| Meditations on Sri Dakshinamurthy
Acharya Shankara composed a very profound poetical meditation on
Sri Dakshinamurthy - the South faced Shiva - youthful and silent enlightening his
disciples, aged, in pursuit of Truth! The essence of 'advaita', this 'stotra' captures the highest
vedantic expressions comprehended by the human mind. Articulated below is an abridged version of the poem,
I have simplified and in that process lost out some of its profoundity.
At Darchen, one gets to
have the 'darshan' of the south face of Mt. Kailash - silent, pure white and static - where time stops!.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who experiences in one's Self,
the Universe contained within Himself as the image of the
city seen in a mirror but taken as the true - aided by 'Maya'.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who spreads out, like a magician or great yogi, by one's own will
and maya, the universe, like in a germ of a seed or the vastness
of space and time!
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who directly enlightens
sadhakas with the vedic 'mahavakya' 'that-twam-asi' and whose direct look
blesses one to permanently experience the reality even as one sees the appearances of fictitious notions.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, whose true spiritual wisdom gushes forth from the entire
persona quietly, like the strong light of the lamp placed within a pot with several holes - seen sometimes and unseen
otherwise - and when His knowledge
thus shines, the entire universe shines.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who instantly destroys the terrible infatuation created by Maya that
makes one identify oneself into limitations like body, 'prana', senses, nothingness etc and err in claiming to be a
'Man', 'Woman', 'Child'. 'Idiot' or the 'Blind'.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who in deep sleep with the quiescence of the thought waves and senses is
the True Self eclipsed by Maya like in the eclipse of the sun , and with the continuing hold of maya,
on waking up, remembers to have slept well.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who through the 'Chin mudra' gesture reveals to the devotee as the ever present
inner true 'I' even as the devotee apparently goes through states of limitations like childhood, waking etc.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who deludes Himself by maya and arrives into this world as a human that sees and believes - the
cause-effect reasoning as well as limitations like parent, child, guru, shishya and their relationships; as well as
the human that experiences the states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep even while continuing to be the True Self.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who manifests in multiple forms comprising the elements - earth, water,
fire, air, space, Sun, Moon and the person in the act of sacrifice; as well as manifests as this universe of
movable and immovable even while being the Supreme Omnipresent.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who as the Teacher of the three worlds - destroys this maya of births
and deaths - and visualized by the devotees to be youthful and silently
seated with the aged disciples under the banyan tree - is the supreme holy silence that answers questions and doubts even as
they arose in the minds of the disciples.
Salutations to Guru Dakshinamurthy, who is the embodiment of the pranava mantra - 'Om' - is pure, calm and true
knowledge - is abode of all learning - the physician who cures those afflicted by 'samsara'!
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