MOHA MUDGARA (BHAJA GOVINDAM ie WORSHIP GOD) OF SANKARACHARYA....... HE SPEAKS FOR ALL
Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao
Adi Sankaracharya the doyen of Hindu philosophy was born in a small village Kaladi in Kerala State of South India in the year 677 AD in a pious holy Brahmin family. His parents were Siva guru and Arya. They were learned and holy couple. It is believed that Sankara was born to fulfill the boon given to his father by Lord Shiva one of the Trinity worshipped in Hinduism. As per mythology, Adi Sankara could recite scriptures at very young age of seven years with authority that is possible with only divine birth. His father passed away when he was very young and his mother brought him up. He learned Vedas under a renowned teacher and soon mastered the scriptures. The request of Sankara to renounce the world was repeatedly denied by his mother. He was the only son and wanted him to get married and lead a life of a house holder. It is believed that once Sankara went to a river Poorna to take bath. A crocodile suddenly attacked him, caught hold of his leg and was pulling him into deep waters. His shrieks were heard by his mother and she rushed to the river where he saw her son struggling with the reptile. Sankara said “Oh mother! You always refused permission to me to renounce the world and become an ascetic. Now I am on the door of death. At least now permit me to renounce the world and she immediately gave permission in great pain and anguish. Sankara summarily and voluntarily renounced the world and the crocodile immediately released Sankara from its jaws and he reached to safety with all glory. He took permission from his mother to travel around the country and promised her that he would arrive at the time of her death and perform her last rites. Thus having renounced the world for a divine cause when young, he traveled throughout India as a distinguished teacher and scholar of unmatched repute. He engaged in discussions with leaders of other schools of thought. He spread peace and wisdom wherever he went. Sankaracharya wrote most classical commentaries on Hindu scriptures like Brahma Sutras, major Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita that are being considered the most cherished possessions of India. They received great appreciation from the Sanskrit scholars of West. These works are considered as authority on the Hindu philosophy and are greatly revered for the wealth of knowledge, clear explanations and lucid thought. Adi Sankaracharya defeated the scholars of Buddhism in India and turned the tide. Buddhism was a powerful religion in India at that time and Hinduism was on vane. As a consequence, Buddhism declined and literally disappeared from India soon. He was responsible for the revival of Hinduism to it’s past glory which was eclipsed by the spread of Buddhism. His school of thought is called Adwaita philosophy. It preaches that what we see the world is an illusion and once a man comes out of this illusion , he would be able to attain the truth. The philosophy and its abstract nature made it difficult to comprehend by ordinary persons.
Sankaracharya once went to Benares in north India during his long travels in the country. Enroute to river Holy Ganges, he found an elderly Brahmin who was continuously reciting certain portions of scholarly grammar in the morning hours. Sankaracharya desired to reveal to the elderly man about the futility of such exercise at that age and decided to show the real path for salvation. Instantly, he burst out with twelve Sanskrit verses that are called Dwadasa Manjarika Stotram meaning a bouquet of twelve verses. The fourteen distinguished disciples, who were with Sankaracharya greatly inspired by the verses of their master, also added one verse each. At the end, Sankara again recited four verses. Thus, the total thirty one Sanskrit verses constitute the most famous work in Hindu philosophy titled Moha (Desire) Mudgara (Mace). It means destruction of desires by a mace. This is also called Bhaja Govindam meaning “worship the lord”.
In this material world, attaining self knowledge is very important and this is eternal and universal. All other knowledge is momentary and is inferior to self knowledge. Moha Mudgara teaches these aspects and clarifies how useless it is to run for materialistic pleasures in the world which can not take one to God which is the ultimate desire of every one in this world. Every religion in the world and their Holy Scriptures and peers speak on the aspect of attaining salvation and lays down guidelines for right conduct in this world. The contents of this devotional song have clear and rightly defined philosophy that guarantees salvation. It is the summary of all Upanishads and entire Hindu philosophy and has universal appeal. The contents when compared to the teachings of Prophets of other religions reveal how closely all religions are related and how true were the prophets on the aspect of salvation.
Adi Sankaracharya led a short life of only 31 eventful and purposeful years and reached heavenly abode in Kashmir in the year 708. He established Shiviite religious monasteries at important places in India and till today, these are functioning under spiritual heads that bear the title Sankaracharya and are doing yeomen service to Hinduism and for world peace. In the short span of distinguished life, he accomplished great literary and philosophical achievements that no one could match till today. He was definitely of divine birth and very greatly revered throughout India. Sanskrit having gone outdated is limited to only scholars very limited in numbers including in West and Oriental, people are unable to grasp the best aspects of these writings. Thus, West is much ill informed on the writings of Adi Sankaracharya that is a store of truth and knowledge. The Sanskrit verses have been translated in clear and simple English poems and have been presented as under:
BHAJA GOVINDAM (MOHA MUDGARA)
( Sri Adi Sankaracharya)
Translated by
Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao
Pray to the Lord of the universe 1
Oh fool! Pray to him and be free from worldly strife
Saveth you not the mere words of grammar
When death comes to take your life
Oh fool! Be free of longing for wealth 2
Pray to the God from your inner heart to the last
Be happy with what you get in this life
Those are the fruits of your deeds in the past
Let not the plump breasts of woman and her naval 3
Make you crazy with passion and lust
Know that these are mere lumps of flesh and blood
Knowledge of this for you is always a must
The life of a man is most uncertain 4
Similar to a drop of water on a slippery lotus leaf
Thy not forget, this world is full of ego
That is full of disease and never ending grief
When one is fit and earns bread for his family 5
All his kin would bestow tons of love to the brim
Alas! The day he is sick and down with old age
None at home would care to have even a word with him
The kin of men enquire welfare with love 6
Till the life remains in the mortal shell
Even the beloved one is sure to run away soon
And at the fear of corpse the wife would flee as well
In play and game, the childhood is lost 7
In lust for women youth is gone in great fun
Alas! Vanishes the old age while one broods over the past
But none is lost in the supreme and eternal one
Who are your son, daughter and wife to whom you cling? 8
And from where you have come into these hustles?
Strange are the ways in this illusive world
It is time thy think at this eternal puzzle
A good company leads to non-attachment 9
Leads you to a state free of delusion, you can’t miss
Delusion makes you a stable self
And in the end you reach the eternal bliss
When youth is lost what is the use of lust? 10
Like a dried up lake where water is depleted
As kith and kin vanish when wealth is lost
The world is extinct when supreme is revealed
Friends, wealth and youth are mere trifles 11
Know that these are just lost in a flash
Get rid off the illusion of the world from thy mind
Aim at attaining the eternal truth that is real but harsh
Day and night, light and darkness, the routine affairs 12
Like winter and spring these cycles come and go
Time rushes away taking the human life with it
Alas! To the desires the human would never say no
Get not entangled in thoughts of wealth and pleasures 13
Who is thy wife Oh! Fool of which you always speak?
Thy can be saved from three worlds by only one
It is the company of good men that you must at once seek
With matted locks and shaven heads many go about 14
While some wear saffron robes and speak verses high flown
All these gimmicks are mere the tricks for a living
Alas! The fools are tricked though truth is clearly known
Men go about with heads grown bald and fallen teeth 15
Hung on to crutches the men struggle and go around
Alas! They still hang on to desires and the family bonds
Unable to shake off the bonds that are strong and sound
Men warm up their bodies with fire and sun 16
And curl up tight in night to escape the pains of cold
Some even do not keep a begging bowl for food
Yet in heart, alas! To the desires their heart is sold
Going to holy rivers, fasting and giving away in charities 17
Do not give liberation even after hundred lives
Know this eternal and simple truth of the world
Thus all schools of thought in the world preach and strive
Dwelling at a temple or under a tree with a dear skin on 18
And sleeping on earth, the comforts thus they miss
Those thus renouncing attachments and desires of world
Are sure to be content with a divine bliss
One may practice to delight Yoga or Life of pleasure 19
And be detached or entangled in daily life
Know! Only he whose mind is steady on the Supreme
Would surely attain bliss and be free of the strife
Recite a little from Bhagavad-Gita the divine song 20
Gulp a bit of water from holy Ganges flowing on earth
Pray to the Lord Krishna even once in a while
And sure you are to be free from the Lord of death
The cycle of births and deaths and perils of mother’s womb 21
Are in- deed the great pains in this eternal world of spin?
Save me Oh Lord! From these miserable world of attachments
And show thy mercy and liberate me from the perpetual sin
With rags strewn on wayside, a monk needs no clothes 22
He wanders freed from desires and worldly mode
Those in union with the absolute and the eternal
Are like kids and Ghoul who are in celestial abode
Who is your mother, father? And know who you are. 23
From where you have come, struggling in a stream?
All these bondages are mere illusions on this earth
It is high time and you leave it as a simple dream
Lord Vishnu dwells in all including you and me 24
Discard your anger and impatience that are of no avail
Know that to attain the state of the coveted Lord
Thy must learn to live in serenity to be on God’s trail
With friends, foes, relatives and children 25
Let not you waste your efforts to win over and in futile fight
Learn to see you in all these men in the world
And be free of contempt and anger and be upright
Cast off lust, anger, greed and all desires 26
And struggle and try to know your inner self well
Fools are those found to be busy with own selves
Are sure to be condemned to suffer for eternity in the hell
Pray from Gita and meditate on Vishnu thousand times 27
Recite his thousand glories for which there is no dearth
Always keep the company of noble and good men
And give away wealth to the poor on this earth
Those who live for lust seeking pleasures and fun 28
Have doomed their bodies to eternal sickness and pain
Death is sure to bring all this to sudden and abrupt end
Alas! The man is not yet wise and treads- on insane
Wealth is not welfare and is devoid of any pleasure 29
This truth is relevant in the world for all the times to come
A father for sake of wealth fears his own son
Know! This is the way of wealth it has become
Control the wavering mind that wanders endlessly 30
Know! And realize the real from unreal that constantly stare
Chant the name of the God with utmost devotion
And perform these with devotion and greatest care
Oh! The devoted pupil at the divine feet of the teacher 31
Soon be free from the strife of the world and misery at it’s height
Control the mind going astray and regulate thy senses
That surely would bring to sense the God who is the inner light
Bibliography
1. Sri Sri pada Subramanya Sastri, Sri Mahabhakta Vijayamu ( Telugu), Vavilla Ramaswamy sastrulu and Sons, Vavlla Press, Madras, 1966, PP 87
2. Sri Adi Sankaraacharya, Bhaja Govindam in Sanskrit with commentary in English, Swami Gurudasananda, 15, Ganapathy Nagar, Tanjavur-1,Chenni(Madras), India, 1974
3. Prof Dr Colonel (Retired) K Prabhakar Rao, Critical studies into philosophies of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, budhahism and Sikhism with respect to Human values , self realization, welfare of human beings and global peace, Ph D Thesis in Religious studies, USA, 2006
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