Wednesday, January 25, 2012

thoughts on Omkara and Gayatri upasana contd...

thoughts on Omkara and Gayatri upasana contd...

The greateness of Omkaram is highlighted again by the following saying.
जपेन दहते पापं  प्राणायामैस्तथा मलं ध्यानेन जन्मनिर्यातं  धारणाभिश्च मुच्यते॥
japena dahate paapam praanaayamaistathaa malam dhyaanena janmaniryaatam dhaarnaabhischa muchyate... 

"The Omkara burns off our sins when we chant it,  physical and mental impurity is removed through praanaayama with omkaram, the sins accumulated through births are burnt of through meditation on omkarama and  by going through the eight steps of ashtangayoga with pranavam, one reaches emancipation from worldy existence for ever.. "
ॐ इत्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन् मामनुस्मरन् यः प्रयाति त्यजन् देहं स याति परमां गतिं॥  ...गीतायां
OM ityekaaksharam brahma vyaaharana maamanusmaran yaH prayaati tyajan deham sa yaati paramaam gatim..  in Gita
"Uttening the one supreme work OM which is brhama itself and concentrating his mind on Me, if a person leaves his body in the end, he reaches the supreme state of immortality....."  Declared the Blessed Lord  Krishna in Bagavat gita.

The importance of Upasana of Gayatri is underlined in the following discussion.

यद्यपि परमेश्वरः सर्वत्र अभिन्नरूपतया  वर्त्तमानः  तथापि  गायत्र्युपासकस्य विशिष्टफफलप्रदः नान्यथा।  अयं दृष्टान्तः याज्ञवल्क्यने कथितः
गवां सर्पिः शरीरस्तं  न करोत्यङ्गपोषणं गायत्रीं जपतो नित्यं पुष्णात्यङ्गं सदाशिवः।
एवं सहि शरीरस्थः सर्पिवत् परमेश्वरः  विना चोपासनादेव न करोति हितं नृणां॥।
Even though Lord Shiva is present as Vishvamoorthy manifesting himself everywhere,  He identified in particular  the worshipper of Gayatri and bestows on him all the grace.  Yajnavalkya has given the following  example:-
"The butter or ghee present in the milk is inherent in the body of the cow.. But in that state the nutrient does nothing special to  nourish the body of the cow. But when the cow is milched, and the ghee is extracted and partaken, it nourishes human body  (or even the body of the cow itself).  Similarly Lord Sadaashiva even though present every where does not do anything particular for the benefit of the people unless they perform devout Upasana through Gayatri. For Gayatri Upasakaas  Bhagavaan Shambu is the greatest nourisher."

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