Know Thyself!
"Know Thyself!" goes the old saying. But we all know that this is easier said than done.
Knowing oneself is the result of constant aathma vichaara (self inquiry) under the
guidance of a Sathguru. As part of this process, a disciple analyzes the good and bad in him,
consciously eliminates the bad, cultivates the good and by total surrender to God and Guru,
achieves true knowledge of himself.
But what we have said in a few lines above takes many many years to accomplish! Sometimes
many many lifetimes! Is there an easier way? A shortcut, perhaps? A great Siddha by name
Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara took it upon himself to reveal this shortcut to humankind.
He wanted to show us a simple, practical way in which we can achieve the pinnacle of self realization.
The Siddha took the form of a human and underwent austerities that are designed to reveal the
knowledge of the self. One of these practices was Arunachala giri valam on the
Thiruvaadhirai (Aarudra) nakshatram day.
Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara would perform giri valam on Thiruvaadhirai nakshatram day during the
Budha horai time period. This is one of the important lessons that he has conveyed to us.
Those seeking self knowledge should follow this procedure.
Thus he spent years in worship. He would put himself through severe austerities. He would
beg and plead with God to reveal the perfect shortcut for knowing oneself, for realizing the Self.
After many years of austerities and sincere prayer, the great Lord decided to appear before the Siddha.
The Lord places maaya obstacles even for advanced devotees. This is to test their sincerity.
It's thus that Ravana and others displayed their true colors by asking for self serving boons.
But the Siddhas being exemplars of selflessness do not fall prey to maaya. Their only goal is
the upliftment of all beings.
The Lord appeared as Rudra and asked the Siddha to ask whatever he wanted. The Siddha, in great humility,
replied thus: "Lord, There's only one thing I want. Please show me your form as a self realized yogi and thus
the way to know oneself so that I can convey it to others." In a world full of people who seek wealth,
power, fame and self aggrandizement, this was a unique request indeed. The Lord was greatly pleased
with the selflessness of the Siddha. When He was willing to offer the entire universe to the Siddha, all
that the great One asked was to help others. What a truly selfless being! The Lord, touched by the
perfect selflessness of the Siddha, perched Himself at the peak of blissful self realization and showed the
Siddha what He wanted to see. At the pinnacle of this state, He performed the dance of bliss which only the
Siddha could see because of his true selflessness.
The Lord then spoke to the Siddha: "Rudra Kanda, I have shown you that form of Mine as a self realized yogi
as you desired. If there's anything else that you want, please ask." The Siddha, in perfect humility, said,
"Lord, I ask the same thing that I asked You before. Please reveal to one and all Your form of the self realized yogi
in dance as well." The Lord, once again pleased with the Siddha's selflessness, granted the Siddha's wish.
He further said, "Rudra Kanda, I hereby place you in my state of eternal bliss. Situated forever in this state,
you'll continue your work of uplifting other beings."
The day on which this great event happened is the Aarudra darshan day.
Thus this day is important for all of us who want to achieve self realization.
Aarudra abishekam and Aarudra darshan are important parts of this worship procedure.
Aarudra abishekam should be performed at night on Dec/22/99
and Aarudra darshan at dawn on Dec/23/99 this year.
During this Pramaadhi year, the ideal place
to conduct this worship is the Sri Kutraala Natha Eesvara temple in the town of Kutralam
in the state of Tamil Nadu in south India. Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara himself will officiate
the worship in this temple on this day in subtle form or in some concrete form of his choosing.
Aarudra Darshan Vratam Worship Procedure
The Siddhas have designed a worship procedure known as Rudra Saamba Vratam
for Aarudra Darshan during the Pramaadhi year. This special occasion occurs
once in 60 years and thus devotees should make it a point not to miss it.
The worship procedure starts three days before the Thiruvaadhirai (Aarudra) nakshtaram day
on Barani nakshatram.
These worship procedures are neccesarily a bit difficult, but
goal of knowing oneself is not that easy either.
These procedures have been designed by the Siddhas to burn up the bad karma that we have accumulated
so that we can become ready to know ourselves.
Those who are completely focussed on the
goal of self realization must perform this worship procedure with utmost faith and sincerity.
They should realize it's the shortcut to self realization given to us by Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara.
Barani Nakshatram, Dec/19/99
Wake up early in the morning, bathe and wear a clean set of clothes.
At dawn, drink some water in which vilvam leaves have been placed, look at Soorya
and prostrate yourself 12 times.
Then place your body in the Soma Bimba Yoga
posture by placing your right foot on your left thigh as shown in the figure here.
Chant the most potent Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of three hours. This posture is part of the Pingala Nadana Yoga Sutra.
Chanting this most potent mantra in this posture is a great blessing indeed.
Then face north and prostrate yourselves 51 times.
Consume a glass of cow's milk.
Make sure that you don't add sugar to the milk.
Then place your body in the Soorya Bimba Yoga
posture by placing your left foot on your right thigh as shown in the figure here
and again chant the
Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of three hours. This posture is part of the Idakala Nadana Yoga Sutra.
If you can't maintain these postures for the full three hours, you may relax for a moment or two,
but don't relax for too long. In any case, you shouldn't sit down during this period.
After this procedure, massage your body with Ponnaanganni extract and then bathe.
Assume the Padmasana posture and bend your body forward so that your forehead touches the
ground.
Chant the Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
for a period of two hours in this posture. This is known as Visva Saambava Yoga.
After this, you can eat some. Rice mixed with milk and honey is ideal.
In the evening, perform girivalam around Arunachala or any other sacred hill in the place where you live
for a period of five hours. If there are no sacred hills where you live, circumnambulate an ancient temple
in your area for five hours. You can consume water at night, but no food. Go to bed to relax the body.
Karthigai Nakshatram, Dec/20/99
Wake up early in the morning, bathe and wear a clean set of clothes.
At dawn, drink some milk mixed with honey.
Place some deer skin or tiger skin or darbha grass or a piece of wool or dry cotton cloth on the floor.
Assume the Jeevitha Paathra Yoga posture as shown in the figure.
Chant the most potent Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of three hours.
Then face north and prostrate yourselves 101 times while chanting the Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra.
Then assume the Sanga Mitra Yoga posture by stretching your legs and clasping the
right big toe with your right hand
and the left big toe with your left hand.
In this posture, chant the Sri Rudra Namasivaaya mantra for half an hour to one hour.
After this, you can consume food. Rice mixed with grated coconut and grate carrots is ideal.
Drink as much water as you need.
Then face north and place your body in the Brunga Nithya Yoga
posture as shown in the figure here
and again chant the
Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of two hours.
If you can't maintain these postures for the prescribed time period, you may relax for a moment or two,
but don't relax for too long. In any case, you shouldn't sit down during this period.
In the evening, perform girivalam around Arunachala or any other sacred hill in the place where you live
for a period of five hours. If there are no sacred hills where you live, circumnambulate an ancient temple
in your area for five hours. Go to bed to relax the body.
Rohini Nakshatram, Dec/21/99
Wake up early in the morning, bathe and wear a clean set of clothes.
At dawn, consume some rice mixed with coconut and brown sugar.
Then face east and perform 51 thopukaranams.
Clasp the tip of your right ear with your left hand and the left ear with your right hand.
Cross your legs and sit down such that your rear touched the back of your ankles.
This is one repetition. This is a great yogic procedure according to the Siddhas.
It cleanses and energizes the 72000 nerves in the body's subtle nervous system.
The proper functioning of these 72000 subtle nerves is crucial for self realization and
thus the thopukaranam technique is very important.
After this assume the Jaya Maathru Yoga posture as shown in the figure.
Chant the most potent Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of two hours.
These yoga postures have been revealed by the Siddhas in the context of the
Aarudra darshan during the Pramaadhi year. But you can practise them on a
daily basis too. If you do this through out your lifetime, you'll achieve great spiritual heights.
Make sure that you chant the Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra while practising these yoga postures.
If you can't maintain these postures for the prescribed time period, you may relax for a moment or two,
but don't relax for too long. In any case, you shouldn't sit down during this period.
You can consume food in the afternoon. Rice mixed with coconut is ideal on this day.
Assume the normal relaxed sitting posture (Sukaasana)
and again chant the
Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of two hours.
In the evening, perform girivalam around Arunachala or any other sacred hill in the place where you live
for a period of five hours. If there are no sacred hills where you live, circumnambulate an ancient temple
in your area for five hours. You can drink some milk at night. Go to bed to relax the body.
Mrigaseersham Nakshatram, Dec/22/99
Wake up early in the morning, bathe and wear a clean set of clothes.
Feed at least 51 cows with agathi keerai.
Perform Go pooja for at least one cow.
Worship her in all four directions. Say out loud, "Mother, Please give us amrutham,"
and get some milk from her and consume it as such without heating it.
Seek out a spot on the banks of a sacred river or ocean or in a sacred temple.
Stay seated in the normal sitting posture (Sukaasana), be silent and
meditate on the
most potent Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of two hours.
You can consume pomegranate or pineapple or reddish colored bananas as food in the afternoon.
Pomegranate juice or pineapple juice is ideal on this day. If you choose pineapple juice, make
sure you mix it with honey.
Assume the Padmasana posture
and again chant the
Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra (Na ma si vaa ya, Si vaa ya na ma, Si va ya si va, Si va Si va)
in this posture for a minimum of three to five hours.
In the evening, perform girivalam around Arunachala or any other sacred hill in the place where you live
for a period of five hours. If there are no sacred hills where you live, circumnambulate an ancient temple
in your area for five hours.
Make sure you chant the Sri Rudra Namasivaya mantra throughout these five hours.
You can also walk on the banks of a river or on the sea shore and chant the mantra.
You shouldn't sleep at night on this day. Since this night is the time for Aarudra abishekam,
you should engage yourself in getting things ready for this worship procedure.
Center your mind on God through out the night and get ready for Aarudra darshan at dawn.
Thiruvaadhirai (Aarudra) Nakshatram, Dec/23/99
Aarudra darshan at dawn is the fitting finale for this difficult worship procedure.
This darshan is the vision that the Lord blessed Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara with.
This is the vision that marks the dawn of self realization.
This is the vision that bestows eternal bliss.
On this day, you must feed a minimum of 30 people.
Those who can afford more should feed more.
The important thing is that you must feed the poor through out the Thiruvaadhirai nakshatram time span.
It's ideal if you can do this in a group. Community service must be done in a group, say the Siddhas.
While individual worship is good, group worship is ideal.
Karma Nullification
While the worship procedure mentioned here is a bit difficult,
those who observe it sincerely will be launched on the path of self realization
by the great Rudra Kanda Siddha himself.
Those who perform this worship procedure as described will get to see the great Siddha
in either subtle or concrete form. This is a Siddha guarantee.
This worship procedure harnesses the energy of the Rudra Agni that's available during
the Aarudra darshan days and burn up our bad karma, thereby making us fitting candidates
for knowing ourselves.
Apart from launching us towards the spiritual goal of self realization and knowing oneself,
this worship procedure also has some important karma nullification aspects.
It's a "once in a lifetime" redemption procedure for those who have ill treated their parents
(at the suggestion of their spouses) and those ill treated their spouses. Those who are guilty
of these sins should observe this procedure, repent for their wrongdoings, reform themselves and
do the needful for those harmed. If they do this with utmost sincerity, this worship procedure
will absolve them of the bad karma accumulated through these sins.
Moreover, this worship procedure contributes to the working out of the bad karma resulting
from improper sexual desires. It reforms one from the grip of impure sexual thoughts and desires
and places them on the spiritual path.
This worship procedure makes us introspect on our failings and thus contributes to knowing ourselves.
It wins us the grace of the Sathguru and the Siddhas and thus places us on the road to self realization.
|
| Om Salutations to Arunachala |
| Om Salutations to Sri Agasthiar |
| Om Salutations to the Maha Guru |
| Om Salutations to the Agasthiar Lineage |
| Om Salutations to Sri Rudra Kanda Siddhesvara |
| Om Salutations to the Siddhas |
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