Deivathin Kural Series - 154

Om Namah Sivaya.

Deivathin Kural # 154 of 17 Feb 2007.

1. These e-mails, are chapter wise translations of the lectures given by, Sri Chandra Sekharendra Swamigal, of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. Every day, after the daily Puja, He used to talk, on various aspects concerning Hinduism. These are published, in Tamil, by Vanady Padippagam, T.Nagar, Chennai, as Deivathin Kural, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each.

2. To-day's talk is titled, 'Vibhuthi / Thirumannin Mahimai' that is, 'The Greatness of Vibhuthi / Thirumann ', in pages 701 to 704, of Deivathin Kural, Volume 1.(This is the 9th successive e-mail, on the subject of Oneness of Siva-Vishnu.)

3. "As fire turns wood in to ashes, awareness of Gnana turns all actions into ashes", says Sri Krishna to Arjuna, in Bhagavath Gita. The Vibhuthi ashes are thus indicative of the end residue of incinerated actions. The Sanskrit dictionary 'Amarakosam' says that, 'Vibhuthi' and 'Aishwaryam' have the same meaning. In other words, all the wealth of the world are only ashes!

4. Any matter to which heat is applied, it first becomes black. Then on further heating, it becomes ashes that are white. That is the end stage, when all the dross have been removed. That is, 'Vibhuthi', or 'Neeru', or 'Bhasmam'. Easwara is the end product after all the world is burnt off. He is the eternal, indestructible remainder, after everything is reduced to ashes. Just a stage earlier, is coal. (In to-days world, it is the coal and petroleum products, which are all the wealth, that is 'aishwarya'! It is the most valuable black-diamond too.) But in our understanding, there is nothing more valuable than the ashes-white, that is Vibhuthi.

5. We see things of different colours. But all the colours are gone on being burnt. Finally the end result is a white. Colour is make-up. Reality is colourless. Vibhuthi is truth after all make-up is gone. In Tamil, the human body is known as, 'Mei', which is also a word for truth. Vibhuthi should be smeared all over the 'mei'. Even after this body is burnt, remainder 'mei' will be Vibhuthi.

6. When Sri Krishna says in Gita that, 'After the fire of Gnana is lit, all 'Karma' will become 'Bhasmam', He does not mean the 'sunyata' of Buddha. When all the firewood is burnt, remainder is not 'nothingness', but ashes. Similarly, when all the actions are burnt off; at the end of creation, sustenance and destruction; remainder 'maha bhasma' is Parama Atma.

7. In Thiru-thonda-thogai, Sundaramurthy Nayanar says, "muzhu neeru poosiya munivarkkum adiyen", meaning, 'that he is beholden to all Siva devotees who have smeared the ashes all over their bodies'. Vibhuthi should be smeared all over the body. Through that simple process, one can attain to all the wealth of this universe. Many people do that. The common folk in deep South, call it 'thunnooru'. It can save you from real and imaginary evil, as well as from delusion.

8. Vaishnavas wear 'thiruman'. The soil from under the 'thulasi' plant is thiruman. The clay from the river bank of Yamuna or Kaveri, is thiruman. This practice is also very similar to wearing of vibhuthi. The King and Learned, the Pauper and Idiot, all come to the same end, a handful of ashes or back to earth. This life is illusive. From dust/ashes/earth, to dust/ashes/earth, is the span of life of all living and non-living, animate and inanimate. Scientists to-day confirm that this whole universe has come into being from the cosmic dust. That is the end principle for us too.
We wear the ashes or thiruman, to keep this truth constantly in mind.

9. In Srirangam, when 'mruth sangrahanam' is done,(that is,when the dead body is consigned to the fire,) they use the earth from under the 'bilva' tree. Bilva is the abode of Goddess Lakshmi. So is the cow an abode of Lakshmi. When the cowdung is burnt with bilva wood, the ashes so obtained, is the ideal. This bhasma / neeru / thiruman, can attain you to 'God realization.'

10. As per the family traditions, we should wear thiruneeru / thiruman. 'Namam pottan or namam pettinaru', has connotations of duping others. But the real meaning comes from the practise of chanting Gods names while wearing thiruneeru / thiruman. While smearing the ashes all over the body, we are to chant, 'On Namah Sivaya'. While wearing the thiruman, we should be taking the twelve names of Mahavishnu, 'Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Thrivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Rishikesa, Padmanabha and Damodara', and apply the Namam in twelve places in the body. Since we took the names of God while wearing it, 'namam poduvathu', became a custom.

11. The Namam / Vibhuthi is reminder of the Truth of Divinity and impermanence of existance.

Sambhomahadeva.