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Sankara Charitham - Chapter 1
Sankara Charitham - Chapter 1
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Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
I am greatly indebted to my very good neighbour and a very good friend of over forty years Sri
N.V.Subramanuam, who has taken it on him the task of reading my manuscript word by word,
comparing with the original and suggesting a lot of improvements in the selection of words and
reconstruction of sentences. A million thanks and Namaskarams to him for this great help.
Narayanan Bala
About the Author of the original series Sri Ra Ganapathy Anna
Sri Ra.Ganapathy Anna belongs to a rare breed of writers, who could bring through his
pen and with his authentic personal experience, the quintessence of religion
expounded by great sages. A naishtika brhmachari, he has a distinct style in Tamil that
is enjoyable to read and teases you sometimes with complex structure of
sentences.Sanskritised in certain narrations, he still does no violence to the
purity of language but captures beautifully the native Indian spirit in his works.
Read more about him & download his ebooks here: http://divyavidyatrust.org/
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
CHAPTER 1
The Ultimate Bliss Takes Birth
The land of Malayalam, resplendent
with Natures pristine
beauty.
It
then.
The sweet
ALAWAY
PUZHAI
and
There lived in the village a noble Brahmin, by the name SIVAGURU, who was
famous for his material wealth, his wisdom and benevolence. The Puja room
in his house was proof for the fertility of
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
The tears in his eyes blocked the sight of the Neyvedhyam items. Afterwards,
he could not swallow the food also.
He swallowed only his distress with pain. His hands were kneading the food,
while the pain was kneading his mind.
He wanted to share his mind with his wife ARYAMBIKAI who was serving the
food. Although hers was a delicate heart of a woman which can be more
easily hurt and wounded, hers was a heart fully cultivated with devotion.
Therefore, Sivaguru seeked solace from the person whom he should console.
As he was not able to speak, he silently pointed his fingers at the Puja room.
That noble woman calmly said, The fruits are well ripe; the children will eat
them eagerly.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
The children will eat them eagerly ------what a broadminded attitude hers
was ! All the children in the village were her own children ! She gets so much
fulfillment and happiness by giving the Prasadham to them.
Why, that was even dear to Sivagurus heart ! Even so, what a beautiful sight
it would be if two young and tender hands, filled to the brim with the fruits,
were to give away that Prasadham. Oh ! How unlucky I am, not to be
blessed with that sight! ---was his longing.
Where is that child ? where is the fruit of all my Puja ? when is my Punyam
(Virtue ) going to be fully ripe and bless me with a son ?
For generations, children have come to this house and accepted Prasadham.
With me that custom is . Sivagurus heart was full of pangs.
Why should it come to an end ? ---asked Arya confidently. Will not the
Bagavan give His Prasadham to those whose prayer is always, we should give
Prasadham to others,
You may say so ! But I have lost my faith in my own prayer. As long as we
fill our heart with only wishes, how can we have full concentration on the
Puja ?
The fruit will be according to that only! ---said he, with a feeling of
dejection.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
Then, why dont you stop performing the Puja? asked Arya calmly !
SivaGuru was shocked ! What are you saying ? --- he asked, a little agitated.
I am saying that YOU do not perform the Puja. Your mind is not
concentrating on it, isnt it ? But we can watch and enjoy the bliss, when
somebody else, with a fully concentrated mind is performing the Puja.
Errrr..I have been wanting to tell you something for quite some time----Arya said.
Why should we differentiate as Home Puja and Temple Puja ? Is not the
same Deity () who is accepting our Puja and blessing us in our
home, is now calling us to Sivapperoor through you ? Our attitude and
mindset are more important, than whether it is our home or the temple.
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Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
Why do you doubt whether I will come to the temple, which has been
rendered sacred with singleminded devotion of the Rishis and Sidhdhas ? As
water runs in all the places under the earths surface, so also God
is
omnipresent. But, only in some places, our holy ancestors have brought out
His Presence () by the power of their Atman, and built wells of
Anugraha.
When we are unable to dig out and take water from our own home,
why
together going to sacred places; staying there for a Mandalam or two, taking
bath in the temple pond, spending time always in meditation and prayer with
strict control of mind, ------this is called Bajanam.
It is a belief that if we observe this, we will get what we seek. Even today,
many people do this like olden days. What was called Thiru Sivapperoor
then, is
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
But Virushasalesan was not satisfied with the fulfillment of Sivagurus prayer;
He decided that time had come for the virtues of all the Rishis, wise men,
and devotees, who have made this Bharatha Boomi a Punya Boomi, to be
rewarded; and time had come for listening to the requests made by Devas.
I will grant you a son, who is blessed with wisdom and Divinity, but with a
short life span; or many sons with long life but less wisdom. You may choose
from the above two. said the Lord.
Sivaguru was confused at this strange condition and didnt know what to
answer !
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
But the Virushabaroodan didnt stay there long enough to hear whatever
answer he was to give. Sivaguru woke up from the sleep. But the confusion
created in the dream continued in the awakened state also. He wanted to
wake his wife up and tell her all that happened and ask for her advice.
At that time, to his surprise, Aryambal herself touched him and woke him up
! The surprise increased in intensity when he heard what she had to say !
She had also had the same dream ! God had enacted a good drama with both
of them ! He had appeared in each of their dreams separately and specified
this condition, in order to test their maturity of minds and intimacy.
But immediately after that, He had disappeared without waiting to hear their
answer as He could not bear the thought of doubting their mutual love for
one another.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
It does not appear to me as you put it.---said Arya in a calm but deep
tone. who are we to decide ? God will never put a condition to true
devotees. We should prove that we are true devotees and make that
condition nonexistent..dont you understand ?
Seeing her calm composure, Sivaguru also was relieved from the dilemma and
regained his calm. At that time, there was somebody else who was more at
peace than these two. He is none other than the Kailasa Pathi ( The Lord of
Kailasam ), who removes all the confusions and grant ultimate peace.
Sivaguru expected fruit for his own penance; he only wanted the Aradhana in
his home to continue after him, without break But Lord Siva was waiting for
an opportunity to fulfill the desires of this holy land.
He had a sacred plan to start and install a hierarchy of wise men who will
perform the Chandramouli Puja on a permanent basis, and bring together the
whole land as a single family.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
At last He had found His ideal parents in Sivaguru and Aryambika. Therefore
when He created a problem to test them, that problem became His.
you know what is needed ! You will bestow all our needs ! Your wish is our
fortune !----- standing in front of Virushasalesan, and saying these words, the
couple surrendered at His feet.
You shall be blessed with a noble son !------spoke the Sivalingam in their
thoughts !
The Bliss that He is, who cannot be tied up to anything, got tied up (as with
devotees) within Aryambas body and stayed there for ten months. Is He not
the all pervading Siva, who gives the humanity the strength and wisdom, and
relieves them from the worldly bondage ? Therefore, Aryai nurtured the
Jyothi, without any pain or weakness. Ten months passed off.
It was the (Tamil) year of Nandhana ----the year suitable for the Ultimate Bliss
to take birth. It was Spring time, when Mother Nature, out of Her Love for
the living beings, blooms with beauty, in spite of the severe warm conditions,
in order to give prosperity to them.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
Lord Mahadevan had pledged to Himself that He shall descend from the level
of Ultimate Bliss and bloom in this heat, in order to rid the Humanity of the
family bond and elevate them to the higher level.
It was the month of Vaisaka, very dear to the Supreme Being; it is also
known as Madhavi, which means Jasmine. Spring also refers to Jasmine.
It was Shukla Paksham (bright fortnight of the month), which is also dear to
the Sathva Moorthy whose heart is as white as butter, spreading the spirit
of wisdom.
It was noon, when Bhagavan Suriyanarayanan, who removes not only the
darkness outside but also the inner darkness, was overhead.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
The star of the day was Adhirai which is derived from the name ARDHRA
(), meaning soaked in water.
Somehow, on that particular day, both his heart and eyes were more damp
than usual. His heart started melting, even as he started the Abhishekam with
the first syllable SAM ()----meaning May I enjoy the Bliss.
The happiness I want is a son; will that SAMKARAN be born today itself?---he was thinking, while performing the Abhishekam. You are the pleasures
of this world and the outer world; you are also the Sankaran, who creates
them-----when he was chanting the Mantra..
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
The Supreme Being, which is always in a state of bliss, without any external
feeling, out of Its abundance of Love, moved away from that state and took a
human form in order to give that ultimate pleasure to the human race.
Aryambikai gave birth to a male child on whom she will pour her abundant
love.
Some saints who came to have a look at the child, felt even happier than
them. What they saw was not a mere child; they realized that the origin of
all matters with no differentiation as male and female, had taken Avatar, in
order to give entirety to the ability of the male and the kindness of the
female.
They saw the figure of Sankaran Himself reflected in the marble like figure of
the beautiful child.
They marveled at and enjoyed the coolness of the dark hair, which contrasted
the white marble--like body. They understood that it is the coolness obtained
by wearing the crescent moon and the cool water (of Ganga) on His head.
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
They opened the young and tender palms, which were closed as if holding
the Atma Thathvam inside, and noticed with joy, the lines of and
., running along the palms; and the black mole on his throat
reminded them of the blue neck of Lord Neelakantan, who swallowed the
poison from the ocean of milk.
They were also happy at seeing the small scar on his leg and realizing that it
was the mark created when He kicked Yama.
Sivaguru had also come to the same conclusion, as the child was born when
he was saying Nama: Sankaraaya during the chanting of Sri Rudram. The name
was also suitable to the child from another angle.
There was a tradition in Kerala to name a child according to the day of birth.
In the practice of counting by using letters as numbers, the letters SA(M)-KARA respectively indicate the fifth day of the month, first fortnight
() of the month, and the second month of the year.
So, when the Matter without a shape, obtained a shape and was born, that
nameless Matter got a name too !
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)
The river water reduced its swiftness in order not to hurt them; the tiger and
the deer which came to the river to drink water fondled one another; the
elephant caressed the back of the tiger with its trunk.
In the Homa Kundas (the vessels where the flames are raised for the Homa),
the flames revolved clockwise (). The petals in the lotus
flowers that are the hearts of the wise men opened out in bloom. The
devotees enjoyed a peculiar happiness.
But at that same blissful moment, fear engulfed the minds of some persons.
Their awareness (knowledge) stumbled somehow; The which they
were holding fell down on their own. These are the people who were
responsible for the birth of Sri Sankara.
We have to travel back a few years in the ocean called time, to know the
reason behind this. We have to
Chapter 1 of Jaya Jaya Sankara by Sri Narayanan Bala (original in Tamil by Sri Ra.Ganapathy)