A Visit packed with Blessed Surprises!
Sudheer
Dubai (U.A.E)
Hari AUM! Prostrations at the Holy Feet of Sree Guru Parampara! Blessed am I, for being able to have visited SISS this Guru Purnima and attended all the pujas and discourses during the period.
The 'Ishwara Archana' book published by SISS, which is a beautiful compilation of Vedic Aratis, Stotras, and Mantras that help purify our mind-intellect, had been with me for many years now. I could hardly read it then, let alone chant. Later during the Shashthiaabdhpoorthi of H.H.Maa Purnananda ji, the audio CD was released. Listening to it in Maa ji's divine voice, I got familiarized with the chants. Of those, for some reason, Brahmgnyanawalimala turned out to be the most played track for me. Every time I heard it, it would put me in a state of calmness, even though I didn’t understand its words nor the essence of its content. Then during this Guru Purnima, came this God-sent opportunity to listen to Maa ji's commentary on the Brahmgnyanawalimala. The discourse was an eye opener, for I got to know the priceless worth of each word in the Sanskrit glossary therein, indicative of the 'attributes' of the Attribute-less Ultimate - Brahman!
When I first heard of the topic of the discourse, I wondered how can the Attribute-less be ever explained to an ignorant. How can a human, who is so attached, conditioned and reaching out to objects through his organs of perception - can ever come close to understanding, even a wee bit of Brahman. But then the Gurus have in their transcendental state experienced the Supreme and in turn, conveyed the teachings to their qualified disciples. Blessed were we to be able to listen to Maa ji explain to us the series of words indicating the Highest, written by Sree Bhagwaan Adi Shankaracharya ji, who is Sree Sadashiv Himself.
Aptly named, Brahm-Gnyana-Wali-Mala is a series (Awali) of words indicating Knowledge (Gnyan) of the Highest (Brahman) strung together (Mala). Every word in it, is a precious gem on its own. The same word had different illuminations, depending on its placement. I realized this only after Maaji explained each word in the stanza on its own and then its contextual meaning based on its placement and connecting words. The sequence was structured by Bhagwaan Sree Adi Shankaracharya ji, to enable systematic meditation for realization of the Ultimate Truth. Maa ji's explanation served us - in a digestible language - the immense depth, gravity, and essence contained in every word, in the text. Not a single word, not even a letter could be, and was omitted. The intensity and purity of the discourse automatically kept us extremely focused, to grasp the explanation. It was sheer anugraha from the Gurus that helped me gain whatever understanding I got. At least I get a rough idea as to who a Realized Soul is and what must be His 'experience'. This would immensely help me meditate on the Higher.
The 'Vedanta Vision' classes came as an unexpected bonus. The PowerPoint slides presented by Maa ji over the three evenings covered the entire ambit of the Knowledge (Vid) starting from Sree Ishwara, up to the teachings imparted by our current Gurus. It was mind-blowing and hard to comprehend the vastness of the knowledge base of our Sanatan-Dharma - and what a task it must have been for Chaitanya ji to encompass all that into a condensed PPT capsule format, without missing any of the key pillars of this massive structure of knowledge. It was a few hours of a perfectly navigated flight that gave us a 360° aerial view of this magnanimous structure.
Maa ji's explanation made us realize the amazing power of our Rishi-Muni's to show ordinary people like us, the imperceivable, through the most effective lenses of Shastras, in varied formats that would cater to not only the vast range of intellectual intensity but also the wide variance of mental purification level that exists among humans. That Gnyana-Ganga that originated from Adi-Guru Sada-Shiv ji continues to flow unabated via Bhagwaan Vedavyas ji, Adi-Shankaracharya ji, Tapovan Maharaj ji, Gurudev ji and currently we are blessed to have it passed on to us by Maa ji. The text explained by Maaji - Asangoham Asangoham - which is just a tiny drop in the massive ocean of our scriptures - itself had so much substance to contemplate upon. To give an idea of the magnitude, as an example Maaji referred to the Eka-Shloki, Dasha-Shloki, Shata-Shloki, and Upadesha-Sahasri, which all addressed the same Vishaya but with different intensity, in 1, 10, 100 & 1000 verses respectively. Moreover, as if this was not enough, the compassionate Saint went on to write extensive Bhashyams on not only the Prasthaanatraya (which is prescribed as essential for every Sanatan-Dharmi). Now that we have been shown the full range and its import, what excuse do I have for not learning and assimilating? As Maa ji always says, 'we can' and 'we must'!
To help us in our progress, She has also given us the necessary 'Ladder' to climb. This was the next bonus! The release of the book penned by Maa ji, titled "The Great Universal Ladder - 18 steps to transcend conditionings". I was blessed to be one of the disciples to receive the inaugural copy as prasadam from Maa ji Herself. The release was in the true spirit of the teachings of 'Asangoham Punah Punah' and the book stresses the need for Abhyasa, intending to decondition. We have got so good practicing conditioning for many lives now and its time to reverse it. This aspect as well as the fact that the book also contains a compilation of the key teachings from each of the 18 chapters of the Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta was highlighted by Chaitanya ji in his Foreword for the Book. Having read the Foreword, wherein he mentioned the subject covered by the book and its objective, I just couldn't stop myself from continuing to read the entire book and was amazed to find the highly effective instructions of Bhagwaan, explained so simplistically by Maa ji and applicable in our day to day lives. It needs to be read repeatedly. It is one of the most practical guidebooks for every well-meaning individual, applicable irrespective of what stage of their life one is at. I seek the blessings of the Gurus to give me the power to assimilate those instructions and put them to practice. The comprehensive nature of the text and its aim to help one evolve, complements the two discourses given by Maa ji and in that sense, I found the timing of the release, most apt. The timely reading made better sense of all that I heard in the discourse and vice-versa.
I was also fortunate to attend the SISS Study Circle class on Sunday, which is always very special, as we get to interact with Maa ji directly after the class. It was also very special as I could relate every aspect of the various Shlokas the class discussed, in context to the above discourses.
The combination of the above blessings (The book release, Vedanta Vision presentation, Brahmgnyanawalimala discourse, Gurudev ji's messages, SISS Study Class, and the Pujas in SISS) all had a catapulting impact, and when put together, the puzzles got sorted out making the overall picture much clearer. There is no substitute for learning, being in SISS, under the direct shelter of Sree Ishwara and the Gurus.
I prostrate at the Holy Feet of Maa ji, seeking Her blessings.
Aum Tat Sat, Sree Gurubhyo Namah!