Besides
being a prayer, Sri Rudram is like an Upanishad that reveals the truth about
Jiva - the Individual, jagat – the world, and Iswara - the Lord. With the help
of the different names of the Lord, one can understand the nature of the Lord –
hence, verily, Rudropanishad.
Sri Rudram
has 11 sections, or anuvakas. In the 1st anuvaka, the angry Rudra is pacified
and we seek his kindness. 2nd to 9th anuvakas consist of eulogies and obeisance
to the Lord. In the last two anuvakas, prayers are offered to Sri Rudra and
Rudraganas.
om nama sivaya is the key mantra.
who is siva? its not just an entity of being. its the originator of all beings. it is SIVA! its the cosmic awareness with infinite energy!
SIVA TATVA HAS INFINITESIMAL FACETS. ONE OF THOSE IS RUDRA.
what is meant by Rudra?
RUDRA means subtle principle. in macrocosm its called as cosmic mind and at micro level its called as inner organ-mind!
worldly attachments leads to negative emotions-crying with fear,anxiety,stress and six arishad vargas . Rudra (mind) is generator of such negative emotions and if we focus quietly, the same rudra could wipe out such negative emotions emanated from the worldly attachments.
rudra is also generator of positive emotions like-fulfillment, contentment,peace and ananda by detaching from worldly connections. this detachment is not physical but through the mind that has been enriched with experience of wide wisdom.
our 5 fold body is composed of 5 gross elements & 5 subtle elements encircling the speck of jiva' consciousness.
Bend the body-Mend the senses-End the manas.
self affirmation : ALWAYS think, that we are rudra.
worldly affirmation : Always think that the entire world is rudra.
all the creation is rudra. ashta prakruti-eight fold creation is rudra.
the vagaries and volatality and uncertainity of our mind (chitta -likes and dislikes- human perspective ) emanates dual or opposites of sankalpas,thoughts,emotions and feelings! like that in the world also the nature,neighbours,other living and non-living entities shows dual aspects of their attributes. knowing that these dualities in us and in outer world are all rudra and keeping that truth without forgetting and doing three broad activities-thoughts,words&deeds-that will augur well being of self and outer world is the main objective.
Sri Rudram
- Anuvaka 1
Like with
any great work, the first line is simple, direct and profound: ‘Om namo
Bhagavate Rudraaya'. Om is a shorthand for the Lord. By saying namo, we pay our
obeisance. Obeisance is to Bhagavan, or, the One who has bhaga. Bhaga consists
of six ultimate attributes: overlordship, strength, glory, richness, knowledge
and freedom from being wanting. Only Bhagavan has all these and in absolute
measure.
Next we
say, Rudraya. One meaning of Rudra is one who is angry and makes everyone cry.
Why is the Lord angry? It is to punish those who transgress His commands on
dharma and bring them to the path of righteousness. By saying rudraya, we also
remind ourselves that the cause of our wrong actions and miseries is anger and
that anger is something we need to control. Rudra also means, one who drives
away grief – rudram dravayatheethi. So, upfront, we do two things: seek to
pacify the anger of the Lord and pray to the Lord that we be relieved of our
grief.
Sri Rudram
- Anuvakas 2 to 9
In these anuvakas,
we salute the Lord as sarveswara - the Lord of everything, sarvatma –
every form that constitutes the world, and sarva antaryami – the One
who sustains everything.
He is
visveswara and jagatam pathaye – the Lord of the Universe; pasunam pathaye –
Lord of all beings; patheenam pathaye – the Lord of the Vedas; vananam pathaye
– Lord of the forests; vrikshanam pathaye – Lord of the trees; aushadeenam
pathaye – Lord of the herbs; sthenanam pathaye – Lord of the thieves; etc.,
etc., Truly, the Lord of everything.
Every form
that constitutes the world is the Lord: svapadbhyo and jaagradyabhya – those
who are sleeping and those who are awake; asvebhyo and asvapathibhya – the
horses and the horse riders; ganebhyo and ganapathy – attendants of deities and
the Lord of them all; mahadbhaya and kshullakebhya – the brilliant ones and the
not so brilliant ones; etc., etc., The Lord is Sarva atma.
The Lord
is also sarva antaryami, the One who sustains everything. The 5th anuvaka is
one of the most important ones: Namo bhavaya cha rudraya cha; namah
sarvaya cha pasupathye cha… He is bhavaya – the one from whom the universe is
born; Rudraya – one who removes all misery; sarvaya – the destroyer; agriyaya –
the cause of everything.
Sri Rudram
- Anuvaka 8
This anuvaka is considered the most important one: it contains the famous five syllabic mantra – om ‘namasivaya’ and called sadhana anuvakam.
We pay obeisance
to the Somaya, one seated with Uma (or Sakthi), and to the Rudra, one who can
relieve us of miseries; to sangaya, one who will give us happiness. He is
agrevadaya, protecting us from the front, and, durevadaya, protecting us from a
distance. (Lord Krishna did this: he protected Arjuna, sitting in front of him,
and, protected Draupathi, although he was at a distance.) What we seek from Him
are: sambhave, happiness here; and, mayobhave, happiness hereafter. He is
sankara, source of happiness and mayaskara, source of freedom.
Then we
say: namah sivaya cha sivatharaya cha: to that Siva, we pray for
sivathara, absolute happiness. There is a deeper meaning. Ultimate happiness
and relief from all miseries come from the Ultimate Knowledge, which for a
follower of Advaita, is recognition that the Jivatman is the same as
Paramatman. Namasivaya is therefore considered mantra raja, the king of
all mantras.
Sri Rudram
- Anuvakas 10 and 11
Having, up
to anuvaka 9, offered our namaskaras and indirectly praying, in the 10th and
11th we pray directly. There are no namahas in these two anuvakas. We ask for
the Lord’s raksha, protection. We seek that His destructive weapons are not
used against us. Instead, we ask for happiness born of objects and the ultimate
happiness.
We end
with mrityunja mantram:
Trayambakam
yajamahe suganthim pushtivardham I
Urvarukamiva bhandanath mrithyormuksheeya mamrithath II
To the
Lord who has three eyes, who has fragrance, and who nourishes health, we pray,
that we get released from death, like a cucumber getting released from the
creeper, and achieve immortality.
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