Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Paramacharya insists that a married woman should not leave her forehead empty, other than during the ceremonial rites like homage to ancestors, that too if it is applicable for her; she should have the symbolic mark with vermilion on her forehead and middle of the partition of hair as well.  She has the primary right to lighten the lamp in the house, men can do in her absence.  It is traditional to decorate the room of the deity and the door step with the rice powder mix; it is another form of charity, feeding the tiny creatures like ants and insects.  The preparation of meal should be done after bath with simple prayers, while cooking it is important to memorize the sacred chants or listening to Vedic chants, it would purify the meal and it turn out to be an offering to Lord.  It is compulsory to offer the meal to deity before it is consumed, otherwise we would remain thieves and selfish in all our lives.  Once the offering is over, it should be offered to crows, Lord Shaneeshwara will be highly pleased with this act, and it is believed that ancestors will accept the offerings and bless the family.    The meal consumed after offering to deity would turn out divine, and it will keep us hail and healthy.  A woman need not do recitation of any Vedic chants, other than simple prayers; she has become already a prime beneficiary of half of the piousness of her husband, if she makes sure that her husband is following the daily rituals meticulously, helping him with the preparation for the performance of daily rituals are considered as her primary duties.  According to the principle of Manu, men cannot perform any of the spiritual or ceremonial rites without the assistance of a woman, or any rites performed in her absence are considered as not a righteous deed. Thus Acharya beautifully described the Sthreedharma/prime duties of a woman, it is always good to follow our Acharya’s advice in all possible ways, he plays the role of father and mother as well, and none of the parents will leave their children in troubles, if we sincerely follow their uncomplicated advises with good heart.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Sri Paramacharya highly speaks about the indisputable truth, that women are the beacon for righteousness, our scriptures and Veda highly admire the contributions of a woman in various Dharmic rites, woman is the initiator to all fire sacrifices, she protects the family rituals with her attentiveness, dedication and faith, she is over and over compares with the Mother Universe for her forbearance, mental strength and physical abilities.    Her husband shares equal half of the results of her sinful deeds, in the same manner she would be the beneficiary of half of the pious deeds of her husband.  A woman   in the family holds vital position in carrying out all the Dharmic rites, she should have thorough knowledge of her family traditions, rites and customs, and so that she can pass it on to younger generation and in this way the family traditions can be kept intact.   Families where women are treated with respect and kindness will be the permanent dwelling place of Goddess Durga, Goddess Lakshmi, and Goddess Saraswathi, even the five essential elements  would wait for her command.   Acharya was a walking University, he kept travelling from one place to another by foot and seldom in the palanquin, so that he can educate the people of remote villages like a mother who affectionately feed her bosom milk to her child; he was always concerned about the well-being of his attendants while moving through the toughest routes from villages to villages, those days devotion to preceptor was intense and pure.  Acharya’s compassionate grace was enough to cure the distress and afflictions of the people; wherever he goes  a large crowd would be patiently waiting to get a glimpse of this Godly saint.

Teachings of Lord Buddha –

One of the five precepts of Buddhism is ‘Morality’, all the religion insists to follow the principle of virtue and practice of non-violence, evade from misconduct, robbery, and addiction to intoxicating drinks.   They encourage attributes like generosity, simplicity, forbearance, honesty, serenity, love, care, compassion, kindness, and discipline; which can lead to the path of enlightenment.  Practice of mindful Meditation helps for mental development, it strengthens our mind and removes the mental confusion, it brings the serenity of mind, it improves concentration, creativity, vigor and it also helps to achieve good conduct.  Wisdom or enlightenment is the Supreme state of consciousness; we have to make every effort to achieve that the highest state of mind, the realization of supreme consciousness is possible only if the mind is calm and pure.  The human life is full of sufferings; it is an inevitable part of life, sufferings from physical and mental ailments, deaths, the pain of separation, loss, and failures, major reason for sufferings are attachments, endless desires, possessiveness, yearn for sensual pleasure, desire to accumulate wealth, money, fame, etc..  Suffering causes lack of control over anger, lust, desire, ego, pride, and jealous, surprisingly sufferings are an individual choices.   Hence, sufferings are not mandatory though it is an inevitable part of life, there are ways to put an end to sufferings once for all,  Nirvana is the supreme state where there is no suffering, in this state person will be freed from attachment and desires, there is no fear or anxiety.  Therefore, virtues and disciplined life can only lead to the path of enlightenment, leaving behind all the wickedness, cruelties, conceitedness, and following strict celibacy, simple way of living will help to create all new perception, right thinking, aspiration and desire to free from attachments, ignorance, and hatred.   The practice of meditation helps to achieve control over sense, words, actions, and thoughts; it promotes good thought, it helps to refrain from evil deeds, usage of abusive language, getting involved in improper means of intoxication.  Mindful meditation helps to attain complete awareness of body, mind, and feelings.  The overall well-being can be achieved through meditation, reading scriptures and taking part in religious rites.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya !

Sri Paramacharya conducted various Vidhwath Sabha, religious and spiritual programs in the revered Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peedam, it was always crowded with wise, scholars and intellectuals from various places, it gave an excellent opportunities to the scholars for sharing their knowledge in Veda, Vedanta and sacred scriptures, those activities are still taking place under the benefaction of 7oth pontiff of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peedam Sri Shankara Vijayendhra Saraswathi Swamigal.  Acharya put in simple words about the existence of ocean sized supreme bliss which is the real nature of soul, unfortunately we often forget to realize the true nature of soul while chasing for fame, wealth, and material happiness which are flimsy in nature.  Intellectuals who are well aware of the nature of material happiness will not chase for those things.  Paramacharya explained the need for mediation on regular basis, bathing cleanse the physical impurities, we concentrate on washing away the dirt accumulated on the physical body on regular basis, in the same manner our inner self also get polluted with various sensations which needs to be cleansed on daily basis with meditation upon supreme Lord, it helps to wash away the wicked thoughts before it get out of control.   Happiness is like streak of sun light passing through the woods while the movement of branches takes place and it is momentary; therefore contemplate upon permanent happiness which is the nature of supreme soul.  Acharya beautifully described quintessence of ‘Oneness in All’ with a simple illustration, human are born with sense of intelligence, while seeing one’s own image on the mirror, no one will react to it outrageously, whole Universe is the creation of supreme spirit, it reveals the nature of all-pervading Bhramam which resides as soul in living beings, the knowledge about Oneness in All sow the seed for compassion towards each other, it removes grief and unknown fears, ultimately worshiper would be freed from rebirth.

Sage of Kanchi –

Pranams at the lotus feet of Sri Paramacharya –

Sri Paramacharya describes that sufferings and happiness are the grace of supreme spirit, we have limited vision, we are unaware of the infinitesimal reason for both, we should always have faith in Universal Mother, that she won’t do anything to harm us, and therefore it is ideal to accept them as the grace of supreme spirit.  We easily accept  happiness, but sufferings are always tougher to absorb, though it is difficult to admit in the initial period with so much of heartache, frustrations, and confusions, later we will learn to accept them as well.  Acharya was a Mahayogi, a renounced soul/Jeevanmuktha, he was void of passion or sorrow, whose intellect was sharp like a sword, he was in a state of bliss always, he was aware of all that happening around.  Paramacharya relates to passion and time as the reasons for birth and death, passion causes birth and time cause death, every creature born in this Universe has to die, depth of the attachment causes the intensity of the sorrow.  Everything in this Universe has to undergo constant changes and ultimately vanishes.   The supreme spirit which is the essence of creation, preservation, and destruction remains imperishable.   Therefore contemplating upon supreme Lord Shiva who has won over death as well as desire/Kama removes the worldly bondage and liberates the soul from repeated births.  Our devotion towards the supreme soul should be intense that of a chaste wife to her husband, a creeper that embrace the tree, and a river that confluence with the ocean.   A ripened fruit voluntarily detach itself from the tree; in the same manner as we grow older we have to learn to detach ourselves from worldly affairs and impurities of the mind, it can be achieved only with intense practice of meditation and performance of duties.  Acharya taught us the essence of ‘Oneness of All’, generosity, humility, kindness, compassion, and simplicity, nine types of the practice of devotion, Sravanam/listening to the glorious myths and verses of Supreme Lord, Keerthanam/recitation of glorious myths and sing praising the endless attributes of Supreme Lord, Smaranam/contemplating upon the sacred names of Lord/visualizing the glorious form of supreme Lord and contemplating upon him, Padhasevanam/veneration at the lotus feet of preceptor and supreme Lord with intense devotion and faith, Archanam/veneration of supreme Lord and preceptor with flowers and various offerings, Vandhanam/prostration before preceptor and Supreme Lord, Dhasyam/veneration of preceptor and supreme Lord selflessly as a servant, Sakhyam/veneration of Supreme Lord as a constant companion, and  Athmanivedhanam/surrender at the lotus feet of Supreme Lord and preceptor are the nine types of devotion which leads to liberation.

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.