Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Om Namah Sivaya In Puranas we often come across weddings between Gods and Goddesses, do they mean wedding between BODY and BODY or ATMAN and PARAMATMAN? The Wedding of Valli The true import of this wedding seems to be this. Valli represents the Jiva that has been separated from its original abode, eternal bliss, Paramatman, who is Lord Subrahmanya. The separated Jiva roams in the wilderness of the forest of this world, due to the force of Avidya. To rescue this ignorant Jiva wandering in the wilderness, the Guru appears in the form of Rishi Narada by whose help the wedding takes place between Valli and Lord Karttik, i.e., the holy communion of the Jiva with the Supreme Brahman. Let us examine the esoteric meaning hidden in this story. The dark forest is Tamas; the cruel hunters are Rajas. Valli is the Jiva who is in the grasp of these two. Her guarding the grains in the field is her earnest Sadhana to realise the Paramatman. The birds that come to peck the grains are the obstacles to her rigid Sadhana. To save herself, she keeps in her hand the catapult, which is Viveka and uses the pebbles which represent Vairagya. Thus she drives away the obstacles. To test the strength of her Sadhana, Murugan (Skanda) appears before her in disguises and in the end shows her the meaning of Pranava in the form of the elephant. Then the forces of Rajas which envelop her (which are symbolised by the hunters who surrounded Valli) are vanquished and transformed into Suddha Sattva. As the Jiva possessed unflinching and unswerving faith in the Lord, Valli was determined to marry only Lord Shanmukha and was able to realise her ambition in spite of the many obstructions. Hence, having the two horns of Vairagya and Viveka, the Jiva, Valli, got herself finally rescued from the clutches of Maya—represented by her parents and other obstacles—and finally established herself in union with Lord Subrahmanya, the Supreme Abode of Bliss. Sivaya Namah Selvaratnam Selvakumar <selvauk (AT) (DOT) co.uk> wrote: Om Namah Sivay The Marriage Devarshi Narada now reminded Skanda about His meeting with Sundaravalli in Kailasa and informed Him that she had been born as Valli, daughter to Nambirajan, the king of a hill tribe in South India. From the Rishi, Skanda also came to know that Valli was doing Tapas with the sole object of marrying Him. Desirous of bestowing His grace on her without delay, Skanda left for the hills, Valli’s home. Disguised as a hunter, he saw the maid who was driving off the birds that were destroying the corn in the fields. He presented himself before her in the field and enquired of her whether any deer had come that way. The maid replied in the negative and took him to task for violating the proprieties by talking to a stranger maid in the manner in which he had done, when she was unchaperoned. But the hunter replied to her only by a contemptuous and defiant laugh! Enraged at this rude behaviour of the hunter, Valli cried out to her brothers for help. The unabashed hunter, however, proceeded to ask her to marry him on the spot and added that the main purpose of his coming to her was only to do so. In response to the cry of Valli, her seven brothers came running to the spot with their retinue where the hunter and Valli were. To the mystification and amazement of Valli and to the disappointment of the brothers, the mischievous hunter transformed himself into a big tree. Thinking that it was only a childish prank of Valli, they all went back, as they were unable to find any person in the vicinity except an innocent tree! As soon as their backs were turned, the tree reassumed the shape of the hunter, but he was unceremoniously driven out at the point of a stick by Valli. After a while Valli saw a tired and tottering old man coming towards her. Taking pity on him and on his helplessness, she offered him some fruits and water. The old man, while partaking of the offerings, made a proposal of marriage to her! This only provoked an amused and contemptuous smile from Valli! But she informed the old man politely that she had taken a vow to marry none but Lord Shanmukha. At this juncture, to the terror of Valli who had a dread of elephants, an elephant came rushing towards where they were standing in the field. Frightened out of her wits, she ran towards the old man and fell into his arms for protection and safety. Lord Ganesha came in a form of Elephant to help His brother The old man, however, when he had got Valli’s assurance that she would marry him, mysteriously sent the elephant away. Now that all danger was over, Valli treated the whole matter lightly and refused to keep up her promise: she argued that to frighten a girl and get a promise out of her in that condition was unfair and that morally she was not bound by such a promise at all. No sooner were these words out of her mouth than the dreaded elephant came charging again. Her terror was so acute that she willingly and solemnly promised to marry the old man, if only he would send the awful elephant away out of her sight. At the same moment, to her great astonishment and joy, she saw before her Lord Skanda with the Vel in His hand, exactly where the old man had stood courting her in such a strange fashion. Valli apologised to Him for her silly conduct and begged for His grace. Very much pleased with the intensity of her devotion, the Lord accepted her as His consort. News of her meeting with a hunter and an old man spread far and wide in the neighbouring villages. Taking the hunter to be a vagabond, her father and brothers came up to Valli’s abode, in order, they said, to knock some sense into that impudent scoundrel. Lord Skanda, who had again taken the form of a hunter, by a flourish of his Vel, burnt them all to ashes. But at the request of Valli, they were again brought back to life. Realising the fact that he was none but Lord Subrahmanya (the guardian angel of their family), they all prostrated themselves before Him and begged for His mercy. To the great joy of Nambirajan and the Devas and in the presence of Devarshi Narada, the wedding of Valli was celebrated. With Valli and Deivayanai as His consorts, the Lord retired to the Skanda Hills near Kailasa, where He has His abode. “Thus, to protect the good and to punish the wicked, the Supreme Lord came down taking the form and name of Skanda. With the peacock as His Vahana, the cock for the emblem on His banner and with Vel in His hand, Lord Skanda took His abode in the Skanda Hills, where He lived with His consorts Valli and Deivayanai.” Glory to Lord Subrahmanya! Glory to His consorts Valli and Deivayanai! Glory to the Divine Weapon Velayudha! Glory to the peacock, the Vahana of Skanda! Glory to the cock on his banner! Glory to Lord Siva by whose grace everything is done! Glory to all who read and hear this story of Lord Subrahmanya and His Lilas! May the blessings of Lord Shanmukha be upon you all! ----Sri Swami Sivananda Sivaya Namah Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. Try the all-new Mail . "The New Version is radically easier to use" – The Wall Street Journal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Selvakumar, Thanks for such a wonderful topic .....It is really excellent .....Keep the good work going on... Thank you once again, Sampath. Selvaratnam Selvakumar <selvauk (AT) (DOT) co.uk> wrote: Om Namah Sivaya In Puranas we often come across weddings between Gods and Goddesses, do they mean wedding between BODY and BODY or ATMAN and PARAMATMAN? The Wedding of Valli The true import of this wedding seems to be this. Valli represents the Jiva that has been separated from its original abode, eternal bliss, Paramatman, who is Lord Subrahmanya. The separated Jiva roams in the wilderness of the forest of this world, due to the force of Avidya. To rescue this ignorant Jiva wandering in the wilderness, the Guru appears in the form of Rishi Narada by whose help the wedding takes place between Valli and Lord Karttik, i.e., the holy communion of the Jiva with the Supreme Brahman. Let us examine the esoteric meaning hidden in this story. The dark forest is Tamas; the cruel hunters are Rajas. Valli is the Jiva who is in the grasp of these two. Her guarding the grains in the field is her earnest Sadhana to realise the Paramatman. The birds that come to peck the grains are the obstacles to her rigid Sadhana. To save herself, she keeps in her hand the catapult, which is Viveka and uses the pebbles which represent Vairagya. Thus she drives away the obstacles. To test the strength of her Sadhana, Murugan (Skanda) appears before her in disguises and in the end shows her the meaning of Pranava in the form of the elephant. Then the forces of Rajas which envelop her (which are symbolised by the hunters who surrounded Valli) are vanquished and transformed into Suddha Sattva. As the Jiva possessed unflinching and unswerving faith in the Lord, Valli was determined to marry only Lord Shanmukha and was able to realise her ambition in spite of the many obstructions. Hence, having the two horns of Vairagya and Viveka, the Jiva, Valli, got herself finally rescued from the clutches of Maya—represented by her parents and other obstacles—and finally established herself in union with Lord Subrahmanya, the Supreme Abode of Bliss. Sivaya Namah Selvaratnam Selvakumar <selvauk (AT) (DOT) co.uk> wrote: Om Namah Sivay The Marriage Devarshi Narada now reminded Skanda about His meeting with Sundaravalli in Kailasa and informed Him that she had been born as Valli, daughter to Nambirajan, the king of a hill tribe in South India. From the Rishi, Skanda also came to know that Valli was doing Tapas with the sole object of marrying Him. Desirous of bestowing His grace on her without delay, Skanda left for the hills, Valli’s home. Disguised as a hunter, he saw the maid who was driving off the birds that were destroying the corn in the fields. He presented himself before her in the field and enquired of her whether any deer had come that way. The maid replied in the negative and took him to task for violating the proprieties by talking to a stranger maid in the manner in which he had done, when she was unchaperoned. But the hunter replied to her only by a contemptuous and defiant laugh! Enraged at this rude behaviour of the hunter, Valli cried out to her brothers for help. The unabashed hunter, however, proceeded to ask her to marry him on the spot and added that the main purpose of his coming to her was only to do so. In response to the cry of Valli, her seven brothers came running to the spot with their retinue where the hunter and Valli were. To the mystification and amazement of Valli and to the disappointment of the brothers, the mischievous hunter transformed himself into a big tree. Thinking that it was only a childish prank of Valli, they all went back, as they were unable to find any person in the vicinity except an innocent tree! As soon as their backs were turned, the tree reassumed the shape of the hunter, but he was unceremoniously driven out at the point of a stick by Valli. After a while Valli saw a tired and tottering old man coming towards her. Taking pity on him and on his helplessness, she offered him some fruits and water. The old man, while partaking of the offerings, made a proposal of marriage to her! This only provoked an amused and contemptuous smile from Valli! But she informed the old man politely that she had taken a vow to marry none but Lord Shanmukha. At this juncture, to the terror of Valli who had a dread of elephants, an elephant came rushing towards where they were standing in the field. Frightened out of her wits, she ran towards the old man and fell into his arms for protection and safety. Lord Ganesha came in a form of Elephant to help His brother The old man, however, when he had got Valli’s assurance that she would marry him, mysteriously sent the elephant away. Now that all danger was over, Valli treated the whole matter lightly and refused to keep up her promise: she argued that to frighten a girl and get a promise out of her in that condition was unfair and that morally she was not bound by such a promise at all. No sooner were these words out of her mouth than the dreaded elephant came charging again. Her terror was so acute that she willingly and solemnly promised to marry the old man, if only he would send the awful elephant away out of her sight. At the same moment, to her great astonishment and joy, she saw before her Lord Skanda with the Vel in His hand, exactly where the old man had stood courting her in such a strange fashion. Valli apologised to Him for her silly conduct and begged for His grace. Very much pleased with the intensity of her devotion, the Lord accepted her as His consort. News of her meeting with a hunter and an old man spread far and wide in the neighbouring villages. Taking the hunter to be a vagabond, her father and brothers came up to Valli’s abode, in order, they said, to knock some sense into that impudent scoundrel. Lord Skanda, who had again taken the form of a hunter, by a flourish of his Vel, burnt them all to ashes. But at the request of Valli, they were again brought back to life. Realising the fact that he was none but Lord Subrahmanya (the guardian angel of their family), they all prostrated themselves before Him and begged for His mercy. To the great joy of Nambirajan and the Devas and in the presence of Devarshi Narada, the wedding of Valli was celebrated. With Valli and Deivayanai as His consorts, the Lord retired to the Skanda Hills near Kailasa, where He has His abode. “Thus, to protect the good and to punish the wicked, the Supreme Lord came down taking the form and name of Skanda. With the peacock as His Vahana, the cock for the emblem on His banner and with Vel in His hand, Lord Skanda took His abode in the Skanda Hills, where He lived with His consorts Valli and Deivayanai.” Glory to Lord Subrahmanya! Glory to His consorts Valli and Deivayanai! Glory to the Divine Weapon Velayudha! Glory to the peacock, the Vahana of Skanda! Glory to the cock on his banner! Glory to Lord Siva by whose grace everything is done! Glory to all who read and hear this story of Lord Subrahmanya and His Lilas! May the blessings of Lord Shanmukha be upon you all! ----Sri Swami Sivananda Sivaya Namah Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. Try the all-new Mail . "The New Version is radically easier to use" – The Wall Street Journal We have the perfect Group for you. Check out the handy changes to . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 If the Lord's consort is considered as one's "Mother", then how come one can consider the individual's soul as the Lord's consort? Are we Lord and Mother's children or the Lord's consorts? Is it the child seeking return to the Father's (and Mother's) abode or the consort seeking union with the Lord? (Lord = Murugan / Shiva etc.) , Selvaratnam Selvakumar <selvauk wrote: > > Om Namah Sivaya > > In Puranas we often come across weddings between Gods and Goddesses, do they mean wedding between BODY and BODY or ATMAN and PARAMATMAN? > > The Wedding of Valli > > The true import of this wedding seems to be this. Valli represents the Jiva that has been separated from its original abode, eternal bliss, Paramatman, who is Lord Subrahmanya. > > The separated Jiva roams in the wilderness of the forest of this world, due to the force of Avidya. To rescue this ignorant Jiva wandering in the wilderness, the Guru appears in the form of Rishi Narada by whose help the wedding takes place between Valli and Lord Karttik, i.e., the holy communion of the Jiva with the Supreme Brahman. > > Let us examine the esoteric meaning hidden in this story. The dark forest is Tamas; the cruel hunters are Rajas. Valli is the Jiva who is in the grasp of these two. Her guarding the grains in the field is her earnest Sadhana to realise the Paramatman. The birds that come to peck the grains are the obstacles to her rigid Sadhana. To save herself, she keeps in her hand the catapult, which is Viveka and uses the pebbles which represent Vairagya. Thus she drives away the obstacles. To test the strength of her Sadhana, Murugan (Skanda) appears before her in disguises and in the end shows her the meaning of Pranava in the form of the elephant. Then the forces of Rajas which envelop her (which are symbolised by the hunters who surrounded Valli) are vanquished and transformed into Suddha Sattva. > > As the Jiva possessed unflinching and unswerving faith in the Lord, Valli was determined to marry only Lord Shanmukha and was able to realise her ambition in spite of the many obstructions. > > Hence, having the two horns of Vairagya and Viveka, the Jiva, Valli, got herself finally rescued from the clutches of Maya— represented by her parents and other obstacles—and finally established herself in union with Lord Subrahmanya, the Supreme Abode of Bliss. > > > > > > > > Sivaya Namah > > > Selvaratnam Selvakumar <selvauk wrote: > Om Namah Sivay > > > The Marriage > > Devarshi Narada now reminded Skanda about His meeting with Sundaravalli in Kailasa and informed Him that she had been born as Valli, daughter to Nambirajan, the king of a hill tribe in South India. From the Rishi, Skanda also came to know that Valli was doing Tapas with the sole object of marrying Him. Desirous of bestowing His grace on her without delay, Skanda left for the hills, Valli's home. Disguised as a hunter, he saw the maid who was driving off the birds that were destroying the corn in the fields. He presented himself before her in the field and enquired of her whether any deer had come that way. The maid replied in the negative and took him to task for violating the proprieties by talking to a stranger maid in the manner in which he had done, when she was unchaperoned. > > > > > > > > But the hunter replied to her only by a contemptuous and defiant laugh! Enraged at this rude behaviour of the hunter, Valli cried out to her brothers for help. The unabashed hunter, however, proceeded to ask her to marry him on the spot and added that the main purpose of his coming to her was only to do so. In response to the cry of Valli, her seven brothers came running to the spot with their retinue where the hunter and Valli were. To the mystification and amazement of Valli and to the disappointment of the brothers, the mischievous hunter transformed himself into a big tree. Thinking that it was only a childish prank of Valli, they all went back, as they were unable to find any person in the vicinity except an innocent tree! As soon as their backs were turned, the tree reassumed the shape of the hunter, but he was unceremoniously driven out at the point of a stick by Valli. After a while Valli saw a tired and tottering old man coming towards her. Taking pity on him and > on his helplessness, she offered him some fruits and water. The old man, while partaking of the offerings, made a proposal of marriage to her! This only provoked an amused and contemptuous smile from Valli! But she informed the old man politely that she had taken a vow to marry none but Lord Shanmukha. At this juncture, to the terror of Valli who had a dread of elephants, an elephant came rushing towards where they were standing in the field. Frightened out of her wits, she ran towards the old man and fell into his arms for protection and safety. > > > Lord Ganesha came in a form of Elephant to help His brother > > > > The old man, however, when he had got Valli's assurance that she would marry him, mysteriously sent the elephant away. Now that all danger was over, Valli treated the whole matter lightly and refused to keep up her promise: she argued that to frighten a girl and get a promise out of her in that condition was unfair and that morally she was not bound by such a promise at all. No sooner were these words out of her mouth than the dreaded elephant came charging again. Her terror was so acute that she willingly and solemnly promised to marry the old man, if only he would send the awful elephant away out of her sight. At the same moment, to her great astonishment and joy, she saw before her Lord Skanda with the Vel in His hand, exactly where the old man had stood courting her in such a strange fashion. Valli apologised to Him for her silly conduct and begged for His grace. Very much pleased with the intensity of her devotion, the Lord accepted her as His consort. > > News of her meeting with a hunter and an old man spread far and wide in the neighbouring villages. Taking the hunter to be a vagabond, her father and brothers came up to Valli's abode, in order, they said, to knock some sense into that impudent scoundrel. Lord Skanda, who had again taken the form of a hunter, by a flourish of his Vel, burnt them all to ashes. But at the request of Valli, they were again brought back to life. Realising the fact that he was none but Lord Subrahmanya (the guardian angel of their family), they all prostrated themselves before Him and begged for His mercy. > > To the great joy of Nambirajan and the Devas and in the presence of Devarshi Narada, the wedding of Valli was celebrated. With Valli and Deivayanai as His consorts, the Lord retired to the Skanda Hills near Kailasa, where He has His abode. > > "Thus, to protect the good and to punish the wicked, the Supreme Lord came down taking the form and name of Skanda. With the peacock as His Vahana, the cock for the emblem on His banner and with Vel in His hand, Lord Skanda took His abode in the Skanda Hills, where He lived with His consorts Valli and Deivayanai." > > Glory to Lord Subrahmanya! Glory to His consorts Valli and Deivayanai! Glory to the Divine Weapon Velayudha! Glory to the peacock, the Vahana of Skanda! Glory to the cock on his banner! Glory to Lord Siva by whose grace everything is done! Glory to all who read and hear this story of Lord Subrahmanya and His Lilas! May the blessings of Lord Shanmukha be upon you all! > > > > > > > ----Sri Swami Sivananda > > > Sivaya Namah > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. > > > > > > > Try the all-new Mail . "The New Version is radically easier to use" – The Wall Street Journal > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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