Negating influences

Those who beleive in astrology are sometimes frightened when inauspicious predictions are made about their future.They wonder how they will face the onslaught of planets that do not look favourably upon them. They forget that the best way to overcome fear and difficulty is to worship God and meditate upon Him.
It is a well known fact that no light from another source can match the brilliance of Sunlight.In the same way a Planet can never have the power of God. With God on our side we need not fear planetary influences.
According to R.Narayanan who gives discourses , those who fear that one or the other of the navagrahas could harm them , the Kolaru padhigam of Gnanasambandar is reassuring.
As the story goes , Sambandar ( Nayanmar - shaivite ) made the locked door of the Vedaranyam temple to open with just one verse from the Kolaru Padhigam. When Kulachirai nayanar , the minister of Koon Pandian( A king who practised jainism and a hunch back , hence the name koon pandian)requested Sambandar to come to Madurai to convert the king to Saivism. Tirunavukkarasar ( Nayanmar - shaivite ) protested that the planets were not in an auspicious formation. The aim of Tirunavukkarasar must have been to prompt Sambandar to sing of the greatness of Lord Shiva in face to face with the planets. And that is when Sambandar sang the Kolaru Padhigam.
It is easy to recite and the theme that runs through the verses is that the devotees of Lord Shiva will not be harmed by the planets. For those who are unable to recite all of it , recitation of the first verse at least would be enough.
The verse says that if Uma Devi's consort Lord Shiva who plays the veena and wears the faultless Moon and the Ganga on His head , resides in a person s heart , the planets cannot harm that person .
A similar thought is expressed in Arunagirinathar s Kandar Alankaram in praise of Lord Muruga. He says that planets cannot harm anybody whose hearts have been occupied by Lord kumara , the one who wears different kinds of ornaments on his feet and who has six heads and 12 arms.
It is interesting to note that Arunagirinathar mentions two feet , six ornaments , six faces , a flower garland and 12 arms all adding up to 27 , which is the total number of planets. (It is to be understood that Hinduism has several symbolic representations each serving as a code with an inner deep meaning )
Thanking God for all the happiness He showers and seeking His guidance through turbulent times are the ways in which mental peace can be bestowed.
Reference from : " The Hindu " newspaper and internet sources

Transmission of truths

The esoteric content of scriptural knowledge is eternal and unchanging and the Bhagavadh Gita exemplifies the way in which this knowledge has been transmitted in the oral tradition when Lord Krishna becomes a preceptor (Guru , teacher ) to enlighten Arjuna and humanity.In the Upanishads , transmission of the message is important and sages have been directly enlightened about spiritual truths and this knowledge has been handed down from preceptor to disciple.
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the truths He now instructs were orginally taught by him to the Sun God , who in turn taught it to Manu and Manu taught Ikshvaku. But in course of time this tradition that was maintained from preceptor to disciple had been lost.
Arjuna asked Lord Krishna how He could have taught this knowledge long back to Sun God. The Lord says that He has been born into this world several times. Likewise , Arjuna also has been born many times. But while the Lord knows the secrets of the births of all beings , Arjuna is aware of this present birth alone. Moreover , He states that though He is without begining or end, He is born time and again out of His Sankalpa and Maya.
In contemporary times Sri Ramakrishna was a preceptor who had realised God and only one who has done so can certify and guarantee the credibility of the spiritual message.
A preceptor's ability to communicate effectively depends on his spiritual strength derived from direct perception rather than logic or reason that can eclipse spiritual conviction.
The basis of this beleif is the awareness of the presence of the immortal and the everlasting against the background of whatever is ephemeral and fast fading.
Reference from : " The Hindu " newspaper and internet sources

Worship of the Sun

The Sun is stated be none other than Mahavishnu Himself. He is the God manifest before our eyes. He is known as Aditya , the son of Aditi.
Who is the son of Aditi ? Vamana is the son of Aditi who is an avatar of Mahavishnu.
So the Sun is indeed MahaVishnu Himself. That is why we worship the early morning Sun as Vamana. Worshipping the morning Sun gets rid of our lethargy and laziness and fills us with energy. Azhvars have extolled the Vamana avatara. Andal celebrates this avatara of the Lord , where He grew in size and measured the worlds. Tiruvalluvar in kural 610 says a king should be like Vamana in conquering the three worlds.
The Sun is the most important among the nine planets around Whom the celestial beings namely the Devas and other planets revolve. It is important to note that the Sun is remembered through prayers in the morning and evening. In the evening the Sun is worshipped as Varuna - the rain God which is his manifestation.
Mahabaratha shows the conversation between Yama in guise of a Yaksha ( good fairy) questioning Yudhishtra about the Sun.
Yaksha asks " Who makes the Sun rise" for which Yudishtra replied that is the Brahmam- the Supreme One and "Who makes the Sun set" for for which Yudishtra replied that is the dharma which makes the Sun set. Therefore the Sun is anchored in Truth. ( It is to remember Mahatma Gandhi s famous line "Truth is God" )
Yaksha also poses another question - " what is a daily occurrence ? "
Yudhishtra replies that the illusory world may be seen as a vessel , covered with the sky as a lid. Day and night are the firewood and the fire that lights this firewood is the Sun. Months and Seasons constitute the ladle , Time stirs the contents in the vessel which include all the movable and immovable things and this is a daily occurence.
Reference from : " The Hindu " newspaper and internet sources