Soundarya Lahari Sloka -16

Soundarya Lahari Sloka -16
[Arunaamoorthy, Vedaagamajnaanam]

Kaveendraanaam cetah kamalavana baalaataparucim
Bhajante ye santah kadicit arunaameva bhavateem
Virincihpreyasyaat tarunatara sringaaralaharee
Gabheeraabhirvaagbhir vidadatisataam ranjanamameem

Kaveendraanaam - of the poets’
cetah - chitta
kamalavana - for the forest of lotus
baala aataparucim - shining with brilliance of the rising sun
Bhajante - worship
ye santah - those satwic great devotees
kadicit - some
arunaameva - the goddess called as aruna
bhavateem - you
Virincihpreyasyaa: - of the goddess saraswati who is the partner of creator brahma
Tarunatara - of the most beautiful sringaaralaharee - of the sringaarapravaaha
Gabheeraabhi: -
Vaagbhi: Vidadati - praise with divine words
sataam ranjanam - happiness of the good people
amee - these good people

Oh! Goddess Supreme! Oh! Parameswari!
You are known as ‘Aruna’ the reddish coloured Goddess, [indicating full of activity]; you are the baalasooryakaanti, which is the lotus bouquet, posited in the mind or heart of the great devotee-poets; whomsoever worships you, you expand the awareness of the devotees to the original unbounded state of awareness, [which is beyond time, space and objects]; you expand the heart of the great devotee poets, just as the baala soorya kirana expands the group of lotus flowers; [expand here means that goddess gives them the capacity to write devotional poems in praise of gods which will attract many other devotees who want to get liberated and show them a way out. The intellectual conviction of these devotees will become clear day by day and they will reach back the state of liberation. There are plenty of examples we know – some are
Sankara
Ramanuja
Maadhwa
Madhusoodanasaraswati
prabhulinga
Kaalidaasa
Soordas
Tulsidas
Kabirdas
Vallalaar
Arunagirinaathar
Jayadeva
Purandaradasa
Raghavendra
Tiruvalluvar
Ezhuththacchan
Poontaanam
Syaamaasaastri
Muthuswami deekshithar
Swaati tirunaal
Appayya deekshitar
Tyagaraja
Naraayana bhattatiri
Bharatiyaar
John Milton
[john Milton says –
how far that little candle throws its beams, so shines a good deed in a naughty world]
William wordsworth
[daffodils is one best example to prove]
lord Tennyson
[about whom all other poets in the world say that he has the strength of ten – ten nison]



Of course, there is no question of reaching the state of liberation; only thing is we are not aware of it – but aware of the duality of the world or the delusion of maaya. Devotees of goddess supreme will get out of the maaya-fold just as the sun becomes clear on the cloud getting off.
Amma –Sadguru mata amritaanandamayi devi used to say –
During sleep, you are having bodha or consciousness, but not aware of it; now during jaagrat and dream states, you are aware but not not conscious about.
Be aware and conscious – this is possible only in waking state.

Amma says in a song like this –

Theerthangalil kulikkenda
Ghoraghoram tapam cheytidenda
Ammayil maanasam chemme unarthichhu
Dhanyamai theerkkuvin janmam
Dhanyamai theerkkuvin janmam
Kaarunya peeyoosha dhaamam
amma kaanappedunnatma satyam
Jnanenna bhaavam vedinjaatma samtripti
Nedunnavar kaanmu satyam
Nedunnavar kaanmu satyam

You need not go to ganges or haridwar or rameswaram paying money and struggling to get liberation; you need not spend a pie even; you need not change your mode of living by the least minimum; but you correct your wrong knowledge of delusion and get the knowledge of the consciousness which is ever there always unbounded.
The great kavi of the article or prakarana called advaita makaranda [the honey of advaita, once you start tasting, it will remain for ever in blissful state, your vaasanaas will get off quickly]says –

Aham asmi sadaa bhaami
kadaacit naaham apriyaha
Brahmaivaaham ata siddham
Sad chit aananda lakshanam

I am; always I am there; I am self luminous and illuminating the whole world of beings; I am ever dear to me, than anythingelse; I am of the state of consciousness, bliss, and aananda.
Refer vaamakeswara tantra –
Which refers like this –

Arunaakhyam bhagavatheem arunaabhaam vicintayet
Paasaankusadharaam deveem dhaanurbhaanadharaam sivaam
Varadabhayahastaam ca pustakaakshasraganwitaam
Ashtabaahum trinayanaa khelanteemamritamambudhau

Refer advaita makaranda – the sloka –

Mayiyevodeti chit vyomni
Jagat gandharva pattanam
Athoham na katham brahma
Sarvanjam sarva kaaranam

The Goddess enters the heart of the devotee and remain there as full unbounded awareness and makes the devotee feel the presence of it without any effort just by meek surrender mentally in any situation.
Also refer the bhagavad gita chapter 2 the sloka –

Yaavaanaartha udapaane sarvathaha samplutodake
Taavaan sarveshu vedeshu braahmanasya vijaanata

The happiness you derive out the bliss of the aananda is just like an everflowing reservoir in full bloom, whereas whatever happiness you get from this worldly objects is just like that of the water you get from a small pond.

The devotee gets the sabha ranjana[divine] capacity, which will enable another devotee who comes across him to get out of the ignorance.
In this sloka the method of worshipping goddess in the aruna red colour form in the heart with eight hands – wearing paasa[rope], ankusa, sugarcane arrow, the flower bows, book and spatika garland, and the two hands depicting abhaya and vara mudra.
The goddess is having three eyes – the normal two eyes and the third one called inner eye of consciousness which opens the door of consciousness removing the dirt of kaama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada ana maatsarya of the devotee.
One song of amma goes like this in tamil –

Munnaalil yennenna paapankal cheyteno
Mukkanni yenai kaakka ododi varuvaye
Un vaasal tedi vanten karpagame
Yen vaasal naadi vantiduvaayamma
Yen vaasal naadi vantiduvaayamma


The goddess’s flow of kataaksha unaffected by any stint of sorrow or unhappiness is available for the devotee which is shown best by an example given below of kaalidaasa.

Once in the kingdom of bhojaraja, who was a great king who gave due respect to the divinity, was conducting a open session; bhojaraja told that he will tell the first line of a poem and any poet can try to fill in the second line of the poem suitably and get rewards.
The first line is =
Kusume kusumotpattihi srooyate na ca drisyate
Meaning that in the flower, its utpatti is heard and not seen.
The king asked the poets present in the kingdom to fill up the second line –
All tried except kaalidas and miserably failed in the attempt;
Kaalidaasa came near a daasi present in the sabha and smilingly told like this –

Bale tava mukhaamboje
Drishtam indeevaradwayam

Oh! Girl! In your lotus face, two neelotpala [eyes]are seen.

Hearing this, the king and other devoted people got the glimpse of happiness of aananda and were surprised, at the poetic capacity of kaalidasa.
God’s grace gives such an unstinted capacity to bestow happiness to other devoid of sorrow.