Rahu-Ketu transit homams and recitals went on well by Divine Grace.

Dear Members:

The Rahu-Ketu transit homams went on well by Divine Grace today between 7 a.m. and 11-30 a.m. (IST). Vaancha Kalpa Ganapathy Homam, Durga Ganapathy Homam, Ucchishta Ganapathy homam, Durga Beeja mantra homam, Pratiyangira Homam, Aswaroodaa homam, and Rahu-ketu Beeja mantra homams were conducted as a part of the austerities of the day.

My sincere thanks to the members who took part in the homam and sponsored a part of the expenses by their participation through this blog link.

Let the good effects of the transit be increased manifold times for those of us who are under beneficial transit influences; let the malefic effects of the transit be nullified or at least moderated to our advantage by Divine Grace for those of us who are under malefic transit influence of the nodes.

May Divine Grace Bless us all.

வாழ்க வையகம் வாழ்க வளமுடன்

Pandit R.DAKSHINAMOORTHI
Astrological and Remedial consultant
dakshinastrologer@yahoo.co.in
For astro-queries click on the link:"Ask a query" on the right side of this blog.

Divine Legends that ensure peace and prosperity in the society

We are passing through a sensitive phase of existence where the combined effects of adverse planetary influences and the general degradation of moralities of life are contributing to escalating violence levels in the society, danger of thefts/ robberies, abuse of women, elderly, and even children, and a general intolerance that makes persons who should co-exist peacefully in the society into bitter rivals. There are two Divine Legends in Devi Bhaagavatam, contemplation of which is reputed to provide immunity from famines and other calamities including sectarian violence, epidemics/ endemics, pestilence, general insecurity pervading the society as a whole due to action of bands of thieves/ robbers, etc….. Let me relate these for the benefit of everyone.

Legend of sage Gautama and how Grace of Goddess Gayathri helped him and others

Once upon a time, there was no rain for 12 consecutive years with the result that sighting of even a blade of green grass became a rarity. Sages and Brahmins who were doing tapasya in the forests approached the Great Sage Gautama and requested him to do something about this andhelp the suffering millions. Sage Gautama performed a Divine Homam in Honour of Goddess Gayathri Devi. The Goddess manifested Herself in the Homam Kundam and offered the "Akshaya Paatra" (the Divine Vessel with unending supplies of food, and all materials). Sage Gautama removed the sufferings of people by distributing food, water, and all essential articles with the aid of Atchaya Paatra. This selfless service of Sage Gautama spread over the three worlds and even Lord Indra - the King of the Celestials praised Sage Gautama wholeheartedly in the Divine Assembly. Divine Sage Naarada came to this world and narrated this glory here to the satisfaction to Sage Gautama who was immensely pleased, and expressed his sentiment that all this was possible due to Devi’s Grace. In the meantime, the rain Gods blessed the Earth with bountiful rains and normalcy returned.

There were a group of jealous persons who wished to insult Sage Gautama as they were unable to tolerate his glory. They cunningly offered an old and dying cow for his Gopujaa. The innocent and unsuspecting Sage was about to perform the pooja, when the cow died merely on touch fromthe pooja water (it was that weak and it died of shivering cold just on contact with a sprinkle of water!) The cunning persons hiding nearby accused Sage Gautama with "Go-Hatya" i.e. they accused him of having killed a cow which is considered to be one of the most severe sins! The Great Sage was disillusioned and was wondering what was happening. Then he meditated on Goddess Gayathri who helped him to Divine the sequence of events. Overcome with justifiable anger, the Sage cursed those cunning persons to suffer endless miseries. The anger of theinnocent and noble saint began to torment those cunning persons beyond their limits, and they fell at his feet for forgiveness. The kindhearted sage, gave a remedy saying that they will get relief from their troubles by praying to the Goddess on Chaitra sukla Navami (incidentally this is the navami of the Vasantha Navarathri - the same thithi of birth of Shri Raama!). Those cunning persons remedied their sufferings by praying for many years like that on Chaitra sukhla navami. Goddess Gayathri consoled Sage Gautama saying that he need not feel bad for having cursed those jealous persons nor for their attitude. These are all signs of approaching Kali yuga and vanished.

Contemplating on this legend will give immunity from the evil designs of cunning persons in this kali age and also help in times of financial distress. When there is wide-spread economic depression and general decline in farm produce, chanting of this legend as a collective worship will prove auspicious to the society as a whole.

II: The legend of Shaakambari Devi and how Her Grace removed the Famine in Ayodhya

Once there was a severe famine in the regions surrounding Ayodhyaa. The people could not divine the reason for that. They thought that propitiating Goddess is the best way out of troubles and they approached Sage Durvaasa for guidance.

The great Sage said that "Removal of Famines is possible by worshipping Goddess Paraa Shakti in Her form of Shaakambari. I shall initiate you people into Her mantra."

My note: Shaakambari Devi has 1000 eyes and hence she is also called as "Sadaakshi" - one with Eyes everywhere! Shastras say that when famines torment people and if there is at least one highly righteous person in their midst, the Goddess' eyes water out of compassion and this will induce rains! This is the basis of the belief that if there are punyaatmaas in a place, there will be rains.(end of my note on this).

A small sthothra on Goddess Shaakambari:

"Ashwattha vata nimbhaamra kapitta padarii gathe
Banasaarka kareeraadi ksheera vruksha swaroopinii

dhuktavallii nivaasaarhe dhaneeye dayaanidhe

daakshinya karunaaroope saakambarii namo(a)sthute"

(pronunciation guide: "e" in this sthotra has the sound as in "May", "Day" etc. - the "Ay sound")People surrounding Ayodhya did the worship as per the guidelines of the Great sage Durvaasa.

The Goddess manifested with a Form carrying all sorts of vegetables and grains all over Her Body. By Her Grace, rain cycles were regularized and people were relived from their famine.Meditating on this legend and worshipping Goddess Saakambari will give immunity from famines and will ensure good agricultural produce and prosperity in the nation.
May Goddess bless us and guide us; may Her Grace stand by us and help us to overcome the current depressive economic conditions.

Reciting these legends in community prayers and praying to the Divine Mother for Peace and prosperity will help in maintaining a well-balanced society where there will be peaceful co-existence and prosperity.

(I have given a liberal translation of the original legends; those who wish to study the original legends in their full form should refer Devi Bhaagavatam for the Sanskrit version. I have given this legends in their English rendering so that this could be recited in community prayers where everyone can participate in this with full understanding. There are some mantras where the sound is more important than the content, while there are certain portions of scriptures where the content is more important than the Sanskrit mantraic sounds. This is one such portion where the content of the legend has the remedial potency. That is why I have given the translated version. It is our earnest request that spiritual communities perform this recital in mass prayers on convenient holidays for the welfare of the Universe as a whole).
Blessed be.
Pandit R.DAKSHINAMOORTHI
Astrological and Remedial consultant
dakshinastrologer@yahoo.co.in
For astro-queries click on the link:"Ask a query" on the right side of this blog.

Significance of Idol worship

Significance of Idol Worship

Many persons of non-Indian origin who are fascinated by the great philosophies found in Upanishads often wonder as to why in that land of such philosophical advancement,Idol worship considered inferior in philosophical maturity in worship exists! In fact even some Indians groomed in modern thought processes scorn such worship. While it is true that abstract meditation on the Formless, Attribute-less Divinity is best, is it possible for everyone? Even some persons with sufficient spiritual maturity and philosophical depth feel attached to Idol forms and sometimes feel guilty about it or suffer a complex about this. Should they feel so? Will idol worship deter you from your final goal of Salvation? Let us get the concepts about Idol worship in perspective in this write-up..

Basic Forms Of Worship
In worshipping Divinity there are three basic forms...1) Nirguna - meditating on the formless, attributeless Absolute Divine 2) Saguna - meditating on a form of Divinity in which certain attributes are credited to that Form; 3) Saguna-Nirguna meditating not on humanly designed forms but invoking forces of nature like Wind, Lightning, power of the swirling waters, resilience of the bending bamboo, heat of the Sun, serenity of the Moon, etc.

Which Form Of Worship Is Best?
The Nirguna form is very good for ascetics, and persons who are sufficiently advanced in their meditative abilities and philosophical evolution in spirituality.

For the vast majority of persons, saguna worship is necessary in the initial stages of spiritual development....This is where idol worship comes! The iconographies are very scientific....the forms correspond to certain subtle, subconscious mental states and truths already embedded deep in our mind! (This is what Psychologists like Carl Jung call "Archetypes"). When we meditate on those icons, our mind connects with those attributes and hence realization of certain spiritual concepts becomes easier. Moreover, in mantrik applications, idols have their own special role to play. Mantriks usually employ both the saguna and saguna-nirguna forms for their purpose.

Idol worship creates a sort of desirable "attachment" to Divinity.....the idol becomes a "communication port" or "focus of spiritual energies" and serves as a link between the boundless, formless, Omnipotent, Omniscent Divine and the spiritual aspirant who is still in the infant stages of spiritual development. Even great Masters like Ramakrishna Parahamsa have been benefitted in their initial stages by idol worship. Saint Raghavendra of Mantralayam who still guides and helps His devotees from His Jeeva Samadhi was performing the pooja for Moola Raama Idol till He entered samaadhi voluntarily though He was a philosopher par excellence. Such saints perform Idol Worship for Universal Welfare. Those idols are almost repositories of spiritual energies which are constantly maintained by regular poojas done by the successors of those saints for posterity.

As everyone cannot identify with the formless Divine with infinite qualities, Divinities have blessed us with "archa" (idol) forms in which the boundless Divine is bound by certain parameters and attributes and as such approachable for the layman.

Moreover, nirguna worship confers ONLY spiritual progress while saguna worship like idol worship promotes both spiritual and material wellbeing and hence their significance for the common man. What is to be remembered is that while worshipping the idols/ natural force forms, the offering is made only symbolically to the forces/ the Idol while our real intent is to achieve communion with the Ultimate Divine. We should never lose sight of That Goal of our Existence though for mundane requirements using procedures related to idol worship are not erroneous in any way.

In the Bhagavat Gita, the Blessed Lord says In whatever form a devotee wishes to worship me and offer his salutations, I accept that myself and bestow the wishes. So, even philosophical devotees need not have a complex as to whether they are falling from their perfect state of realization if they have an attachment to any idol form. A day will come when you will attain the perfection to realize God within yourselves and in every living being or for that matter in every quark and atom, just by following the path of devotion to your personal Deity. It is better to walk with the help of a stick and reach your destination safely rather than stumble and fall along the road due to false pride that may cause you to shun the walking stick. Idol worship is a useful walking stick that helps to balance the inherently imperfect human mind along the path to reach Divinity and Salvation. Once the goal of self-realization is reached and you are above wants, the walking stick (Idol worship) can be discarded conveniently, and others will use it intelligently following your example. In fact many great saints have done it that way and the idols worshipped by them during their spiritual progress are enshrined in many temples across India and are great centres of spiritual power to this day, and help millions in solving their mundane and spiritual dielemmas.

I intend to write a series on the Powers/ benefits associated with worship of various forms/ natural forces/ meditative images in due course.

A Prayer To The Divine For Our Enlightenment

Lead us along Oh Kindly Light Help us to understand that nothing in spirituality is false We are all progressing from the Lesser Truths to the Greater TruthsTill we reach the Higher Truths, please strengthen our Beliefs in the Lesser Truths that are going to lead us to the Higher ones..Help us to maintain our resolve and faith, and not stumble in our faith due to imperfect philosophical dilemmas.
Pandit R.DAKSHINAMOORTHI
Astrological and Remedial consultant
dakshinastrologer@yahoo.co.in
For astro-queries click on the link:"Ask a query" on the right side of this blog.