Hari Aum.
There are broadly two aspects to God as we all know-- the benign, benevolent aspect that grants blessings, and the wrathful, powerful aspect that grants justice. These aspects of God manifest in many ways and are associated with different names and forms.
One form of the divine which is associated with tremendous might and power, and a capacity to protect the good (within and without us) and destroy negativity is known as Sudarshana.
Sudarshana is depicted as the divine discus of Lord Narayana. He is an aspect of the power of Narayana that protects the good and destroys evil. In the sacred scriptures known as the Puranas, He is described as extraordinarily radiant (like numerous suns put together), unbearably hot, unimaginably fast and incredibly powerful.
He is depicted in the form of a whirling wheel which is held in the hand of Narayana. He is described as being released by the Lord on numerous occasions to destroy evil and re-establish dharma (righteousness).
Just as Narayana is worshipped, this particular aspect of His nature known as Sudarshana is also worshipped. Due to His nature, Sudarshana is invoked to bring the light of dharma into our lives, to strengthen that which is good (both inside us and in our external lives). He is worshipped for protection, for removal of negativity, misery and inauspiciousness in life. In many parts of India, He is especially worshipped by those who feel troubled by 'black magic' and undivine entities.
His worship is often conducted through the means of the sacred fire ritual known as homam or havan. He can also be worshipped through prayers and recitation of His mantras and by worship of His yantra (geometrical pattern representing Him).
A relative of mine recently informed me that she was advised by her friend (who has in-depth knowlede of Vedic astrology) to worship Sudarshana to bring auspicious positive energies into her life. This inspired me to do some reading on the subject. I have had a spate of illnesses this month (possibly related to the current Covid wave happening where I live) and was feeling in need of an injection of some positivity. I therefore decided to worship Lord Sudarshana by performing a homam.
The Vedic astrologer and spiritualist, Sri Narasimha Rao (who is based in Boston) has a wonderful website which contains numerous homam manuals. These are meant to be used by people who have no special training in the performance of rituals (not trained as priests) such as myself. I have used these manuals occasionally in the past and have found them to be excellent (have mentioned them on this blog in the past).
There are 2-3 versions of the homams on the website-- a super-short ('simplest') version, a short ('simple') version and a longer ('legacy') version of each homam. The longer versions contain a bigger build-up to the main worship and a more elaborate winding down afterwards (plenty of extra mantras).
The super-short version has the basic minimum mantras before/after the main worship-- I like this version as it allows me to dedicate most of my time spent on the homam (an hour or so) to the main deity being worshipped. The super-short version can be done in as little as twenty minutes or as long as one likes by extending the main part.
One can also worship more than one deity in the same homam if one likes, especially if one is doing it for spiritual purposes.
As I am currently undergoing the dreaded Rahu mahadasha (which has had some difficult elements to it so far, and I have another fifteen years to go!), I decided to follow Sri Rao's advice (mentioned on his website) to worship Lord Venkatesha. This is a form of Narayana that means 'lord of Venkata'. (Venkata is a hill in Andhra Pradesh in South India, and He is worshipped there in the famous temple of Tirupati). While worship of any form of the Divine can control the negative energy of Rahu, the worship of Venkateshvara is regarded as especially useful for this purpose. I therefore decided to worship Venkateshvara too along with Sudarshana. And as I was recently advised to worship Mother Lakshmi more, I thought I would worship Her too in the same homam!
I therefore conducted a homam for Narayana as Venkateshvara and Sudarshana and Mother Lakshmi and found this very satisfying. I always feel so much better after doing a homam and feel I should do more. In accordance with the advice I have recently been given to be more spontaneous with my worship, I am not making any fixed plans to do homam regularly but would love to do one randomly once in a month if possible.
I discovered a beautiful mantra of Lord Sudarshana as part of preparing for this homam (see below). It is mentioned in the homam manual and I found some versions of this on YouTube too. I am sharing the homam manual link below and the video recording as well. I used the shorter 'Om Namo Bhagavate Sudarshanaya svaha' mantra for the homam but then recited the longer mantra (below) for a few minutes after the homam was complete.
Website with homam manuals (including for Lord Sudarshana):
Longer Sudarshana mantra (there are a few versions online with minor variations but they are broadly similar; I like the version in the homam manual-- shared below):
"om śrīṁ hrīṁ klīṁ kṛṣṇāya govindāya gopījanavallabhāya parāya paramapuruṣāya paramātmane
para karma mantra yantra auṣadha astra śastrāṇi saṁhara saṁhara| mṛtyormocaya mocaya| om
namo bhagavate mahā sudarśanāya dīptre jvālāparītāya sarva dikṣobhaṇakarāya huṁ phaṭ
brahmaṇe paraṁjyotiṣe sahasrāra huṁ phaṭ svāhā|"
In essence, this mantra praises Lord Krishna in various ways, including as the Supreme Being, the beloved of the gopis. It asks Him, in the form of Sudarshana, to protect one from all negativity from all directions and bless one.
Beautiful rendition of the Sudarshana mantra:
I highly recommend performing a homam oneself if one has a little time to spare (it is very easy) and also listening to this mantra if one feels in the need of a little protection.
And, as humanity continues to stumble from one crisis into another (pandemic, war and climate change to name just a few), it would be nice to also pray for some relief from all these troubles when we conduct our homams. Our worship of God may be woefully inadequate but we know that His grace is said to be infinite. He is extraordinarily compassionate, patient and forgiving, and we are all His children after all.
Therefore, we have a duty to ask Him to bless this planet with relief, much-needed relief, from the various troubles that afflict it at present. May He give good sense to us all, may we take steps to reduce our carbon-footprint (this is good karma and a duty!), may we think noble thoughts, may the politicians be inspired to make good decisions, may war come to an end, may the pandemic ease. This and many other wishes for the welfare of all should also be our concern because we are all interconnected. What affects one nation affects another.
Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.
May all the worlds be happy.
Om Namo Narayanaya.
Om Namo Bhagavate Sudarshanaya.
Hari Aum Tat Sat.
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