Slokam 9

Expanding further on the Paramathma being the “personified yagna”, Sri Bhattadri, in this slokam describes the various physical attributes of the Paramathma, in terms of the articles, and consumables that are required to perform yagna.

Sri Bhattadri compares the Paramathma’s skin to Chandas,  which is the Vedic metre. His hair to kusa grass, His eyes to containers of ghee, His legs to the priests conducting the sacrifice, His face as the spoon, His tongue as the graha vessel for Soma juice, His stomach as the vessel for oblations, His ears as the vessel for storing the sacrificial leftovers, His prowess and energy as the Soma Juice, His neck as the secondary ritual called Upasaat.

Sri Bhattadri is describing the Paramathma as the personification of yagna.  A yagna is a sacrifice conducted to satiate the Gods and also to appeal for forgivance and blessings. The Paramathma is acknowledged in the Slokam, to be the enabler, cause,  as well as the fruits  resulting from the of the yagna.

Our Paramathma is the manifestation of the cause and the effect of all that was, is,  and will happen.  Without His support,  we will neither have the motivation nor the strength to perform the yagna.  We can neither have the inclination nor get the material and support to perform the yagna.  The Paramathma not only makes everything happen, He is also the recipient of the fruits of the action. The fruits belong to Him, simply because He is the one that made everything happen in the first place.  He is located within us, motivates us into action and accomplishes His objective of establishing dharma. 

We should be always consciously aware that the Paramathma is the source of the energy and motivation to accomplish every little task that we normally think that we perform on our own.  Whether it is the raising of our little finger, or if it is the act of taking an exam, or doing our job,  it is the Paramathma that is responsible for initiating and executing the action.

Our contribution is the recognition of the source of our actions, which is the Paramathma and the ownership of the results,  which also is the Paramathma.

This recognition should be at the top of our mind and our consciousness every moment.  When we are able to sustain this recognition of the Paramathma’s hand in every breath we take,  it becomes our tyagam or sacrifice. The sustenance of this recognition is the ultimate knowledge we can gain from this existence.  When this knowledge sets in, we develop a detachment or vairagyam from worldly events.  This detachment will smoothen out our daily lives and we will be able to transcend the ocean of this life.

This slokam has one of the most important lessons for us in this life. The attainment of Moksham depends to a large extent on keeping our minds absolutely focused on  the  Paramathma. The Paramathma owns the material, energy and motivation/inspiration. He is the observer and also the observed. The  Paramathma is the doer and the experiencer. 

We are the facilitator only.  Recognition of this facilitation role on our part,  represents complete surrender.  Most importantly, it completely eliminates any sense of conflict within us. The elimination of conflict purifies the consciousness,  and fills us with bliss. This is the primary requirement of surrender to the Paramathma,  and attain oneness with the Supreme.  The self transformation that sets in internal to us, immediately thereafter,  will be absolutely stunning and the immediate results will help sustain our progress.

May we always dedicate each moment of our lives to the consciousness of the Paramathma and offer the fruits of action at His feet.