04/12/2014
"Daiva Dasakam” depth meaning in English
"Daiva Dasakam” (Ten versus on God)
This ten versus on God was composed
by Sree Narayana Guru for the inmates
of the Sivagiri Mutt, predominantly
children. [According to some, Guru
composed this decade for the students
and teachers of Sanskrit School run by
Guru in Alwaye Advaita Asramam,
Kerala, India] In this prayer Guru has
summarized the exact nature of his
vision of God.
This is quite different from our usual
prayer, motivated, by and large by
transient selfish interests. Being the
best model of prayer it shows us how
one should pray. It is acceptable to all
people, is in conformity with the tenets
of all religions and is capable of
leading the devotee to the peak of
knowledge (gnaan). It is remarkable
for its clarity and the originality of
Guru’s vision of Truth. May the
meditation of this ten versus enable us
to understand the greatness of God
and Guru as well as the life on earth
and to attain genuine fulfillment.
Prayer is the highest form of
supplication. The relevance of prayer
is assessed in the heart of the
individual. All the same, it should not
be used as a means of seeking
personal benefits but only for getting
all those things needed for all living
things alike. It is only then that
individual interests get identified with
universal welfare. At this level, ‘my”
prayer is elevated to ‘our’ prayer. In
this sense, this ten versus is applicable
also to animals and plants, should
they possess the ability to pray.
This prayer is a composition of Sree
Narayana Guru, an exponent of
‘Advaitha. An ‘advaithee’ has no need
to pray. But one who longs to achieve
that state by persistent effort, needs
prayer. The ten versus will immensely
help such a devotee. Those who take
pains to go through it will be convinced
of its true worth.
Verse – 1
God, from over there, take good care of
us here Don’t let us slip out of your
hands. You are captain, your feet a
steamship to save us, Who struggle in
the sea of life.
(O God, who dwells there on the high
far off, take care of us who stand here.
Don’t let go our hands, you are the
captain who comes with your ship to
save us who struggle in the sea of
terrestrial life. That big steam ship is
‘AUM’ the word which virtually
embodies you. In other words, that big
ship is your holy feet)
The prayer begins with the salutation
‘God’ and ends in the word
‘comfort’ (happiness). If you put the
two words together, you get the
quintessence of the prayer. Everybody
longs for happiness. This prayer is
meant to get your wish fulfilled.
The word ‘God’ has derived from the
root ‘Div’. ‘Div’ means to shine. So ‘God’
should mean: ‘that which shines in
toto’. From this we understand that
the nature of God is to shine and give
light. The image of God resides in one’s
knowledge. Vedanta asserts that the
existence of God and of all things is
rooted in knowledge. Sree Narayana
Guru subscribes to this view. This fact
can be clearly observed if you go
through his famous works such as
‘Athmopadesa sathakam’, ‘Arivu’ and
‘Advaitha deepika’. In all these, the
Brahmasatya of the Advaitha
Philosophy is reckoned as God. Here
‘the ultimate light’ ie knowledge is
viewed as the final refuge. That is why
the devotee pleads: “O God who dwells
at the source on the high which is
knowledge, take care of us, who live
here in the darkness of ignorance. God,
who dwells on the high and we who
stand here longing to reach out to the
supreme heights are the two poles on
the axis of prayer. Prayer becomes
meaningless in the absence of these
poles.
If you want not to be deserted by the
God of knowledge, you should not
desert the God of knowledge either. If
we learn to recognize the benevolence
of God in everything and everywhere it
will turn a divine grace which will bring
blessings incessantly in all our efforts.
Most people consider life as an
unending flow of misery or an ocean of
sorrow – ‘Samsarasagara’. The
universe is subject to continuous
changes. So is human life too. That is
why life is a mixture of joys and
sorrows. The prayer is to receive the
grace that will enable us to cross this
formidable sea of life and reach the
other shore that presents a world
where we can bathe joyfully in a
deeper but salubrious sea forever and
ever.
There is only one hope of escape left
for a person who is threatened to be
drowned in the ocean of worldly
misery. A ship should come that way
and the Captain of the vessel should
spot him. The captain is in absolute
control of all the activities on board
but he does it silently without being
noticed by the passengers. Likewise,
God controls the huge ship of human
life, keeping himself invisible and yet
filling the whole vessel with his
indomitable presence. Since the only
way to cross the perilous ocean of life
is to get well informed of the true
nature of life, God, who plays the role
of the savior, becomes a teacher, too.
Any ship can save a person struggling
for survival in the mid ocean but there
is only one ship capable of succoring
one who is struggling hard to find a
safe haven in the perilous sea of
worldly life. That is God, to be more
precise, Guru. It is that God or Guru
who should lead such a destitute to a
place of safety. Which is that God? It is
nothing but ‘your’ holy ‘Padam’ (the
feet of God).
The word ‘Padam’ has two semantic
versions. They are Foot and Word. Both
these meanings are relevant in the
context. The devotees bow down at
the feet of the deity while offering
hymns of praise. It is the foot that
keeps the body straight and steady. If a
person wants to escape from being
drowned in the sea of ‘Bhava’ he/she
should discover the ‘truth’ on which
his/her life is founded and then see
that it is firmly moored to the
basement. That ultimate truth is itself
God.
Guru is one who has grasped the truth.
He is ‘Brahmagnani’. That
‘Brahmagnani’ is ‘Brahma’ itself is a
living truth, not just a matter of
principle. Here the feet of God and the
feet of the Guru are one and the same.
To follow the feet of the Guru is not
merely an act of devotion; it is a
contract or commitment. The Guru,
stamps his feet in the direction of the
ultimate truth and the disciple out of
his/her own free will agrees to follow
the same path. Those who bow down
at the feet of the Guru should be well
aware of this fact.
The purpose of taking refuge at the
feet of the Guru is to gain knowledge.
Not ordinary knowledge. Knowledge of
the ultimate truth: Knowledge that
transcends Knowledge. That is the
objective. The knowledge as a whole
can be condensed in AUM – so says the
Katopanishad. What is aimed at by all
the Vedas, what is dealt with in all the
‘Tapas’, what reward is expected from
practicing celibacy - that could be
expressed in one aphorism. It is AUM.
This AUM or Pranava secret is the
‘steamship’, the only means of escape
from the sea of terrestrial life or in
other words the only way to attain
salvation.
