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Meditation | Significance Of The Guru | Sri_Natha_Navarathna_Malika
SRI NATHA NAVARATHNA MALIKA
AN EXPLANATORY NOTE
BY S.SHANGARANARAYANAN - SATHYANANDANATHAR
The human being has evolved because of its past good deeds and actions. Inspite
of the diversity with no unity in thought, deed and action, and each one followi
ng his own laws, principles, and religion, he wants to have a long life with goo
d health, education, character, family, environment, wealth, and peace. He wants
to enjoy the fruits and good benefits of everything in this world and finally m
erge with the Ultimate Reality God.
For a common man, to achieve this end becomes a Herculean task, because, the law
s, principles, procedures, ways and means etc., that are followed are neither re
alistic nor practical and are different, contradictory from each other. He final
ly ends in untold chaos, misery and problems to him and to the society.
However those God loving people belonging to the age old traditional vaidhika ma
rgam (spiritualist), who are staunch believers of God, follow strictly the rules
and regulations as propounded by the Vedas, and those of Sruthi, Smruthi, Puran
as, Ithihasams, Dharma Soothrams etc., as well as the great dictums of great sai
nts and Avathara Purushas , the means, methods and procedures as ordained by gre
at Masters of the past, who had transgressed the limits of spirituality and merg
ed with the Ultimate Reality. These procedures or methods as may be understood,
were not time- bound. They are as eternal as the age old Vedas, Puranas and Sutr
as, and the Almighty God.
In this method of mergence with the Almighty, there are three ways of worship vi
z: duty (karma), worship (upasana) and knowledge of the Divine (Gnana), as indic
ated by the Veda and other almanacs. But in the present day world, for an ordina
ry man, the Karma Marga or the Gnana Marga is not suitable in any manner whatsoe
ver. Therefore the best solution that would provide the humanity for its well be
ing and bring an all-round peace, is the worship of the Divine called Upasana .
Of all the methods of Divine worship, it
e Mother in the Sri Chakra Sri Lalitha
mnipresent and Omniscient, - is the only
ship, japa and dhyana (meditation) forms

is agreed that the worship of the Divin

Mahatripurasundari - who is Omnipotent, O
method available for salvation. The wor
part of this unique worship.

Even in this worship of Sri Lalitha Maha Tripurasundari

called SRIVIDHYA the int
ernal (inward) worship of the all-pervading divine energy, by the sadhaka, is co
nsidered the best. The method of this internal (inward) worship has been well ex
plained in various books including Bhavana Prayoga Vivaranam .
The BHAVANOPANISHAT- the ATHARVA VEDHA SRUTHI - says that every Srividhya Upasak
a should worship his own body as the srichakra, installing the various Devathas
with their avaranas (qualities and divine energy) in the respective places in hi
s body, so that he is totally identified with them in all respects, and in due c
ourse becomes the Divine Mother Herself. His athmasakthi merges with the univers
al Divine Energy (mahasakthi).
To follow such a method, no means and materials are required, as the Pooja is do
ne inwardly (internally). The only requirement is absolute good faith, convictio
n, steadfast mind and a disciplined life.
The most unique garland of 9 gems
SRI NATHA NAVARATHNA MALIKA
however reveals th
e means and methods by which the sadhaka identifies his natural act of breathing
- inhaling and exhaling- with the Sri Chakra, and finally understands the real
Sri Chakra worship. Therefore these strotras are considered much more superior a
nd revealing than what have been revealed even by Bhavanopanishad.

The 9 slokas in this stotra are considered to be 9 real gems in the following or
der:
1st sloka - Pushparaga
2nd sloka - Blue stone
3rd sloka - Vaidooryam
4th sloka - Coral
5th sloka - Real Pearl
6th sloka -Green stone
7th sloka - Diamond
8th sloka - Gomethagam
9th sloka - Red stone
These slokas are in the form of Navarathna Mala adorned in the neck of Mahatripu
rasundari by Sri Bhaskaracharya . Having had the personal Divine experience and
bliss, he wanted every sadhaka to have the same experience by adoring oneself wi
th these Navarathna Mala and the principles behind.. With this noble thought in
mind, he brought out these Sri Natha Navarathna Malika Slokas.
These Sri Natha Navarathna Malika Slokas specifically adore the Guru. The blessing
s of the Great Master alone does all the good deeds and actions in one s life
so s
ays sruthi - Gurumoolaha kriyaha sarvaha - . Sri Guru is the embodiment
the route c
ause - of all the Devathas, Mantras, and also the very life energy- prana sakthi
- of all the living beings in this universe. The Srinatha Navarathna Malika slokas
also affirms that the Guru is always living with the sadhaka in the form of his
life energy (breathing) as the Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent Prana witho
ut which the sadhaka will not be able to live. In other words the Guru is breath
ing the life of the Sadhaka and the Sadhaka breathing his Guru. Thus the identit
y between the Guru, Devatha and the Sadhaka is lost and everything becoming the
ONE.
The great Guru who is the Swaroopa of Eswara, Manthras and the inhaling and exha
ling of life principle in all the living beings in the universe, is to be worshi
pped in three ways - viz: (1) Gross
sthoola - (2) Shuttle
shookshma - and (3) Ka
rana para -.
Gross
Sthoola worship
the worship of the idol in its proper form, with all its a
doration and paraphernalia or the worship of the yantra (Ckaras), in its true pe
rspective.
Shuttle shookshma worship
the japa of Gurupadhuka Manthra continuously and dwell
ing on the same ceaselessly.
Karana Para
worship
aims at keeping the mind in one pointedness
like oil continu
ously flowing from a vessel through a small hole - and worshipping the Divine Mo
ther without any break, as the very breath of the Upasaka, with the one supreme
goal of mergence.This worship or upasana is called Bhavana or Vasana.
The Sri Natha Navarathna Malika slokas indicate and explain the most superior and
precious Para (Superior) Upasana, which alone is the real Sri Vidhya Upasana.
All the living beings, when they awake in the morning after a deep sleep in the
previous night, take a deep breath. Similarly the Lord of the Universe the creat
or awakes from the state of Pralaya (dissolution) and enters the state of Creati
on (srushti) with a deep breath, which becomes the beginning of the universal li
fe (energy) with inhaling and exhaling of the life principle
energy. This energy
is beyond light and is the creator of the light and everything in the universe.
From the very first breath of the Lord of the Universe, three dots - . & : (bind
us) emerged- viz: the first dot M (.) Called anuswara and the second dot IH (:) call

ed visarga, totalling the three dots. The Uchvasam

inhaling
was identified as th
e Anuswara and the exhaling (Niswasam) as Visargam. Our inhaling produces the sa
bdha M and the exhaling produces the sabdha IH , as is easily understood by everyone.
In this way, the very first breath of the Creator, which had three dots (. & : b
indus) as explained above, the word HA merged with the first bindu (dot) M and becam
e the manthra called HAM . Similarly the 2 dots (bindu) IH VISARGA merged similarly
with SA, and became the manthra called SAHA. . These two manthras were called the H
AMSA MANTHRA OR AJAPA. Thus it is to be understood that this AJAPA is nothing bu
t the inhaling and exhaling of the life energy (breath) by the creator at the ti
me of creation of this universe. This is also called as AJAPA GAYATHRI.
This AJAPA, which is the inhaling and exhaling of one s life breath, is called nor
mally as breathing . In one s everyday life, from sunrise to the next day sun rise, e
ach individual, breathes 21,600 times of this Gayathri (Hamsa Gayathri viz: Ham
Saha). However, the individual is not aware that this is the MOST SACRED AJAPA G
AYATHRI, which is integrated and merged with his own life principal. Unaware, th
e individual is daily repeating day in and day out, the Hamsa Gayathri, which is
the very breath of his being, without knowing its value. AJAPA That which is rep
eated without awareness of its existence.
The Lord of the Universe, who became himself the Manthra (Hamsa Gayathri), exhib
its himself in the form of GURU (as Dakshinamoorthy and in the form of one s own G
uru). There is absolutely no difference between the Manthra, Guru and the Devath
a (God) as all these THREE are the same most subtle, absolute and all pervading
life energy. The great Upasaka Shri Bhaskaramahi
the author of the Sri Natha Nav
arathna Malika Stotras which extols the all merciful Guru blessing the sadhaka f
or his well being - offers the first Mangala sloka as Guru Vandana or salutations
at the Lotus Feed of the Great Master of the universe
These nine gems (slokas) adores the great Guru as MATTHA MAYURAM
ng in ecstasy, which indicates:

a peacock danci

The peacock will not exhibit its splendour and glory in ordinary times. However
whenever there are a lot of dark clouds around, it gets excited and spreads its
wings which are full of colour and spectacle and dances in ecstasy, along with o
ther peacocks. Similarly the great Master (Guru) hides his own state of being and
whenever He meets the great sadhakas and disciples, He exhibits His mastery and
His state of oneness with the ultimate reality, thus blessing the countless devo
tees. Thus the Guru who has the qualities of the dancing peacock, the word Matth
a Mayuram is aptly applied as a simili to Him.
Further, these 9 slokas, are far superior to all other slokas, because they are
all built up on the alphabets of the word MATTHA MAYURAM -.
It is also an accepted fact, that whenever a devote offers wholeheartedly a slok
a at the Lotus Feet of the Almighty and Guru, there is always a vibration of the
divine current in his body, and he reaches a state of ecstasy, in a milder way,
like a dancing peacock. The sadhaka experiences the same ecstasy whenever he dw
ells deep into these slokas.
The Bhavana - mergence - with the method propounded by these 9 slokas, is very diff
icult to follow or enjoin by ordinary human being. An adept, who has had a long
steadfast practice (sadhan), with absolute purity of mind, action and deed, and
control of mind, can alone achieve this.
Another noteworthy feature of these 9 slokas, is that these have not been sung i
n praise of any devatha , as is usual. They explain in secretly coded words and
in detail, following the principles of advanced science of mathematics, the numb
er of breathing, (inhaling and exhaling), and the number of times each of the br

eathing is offered to the respective Devathas with the respective manthras. Even
the explanatory notes are all imbibed with these coded messages which requires
one s great skill and the blessings of the Master to understand.
For example the 4th pada (stanza) of each sloka ends with the words SANMARGAM MAT
THA MAYURAM GURU IDE
to the ordinary human being this would mean - I SOLUTE TO TH
E GURU WHO IS PREACHING THE SAN MARGA, like a peacock dancing in ecstasy. Howeve
r the inner meaning would be as follows:
The word MATTHA MAYURAM actually indicates:
The word M is No.5
A is No.6
M is No.5
U is No.1
R is No.2
So it reads as 56512 and if this is reversed it become 21565.
Similarly in the word SATH MARGAM, THE WORD SATH indicates the meaning of joining
and the word MARGAM indicates the number. Thus:
The word in Margam M indicates No.5
GHAM indicates No.3
So it reads as 53 and if this is again reversed it become 35.
Now if you add the number 21565 and 35, they denote 21600, which is the total nu
mber of breathing one would do DAILY from sunrise to the next day s sunrise. There
fore the real meaning would be that the Guru who is in the form of the breathing
is adored and praised.
From the 2nd sloka onwards, the three stanzas (paadas) in each one of them, indi
cates in similar secret codes, how the Guru is appearing in each breathing.
It is felt that at the present juncture, it may not be necessary to explain all
these in detail. Further such an explanation will be very extensive and exhausti
ve and require a lot of time and space.
However with a view that even the ordinary upasaka should get the benefit of the
letter and spirit of the Sri Natha Navarathna Malika, the great Sri Vidhya Upas
aka, shree Bhaskararayamahee- who is considered non-else than the Lalitha Maha T
ripurasundari, and who has studied and practised all the means and methods in th
e Upasana marga, and who has done a lot of research and development in this fiel
d, and who has brought into being the SRI VIDHYA DHARMAM.(Saktha dharmam), and w
ho has had the personal experience of the Ultimate Reality, and who has written
the bashyam (explanatory notes) for the veda chapters of Bhavanopanishad, Tripur
opanishad, Kowlopanishad, and the saktha smruthi grantham
Nithya Sodasikarnavam
- and who has written the bashyam, in the way which no one can do so, for the La
litha Sahasranamam, and who was called the SAKTA PRASTHANA KARTHA , and who has mas
tered everything in the tanthra sastra, who was independent, and who has spread
the Devi (sakthi) cult throughout the Indian subcontinent, and the one who is th
e great Guru for all of us, an Avathara Purusha representing the very Lalitha Ma
hatripurasundari has written the explanatory note for these navarathna slokas.
The PALA SRUTHI SLOKA (10) SAYS:
The one who on the basis of his breathing, experienced the presence of the ultim
ate reality, and received the total blessings of the Divine Mother, and who afte
r having undergone the total experience of mergence with the Divine Mother, expl
ained fully the various principles of Saktha cult, the ways and means to apply t
hese in practical life, and who is extolled as the great Guru, the one with the
Divine effulgence, the great SRI MAHESANATHAR
has written these slokas. Each one
of the sloka is a gem by itself and in toto they make a Navarathna Mala. This N

avarathna Mala is adorned in the neck of Maha Tripurasundari. Every Sri Vidhya U
pasaka should byheart these slokas and offer the same to the Divine Mother with
his very breathing. Such Upasakas are considered to have crossed the barriers of
birth and death, as the one initiated into Panchadasakshari Manthra, and become
s the jeevan muktas in this birth itself. They are considered SIVAM. .
The author further states and reaffirms by the words- PATAPARANAM GURUBAKTHANAM
CH SADHYAHA PARASIVA PRAPTHIHI PHALATHI - that the ordinary human being, who has
no access to Sri Vidhya, can derive all the benefits, if alone he does the para
yana (repeating) of these slokas regularly with dedication and devotion
It is prayed that all be blessed by the Divine Mother and the Great Master, to h
ave all the best of peaceful life and merge with Her.

LOKA SAMASTHAHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU

SARVE JANAHA SUKINO BHAVANTHU NARAYANA SMRUTHI.

For Consultaion Please Contact: Mr. S. Shangaranarayanan

,62/3,28th cross, Indiranagar, adyar, Chennai-600020, Tamilnadu, India.
Phone: ++91 44 2442 1420.
E.mail: [email protected]