Tradition of Shanmatha By Shankara Bhagavatpada (Adi Shankaracharya) and Panchayatana Puja
At the time of Shankaracharya, people in different parts of our nation worshipped different deities.
Shankaracharya took a different approach which was in harmony with our scriptures.1/10
He accepted devotion to all forms of the god because in reality everything is Brahman who is
Nirguna (without any attributes),
Nirakaara (without any shape) and
Nirvikaara (without any change).
Vedanta talks about the same Brahman.
All forms are true only at empirical plane of reality while in the absolute plane of reality everything is Brahman who is eternal, infinite & pure bliss.
One can devote himself to any form of that supreme as long as one attains a pure mind
Shankaracharya established a system of worship known as Shanmatha. Shanmatha is a tradition in which six main forms of deities are worshipped.
They are Shiva, Vishnu, Shakthi, Ganapathi, Kartikeya and Surya.
In this system of worship all deities are given equal importance and there is no supremacy of one form over the other. Even today Shanmatha is practiced by majority of the people in our nation.
This system greatly contributed to reduce the conflict between the people who fought to establish the supremacy of their deity. Shanmatha brought all the people under a common roof by providing equal importance to all forms of that ‘formless supreme’.
This was a simple way adopted by Shankaracharya to unify people of our nation. Hence S. Radhkrishnan calls Adi Shankaracharya as a Grand Social Idealist.
Panchayatana Puja consists of worshipping five deities of Hinduism viz - Ganesha, Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and Surya.
The sixth deity, under shanmatha system, is Agni or Karthikeya, with the latter being followed currently. Adi Shankara wrote devotional stotras for five deities except Agni.
These forms of worship were revived by Adi Shankara. These forms of pooja were already existing. For example, Matysa Purana says
"Surya, Ganesha, Devi, Rudra and Keshava - These five deities are to be worshiped in all auspicious occasions."
Similarly, the worship of these deities can be quoted from Devi Bhagavata (link)
Do worship Ganesha to remove the obstacles, Surya Deva for good health, Agni Deva for purification, Vishnu for wealth and power, Siva for knowledge and Sivani for salvation.
Story behind Tulsidasji writing the Sri Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi :
On the command of Hanumanji, Tulsidasji went to Kashi and stayed at a Brahmin’s house. There, at Prahladghat, he began writing the Ramayana in Sanskrit. 1/8.
As per Mūla Gosāīm̐ Carita, Chaupais of Doha 37
In the daytime how much ever he would write, would get erased at night. This incident happened everyday and he didn’t understand what to do.
Then finally on the 8th day Lord Shiva came in his dream telling him to write the story in his own language.
Tulsidasji at once got up with the words of the dream echoing in his heart.
Place kalash filled with water, energize water placing right hand on it & chanting these namas & drink it
Chandra sthotram with 28 names of his helps to strengthen the condition. You can read this sthotra twice daily in your morning and evening puja routine. If want to do for someone who is in challenging situations chabt it in multiples of 10 with sankalp of their gotra and nama.
This navratri is one among the four navratris celebrated in an yr. It indicates a shift in day & night duration corresponding to the equinox.
This navratri is called as Lalitha Navaratri and the presiding diety is Mata Lalithambika Tripurasundari
It starts with chaitra shudha padyami and ends with Raama Navami & Dashmi. Special parayanas of Rama and Lalitha are performed during these 9 days. Some of the best choices are as guided below
1. Lalitha Sahasranamam ( If you are not a beginner ) Trikala Parayan. I.e Tri kala sandhya read for once in morning , evening and night. 2. Shri Sūktam (If initiated) 3. Rama Raksha Sthotram at Trikala sandhyas 4. Aditya Hrudayam - Mornings 1-7 Times
The famous aartī, "Jaya Jagadish Hare" is composed by Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri.
It is said to have been composed as a Universal aartī by the author. The popular imagination phenomenon might have made it limited to Lord Vishnu. 1/n
The aarti made its first raw cinematic appearance in a song from the 1952 movie, Anand Math.
In here, the Govinda damodar Stotram of Sri Bilva Mangala Thakura is adapted with the 'Jai Jagdish Hare' refrain.
The rendition of the written aarti reaches its zenith in a later 1970 movie, Purab Aur Paschim. The protrayed song in the movie, playing background of the aartī, beautifully portrays the devotion towards the Radha-Krishna.
Why camphor is placed on the chin of Venkateshwara Balaji of Tirupati
In the very olden days the Tirupati hill was a very dense forest and was surrounded by great flora and fauna where not much humans used to reside. It was quiet difficult for humans to easily survive.
Shrimad Ramanujulu after installing shankhu Chakra, wished to pray Venkatesha with different kinds of flowers & leaves, which ofcourse was quiet challenging for people to travel & carry from below the hill to the temple on top. Maha vishnu is Almkara Priya(loves Decorations).
Thinking about this at Shri Ranga Matam he announced to his disciples about his wish & asked if any disciple would want to stay at Tirupaty on the hill top, plant a garden & take care of the Alamkara needs.Shree Anantalvar took the opportunity as a boon & expressed his interest.