At the earlier verses of the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra, the great sage-poet, Sri Budha Kousika Rishi informs very formally that the ‘Sri Rama Raksha Stotra’ is actually a ‘Mantra’. He says –
Asya Sri Ramarakshastotra mantrasya |
So, is a ‘stotra’ actually a ‘mantra’? If the divination was a ‘mantra’, why did Sri Budha Kousika Rishi classify the verses as a ‘stotra’? Or, does the definition apply to ‘stotra’ and /or a ‘mantra’ without any significant difference?
Certain authors have attempted to clarify that the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra is a ‘mantra in stotra avatar’ –
“Stotra-roopi mantra”
Let us examine the other applications that the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra is linked to. There exists a Sri Rama Raksha Stotra Yantra, with a very specific Yantra-design in accurate geometric dimensions. Some practitioners and teachers have also believed that the healing powers of the Sri Ram Raksha Stotra are multiplied exponentially, when recited within a set of rituals. They do not very specifically relate the chanting and rituals to ‘Tantra’, but we should know and determine for ourselves. Is it good that it is not related to ‘Tantra’, or, does it not matter?
The dialogue between Shiva and Parvati, whereby the power, divinity and reasons for the Sri Ram Raksha Stotra is explained, is the medium for the explanation of several stotras, mantras, yantras, tantra and some sastras. There are several stories – Puranas – and related tales. They criss-cross diverse aspects of Shiva and Shakti. From Brahmarishi Vishwamitra’s Gayatri Mantra to Veda Vyasa’s Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam, it is a tremendous journey across time in Hindu spiritual records and literature.
I do not like to refer to these valuable and most precious writings as mythology or stories. I think of them as the greatest of spiritual records of India , not merely of the Subcontinent, but of an ancient diaspora that extended from Central and West Asia to South, South East, East and Far East Asia.
The Sanskrit-English dictionary defines the ‘stotra’ as a hymn of praise. The hymn is usually in praise and appreciation of divinity, and within Hindu Thought, the earliest stotras were in dedication to Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna , Rama, Shakti or Saraswati, among other deities. Mostly, the word ‘stotra’ is alternatively used with the word ‘stuti’. Unlike the complex Hindu scriptures, written in Sanskrit verse, for chapter after chapter, book after book, the stotra is always written in smaller series of verses.
In comparison to several stotras, the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra is smaller, with two sets of verses in prelude, followed by the remaining thirty-eight. Some renditions have a set of four verses that are chanted after the 38th, but that is rare. There are different versions of the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra, and some experts have claimed that they have come across more than 25 variants. These are difficult to track down, and I will try to do so, if they do exist.
There are two types of ‘stotra’ – One is the set of sequential verses or slokas, such as the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra. The other one is the rendition of several names of the deity, such as the narration of the 1000 names of Vishnu through the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama. This second form of the stotra is called the ‘Sahasranama’. Sometimes, the names of the deity in the ‘Stotra’ can be located in the ‘Sahasranama’, and they are considered as important. Some important ‘stotra’ and ‘sahasranama’ are –
Sri Vishnusahasranama Stotram
Sri Mahalakshmi Ashtakam
Sri Anjaneya Stotram
Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam
Sri Venkatesa Ashtottara Satanaamavali
Dasavataara Stotram
Much can be written about the ‘Yantra’, and it would be easy to get diverted. I would like to focus on the ‘Sri Rama Raksha Yantra’, and present some salient aspects for experts and devotees to discuss.
The ‘Yantra’ is usually referred to the spiritual image being presented in a geometric design, and believed to contain powers to strengthen or destroy aspects, when prayers are presented in appropriate manner. It is usually advised to be extremely careful in working or praying or seeking help from a ‘Yantra’.
The ‘Yantra’ is recognized as an instrument that can be used through prayers to control, limit or lend strength through its divinity. The geometrical designs are different for diverse aspects of godliness, and the most preferred ‘Yantra’ is usually the ‘Sri Yantra’. Most devotees are unaware of the manner of prayer, and the aspect of thought, that is normally regarded as superstition.
This much is true. Most aspects around the stotra, mantra, yantra, tantra, sastra and sutra are superstition drowned in coincidental events, retold through many different stories. One has to examine the beliefs in an appropriately rational manner. What is to be believed in? What is to be accepted? Who should be believed? What should not be accepted?
I would propose that you question everything. Do not accept anything if you do not accept the thought deep within you. There is a litmus test. Do not accept any of this, any aspect ascribed to spiritual strength and healing through the stotra, mantra, yantra, tantra, sutra or sastra, if told to you by another human being. Search for yourself. Do not get taken in by coincidence, or tales of the impact and effect that the prayers had on someone else.
You wish to pray, and you wish to pray to God. At that moment, do not worry if you are superstitious, or irrational. Go ahead and pray. Godliness, spiritual thought and prayer are certainly with extremely strong capital in emotional waves and vibrations. The prayer will definitely affect you. Let there be happiness within you. Stop at that point. Do not go and preach or discuss or explain or convince others to start praying or using the yantra or mantra or sutra. Let them do it on their own.
I wanted to emphasise and delink the prayer to superstition and acceptance of guidance from others, teachers, witchcraft practitioners and irrational gurus, regarding the use of ‘yantra’ or ‘tantra’. Know for yourself. Search by yourself.
The ‘Yantra’ is usually a copper plate, with the geometrical design inscribed within it. The five elements of Air (Vayu), Water (Jal), Earth (Pritvi), Fire (Agni) and Sky (Akash) are represented within the design. Some designs are quadrilateral, while some are circular or triangular.
The Ram Raksha Yantra is believed to destroy evil and protect a person from all types of difficulties. There are various procedures to be followed while in prayer, with the Yantra, and one can easily learn about these methods from other sources.
Once again, to ask one and all to be careful, do not tread this path, unless you are determined to do so. This is an area where there are many who will take advantage of people with problems and will convince one to resort to the ‘Yantra’ or ‘Tantra’ with promises of quick remedies. Do not do so.
The Sri Rama Raksha Stotra is purely a series of verses or slokas, presented in sequence, and is only meant for prayer to Ram. Nothing more, nothing less. Reciting, memorizing and chanting the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra has its own delightful charm and capture. Do not search for hidden purposes that are not meant to be within the ‘stotra’. Enjoy the experience, and the thought.
The separation of the definitions of the ‘Yantra’ and the ‘Mantra’ will help resolve the significant difference. The ‘Yantra’ is regarded as a geometric representation of the ‘body’ of the deity. The ‘Mantra’ is recognized as the medium that allows the devotee to concentrate and focus all spiritual thought through the mere repetition of the ‘slokas’ and easy acceptance of the divinity being represented.
In its simplest understanding, again, to emphasise, at its simplest, ‘Tantra’ is to be recognized as the magical birth of knowledge, from pure thought. The divinity, Lalita Tripurasundari, is worshipped through the purest of ‘Tantra’ to represent the aspect of knowledge, in dual form. I will not digress here, for it would be easy. Let us merely appreciate the aspect of Shiva and Shakti, of the union of the two, and similarly wonder at the recognition that knowledge is born and established, only if there would be thought.
‘Sutra’, ‘Stotra’ and ‘Sastra’ are different terms, unlike the overlap between ‘Stotra’ and ‘Mantra’. However, the ‘Sutra’ is commonly presented as ‘Sutta’ in Buddha’s teachings and Mahavira’s Agamas. The recognition of use is the same. Some schools of thought also present ‘Sutra’ as similar to the aspect of ‘Gotra’ but that is rare. The word ‘Sastra’ is, of course, meant to depict a school of science, such as, Artha Sastra (Economics) or Neeti Sastra (Politics).
The most appropriate example of a totally different stotra is the ‘Dakshinamurti Stotra’ as compared to the ‘Sri Rama Raksha Stotra’. Meant to convey the aspect of Shiva, facing south (= Dakshin), the Dakshinamurti Stotra discusses the aspect of soul, existence, illusion, devotion and perfection. Unlike repeated chanting through prayer beads, the Sri Rama Raksha Stotra is purely meant to initiate the devotee to reaffirmation through prayer to Rama.
At Rama’s paadukas
- Dr. Bharat Bhushan
Email - bharatbhushan@yahoo.com
4 November 2010
