Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Sri Paramacharya recommended a simple way of living, excessive desire is the major cause for grief and sufferings, our desires, and dreams for accumulating wealth grow endless, it often leads to disappointment and failure, hence Acharya advised people to put up with  the necessities of life and lead a simple life, he strongly recommended joy of giving, the practice of giving away to needy people who are lacking essentials of life which leads to end sufferings of worldly existence and liberation from repeated births.   Impurities of mind like desire, anger, ego, pride, jealous, and lust multiply sins and grief, therefore Acharya advised people to contemplate on the supreme spirit, that would wash away the sins and impurities of the worshiper.  Scriptures and Dharma Shasthras taught us exemplary methods to attain salvation and relief from miseries and sorrows once for all, the person who meticulously follow the ideology of scriptures attain immense bliss, these scriptures written by illustrious Rishis  are not meant to create any anxiety in the worshiper, they describe the pros and cons of all the deeds in detail, they recommend the methods to achieve goodness in life by following Yogic practices, meditation, observance of vows and austerities, the performance of religious practices, and carry out the duties and responsibilities which are the essential means to attain liberation from repeated births.  Our body is an instrument/vehicle/shrine to achieve the above purpose; it is the shrine where the supreme soul resides, therefore strictly adhering to discipline is essential to ward off illness and that is how the science of Medicine/Ayurveda came into existence.  There are three types of meditation to keep our mind cluster free; keeping mind without any distraction and focusing on a specific object is called ‘Savikalpa Samadhi’.  The natural state of realization of ‘self’ followed with inquisitiveness to search for bliss is called ‘Sahaja Samadhi’.   ‘Nirvikalpa Samadhi’ is the highest of the state and final objective of meditation, where the mind completely stops functioning and unites with the supreme consciousness.  These are practiced for self- purification and attain self-realization and God-realization as well.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Sri Paramacharya highlighted the importance of Karma – Bhakthi – Gnana Yoga.  Acharya well-defined the significance of worship of Lord Hari and Lord Hara without any differentiation, supreme spirit manifested in various forms but remains the same, we have various forms of deities, because our intellect seeks dissimilarity in whatever we see, in other words hunger is only one of its kind and remains the same for all, we need to pacify hunger by consuming meals, we do not stick with the same food on regular basis, if so we will get bored with the same, we seek various sorts of taste to appease our palate. It is absolutely individual interest to worship any deity of his/her own choice, but when following the custom and ceremonial practices in the family one should abide by the set of rules followed by the ancestors in the family for several years, it is applicable for wearing auspicious symbolic mark on the forehead too.    Acharya pointed out the need to achieve self-realization/knowledge of self/knowledge about the concept ‘I’ / and God- realization, all the creatures on Earth grows horizontal except human, and humans are innate with intelligence which is the prime instrument to understand the nature of Bhramam/supreme spirit.  Reading scriptures is the way to attain knowledge/Gnana Yoga, following one's own duties and responsibilities towards family and society, meditation, participating in religious and spiritual services are righteous deeds/Karma Yoga, the performance of duties with sincerity, dedication, and selflessness is Bhakthi Yoga.  Life without purpose is like an abandoned ship in the middle of the ocean, we are born with a specific purpose in our lives, let our objective to achieve freedom from constant miseries, grief, sorrows, pain, and afflictions of worldly existence,  freedom from worldly bondage, ultimate liberation from repeated births which are attainable with dedicated spiritual and religious practices, and meditation.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya emphasizes the practice of constant recitation of sacred names as a part of daily routine.  A person need not be an ascetic or leave duties and responsibilities or go to woods  to do meditation or recitation of sacred names, it does not require the entire day or night, all it requires a few minutes of our precious time,  recitation or listening to  sacred chants while performing ordinary household tasks, introducing the habit of recitation of sacred names to children from early years of childhood,  make them familiar with the simple religious practices and bringing up children listening to stories from scriptures, accompany them to shrines would do wonders in their lives, it purifies their intellect and it will help them grow responsible citizen.   We never stop consuming meal till death, or we do not stop  sleeping when it required or we do not stop breathing until the last call, we are not aware of the truth that the Lord of death is chasing us in every second, our nearness to death is getting closer in every moment, all the creatures born on Earth have to face death which is undeniable truth,   it is an inevitable part of life,  therefore   practicing recitation of sacred names of Lord would remove the fear of death, it would bring liveliness and divinity in the work.  Contemplating upon the supreme spirit would remove the excessive interest in worldly affairs, it avoids unnecessary arguments and conflicts, it removes impurities in the worshiper, constant recitation of sacred names of Lord would enhance the optimistic ambiance which is highly beneficial for the doer as well the people surrounded by him/her, it purifies the intellect of doer, it brings discipline and all new perception, it will provide a clear idea of good and evil.  We ordinary people required focusing on a particular image of Lord to achieve concentration, meditating upon one’s own favorite deity or preceptor would remove the cluster of mind.   Acharya highlighted the importance of worship of the family deity, in every village there will be a shrine for Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Subramanya, Goddess Adhishakthi and Lord Vishnu, or all the deities under one roof, the village deity is believed as the protector of the clan, hence regular worship of the family deity is very important.