Gita-God-Hinduism

What is shodasha upachAra?  To understand the purpose of shodasha upachaara, it is important to understand the meaning of the word itself.  shOdasha means 16 or "consisting of 16" or "having 16"! upachAra means "Treating someone", "honoring", "solicitate", "performing a ceremony", "offering reverence", "service" etc.   A special guest to one's home is offered a special treatment. Most festivals would have these 16 steps as a way to greet, meet and treat the Lord through ceremonial solicitation. These steps are symbolic  in nature to express gratitude and reverence by subjecting the deity through the purification process through bathing, offering clothes, scents, flowers, food etc. These steps are concluded by a complete prostration to seek His blessings.   Here are the 16 upachArAs:  prathama upachAra - dhyana - aavahana  – meditation offered as reverence to the Lord. This is usually an invocation praye...

Introduction:  Soundarya Lahari  saundrya = beauty, elegance, noble conduct, generosity etc . lahari - a large wave (that can sweep you from below your feet, that can clean you of your past, that can take you away to a different world)! It comes in two parts aananda lahari - the waves of happiness that has 41 stanzaas. The second part is soundarya lahari. aananda lahari was taught by his Guru Gaudapada, and Sri Adi Sankara added the rest of the 59 stanzas and made it to 100 stanzaas. ಶಿವಃ ಶಕ್ತ್ಯಾ ಯುಕ್ತೋ ಯದಿ ಭವತಿ ಶಕ್ತಃ ಪ್ರಭವಿತುಂ ನ ಚೇದೇವಂ ದೇವೋ ನ ಖಲು ಕುಶಲಃ ಸ್ಪಂದಿತುಮಪಿ  ಅತಸ್ತ್ವಾಮಾರಾಧ್ಯಾಂ ಹರಿಹರವಿರಿಂಚಾದಿಭಿರಪಿ ಪ್ರಣಂತುಂ ಸ್ತೋತುಂ ವಾ ಕಥಮಕೃತಪುಣ್ಯಃ ಪ್ರಭವತಿ || ೧ || shivaH = Lord Shiva; shaktyA - with shakti or dEvi; yuktaH - along with or one with; yadi bhavati - if union happens then; prabhavitum shaktaH - is able to create; na ceth Evam - if he is NOT with shakti; dEvaH - then that shiva; spanditum api - even to cause a minor movement; kushalaha na khalu - has no capacity, right? ata...

ಓಂ ಯೋ ವೇದಾದೌ ಸ್ವರಃ ಪ್ರೊಕ್ತೋ ವೇದಾಂತೇ ಚ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತಃ |  ತಸ್ಯ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಲೀನಸ್ಯ ಯಃ ಪರಸ್ಯ ಮಹೇಶ್ವರಃ ||6|| ಓಂ ಶಾಂತಿಃ ಶಾಂತಿಃ ಶಾಂತಿಃ ವೇದದಾದಿಯ ಪ್ರಣವ ಶಬ್ಧವು ವೇದದಂತ್ಯದಿ ಅದುವೆ ಸ್ವರವು ಪ್ರಕೃತಿ ಲೀನತೆಗೊಂಡ ತಾರಕನಾತನೇ ಪರಮೇಶರೂಪ ||೬|| ಓಂ ಶಾಂತಿಃ ಶಾಂತಿಃ ಶಾಂತಿಃ Om - the syllable Om!  yaH - one who is  vEdAdau - at the beginning of vedas swavaraH prOktaH - the swarah that is pronounced, chanted  vEdantE ca pratishtitaH - that which is established deep within the vedAs or as the conclusion of vedas tasya prakRitilInasya - of that which is concealed in the prakriti yaH paraH - that which is beyond  saH - He mahEshvaraH - the Lord of lords, Supreme Lord OmkAra, the eternal sound,  which is pronounced  at the beginning of the vedas, and that which is established as the ultimate truth at the end of vedAnta (upanishat), one who is beyond the grasps of physical realities (this material world), He is the Supreme Lord Himself! रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययो: | प्रणव: सर्ववेदेषु शब...