anandaI

A lasting impression of my maternal grandfather, Swargiya Shri Gopalan, was his repeated chanting of 5 sanskrit words “ Ganga Gomata Gita Aswatha Deepajyoti ”. He was a noble soul who only thought and did good. I was too young to ask him the significance, but I remember him saying just the smarana (remembrance) of these 5 elements is beneficial.  My vague recollection was that he had heard the Sankaracharya (I am assuming Mahaperiyavar ) mention this and he considers this a eloquent wise saying ( Subhashita ). These words have echoed in my thoughts for a while.  Recently I decided to search the origin of these specific 5 elements and found they are traditional liturgical verses composed by later saints to summarize the essence of the Puranas for the common person. They are "Puranic in spirit" with the 3 Gs (Ganga Gomata Gita) directly referred to in Skanda Purana. Reflecting further, it seems to me these 5 elements could symbolize what are considered part of a healthy morni...

The Mirror in the Mantra: A Journey from Sound to Silence I have chanted the Sthula (Gross) Panchakshara, Na-Ma-Si-Va-Ya , many times—most recently while reciting the soul-stirring Sivapuranam by Manickavasaga r . For many seekers, these five syllables are a foundation, a steady rhythm for the mind to lean on. Recently, triggered by an article on the unique Arwi language (Tamil written in Arabic script), a question surfaced: What happens if we look at the Sthula Panchakshara through the mirror of another language, Arwi? Because Arabic and Arwi are written and read from right to left, the very act of transcribing the mantra into this script forces a reversal of movement. When you flip the flow, the phonetic landscape changes entirely. Na-Ma-Si-Va-Ya becomes Ya-Wasi-Ma’na. This reversal reveals a sequence of Arabic terms that mirror the deepest truths of Saiva Siddhanta. 1. The Universal Outcry: Ya (يا) The journey begins with Ya. In the Islamic tradition, it is the opening of the sou...