BHAKTHI - THE PATH TO SALVATION

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All the religious and theological research have arrived at a common conclusion LOVE IS GOD and GOD IS LOVE! The integrity of an individual, of a society and its belief systems are all firmly based on this eternal, fundamental truth. Any religion or sectarian belief that deviated from this ‘principle of reality’ has never withstood the test of time and faith. Today we shall navigate through this fundamental principle of love using Mata Kamalambika’s Sookthi because She has wrapped Her immense Anugraha in each of Her words. We can cross this ocean of Samsara only with the support of that Powerful, Universal Unconditional Love of our Sadguru. Sri Mata Kamalambika majestically declares:

NENU BHAKTIKI VASAMOUTHANU

EDHITI VADI BAADHALE NA BAADHALU!

                                                                                           (Sookthi 6)

At the outset this Sookthi appears as words of assurance and help to all those who surrender to Her. It implicitly means that She promises to consider the sufferings of all those who are devoted to Her, as Her own miseries and shall help the devotees to overcome them. In short it is an ABHAYA VAKYA! There is nothing wrong in interpreting in this way because we always seek to do away with our miseries and want to be happy all through our life. If we just stop at this point of understanding it means that we are contented with the give and take relationship with our Guru and want to use them as a solution provider.

                But our Paramaguru wanted us to be a spiritual aspirant; She has instructed us to tread the Path of Salvation by saying – Mukthi Margamu Acharinchu. So let us now carefully analyse the above sookthi as a seeker of Reality! It is astonishing to note how each word has been so carefully placed with immense potential for an aspirant yearning for INNER PROGRESS! 

             The first word in the sookthi is NENU.

NENU – literally means I with the Sanskrit equivalent AHAM. Mata did not mention this word with body consciousness. Therefore we should not perceive this meaning and equate it to Kamalamma garu, Her photo or statue. She has declared

NENU = AHAM

                                  =         A                   +          HA                         +                 M      

                                  = SHIVA BEEJA  +  SHAKTHI BEEJA     +  FUSION WITHIN                  

                                  = SHIVA SHAKTHAIKYA SWAROOINI

i.e. the UNION OF SPIRIT AND MATTER which is the SHUDDHA CHAITANYA or SATCHITANANDA ROOPAM.

Hence NENU here means the state of a Brahma Jnani who has realised that SUPREME ULTIMATE REALITY that has and shall always exist without a beginning or an end; that PARAMATMA from whom this AKHILANDA KOTI BRAHMANDAM originates and finally merges!

   Let us now move on to the second word in the sookthi  i.e. Bhakthiki.

BHAKTHI is normally interpreted as devotion or religious service to God. Bhakthi does not stop with merely offering flowers, dhoop sticks, arathi, naivedhya etc. or chanting stotras, singing bhajans and hearing puranas with the only belief and reason being accumulation of merit and getting rid of sins. These acts are definitely good Karma but an end point of spiritual pursuit. Then what is real Bhakthi and how does a Bhaktha behave? Bhakthi is an intense and immense love towards our Godhead. A true Bhaktha observes Ekadasi Upavasa not only on Ekadasi thithi but on all days at all moments of his life. Don’t be surprised! He submits

        5 Karmendriyas + 5 gnanendriyas + manasu  [ Ekadasa ]

to the Lord with complete sraddha and awareness (Upavasa).

Such a Bhaktha surrenders all his,

·        worldly actions like doing his job, interacting with society etc.

·        bodily functions like eating, drinking, speaking, breathing etc.

·        mental activities like thinking, meditating and contemplating  etc.

in the service of the Almighty. Prahalda was one such great Bhaktha. Such a person is compassionate and loving towards all fellow creations. He sees his Lord in all the beings and becomes selfless, fearless and above all, egoless. He is always cheerful, contented and enthusiastic. Such a Bhaktha spends every second of his life with the Lord and for the Lord! He surrenders his individuality to the Supreme Reality and accepts everything in his life as the Lord’s Prasad.

     The next term in the sookthi is VASAMOUTHANU.

VASAMOUTHANU means to be attracted and become their possession. In this case Mata says that She can be attracted and possessed only through selfless devotion which results in annihilation of ego, self- effacement and complete surrender! Now it is clear that we can’t obtain or possess her through our efforts, chanting or pooja which appears convincing and impressive in the eyes of the world! When our body, mind and intellect are united through single pointed, intense and overwhelming devotion then She shall mercifully descend into us and be one with us! Now we understand that She is the seeker, his goal and the end result of devotion or Bhakthi. Therefore let us recollect and praise Her as

        Bhakthapriya; Bhakthigamya; Bhakthivasya.

Hence the Lord merges with the devotee and the person understands that there is Brahman and only this Supreme power everywhere in different manifestations. In this state one knows only Bliss and there is no fear of suffering or the misery of Samsara! Hence Srimata is Bhayapaha, Bhavaranyakutarika and Bhaktha Sowbhagya Dayini!

Once we are absorbed in Her bhajanam She takes care of us without our asking because our troubles and difficulties are no longer ours. She fills our life abundantly with material, intellectual and spiritual wealth since She is Bhukthi Mukthi Pradayini!

In the second line of the Sookthi Sri Mata says ‘Edithi vaadi baadhale na baadhalu! What is Her mechanism of alleviating our miseries? We compare our life filled with difficulties to a wild forest fire burning beyond control (or) to a dense dark forest through which we grope for direction (or) a product of a huge pile of Karma difficult to decipher! Srimata showers Her Anugraha on Her devotees as

·        rain of nectar to put off the wild fire of suffering i.e. BHAVA DAVA SUDHA VRISHTI

·        destroyer of the dense dark forest of sins i.e. PAPARANYA DAVA NALA

·      One who blows away the suffering due past misdeeds i.e. DHOURBAGYA THOOLA VATHOOLA .

Apart from Anugraha and Abhaya we may also interpret this phrase as follows.

Who is this ‘Edithi vaadhu?’ It is the person without selfless and egoless devotion. This is Ajnana- lack of knowledge and wisdom about the Reality; reluctance to remain meditative about the all-pervading SUPER CONSCIOUS. Our Paramapujya guru says that She is pained to see our suffering due to ignorance which makes us identify ourselves with our body, mind and intellect. She wants us to realise that we are COMPLETE, BLISSFUL ATMA CHAITANYA by obtaining jnana through devotion!!

Lord Krishna also makes a similar declaration in the Bhagavad Gita:

Purusah sa parah Partha bhaktya labhyastvananyaya

Yasyantahsthani bhutani yena sarvamidam tatam

                                                                         (Chapter 8; Verse22)

Meaning

O Partha, that Supreme Being in whom all beings dwell, by whom all this is pervaded, is indeed attainable by Unswerving Devotion!

There is one more aspect that draws our attention in this Sookthi and it shall be taken up for contemplation next Friday. Let us practice Bhakthi from this new perspective!

                                                                                JAI SREE MATA…