Shri Lalitha Sahasranamam: Namam 356: Shri Sadacara pravartika (OM sadAchArapravartikAyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed. 

The Divine Mother is immersed in and inspires others to follow right conduct. 

There is a need to assist the people wanting to live righteously. Those people who go through non dharma ways get warnings in the form of sorrows. The Divine Mother gives sorrows to such people. Kali Devi has large knife in one of Her left hands and a saving sign in one of Her right hands. People following dharma ways do not have to “fear” anything as they get the Divine Mother’s support. In this universe, humans get support for their dharma actions and sorrow for non dharma actions. The Divine Mother’s rule is continuously happening. The dharma oriented people mature and get the Divine Mother’s blessings. This is implied in this Namam “Sadacara pravartika”. 

Sadacara is living by honest means; pravartika means the one who is making it happen. The Divine Mother inspires people who follow their dharma. Even with great difficulties, living by one’s dharma is Sadacara; this is what the Divine Mother wants from Her devotees; She supports such people always. There are four Vedas and their sublevel documents to help people wanting to follow their dharma. The Divine Mother helps them in this process. 

Truth, righteousness, love and ahimsa (non violence or injury) are the key values accorded and followed by the Divine Mother. She ensures such conducts in others by inspiring them to follow the rules laid down in the Karmakanda and the Jnanakanda of the Vedas.  These two Veda kandas are dealing with rituals and true spiritual knowledge respectively. 

In Kurma Purana the Divine Mother declares, “O King, according to my command, the eighteen Puranas was created by Vyasa; his disciples created the supplementary Puranas (Upapuranas). These Puranas establish dharma and righteous rules. This process is repeated in each age or yuga by Vyasa; he performs this task by knowing and by having full understanding of dharma needs. 

In essence, dharma principles are in four Vedas, in their supplementary Vedas, in six Veda auxiliaries (Vedangas), in the philosophical system of mimamsa in nyaya (logic), in dharma sastra (law) and the Puranas; all in total eighteen sources of knowledge. This dharma established by Brahma, Manu, Vyasa and other great sages at my command will last through dissolution of this universe”. 

The four supplementary Vedas are: Ayurveda dealing with medical science, Dhanurveda dealing with military science, Gandharvaveda dealing with music and Sthapatyaveda dealing with architectural science. 

The six auxiliaries to Vedas are: Siksa (the science of articulation and pronunciation or phonetics), Kalpa (the science of rituals or ceremonies), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (the etymology of Vedic words), Chandas (prosody) and Jyotisa (astrology/astronomy).

 

The four Vedas

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 15 January 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 355: Shri Samhrritashesa pashanda (OM saMhRRitAsheShapAShaNDAyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed.

The Divine Mother destroys all heretics. Those that oppose, speak and act against dharma are heretics. 

A different form of this Namam is “Samhrtasesa pashanda”; pakhanda is the one who disputes the meanings of Vedas. 

The Divine Mother always destroys Pakhandas; they are those who are born in high society without following their own norms, attributes and dharma but follow lower level life for meeting their hunger needs. Those after taking Sanyasha getting into household life and enjoying worldly pleasures are also pakhandas. Those who refuse to teach and help others to higher life are also pakhandas. He who is selfish to use his high knowledge about Brahman for himself and his people only without giving to others is also pakhanada. Pushing the prayers and devotion aside, living only to meet his hunger needs is also pakhanda. In essence higher level people should not lower down for other reasons. If someone lowers his dharma, he would cause sorrow for himself. The Divine Mother destroys such a person. In fact all humans are destroyed which natural after only his life ends. Embodied souls graduate from lower to higher level, which is helped by the Divine Mother. If someone looks back and does things at lower level, pakhanda, is like being thrown away from mountain top. The children of pakhanda still go to lower levels. If we analyse a few generations, we can understand this effect very well. 

The Divine Mother never bends Her rules. Kali has a sword in Her left hand and holds a cutout head full of blood in another hand. So dropping from higher level is a big issue. Even while dropping lower, pakhandas think that they are moving up in the ladder. Depending upon large number of pakhandas, the society sees more troubles which the Divine Mother does not approve. They have to leave the Divine Mother’s comfort, but She provides means for them to regain to move upwards. She is sweet to Her devotees but destroys those, who does things against dharma. Once they turn to the Divine Mother, they slowly gain Her grace and save all the troubles for themselves. 

Pakhandas can also be defined as people who oppose and speak against Vedas. Those who do not follow Vedas are going against their dharma. The Divine Mother increases the problems for pakhandas in order to correct their path to dharma ways. 

Heretics sometimes unite to form their own following or religion. The Divine Mother destroys them all. 

Pakhandas and pashanda are used interchangeably in this write up, which have similar meanings.

 

Goddess Durgha / Kali

 

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 14 January 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 354: Shri Pashupasa vimocini (OM pashupAshavimochinyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed. 

The Divine Mother releases the ignorant devotees from bondage; She liberates the embodied souls from Pasa (bondage). 

Pashu means embodied soul. The Lord Shiva is Pasupati, the leader of all embodied souls. Due to ignorance and pasa, the souls go through Samsara cycle. To release the souls from the bonds, a divine force (the Divine Mother) is needed. Not many souls are thinking of liberation. The souls due to Maya assume that the bonds are there for them always. Only very few souls will desire to be liberated from Samsara cycle; the Divine Mother liberates them. Seeking liberation is the best form of prayer possible. The Divine Mother grants such desires of liberation to Her devotees; thus She is Pashupasa Vimocini. 

Animal Pashu (embodied soul) lives with bondage on it. It feels “I”, the Divine Mother is in that “I” form. Those who do not understand the Divine Mother take the lower level births. Ignorant Pashu does not have the freedom, the Lord Shiva as Pashupati creates the bondage with hunger and thirst. The animal Pashu thinks that getting relief from hunger and thirst is the ultimate for it. The Divine Mother liberates the human souls or Pashus. The embodied soul, the human Pashu, starts to understand that the Divine Mother is within itself to manage it. Once the soul realizes that the Divine Mother is within and outside, its hunger and thirst disappear.  Ignorance and Karma effects go to ashes. All Pasas are cleared. The devotees get the Divine Mother’s grace to be liberated. 

Pasa are ahankara, maya and karma based three types. These ropes and the resultant bonds are created by the actions of embodied souls. The souls ought to learn to know to release the bonds through worshipping the Divine Mother. Ahankara leads to maya which later leads to karma results. Some souls have all three types of pasas, who try to pray to the Divine Mother to meet their selfish needs or desires; their prayers indirectly leads to their pasas getting reduced. For some, their earlier birth prayers to the Divine Mother can come in to help to reduce their pasas in current birth. For some yogis, the pasas are burned to ashes and they get liberated from Samsara cycle. 

When we face sorrow, we seek some one’s help. Our previous good karma, leads us to seek the Divine Mother’s help to worship Her; this will help to minimize the sorrows. As the result, the devotee develops more devotional feeling towards the Divine Mother to seek and get Her Motherly Kindness. All pasas are eliminated; the souls get liberated; thus She is Pashupasa vimocini. 

Linga Purana says that from Brahma to a tree, all living things are subject to Maya as pashus of Lord Shiva, because of the beasty nature of them. Brhadaranyaka Uanishad (1.4.10) says Pashu is the one who still maintains a sense of separation (duality). “He who adores God, thinking he is different from Him, does not know; he is like an animal (pashu)”.

Man, the Manusya thinks that pashu has a long way to reach man’s stage in life cycle. Pasa are the rope binds. Ezhuttachan in Bhagavata Kirtana sings, “Bonds are man’s karma; Break they must, for him to be free, by eating the fruit of karma; make bonds no more!” 

Pa is thirst; asa is hunger. The devotees immersed in the Divine Mother’s worship are freed from their thirst and hunger and liberated. Pashus have desires to eat and drink to quench their thirst and hunger; they do not talk about Brahman; they are not aware of this current worldly conditions or the next birth for them according to Sruti. Pasa is the bond of ignorance causes the freedom to be lost. Maya, one of three gunas (attributes) and Karma are the bondage forms. The word pasa refers to everything arising from these above. 

There are five fold affiliations affecting the soul in bondage which are also pasa. Through the power of yoga and the Divine Mother’s blessings the embodied souls get liberation from bonds. Five affiliations are: nescience (ignorance), egoism, desire, anger and intense attachment. 

Nescience is the inability to discriminate between self and non self. Egoism is misconception that the body is the self. Desire is the attraction arising from wish for pleasure. Anger is the aversion to do anything that obstructs the enjoyment of pleasure. Intense attachment is clinging to sense objects even when it is known that they are harmful to one’s welfare. 

Pasa in Hindu numerology refers to number fifty-two; there are fifty-two kinds of pasa or bonds which the embodied soul can face. Sivarahasya says that the Divine Mother rescues Her devotees from five affiliations and fifty-two pasas. 

Saiva scriptures talk about three kinds of bondages, namely, anupasa, bhedapasa and karmapasa. Anupasa is the misconception that indivisible and unlimited self is limited to some respects. The self is one and is unique. The root cause of seeing it as many distinct forms is Maya, also called maya impurity or mayamala. Maya is sometimes considered as sixth tattva with other five namely are: Parasiva, Sadasiva, Isvara, Rudra and Brahma. Karma pasa is the third type of impurity or bondage. One has to free himself from all three types of bondages to become Shiva himself; omniscient, ominipresent and omnipotent. 

The Divine Mother due to Her unison with Lord Shiva is with Him always. She liberates the embodied souls from all three bonds; hence She is known as Pashupasa vimocini. 

This Namam means that the Divine Mother liberates souls from Samsara cycle, those desiring to reach Pashupati or Shiva, the protector of Pashus. Pashu can also mean Vishnu. 

Bonds can refer to sixteen forms of ignorance and seven forms of sorrow. The Divine Mother liberates the souls from all these hardships. Pasa also can mean “dice”. Bhaskararaya interprets this Namam as “while playing dice with Shiva, the Divine Mother conquers Him, throwing the dice on the board”. 

There are three types of souls: worldly ones, yogis and knower (tattvajnas). The worldly ones have their bondages increased; the yogis have the bondages turn into ashes and in the knower the bonds stays dormant without awakening. They have to deserve the Divine Mother’s grace to get liberation from all above bonds. 

 

Aarthanareeswarara :Shiva and Goddess are equal.

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 13 January 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 353: Shri Bhaktimat kalpa latika (OM bhaktimatkalpalatikAyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed. 

The Divine Mother is the Kalpa creeper or Kalpa tree to Her devotees. 

The Divine Mother’s devotees get Her Kalpa tree blessings. The Brahman is customarily called as Kalpam; any devotee can get his wish and desires easily from the Kalpa tree. Those devotees who abide by the Kalpa tree always have safer life with the Divine Mother’s grace. 

Kalpa effect can be exampled as follows: One traveler due to his tiredness takes rest in place without knowing that it is a Kalpa place. He wishes for a drinking water and gets good water to drink; he desires for food and he gets again good food to eliminate his hunger; he wishes to sleep and he gets a good bed and a fan; after his sleep, when he woke up, he does not find any one around; he feared about a tiger and he gets killed by a tiger. 

All humans get their wishes in reasonable times; but when they start to worry about death, they die. With their devotion to the Divine Mother, their death fears will be invalidated. Such liberated condition represents the Supreme State or Kalpa which the devotees are granted through the Divine Mother’s blessings. 

Kalpa means Kalpaga tree; latika means beautiful female. When male reference is made, it is called the kalpa tree; when female reference is used, it is called Kalpalata. Such Kalpa tree grants all wishes to the person; likewise, the Divine Mother gives to Her devotees, Her immense blessing and grace. 

Bhaktimats are people with full devotion. Bhatimat kalpa are the ones with incomplete devotion; also those looking like Bhaktimat but are actually not, are also called Bhaktimat kalpa. Lata is a plant which spreads and by reaching a place, like wall, it holds on to the support. The Divine Mother lets the Bhaktimat kalpas to hold on to Her, to grow their devotion to Her, the Supreme Self. 

Latika is also Kasturi tree with good fragrance which is showered on the devotees to give peace to them. This way the Divine Mother is the one pleases the Bhaktimat kalpa to help them to reach the Supreme State. 

The Kalpa tree and Kamadhenu, the sacred cow are said to have the power to grant all wishes of people seeking their help; like the Kalpa tree, this creeper yields all the wishes of the devotees. 

Bhaktimat kalpa as we have discussed earlier, are imperfect devotees; the Divine Mother gives Her imperfect devotees the chance to flourish and claim to become a perfect one, like a creeper. 

Saktirahasya makes it clear that the Divine Mother worship done imperfectly or even with incomplete devotion leads to perfect devotion in due course with the Divine Mother blessings. 

Kalpa also means musk and Jasmine. The Divine Mother showers fragrance on Her devotees.

  The Annapoorani Devi in Kasi (Varanasi) in India provides for Her devotees.

 

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 12 January 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 352: Shri Vahni mandala vasini (OM vahnimaNDalavAsinyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed.

The Divine Mother resides in the discs or systems of fire. 

Fire or heat has good relationship with human body, where the embodied soul resides. All Hindu prayers, auspicious and other forms of deeds are done with having Agni or Fire as the evidence. In general the burning fire, either be forest fire or a row of lighted lamps, creates a divine feeling in humans automatically. This fire is one of the five universal elements and it is spread all over the universe in some form or other, creating the divine feelings. The human body has the heat within itself until the embodied soul leaves the body, so it is termed as Vahni mandala. The human body where the embodied soul resides is an ideal kshetra to worship the Divine Mother. The human body chakras are focusing on Muladhara is a good example of Agni in our body. 

We have earlier meditated on Divine Mother in Chandramandala and Suryamandala. The third bright meditating place is in Agnimandala. The Divine Mother resides in Agnimandala also. It is in Muladhara in human body. Vahni refers to number three in Hindu numbering system; the word Vahni or agni means fire. There are three kinds of fires considered: The fire that burns in the funeral pyre usually looking towards south; the fire in the sacrificial arena to offer to deities and the fire elsewhere such as in the home used for cooking etc. 

Acharya Bhaskararaya interpreted Vahni mandala as three systems (discs) of fire; so this Namam means that the Divine Mother resides in three mandalas (discs or systems) in Srichakra namely the Agnimandala in Svadishthana, Surya mandala in the anahata and Chandramandala in Sahasrara. Please refer to earlier Namams 99 and 240. The Divine Mother is present both internally and externally in all these mandalas. She the Divine Mother lives in Soma-Surya-Agni, all three mandalas.

 

The Divine Mother in Srichakra

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 11 January 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 351: Shri Vama keshi (OM vAmakeshyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed. 

The Divine Mother has beautiful hair. 

The ladies body and hair structures are good example for understanding them well. People with good mind and body structures are the first level of children for the Divine Mother. She is holding such people within Herself. The Divine Mother has all superior qualities both internally and externally. Her hair is a good example for all Her superior qualities which invite Her devotees to worship Her. 

Vama is beautiful; Keshi is hair. Vamaka also means man; "isa" means lord. So Vamakehsa is Lord Shiva, the one with long beautiful hair; Vaman is the beautiful Shiva and His consort is Vamakehsi, the Divine Mother. Vama is also left side; in Arthanareswara form, the Divine Mother takes the left side of Lord Shiva; so She is Vama Keshi. 

Vamakehsam is one of the sixty-eight Shiva peedas and one of the sixty-eight theerthas  also; She is the deity in Vamakehsam. Lord Shiva has given out Vamakehsa, one of the twenty-eight tantras.

  The Lord Shiva, Vamakehsa’s consort Parvathi Devi with beautiful hair.

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 10 January 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 350: Shri Vag vadini (OM vAgvAdinyai namaH)

In Namams 275 to365, the Divine Mother’s  many forms providing benefits to Her devotees in great details are discussed.

The Divine Mother speaks well; She gives Her devotees the ability to speak the correct words on any given occasion or event. 

She speaks clear words. The ability use clear and correct word is a gift to humans than any other creature in this universe. Education helps the humans to improve use the correct word usage by them which are part of grace from the Divine Mother. The devotees have to meditate upon the Divine Mother for getting correct word usage; later they should use the correct words to worship the Divine Mother. Some codes of conduct are needed such as: never raise one’s voice and speak with musical instrument’s sweetness. It gives merit to the devotee to use appropriate words depending upon the condition or situation. It is better to use correct words firmly and devotionally from divine books in praising the Divine Mother. 

A Scholar will not ask for flair for speech. The gift of speech is a blessing as his scholarship was got through the Divine Mother’s grace. Sage Kalidasa got such a blessing and grace to speak; he later praised the Divine Mother through many of his beautiful verses he wrote praising the Divine Mother. 

All vowels and consonants came from the Divine Mother. This Namam says that She is the one who creates the words and sounds coming out of our tongues correctly. Laghustava praises the Divine Mother as: “As thou alone art the origin of all words, Thou art known in world as Vag vadini.” 

Vag vadini is one form of Saraswathi Devi. She is a Shyamala Devi’s assistant “Uttaramanaya” who sits in lotus flower. She holds writing instrument and books in Her two hands. She is whitish in colour similar to jasmine and Mullai flowers. She wears Crown Moon in Her Kreetam. She is the one who gives the speaking shakti to humans.

  The Saraswathi Devi

C  N Nachiappun          

Singapore, 09 January 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