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The Secret Formula

From the Bhakti List Archives

sadagopaniyengar • February 9, 2003 


                    
                                         Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                                                          The Formula

 

         We are told that Alibaba became rich by stumbling accidentally upon a secret formulation, which was the key to the cave of treasures. It is clear from this that there are some combinations of letters and words, which are capable of conferring on us the desired ends. The Mantra Shastra tells us of numerous such formulae, the mastery of which bestows various benefits. We thus hear of the Mrityunjaya mantra, which is supposed to enable one to conquer death, the Garuda mantra which is capable of freeing one from fear of snakes, the HayagrIva mantra which bestows wisdom, the SanthAna GOpAla mantra capable of making barren couple beget progeny, and so on.

 

Each of these formulations is said to confer a specific benefit upon the upAsaka. One mantra would not bestow on its votary any additional advantage other than what it is meant to. For instance, the Mrityunjaya mantra would not make us wealthy, nor is the Garuda mantra meant for bestowing progeny. And none of the minor mantras are capable of liberating us from SamsAra. Though these mantras may be potent formulations in their own right, yet they are meant to redress specific grievances.

 

       In days of yore, people were endowed with the long life and determination required for individually acquiring and focussing on these mantras, for achieving various goals. This, however, is the jet age, wherever everybody is in a mad rush to get somewhere. We may not know exactly where we are headed, but we are in a terrific hurry to get there. Some of us, like the Fairy Queen in "Alice in Wonderland", are running hard to stay in the same place. Given this lack of time and inclination, we would hardly be able to learn and worship the numerous mantras that would help us achieve life's varied goals.

 

  What we require, therefore, is an omnibus formulation, a panacea for all ills and a KamadhEnu (the divine cow) that would provide us with all we need both here and in other worlds. This would be a one-stop-shop for all our requirements, a single mantra of sufficient potency, which would ensure satisfaction of all our desires.  This seems to be a tall order. Even the biggest of malls and shopping arcades has its limitations and there are some things that it cannot supply ex-stock. It would therefore appear to be well near impossible to find such an all-in-one mantra to suit our requirements.

  

  Looking at our avarice and helplessness, Azhwars, the true spiritual scientists they are, have indeed discovered such an omnibus formulation. Unlike modern scientists who insist on keeping their discoveries\inventions to themselves, patent them and appropriate to themselves all the attendant benefits, Azhwars, in their anxiety to ensure the upliftment of the suffering masses, proclaim their discovery from the rooftops, for all to hear and benefit.

We find almost all Azhwars generously sharing with us the benefits of their arduous research. The foremost among these is Sri Thirumangai Mannan. Lest people should lack the patience to plough through his voluminous outpourings, Sri Parakala presents the discovery at the very beginning of his Peria Thirumozhi, in the very first Tirumozhi.

 

     The potency of this formulation is such that it bestows on us the benefits of good birth and unlimited wealth, guarantees freedom from troubles and travails that plague the average man on the street, and, after ensuring a full and satisfied life, also transports us to the Eternal Land from where no one returns to this world of misery and misfortune. It is a mantra guaranteed to confer 100% satisfaction, says Sri Thirumangai Mannan-

"Kulam tharum selvam thandidum adiyAr padu thuyar Ayina ellAm

nilam taram seyyum nIL visumbu aruLum aruLodu peru nilam aLikkum

valam tharum mattrum thandidum pettra thAyinum Ayina seididum

nalam tharum sollai nAn kaNdu kondEn Narayana ennum nAmam"

 

It is the mother who, even without being requested, anticipates every need of her child and fulfils them fully and in time. This mantra, however, is greater in glory than even the mother, for, while the mother can cater only to one's material needs, this mantra takes care of our spiritual health too.

 

 Like a potent medicine that not only eradicates the crippling illness but also ensures a disease-free life, this mantra too rids us of troubles when they plague us and reserves for us an existence of unalloyed bliss. Even if one doesn't require anything from life and is perfectly satisfied with what it has to offer, this mantra can be recited for the pure pleasure it offers and for its own sake, says Sri Kalian-

"thunjum pOdu azhaimin, thuyar varil ninaimin

 thuyarileer sollilum nandrAm

nanju than kandeer nammudai vinaikku

Narayana ennum nAmam"

 

This is not the opinion of one single Azhwar- others too join the virtual chorus of its votaries. Look at Sri Satakopa Muni, for instance-he swears on all that he holds holy that the Narayana mantra is the one for us, if we wish to meditate on the Lord's lotus feet-

"KaNnan kazhal iNai naNNum manam udayeer

 eNNum tirunAmam thiNNam NAraNamE"

 

When there are other mantras too, which are equally popular and effective, what is the reason for the Azhwars' preference for the ashtAkshara or the eight-lettered  Narayana mantra? After all, mantras with Sri Vishnu and Sri VAsudEva are included in the three "VyApaka" mantras and are endowed with no mean powers. Why forsake them for the ashtAkshara? Does this have any special sanction? Aren't Vishnu, Vasudeva and Narayana different names of the same Deity?

 

Azhwars are ever faithful to the Vedas, which form the basis for all their outpourings. It is the Vaidika matham that is espoused by the discoverers of the Dravida Veda. Not a single word of their compositions is out of tune with the Shruti, to which their averments are firmly moored. We thus find that their preference for the Narayana mantra is due to its espousal by the Shruti. We find further that this mantra enjoys the enthusiastic endorsement of the Veda Purusha in the Narayana anuvAka, where he proclaims that it is indeed Sriman Narayana who is the Supreme Being, the Guiding Light, the subtlest of Truths, the indestructible pervader of the Universe, the greatest and the most glorious of all, the inner-dweller of all sentient and non-sentient beings. Everything this world sees and hears is indeed His glorious form and name. He is endless, unchanging and resides in a microscopic form in everybody's heart. The Narayana anuvAka repeats this particular tirunAmam of the Lord time and again with joy, much lik

"Visvam Narayanam dEvam"

"Visvam Narayanam Harim"

"Narayanam mahAgyEyam, VisvAtmAnam"

"Narayana Parabrahma, tatthvam Narayana: para:"

"Narayana parO jyOti: AtmA Narayana: para:" etc.

 

We also find in the atharva shikhOpanishad a reiteration and expansion of the concepts expounded in the Narayana anuvAka. It confirms that the entire Universe is indeed the Lord's body, so that all beings, however exalted they are, are but an insignificant part of Him. Those who realise the glory of this ashtAkshara are blessed with all they need in this world and attain immortality thereafter, eulogizes the Upanishad.

 We find a reflection of this pleasurable repetition in Sri Thirumangai Mannan's Peria Thirumozhi, where he ends all the pasurams of the first decad with the words, "Narayana ennum nAmam".

 

It is customary in our Sampradaya to prefix "Thiru" to all that we hold holy and sacrosanct. It is an indicator of the greatness of this mantra too, that it is called the "Thirumantram". Though we have mantras aplenty, none other than the ashtAsharam is glorified by this prefix. It is also known as the "Moolamantram". Swami Desikan says that it is this mantra which forms the basis of our very existence, "DhArakam", elucidating, as it does, the basic concepts of who we are, who the Lord is, what is the type of relationship subsisting between us, what are the hurdles to our liberation, the strategy we should adopt to rid ourselves of samsAric sorrow and what awaits us when we reach the Lord's place.

 

Commensurate with its exalted status as the best of all formulations for freedom, the ashtAkshara is also held to be the most precious of all treasures, to be given only to those with a yearning for the Lord and His service. It is not supposed to be doled out indiscriminately to all and sundry, which would result in an erosion of its glory. Emphasising the discretion with which this mantra is to be handled and given out, the NAradIya Kalpam says,

"MantrANAm paramO mantrO guhyAnAm guhyam utthamam

Pavitram cha pavithrANAm Moolamantra: sanAtana:"

 

 It is in honour of this dictum that this mantra is preserved as a secret till today by our Acharyas, who give it only to the selected few who, in their opinion, would protect, preserve and worship the mantra and its precepts with the reverence it deserves. The upadEsa of this mantra is done till today in the "ashatkarNa" fashion-with only the Acharya and the eager disciple being present during the initiation ceremony, as part of the PanchasamskAram. It is the Lord Himself who set such a tradition by whispering the mantra in the ears of Sri Thirumangai Mannan. The disciple is also enjoined with the responsibility of preserving the precious mantra and not to distribute it among the undeserving, for material or other gain.

 

It would be no exaggeration to say that this is the only mantra that finds favour with Azhwars, if one were to go by their frequent reference to it with reverence-

"nin thiru ettezhutthum kattru"

 "ettezhutthum OduvArgaL vallar vAnam ALavE"

 "nAdum nagaramum nangariya namO nArAyaNAya endru"

 "nal vagayAl namo nArAyaNA endru" etc.

 

Some mantras are subject to strict and forbidding eligibility criteria and are reserved for the elite few, with the majority denied of their benefits. The glory of the ashtAkshara is that it is accessible not only to traivarNikAs, but to everybody else too, with minor modifications in its form. Thus this is a universal mantra, from which everyone, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, sex or economic status, can derive full benefit, the only preliminary requisites being an abiding faith in the Lord and His dispensation, and unflinching devotion towards the merciful Acharya who entrusts the sacred treasure of the mantra to us.

 

And what is our duty, after having obtained this priceless heirloom from our Acharya? We must meditate on the mantra and its purport regularly and guard it closely and jealously as we would any precious treasure. This glorious formulation is indeed a mirror, which reflects the ParamAtma, in all His glory, with astounding clarity. Unlike other mantras, the ashtAkshara is short and sweet, consisting of just eight letters, making for convenience of retention and repetition.

 

 "yathA sarvEshu dEvEshu nAsti NArAyanAt para:

  tathA sarvEshu mantrEshu nAsti cha ashtAksharAt para:"

 

        Srimate Sri LalshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, Sadagopan.

 

 

 

       

 

 

          

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