What is the spiritual meaning of each letter of the five lettered mantra 'नम: शिवाय' ?

[Guest guest]

Dear Srinivasan,

 

Thank you for information in your post, I had a few questions about part C which

I may not have understood properly:

 

1) Did you mean that in all Shiva temples non Brahman priests only clean the

lingam and temple after daily worships such as Abhishek and Aarti?

 

2) What did you mean by " Shiva's Pindi " ?

 

3) Can you explain a bit more about " Bhopes " ?

 

Thanks in advance!

BajK

 

 

, " ESHWARI COMPUTERS " wrote:

>

> . Chanting the Name of Shiva

> ‘Namaha Shivaya (नम: शिवाय)’ is Lord Shiva’s five lettered

(panchakshari) mantra. In a subdivision of the Yajurveda the Rudradhyay begins

with these words. The mantra is taken from here. When it is prefixed with the

sacred syllable (pranav) Om, it becomes ‘Om namaha Shivaya (ॠनम:

शिवाय)’, the six lettered (shadakshari) mantra. The spiritual

meaning of each letter of the five lettered mantra is as follows:

>

> n (न) = The foremost deity of all the regions (lokas)

> m (म) = The bestower of supreme spiritual knowledge

> (dnyan) and destroyer of the greatest sins

> Shi (शि) = Benevolent, serene and responsible for the

> initiation by Lord Shiva

> va (वा) = The representation of a bull as the vehicle and

> the Vasuki and Vamangi Energies (Shakti)

> y (य) = The auspicious abode of Supreme Bliss and

> Lord Shiva.

>

> Hence obeisance (namaskar) to these five letters.

>

> The above five letters also have a co-relation with the tandav dance of

Nataraj Shiva which is as follows:

> n = The hand beholding fire (agni)

> m = The foot pressing the demon Mulayak

> Shi = The hand holding a small hour glass shaped drum

> (damaru)

> va = The outstretched hand

> y = The hand bestowing protection

>

> These five letters are also said to be indicative of God (Ishvar), Divine

Energy (Shakti), the soul principle (atma), the unmanifest one (antardhan) and

vanquishing of sins respectively.’

>

> 2. Usage of Om in the chanting of Shiva’s Name

> For creation of the manifest (sagun), the Great Illusion from the unmanifest

(nirgun) Brahman tremendous energy is required. Such energy is generated by Om.

Hence, chanting of Om by one whose spiritual level is not adequate to do so can

cause physical distress such as hyperacidity, a rise in the body temperature,

etc. or psychological distress like restlessness.

>

> The frequencies created from Om generate a lot of energy (heat) in the body.

This does not affect the male reproductive organs as they lie outside the body

cavity. However, in case of women this heat can affect the reproductive organs

as they lie within the abdominal cavity. Thus women may experience distress.

They may suffer from excessive menstrual flow, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea,

infertility, etc. Hence, it is advisable for women not to prefix Om to the Name

unless otherwise recommended by the Guru; for example they may chant ‘namaha

Shivaya’ instead of ‘Om namaha Shivaya’.

>

> 3. Shiva Gayatri

> ततà¥à¤ªà¥à¤°à¥à¤·à¤¾à¤¯ विदà¥à¤®à¤¹à¥‡ ।

महादेवाय धीमहि । तनà¥à¤¨à¥‹ रà¥à¤¦à¥à¤°:

पà¥à¤°à¤šà¥‹à¤¦à¤¯à¤¾à¤¤à¥ ।।

> Meaning: We are quite familiar with that Supreme Being (Mahadev). We meditate

on that Mahadev. May that Rudra inspire our intellect benevolently.

>

> 4. Shiva’s temple

> Its characteristics are as given below.

>

> A. It is said that ‘Shiva is the deity of married couples as He is

accompanied by the Divine Energy (शकà¥à¤¤à¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤¸à¤¹à¤¿à¤¤:

शंभà¥â€™. Shiva without Divine Energy (Shakti) becomes a corpse

(shava). Since other deities are solitary there is less radiance generated in

their idols. As a result, tranquility is experienced in their temples. However

in Shiva’s temple since radiance is generated in greater proportions one

experiences energy.

>

> B. Other deities are absent only in Shiva’s temple. In temples of all other

deities there are small temples of other deities; they are referred to as the

deities of the family.

>

> C. A non-Brahman priest (gurav): A Brahman is not supposed to remove the dried

flowers, etc. used in worship (nirmalya) in a Shiva’s temple. Hence

non-Brahman priests look after a Shiva’s temple and bhopes look after a temple

of Parvati. Just as Brahmans who perform religious rites like ritualistic

worship, marriage, etc. do not take a meal during an offering made to ancestors

(pindadan), so also they do not remove the dried flowers, etc. on Shiva’s

pindi.

>

> D. Brahmans consecrate Shiva by ritualistic worship with liquids (abhishek)

amidst chanting of Vedic mantras but do not partake of the food (naivedya)

offered to Him. Brahmans who perform ritualistic worship also do not make an

offering to ancestors.

>

>

> Regards

>

> A.Srinivasan

> Eshwari Computers

> #15, Pattalamma Temple Street

> Basavangudi, Bangalore - 560 004

> Cal: 41312207, 93412-11246

>