“You
can see the love they have for each other, which they try to keep
secret. Knowingly they erect a collection of stable pillars made of
goodness within their hearts.” (Janaki Mangala, 85)janu hiradaya guna grāma thūni thira ropahiṃ ||
In
an area that is more or less undeveloped, when you see a series of
pillars placed in the ground, indicating that construction is going on,
you know that some type of building is going up. The pillar goes with
the foundation, and in order for it to serve its purpose it must be
stable and remain in good standing [no pun intended] for quite some
time. The pillars are not something to be knocked down right away.
Ideally, they should last a very long time, providing stability to the
building’s occupants. Such stable pillars were erected within the hearts
of two lovely souls ready to embark on a lifetime’s journey together.
The construction was seen not through yellow tape or hard hats, but
through the looks they gave each other.
The
pillars were made of goodness, or guna, which can also mean virtue. The
more goodness you have inside of you the better. You hear the
expression, “that person is just a good soul,” which means that “good”
has a higher presence within their body than “bad.” It is very easy for
the bad side to dominate. You just have to look at someone else to give
rise to bad feelings. “Oh look at them. They think they are so great.
They’re really not. My stuff is better. Plus, even if they have more
stuff, they are just wasting their money. I’m more intelligent with my
expenditures. I don’t need all that stuff to be happy. I’m not so
materialistic.”
It’s harder
to see the good in everything around us, especially in other people. It
is for this reason that the highest transcendentalist in the Vedic
tradition is known as a paramahamsa. The most elevated
religionist if you will, the person who practices spirituality as it is
meant to be practiced, does not suddenly find more and more people to
tag as sinners. They do not find more and more people to criticize and
make feel bad. Rather, the perfect transcendentalist is compared to a
supreme swan. The swan is unique in its ability to separate milk from a
mixture of milk and water. Basically, it grabs the essential item, the
nectar if you will, out of something that isn’t pure.
“If we give a swan milk mixed with water, the swan will take the milk and leave aside the water. Similarly, this material world is made of two natures - the inferior nature and the superior nature. The superior nature means spiritual life, and the inferior nature is material life. Thus a person who gives up the material part of this world and takes only the spiritual part is called paramahamsa.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Teachings of Queen Kunti, Ch 3)
The
supreme swan of a transcendentalist sees the good in everything. They
know that God’s energy is everywhere, and that not even a blade of grass
can move without His sanction. They are not Pollyannaish or
unreasonably happy. They know that karma works on everything, and so
there isn’t a pressing need to look at everything negatively. After all,
every individual is a spirit soul, part and parcel of God. Eventually
they will make their way towards enlightenment, even if it takes them
many lifetimes. To preach to others, to give them instruction on how to
remove all bad from within and acquire all goodness, the paramahamsa
temporarily steps down from their lofty position to make distinctions,
but all the while they maintain their pure goodness on the inside.
One
way to foster that goodness on the inside, to erect pillars of good
qualities within the heart, so much so that it looks like you have a
neighborhood full of sturdy buildings made of goodness, is to hear about
God and His pastimes. One of His most famous pastimes is His lifting of
the illustrious bow belonging to Lord Shiva. This occurred in the
kingdom of Janakpur, where a contest was taking place. At the time the
Supreme Lord was there in His incarnation of Shri Ramachandra, the
eldest son of King Dasharatha. Lord Rama is God based on His qualities,
which are described in the Vedic texts. He is not a pseudo-incarnation
created on a whim after the fact. His appearance and activities were
described before they took place by Maharishi Valmiki, a self-realized
soul, a paramahamsa in his own right.The love was growing within their hearts. Goswami Tulsidas compares it to erecting a network of pillars made of virtue or goodness. This love was there to stay; it wasn’t going anywhere. The only people leaving dejected on this day were the rival princes who had come to try to win Sita. Rama would lift the bow with ease and complete the construction of the buildings of goodness through wedding Sita in a grand ceremony.
How
can hearing about this incident fill our hearts with goodness? Envy,
especially of God, is the root cause of our residence in the material
world. The envy we feel towards others indicates a lack of spiritual
awareness. Think about it for a second. If someone else has more money
than you, why should you feel threatened? They still have to eat. They
still feel the sting of defeat. They still hanker for things. They also
have to die. If you can eat just fine, why does it matter if someone
else is better off financially? Since you know how difficult life in the
material world is, shouldn’t you be happy that someone else might be
able to find some relief from the daily pressures?
Only
through knowing the self, which is completely spiritual, can you get
rid of envy, lust, greed, anger and all other negative emotions. To know
God is to know the self, for He is the Supreme Soul, or the Superself.
He is the origin of both matter and spirit, and so if you learn about
Him as best you can, you will know yourself too. And when you know
yourself, you will know others, and pretty soon you will see that we are
all in the same boat, trying to find our way to eternal happiness.
Simply
from hearing the Janaki Mangala, we can know God so well. He is very
strong, pious, and kind. He also loves Sita, His eternal pleasure
potency, very much. She loves Him without deviation, and He loves her
back. Know that He always loves us too, and His mercy is already
available to us in so many ways. Through regularly chanting the holy
names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare,” we can start to take advantage of that mercy.
In Closing:
When looks at each other start,
Pillars erected in the heart.
Of goodness they are made,
Of strength never to fade.
Shiva’s bow in His hand to take,
Sita His beloved wife to make.
From this God’s nature revealed to you,
Gives insight into nature of yourself too.
![சிவலிங்கம் [ அருவுருவ நிலை ]
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இந்த சிவத் திருவுருவம் சாதாக்கிய தத்துவத்தில் (மூர்த்தி தத்துவம்) போற்றிப் புகழப்படுவது. இதை "சகள நிட்கள சிவம்' என்றும் கூறுவர்.
இது வடிவுடையதும் வடிவில்லாததுமாகிய இரு தன்மையும் கூடி நிற்பது;
ஞானசக்தியும் கிரியாசக்தியும் சமஅளவில் பொருந்தி தியானிப்பது.
இதை போக சிவம் என்றும் அழைப்பர்.
இந்த சகள நிட்கள சிவமே சிவலிங்க வடிவமாகும்.
சிவலிங்கம் "அசவலிங்கம்' என அழைக்கப் பெறும்.
அசவம் என்பது போக்கு வரவு இல்லாதது எனப் பொருள்படும். மூலஸ்தானத்தில் உள்ளது.
சிவலிங்கத்தில் காணக்கூடிய அந்த உருவம்- சகளம்;
இன்னது என கூற முடியாதது.
உறுப்புகள் இல்லாமல் இருப்பது அருவம்.
நிட்களத்திற்கு உருவம் உண்டு; உறுப்புகள் இல்லை.
இவ்விரு தன்மைகளும் பெற்றதால் சிவலிங்கம் அருவுருவத் திருமேனி.
ஞானசக்தி குறைந்து கிரியா சக்தி மிகுந்தும்; ஞானசக்தி மிகுந்து கிரியா சக்தி குறைந்தும் நிற்கும் நிலையில் அதிகார சிவம் என்று பெயர்பெறும். அதிகார சிவம் ஐந்தொழிலைச் செய்வது. ஞானசக்தி குறைந்து கிரியா சக்தி மிகுந்து நிற்கும்போது மகேஸ்வரன் என்றும்; ஞானசக்தி மிகுந்து கிரியா சக்தி குறைந்து நிற்கும்போது சுத்த வித்தை என்றும் பெயர் பெறும்.
சிவபெருமானை உருவ வழிபாடு செய்வதை விட, லிங்க வழிபாடு செய்வதே சிறந்தது என வியாசர் மகாபாரத்தில் கூறி இருக்கிறார்.
லிங்கம் என்னும் சொல்லுக்கு எல்லாம் தோன்றி மறையும் மூலம் எனவும் மங்கலத்தைத் தரும் பரம்பொருள் எனவும், அண்ட சராசரங்கள் யாவும் ஒடுங்குவதும், மீண்டும் உற்பத்தியாகி வெளிப்படும் தன்மை கொண்டது என்றும் சிவாகமங்கள் விளக்குகின்றன.
ஆலயங்களில் ஸ்தாபித்த லிங்கம் அசலம்.
இல்லங்களில் வைத்து பூஜிக்கும் லிங்கம் சலம்.
ஈசன் தன் கருணை பெருக்கால் தோன்றியது சுயம்புலிங்கம்.
கிழக்கில் தத்புருஷம்,
மேற்கில் சத்யோசாதம்,
மந்தகத்தில் ஈசானம்,
தெற்கே அகோரம்,
வடக்கே வாமதேவம்
என்பது ஐந்துமுக லிங்கவிவரம்,
ஆட்யலிங்கம் என்பது சிரம் பிறைச் சந்திர வடிவமாக உள்ளது.
அநாட்ய லிங்கம் என்பது சிரம் வெள்ளரிப்பழ வடிவம் கொண்டது.
சர்வ சமலிங்கமானது குடை போன்ற சிரத்தையுடையது.
சுரேட்யலிங்கம் எனப்படுவது உச்சியில் கோழி முட்டை வடிவம் கொண்டது என நான்கு லிங்க வடிவங்கள் சரசிவாகத்தில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.](https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s480x480/69532_10151446737823835_1337300218_n.jpg)
