CHARPATA PANJARI

                                                                         ADI SHANKARA

Charpata Panjarika Stotra (The eighteen gems of wisdom)

Charpata Panjarika Stotra Bhaj Govindam in 18 verses

Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam,
Govindam Bhaja Mooda Mathe,
Samprapthe sannihithe kale,
Nahi nahi rakshathi dookrunj karane.

Pray Govinda, Pray Govinda,
Pray Govinda, You fool,
For all the ken with you,
Will not be there,
When your end is near.

Dhinamapi rajani, sayam pratha,
Sisira vasanthou punarayatha,
Kala kreedathi gachat yayu,
Sthadapi na munjathyasa vayu

Daily comes the night, eve and morn.
The autumn and spring,
Comes again and again every year.
Time forever plays with life,
But desire does not desert this body forever.

Agre Vahni , prashte bhanu,
Rathrou chibuka samirpitha janu,
Karathala biksha taru thala vasa
Sthadhapi na munjathyasapasa.

The sun in the back,
And the fire behind,
Prevents biting cold during the day,
Knees meet the chin during the night,
To keep one warm.
And food comes by the daily begging,
Life is spent below a tree,
But desire does not desert this body forever.

Yavadvitho parjana saktha,
Sthavannija parivaro raktha
Paschat jeevathi jarajjara dehe,
Varthaam prucchathi ko apina gehe.
Till you are able to earn,
The wealth that everybody yearns,
All the family you love,
Will love and care.
But when the cage of your body gets old,
They would not even ask you,
“How are you?”

Jatilo mundee lunchitha kesa,
Kaashayambara bahu krutha vesha,
Pasyannapi cha na pasyathi lokaa
Hyudhara nimittam bahu krutha soka.
Men with hairs overgrown,
Men with a shaved head,
Men with a well-cut hair,
Men with ochre robes,
See the world,
But pretend they don’t,
And suffer all the way,
To fill their belly forever.

Bagavat geetha kinchid adheetha,
Gangaajalalava kanikaa peetha,
Sukrudhapi yasya murari samarcha,
Tasya yama kim kuruthe charchaam.

Read and imbibe Bhagavat Gita,
Drink a drop of the holy Ganga,
At least once salute the Lord,
Then the God of death,
Will not bother you forever.

Angam galitham palitham mundam,
Dasanaviheenam jatham thundam,
Vruddho yathi gruheetha dhandam,
Tadapi na munjathyaasa pindam.

The limbs have become weak,
The head has become fully bald,
There are no teeth in the mouth,
And the old man totters with an aid of a stick,
But desire does not desert this body ever.

Balasthavat kreedasaktha,
Stharunasthavath tharunee saktha,
Vrudha staavath chintha magna,
Parame brahmani kopi na lagna.

The child’s mind is engaged in play,
The youths mind is engaged in his lasses charms,
The old man’s mind is full of worries,
But no one thinks of the Ultimate Truth.

Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,
Punarapi janani jatare sayanam,
Iha samsaare khalu dusthare,
Krupayaa pare pahi murare.

Again and again one is born,
And again and again one dies,
And again and again one sleeps in the mother’s womb,
Help me to cross,
This limitless sea of Life,
Which is uncrossable, my Lord

Punarapi Rajani, punarai divasa,
Punaraip paksha, punarapi maasa,
Punarapyayanam, punarapi varsham,
Tadapi na munjityasaamarsham.

Again and again this dark nights,
Again and again this luster full days,
Again and again these months and years,
But pride and desire never leaves you forever

Vayasi gathe ka kama vikara,
Shushke neere ka kaasaara,
Nashte dravye ka parivaara,
Gnathe tathwe ka samasaara.

Why this passion, when one totters with age,
Why the search for water in the dried up lake,
Why search for relations, when wealth dries,
There is no desire for life,
When you get real knowledge. Of truth

Naree sthana bhara nabhi nivesam,
Mithyaa mayaa mohaavesam,
Ethan mamsavasaadhi vikaram,
Manasi vichinthaya vaaram vaaram.

Seeing the seductive female form, do not fall prey to maddening delusion. That (female form) is (but) a modification of flesh and fat. Think well thus in your mind again and again.

Kasthwam Ko aham kutha ayatha?
Kaa me janani ko me thatha.
Ithi paribhavaaya sarvamasaaram,
Viswam tyakthwa swapna vichaaram.

Who am I?
Where from did I come?
Who is my mother ?
Who is my father?
Think of these,
Realize that this world,
Is but a meaningless mirage,
And Leave this dream like world

Geyam Githa , Nama sahasram,
Dhyeyam sri pathi roopamajasram,
Neyam sajjana sange chittam,
Dheyam deenajanaaya cha vitham.
Sing the Geetha,
And His thousand names,
Meditate on the Lord of Lakshmi,
Spend time with good souls,
Give all the wealth to the poor.

Yavajjevo nivasathi dehe,
Kusalam thaavath prucchathi gehe,
Gathavathi vaayou dehaapaaye,
Baryaa bhibyasthi tasmin kaye.
Till the breath is in the body,
All friends ask your welfare,
When it leaves your frame,
Even your darling wife,
Is full of fear of you , Hey fool

Sukhadha kriyathe ramaa bhoga,
Paschatdandha sarere roga,
Yadyapi loke maranam saranam,
Tadapi na munchathi papacharanam.
It is but for pleasure,
That a lady is sought,
Slowly the body gets sick,
The only path leads you,
To your death for sure,
Still no one leaves the sinful ways.

Radhyaa charpata virachita kkandha,
Punyaapunya vivarjitha padha.
Naaham nathwa naayam loka,
Stadhapi kimartham kriyathe soka.
Like collecting strewn rags all the way,
In life one collects sin and good deeds.
Realize that me or you,
Is not the truth.
In your newly chartered path
Still why are you sad?

Kuruthe Gangaa sagara gamanam,
Vrutha paripaalana madhava dhaanam,
Gnana viheena sarvamathena,
Mukthin na bhavathi janma sathena.

Take bath in Ganga,
Take a dip in the ocean,
Observe penance,
Give money to charity.
All faiths tell you without fail,
And if you do not realize this truth,
Even in hundred lives,
You will not attain the Lord.

Yoga ratho vaa bhogaratho vaa,
Sanga ratho vaa sanga viheena,
Yasya brahmani ramathe chittam,
Nandathi nandathi nandathyeva.

You get joy,
Of meditation or passion,
Or you get joy,
In solitude or in company,
But All these are but impermanent.
Try to make your mind one,
With Para Brahmam,
That is the only permanent joy.

Dwadasha Panjarika Stotra
(The twelve pearls of wisdom)

Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam,
Govindam Bhaja Mooda Mathe,
Samprapthe sannihithe kale,
Nahi nahi rakshathi dookrunj karane.

Pray Govinda, Pray Govinda,
Pray Govinda, You fool,
For all the ken with you,
Will not be there,
When your end is near.

Arthamanartham Bhavaya nithyam,
Naasthi thatha sukalesa sathyam,
Puthraadhapi dhana bhaajam bheethi,
Sarvathraisha vihithaareethi.
Wealth that you earn,
Has no meaning in life,
The real truth in it, is,
That it gives no pleasure,
The wealthy are but scared,
Even of him whom they beget,

Kaa thee kanthaa kasthe puthra,
Samsoroya matheeva vichitram,
Kasya twam ka kutha aayatha,
Sthathwam chinthya yadhidham braatha.
Who is your darling wife?
And who is the son whom you love,
This world is but strange,
Who are you, where from you came?
Think of these, Think of these

Maa kuru dhana jana yowana garwam,
Harathi nimishoth kaala sarvam,
Maamaya midhamakilam hithwa,
Brahmapadam twam pravisa vidhitwa.

Proud as peacock are you,
Of all the millions that you have,
And of all those who are with you,
Day in and day out,
And of the strength of youth in you.
Time, the thief is doing its job,
Of stealing them by and by,
All these are yes today and no tomorrow.

Kaamam krodham lobham moham,
Tyakthwaathmanam bhavaya koham,
Atma jnana viheenaa mooda,
Sthepachyanthe naraka nigooda.

Leave out your passion,
Leave out your anger,
Leave out your love for money,
Leave out your yearning in life,
Think and think, who you are?
Those who find it not, are but fools,
And are always happy in hell.

Sura mandhira tharu moola nivaasa,
Sayya bhoothala majinam vaasa,
Sarvapariguha bhoga thyaaga,
Kasya sukham na karothi viraaga.

He lives in the deep dark forest,
Or below a big banyan,
Sleep he does on the bare floor,
He has given up his all,
Who in this entire world, so big,
Is as happy as he is.

Shatrou mithre puthre bandhou,
Maa kuru yathnam vigraha sandhou,
Bhava sama chitta sarvathra twam,
Vaanchasya chiraadhyadhi Vishnu twam.

You would be one with Him
If but you can see them as one,
Your enemy whom you hate,
Your friends whom you love,
Your sons whom you adore,
And all other friends who are so close.
And if this entire world.
Is to you all and the same.

Twayi mayo chaanya traiko vishnur
Vyartham kupyasi sarva sahishnu,
Sarwasaminnapi pasyaathmaanam,
Sarvathrothsyuja bhedaajnananm.

In you and in me is Govinda,
So on whom will you show your ire?
See all as one and one as all,
Leave this difference between one and one.

Praanayamam prathyaaharam,
Nithyaa nithya viveka vichaaram,
Jaapyasametha samadhi vidhaanam,
Kurvavadhaanam mahadhava dhaanam.
Control your senses, you fool,
Withdraw from all your wants,
Try to find the difference.
Between that which is perennial,
And that which is not ,
Live and think in that He,
This is what will make you,
Decision maker supreme.

Nalinee dhalagatha jalamathi thralam,
Tadwadjjevtha mathisaya chapalam,
Viddhi vyaadhibhimaana grastham,
Lokam sokahatham cha samastham.

Like the tiny drop of water,
Floating on a lotus leaf,
The life today is here,
And tomorrow there,
This world full of aches ,
And bloated ego,
(Which is like an air filled up ball)
Is a place of sorrow.

Kaa the ashtaadasa dese chinthaa,
Vaathula thava kim naasthi niyanthaa.
Yasthaam hasthe sudhrude nibaddham,
Bhodayathi prabhavadhi viruddham.

Why this thought ,
Of eighteen countries, Hey Lunatic,
Fold your hands tight,
Think of Him,
Who controls ,
All that in you.

Satsangathwe nissamgathwam,
Nissamgathwe nirmohathwam,
Nirmohathwe nischala thatwam,
Nischala tathwe jeevan mukthi.

With good pals in this world,
You loose desire for things,
With loss of this terrible desire,
You loose passion for life,
With loss for this passion,
You realize the truth,

Gurucharanaambuja nirbhara bhaktha,
Samsarada chirabhava mukthaa,
Sendriya maanasa niyamaadevam,
Drakshyasi nija hrudayastham devam.

With your mind trained,
By your spiritual guide,
You can cross the sea of life,
And once you cross the sea,
You can see the Govinda in your heart.

Dwadasa pancharikaamaya esha.
Sishyaanaam kadhithohyuapadesha,
Yeshaam chithe naiva viveka.
Sthe pachyanthe narakamanekam.

Twelve pearls of wisdom these,
Are taught to those,
Hungry souls,
Suffering all the

STORY FROM YOGA VASISHTA NARRATED BY MAHARSHI RAMANA

                                     YOGA VASHISHTA STORY

Sri Bhagavan said, 'some are born immediately after, others after some lapse of time, a few are not reborn on this earth but eventually get salvation in some higher region, and a very few get absolved here and now.'

Sri Bhagavan once again cited Lila's story from Yoga Vasishta an excerpt of which appears below. 

____________________________________________________________

Lila asked:
O Goddess, you said that it was only eight days ago that the holy man had died; and yet my husband and I have lived for a long time [in the present birth]. How can you reconcile this discrepancy? (The "holy man" was reincarnated as Lila's present husband, who had now again just died).

Saraswati said:
O Lila, just as space does not have a fixed span, time does not have a fixed span either. Just as the world and its creation are mere appearances, a moment and an epoch are also imaginary, not real. In the twinkling of an eye the jiva undergoes the illusion of the death-experience, forgets what happened before that, and in the infinite consciousness thinks 'I am this', etc., and 'I am his son, I am so many years old', etc. There is no essential difference between the experiences of this world and those of another - all this being thoughtforms in the infinite consciousness. They are like two waves in the same ocean. Since these worlds were never created, they will never cease to be: such is the law. Their real nature is consciousness.

Even as in a dream there is birth, death and relationship all in a very short time, and even as a lover feels that a single night without his beloved is an epoch, the jiva thinks of experienced and non-experienced objects in the twinkling of an eye. And, immediately thereafter, he imagines those things (the world) to be real. Even those things which he had not experienced nor seen present themselves before him as in a dream.

This world and this creation is nothing but memory and dream. Distance, measures of time like a moment and an age, all these are hallucinations. This is one kind of knowledge-memory. There is another which is not based on memory of past experience. This is the fortuitous meeting of an atom and consciousness which is then able to produce its own effects.

Liberation is the realisation of the total nonexistence of the universe as such. This is different from a mere denial of the existence of the ego and the universe! The latter is only half-knowledge.

Liberation is to realise that all this is pure consciousness.

POSITION OF A DOG

First Published in Sunday Midday, Mumabi on 30 August 2009

In Hindu mythology, the dog is the most inauspicious of animals, to be kept away from wedding altars and holy sites. A howling dog becomes a harbinger of bad luck. Infact, even the sight of a dog is considered to bring bad luck. Why is it so? Dogs are such lovable creatures, obedient and affectionate. Even in the Rig Veda, the role of a dog as a protector, is acknowledged when Indra sends the mother of dogs, Sarama, in search of missing cows.

In narratives, dogs are associated with death which is why Sarama’s children, the Sarameya, are the companions of Yama, god of death. They are associated not with civilization but with the wilderness which is why they are associated with mendicants, like Dattatreya. The dog is the mount of Bhairava, the fearsome form of Shiva. A dog is considered so inauspicious that in the Mahabharata, Yudhishtira is not allowed to enter heaven with the dog.

Some would argue that dogs rummage through garbage which is why they are unclean, which is why they are not allowed to come near temples. But these rational explanations do not provide a satisfactory answer. Literal interpretations are convenient but not correct. Logically speaking, a dog should be the symbol of devotion in Hinduism; yet Hindus worship Hanuman, the monkey-god, as the perfect devotee. Mythology must never be taken literally; mythology is symbolic. Mythic stories and symbols are a code, a medium through which the ancestors are communicating profound messages. When the dog is considered inauspicious, it means the dog represents a thought that is inauspicious. What is this inauspicious thought?

In the Bhagavata Purana is the story of Bharata who is a hermit in the forest. He gives up everything but slowly gets attached to a deer. As a result, he is unable to attain moksha. He is reborn as a deer, trapped once more in the cycle of rebirth. Attachment entraps: this is a key maxim in Hindu philosophy.

Now visualize a dog looking at you with eagerness and affection – it adores you and its behavior melts your heart. If you have a pet dog, you will know that the dog constantly seeks validation from you. Give it that attention it craves and it will wag its tail, don’t give it and it will whine.

Now visualize a hermit surrounded by dogs. Does he surrender to the affection of the dog? Does he, like Bharata getting attached to a deer, get attached to these dogs? If he seeks to break free from the cycle of rebirths, he must transcend the urge to get attached. The dog is the ultimate temptation, because the dog gives its master absolute unconditional love and devotion. Nothing is more tempting, not even the dance of damsels known as Apsaras. When Dattatreya, the mendicant, walks with four dogs around him – it indicates his perfect detachment. The dogs follow him but he does not lead them.

The dog is a territorial animal. For the dog, even the master is territory that it will not share. Even when domesticated with all needs fulfilled, the dog needs to mark its territory by raising its legs and spraying its urine. Threaten this territory and the dog will turn on you. This behavior, the ancients realized, is not something to be celebrated in human beings.

Human beings are also territorial. Territory gives us our sense of identity and validation. It is the context that establishes who we are. A industrialist’s identity comes from the industries he owns; a bureaucrat’s identity comes from the position he holds; a politician’s identity comes from the power he holds in the party and the assembly. Any threat to the context that gives him identity, and he will react much in the same way a dog barks. We feel that if we lose our territory (not just physical but also intellectual and emotional) we will lose our identity. That frightens us. We become dogs – wagging tails when territory is reinforced, barking when territory is threatened, whining when territory is unacknowledged. At the root of dog-like behavior is fear, bhaya, fear of invalidation.

He who helps us overpower this fear is Bhairava. This form of Shiva terrifies us because it mocks our primal territorial instinct. In temples such as Kal Bhairav in Delhi and Varanasi, Bhairava is worshipped with alcohol. Alcohol clouds judgment.  From a clouded judgment comes this warped understanding that from territory comes identity. The industrialist forgets that even if he clings and fights for his territory, one day Yama, the god of death, and his Sarameyas, will take him away from his territory. So it will be with the politician and the bureaucrat and the writer and the artist.

Our material, intellectual and emotional territories that we jealously guard, whose loss makes us insecure, is no different from the bone of a dog. We cling and fight over it, until the day we die. And when we die and our bodies reach the crematorium, we find there an inebriated Bhairava seated on a dog laughing at us for a life wasted in a futile pursuit.

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