Krishna Dwaipaayana
|| Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha || ||Om Shree Saraswatyay Namaha || ||Om Shree Chandralambayay Namaha || ||Om Shree Kuladevatyay Namaha || ||Om Shree Samartha Sadguru Sainathaya Namaha || ||Om Namaha Shivaaya ||
Om! I first meditate on the single tusked Lambodhara. He is the manifestation of that Hiranyagarbha (Golden egg state of the Universe before it was projected by the thought of God). He is the one manifest being who appeared as many. He is the source of all intelligence and leader of the heavenly army of Ganas (Attendants of Lord Shiva). His name is taken before beginning any auspicious task. Hence I beseech him to help me sing his glory. I then bow before Mother Saraswathi from whom the Vedas originated. All knowledge comes from her feet and flows like the subtle river which flows unseen to the naked eye.I then bow before Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj. He is verily a manifestation of Lord Dattatreya, who roams the earth ever willing to help those who surrender to him. He appears everywhere in various forms to help those who need it. He is the recluse, who is present everywhere and is essentially formless. He is the trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara who is responsible for creation, sustenance and destruction. Not a place exists in the manifest Universe that is bereft of his presence. For he verily by his thought projected himself into the universe. I place my ego at his Lotus feet and pray that he helps me sing his glory. For nothing gives me greater happiness than to see, hear and speak of your leelas(Divine Sport).
This year, I was fortunate to visit the temple of Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj not once, not twice, but thrice during Guru Pournima. It gave me immense happines to witness the festive decoration in and around the temple. I felt momentarily as though I was in Shirdi itself. It was heaven on earth. Guru Pournima is used to offer benediction and gratitude to one's Guru. It is believed that it was first celebrated to commemorate the great Sage Vyaasa, who composed the immortal epic called Mahabharata. Hence Guru Pournima is also called as Vyaasa Pournima. One cannot fathom the unbounded spiritual power of this immortal Sage. During the epoch called Dwapara (One of the 4 Satya,Treta,Dwapara and Kali) several wicked men and demons were born on earth. They tortured the good and noble souls on earth. The most evil amongst men were Kamsa whose evil was further fuelled by the backing of his evil and powerful father in law, the emperor Jarasandha. There were also the Daityas (demons) who prayed fervently for the birth of the evil Kauravas. Also, several mighty Yavanas from other worlds terrorized the earth. Kalayavana, Shambarasura, Banasura were drunk with power. The previous incarnation, the immortal sage Prashurama had taken to a life of severe austerities on Mount Mahendra, knowing fully well that his incarnation had served it's purpose of killing 21 generations of evil ruling class. Vishnu had also come down as the son of Dasharata and had left for Vaikunta. It was during this time that Lord Vishnu appeared as Krishna in a small prison cell of Kamsa. He also appeared as a great Sage who was full of divine knowledge. This sage was none other than the immortal Vyaasa.
This divine Sage was born when one day the great Sage Parashara (Grandson of Sage Vasishta) went to the river Yamuna. There stood the beautiful daughter of the king of Fishermen, Satyavati, who was born of divine origin. As she came out of the belly of a fish, she was surrounded by the smell of fish. Sage Prashara declared that a divine child who was a manifestation of the supreme Lord itself was to be born of their union. The great Parashara asked Satyavati to seek any boon she wanted. Satyavati requested that she be rid of the foul smell of fishes and let there be a pleasant scent emanating from her body. Thus it was that Satyavati came to emanate a sweet scent wherever she went.It was by the Sage's spiritual power that a child was born to Satyavati in a small island in the middle of the Yamuna. The great Sage Parashara blessed them both and went his way. The child, by the power of his will alone, grew instantaneously into a man of shining countenance. As his complexion was dark (Krishna) and he was born in an island (Dweepa) he was called Krishna Dwaipayana. He was also called Vyaasa. He bowed before his mother and requested her permission to allow him practice severe austerities.
The great sage was immersed in the revelations from God : the vedas. He mastered them and segregated the ancient text into 4 divisions, namely the Rig,Yajur, Sama and Atharvana. While going around doing worldly good, he composed several great works. He also sired Pandu,Dhritarashtra and Vidura to continue the lineage of the the Kurus. He witnessed the various events that happened in the Kuru household. He saw the events as neither black nor white but as grey. To help future generations with the philosophical knowledge of the events surrounding the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas the Sage Vyaasa composed the epic poem Mahabharata which was also called as Jaya. This great epic on the history of the Kuru race was composed by Vyaasa and who but the dispeller of obstacles Lord Ganesha was it's scribe. It is said that Lord Ganesha laid a condition that he would gladly be a scribe of the Bhaarata only if Vyaasa could narrate the Bhaata very quickly (Lord Ganesha writes very fast). Vyaasa agreed but laid his own condition that Lord Ganesha should write only after he understands what Vyaasa narrates. Hence to keep pace with the Lord, the great sage came up with complex verses. One can spend a life time in trying to understand the verses. Such is the greatness of this Bhaarata.
Sage Vyaasa decided not to come out with this Bhaarata until all the protagonists of this epic had left their mortal frames. It was after the death of King Pareekshit (Son of Abhimanyu) that his son Janmejaya decided to perform a 12 year sacrifice (Sarpa Satra) for the destruction of the Nagas (Snake people) in general and the venomous Takshaka in particular. It was during this sacrifice, that Sage Vyaasa came with his disciples. When Janmejaya asked the immortal sage, why his ancestors fought on the plains of Kurukshetra, the great sage asked his brilliant disciple Vaishampaayana to narrate the same. Thus, in the august presence of his Guru, Vaishampaayana narrated the events relating to the great war of Kurukshetra and it's aftermath.
It is to commemorate the immortal Krishna Dwaipayana and to express their gratitude and benediction to this divine incarnation that his disciples started the tradition of Guru Pournima. In the lineage of Vyaasa also comes another great sage, Shree Adi Shankaracharya. Thus one must on this day remember their gurus with love and devotion for aren't the Gurus nothing but a manifestation of love? One must remember the Guru as Brahma,Vishnu and Maheshwara. Why the Guru alone is Parabrahma. So says the ancient Sanskrit verse
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha
Gurur Saakshaath Parabrahma Tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha
Also there is a verse which proclaims that Vyaasa is one with Lord Vishnu.
Vyaasaya Vishnu Rupaya Vyaasa Rupaya Vishnave
Namo Vai Brahma Nidhaye Vasishtaaya Namo Namaha
--Dedicated to the lotus feet of the great sage Vyaasa and my Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj who are one and the same.
||Om Shree Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai ||
Bow to Shree Sai. Peace be unto all.
Om! I first meditate on the single tusked Lambodhara. He is the manifestation of that Hiranyagarbha (Golden egg state of the Universe before it was projected by the thought of God). He is the one manifest being who appeared as many. He is the source of all intelligence and leader of the heavenly army of Ganas (Attendants of Lord Shiva). His name is taken before beginning any auspicious task. Hence I beseech him to help me sing his glory. I then bow before Mother Saraswathi from whom the Vedas originated. All knowledge comes from her feet and flows like the subtle river which flows unseen to the naked eye.I then bow before Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj. He is verily a manifestation of Lord Dattatreya, who roams the earth ever willing to help those who surrender to him. He appears everywhere in various forms to help those who need it. He is the recluse, who is present everywhere and is essentially formless. He is the trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara who is responsible for creation, sustenance and destruction. Not a place exists in the manifest Universe that is bereft of his presence. For he verily by his thought projected himself into the universe. I place my ego at his Lotus feet and pray that he helps me sing his glory. For nothing gives me greater happiness than to see, hear and speak of your leelas(Divine Sport). This year, I was fortunate to visit the temple of Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj not once, not twice, but thrice during Guru Pournima. It gave me immense happines to witness the festive decoration in and around the temple. I felt momentarily as though I was in Shirdi itself. It was heaven on earth. Guru Pournima is used to offer benediction and gratitude to one's Guru. It is believed that it was first celebrated to commemorate the great Sage Vyaasa, who composed the immortal epic called Mahabharata. Hence Guru Pournima is also called as Vyaasa Pournima. One cannot fathom the unbounded spiritual power of this immortal Sage. During the epoch called Dwapara (One of the 4 Satya,Treta,Dwapara and Kali) several wicked men and demons were born on earth. They tortured the good and noble souls on earth. The most evil amongst men were Kamsa whose evil was further fuelled by the backing of his evil and powerful father in law, the emperor Jarasandha. There were also the Daityas (demons) who prayed fervently for the birth of the evil Kauravas. Also, several mighty Yavanas from other worlds terrorized the earth. Kalayavana, Shambarasura, Banasura were drunk with power. The previous incarnation, the immortal sage Prashurama had taken to a life of severe austerities on Mount Mahendra, knowing fully well that his incarnation had served it's purpose of killing 21 generations of evil ruling class. Vishnu had also come down as the son of Dasharata and had left for Vaikunta. It was during this time that Lord Vishnu appeared as Krishna in a small prison cell of Kamsa. He also appeared as a great Sage who was full of divine knowledge. This sage was none other than the immortal Vyaasa.
This divine Sage was born when one day the great Sage Parashara (Grandson of Sage Vasishta) went to the river Yamuna. There stood the beautiful daughter of the king of Fishermen, Satyavati, who was born of divine origin. As she came out of the belly of a fish, she was surrounded by the smell of fish. Sage Prashara declared that a divine child who was a manifestation of the supreme Lord itself was to be born of their union. The great Parashara asked Satyavati to seek any boon she wanted. Satyavati requested that she be rid of the foul smell of fishes and let there be a pleasant scent emanating from her body. Thus it was that Satyavati came to emanate a sweet scent wherever she went.It was by the Sage's spiritual power that a child was born to Satyavati in a small island in the middle of the Yamuna. The great Sage Parashara blessed them both and went his way. The child, by the power of his will alone, grew instantaneously into a man of shining countenance. As his complexion was dark (Krishna) and he was born in an island (Dweepa) he was called Krishna Dwaipayana. He was also called Vyaasa. He bowed before his mother and requested her permission to allow him practice severe austerities.
The great sage was immersed in the revelations from God : the vedas. He mastered them and segregated the ancient text into 4 divisions, namely the Rig,Yajur, Sama and Atharvana. While going around doing worldly good, he composed several great works. He also sired Pandu,Dhritarashtra and Vidura to continue the lineage of the the Kurus. He witnessed the various events that happened in the Kuru household. He saw the events as neither black nor white but as grey. To help future generations with the philosophical knowledge of the events surrounding the great war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas the Sage Vyaasa composed the epic poem Mahabharata which was also called as Jaya. This great epic on the history of the Kuru race was composed by Vyaasa and who but the dispeller of obstacles Lord Ganesha was it's scribe. It is said that Lord Ganesha laid a condition that he would gladly be a scribe of the Bhaarata only if Vyaasa could narrate the Bhaata very quickly (Lord Ganesha writes very fast). Vyaasa agreed but laid his own condition that Lord Ganesha should write only after he understands what Vyaasa narrates. Hence to keep pace with the Lord, the great sage came up with complex verses. One can spend a life time in trying to understand the verses. Such is the greatness of this Bhaarata.
Sage Vyaasa decided not to come out with this Bhaarata until all the protagonists of this epic had left their mortal frames. It was after the death of King Pareekshit (Son of Abhimanyu) that his son Janmejaya decided to perform a 12 year sacrifice (Sarpa Satra) for the destruction of the Nagas (Snake people) in general and the venomous Takshaka in particular. It was during this sacrifice, that Sage Vyaasa came with his disciples. When Janmejaya asked the immortal sage, why his ancestors fought on the plains of Kurukshetra, the great sage asked his brilliant disciple Vaishampaayana to narrate the same. Thus, in the august presence of his Guru, Vaishampaayana narrated the events relating to the great war of Kurukshetra and it's aftermath.
It is to commemorate the immortal Krishna Dwaipayana and to express their gratitude and benediction to this divine incarnation that his disciples started the tradition of Guru Pournima. In the lineage of Vyaasa also comes another great sage, Shree Adi Shankaracharya. Thus one must on this day remember their gurus with love and devotion for aren't the Gurus nothing but a manifestation of love? One must remember the Guru as Brahma,Vishnu and Maheshwara. Why the Guru alone is Parabrahma. So says the ancient Sanskrit verse
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha
Gurur Saakshaath Parabrahma Tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha
Also there is a verse which proclaims that Vyaasa is one with Lord Vishnu.
Vyaasaya Vishnu Rupaya Vyaasa Rupaya Vishnave
Namo Vai Brahma Nidhaye Vasishtaaya Namo Namaha
--Dedicated to the lotus feet of the great sage Vyaasa and my Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj who are one and the same.
||Om Shree Samartha Sadguru Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai ||
Bow to Shree Sai. Peace be unto all.
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