Fate is very powerful

This is a story narrated by Shri Satya Sai Baba in one of his discourses. It is about how fate is strong and can be overcome only by grace of God.

Ayodhya was ruled by Raja Dasharath. Adjacent to Ayodhya was the kingdom of Koshal. King of Koshal had a beautiful, talented and virtuous daughter named Kaushalya. The king decided to give his daughter in marriage to Raja Dasharath. During the same period, Lanka was ruled by Ravana who had obtained lot of boons by his penance. The boons that Ravana received made him invincible so much that he would not be even killed by Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh or by any other god. 

Once Ravana inquired with Brahma about the time and nature of his (Ravana's) death, because it is stated in smrutis that anyone who is born must die.  Brahma said to Ravana that he (Ravana) would be killed by a son born to Kaushalya whose marriage was scheduled to take place in next 5 days with Raja Dasharath. Brahma further told that Lord Vishnu will take birth as Shriram in the womb of Kaushalya and will have Laxman, Bharat and Shatrughna as his brothers and that Shriram will be responsible for his (Ravana's) death. Brahma also said that this has been decided on the day which he (Ravana) was born and hence his (Ravans's) valor and strength will not be able to save him from death. 

For a while, Ravana thought about this and decided to overcome his fate. He thought that if the marriage of Dasharath and Kaushalya did not take place then the question of Shriram killing him will not arise. Immediately he left in his airplane with his minister and asuras to fight against Dasharath. Raja Dasharath, at that time, was engaged in jalakrida (water sports) in Sharayu river. Ravana made them drown in Sharayu river along with all the people in the boat. He captured Kaushalya on the way. He felt that he should not get the blame of killing woman who had no support. He landed in his airplane on an island in the Sharayu river and locked Kaushalya in big box. He kept an asura to guard the box. The asura had ability to transform himself into a crocodile. He instructed the asura that the box should be brought to him unopened when he demanded it. Meanwhile Dasharath and his minister clung to a plank of a boat and were saved from drowning. They somehow reached the same island where the box was kept. The asura who was guarding the box had left to fight with another crocodile in water. On seeing the box, Dasharath opened it and found Kaushalya in the box. As it was the auspicious time for the marriage, Dasharath married to Kaushalya in Gandharva vivah ritual, in presence of his minister. When they saw the asura coming towards them, they - Dasharath, Kaushalya and minister - hid in the box again . 

On reaching Lanka, Ravana called for Lord Brahma. He explained to him how he has overcome the fate. Brahma contradicted his statement and stated that marriage has already taken place, and you cannot overcome the fate. Immediately Ravana called for the box and opened it in presence of Brahma. To his surprise he found Dasharath, Kaushalya and minister in the box. When he tried to kill them with his sword Brahma intervened. He explained to him that he (Ravana) will earn a bad name by killing a newly wedded couple as it will be contrary to Dharma. 

Brahma said to Ravana "you had imprisoned one person in the box but they have become three now. Is it not possible for it to become million? What is the guarantee that one of them is not Shriram? If you get killed because of this act, your lifespan will be reduced. So it is better that you allow them to go and you live at least till the death comes to you."

Ravana thought over it and finally allowed all three to go to Ayodhya. 

This incident indicates that fate is all powerful. It can be overcome only by grace of the Lord or Guru.

Pancha samskars of Vaishnavs

In Vaishnavasim, all Vaishnavas have to undergo a purification rites collectively known as Samasrayanam. It literally means five purification rituals. It can be considered as a commitment from a disciple (shishya) to his Aacharya (Guru). In this manner, whoever undergoes this rite gets linked to Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya. During this rite, the Aacharya initiates the person as a shishya. This rite can be performed for a male or female irrespective of age. In case of males, generally it is performed after their sacred thread ceremony known as Upanayan. In case of females, they undergo this rite after their marriage. Samasrayanam rite consists of 5 steps as stated below –

1. Tapa samskaar – In this ritual the sacred weapons of Lord Vishnu namely the Sudarshan chakra and Panchajanya are embossed on the shoulders by reciting Mantras. Sudarshan chakra is embossed on right shoulder and the conch on the left shoulder by using a hot silver seal.
2. Pundra samskaar – In this ritual, 12 locations of the body where Lord Vishnu resides (according to Vaishnavas), are marked with Dwadasha Pundras (called 12 Thirumans) i.e.  the sacred symbols using SreeChurnam
3. Naam samskaar – This is also known as Dasyanamam. In this ritual suffix Dasa is added to the name of the individual e.g. Vishnudasa meaning servant of Lord Vishnu. 
4. Mantra samskaar – In this ritual, the shishya receives mantropadesh from his Aacharya. They are Thiru Astaksharam, Dwayam and Charamashlokam. These 3 mantras are collectively known as Rahasyatrayam. This is considered as most important ritual. 
5. Ijyai samskaar – In this ritual, the Vaishnav is taught the proper method of ritual worship of Lord Vishnu - Thiruvaradhanam

After the completion of above rites, a person, born in a Vaishnav family, is considered to be a true Vaishnav according to Shastras and rules of Vaishnav Sampradaya.

Swayamvyakta Kshetra of Lord Vishnu

The 12 jyotirlingas are considered to be the places where Shiva lingas are swayambhu i.e. appeared on their own i.e. they have not been sculpted by chisel or human hand. We have given an account of these in our earlier blogs. Similar to the jyotirlinags, there are 8 kshetras in Vaishnavism which are considered as swayam vyakta kshetra of Lord Vishnu. 

1. Shri Ranganathswamy temple. This is located at Shri Rangam in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. Here the Lord is in pranava rupa.
2. Tirumala Shri Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. In this place the Lord is perceived in the form of mountain. 
3. Lord Bhuvaraha temple at Shrimushnam at Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. Here the Lord is perceived in the form of Vayu. This place is very close to Chidambaram
4. Lord Totadrinadar temple in Nanguneri in Tamil Nadu. He is in the form of oil (tailam) rupa. Hence the abhishek of the idol is done in til oil.
5. Lord Chakrapani temple at Muktinath in Nepal. Here the lord is known as Muktinarayan and he is in sheetal (ice) rupa. This place is near Kathmandu in Nepal.
6. Lord Varaha temple at Pushkar in Rajasthan. Here he is in the form of tirtha (water). This place is in near Ajmer in Rajasthan.
7. Lord Badrinarayana temple at Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It is believed that the Lord Vishnu is in the form of heat wave (vayu). Near this temple in Badrikashram on the northern bank of river Alaknanda (in himalayan mountains) there is a hot water spring. This spring is considered to be the Lord himself. 
8. Devaraj Perumal temple at Naimisharanya in Uttar Pradesh. Here the lord is perceived in the form of aranya (forest). 

Qualities of Shishya

According to Vishnu Purana, a true Vaishnava or for that matter any shishya has to have following qualities.

1. A shishya should be like a crane (bagalaa). Just as a crane waits patiently for a fish to come near and then grabs it, similarly shishya should patiently hear and read good things and grasp them.
2. He should be like a hen or cock. A hen or a cock searches garbage or waste by moving the garbage around with its legs and picks up the food it wants, similarly shishya should analyze all things happening around him and grasp only those good things that are useful and beneficial to him.
3. He should be like salt. Just as salt mixes with water and becomes homogeneous with it, shishya also should mix and become homogeneous with one and all by forgetting his ego.
4. Finally he should be obedient and respectful. Even if the Guru or any servant insults or scolds him he should be obedient and respectful i.e. in short he should lose his ego at any cost. 

These are considered as qualities that make up shishya to reach goal set by his Guru.

(Source: Old tamil spiritual magazine)

Importance of twelve names of Bhagwan Mahavishnu

Lord Vishnu has innumerable names. Out of these, Bhishma composed 1000 names and gave it to Yudhishthir, which became famous as Vishnusahasranama. From these 1000 names, sages selected 12 names which explain greatness of Lord Vishnu. In fact, these 12 names are chanted when one performs Achaman before starting any ritual, ensuring that they are chanted regularly.

1. Keshava – This has several meanings. Keshava means one who removes difficulties (klesha). It also means a person having curly hairs. According to Adi-Shankaracharya, the name Keshava was bestowed on Narayana by Lord Shiva.
2. Narayana – naranam ayanam - Nara means the universe of sentient and non-sentient beings. Ayana means one who is the support (adhar) for it. There is also other view - narah ayanam yasya sah - means one who is immanent in all, that is all that exists in the universe has Narayana as its support.
3. Madhava – “Ma” means Laxmi. "Dhava" means husband. Hence Madhava means husband of Laxmi (wealth and prosperity). As the husband of Laxmi, he possesses all wealth, knowledge etc.
4. Govinda – The word “Go” has several meanings in Sanskrit. It means the mother Earth or a Cow. So Govinda means He who saved mother Earth from Pralaya or He who is protector of cows. His simplicity is exhibited when he acts as a cowherd and protects people from Indra's deluge in his Krishna avatar.
5. Vishnu – It means, the person who is present in everything and everywhere i.e. the person who occupies both the Chit (possessing intelligence) and Achit (without intelligence)
6. Madhusudana – This denotes the person who has attained the control of Indriyas (sense organs) or the person who slayed the asura named Madhu. This aspect of the name is aptly explained in Bhagwat Geeta by the shloka “Paritranaya sadhunaam vinashaych dushkritaam”.
7. Trivikrama – This means a person who has conquered the world in three steps. This is also called as giant form of Vishnu's Vamana avatar when he restored kingdom of Indra which was being ruled by asura Mahabali.
8. Vamana – This was the stage before Lord Vishnu manifested as TriVikrama. Lord Vishnu transformed himself into a brahmin of 3 feet tall to beg Mahabali for the kingdom on behalf of Indra. In this way he exhibited his greatness i.e. he became a dwarf in order to help Indra, by lowering his stature in presence of all.
9. Shridhara – It means He is the lord of “Sri” (Laxmi) i.e. husband of Laxmi.
10. Hrishikesha – It means he makes the indriyas function according to his command.
11. Padmanabha – It means who has the Lotus (padma) in his naval (nabhi). The lotus on his naval is indicative of the fact that he was responsible for the creation of the universe
12. Damodara – When Mother Yashoda tied him by a rope on his waist, it left a mark on his stomach. Damodara means, He who has the mark of the rope. This act of His getting tied, shows that he will be the slave to all those who tie him with their love. 

All these 12 names are very sacred for the Vaishnavaits. In order to emphasize these 12 sacred qualities of Lord Vishnu, Vaishnava saints carry sacred marks on their body – 1 on forehead, 3 on stomach, 1 on left shoulder, 1 on chest, 1 on right shoulder, 3 on neck, 1 in back, 1 on the back side of neck. They recite above 12 names while applying these marks on their body.

16 names of Lord Mahavishnu

Lord Mahavishnu is addressed by about 1000 names. Of these following 16 names are considered more sacred. It is stated that they have to be uttered while performing certain acts (duties) namely

1. Vishnu – while taking medicine
2. Janardana – while partaking food
3. Padmanabha – while going to sleep
4. Prajapati – during wedding ceremonies
5. Chakradhari – during war
6. Trivikrama – while starting for a journey
7. Shridhara – while meeting friends
8. Govinda – when we get bad dreams
9. Madhusudana – when in difficulties
10. Narsimha – while traveling in forest
11. Shri Mahavishnu – when difficulties are encountered due to fire
12. Shri Varaha – difficulties encountered due to water
13. Shri Rama – while climbing mountain
14. Vamana – while walking
15. Narayana – on the death bed
16. Madhava – at all times

108 Divya Desham

Vaishanvism regards Vishnu or Lord Krishna as Supreme being. In South India, Vaishnavism was spread by Vaishnav saints known as Alwar (also known as Azwar or Alvars). They hailed from all walks of life, and included women as well. They are considered as Ansham (part incarnation) of Lord Vishnu Himself. They were totally devoted to Lord Vishnu and his Avatars. Traditionally they are considered to have lived between 4200 BCE to 2700 BCE. They hold similar position among South India as that of 63 Nayanmars in Shaivisam. The only woman saint among them is Shri Andal (considered as incarnation of Goddess Laxmi). They spread Vaishnavism by composing devotional hymns on Lord Vishnu like Nayanmars spread Shaivism by composing devotional hymns on Lord Shiva. These sacred devotional hymns are 4000 in number and are together known as Divya Prabhandam. Alwars and Nayanmars helped Tamil religious life to become independent of the knowledge of Sanskrit.

Along with 3 Shaiva-Nayanmars, Alwars influenced the Pallava kings by promoting Bhakti-marg. This resulted in changing the religious geography of South India from Budhism and Jainism to Hinduism. The Alwars in their sacred hymns have revered 108 Vishnu temples. These are similar to 275 Shaiva Sthalams mentioned by Nayanmars in their hymns. These 108 Vishnu temples are together known as 108 Divya Deshams. These Divya Deshams follow Thenkalai (Southern) or Vadakalai (Northern) mode of worship. These 2 methods are followed in Vishnu temples of South India. Of these 108 temples, 84 are in Tamilnadu, 13 in Kerala, 2 in Andhra Pradesh, 1 in Gujrat, 4 in UP and 3 in Uttarakhand. The remaining 2 are Thirupalkadal (Ocean of milk) and Vaikuntham (Paramapadam).

It is noted that in the following Vishnu temples, the Goddess Laxmi has predomimamce over Lord Vishnu

1. Nacchiyar Kovil (At Thirunarariyur in Kumbhakonam of Tanjore district of Tamilnadu).
2. Thiru Andal temple at Srivilliputhur in Thriunelveli district of Tamilnadu
3. Pundarikaksha temple at Thiruvellarai in Trichy disctirct of Tamilnadu
4. Azagiya Manavala Perumal temple at Uraiyur in Tamilnadu

It is stated that Vishnu was of the view (opinion) that during Kaliyuga, women will have predominance over men. Hence it seems that he decided to set example first.