शुक्लाम्बरधरम् विष्णुम् शशिवर्णम् चतुर्भुजम्।
प्रसन्नवदनम् ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये॥
श्रीगुरुभ्योनमः
महीं मूलाधारे-कमपि मणिपूरे – हुतवहं
स्थितम् स्वाधीष्ठाने- हृदिमरुतम्-आकाशं उपरि।
मनोऽपि भ्रूमध्ये-सकलमपि भित्वा कुलपथम्
सहस्रारे पद्मे सहरहसि पत्या विहरसे।। (सौन्दर्यलहरि-9)
सुमेरुमध्यश्रुङ्गस्था
मध्य - middle
श्रुङ्गम् – peak
Vagdevatas are describing Amma to be as the one who resides
on the middle peak of the Sumeru mountain.
मिनोति क्षिपति
शिखरैर्ज्योतींषीति मेरुः; सुष्टु मिनोतीति सुमेरुः (अमरकोशम्)
One that beholds the celestial world by its peaks, is Sumeru.
Meru has been described as a cosmic pillar of fire, mountain
and a deity in Vedas and Puranas.
यो अक्षेणेव चक्रिया शचीभिः
विष्वक्स्थम्भ पृथ्वीमुतद्याम्। (ऋग्वेदम्
10.89.04)
In Rig Veda, Meru is described as an axle connecting
the two wheels of Indra’s car, namely the cosmic svarloka and the Bhuloka. The entire universe revolves around this cosmic
axis.
ज्वलन्तमचलम् मेरुम्
तेजोराशिमनुत्तमम्।
आक्षिपन्तम् प्रभाम् भानोः
स्वश्रुङ्गैः कांचनोज्ज्वलैः।।
कनकाभरणं चित्रम्
देवगन्धर्वसेवितम्।
अप्रमेयमनाधृष्यमधर्मबहुलैर्जनैः।।
(महाभारतम्
-आस्तिक पर्व् – अ17-5,6)
स जयति सुवर्णशैलः। सकल
जगच्चक्र संघटितमूर्तिः। (आर्याद्विशति)
Sage Vyasa
in Mahabharata and Durvasa in Arya Dwisathi described Sumeru as a golden
mountain containing the entire creation.
Samishti (Gross) Meru that
connects the ethereal world to the material world is depicted as a huge mountain
with 84,000 miles height, in the middle of the Jambudvipa (earth). This island is at the center of the seven
islands illustrated in Srimad-Bhagavatha (5.16), Vishnu (2.2), Srimad-Devi-Bhagavatha
(8.6), Mathsya (Chapter 123), Kurma (1.45) puranas.
भूपद्मस्यास्य शैलोऽसौ कर्णिकात्वेन संस्थितः। (कूर्मपुराणम्-1.45.9)
The Bhumandala comprising of seven
islands Jambudvipa and others, is compared to a lotus and the Meru in
the middle, to the pericarp of the lotus.
गिरयो विंशति पराः कर्णिकाया इव हेते।
केसरी भूय सर्वेऽपि मेरोमूलविभागके। (श्रीमद्देवीभागवतम् 8.6.29)
As there are firmaments surrounding the
pericarp of a lotus, in a similar way, there are mountain peaks around
Meru. According to Veda Vyasa, these
are twenty (vimshati) in number. Vagdevatas
are describing the middle peak, the Meru peak to be Amma’s abode,
in this nama.
Meru description in the perspective of the
universe, earth and India:
The generic subtle Meru integrates the svarloka
and bhuloka. This is a mythical
mountain connecting these two lokas.
Suryasiddhantha and Varahamihira’s
Panchasiddhantha, the treatises that calculate the position and movements of
stars and planets, follow the Puranic lore in portraying the Mount Meru.
अनेकरत्ननिचयो जांबूनन्दमयो गिरिः।
भूगोळमध्यगो मेरुः उभयत विनिर्गतः।
उपरिष्टात्स्थितयास्तस्य सेन्द्रा देवा महर्षयः।
अधस्तादसुराद्वत् द्विषन्तोऽनोन्यमाश्रिताः।। (सूर्यसिद्धान्तम्
12.34,35)
Varahamihira in the Panchasiddhanthika’s
13th chapter, on the earth sphere composed of five fundamental
elements, says
तस्य मध्ये च देवानाम् स्थानरूपः सुमेरुनाम्ना पर्वतेन्द्रो वर्तते यस्याधो
दैत्याः स्थिताःसन्तीति।
all the devathas/gods live on the upper portion of the earth (north pole) and the asuras/demons live in the lower portion (south pole).
all the devathas/gods live on the upper portion of the earth (north pole) and the asuras/demons live in the lower portion (south pole).
Sage Valmiki, portraits Himalayas as
the mountain Meru. In the epic Srimad Ramayana,
Yudhakanda, 71st canto, he makes an indirect reference of Himalayas
to the mount Meru. While he refers to Himalaya as the king of mountains and a very
huge one (हिमवंतं नगश्रेष्ठम्-29, नगराजम्-51, महानगेन्द्रम्-58), in
the 60th sloka, he uses several puranic references to
the Himalayas. Nonetheless, one generic
desription नाभिं च वसुन्धरायाः, the center of the earth -
confims that he is indeed referring to Himalayas as mount Meru.
Tantra sastra
The invisible Meru peak is the abode of
the Paramatma, Siva and Sakthi in unison.
मायाम् तु प्रकृतिं विद्यान्मायिनं तु महेश्वरम्।
तस्यावयवभूतेस्तु व्याप्तं सर्वमिदम् जगत्।।
(श्वेताश्वतरोपनीषद् -4.10)
Maya
(illusion) is Prakruthi. Maya is the material cause for the
creation. It is due to illusion caused by the lack of light, that one sees a snake
instead of a rope. When the darkness fades away, the rope is seen clearly. In a similar way, we consider this unreal world
to be real, due to illusion caused by the darkness namely, ignorance. When knowledge dawns upon us, we realise the
unreal nature of this material world. Maya
is under the control of Mahesa.
Mount Meru connects the microcosm to the
macrocosm, manifest to the unmanifest, time bound material world to the timless
divine celestial world.
पिण्डब्रमाण्डयोरैक्यम् (योगकुण्डलिनी उपनिषद्
-1.81)
ब्रह्माण्डसंज्ञके देहे यथादेशम् व्यवस्थितः।
मेरुश्रुङ्गे
सुधारश्मिर्बहिरष्टकलायुतः।। (शिवसंहित-2.5)
Microcosm is a replica of macrocosm. यत् पिण्डाण्डे तत् ब्रह्माण्डे The
creation namely, Maha Meru, oceans, mountains, stars and planets that exist in
the Brahmanda, the Cosmic egg, also exist in the body.
There is a subtle body within the gross
body that connects to the macrocosm. We
have already learnt about three important subtle nerves Ida, Pingala
and Sushumna, and the six subtle energy centers/chakras on
the spine. The mount Meru connecting the
Paramatma to the Bhumandala is nothing but the spine in the gross
body. It is for this reason, that a spine
connecting the muladhara to the sahasraara is known as Meru-danda. The muladhara of earthly nature is
indicative of the Bhumandala, the mount Meru base and the sahasraara,
the abode of the Paramatma, the peak.
Puranic indications
मनुष्याः साधका मताः (वराह पुराणम् 2.32)
Human beings are sadhakas, capable
of achieving an objective. Among the
entire creation on the earth, human beings alone are creatures with intellect
that could be used to work towards attaining salvation.
जंतूनां नरजन्म दुर्लभम् (विवेकचूडामणि)
दुर्लभा मानुषी जातिः सर्वजातिषु दृश्यते (देवीभागवतम्
9.29.23)
It is for this reason that human birth is
difficult to attain.
According to Siva purana, Sati devi casts
away Her body, when Daksha Prajapati refuses to offer the fruit of the
sacrifice (यज्ञफ़लम्) to Her husband, the Lord of the
universe - Siva. Subsequently, fiftyone Sakthi peethas (energy centers)
are formed with Her body parts and later she reincarnates as a daughter of the mountain
king Himavant. Upon the advice of the
Sage Narada, she does penance in the middle of five-fires (pancha-agnis)
and attains Her Lord. These are not
mere celestial events, but are also indicative of the path of salvation to the sadhakas,
the human beings.
Here is the symbolism behind this.
Dakshata means ability. If
we take the actions performed by human beings as symbolic of the sacrifice/yajna,
the outcomes of the actions are the fruits of the sacrifice. If we do not offer the fruits of our action to
the Lord Mahesa due to our ego, then we get caught in the cycle of birth and
death due to karma sangatvam/attachment.
Since the fruits of actions are not
offered to the Parameswara, Sati Devi, the other half of Lord
Siva incarnates as a daughter of Himavant.
In the context of the celestial sphere, the Himalaya mountains are symbolic
of the Bhumandala.
Brahma-randhra
is the abode of the Paramatma, Siva and Sakthi in unison.
तानि चेतनीकर्तुम् सोकामयत ब्रह्माण्डब्रह्मरन्ध्राणि।
समस्तव्यष्टिमस्तकान्विदार्य तदेवानुप्राविशात्।।(पैङ्गलोपनीषद्
-1)
सप्तमे मासे जीवेन संयुक्तोभवति । (गर्भोपनिषद्
-3)
The Supreme Consciousness, the Paramatma
enters the foetus of any creature in the seventh month. This consciousness
enters through Brahma-randhra of the foetus and makes it active.
After the Supreme consciousness enters the
foetus, due to karma sangatvam, Sakthi, the life force, reaches the muladhara
of pruthvi tatava. The subtle Sushumna nadi is the channel for
the energy flowing either upward or downward. After reaching muladhara, this energy coils
around itself like a snake. This energy
serpent would be sleeping in people whose mind is directed towards the external
world.
In the tantra sastra, the coiled life
force at the muladhara is called the Kundalini sakthi. This Sakthi is indicative of Parvathi devi. The fiftyone sakthi peethas mentioned
above, exist as not only in the form of various temples in India but also as various
energy centers in our bodies.
Lord Siva in Kalika purana, 45th
chapter named Ardhanariswara charitam (129-135), tells Amma
that it is She, the other half of Lord Siva, who is manifested at the other end
of the Meru peak.
Parvathi devi,
once sees the image of a beautiful lady on ParamaSiva’s heart and asks Him
as to whose image that is.
मम वक्षसि विस्तीर्णे दर्पणस्वच्छभासिनि।
तवैव वपुषश्छायाबिंबिता लोखिता त्वया।।(129)
Lord replies to Her saying, the image on
my mirror like heart is yours.
She had another doubt.
मयि स्थितायाम् छायास्ति मामृते नास्ति सा पुनः।(131)
If it were my image, it should not appear
when I am not near you. But I see the image, whether I am near you or not.
Siva replies
गवक्षाभ्यन्तरे स्थित्वा तज्जलेन मनोहरे। (132)
यथा द्रक्ष्यसि देहे स्वम् तत् कुरु त्वम् तथ मम।
आलोक्य निजां छायां त्वाम् विना नास्ति तत् पुनः।।
(134)
Dear!!
If you see my heart through an air-hole, you will see the image in exactly
the same way as you enact. That image is none other than yours. The air-hole that
He is referring to here is nothing but the Merudanda, the spinal cord.
This Sakthi, sleeping at the muladhara,
could be awakened and united with the Paramatma at the Brahma-randhra,
by making it traverse through the energy centers on the sushumna nadi. This is the symbolism behind Parvati doing
penance in the middle of five fires to reach Lord Siva. When Kundalini
sakthi reaches the Paramatma, one attains mukthi/salvation. Since
human beings are the only creation on the earth with vertical spinal cord,
these alone are capable of striving towards salvation. The sleeping kundalini
is indicative of one not realising the God due to the maya /illusion. It is the attachment that brings us down
towards the muladhara (another birth) and detachment that takes us
towards the Paramatma.
In Ramayana, Sita devi also gets separated
from Lord Rama due to the delusion on the spectacular golden deer. In reality,
Sita devi is not deluded. The symbolism
behind this is, if one is caught in the materialistic world due to attachment,
they will be separated from the Paramatma. Among several other creatures in the forest,
only deer is mentioned here. The reason is
that, deers have a nice fragrant musk called Kasturi released from their
nabhi. Deers smell this fragrance
and search all around for the source of the fragrance without realising that it
is from within. In a similar way, human
beings search for the God everwhere else except within one’s own heart. Also, the beautiful poetic passages
describing the golden deer (Aranya kaanda, sarga 42, 15-18 slokas)
remind us of the golden mount Meru. It seems that Sage Valmiki is suggesting
that Sita devi gets separated from Lord Rama through the Meru.
After getting caught in the hands of the virodha
bhaktha, the Ravanasura of ten heads, Sita Devi is kept in the Asoka
vana. Later, mother Sita reaches
Lord Rama with the help of Vayu putra Hanuman. This part of the Ramayana covered in the Sundara
and Yuddha kandas is symbolic of awakening the Kundalini sakthi
and taking it upward to reach the Sahasraara chakra, the abode of
the Paramatma. The sports of
Hanuman are symbolic of the Kundalini yoga. The ten heads of Ravana are representative of
the arishadvarga (six enemies called kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada,
matsarya) and amtahkarana (manas, buddhi, ahamkara and
chitta) put together. If Ramayana is read with this perspective, one can
easily unveil the Sri Vidya secrets from this great epic.
Lord Rama and Sita Devi in unison, is
indicative of the abode of the Paramatma, the Brahma-randhara. Sita devi’s separation from Her Lord due to the
desire for the deer, seems to be symbolic of the fact that desire separates us
from the Paramatma. With
reference to mortals like us, this desire is the reason for the manifestation
of life on the earth and our entering into the clutches of arishadvarga.
Our Rishis had a vision of these divine
plays between the divine couples like Siva-Parvathi, Rama-Sita and have
bestowed us with these great scriptures for the benefit of mankind. These are not mere devatas’ stories
but are treasure chests with lots of hidden meanings for the benefit of the sadhakas.
The essence of these divine stories in the
context of human birth is, coalascent, unmanifest Paramatma’s abode is Brahma-randhra
and the manifested Sakthi’s abode is the muladhara. By means of nishkama karma and detachment,
we must strive to attain salvation, Sakthi uniting with the Paramatma.
Sri Chakra
In the context of SriVidya, the
Meru is the three-dimensional SriChakra.
चतुर्भिः शिवचक्रेश्च शक्ति चक्रैश्च पञ्चभिः।
नवचक्रैश्च संसिद्धम् श्रीचक्रम् शिवयोर्वपुः।
SriChakra
formed due to interlacing of four Siva triangles and five Sakthi triangles is
symbolic of Siva and Sakthi in unison. This nama is indicating that the
center bindu is the abode of Amma. SriChakra comprising of nine aavaranaas
is the geometric symbol of not only the entire creation but also of an
individual. Starting from the central bindu
if we reach the Bhupura, it is known as srushti kramam and
traversing in the opposite direction is known as samhara kramam.
Last but not the least, if we notice the
northern and southern points of India with spiritual perspective, we notice a
subtle reality. Knowing the Paramatma in the northern part of Meru leads
us to immortality. Hence, the Amarnath (अ-मर
deathless) linga in the Saiva kshethra of the northern most part of our
country is a symbol of immortality. The Kanyakumari
kshetra (Cape Comorin) at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, seems
to be indicative of the Sakthi at the Bhumandala or muladhara. It is through selfless action that we can
invoke the Sakthi at the muladhara and make Her reach the abode
of the Paramatma and thus attain immortality. This fact is repeatedly emphasised not only
in our scriptures but also in the geography of the karmabhumi Bharata
desam.
Praying to Amma that I may have
the darshan of Amma-Ayya in unison residing at the
peak of mount Meru at the earliest,
श्रीमात्रेनमः
