vArAham vAmanam viShNum narasimham janArdanam |
mAdhavam cha prapanno.asmi kim me mR^ityuH kariShyati ||
Bhartrhari says in vairAgya shataka:
bhoge rogabhayam kule chyutibhayam vitte nR^ipAlAdbhayam
mAne dainyabhayam bale ripubhayam rUpe jarAyA bhayam |
shAstre vAdibhayam guNe khalabhayam kAye kRtAntAdbhayam
sarvam vastu bhayAnvitam bhuvi nR^iNAm vairAgyamevAbhayam ||
bhoge rogabhayam – in enjoyment there is the fear of disease; one enjoys various sensory pleasures such as good food, good wine, women, perfumes and clothes but the enjoyment is always accompanied by fear of disease arising out of these indulgences. While one is eating at a fancy restaurant, the taste of the food is masked by thoughts of increasing cholesterol or blood sugar, and the need to spend the next few days running around a park or sweating at the gym to compensate for the current indulgence.
kule chyutibhayam – in social position there is the fear of decline; one can belong to a noble family by birth or to a noble lineage of masters or can have a wonderful family but the sense of pride arising out of this is always accompanied by the fear of decline. Every action of the self causes fear and analysis whether it would bring down the family name. One is critical of every action of the self or that of the family members due to this fear. Every action performed has to fit the social fabric of accepted norms and non-conformance leads to fear of disgrace.
vitte nR^ipAlAdbhayam – in wealth is the fear of hostile rulers; if one is wealthy, he is always scared of the powerful who can confiscate his wealth anytime. A rich merchant, with every extra penny earned, is thinking of different ways of tax evasion and is strained by the resulting fear of an IT raid. A diamond merchant is always worried of receiving a threatening call from the mafia demanding protection money.
mAne dainyabhayam – in honor is the fear of humiliation; a man filled with abhimAna is always worried about his name, fame and reputation and has to always worry about holding on to his reputation at any cost. A man of honor person is always scared of dishonor.
bale ripubhayam – in power is the fear of the enemies; I am America, I am powerful and can kill thousands of innocent lives to assert my power but not one day can I sleep peacefully due to threats from Muhammed’s men. I can spend not a single day experiencing relief from fear as I am always worried about growing global economy, nuclear proliferation and various other reasons that I perceive as threats to my power and supremacy.
rUpe jarAyA bhayam – in beauty is the fear of old age; I am beautiful and photographed by the best in the fashion but I am constantly under the fear of getting old. I cannot waste time enjoying the compliments I receive from people as I have to start using age defying creams, visit my dermatologist to get rid of the scars that these creams gave me and probably plan for a face lift sometime soon.
shAstre vAdibhayam – in scriptural erudition is the fear of opponents or debaters; I have read many books and learnt verses by heart and quote them generously here and there showing off the learning. Then there are others who have also read books, one or two more than me and ask, ‘Hey, you said mumbo jumbo stuff about Ucchishta Ganesha! And the references you quote are some instrumented writings which speak of recent monasteries and pontiffs. Also, Mr. B never said anything supporting your claims’. Now, how can I keep quiet after this? I have to start rummaging through my books and brain and start whipping up a counter-post, ‘Hi there Mr. Debater. So you read some incorrect version of the scripture that someone published in the name of Guhya Sahasranama. How can something thats has been published and made available to someone uninitiated be called Guhya? Did you observe the lack of Chndas in that work? And Mr. B also never said anything about a lot of other things such as Timbuktu. So what? There is a well-accepted lineage following this practice, there is some scriptural support that I am quoting, if it is of any consideration there is personal experience and refuting all this merely by speculative analysis seems more like being argumentative mrely for the sake of it. Okay, now there is a response, which I already anticipated, and to counter that I already asked someone to scan my copy of eleventh chapter in Badabanala which I shall submit as proof. The response, on the expected lines, is questioning the authenticity of this scripture, which unfortunately, ‘no one’ has ever read and court does not accept ‘secrets’ which cannot be shouted from rooftops. Now my case has grown week as I cannot produce in court either Rana Jung Bahadur of Nepal, H H Karapatri Maharaj, Sri Guhanandanatha and Mahaperiyaval or start explaining and quoting the authentic Sahasranama disgracing the scriptural prohibition. Now, I think of ignoring the whole thread and reassert to myself the lack of need to convince every Tom, Dick and Harry the authenticity of this path, drink some green tea and take a nap. Lol! Why did not I do this long ago? Sorry, I spoke too soon, someone is saying without shivalatA mudrA, there can be no enlightenment and devi said this during a personal rendezvous aired on D-TV. And now I start the next chain of debate and the story continues …
guNe khalabhayam – in virtue is the fear of the traducers; I am polite, humble, god-fearing and courteous. But people always misuse these virtues, abuse me, take advantage of me and hurt me. I am in constant fear of such traducers.
kAye kRtAntAdbhayam – in body is the fear of death [krtAntau yamasiddhAntau ityamara]; I am the ‘body’ and I am always in fear of death. Everyday when I wake up, I think of how an earthquake could kill me, how I could be rammed down by a truck while driving to work or my house could be bombed by the terrorists. I live every moment in fear. I forget these fears while indulging now and then in shishnodara pravrttis but the fear always returns to haunt me.
sarvam vastu bhayAnvitam bhuvi nR^iNAm vairAgyamevAbhayam – So there is fear in every single thing! All these aspects, such as health, wealth, power, progeny, name, erudition – which I thought were my friends are actually vices that are making me live in constant fear. The state of fearlessness, from this I conclude, is possible only when complete dispassion is attained, the way to which is sampUrNa sharaNAgati, offering kartrtva completely at the lotus feet of shrI mahAbhairavI and having the sole aim as kAnchIratasmarAntakakuTumbinii charaNapallavopAsanam
ShaDAdhArAvartairaparimitamantrormipaTalaiH
chalanmudrAphenairbahuvidhalasaddaivatajhaShaiH |
kramasrotobhistvam vahasi paranAdAmR^itanadiim
bhavAni pratyagrA shivachidamR^itAbdhipraNayini ||