The science of Prostration

I hear a voice from far off, registering repulsion: “Look at the audacity of that man in ochre, allowing a respectable human being to touch his feet with the forehead! Nauseating!” 

Let us examine whether this performance of namaskara is, after all, such a foolish and meaningless physical action.

            When the disciple, who feels a certain amount of guilt in his conscience as result of his innumerable daily interactions with people, kneels down at the feet of a Guru, there is at least a temporary sense of surrender, a gathering of all his innocent instincts in a sense of submission to a Higher Power. The Guru, in his all-embracing love, accepts him warmly with his mind, rich in spiritual power (tapas), and wishes him wholeheartedly, “May he fare well!” His generous heart goes towards the disciple spontaneously and with eagerness. Now, how can this sinful disciple fare well, unless he exhausts his sock of sin so that he is qualified  to sit on the lap of happiness?

            Does not a loving mother intensely wish to take away, on herself, if possible, the agonies of her dear one struggling in pain? So does the Guru wish with regard to his disciple – his adopted child. Then the disciple’s stock of sin is transferred to the Guru, for his words never fail- he is a satya-sankalpa. Then the Guru absorbs and endures this sin newly acquired.

            Yes, it is a draft of sin drawn in favour of the Guru by the disciple and cashed in the bank of the Guru’s spiritual wealth; since the Guru is powerful in tapas, he will pay for it in the form of austerities. Slowly, as the years roll on, the drafts of sin get overdrawn on the bank due to the immense generosity of the Guru, and then he suffers. It may take form of a physical malady. We have all heard of our eminent and well-known saints and saviours – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Ramana Maharshi and others becoming victims of a dreadful disease. We have also heard in the life of Sri Saradamani that towards the close of her earthly career, she endured aches in her body and explained that those aches were the results of her disciple’s sins. This is usually the case with most mahatmas who come out and mix with people. The sages who perform penance in the  caves of the Himalayas, not coming into contact with any  mortals and his sins, generally remain healthy.

            If a Guru has the ordinary man’s common sense, he will not allow any disciple to touch his feet. But his generosity and mercy know no ‘common sense’. A true Guru’s heart overflows with love and compassion, and he has no place to accommodate such mundane ‘common sense’ there.

            It is a one-sided business, where the Gurus are the losers. It is not a transaction; it is transference. Out of pure love which embraces everything, they redeem the sinners. They save the sinner who is wallowing in the mire of sin, by giving a helping hand, by wholesale extraction of their sin! The disciple only stands to gain, or in other words, the Guru gains all the disciple’s sins to date, purifies the disciple completely, absolves him of his sins and gives him a clean slate. If the disciple is worthy and wise, he should, after accepting a spiritual Guru, be careful not to commit more sins and pass it on to the Guru, though the latter stands ready to receive them.

            Our parents and elders feel responsible for our safety and well-being and are ever ready to sacrifice for our happiness. A true Guru is much more so and intensely prays for the young ones – his disciples. Jai Gurudev!

*Reproduced from Tapovan Prasad, July 2013, Spiritual Monthly of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Annaprasanam of Akshada

Annaprasana of Akshada, D/o Smt Meena & Sri RK Hariharan

On the day of the feeding ceremony the materials of sacrificial food were first of all cleansed and then cooked with appropriate Vedic verses. 

When food was prepared, one oblation was offered to Speech with words, "The gods have generated the goddess, Speech, manifold animals speak her forth. May she, the sweet-sounding, the highly praised one, come to us. Svaha!" 

The next oblation was offered to vigour, "May vigour come to us today." Having made the above sacrifices, the father offered further four oblations with the following phrases: "Through upbreathing may I enjoy food, Svaha! Through downbreathing may I enjoy food. Svaha! Through my eye, may I enjoy, visible things. Svaha! Through my ear, may I enjoy fame. Svaha!" Here the word "food" is used in a wide sense. The prayer was offered that all the senses of the child could be gratified so that he may live a happy and contented life. But one thing was kept in mind. One in search of gratification should not violate the rules of health and morality, because it would spoil the fame of the man. 

In the end the father set apart food of all kinds and flavours for feeding the child and fed it silently or with the syllable "Hant (well)." The ceremony terminated with the feasting.

Kindness pays

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass o f milk. He drank it slowly, then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied . “Mother has taught us never to accept  pay for a kindness.” He said, Then thank you from my heart.”

            As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

            Several years later that woman became critically ill. The local doctors  were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her.  He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

            After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it; then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following worlds: “paid in full with one glass of milk”. Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

( Reproduced from Akhand Jyothi)

Why do we have a prayer room?

Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar. A lamp is lit and the Lord worshiped each day. Other spiritual practices like japa ( repetition of the Lord’s name),  meditation, paaraayana (reading of the scriptures), prayers, and devotional singing etc. are also done here. Special worship is done on auspicious occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and the like. Each member of the family- young or old- communes with and worships the Divine here.

            The Lord is the owner of the entire creation. He is therefore the true owner of the house we live in too. The prayer room is the master room of the hose. We are the earthly occupants of His property. This notion rids us of false pride and possessiveness.

            The ideal attitude to take is to regard the Lord as the true owner of our homes and us  as caretakers of His home. But if that is rather difficult, we could at least think of Him as a very welcome guest. Just as we would house an important guest in the best comfort, so too we felicitate the Lord’s presence in our homes by having a prayer room or altar, which is, at all times, kept clean and well-decorated.

            Also the Lord is all pervading. To remind us that He resides in our homes with us, we have prayer rooms. Without the grace of the Lord, no task can be successfully or easily accomplished. We invoke His grace by communing with Him in the payer room each day and on special occasions.

            Each room in a house is dedicated to a specific function like the bedroom for resting, the drawing room to receive guests, the kitchen for cooling etc. The furniture, decor and the atmosphere of each room are made conducive to the purpose it serves. So too for the purposes of meditation, worship and prayer, we should have a conducive atmosphere – hence the need for a prayer room.

            Sacred thoughts and sound vibrations pervade the place and influence the minds of those who spend time there. Spiritual thoughts and vibrations accumulated through regular meditation, worship and  chanting done there pervade the prayer  room. Even when we are tired or agitated, by just sitting in the prayer room for a while, we feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted.

* An excerpt from ‘India culture- Why do we?. Courtesy CCMT, Mumbai

Year 2013 has ended on positive note and let us await what year 2014 of going to bring us!!