LALITHA SAHASRANAMAM
@ S. Subramaniam
समयान्तस्था (97)
Samayantastha (97)
Meaning:
Devi is the center of worship by mind - or Manasika Puja.
Interpretation:
Worship of Devi can be of several kinds - such as (1) performing yajna like Chandi Homam, (2) Elaborate Puja like the Navavarna Puja (3) Community puja called Sarbojanin puja where pandals are erected and idols of Devi are installed, worshiped and after worship visarjan (immersion) takes place, (4) House-hold puja like the Shodasa-Upachara puja and (5) worship by mind such as Japa, Dhyana or Meditation.
This Namah Samayantastha deals with internal puja or Meditation where Devi's roopam is imagined inside the mind by the devotee and worship offered to Devi.
This worship is counted as the supreme by all the yogis. Hence it is called samaya. The procedure of worship is prescribed by the five sages Vashist, Suka, Sanaka, Sananda and Shanata Kumara. Hence, the term samaya is also frequently used for these five books.
In the Shiva Manasa Puja Stotra, Adi Sankara captures the bhakti bhava in this method of worship where feeling is more effective than action. The aspirant has to imagine the Shiva Linga which is in each individual as the soul and resides in the lotus of one’s heart.
Author's Notes:
Meditation or mental worship is given paramount importance in Hinduism. Internal worship. In Shiksha Valli part of Taittiriya Upanishad there is a mention : Tapa Iti Topo-Nitya Pourushashti Meaning : The sage Taponitya, of the lineage of Sage Pourushashti, opines that Tapas, practice of austerity alone is good enough to attain Mukti.
Swami Sivananda informs us about an interesting story from Mahabharata. Among the Pandava brothers, Bhima never used to participate in external puja and offer only mental puja to Lord Shiva. Arjuna used to think Bhima was not doing any kind of worship.
Arjuna once saw a large band of people carrying baskets of Bael leaves. He thought within himself that these leaves must be those offered by him to the Lord and questioned them thus: "Brothers, wherefrom do you carry these Bael leaves." They replied: "O Arjuna, these leaves are offered to our Lord by Bhima through his Manasic Puja." Arjuna was struck with wonder. He came to know that Manasic Puja was more powerful than the external worship.
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