Is Worship of Jnaani equivalent to Worship of God ?

Original Article by: Sumukha Hebbar

English Rendering by: HS Sudheendra

Respond to (lekhana@ayvm.in)

We have a system in our culture to honour and respect our Guru & other elders. We also worship them as great personalities. This kind of 'Personal worship' is questionable in society. This needs to be understood through an illustration given by Sriranga Mahaguru.
There is an auspicious function in the house of one of the relatives of a person. All the members of the family are warmly and persuasively invited. But on that day, the main invitee is unable to attend the function due to his urgent commitments. If he doesn't attend, hosts would be disappointed. So he sent his son for the function as his Pratinidhi (representative). The hosts received this representative-son very warmly. Without being considered as a small boy, he was greeted to the same seat reserved for his father even as he received the same respectful treatment. He accepted the gifts due to his father and had a graceful farewell too at the time of departure.

This is a usual practice happening in everyone's life. The representative who attended the function received all sorts of respects which were due to his Master. Similarly, in situations like Pooja the Lord is the Nidhi. The one who has realized Nidhi deserves to be considered as His pratinidhi (representative).

Suppose a piece of iron  is placed in fire. After sometime the iron piece too starts glowing like fire. Owing to its  contact  with  the fire for a long duration it changes its form so drastically that it becomes  impossible  to distinguish between it and fire. A Jnaani who has realized God is fully immersed in divine thoughts. All his sapta-dhaatus (seven vital elements) and trikaranas (Body, mind and speech) will be filled with Bhagavadrasa always. The aroma of the cardamom is bound to emanate instinctively from the mouth of the one munching it. Likewise, the Bhagavadrasa blossoms in the personality and in all the activities of a Jnaani. When such a Jnaani is available, he acts as an interface between God and the devotees. He carries whatever we offer to God and in turn brings Lord's prasaadam (grace) to us. Worship of such a Jnaani is thus equivalent to worshipping God directly. Such a person is indeed a Blessed one.  

Hence, worshiping a Jnaani should not be lightly thought of as worship of an individual. It is a worship offered through the representative (Jnaani) of the Supreme Lord, who is the source and substratum of the entire Universe. In the past, the Gurus were Jnaanis. So the traditional reverence for them has been incorporated into our culture. Let us bow to the great Maharshis who have imbibed such noble practices into our culture.

Note: The Kannada version of this article can be viewed at AYVM blogs. 

Lessons from the Tale of Ganga Descending to Earth

Kannada Article by: Subrahmanya Somayaji 

English Rendering by: HS Sudheendra

(Respond to lekhana@ayvm.in)

The Emperor Sagara lost his horse of Ashwamedha Yajna. Without the horse the Yajna would be incomplete. So Sagara sent his sixty thousand sons in search of that horse. The princes saw the horse standing in the monastery of the great Kapila Maharshi.  Maharshi was in deep penance and had no knowledge of this. But the noble princes rushed towards him with the wrong premise that the sage Kapila was a robber and without thinking, killed this 'sinner'. Humiliation of such a great Tapasvi and a pious saint and that too for no fault of his, triggered the fire in the bodies of princes, by Nature itself. Then the moment Sage Kapila opened his eyes, they were all burnt to ashes.

Sagara then sent grandson Anshuman to search for his sons as they did not return. Anshuman saw the horse and the heap of ashes piled in front of the Kapila Ashram. He paid great respects to the Maharshi and extoled him. Maharshi narrated the entire incident to him and suggested a way out for the sins of his uncles; that is: Ganges be brought to earth for the goodwill of Anshuman's uncles. With Sage Kapila's permission, he took back the horse to complete the Yajna successfully. Though Anshuman did penance for several years to bring down the holy Ganges, it was not fulfilled during his lifetime. His son Dilipa continued the penance for Ganga, but in vain. Later, his son Bhagiratha resumed the penance intensely and brought the holy Ganga from the sacred feet of Lord Vishnu and then from the head of Lord Shiva. Carrying their sacred energy, Ganga entered the earth as Bhaagirathi to sanctify the ancestors of Bhagiratha as well as Mother Earth.

Sriranga Mahaguru used to clarify that though Gangavatharanam (Ganga descending to Earth) is due to the penance of Bhagiratha, the combined efforts of previous three generations should not be ignored. For example, a huge log requires 20 strikes with an axe to be broken. Every blow loosens the log and breaks down finally with the last strike. Similarly, the added efforts of Anshuman and Dilipa paved the way for Bhagiratha's gangavatharanam along with his own great penance.

This tale teaches us several things: The downfall of the sons of Sagara was due to their ego and arrogance. Nature invariably punishes the offender for the slander of the Mahatma. The compassion of the Mahatma showered on the humble and the cultured men motivated them to do what was seen to be an impossible task. Due to the persistent penance of previous generations, even an insurmountable task could be achieved.

May Kapila, Anshuman, Dilipa, Bhagirathha and the holy Bhaagirathi cleanse our mind and soul and motivate us to undertake noble deeds.

Note: The Kannada version of this article can be viewed at AYVM blogs.