LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM
@ S. Subramaniam
[ 48 Nishkrodha Krodhashamani Nirlobha Lobhanashini ]
क्रोध-शमनी (169)
Krodha-Shamani (169)
Meaning:
Devi calms down the feeling of anger arising in the minds of her devotees.
Interpretation:
In this Namah - Krodha means anger and Shamani means one who controls / calms down things. Therefore Krodha Shamani means Devi subdues / controls / calms down anger in the minds of her devotees.
In Hinduism, Krodha (anger) is described as one of the six Arishadvargas (internal enemies), the other five being Kama (desire), Lobha (greed), Mada (pride), Moha (attachment) and Matsarya (partiality).
It may be noted that in this sloka Vaak Devi-s have, when it comes to Lobha, uses the word Nashini ( one who destroys) and when it comes to Krodha uses the word Shamani (one who controls). From this it will be clear that Krodha is something that is controllable whereas Lobha is an evil that needs to be destroyed completely.
Author's Notes:
Anger has been described in Hinduism as an internal enemy. Getting angry needs to be discouraged. It is possible only by meditation and seeking the blessings of Devi (the Krodha Shamani) to bring calmness to the mind.
Anger as an evil has also been portrayed in other religions such as Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism.
In Sikhism, the evil elements are classified as Panj Vikar or the five thieves and they are kaam (lust), krodh (rage), lobh (greed), moh (attachment) and ahankar (ego).
Likewise Jainism refers to them as the four Kasayas : krodha (anger), lobha (greed), mana (ego) and maya (deceit).
The Mahayana tradition of Buddhism identifies Five Poisons to be the root cause of all problems / sufferings of Klesha and lists out Avidhya, Abhinivesa, Asmita, Dvesha and Raga (anger) as the five evils.
Quote from Sri Sai Ashtakam, a composition of this author:
त्वमेव क्रोधम् च शान्तम् त्वमेव
त्वमेव द्वेशम् च स्नेहम् त्वमेव
त्वमेव त्रीगुणम् च निरगुणम् त्वमेव
प्रभो साई नाथा मम देव देवा //
Tvameva Krodham cha Shantham Tvameva, Tvameva Dvesham cha Sneham Tvameva, Tvameva Trigunam cha Nirgunam Tvameva Prabho Sainatha mama Deva Deva
Om Sairam. In the above stanza, the author addresses Sai as both the contrasting pair of characters such as Krodham and Shantam, Dvesham and Sneham and Trigunam and Nirgunam.
The idea is when the true devotee surrenders completely before the Sai, he becomes oblivious to the circumstances and to his own existence. He sees Sai and only Sai in everything around him, in every action around him and in every manifestation around him. He fully realizes that the contrasting things are not different but two sides of the one and the same coin. That's wisdom. That's the power of the Sai cult. Om Sairam.
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