Mahaasamaadhi

On the 4th of July 1902, Swami Vivekananda went to his room, entered deep meditation for hours and then, lay down and left his body. The official cause of death was the rupture of a cranial blood vessel.

It was reported that he had spent the day calmly teaching his disciples and conversing with them. Nobody could tell that something remarkable was about to happen. While his health had not been very good, there were no indications of any perilous condition. It had been a day just like any other day. You can see more about Swami's last day in this You Tube Short Video.

Awakening by a Guru

In my Blog Post yesterday, I spoke of the need for a guru to launch a seeker into the inner realm with a physical touch. I quoted two notable examples, but there was one exception which I did not touch on. In his recounting of his own awakening, Sadhguru Jaggi did not mention any guru being present to push him over. He simply sat on a rock and spontaneously entered the awakened state.

I could not understand it but chose to believe him. I figured that I will learn the truth later.

This morning, I received a WhatsApp message containing a very interesting link. It turns out that Sadhguru was indeed awakened by a guru, but it happened 2 lifetimes earlier. He was awakened to perform a task that would take longer than a single lifetime so he was given enough charge to last 3 lifetimes. That was why it appears that he awoke spontaneously in the last two lifetimes. I suppose, in an earlier era, he would have simply lived a longer life, but that's a little hard to do these days.

Why seek a Guru?

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In the aftermath of Guru Purnima, I would like to share my opinion on two questions about Gurus that have occurred to me and which may be nagging at some of you. But this is just my opinion. Do seek verification from a learned authority.

1. Does one need a Guru?

The vague history reports that Adi Shankara, who was 8 years old at that time, was discovered wandering around in the Himalayas looking for a Guru. A sage asked him who he was. He responded with the recitation of the Nirvana Shatakam.

I was informed that Adi Shankara in fact went directly to Guru Govindapadaal in Maharashtra. The Wikipedia entry on Adi Shankara admits that reliable information about his life is scant. What is important is his impact on advaita vedanta. In the context of this Blog, the importance is the reality that, no matter how spiritually advanced one is, a Guru is needed to take the final step.

At that tender age, he had already understood the Upanishads, had pondered about himself and had realised that, on his own, he could only discover more about this material realm, which he had already realised was nothing but a shell of illusion. In order to discover who he really was, he needed a Guru to guide him further. That's why he had gone in search of a Guru. That a seeker as advanced, both intellectually and spiritually, as he was also needed a guru is very telling.

Celebrating Guru Purnima

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The Sanskrit word "guru" (गुरु) is made up of two syllables 

"gu" (गु) — means darkness or ignorance
"ru" (रु) — means dispeller or remover

In its original context, the guru is one who helps his students to overcome the darkness of ignorance. The term is usually reserved for one who is well versed in the subject and capable of transferring the knowledge. Aspiring students are sent to stay with the guru and they offer him service in return for the learning he imparts.

In a wider context, guru is any source from which one learns. We can learn by observing the sun and rain, the rivers and trees. We can learn from the way animals interact. There is much to learn from observing children at play. We can learn from any person we encounter. Even the person who gives one a hard time is imparting a lesson. For the willing student, gurus can be found everywhere.

The Masterpiece of Manikkavacakar

According to legend, maNikkavaacakar, a 9th century CE minister of a Pandya kingdom, encountered civaa (Shiva) disguised as an ascetic. The encounter awoke his consciousness and moved him to record his understanding of the paths of devotion (bhakthi) and wisdom (njana) which could bring the devotee closer to union (yoga) with the Supreme Consciousness.

The civapuraaNam is a devotional prostration to Shiva as well as a summary of Shaivite theology and metaphysics. The song is very popular and is sung on many religious occasions. Sadly, most of the singers do not completely understand the meaning. For those who are not Tamil literate, it is simply a long-winded recitation of meaningless sounds.

In the third line from the end of the song, maNikkavaacakar mentions "Those who sing, knowing the meaning of the song". It is in knowing the meaning that the maximum value can be obtained from singing the song. This line in the song prompted me to offer a transliteration and translation of the song, primarily targeting those who can't read thamizh. 

My transliteration invites readers to abandon the idea that they are reading an English language version. I wish to encourage them to grasp the structure of the thamizh text. Therefore my choice of the Roman alphabets adheres closely to thamizh spelling.

In my translation, I have tried to retain the lyrical, philosophical, and devotional beauty of the original thamizh. I trust that I have succeeded. I have included guidelines on my romanization of the thamizh for benefit of those who are interested.

I have included the civapuraaNam in my Tao of Music.

Go here for my introduction, transliteration and translation in PDF

Go here for the You Tube video with subtitles.