Soundarya Lahari Series (Article 23) : Verse 21 – “Attracting Everyone and Making Everyone Happy”

WORD FOR WORD MEANING

Tatil lekha tanvim – as lightning-streak-bodied

Tapana sasi vaisva nara mayim – made of sun, moon and fire

Nishannam – as seated

Sannam api upari kamalanam – even above the six lotuses

Tava kalam maha padma tavyam – such, Your aspect in a great lotus forest

Mrdita mala mayena manasa – having mind freed from dross and ignorance

Mahantah – great minds

Pasyanto – seeing this

Dadhati – experience

Parama ahlada laharim – the upsurging billow of ultimate delight

This is the extension of the 20th mantra. There we have seen the rays emitting amrutha. Here we are meditating on the glittering body of Ambal in the form of lightning. The great sadhakas whose mind is free from impurities like ( lust, greed, krodha, and may ) When somebody is free from Maya or illusion. The minds of those sadhakas are filled with Spiritual bliss as lightning like the body of the manifestation of sun, moon, and fire together. It is possible only for those sadhakas whose minds are free from may and illusion. That lightning and those rays in the core of Sahasrara Padma. What is this may? It cannot be translated as false, many times the Maya is something that is truly not that. Shakara has many times mentioned the rope and snake analogy. Something that is truly X looks something different to my eyes. The true nature of the Brahman is atman that is perceived by all of us in the form of manifested Brahma which is not the truth. The may is also called Mythya, it is not mithya. It is how we see it. The universal consciousness with the vibration si shakti makes the unmanifest universe manifest. The cause of the manifestation is Maya. That is the form of Devi who is Maya. Whatever we are seeing is her Maya only and we have to come out of it. and this Maya is her only. All her forms are due to Maya only. This power is inherent in shiva and shakti through its jivatman. As long as an individual experiences separation from its own self, the jivatma undergoes his karma. Maya through her kanchukas obstructs the individuals to progress in spirituality.

Attachment is the biggest obstacle in progress. Maya is the philosophical correlation to gravity. Just as gravity keeps one grounded in the same way may bind us to worldly things and keep our tide to the endless cycle of birth and death. We are always pulled by gravity which is the Maya. The law of gravity operates not only on the physical plane, it also works on the mental plane. In Puranas, there is a story that goes likes this. When Shiva cut the head of Ganesha when Parvati was taking bath and seeing this Parvathi ordered Shiva to bring her Son back to life. Shiva orders one of his knights to bring the head of a being whose head is facing towards North. The Puranas depict that it was the Gaja’s head(Elephant head). North of the physical body is the head. The physical body of the legs is South. When we put our head on North and magnetic energy on the northern pole repels which results in disturbed sleep. Those sadhakas who worship her (Bramhan) should understand these laws for better progress in spirituality. The first and the most important great effort in spiritual level is to rise above Maya by doing so we can easily attain the mobility and nobleness of thrill in spiritual bliss. The physical substance is released from the pull of gravity and one can easily experience the Devi. The gravity is attachment and once that is released then we can feel and experience the spiritual bliss. The lightning is shakti and pure energy which can be experienced in any form. Each energy has a different frequency and has magnanimous power. At the core of Sahasrara, it is experienced as lightning as Surya, Chandra, and Agni. Shankara is not speaking about who is manifesting, He is talking about Macrocosm and any experience is related to microcosm. In the highest state of awareness on a physical or spiritual level, they are not physical individuals beyond that. They are made up of pure awareness. Pure awareness is the source of the manifest world. This is the aspect of shakti in the purest form. The one we experience is a gross form where it has lost most of the vibration and requires density which is in solid form. For the vision of Jyothi, the light above ajna chakra indicates the effulgence in the region of Sahasrara, the rays of light appears like lightning which is the result of a combination of Sun, Moona and Fire which are Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna nadis and this gives the gyana or enlightenment and all the siddhis are left behind and one rises above all the chakras. These chakras give siddhis and if one can rise above the siddhis he is a true Master. The lightning which is experienced is called Guheshwara.

The manifestation of Surya, Chandra, and Agni is thinking about the cosmic counterparts that compose cosmic body energy. Here Shankara is conveying that Sahasrara represents macrocosm and any experience related to it is microcosmic even if it is experienced within oneself. All of them are seen in the highest state of awareness and that state of awareness is not physical or individual. They are pure awareness. It is an experience that cannot be explained. The auspicious Shiva, consciousness, or Jada is the source of the manifest world. That is the Kala aspect of shakti in the purest form. What we experience in our daily life is the grossest for, which has lost its vibration. The energy is becoming a matter here. When energy loses its vibration it acquires density and it appears as solid matter. The energy has become matter.

The enlightenment is called Gyana. The specific term for this type of shakti is called Shadakya Kala which is also called a transcendental form. It manifests as thousands of suns.

Swami Satyananda compares this to a nuclear explosion in the human body. The time and space moved towards each other with terrifying speed and the result of the collision is the magnification exposer at the nucleus of the explosion. It destroyed all the illusion and bliss is experienced. There is an effulgent that is shining which can be understood as bliss.

Sahasra means innumerable and Koti means very important. With imagination only, we can think of the experience. The pure consciousness and the universal consciousness where the manifested universe was in the form of unmanifested form were kindled by Shakti and the Brahman, universal consciousness. In the absence of Manisha Panchakam is a preparation to understand verses 20,21 and 22.

Chanting procedure and Nivedyam( offerings to the Lord) : If one chants this verse 1000 times every day for 11 days, and offers honey and fruits as naivedyam , one can make others to be happy always.

Note: The articles written are the extracts from daily online Jnana Yajna conducted by ‘Atmanandanatha’ on Soundarya Lahari

Link to Article 1: Introduction to Soundarya Lahari

Link to Article 2: Synopsis of first 41 verse of Soundarya Lahari

Link to Article 3: Verse1 of Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 4: Verse 2 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 5: Verse 3 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 6: Verse 4 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 7: Verse 5 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 8: Verse 6 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 9: Verse 7 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 10: Verse 8 Soundarya Lahari explanation

Link to Article 11: Verse 9 Soundarya Lahari explanation