Soundarya Lahari Sloka -26

[Paativratya mahima of Parasakti Devi]
[Satrusamharam – internal and external]

Virincih pancatwam vrajati hariraapnoti viratim
Vinaasam keenaaso bhajati dhanado yaati nidhanam
Vitantdree maahendree-vitatirapi sammeelita-drisaa
Mahaasamhaare asmin viharati sati twatpati-rasau

Virincih - Lord Brahma
pancatwam - destruction
“pancabhootaanaam vyashti roopataam maranamiti yaavat”
vrajati - gets
harih - Lord Vishnu
aapnoti - gets
viratim - end
“uparatim maranamiti yaavat”
Vinaasam - destruction
Keenaasah - Yama [Lord Yamadharamaraja]
bhajati - gets
dhanadah - Lord Kubera
yaati - gets
nidhanam - destruction
Vitantdree - gets immersed in deep sleep
“veseshena tandree prameelanam jaadyam yasyaah saa - nidraanetyartthah”
maahendree-vitatih
api - the group of devas including Lord Indra who follow suit
“mahendrasyeyam mahendree caturdasaanaam manoonaam indraanaam vitatih api sankopi sammeelati samyangmeelitaa drisaa drishtir-yasyaas saa”
sammeelita-drisaa - closing the eyes
Mahaa-samhaare - at the mahapralaya kaala
asmin - [such as] this
viharati - plays with you
sati - Oh1 Pativrata Goddess!
Twatpatih - your husband Sadaa Siva
“sadaa sivah harah asau sahasratala-kamale paridrisyamaanah”
Asau - this

During the mahapralaya kaala, all tatwaas including goddess earth, merge in the one above that panca-bhoota and the last one gets immersed in infinity; only sakti and siva both remain. Then the goddess Sakti only witnesses the Samhaara [rudra] taandava of her partner Sadaa Siva.
Lord Brahma comes [assumes name and form] and goes [gets destruction of name and form]. Lord Vishnu comes [assumes name and form] and goes [gets destruction of name and form]. Lord Yama comes [assumes name and form] and goes [gets destruction of name and form]. Lord Kubera comes [assumes name and form] and goes [gets destruction of name and form]. The group of devaas including the head Devendra follow suit - come [assumes name and form] and go [gets destruction of name and form].

During the maha-pralaya kaala, Oh! Goddess Supreme! This Sadaa-Siva, your husband, dances, the samhaara taandava being witnessed by you alone.

Every day we assume name and form [during waking and dreaming state]; and lose our name and form temporarily [during deep sleep state]. But “I” the pure consciousness in us remain in tact without getting affected the least. This consciousness is our original character or swaroopa which is referred as sat – chit – aananda in scriptures.
In the “Advaita makaranda ” sloka 2 the great poet, describes this consciousness as

“ahamasmi sadaa bhaami
kadaacit naahamapriyaha
brahmaivaahamatassiddham
sat chid aananda lakshanam”

This consiousness is different from the jiva if we think multiple jeevaas in the following way :-
We can get any external knowledge such as physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics etc. but for this you have to put effort or karma –

Knowledge [external] + karma = happiness [unsteady] and sorrow mixed.
Knowledge [alone ] = self or pure consciousness or “I” or unbounded awareness or happiness devoid of any stint of sorrow.

Apraaptasya praaptah – one may want to get a new substantial thing or position or power or status newly in the world. This requires tremendous effort on one’s part.

Praaptasya praaptah – this does not require any effort or karma but one has just to recall his original memory which was lost temporarily due to ajnaana or ignorance and erroneous knowledge. We may refer the Bhagavad Gita chapter 18 sloka 73 where in you find the following quote from arjuna to Lord Krishna as –

“nashto mohah smritir labhdhaah twatprasaadaanmayaachyuta
Sthitosmi gatasandehah karishye vacanam tava”

the knowledge referred by arjuna here is the one of the praaptasya praaptah which enabled arjuna to overcome his grief, anger and all negative qualities thereby succeed further in the battlefield. No new knowledge was imparted by Lord Krishna to Arjuna; but on the removal of ignorance and erroneous knowledge, the right knowledge was clear to Arjuna as clear as the sun which was so far covered by the clouds, but now on removal of the clouds of ignorance and erroneous knowledge, the sun the aatman, was seen clearly without any new effort. Lord shri Krishna also refers in the Bhagavad Gita that he is not imparting anything newly found by him but what ever is referred is available readily in Upanishads as each chapter of Gita ends with the saying that

“iti srimad bhagavad gitaasu upanishatsu brahmavidyaayaam yogasaastre sri krishnaarjuna samvaade purushottamayogo naama pancadasoddhyaayah”
[this is for chapter 15].

This “I” is referred as witness the “Sadaa Siva” and in scriptures as Brahman.
This refers to - the knowledge we already have ever with us – but temporarily the jeeva has forgotten it – for getting back this knowledge, you need not put any effort but only you have to correct your intellect [intellectual conviction] which was so far either wrong or partial [alpa] or absent and no karma is required;
We may refer in this context, the poem referred by “Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi” called “Upadesa Saaram” sloka 1 in which he quotes like this –

“Karturaajnayaa prapyate phalam
karma kim param karma tajjadam
Kriti mahodadau patina kaaranam
phalamasaaswatam gati nirodakam”

Also, we may refer Sankara’s “Viveka Coodaamani” in which he refers –

“Avijnaate pare tatwe saastraadeetistu niscalaa
Vijnaate pi pare tatwe saastraadeetistu niscalaah”

For getting the knowledge about our own self, the pure consciousness, we need not search anywhere outside, but correct our erroneous knowledge thereby removing our non-apprehension and mis-apprehension.

Permanent happiness we search outside in the world of objects, emotions, thoughts but is not at all available in the world outside but is ourselves – the subject – the pure consciousness. World consisting of temporary status can give only temporary happiness that too only in the presence of myself or “I” or “consciousness” and in the absence of this consciousness as in sleep or moorcchaa or unconscious state, even we are not able to know that we are happy, though the world of objects disappear totally for some time and we are not having unhappiness but we are not aware. This is possible only in the waking state. Hence the Upanishad quote –

“uttishtata, jaagrata, praapyavaraan nibodhata.”

Hence, the correction of our erroneous knowledge has to take place in jaagrat avastha and not in sleep or dream.

{During sleep or laya [not pralaya or maha pralaya, but temporary pralaya], we are ignorant or the knowledge of our own self is absent temporarily, which is not harmful. But erroneous knowledge, which also is present during our waking and dreaming states, is most dangerous and is the cause of all our sorrows and miseries and not any time, space, object, or body or relation, or circumstance or the world outside.

During the time of so called death of a [body] person - pralaya happens – the body is destroyed but another body will follow, to satisfy our unfulfilled desires due to the vaasanaas remaining}.
Lalita-sahasra Naama refers like this –

“maheswara mahakalpa mahaataandava saakshinee”

The poem “Kalyana vrishtistavam” refers like this –

“Kalpopasamharana-kalpita-taandavasya
Devasyakandaparasoh para-bhairavasya
Paasaankusaikshava caraasana-pushpabaanaa
Saa saakshinee vijayate tava moortirekaah”

Soota samhitai also refers like this –

“Asankhyaavilayam yaanti brahmaanah panditottamaah
Asankhyaa vishnavo rudraa asankhyaa vaasavaadayah
Yeka yeva sivaha saakshaat srishtistityantahetavah”

Mundaka Upanishad one of the dasopanishads for which Sankara wrote commentaries is referring about this knowledge –
The disciples [who are grihastaas] who approach the guru ask the prime question {for which the whole world of scientists and so on are yet to get an answer unless they delve deep into the scriptures}. This is not to undermine any knowledge of science, but to indicate that for any knowledge, the consciousness is required.

The question goes like this –

“kasminnu bhagavo vijnaate sarvam idam vijnaatam bhavati iti”

Oh! Bhagavan! [guru] please show [tell] us about that one, by knowing which, the whole world [of objects, emotions, thoughts] becomes known.
There are two yuktis by which a thing or knowledge which is superior or not is found.
Anvaya yukti and vyatireka yukti.

If consciousness is there, there is the world of objects – anvaya yukti.

If consciousness is not there, there is no world of objects – vyatireka yukti.

But even if world of objects are not there, there is the consciousness [deep sleep state].
The same consciousness which is available all over [seems to be different in different persons] during sleep, is available now also and always – it was – it is – it will be for ever - everywhere; but due to our non apprehension of the same and due to misapprehension of the truth, we mistake it and possess erroneous knowledge and absence of right knowledge. For getting the right knowledge, we need not do any work but have to correct our erroneous knowledge thereby getting correct knowledge as referred in Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 sloka 41 as –

“Vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhirekeha kuru nandana”

This knowledge is not an object or even the whole world, but we ourselves who is the subject and happiness ever.

For knowing this, we have to study continuously under the guidance of a SadGuru, for a sufficiently long period of time. [which we don’t do [normally], which is the cause of our own sorrow or misery in life and anything in the world.]
Bhagavad Gita chapter 4 sloka 34 says –

“Tad viddhi pranipaatena pariprasnena sevayaa
Upadekshyanti te jnaanam jnaaninastatwa darshinah”

You can get this knowledge which due to anaadi maayaa was seen to be lost [actually it is not lost at all] back by approaching a guru and applying your whole hearted pranaams to him, by surrendering your heart at his holy feet, by doing service [without expectation] to him [though he may not need it at all] and after sufficient time by which your mind becomes calm and quiet, ask your questions frankly to the guru who will impart this knowledge to you.

You need not go in search of the guru, but guru will come in front of you in any form [not as desired by you] if you have the deepest desire as referred in the tatwa bodha –[saadhana catushtaya]

Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi says the quote often as –

“Eeswaro gururaatmeti “
[moorti bheda vibhaagine
Vyomavat vyaapta dehaaya dakshinaamoorthaye namaha]

Our atma is our guru and eeswara-
During waking state, we find we are jeevaas. But during sleep, we don’t find any jeeva, which means jeeva merges with eeswara enjoying perfect bliss, [though we are not aware of the same during sleep].

If one is able to succeed in finding the aatman by studying the saastraas or scriptures or from a sad guru, he will understand the meaning of this statement. But one must have complete faith for this.
Bhagavad Gita chapter 6 sloka 5 refers –

“Uddharedaatmanaatmaanam naatmaanamavasaadayet
Aatmaivahyaatmano bandhuraatmaiva ripuraatmanah”

[Paativratya mahima of Parasakti Devi]
[Satrusamharam – internal and external]

Refer the famous Mandukya Upanishad about which Sri Rama tells Aanjaneya to
get rid of the bandha or to get liberation or mukti as –

“Maandookyam evam evaalam
mumukshoonaam vimuchyate”

[mandukya alone will suffice for a mumukshu to get liberation]

This Upanishad says –
“samvisati aatmanaatmaanam ya evam veda”
[one atma who wants to get liberated, will get his true nature]

We have to turn our attention from external mode to internal mode as referred in”Lalita Sahasra Naama” as –

“antarmukha swabhaavaayai namaha
[by introspection it is possible to get liberation]
bahirmukha sudurlabhaayai namaha”
[by external sense organs or by the extroverted mind or extroverted intellect it is not possible to get liberation]

refer the Lord Ganapathi bhajan song which goes as this –

“tedi tedi engo odukinraar
[people are running here and there all over the world (to get happiness)]
ulle thedi kandukollallaame
[but happiness can be searched to be available inside our heart of hearts]
kodi kodi mada yaanaikal panicheyya
[crores and crores of egocentric elephants work]
kunrena vilangum pemmane
[you are the god of gods of the mountains ]
prabho ganapathe paripoorana vaazhvarulvaaye”
[Oh ! Prabhu! Lord Vigneswara! You will give me a life of fulfilment ]

No effort or karma required externally, you need not change your environment, people, place, circumstance, time, relation etc but correct your vision of wrong knowledge to right one.

We have so many erroneous knowledge about us, about our relatives, about our nation, about world and so on which needs to be corrected. Not the people place or thing to be changed outside. We may refer in this context about the poem Sankara’s “Viveka

Coodaamani” sloka number 254 in which he refers –

“Jaati neeti kula gotra dooragam
[I am away from jaati, neeti, kula and gotra]
Naama roopa guna dosha varjitam
[I am away from naama, roopa, guna and dosha]
Desa kaala vishayaati vartiyat
[I am away from desa, kaala, and vishaya]
Brahma tatwamasi bhaavayaatmani”
[I am that brahma tatwam – so meditate]

[Paativratya mahima of Parasakti Devi][Satrusamharam : internal and external]

In the “Advaita makaranda” the great poet says like this -
“mayiyevodeti chid vyomni
[in me the chidaabhaasa alone seem to appear ]
jagat gandharva pattanam
[this magic world which is like gandharva nagaram which is never steady which goes on ever changing and disappears later]
athoham na katham brahma
[then why am I not the Brahman?; I am Brahman alone]
sarvajnam sarva kaaranam”
[I am the cause of sarvam the whole world and I am sarvajna, I know everything.]

Also refer Maaya Pancakam which refers like this
“Nirupama nitya niramsake api akhande
[Uncomparable, eternal, having no component parts, still unbreakable]
mayi citi sarvavikalpanaadisoonye
[in me the pure mind devoid of the vikalpa sankalpa]
Ghatayati jagadeesajeevabhedam tu
[happens thus like isa jeeva difference]
aghatitaghatanaa pateeyasi maaya”
[this maayaa is playing the role of impossible but magic]

There is one song of amma which goes like this :
“aananda roopiniye tiranju
[I went in search of the person or goddess who gives aananda]
Amritaswaroopiniye tiranju
[I went in search of the amritaswrupini.]
Ajnaananaasini jnaanapravaahin
i[I came to know that she is the ajnaananaasini, jnaanapravaahini,]
Aatmaswaroopiniyennarinju
[Knew as aatmaswaroopini][who is posited inside our heart of hearts and also everywhere.]Aatmaswaroopiniyennarinju[aatmaswaroopini]Kan turanneeduvor kandeela nin roopam Kaatorttidunnavar ketteela nin naadam
[One who sees this world of objects and gets erroneous knowledge or misapprehension,][and thinks that he can correct the world], will not be able to see the goddess by the naked eyes [or sense objects, or by mind or even intellect];
Kannadacheedu kaatakakkeeduUllil teliyum hridaya nivaasiniUllil teliyum hridaya nivaasini
[but he can get the vision of the goddess supreme or get ultimate happiness by turning his attention from worldly vision to inner vision]
Yellaa bhaagyangalum maranjaal maatram kittunna sowbhagyame
[We get this sowbhagyam only when we discard by mind the egocentric “i” and “mine”]
Yella soundaryavum marannal maatram kittunna soundaryame
[We get this soundaryam only when we discard by mind the egocentric “i” and “mine”]
Ul kann turakkuvaan sakti yekeedane unmattanaakkeedaneUllil teliyunna naal varakkum kannu neeril kulichcheedum jnaankannu neeril kulichcheedum jnaan”

{Oh! Goddess! Bestow me the pure mind so that my inner eye of consciousness will open and get me the unmattabhaava. Else I will go on calling you untiringly with tears shedding from my eyes continuously till you give this blessing.}

as Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi says there are two methods of approach for anything.
1. loka drishtyaa
2. jnaana drishtyaa

The second is the correct and the first approach is erroneous for getting spiritual knowledge or knowledge about our own self.Guruji (Sri Sri Ravisankar) refers this as “You have to act locally but think globally”.
[but many of us who fail in life in the end is due not only to the complete neglect of this and also due to the wrong following- we think locally and act globally]

Amma says about the same in other words as-

“Hridayam vikasicchilla,pakshe budhdhi maatram vikasichhu”
[there is no co-operation between head and heart mind says another decision : but intellect says one]

what is the result of this ?the outcome is given by the Bhagavad Gita sloka chapter 2 sloka 62-63
dhyaayato vishayaan pumsah
[one who meditates on external world of objects]
Sangasteshoopajayate
[He gets his mind attached to the objects]
sangaatsan jaayate kaamah
[hence he picks up desire towards that object]
kaamaat krodhobhijaayate
[if not able to get the object, he gets anger
]krodhaadhbhavati sammohah
[anger leads to greed]
sammohaat smriti vibhrama
[his memory power weakens]
smriti bhramsaat buddhi naaso
[his intellect loses power of right decision]
budhdhi naasaat pranasyati
[every thing is lost if right intellect is lost]

[Paativratya mahima of Parasakti Devi]
[Satrusamharam internal and external]

For this (to overcome this sorry state of affairs of losing the right intellect or gaining the intellectual conviction) we need both chitta suddhi and chitta yekaagrata and then jnaana yogyataa, and then we have to proceed in the right direction.

Chitta suddhi can be gained only by (nishkaama) karma yoga; chitta yekaagrata can be attained only by bhakti yoga (unconditional) and only when we get both chitta suddhi and yekaagrata - we can proceed to gain this right knowledge about our own self.

For this, our mind is to be turned inwards and understand thoroughly by sravana, manana and nidhidhyaasana that the permanent happiness we search is not in world of objects but in ourselves, in our pure mind, in our pure intellect and that is the greatest achievement

we can get in life in many and many births. The treasure island is inside us - but we search it outside thinking it as an object; instead it is the subject and need not be sought for; only thing we have to do is not all to put any new effort to gain anything new, but to remove our wrong notions about ourselves and the world and the god and the guru. We have to remove our non apprehension and misapprehension and be at ease.

Refer Baba’s quotes often to his disciples:Why should you be diseased when you are already at ease.Why fear when I am here always?
What is the use of sitting in an air conditioned building without the conditioning of the-agitations of the desire in the mind.?

Refer Bhagavad Gita chapter which says :
Asaantasya kutah sukham?

Amma says repeated for the benefit of the devotees all over :
Paritasthitiye alla maatrendatumanasthitiye aanu maatrendatu.

The above referred state of mind is referred byBhagavan Ramana Maharishi in upadesa saaram as -“hrit sthale mana swastataa kriyaaBhakti yoga bodhaasca niscitam”

This is the state of mind referred to be that of a jnaani [in chapter 4 jnaana karma sanyasa yoga and in chapter 7 aatma samyama yoga and chapter 9 C raaja vidyaa raaja guhya yoga ] or bhakta [in chapter 12 bhakti yoga] or gunaateeta [in chapter 14 gunatraya vibhaga yoga] or stiraprajna or stitaprajna [in chapter 2 saankhya yoga] in gita

What have we to lose for this? money, material, position, status, power, house, relations, and what else - we need not lose anything - but correct our erroneous knowledge and act in the world as anybody acts in this world -as amma says in another song :

Kaarunya peeyoosha dhaamam
[the abode of ultimate unconditional overflowing kaarunya]
Amma kaanappedunnatma satyam
[amma is the aatma satyam which we can see directly with our inner eye ofconsciousness without any external karma or external effort]
Jnaanena bhaavam marannatma samtripti
[forgetting the thought of the ego centric small “i” and getting aatma samtripti]
Nedunnavar kaanmu satyam
[who gets this knows the truth]
Nedunnavar kaanmu satyam
[who gets this knows the truth]
Teerthangalil kulikkenda
[you need not bathe in holy waters]
Ghora ghoram tapam cheytidenda
[need not do hectic penance]
Ammayil maanasam chemme unarthichu
[apply your mind on your own self that is amma and be strengthened in mind]
Dhanyarai teerkkuvin janmam
[make your birth fulfilled ]
Dhanyarai teerkkuvin janmam
[make your birth fulfilled]

Refer in this context, the quote given by ashtaavakra to janaka in the ashtaavakra gita as:

“Antar vikalpa soonyasca
bahir swacchanda caarinaha”
Be calm in the mind internally and don’t show emotions outside; but externally act so that you have to work with different types of people under different circumstances at different times.
Let the almighty Goddess bestow Her blessings on each of us in the world, so as to enable us to succeed in our attempts.
Let us not be selfish in the mind C at least let us chant for a moment everyday within our heart of hearts.
“Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu”
[Let the whole world be happy.]
“Asato maa sat gamaya
[Let the untruth vanish giving way to truth]
Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya
[Let the darkness vanish giving way for light ]
mrityor maa amritam gamaya “
[let the fear of death vanish giving way to fearlessness.]
“sarveshaam swastir bhavatu
[Let every where be happiness or safety]
sarveshaam saantir bhavatu
[let everywhere be peace]
sarveshaam poornam bhavatu
[let everywhere be the fulness]
sarveshaam mangalam bhavatu”
[let everywhere be the good or divine]
aum saantih saantih saantih
[aum peace peace peace]
aum sri gurubhyo namah
[pranaams to the great guru]

harih om

[note : harih aum means hurry home C be your natural own self which is happiness ever devoid of even a stint of unhappiness or sorrow. we are already at home, but temporarily we have forgotten about it and we imagine so many things against our natural swaroopa. Hence have to come back to our original ]