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Re: parisEshaNa mantram

From the Bhakti List Archives

Mani Varadarajan • March 16, 2000 


>From a friend not on the Bhakti-List:

---

Once all the organs of the body got together to find out who among them was
the greatest - one on whose leaving the body would be destroyed. The organ
of speech left, but the body did not perish, though the person became mute.
In the same manner the organ of sight, hearing, touch etc. left, but then
the body was not destroyed. Ultimately, Prana started leaving and in doing
so, started uprooting all the other organs - resulting in the destruction of
life - upon which the rest of the organs recognized Prana as the greatest.
This recognition they bestowed by clothing and feeding Prana. Water is thus
the clothing of Prana, offered before and after food and all food eaten is
offered to Prana as its food.

This is the Upanishadic lore. This is the Vidya that Sankara and Ramanuja
comment on. The meditation on Prana in this form confers immortality.

I am sure you remember this tale. But I seem to recollect that this
meditation in the Upanishads is different from the reason mentioned in the
Karma kaanDa for parisecaNam - Sankara also says this in his commentary ( I
vaguely remember this - we need to check ).


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