The proceedings of the Prana pratishtha of Adinath Sri Guru Mahavatar Babaji Temple at Madanapalle saw the chanting of Maha Rudram by friends of Sri M who had come together to participate in the event.
The Rudram is an extremely powerful Vedic chant, a powerful invocation of the mighty Rudra, from the fourth Kanda or chapter of the ancient Hindu text of the Krishna Yajur veda.
It is considered to be a purifying mantra, and its many benefits have been studied and proven scientifically. The positive vibrations reverberate and secure any area where the chant has been iterated within. Objects in the premises where it is chanted receive positive energy, and is sanctified, for instance water, offerings, and the idols or ‘murtis’.
The meaning of Rudra is “eliminator of sins and sorrows, and their causes” stemming from the Sanskrit words ‘rud’, or cause for sin and sorrow that is ignorance, and ‘ra’ that means eliminator and exterminator. Such is the nature of the omniscient being we attribute this powerful chant to.
A few friends had met at Sri M’s Haridwar program in 2021, and were graced with the mission of spreading awareness of this ancient sacred vedic chant that is so important to our sanatana dharma. Due to the suffering caused by the pandemic, they got together to pray for the wellness of the community, and in this process many people expressed the desire to learn this chant. With Sri M’s permission, online classes were organized to enable people to learn remotely utilizing their free time and supporting the cause. Weekly chanting sessions by the Bangalore group started and people from all over the world joined the classes. Subsequently, New Delhi and USA groups also came to fruition.
On Mahashivaratri 2024 at Madanapalle, a considerable number of people chanted the rudram during the lighting of the dhuni by Sri M. After this success, with Sri M’s blessings, it was decided to perform a maharudram on the occasion of the prana pratishtha of Sri Guru Babaji’s temple in July 2024.
At that time, it seemed like a herculean task due to the tight schedule and unavailability of the large number of chanters required. However, many more people enrolled in the classes. It was a rigorous process, training the budding chanters in such a short duration of time, and a challenging one for not only the chanters, but the teachers as well. Some of the experienced chanters volunteered to help teach the others, which made it easier. The chanters committed to the practice, and with the blessings of their teachers, gurus, and sri rudra himself, they were all able to chant the wonderful recitation of one maha rudram, on 16th and 17th July 2024. The chanting of the maharudram also included rudraabhishekam where all participants had the opportunity to do Abhisheka of the murtis, which is traditionally done only by the priests.
The rudram consists of two parts, namely the namakam and chamakam, each containing 11 anuvaakams, or stanzas. The namakam contains praises and glories of Rudra, delving into his various manifestations within our universe. It also includes prostrations to the divine energy.
The term namakam stems from the Sanskrit word ‘namo’ which means bowing down to the universal power “Rudra”.
The chamakam however, is a prayer seeking material and spiritual wealth, where the word ‘cha me’ loosely translates to ‘seeking something’ in Sanskrit.
Before the recitation of any rudra Japam (recitation), a purification process known as a ‘nyaasam’ must be conducted, where one accentuates themselves, and transcends the plane between the material and cosmic worlds. A nyasam can either be a mahanyasam (a long detailed process) or a laghunyasam (a shorter version). These are done to invoke the lord rudra within, so it is not the person chanting, but Sri Rudra himself. These nyaasas invoke devatas (divine entities) in various parts of our body (angas, which is called anganyaasam) and the fingers (karas, which is called karanyaasam). These nyaasams are greatly important steps which precede the chanting.
The Rudram can be recited in various formats
- Roopam, where in the namakam is followed by the chamakam once.
- Rudraikadashani, where the namakam is chanted 11 times, and one anuvaakam of the chamakam is chanted after every recitation one complete namakam.
- Laghu rudram, where 11 rudraikadashanis are chanted, totaling 11×11, 121 repetitions of namakam.
- Maha rudram, where 11 laghu rudrams are chanted, totaling 121×11, 1331 repetitions of namakam.
- Ati rudram, where 11 maha rudrams are chanted, totaling 1331×11, 14641 repetitions of namakam.
On 16th July, 65 chanters came together at the yogashala in Madanapalle and started chanting the Maha Rudram, with the grace and in presence of Sri M, followed by 75 in the evening on the same day, and 82 on the morning of 17th July, which was the day of the prana pratishtha of Sri Guru Babaji Temple.
An awe inspiring coincidence ensued, where everyone pledged to finish 1331 iterations collectively, however the total summed up to 2442; a remarkable 1111 times greater, due to the endurance and commitment of the chanters.
To conclude on 17th, Sri M visited the yogashala and as a mark of respect, Chaturveda Parayana (recitation of all four vedas) and sanyasa Suktam (a composition in tribute to the realized beings) were offered.
The sanctified water full of positive vibrations, energized by the chanting from this ceremony was taken in a spiritual procession, accompanied with further vedic chanting, to the venue of the prana pratishtha, to be utilized during the consecration.
This was a collective success, the most galvanizing detail being that the chanters were from all over the world with no bar on caste, creed, color, gender, or age.
Interestingly, a majority of these chanters did not know Sanskrit or music for that matter. However, both teachers and students persevered with Babaji’s grace to make this successful.
Such is the devotion of the satsangis, and such is the acceptance of our merciful Lord Rudra, where nothing is required or necessary to take part in such worships, except for devotion and the desire to give back to the greater power we all stem from and also give back to the wellbeing of the world.
Traditionally perceived to be something conducted by only a few, a multitude of devotees were able to submit to the divine energy in this beautiful manner.
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