[Advaita-l] pancAkshari mantram

[Krishnarao Lanka]

From: - SriparasuKAnandanAtha, krishnarao.lanka at gmail.com

Date:-   August 27, 2007

Subject :- pancAkSharI mantram



Priya mahAsayah,



     "OmkAravadanA dEvI  vayakAra BhujadwayI |

      SikAra dEha madhyA ca  namahkAra pada dwayI |

      pancAkSharI parA vidyA  sa  tArA lingarUpiNI |

      Siva mantrABhidA SaivI  mamAngE supratiShTitA ||"



              This is one SlOkam addressed in the name of dEvI (who is not
at all different from Siva), whose name is "pancAkSharI parA vidyA".  The
term 'vdya' is generally used for the mantras of feminine deities and the
term 'manu' is applied for masculine deities.  So, her name is "pancAkSharI
parA vidyA".  ParA because, it is an outwardly inverted order of Siva.
 pancAkShari
because it is a vidya consistent of five divisions, akAra, ukAra, makAra,
nAda and kalA, all are one and the same through out in structure or
composition  All the above five alphabets are pronounced unitedly together
as a single letter "Om". In total, her face is 'praNavam'(OmkAra vadanA).



            She is "tArA", which means 'praNavam'=OmkAra.  It is just like a
perfect boat with which we can cross the ocean of births and deaths.



            A flash in the memory of paramaSiva causing a noise as "ah",
reverberated in a space in himself as "aham" (I consciousness), and
formulated into a logo.  It contains both sabda and artha in itself. All the
fourteen worlds of the "artha" factor, and all the vEdas, all the purANAs,
all the itihAsas, and every kind of literature of the "sabda" factor are
residing in it in a nonduel unity.



           This is the personification of the abstract Siva himself.



            She is "lingarUpiNi".  The word 'linga' denotes to the body
without the five sense organs.  This indicates 'swapnAvastha', which
figuratively indicates the object which actually not present before us. Our
BhavanAs are the creators of such objects. We all think that all our wishes
are so good and that they are all our benefactors. For every such unit of
good thoughts we attribute a form and name of certain god or dEvata and we
will visualize that form in our mind and also in our dreamy state.

          We consider such good thoughts as divine because we believe that
dEvatAs are good ones and that they always do good for us. So this BhAvana
avastha (swapna avastha) is divine, which we believe do good for us. That
goodness will not be other than taking us to our own abode, ie., mOkSha. Or,
the place for which we all have to reach to find out the Siva swarUpam.



            "mananAt trAyatE iti mantrah"  This protects and guides us to
reach 'Siva' the ultimate goal.  So this praNavam has been rewarded with the
name of "Siva mantrABhida".



           This is "SaivI", the wife of Siva, ie., 'umA', which is an
another form of "aum".  This is his spouse or better half.  She is his
Sakti.  She is his manifestation in a visible state.  She is the expanded
form from him like a pseudopodia.



          S he is "namahkAra pada dwayI".  This indicates that we should
have the footing of the basic realization that I am ("na+mah", mah=mortal
being and na=not) not a mortal being; but "SikAra dEha madhyA"; 'deha
madhyA' is our own self and SikAra is Siva according to EkAkSharI niGantu.  So
all this says, that before starting any efforts for obtaining the
liberation, we must realize ourselves that we must put aside the body
consciousness (dEhAtma BhAvana) and be cognizant of our real self is the
almighty.



          The devotee is praying her to be implanted in his body structure
as 'vakAra'in his right hand in the form of nectar; having 'varada mudra'
and 'yakAra' in his left hand in the form of the mighty strength of
vAyudEva, showing 'aBhaya mudra'.  By these two mudras he is attaining the
divine form, and he himself becoming the dEvatA.



       I think this kind of decisive determination should always be preceded
with every single chanting of the mantra.  I may be pardoned if I am
exceeding any limits in the analysis of the SlOka.



krishnarao


-- 
Krishnarao Lanka