kalau, ' meaning six factors (deºa - place, k¢la - time, dravya - substance, kart¢ - agent, mantra - sacred utterance and karma - action )are essential to ascertain Dharma. All these six factors are very rare. They have lost its divinity (¢dhidaivikat¢)and purity (ºuddhat¢). Under such circumstances, how does one find the path of salvation ? A seeker, on seriously thinking of what is obstructing him from achieving salvation, will realize that only sins (p¢pa) are the hurdles that obstructs him from achieving his goal. A person infected with deadly disease cannot live happily. In the same way, a person cannot achieve the highest fruit if he is full of sins. If a person does not repent on the sins he has commited then he is bound to experience the horrors of hell. Therefore, just as a doctor diagnises the dangers of the disease and accordingly prescribes medicine, similarly, every person should diagnise the evil effects of the sins and try to extirpate it because sin is the root cause of total destruction of the person. But unfortunately, even on knowing the outcome of it, a person helplessly falls victim to the powerful tentacles of the sin. Then where is the question of repentance ?
"" kvacin nivartate 'bhadr¢t kvacic carati tat punaª '' - at times you eradicate the sin and at another time you commit a sin. At one point you repent on commiting a sin and at the same time you commit the same sin. Such a repentance is like an elephants bath ( manye ku®jara ºaucavat ). An elephant after having a nice bath showers mud on his body to again get dirty.
Mea Culpa or penance is synonym of repentance. One cannot get this at once. Religious austerity, chastity, abstinence from sex, constraint on mind, subjugating the senses, inner abandonment, truth and strict disciplines can obliterate physical, verbal and mental sins from a person.
""
Tapas¢ brahmacarye´a ºamena ca damena ca I
Ty¢gena satya ºauc¢bhy¢ma yamena niyamena ca II ''
Just like a jungle fire burns and destroys the bamboos ( ve´ugulmamiv¢nalaª ) but stll the residue in the form of ashes is left, similarly, a person, by practising the above mentioned methods might eradicate the sin but he cannot burn or kill the desire or urge to commit a sin. For instance, one might quit smoking but the urge to smoke a cigarette is still there. This can be done only by stonch devotees of V¢sudeva. Only such devotees, who are very rare, can uproot the sins and destroy them completely.
""
Kecit kevalay¢ bhakty¢ v¢sudeva par¢ya´aª I
Agha¼ dhunvanti k¢rtsnyena n¤h¢ramiva bh¢skaraª II''
The intense rays of the sun diminishes the fog, similarly, by mere devotion not only the sins but the desire to commit a sin is also annihilated. This shows the difference between other methods and devotion. By this, one should not think that a devotee does not have austerity etc. qualities in him. Infact, these qualities are very naturally posessed by him. One who has surrendered his heart and soul to K¨¾´a, one who does not have materialistic desires, one who subconsciously chants the Holy name of K¨¾´a at all times (while sleeping, while sitting, while talking etc.), is considered to be a "satpuru¾a.' By serving such a vai¾´ava a person can wash his sins faster than by practising the above mentioned methods. No penance can purify a person showing disinclination towards K¨¾´a. Liquor cannot be purified by pouring the holy water of the ganges. Similarly, all efforts of expiation are in vain for a person who has turned his face off K¨¾´a. But it is said in the Bh¢gavatam -
""
Sak¨nmanaª k¨¾´a pad¢ravindayar, nirveºita¼ tad
gu´ar¢gi yairiha I
Na te yama¼ p¢ºabh¨taºca tad bha°¢n, svapne 'pi paºyanti
hi c¤r´ani¾k¨t¢ª II''
People who
for once also heartily attach their souls to the Lotus Feet of
K¨¾´a, are devoid of all sins. They do not see the messengers
of Yama ( God of death ) with weopons even in their dreams. Here
¹ukadevaj¤ gives the illustration of Aj¢mila. Aj¢mila was a
very learned brahmin. He had gone to fetch flowers for his father
from the forest. While returning, he saw a beautiful svairi´¤
making love to a º¦dra ( of low caste). His mind became
restless . He abandoned his wife and passionately attached
himself to her. He had many children from her, the last one was
"N¢r¢ya´a'. On his death bed, Aj¢mila called out for
N¢r¢ya´a. Merely by uttering the name N¢r¢ya´a, he was
liberated. With this illustration we get to learn two things,
one, that by losing constraint on your senses one gets
degenerated and two, by reciting the Holy name in disguise also
can liberate a person. At the time when the messengers of Yama
(Yamad¦ta) were pulling the soul out of Aj¢mila, the messengers
of Vi¾´u (Vi¾´ud¦ta) arrived and threatened them. On this
the Yamad¦ta told the Vi¾´ud¦ta - "vedapra´ihito
dharmo hyadharmas tad viparyayaª' meaning, what is said
in the vedas is religion (dharma) and its opposite is
non-religion (adharma). They also said that his actions were
contradicting the vedas so he should be taken to Yama. The
Vi¾´ud¦ta explained to them the principles of the Bh¢gavata¼
that Aj¢mila, by reciting the Holy name of Hari not only washed
all sins of this life but of all his previous lives. The
Vi¾´ud¦ta asked the Yamad¦ta to leave the spirit of Aj¢mila
because by uttering the Holy name of K¨¾´a at the time of his
death he became purified. The Holy name of K¨¾´a has enough
power to purify worst sinners like a gold thief, a betrayer, a
killer of brahmin,king,parents,cow, one who has illicit relations
with his gur¦'s wife etc. ¹ukadevaj¤ says,
"" Mriyam¢´o harern¢ma g¨´an
putropac¢ritam I Aj¢milo 'pyag¢ddh¢ma ki¼ punaª ºraddhay¢
g¨´an II ''
Reciting the Holy name by default if Aj¢mila can reach
His Dh¢ma then there is no doubt in a persons emancipation
provided he recites the Holy name with conviction.
Extremely dejected, Yamad¦ta went to Yama and narrated the whole incidence. ""Oh !'' said Yama, "" you should never go to a person who has surrendered to Vi¾´u and who is constantly singing His glories. Such devotees are always protected by the powerful mace of Vi¾´u. You should bring to me only those who do not chant the Holy name, who have not surrendered to the Lotus Feet of K¨¾´a, those who do not pay obeisance to Him and those who do not worship Him.''
This whole incidence is narrated by a sage called Agastya while worshipping K¨¾´a on mount Malay¢cala. ¹ri Mah¢prabhuj¤, in His commentary (Subodhin¤) on this chapter says, that ""had this been narrated by a vaiº´ava, then it would have been highly criticised. But surprisingly, it is said by Agastya, who is a stonch ºaivite, and if he emphasises on the significance of the Holy name then there is no scope for anyone to raise doubts.'' One more point is to be noticed here is that Agastya was holding ¹¢ligr¢ma in his hands while narrating this illustration. It is a clear evidence that it is the Ultimate Truth.
It is very clear that in this kaliyuga, the chanting of the Holy name is the supreme and the only way for attaining deliverance. But this sacred name should not be used for eradicating sins. One does not waste a missile to kill ants. Why use the Holy name to wash ordinary sins ?
There was a man who had tamed a ferocious lion. He was in the service of the king. Once, a grand procession of the king came out on the streets. Suddenly a stray dog came out from nowhere and started barking. The angry king told his man to leave his lion after the dog. "" Certainly not,'' said the man. "" Had you ordered me to leave the lion after a wild elephant, I would have instantly done it, but my lion is not to run behind a stray dog.'' Similarly, one should not use the Holy name merely for eradication of sins.Thus, the Holy name should be chanted only to attain divine love and not anything else.
There is no doubt that the Holy name is the most powerful source to eliminate all sins. But one should not make misuse of this. "Go on doing sins and go on chanting theHoly name' is not the right thing. First let me commit a sin then I will wash it by chanting the Holy name is itself a sin in the name of the Holy name. There is no atonement for this.
Thus, the sacred name should be uttered neither for the eradication of the sins nor for gaining materialistic pleasures. It should be chanted only to achieve that infinite eternal bliss, where the j¤va comes in union with K¨¾´a, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
¹r¤mad
Vallabh¢cÙ¢ryaj¤
(
M.T.T˜l¤v¢l¢ )
¹r¤ VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤
is one of the latest vai¾´avite reformers. He was born on the 11th day of the dark half
in the lunar month of CÙaitra , in V.S. 1535 ( A.D. 1479) in the forest of CÙa¼p¢,
near R¢ipura, in Madhya Prad˜ºa . His
father was Lak¾ma´a Bha°°a and his mother was Illam¢g¢ru. He belonged to the
illustrious race of T˜lugu Br¢hmins who studied the Taittar¤ya ¹¢kh¢ of the
K¨¾´a Yajurv˜da . Vallabha's ancestors
were devoted to the cult of Vi¾´u in the form of Gop¢la . They were equally
devoted to the P¦rva and Uttara M¤m¢¼s¢. Thus from Lak¾ma´a Bha°°a, ¹r¤
VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤ inherited his love for Karma, J®¢na and Bhakti. With his
masterly genius, he saw the shortcomings of the Advaita of the ¹¢¬kara and the
Bhakti of R¢m¢nuja, M¢dhva and others. He preached a doctrine which could reconcile the Pure Advaita of
the Upaniºada's and the Bhakti school.
He wrote commentaties on the S¦tr¢'s of Jaimin¤ and B¢dar¢ya´a and therin
propounded the true significance of Karma m¢rga and J®¢na m¢rga as found in V˜dic literature. But he saw at the
same time that the the age of v˜dic ceremonies in its perfect form and the
knowledge path would be unsuitable for the requirements of the modern people
with their inherent shortcomings. So, by the command of Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a , he set
forth for a doctrine which is called Pu¾°im¢rga, i.e.the way to approach God by
as complete surrender to Him. God's singular grace alone was to save mankind.
The only thing that one has to do is to surrender himself completely to Lord
¹r¤ K¨¾´a . This doctrine was proclaimed by ¹r¤ VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤ in the
religious assembly convened by the famous king K¨¾´a D˜va R¢ya of Vijayanagara
in the south of India. After this he preached the same v˜dic doctrine in his
famous work Patr¢vala¼bana¼ in the city of V¢r¢nas¤.
He
married a brahmin girl named Mah¢lak¾m¤. He had two sons by her viz,
¹r¤ Gop¤n¢thaj¤ and ¹r¤ Vi°°halan¢thaj¤.
He established a shrine in honour of ¹r¤ K¨¾´a on the mount Govardhana in
Mathur¢ district. The rest of his life he passed in A²˜la near V¢r¢nas¤.
A month before he passed
away, he came to V¢r¢nas¤, took Tri²a´²a Sany¢sa, abstained himself from taking
food for a month and for the last eight days, he gave up speech . His last
advice to his sons was to cease to be Bahirmukha (away from God) and to serve
K¨¾´a, the Lord of the Gop¤'s , who should never be regarded as earthly. With
this advice and with a realization of Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a , he entered the Ganges for
Nitya L¤l¢. This was on the second day of the brighter half in the lunar month
of ¡¾¢²ha, V.S. 1587.
His
famous works are A´u Bh¢¾ya, Tatv¢rtha D¤pa Nibandha and the sixteen pamphlets.
His doctrines wer elaborated and promulgeted in R¢jap¦t¢n¢, K¢°hiy¢v¢ra and
Gujar¢ta by his son ¹r¤ Vi°°halan¢thaj¤ and his descendants.
¹r¤
Vallabh¢'s school has refined and developed the aestetic sense
of vai¾´avism.
¹r¤nathaj¤'s P¤°hik¢j¤
Behind ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ is a
p¤°hik¢ . This p¤°hik¢ is the entrance of the
kandar¢.¹r¤n¢thaj¤ is actually standing on the entrance of the kandar¢ (cave)
of the sacred Govardhana Hill, inviting His bhakta's (devotees) to come to Him.
The p¤°hik¢ has certain symbols inscribed on it . Let us know these symbols .
On the
top centre is a parrot ( ºuka ). On the left top are two sages . Below them a
snake , below it a lion and below the lion are two peococks.
On the
top right of the p¤°hik¢ is a sage . Below him
is a lamb . Below the lamb is a º˜¾a n¢ga ( serpent having thousand mouth) and then are two cows.
There
are stripes (lahariy¢) inscribed on the p¤°hik¢ which run all around it. These
stripes resemble the waves of ¹r¤ Yamun¢j¤.
All
these inscriptions are divine devotees of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ who are practitioners of
the nine differrent forms of bhakti ( Navadh¢ bhakti ) respectively.
The Snake is a symbol of the ¹rava´a
Bhakti.
¹uka
is a symbol of the K¤rtana Bhakti.
Three
sages are a symbol of the Smara´a Bhakti.
Lamb
is a symbol of the P¢das˜vana Bhakti.
Peococks
are a symbol of the ArcÙana
Bhakti.
The
¹˜¾an¢ga is a symbol of the Vandana
Bhakti.
First
Cow is a symbol of the ¡tmaniv˜dana
Bhakti.
Second
Cow is a symbol of the D¢sya
Bhakti.
The
Lion is a symbol
of the Sakhya
Bhakti.
Bai°hakaj¤
and CÙara´acÙauk¤ of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤
There are four
Bai°haka's and twelve cÙara´acÙauk¤'s of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤. Bai°haka's are places where ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ has performed certain divine sports
(l¤l¢'s). They are all mainly in vraja .
¹r¤n¢thaj¤
, while travelling from vraja to m˜v¢ra, made His stay in places before finally
reaching Si¬h¢²a, either for some days or for some months are called as cÙara´acÙauk¤'s .
These cÙara´acÙauk¤'s are in Vraja -Uttara Prad˜ºa , Madhya Prad˜ºa and
R¢jasth¢na.
The four Bai°haka's
of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤.
·
¹y¢ma ±h¢ka - CÙh¢ka l¤l¢ , GocÙ¢ra´a l¤l¢ and ¡¬khamicÙon¤ l¤l¢ (hide & seek).
·
Gul¢la Ku´²a - ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ played Hol¤ ( the festival of
colours).
·
¯o´²a ko Ghano - ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ took a ride on a bull and
accepted the vegetable of ka´°ol¢. (Read the story of ¹r¤ Kumbhanad¢saj¤).
·
R¢sol¤ - Underneath the
kadamba tree. R¢sa Ku´²a , R¢sa Cùau¬tar¢ and Lak¾ma´a Jh¦l¢ are also here.
The twelve CÙara´acÙauk¤'s of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤.
·
Jat¤pur¢ - On
top of the Govardhana Hill in the temple built by ¹r¤ P¦ra´amala K¾atr¤ya.
·
Mathur¢ - In 'Sataghar¢ ' (a residential
mansion biult by R¢n¤ Durg¢vati of
Ga²h¢, for ¹r¤ Gus¢¤¬j¤ and his family. Here ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ played Hol¤ with all
the seven B¢lak's /Bahuj¤'s.
·
¡gar¢ - In
a mansion in the Garden of S¦rajabh¢na. ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ made His first stay over
here after He left from Vraja . Here the festival of Annak¦°a was celebrated
very secretly.
·
Gw¢lior - On
the banks of the CÙambala river, in a place called ±a´dot¤ Gh¢°a ,
¹r¤n¢thaj¤'s chariot came to a hault.
The muslim rulers army saw ¹r¤n¢thaj¤'s
jalaghariy¢ in the form of a lion and the chariot like a mountain.
·
K¨¾´apur¤ -
Ten villages away from ±a´dot¤ Gh¢°a ,
¹r¤ Govindaj¤ Mah¢r¢ja made his stay in K¨¾´apur¤. Here he disguised himself
as a saint and used to sing the Jogiy¢'s.
·
Ko°¢ - Bund¤ -
¹r¤n¢thaj¤ stayed in a place called K¨¾´a vil¢sa on the Padma ¹il¢.
·
K¨¾´aga²ha -
Some two and a half miles from the town in a most beautiful place called
Ajamiti , on a cliff ( today's P¤t¢mbaraj¤ k¤ Gal¤ ). Here ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ celebrated the Vasanta
Utsava.
·
CÙop¢san¤ (Jodhpur) - In
a kadamba kha´²¤ near CÙokh¢, ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ stayed for the entire cÙ¢tura m¢sa (
four maonths). Here Annaku°a was
celebrated.
·
Si¬h¢²a -
Under a Pipala tree, the wheel of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤'s chariot got stuck. From here ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ was reluctant to travel
forward. This is the present KharcÙa Bha´²¢ra of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ in N¢thdv¢r¢.
¹r¤n¢thaj¤ stayed here till the temple was constructed.
·
N¢thdv¢r¢ -
In the cottage of a devout vaishnava , Ajaba Ku¬var¤ B¢¤. This is the
present Nija Mandira of ¹r¤n¢thaj¤.
·
Udaipur -
After 130 years of stay in M˜v¢ra, ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ shifted to a small temple
in Udaipur, the capitol of M˜v¢ra.
·
Ghasiy¢ra -
Amidst beautiful mountain ranges , a replica of the N¢thdv¢r¢ temple was
built in Ghasiy¢ra. Here ¹r¤n¢thaj¤ lifted His right ¹r¤hasta from His waist
and kept it on the head of Gosw¢m¤
Tilak¢yata
·
¹r¤ Giridharaj¤ to bless him.
The A¾°¢k¾ara Mah¢mantra
In Pu¾°im¢rga, a j¤va
is initiated twice before reaching the ultimate truth. First he
is initiated with the A¾°¢k¾ara Mantra and then by the Gadya
Mantra or the Brahma Sambandha Mantra. The first of the two
initiations ,
i.e. the A¾°¢k¾ara Mantra, is a mystic formulae comprising of
eight divine letters, ¹r¤ K¨¾´aª ¹ara´a¼ Mama.
This mantra is granted to the divine souls by the Gosw¢m¤
B¢laka , ( the descendants of ¹r¤ VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤ ). Age
is not of much importance. This mantra can be initiated to an
infant, barely forty days old to an adult person , no matter what
his / her age. This mantra can be granted to any soul irrespect
of his caste , creed , race or sex.
M¢¼
h¤ P¢rtha vyap¢ºritya ye 'pi syuª p¢payonayaª l
Striyo vaiºy¢s tath¢ º¦dr¢s te 'pi y¢nti par¢¼ gatim ll
For those who take refuge in Me, O P¢rtha ! though they are newly born , vaiºy¢'s as well as º¦dra's , they also attain the highest goal.
In this A¾°¢k¾ara Mah¢mantra, we find a happy blending of two things (1) the name of Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a and (2) complete self surrender to Him.
¹r¤ VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤ , the mentor of Pu¾°im¢rga, laid great stress on the worship of Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a and complete self surrender to Him. His teachings were drawn primarily from the ¹r¤mad Bh¢gavatam and the Bhagavad G¤t¢. He brought to light those principles which had been forgotten with passage of time and had been obscured by the teachings of the other cults. To him goes the credit of showing the easiest way of liberation for everyone, including women and º¦dr¢'s , who sufferred from serious handicaps imposed by the religious preceptors of the past. As Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a is the Supreme Brahma (Para¼ Brahma tu K¨¾´o h¤ ) we should seek refuge in Him alone and surrender ourselves unreservedly. To attain this purpose he culls out from the scriptures, the Mah¢mantra, ¹r¤ K¨¾´aª ¹ara´a¼ Mama .
¹r¤ VallabhaÃcÙ¢ryaj¤, who made a thorough study of the Ved¢s, the G¤t¢, the Bh¢gavatam and the Brahma S¦tr¢'s, gave his considered opinion that the Japa ( constant chanting ) of the mah¢mantra is the recipe for all spiritual ills in the kaliyuga. Infact the quintessence of his teaching is found in the last line of his well known treatise, The Navaratna Stotram, included in the ½o²aºa Grantha, that one should constantly repeat this mantra in a humble and devout spirit.
Tasm¢t
sarv¢tman¢ nitya¼ ¹r¤ K¨¾´aª ºara´a¼ mama l
Vadadbhireva satata¼ sthyevamityev a me matiª ll
The importance of Japa
The esoteric importance has been emphasised by all great spiritual teachers who hold the view that " it brings spiritual purity to man and ensures his final redemption from spiritual thraldom". The Japa ( repeatition of the divine name) involves no violence in any form and the practice of Japa leads to direct perception of God. Hence, Japa excels all other forms of sacrifice and it is in order to bring out the superiority of Japa - Yaj®a that the Lord calls it His very Self ( yaj®¢n¢¼ japa yaj®o 'smi ).
Japa is essentially a prayer .It is not a mere function of the mind, not ¢ mere effort of the intellect, nor even an act of memory but an elevation of the soul itself towards its spiritual master. It is vorn of a pressing sense of His physical infirmities , mental oddities, intellectual crudities, spiritual obliquities and an overriding consciousness of the all-round perfection of God, of His readiness to hear, of his willingness to serve.Prayer attains its value not by the mere imagination of the mind but by the unshakable faith in the unspeakable glories of the God. Prayer presupposesprostration in humility, the fervency of penitence, the confidence of trust. It is not eloquence but earnestness, not the definition of the helplessness but the feeling of it that it needs.During the Japa, we should keep up in our heart ¢ constant sense of our weakness not with ¢ design to discourage the mind and depress the spirit but to transcend them by virtue of divine assistance. We are trained in the proces of self-examination, through which we discover the malignity of our sins and the decietfulness of our hearts. Persistant practice augments the fervour and improves the spirit of the suppliant.
If Japa is so important, the question arises which mantra should be adopted by ¢ devotee. ¹r¤ Vallabha, who by his teachings on Brahma V¢da and by his successful disputations with the scholars of various schools of Philosophy, was recognized not only as an eminent but a matchless Guru even by his rivals, taught the people that they should devote themselves to the worship of Lord ¹r¤ K¨¾´a because He is the Transcendental Eternal . It is evident that in the debate in Pur¤ , Lord Jagann¢thaj¤ Himself supported the manifestations of ¹r¤ Mah¢prabhuj¤ that there is only one ¹¢stra, Bhagavad G¤t¢, the song sung by ¹r¤ K¨¾´a the son of Devak¤. The son of Devak¤ is the sole Brahma. The only mantra is His (¹r¤ K¨¾´¢'s )name divine and the only Karma is His divine service.
Eka¼
¹¢stra¼ Devak¤ putra g¤tam eko devo Devak¤ putra eva l
Mantr¢pyeka¼ tasya n¢m¢ni y¢n¤ karm¢pyeka¼ tasya devasya
sev¢ ll
Thus, we can conclude that the name divine of ¹r¤ K¨¾´a is the ultimate mantra one should adopt. This is the A¾°¢k¾ara Mah¢mantra. This mantra is derived from the G¤t¢ and has been enjoined by ¹r¤ K¨¾´a Himself.
Sarva
dharm¢n parityajya m¢m eka¼ ºara´a¼ vraja l
Aha¼ tv¢ sarva p¢pebhyo mok¾ayi¾y¢mi m¢ ºucaª ll
Abondoning all supports take refuge in m˜gha alone. Fear not, I will liberate thee from all sins.
As it said earlier that the A¾°¢k¾ara Mah¢mantra comprises of eight letters.Each letter has a significance which confers all that is required by a devotee. Let us know them individually -
This mah¢mantra purifies the heart and destroys man's sins. It helps in the attainment of the nine forms of devotion (navadh¢ bhakti ) described in the Bh¢gavatam. ¹r¤ Vi°°haleºa Prabhucara´a has rightly observed about this mah¢mantra :
This mantra liberates from all kinds of pains and whoever performs Japa of this mantra gets ¡nanda, Param¢nanda, proximity to Divine Presence of Hari and Love of Hari. Three lokas are purified by the darºana of those who perform Japa of this mantra . Of all the mantras, it is the best; it is the King of all mantras.
¡nanda¼
param¢nanda¼ s¢yujya¼ Harivallabham l
Yaª pa°ecchr¤ K¨¾´¢ mantra¼ sarva jvara vin¢ºakam ll
Ta¼ h¤ d¨¾°v¢ tryolokaª p¦t¢ª syuª kimu m¢nav¢ª l
Madhye ca sarva mantr¢´¢¼ mantra r¢jottamottamaª ll
Some parts of the article are extracts from Significance of A¾°¢k¾ara Mah¢mantra by Prof. Radheshyam Rastogi.