Fwd: Mail from Smt Lakshmi Ramesh on 'What Parasara advocates...'

[Guest guest]

Om Gurave Namah Dear Hari, Hello. Part of your query about my spiritual experiences is included in my mail to sohamsa. But strangely, the message isn't appearing on the list. I do not know if i am being monitored for being absent from the list for long. Anyway, on my behalf, could you please forward it to the list under " What Parasara advocates... " ?

Thanks in advance. ----

Om Gurave Namah Namaste Friends,

I seem to have missed out on this interesting thread because I was away vacationing. ofcourse, I did go through most of it over past couple of days and felt like sharing the following.

Narayana/Vishnu is definitely is the kaaraka for moksha, because being the Admin of network

"maaya" He alone has the power to include/withdraw users in/from it. For it's only those actions committed under the influence of maaya that accrue karma phala and lead to the interminable birth cycle. It is for this reason that Adi Shankara advised the

studious grammarian to instead chant "bhaja govindam". The fact that Shankara enabled his mother to attain Vishnu saayujyam is also a point supporting this.

Now does this mean that other deities are redundant ? I do not think so. Narayana is the karaka for moksha and the 12th

house, and all deities who play the role of ishta devatas take on the hue of Narayana. Doesn't the chara putrakaraka discharge the duties of sthira putrakaraka (Jupiter) even though the planet in question might be Saturn? And if the saying

aakaashaath pathitham thoyam,yathaa gachhathi saagaram, sarva deva namaskaaram, Kesavam prathigachhathi is true, then irrespective of which form one worships one will ultimately get moksha, because all worship ultimately settles at the feet of Narayana.

Sarva vyapakesha Narayana, who is there in an ant and atom, must be present in Shiva, Gauri and Skandha too. Why delimit Him only to certain forms and names? He's forms, his own and others' too, He's the summation of all forms, He's also formless.

 

I think one must cherish Him in all possible ways. To the question whether other deities can bestow moksha,

the answer is an unambiguous "yes". Arjuna reincarnated as Tinna or Kannappa and received moksha from Shiva. Not only he, but animals like a spider, an elephant and a snake also got moksha, so it may be incorrect to say that only humans or those beings belonging to the higher echelons of evolution are eligible for moksha.

Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipa, Kumbhakarna, and Ravana did not get moksha despite being killed by Vishnu, because their destiny was decided otherwise.

My feeling is that unless one's karmic debt is completed, one is not eligible for moksha and when that time comes, all ishta forms get vested with the powers of Narayana to grant liberation.

It's has been also suggested that since moksha is the domain of Narayana, one should concentrate only on Vishnu forms and not the other deities. It has been my experience that one has no conscious role in selecting the deity. As Narasimha garu mentioned, based on

previous samskaras and when the punyaphalam ripens, the ishta devata suggests Itself. It is largely an unconscious, intuitive and natural choice, like love. And, when the choice happens it's usually irreversible. The pull of Ishta devata is such that one is drawn irresistibly towards the deity. I firmy believe that the "ishtam" or the liking is mutual and the deity loves the devotee equally. Ofcourse, the ishta can be suggested by

a spiritually advanced personage too. But then I guess there would be a marked difference in the degree of passion and commitment experienced, despite sincere cultivation:--))

For Hari: (others too, if interested) On a different note, we have been away for more than a fortnight holidaying and pilgrimaging! As Bharat ji suggested, I got panchamrita abhishekam performed

in Palani in Sanjay ji's name. We have visited 14 places in all and I would like to share with you one or two experiences. The weather was extremely pleasant throughout and was even raining heavily in many places. The verdant beauty of tangled forests, gurgling streams, clouds, waterfalls, rainbows…it was all so beautiful and so very eloquently evidenced the grandeur of His vision and creation. Vasundhara in full bloom, infact, and at one time I was playfully thinking that though the Lord overtly stated that He comes down to uplift Dharma, the real reason must be because He loves Her…Mother Earth.

I was intrigued by the fact that the Atma linga (a flame shaped lingam) in Gokarnam was installed and worshipped within Vishnu Saligramam.

There's no other "paanavattam" or

"base" usually associated with Shivalingam. A very ancient temple and we had the good fortune of performing Rudraabhishekam. The lingam was installed in Tretayuga, by Ganesha, who is worshipped with abhishekam.

Abhishekam is especially performed at the spot where Ravana has hit Ganesha on the head…right on the Brahma Randhra. Given the nature of linga, I am sure there's more spiritual symbolism to all this than meets the eye. Ramdas Raoji and other friends might be able to add more insights.

Ofcourse, I loved the Udipi Krishna! Which mother wouldn't!! The massive statue of Shiva at Murudeshwar on the sea was also a wonderful sight. But a really puzzling and profound experience occurred at

 

Sringeri. It was 4 pm when we reached Sringeri from Udipi. It was raining heavily and we were informed that the temple would open only at 5pm. So all of

us donned umbrellas and went around appreciating the surroundings of the temple. There were quite a few others engaged likewise. Around 4.30pm another hall was opened and we all trooped in. The Hall had illustrations from Shankara's life and seeing all this I stepped into a courtyard behind. The courtyad was rectangular/square in shape and

had a covered verandah running on all four sides. The middle portion was without any roof. In the verandah there were various photographs of HH Bharati Tirtha Swamiji and was going around looking at them.

All of a sudden, I felt

strangely detached and curiously "alone". There was also a feeling of rootlessness and then I heard it. The Omkara. Soft yet persistent, like the language of the soul, it went on….drawing me out, filling me up. I thought it went on for a long time, but was later startled to note that the entire experience perhaps lasted

just a couple of minutes. The time was 4.50pm. and we rushed back to the temple and waited. I was shaken up inside and the the inane buzz floating around had no impact on me. I was outwardly talking, making appropriate responses, but inside I was mulling over those sacred seconds. At 5pm the temple opened and we all rushed in for darshan of Sri Sharadamba. She was glorious and while praying to Her, I heard the sound of Omkara again. They were playing it in the temple. Could I have heard it, a

clear 10 minutes, before the temple opened? The courtyard and the temple are separated and there is another temple of Sri Rama between them. The questions remain, but what remains more is the profound validity of the experience. I cast a chart after coming back to tirupati, it had Jupiter on the ascendant both in rasi and navamsa. There are certain other interesting features. Moon was transiting its own house, with Mars and Saturn. Mars is my natal AK, Moon is the Ishta devata+AmK and Saturn is the BK...all in one house, in cancer which is my natal 8th house and is also the house of ishta.

Apologies for the longish mail. Regards,

Lakshmi

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