Touched by the Trident of Shiva
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can really hurt me.
So goes a well known saying.
The Sathguru, Guru Mangala Gandharva Venkataraman, has cautioned us on many an occasion that one accumulates a lot of bad karma by the misuse of the speech faculty.
Lying, gossiping, slandering, twisting the truth, cussing, hurting with harsh words - all this result in bad karma that one has to work out. How many we have hurt with our words! The hurt we caused will surely extract its payment, say the Siddhas.
Those who hurt others with words, particularly good womenfolk, take birth as mutes, ones who have to suffer from the inability to speak at all. The bad karma resulting from improper use of the speech faculty can result in throat and mouth cancer. One's progeny suffers from stuttering or from being mute. At the time of death, one suffers the utter helplessness of not being able to speak. Thus, this bad karma can have chilling effects.
So how do we neutralize the bad karma caused by improper use of the speech faculty? This is a question each one of us has to ask ourselves.
But Sathguru Venkataraman has said that for every problem that humankind has been faced with, there has been a Siddha who has been blessed with a solution by God for that problem. It is upto humankind to seek these Siddha solutions for the problems it faces in every age.
Lalaadanga Yoga
Sathguru Venkataraman continues:
"Merciful Lord, How can the humans of the Kaliyuga be redeemed from the bad karma caused by their lack of control of their tongues?" asked a Siddha. His name was Sudhabudha Maharishi.
This Siddha resolved to do his tapas (penance) with a view to getting a solution from the Lord for this great problem of the Kali age.
He sat in penance for countless years in the precincts of the most sacred Singeeswara Shiva temple at Mappedu near Chennai.
Surrendering himself to Singiswara Siva, with every breath, he requested Him to give His solution for controlling the wagging human tongue.
As a physical statement of the problem for which he wanted a solution from the Lord, he pulled back his tongue into his throat in Laladanga Yoga, an esoteric Siddha Yogic practice, and sat in prayerful penance.
The motive of this Siddha was absolutely selfless. He could control his tongue like no human could, but he wanted the Lord's solution for the very human problem of controlling the wagging tongue. Look at his humility! He didn't step forth to offer his own solution; he figured that it was best to request the Lord's solution! Such was his surrender to the Lord!
Lord Singeeswara Shiva's Solution
Lord Singeeswara Siva was satisified by the selfless Siddha's penance and He appeared before Him.
With his Trisoola trident, the Blessed Lord pulled out Sudhabudha Maharishi's tongue that had been curled back in Lalatanga Yoga.
The Lord did not stop with that. He wrote sacred Beejakshara syllables on the Siddha's tongue with His Trisoolam and addressed him thus.
"Sudhabudha, Your devotional surrender is admirable. Your selfless penance will be an example for ages to come. We hereby give you the ancient banyan tree created by Sri Agasthiar. Grow it in these parts, in and around Mappedu and this shrine, and using the bark of these sacred banyan trees, make Lalaadanga Kashaayam and give it to the people as Siddha medicine. This Laladanga kashayam will cure the bad karma resulting from the misuse of the faculty of speech. It will make the divine name reside in the tongues and mouths of humans. Offer this as the Siddha solution for humans who want to control their tongues." Having said that, the blissful Lord accepted the devotional outpourings of the Siddha and blessed him profusely.
Sudhabudha Maharishi's Blessings
As instructed by the Lord, Sudhabudha Maharishi planted many a banyan tree in and around the Mappedu Singiswara temple. The distant progeny of those trees originally planted by Sudhabudha are found even today in and around Mappedu.
Sudhabudha Maharishi's form can be seen on the gopuram of the Mappedu Singeeswara temple. He can be seen on the second row on the right hand side before you enter the temple.
Those who meditate on Sudhabudha Maharishi will get the darshan of Lord Singeeswara Shiva, says Sathguru Venkataraman. They will get vaak shakti and Shiva gnana.
Those who read this sacred story with humility and tell it to others will get the blessings of Singiswara too.
Now, what is the Siddha way of making Lalaadanga Kashaayam, the Lord's Siddha medicine for tongue control?
That was revealed by Sathguru Venkataraman more than fifteen years ago along with the story of Sudhabudha.
It will be the subject of the next part of this article.
To be continued...
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| Om Salutations to Lord Singeeswara Shiva |
| Om Salutations to Sudhabudha Maharishi |
| Om Salutations to Maha Guru Sri Agasthiar |
| Om Salutations to the Agasthiar Lineage of Sathgurus |
| Om Salutations to the Siddhas |
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