Shree Guru Charan Saroj Raj, Nij Man Mukur Sudhaari,
Barnau Raghuvar Bimal Jasu, Jo dayaku Phal Chaari
"With the dust of the Guru's lotus feet, I first clean the mirror of my heart and then I narrate the glory of Shree Raghuvar, the giver of the 4 fold attainments of life"
"With the dust of the Guru's lotus feet, I first clean the mirror of my heart"
The Guru is the one who takes us towards the Truth. The symbol of a lotus is used a lot in Hinduism. The reason for this is that it is a flower that grows in murky still water, yet grows as a clean and beautiful flower, bringing beauty to the surroundings. Similarly, a real Guru, who can take us towards realisation of the truth about our existence, is like a lotus, in that despite whatever the environment and circumstances they are in, the Guru will remain unaffected by the bad/negative, and will bring beauty and light to the environment. The Guru, whose feet are compared with a lotus, stands for and symbolises many things. Principles such as compassion, presence of mind, fearlessness and truthfulness. Hence, to clean our hearts with the dust of the Guru's lotus feet means to clean out the accumulated junk and negativity within us (cleaning our hearts), by recognising and honouring the principles which great teachers have built their lives upon (the dust of the Guru's lotus feet).
"and then I narrate the glory of Shree Raghuvar"
Raghuvar means a person descended from the lineage of Raghu (a forefather of Ram). Usually the title Raghuvar is used to refer to Ram. However, here it is apparently talking about Hanuman. In the Ramayana when Hanuman located Sita in Lanka, she was filled with emotion and called him son. Rama also called Hanuman son, in emotional times, like when Hanuman saved Laxman's life after Laxman fell unconscious in battle. Referring to Hanuman as Raghuvar is to describe the extent to which Rama and Sita held him as dear. It shows that a person who always keeps their minds focused on God and expends all their energy in God's service is extremely dear to God.
"the giver of the four fold-attainments of life"
All goals in life can be put under 4 broad categories: Arth (livelihood and wealth); Kama (pleasure and enjoyment); Dharma (duties, good conduct, religion); Moksha (liberation). The reason why Hanuman is the giver of these is because Hanuman is the embodiment of devotion and determination. These are essential keys to achieving any goal in any of these spheres. We are on the road to succeeding in any goal if it is approached with endless devotion and determination.
Buddhi heen Tannu Jaanike, Sumirow Pavan Kumar,
Bal Buddi Vidya Dehu Mohi, Harahu Kalesh Bikaar
"Knowing myself to be ignorant, I remember you, the Son of Pavan. O Lord! Bestow on me strength, wisdom and knowledge, and take away my miseries and vicious qualities"
Prayer is a simple form of yoga. Not in the sense of physical yoga, which itself is only a part of yoga, called "Hatha Yoga." In the West, this physical yoga is considered as the sole meaning of yoga which is unfortunate because it often prevents people from grasping the true scope of the tradition which they practice. Of course, so far Hindus have been too lazy in promoting yoga as a larger and integrated tradition (hopefully this will soon change). Yoga means spiritual practices that are designed to take us towards self-realisation.
The message of the second verse is how to offer a prayer successfully. Why do we pray? It is usually because we recognise a higher power than ourselves at work around us and wish to acknowledge that force, and align ourselves with it. Just like a single computer, no matter how powerful it is, has a limited capacity to store information, but when it is connected to the internet suddenly a new world has opened up to it, far beyond what we would have thought possible. In the same way, a mind, if aligned with the higher, has an entire new capability, power and vision opened up to it.
The first and foremost point of this verse is contained in the first phrase: "KNOWING MYSELF TO BE IGNORANT." This says that a person must keep an attitude or state of mind which feels that "I know very little, I have so much more to learn." If this state of mind is maintained, then a person will keep on growing and unfolding, whereas if a person keeps an "I know it all" attitude, it will be hard to learn or experience anything worthwhile. The same message is expressed in the message of Bhagvan Shiva. He always has a crescent moon next to His head. A crescent moon symbolises a well controlled and humble state of mind. A crescent moon can only grow larger. The message is that however much one knows, keeping an attitude of the crescent moon will always allow the mind to develop further, as opposed to the attitude of the full moon, which represents a know-it-all attitude. Such a state of mind can only lead to the same fate as experienced by the full moon, i.e. the full moon cannot grow, but only get smaller and decline.
The point is made stronger by the actual choice of words that Tulsidas uses to express this - "Buddhi heen tannu janike." "Tannu" means "myself." But there are several ways to say myself, and he chooses quite an unusual word. "Tan"- in Hindi related dialects, is a word referring to the body. The significance of using "tannu" in the phrase "Knowing myself to be ignorant" is saying "I still identify myself with my physical body (tan), which is always changing. I know there is an inner self beyond that, but in ignorance, I can't see it, but by your grace, please change that." It is an acknowledgement that my true self is not the physical body, yet I am still identifying with it as I go about my life.
Filling our mind with the divine, speaking the qualities and greatness of divinity, asking for things which can make us dynamic, are the other points contained in this verse, about making an effective prayer. Subconscious reinforcement
The prayers within Hinduism are written in a mystical form and contain various layers of meanings and symbolism. The importance in knowing the meanings behind a prayer we say regularly is to do with the subconscious mind. When we know the meanings, they become stored in our memories. When we say the verses, even though we are not consciously remembering all of the meanings, the subconscious mind is reinforcing these messages into our character. It is in the same way that we pick up so much from our surroundings, without consciously trying to, which is also a subconscious process. The action of the subconscious mind while praying and meditating is explained in depth in various scriptures, particularly the Patanjali's Yogasutras. Saying a prayer hence becomes a stream of clear water purifying our consciousness.
Anybody interested in studying this excellent set of verses in detail would be advised to purchase a set of Swami Swaroopananda's commentary on the Hanuman Chalisa, which explains the depth of meanings contained in each verse. Please contact us if you would like more information.
