IMPORTANCE OF SANTHI MANTRA

 

 

 

 

At the beginning of SIKSHAVALLI of TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD we find the Santhi Mantra before the start of the other mantras. At the end of the Santi mantra, the word SANTI is repeated thrice!  Why should this word SANTI be repeated three times? What is the significance of this repetition?
  Sanno mitrasyam varunaha    Sanno bhavatyaryama   Sanna Indro Bruhaspatihi  Sanno vishnu  rurukramaha
  Namo  brahmane  Namasthe vayo Twameva Prathyaksham brhma  vadishyami  Rutam  vadishyami
  Satyam Vadishyami  Tanmamavatu  Tad  vaktaramavatu  Avatu mam  Avatu  Vaktaram  Om Santihi Santihi Santihi
   Meaning: O Vayu, My Pranams to you! You are the direct Brahman. I declare you as the direct Brahman. I also declare you as the form of Rita and Satya. Let that all pervading God Vayu protect me , the disciple,and the precertor. Let there be Peace! Let there be Peace! Let there be Peace!
Before starting adhyayana or  Vedic Studies the disciple invokes and prays first to the " adhyatmika Gods" to bestow happiness to him. If these deiies are pleased, concentration and memory of the teacher and the taught will be excellent! Hence it is absolutely essential to invoke and pray for their blessings!
   ADHYATMIKA GODS;   MITRA is the presiding deity for Prana or life sustaining Spirit.
   VARUNA is the presiding deity of the renal system of the body.
    ARYAMA is the presiding deity of the eyes
     INDRA is the deity of strength and stamina
     BRUHASPATI  presides over mind and speech
Three kinds of troubles affect humanity They are (1)  Adhyatmika (2) Adi Bhautika and (3).Adi Daivika. Fever, headache, and others come under the first category. Theft, troubles from wild beasts,like tigers and others belong to Adi Bhautika. Adi Daivika troubles are from spirits, ghosts and demons
  The word SANTHI is repeated THRICE to ward off and protect the student and the teacher from all these three types of troubles! "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of" says Lord Tennyson the famous Victorian poet! Prayer is the food for the soul! The Vedas and the Upanishads always invoke the blessings of Gods for peace and prosperity of every one in the Universe. Statements like 'Lokah Samastas Sukhino Bhavantu' indicate the broadmindedness of the sages and

                                                                 SAGE VYASA
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AKSHARA PARABRAHMA YOGA

In reply to Arjuna's question why people do not worship him and divert themselves to other deities, Lord Krishna replies  "One who prays for the annihilation of the body is expected to recognize seven important things. They are (1 ) Brahma ( 2) Karma (3) Adi Bhuta (4) Adhi Yagna (5) Adhyatma (6) Adhi Daiva and (7) Nama Smarana-repetition of MY name on the eve of death. Arjuna requests the Lord to describe in detail what all those terms he has mentioned mean.
   Lord Krishna replies that Brahma has no beginning or end. Soul or atma is greater than this dull  dead matter. By Jnana you realize that there is a ' Sarvagna' who is the fountain source of all knowledge. Paramatma or Brahma is the highest Bliss. When Brahma merges into the physical and subtle bodies the individual soul is called 'Adhyatma' While we call the eye as  adhyatma the object that is seen is called Adhi bhutam. That which links Adhyatma and Adhibhoota is called Adhidaiva. The form of Iswara worshipped by our activity or Karma of the Jiva is called Adhiyagna.Performing activities as prescribed by the Vedas, Puranas and the Sasthras is called Karma. Remembering and repeating the Lord's name before death is very rare but important. Man takes along with him the sum total of all his mental, physical,and spiritual acts and nothing else when he dies!
   Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the person who dies with the name of the Lord on his lips shall have Mukti or liberation  from the cycle of rebirth. The Sasthras say, " antye Narayana smritihi" Man takes birth again according to his last wish or thought. Sage Bharatha was born as a deer as he thought about it on the eve of his death! On the other hand Ajamila guilty of all sins attained moksha uttering the name NARAYANA at the time of his death! Counseling Arjuna to practice Namasmarana Lord krishna says, " I am the Sarvagna. Worship ME and come near to me; you must realize that HE is an omniscient being." One who worships Paramatma or Brahma does not have rebirth" He will not dislodge Man into the material work a day world. That is why he is called ' Achyuta" Krishna continues and says that Time and Space are infinite! The so called great people are infinitesmally small and similar to the worms in cowdung!
    Ever inquisitive Arjuna asks, " Krishna! Tell me what type of people leave their bodies and at what time.Krishna replies, "There are three ways which people without ego or attachment take to leave the world. They do not enter the womb of the motherThese paths are (1) Archiradi Marga (2) Sukla Gati and (3) DevaYana.Great devotees and Jnanis leave their mortal coils generally during day time or sukla paksha or waxing period of the Moon or Uttarayana or summer solstice Krishna continues "People who perform Kamya Karma expecting reward leave the world in three separate paths! They are (1)  Dhooma Marga (2) Krishna Gati and( 3)  Pitru yana. These souls have to enter the mother's womb and take birth! They are welcomed by deities of the lower order. They enter the region of the Moon, reach the area of the clouds, transform into rain, germinate into crops! They change into Blood and Sperm in he bodies of those who consume the crops! Thus they are born again and again in a cyclic manner! Krishna reiterates, " Arjuna, you may learn the Vedas, perform several yagnas and tapas but these are all worthless without Bhakti or Devotion just as all things are tasteless without salt!!

 

 

CHAKRAS IN HUMAN BODY-- THEIR SIGNIFICANCE

Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning" wheel" or  "circle" It may also mean " wheel of life."These chakras are energy points or nodes in the subtle body. They are the meeting points of the subtle energy channels called Nadis through which the life force Prana or vital force moves. Spiritual texts speak of different number of chakras There are Seven Chakras that are considered most important. Cosmic energy flows into the human body through these energy centers. The practice of yoga in daily life can awaken these centers which are manifest in each and every person.
     MOOLADHARA CHAKRA is situated two inches above the anal point and two inches below the penis!It is in the center of the body.It has a lotus shape with four petals. Lord Ganapathy is its presiding deity. He has to be offered 600 hamsas of Ajapagayathri It is the seat of earth and is connected to the nose  It controls the excretory system of the body!
      SWADHISHTANA CHAKRA is situated in the urinary tract. It has the shape of a lotus with six petals. Its presiding deity is Lord Brahma with his spouse goddess Saraswati. He has to be offered 6000 hamsas of Ajapagayathri. As this chakra is the seat of water it is connected to the tongue.This chakra is responsible for urination and ejection of semen!
        MANIPURAKA CHAKRA is situated at the navel. The lotus shape has ten petals The presiding deity is Lord Vishnu with goddess Lakshmi. He has to be offered 6000 hamsas of Ajapagayathri.This chakra is the seat of fire.It is this fire that digests away the food that we eat! This is also the seat of Chitta or manas!
         ANAHATA CHAKRA  of the shape of lotus is situated in the chest between the rib cage and the spinal column.. It has12 petals. Its presiding deity is Lord Siva with goddess Parvathi. He has to be offered 6000 hamsas of Ajapagayathri. It is the seat of Vayu or wind and connected to the skin.This chakra is responsible for the movement of Prana Vayu or Oxygen! It is also the seat of Ahankara or ego!
          VISUDDHA CHAKRA situated in the neck region is lotus shaped with 16 petals. Its presiding deity is Iswara.and he has to be offered 1000 hamsas of Ajapagayathri. This Chakra is related to the sky and connected to the ears. This is the seat of manas or mind. It is believed that the atma manifest in all beings is Lord Krishna seated in Sahsrara. He looks at the 16 petals in this chakra that represent the 16000 Gopikas!!
          AGNA CHAKRA is situated in between the two eye brows. with two petals. Its presiding deity is Lord Sadasiva. He has to be offered 1000 hamsas of Ajapagayathri Agna Chakra is the seat of Intellect Though the seat of manas is in the Visuddha Chakra in the neck region, Agna Chakra is capable of carrying out the activities of all indriyas or organs of the body! The two petals of this Chakra represent " sankalpa" and " vikalpa." qualities of the mind! Hata Yogis practise sloowly and steadily, the fist five chakras through breath control. Raja yogis practise through Agna Chakra and Sahasrara only!This is the seat of Liberation or Mukti! This meeting with Jnana or mukti is called Jivanmukti! or Jivaiswarya and Trinetra!
          SAHASRARA CHAKRA  is the seventh center integrating all the Chakras  with their respective qualities! This is considered as the last milestone of the evolution of  human awareness! It is the direct, absolute perception of Reality on our central Nervous System! It is a lotus with 1000 petals! "All the thousand nerves join here, in the Sahasrara, , in the brain, before realization. like the closed bud of the lotus! Above this covering is the balloon like structure of ego  and super ego! At the time of our awakening, of our second birth, the egg like personality breaks at the top of the head!.".

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WHAT ARE PURVANGA YOGAS?

Yoga is described as that which prevents the vacillation of the mind. Patanjali defines it " Yogah chittha vrutthi  nirodhaha" Yoga consists of eight parts and hence is called ' Ashtanga Yoga.' These eight parts are classified into two divisions namely the preliminary yogas or PURVANGAS and the later ones called UTTARANGAS. The Purvangas consist of YAMA, NIYAMA,  ASANA, and PRANAYAMA. The Uttarangas include PRATYAHARA, DHARANA, DHYANA, and  SAMADHI. In any practice like Hata or Raja yogas one should practise Purvanga Yogas before practising the Uttarangas!
   Let us take up the first of the Poorvanga yogas namely "yama".This is a combination of 5 very important aspects of life. They are
1.Ahimsa or non violence
2.Astheya
3.Sathya or truth
4.Aparigraha
5.Brahmacharya or celibacy
Ahimsa consists in not killing animals during yagnas or sacrifices and offerings to goddesses like Durga and Kali.Small insects poisonous ,reptiles ,scorpions,bugs and flies, fierce lions, tigers,cheetahs,elephants ,bears and wild boars should not be killed.No creature should be exposed to pain and no mind troubled.
The second Astheya,is not to dream of appropriating others' property.In spite of severe difficulties and poverty he should not think of stealing others wealth.He should never touch others' property or wish for it or openly say about it.
Sathya or Truth is to speak what exactly one has seen or heard or known without exaggeration or understatement. Untruth spoken in order to save oneself or the life of another is considered to be truth.Not to save the life of a person by speaking untruth is treated as a great sin according to elders.
Aparigraha is not to receive alms or anything except from his disciple.
Brahmacharya or celibacy is the most important aspect of YAMA.This is not to have any conjugal bliss.He should never entertain such a thought in mind. A married person enjoying conjugal happiness with his wife during her fertile period is considered as a celibate or bramachari.One who wants to possess the other's lady directly suffers from “Kayika dosha” physical defect. Oral defect or vachika dosha is to flirt with all types of women and scheming with friends as to how to get physical satisfaction of the senses.In “manasika dosha” or the defect of the mind , the person languishes inwardly and silently for his lady without revealing it to others.The only way to avoid these defects is to see all women as his mother and control and forget the feelings of lust. Rutukala is the 16 days from  that day. There should be no union during the first 4 days, 11^th , and 13^th days which are considered bad. Certain days  like ashtami,ekadasi,chaturdasi poornima,amavasya,sankaranthi,vratha days and mourning days are unfit for union of man and women.Union with one's own wife is forbidden except during  rutukala. A brahmin who has taken food during a shraddha should not have union with  his wife  even  when she invites him.Union is forbidden during early mornings, daytime, evening or sandhya and midnight. Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyakssha were born to Diti as she compelled Kasyapa prajapati for union in the sandhyakala or evening. Conception on the 4^th day results in poverty and short life for the child.11^th day brings in a female child not interested in dharma.A child conceived on the 13^th day shall go astray and marry in other caste and community.There is also a danger of giving birth to a eunuch or a woman given to the qualities of man.You should not approach a pregnant women after 6 months.These important points of brahmacharya must be practiced by one and all.