Couple of days ago I had gone for a meeting to an old client. In the waiting room, I ran into one of the leaders who we had worked with few years ago. There was a happy exchange, he excitedly told me how he has turned over a new leaf and all the amazing things he is doing. He is one of those who is always in the fore front of “Achievement” and has a track record to back it.
After some time, he suddenly asked me in a changed subdued tone, completely out of the blue with no reference – “Do you think the third wave will come?” – for a few seconds I was confused, then I got the drift, and said No, I don’t think, Really? He asked, in a scared yet hopeful voice. Yes I said, the I went on to tell him of my dream at the start of first wave, when I saw a second wave. And sure enough after a year the second wave did come. But I did not see a third wave. Oh very good he, said, sounding relieved.
I felt a bit odd. But I let it go. I went in and was sitting waiting for my colleague, in the waiting room. This person came in again after a bit, to check if I needed anything, and then lingered and again asked me if I was sure the third wave won’t come.
By now I found this a bit funny and a lot intriguing. Funny that he thought I knew what would happen with so much confidence. Intriguing that he was asking again. What was going on?
I decided to point blank ask him. He told me in uncharacteristic voice, the he is, present tense, very scared of death. I was quite taken aback at the level of fear in his system and voice. I had always known him be this brave sorts. He went on to tell me, when second wave came he was terrified to death and now with people talking of third wave he often found himself paralyzed. It was ironical, I thought, in his visceral fear of death, he sounded like he would end up being terrified to death.
I told him to do fear setting and chant Mrithyunjaya Mantra.
The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra, is one of my favourite Mantras, and a goto for various reasons.
I learnt this, along with the “fire rituals” when I got initiated to hold the death process, almost 25 years ago. Be the death doula.
I had a tough time, I was young and found myself completely out of depth. I would hear this mantra, from somewhere and in less than couple of hours, hear of a death close by. The “coincidence” got too much after 10-12 times. I felt as if, me saying that mantra was somehow responsible for the deaths. I got scared and went back to my teacher and told her to “Uninitiate me” she said this could not be done, since my soul had chosen this. This on the back of of hearing about a friends dad’s death just yesterday.
But she did explain to me what was going on. She told me I wasn’t causing the death by thinking of the mantra, but the people who were leaving came to me to “be released” and that repeating the Mantra, released them. In short, I was helping them, I felt a bit better. But it would still take a few years for me to feel OK with using this. I had to realize , It wasn’t me. I was just the messenger, the doula. I had to just do my job. Over the period it has become less effortful.
It has been a very interesting journey being the Doula of Birth and Death. And somehow they are held as “Different”
Story of Maha Mrithyunjaya Mantra:
Mrithyunjaya mantra is found in the oldest Vedic literature, the Rig Veda (7.59.12). Maha Mrithyunjaya Mantra, by definition, protects us from our deepest fear – Fear of death.
Mrithyunjaya Mantra
Om trayambakam yajamahe
Sugandhim pushti vardhanam
Urvaurukamiva bandhanat
Mrityur mukshiya mamtritaat – Om
One story is associated with Shiva and Rishi Markandeya, the son of sage Mrikandu.
An astrologer told Mrikandu, the father about the premature death of his child, at sixteen. And he advised his child to worship Lord Shiva and this mantra was then revealed to him, and he became immortal. This Mantra is also known as Sanjeevani mantra.
The Sage Markandeya, whose teachings are found in the Markandeya Purana. His text is remembered especially for its account of the glory of the Divine Mother. Markandeya is also acclaimed for his vision of the cosmic deluge, and in the Mahabharata he is an honoured guest at the forest encampment of the heroic Pandava brothers.
To overcome Fear of death and aid the process of resurrection.
It is said that Lord Shiva himself gave humanity the Mahamrityunjaya mantra.
Whenever there is listlessness, stress, grief, illness, or when fear of death intrudes in awareness, this great mantra can be used for healing, for maintaining vitality, and for refuge.
The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra is one of yoga’s most important mantras. It restores health and happiness and brings calmness in the face of death. When courage or determination are blocked, it rises up to overcome obstacles.
It awakens a healing force that reaches deep into the body mind and soul
.
Word by word meaning
The Detailed meaning of Mahamrityunjaya mantra is as follows:
Om: It is the primordial sound which represents the higher forces. The supreme sound.
Trayambakam: It represents the possessor of three eyes.
Yajamahe: It means we all together worship him.
Sugandhim: It means as pleasurable as incense.
Pushtivardhanam: It means the one which increases our vitality for a healthy spiritual life.
Uruvaurukamiva: It means like a cucumber.
Mrityormukshiya: It means freedom from death.
Mam amritaat: It means not from immortality.
The meaning of the mantra is as follows:
“I surrender myself to Lord Shiva, who has three eyes, who is as pleasurable as a sweet smelling incense and who gives vitality to the devotee to perform devotional service. Just like a cucumber is freed from its stem naturally, be merciful upon me and release me from the shackles of death, not from immortality.”
Just as a plant patiently gathers nutrients from the soil, so healing and nourishing forces enter the human body through foods, medicines, supportive emotions, and encouraging thoughts. The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra attracts these forces and creates an inner environment to enhance their effectiveness. Thus the mantra can be used whenever any restorative process is undertaken.
This has been true on my own experience, many times.
Some months ago, as I was doing my practice of recitation of 108 chants, I suddenly stopped to think of why Uruvaurukamiva: A cucumber?. Like a cucumber falls from its plant, let me also fall.
Why not apple, or tomatoes , or leaves or other salad items I thought, in my head it was funny at that moment.
As I began to follow my curiosity I discovered something amazing. And Suddenly the Mrithyunjaya mantra, opened up for me beyond the ‘spiritual’ meaning. The reason why not other fruits or leaves was, they fell effortlessly yes, but that was it. I realised It was not just about falling, or dying – it was about what it did when it fell.
This is why I love the place where Science meets Spirituality.
The cucumber, is not just any, but a ‘Squirting cucumber”. When this cucumber falls on the ground, since it is mostly filled with water, water gushes out of it, hence the squirting. But on close inspection I noticed, with the water, the seeds are also thrown out. Everywhere.
I was so utterly amazed. Oh!! So that was it. The bit of cucumber was that on falling, “dying”, it threw out all it seeds, and hence perpetuating life in death, and becoming immortal. Wow!!
I felt as if after years of chanting I had finally understood the deeper meaning of the Mantra. It didn’t mean just ,‘not dying’ – It meant dying in a way that you spread life.
I was so thrilled at ‘Nature’ entering the process that I went further. And discovered something even more amazing about the not so simple Cucumber, no wonder it found it prestigious place in the Mantra, me thinks.
In Slo-mo when you see the squirting, the there are two things that are happening.
- The cucumber turns in a circular fashion, perhaps because of the force of the water.
- The water itself squirts the seeds in a circular fashion.
Why, I wondered. Why is this particular “Design and Dance ”, so important.
I found, Nature stores the seeds, future, posterity, life – in a particular, stacked manner. In a Fibonacci series. Yes, enter mathematics ta-da!!
Leonardo Pisano, called Fibonacci, invented the famous “Fibonacci sequence”: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21,34, etc. A sequence of numbers in which each member is the sum of the previous two. Just like our birth, how beautiful. An important characteristic of the sequence is the fact that the ratio between any number and the previous one in the series tends towards a well-defined value: 1.618… This is the Golden Ratio or golden section, φ (Phi), that frequently occurs in nature
The Fibonacci series honours the Golden Ratio. Nature uses Fibonacci. This is true of other seeds also, like sunflower , and leaves and branches and shells..etc etc.
The reason, the intelligent and beautiful nature does this, is to making space and maximizing the reach of the seeds by Design. To move forward – To propagate Growth and life
In the cucumber, if the seeds were in any other “pattern” when squirted would all fall in random heaps, and minimize the possibility of exposure and growth. But with the Fibonacci series stack and the circular manner of squirting, the amazing cucumber makes sure the seeds are “spread” far and wide, and ‘planted’ in spiral. So that every seed gets equal opportunity to get sunlight and grow. That was Truly Amazing !!!! and how true of other things and us in life. Exposure enable growth.
Nature was truly so much more intelligent and wise, and a “Designer”
Nature was once again at the root of the Spiritual practice. What the Mantra then said was, while death was imminent, one does not have to ‘die’ to disappear.
Perhaps as human beings, underneath the Fear of death, is the fear of disappearing. Of not being remembered. Of not leaving a mark or a sign post – “I was here”. And we want to. Even Gods want to Matter. While in the process of making my portrait, my husband joked, I was getting immortalised. True. I felt it. Also the discomfort. And yet, we will also not want to get exposed. Be out there. No wonder we are so afraid of death.
Perhaps, which is why, putting things out there, whether it was creativity, poems, painting, prose, artefact or thoughts, actions, our ourselves as we are, was so Important even critical to true freedom. Maybe The “resurrection” that it promises, is in understanding that, give away your seeds – let life flow, through you and continue. The seeds left inside the cucumber would sure rot, same maybe the case with us. Nature makes sure that does not happen. We interfere with our own process.
Perhaps it’s time we remember this. That we are also nature and can and should be humble enough to learn from Her. After all “She”, nature – has survived everything. Human race clearly has not. Maybe we chant this as a way to remember to move. Move in the direction of Life. That is how Nature designs everything.
Perhaps we did not understand the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra properly. It was not about death – It was always about Life. And Spreading Life. Perhaps Birth and Death were NOT so Different after all.
14 Comments