Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 414: Shri Svaprakasa (ōṃ svaprakāśāyai namaḥ)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details. 

The Divine Mother is self-luminous. 

The Divine Mother is bright naturally. Of the universal five elements, the Sun is self–luminous. Moon gets light form Sun and shines. Similarly from Sun’s light received, the earth shinning had been observed from Moon during space missions such as from NASA. Sun has self brightness, but at a later date the Sun will get destroyed. Long time ago, Earth and Moon were part of the Sun and they had self brightness. On separating from Sun, they lost their heat and brightness. All universal things lose their brightness, during pralaya. 

The soul also gets absorbed within the Divine Mother and loses it brightness. The Divine Mother is eternally expanding across the universe and all the universal creatures come under Her control. She maintains Her brightness eternally. She lives in all universal souls and to understand that it is proper worship of the Divine Mother. The uninitiated devotees use universal things to light up and pray to the Divine Mother. This practice had been accepted by learned people. Yogins can see the light in the souls as the Divine Mother and worship Her. This is only possible for such matured souls. 

To see and understand the universal things, we need Sun’s light but we cannot visualize the Divine Mother with Sun’s light. Her individuality is in Her self–luminous which the elements like Sun are not able to demonstrate. Since there is no comparison to Her, nobody else can explain Her brightness. We cannot use another light to see the Sun. Similarly, the Sun cannot explain the Divine Mother’s brightness. Sun will not be visible in front of Her brightness. Like Moon, and other glittering stars cannot be seen in front of Her brightness. Then, how come the light from the fire can be visible. Only with the Divine Mother’s brightness, such things are visible to our eyes. We need to have the Divine Mother’s brightness to see such things. “He shines and everything shines after Him. By His light, all these shine”. (Katha Upanisad 11.2.15). The Divine Mother is that Brahman Itself. 

By splitting this name as Sv (well) + ap (water) + ra (fire) + Kasa (one who shines), one understands the meaning as, “She who shines well in water and fire”. We notice that water and fire are the primary power of universal beings’ life.

 

The Divine Mother as Svaprakasa

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 14 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar 

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 413: Shri Aprameya (ōṃ apramēyāyai namaḥ)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details. 

The Divine Mother is not measurable by our senses. 

The Divine Mother far beyond our understanding; She is not measurable by any standards. Essentially the devotees have to understand the glories of the deity they are worshipping. Depending on the level of the worship, the devotees get to understand the deity they are praying to. However the devotees, Yogins and Devas will not fully understand the glories of the Divine Mother who is spreading through the universe. She is not a measurable element by any standards . With the limited knowledge, one cannot measure such widely spreading the Divine Mother. We can use a tumbler (say 250 to 500 ml capacity) to measure the water used in a household vessel but that same tumbler cannot be used to measure the total sea water. Likewise, the Divine Mother is spread the universe and her glories cannot be determined through anybody’s prayers. But Shista (Her disciples or devotees) can understand correctly, a few of her glories. The devotee who uses his full mind and knowledge is doing a good worshipping of the Divine Mother. The instrument used to measure the depth of the sea becomes part of the sea. Likewise, no one can measure all the glories of the Divine Mother to understand Her fully. 

In other ways, She is non-measurable. We can visualize Her, from our earlier experiences; we can only estimate some portion of Her glories that way.  Generally all humans cannot get such earlier experience with the Divine Mother. The Vedas are presuming but yet the Divine Mother cannot be understood by our mind, knowledge or words. There are no other means to measure the Divine Mother’s glories and or in any forms of Her. 

For example, when a small bird is hatched the following sequence is taking place: 1. When in embryo (within the shell), the whole universe is within the shell for the small bird. 2. When it is hatched, the universe is the nest for the small bird. 3. When the small bird grows up, some more, its universe is the tree where the nest is there. 4. When the bird starts flying, the universe is much bigger than the tree; size is un measurable Akasa and other environment around the tree, to the small bird. 

The syllable “a” stands for Brahma, Vishnu and other Gods; Prameya is “to be known”. She is to be known only to those deities meaning by syllable “a”. 

a +prameya is the one who lives in water; She lives in sacred rivers like Ganga. The sacred rivers are invoked to sanctify water before bathing or using in puja: “O Ganga, Yamuna, Godawari, Sarsvathi, Narmada, Sindu and Kaveri kindly grace this water by your presence!”

Aprameya, the  Divine Mother.

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 13 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 412: Shri Shista pujita (ōṃ śiṣṭapūjitāyai namaḥ)

 In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details.

The Divine Mother is always worshipped by the righteous people. 

The Divine Mother is worshipped by Shistesas. Every human being follows some form of worship. Some look for the Divine Mother. There are people who look for evil things. Some look for materialistic wealth; look for position and status. What a person is looking for can reveal his culture. People with evil thinking worship evil deities. Shistesas are supposedly the people who follow good behavior. They usually worship the Divine Mother and understand Her glories. 

Each one doing his stipulated karma is doing his form of worship. Shistesas are doing worthy things which are favoured by the Divine Mother. Their way of life is form of the Divine Mother worship. They bring out the glories of the Divine Mother through their prayers. 

Of those Shistesas who worship the Divine Mother and who get Her blessings, further get great respect from the society and other people. 

Righteous thoughts and sattvic attitudes drive away from the vasanas one has at birth. There are some devotees  who turn righteous due to sudden turn of events in life. In such cases, the samsara from previous births must be at work. Lord Krishna says, “Out of thousands of men only one strives for attaining the Self; and out of those who strive, only one perchance knows Me in essence.’ (Gita V11.3). Shistesas are those who proceed on the spiritual path in this manner. The Divine Mother is the one who is constantly worshipped by them.

 

Shista pujita, the  Divine Mother.

 C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 12 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar.

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 411: Shri Shisteshta (ōṃ śiṣṭēṣṭāyai namaḥ)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details.

The Divine Mother is affectionate (like the mother's affection towards her children) to the righteous people; She is the chosen deity of the devotees. She is also affectionate to the righteous people. 

Shistesas are the disciples to a Guru. The Divine Mother is very good and Kind Guru for Her disciples who follow Her scheme of things to mature towards Brahman. The Divine Mother makes the Shistesas, Her own. Shistesas are the people who do not shift about from their good behavior. Others respect such Shistesas with good behavior. The Divine Mother is bent upon making everyone to have good behavior. Whoever gradually improves their good behavior becomes the preferred devotee for the Divine Mother. Shistesas also mean that the people do not drop from their own chosen good behavior, through which their soul matures. That becomes the good worship of the Brahman. So long as they fulfill their karmas, their maturity according to the scheme of the Divine Mother’s things is getting completed. Such an individual becomes special for the Divine Mother’s grace and kindness. 

Shistesas are the ones who live by divine defined procedure and control. She likes their worships of Her. They become Her favourable devotees, who seek Her blessings. Shistesas can mean also the rituals. She likes such rituals by Her preferred devotees. Those who follow the family tradition and doing rituals based on Vedas are also Shistesas. They become dear to the Divine Mother. 

Shistam can mean “prescribed ceremonies and rituals of worship.” Shistesas are those who perform such worships without any desire for the fruits. The Divine Mother is dear to them. 

Vasistha Sutra says. “Shistesas are those who control the organs of action and knowledge, who have learned the Vedas according to tradition and draw inspiration from them and who are worshippers of Brahman.”

 

The  Divine Mother as Shisteshta

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 11 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3.       The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar. 

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 410: Shri Shiva para (ōṃ śhivaparāyai namaḥ )

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details. 

The Divine Mother is solely devoted to Lord Shiva. 

Lord Shiva is Para showing that He is the Superior to anybody elese in this universe. Similarly, the Divine Mother is Superior than anyone in this universe; in fact without the shakati from the Divine Mother Lord Shiva cannot even move on His own. In the same way without Shiva, shakti's power cannot be felt or exposed. So the Divine Mother is equal to Lord Shiva. This can be explained as: Diamond and its brightness are incomparable to other things. With the brightness, the value of the diamond increases. Similar to that whatever the glories Lord Shiva has are due to unison with the Divine Mother. If Shakti leaves Him, then, Lord Shiva will be like a dead body. 

She does not focus on any other thing other than Lord Shiva. This is another explanation of this Namam. To reach the Divine Mother, the one of the best means will be to pray to Lord Shiva. She is forever truthful to Lord Shiva. This is similar to Rama-Seetha tattvam. On marrying Seetha Devi, Shri Rama’s glories increased multifold. On marrying Shri Rama,  Seetha Devi’s bhakti to Shri Rama exalted. Ravana took away Seetha Devi. As a result Shri Rama’s affection to Seetha Devi was also exalted. Seetha Devi’s jailed periods are the evidence of Her affection to Shri Rama. Similarly, the Divine Mother as a young girl meditated upon Lord Shiva and attained Him. She had no other goal or aim. This explains the Shiva para tattvam.

For the devotees, She shows that the Lord Shiva’s form  which is auspiciousness. KaIi Devi shows a dead man under Her feet to explain this Shiva tattvam. She grants Her devotees to attain Lord Shiva is another explanation of this Namam “Shiva para”. 

Para means elevated ness. She has Lord Shiva as elevated divinity to get married. She is beyond Lord Shiva. Soundarya Lahari verse one by Adi Shankara says, Lord Shiva gets His glories from the Divine Mother. When Shiva joins, “O shakti, He is able to engage in His cosmic tasks; otherwise He cannot even move about on His own without you Shakti.” It is in this sense the Divine Mother transcends Shiva, as in Ardhanarisvara.

    Lord Shiva with the  Divine Mother 

 

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 10 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

3. The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar 

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 409: Shri Shiva priya (OM shivapriyAyai namaH)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details. 

The Divine Mother is beloved very much by Lord Shiva. 

When we try to understand the Purusa Tattvam, we can understand the deeper meaning of this Namam, ‘Shiva priya’. For example, Radha Krishna rupam stands out. Female Tattvam is Radha and Purusa Tattvam is Krishna. Radha’s head is resting in Krishna’s body and Krishna’s head is resting in Radha’s body. This shows the affection between two divinities. 

The Divine Mother is dearer to Lord Shiva. She shows her affection to Lord Shiva. We cannot say if the love of Shiva to the Divine Mother is greater or vice versa. When there is sincere affection that ends up as Bhakti affection between them. For the devotee this philosophy is good example to follow. He has to surrender to Brahman; for such devotee, the Brahman becomes the ultimate place of rest. Similar to the affection of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother, the devotee’s Bhakti to the Lord emerges to give the salvation (liberation) to the devotee. 

Shiva is affectionate to the Divine Mother; likewise the Divine Mother is affectionate to Lord Shiva, they both in unison are auspiciousness. The Divine Mother is attached to such auspiciousness Lord Shiva. 

The Divine Mother to whom Shiva is dear. With Her unison with Lord Shiva, She has been made of everything that is Shiva or auspicious which is dear to Herself; She grants that auspiciousness to her devotees to be liberated form samsara cycle.

    Lord Shiva with the  Divine Mother 

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 09 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

 3      The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar

Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 408: Shri Shivam Kari (OM shiva ~ Nkaryai namaH)

In Namams 381 to 474, the Divine Mother’s Jnana Yoga worship methods are discussed in details. 

The Divine Mother confers prosperity (auspiciousness and happiness) to Her devotees; She from Her unison with Shiva, gives Moksha or Liberation to Her devotees. 

In this universe, there are more bad things than good. The Divine Mother is the universe. Then calling Her the auspiciousness and Shivankari does not fit in well. However, when we analyze the bad, they are there to cause auspiciousness later. Normal humans see them as bad but they turn into good later. 

Samsara cycle looks like a bad thing but only through this samsara, the souls mature to reach the Brahman. The Divine Mother plays a role to gradually improve the lower level souls to salvation. Due to this, She is called Shivamkari. 

The Divine Mother holds and grants the auspiciousness to Her devotees. The human body is dirty and inauspicious; the souls assume “I”. She is same as Shivam. She helps and removes the souls’ ”I” aham-kara and avidya (ignorance); She purifies them to attain Brahman or Shiva. So She is Shivamkari. 

Numerous souls like Vyasa, Jabali, Sabari, Kanakadasa and Kannappa through the path of karma, Bhakti and Jnana, became great souls by worshipping Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother.

    Lord Shiva with the  Divine Mother 

C N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 08 March 2021.

References:

1.       The Thousand Names of the Divine Mother published in English by Mata Amritanandamayi Center, San Ramon, California, USA, with Commentary by T. V Narayana Menon

2.       Shri Lalitha Sahasranama Stostram published in Tamil by N. Ramaswami Iyer charities’ societies, Trichirapalli, India, with Commentary by C. V. Radhakrishna Sastry.

The Lalitha Sahasranamam published in Tamil by Shri Ramakrishna Thapovanam, Thiruipparaithurai, Trichy District, Tamilnadu, India with commentary by Shrimath Swami Chithbavandar