Kanda Guru Kavacham is a prayer of deep love and devotion dedicated to Lord Muruga. It was composed by Sri Saanthaanantha Swaamigal who is a great saint and devotee of Lord Skanda. Sri Saanthaanantha Swaamigal established a temple called Skandasramam in Salem, India. Lord Muruga or Lord Skanda or Karthikeya is the son of Shiva. He is a dharma guardian. When you reach out to him with a sincere heart and mind, he will reach out to you to fill you with inner wisdom, protect and guide you in the right path. He is revered not only in Hinduism but also in Mahayana Buddhism. In Mahayana Buddhism, Skanda or Weituo Boddhisattva is the dharma guardian of monasteries and religious education.
Chanting Kanda Guru Kavacham fills me with a deep peace of mind and an inexpressible happiness. It teaches me how to pray to God and see the Oneness in all creation. Who is God? Is God someone up in the heavens with a white beard, or is he just within the stone idols in our temples. God is the pulsating, all-encompassing intelligence in this entire universe. Yet he is also within each one of us. The following verses exemplify how Skanda will help us reach the truth of oneness.
அஞ்ஞானமும் அகற்றி அருள் ஒளியும் காட்டும்
ஞான ஸ்கந்தகுரு நானென்று முன்நிற்பன்
உள்ளொளி யாயிருந்து உன்னில் அவனாகிடுவன்
(Skanda) will drive away your ignorance and reveal himself as inner light within you
And the Jnana Skanda will stand in front of you.
He would be within you and become your inner light(wisdom).
Pay close attention to the lines below. What is Oneness ? The following lines are the essence of Advaita or non-duality.
தன்னில் உனைக்காட்டி உன்னில் தனைக்காட்டி
எங்கும் தனைக்காட்டி எங்குமுனைக் காட்டிடுவன்
ஸ்கந்தஜோதியான கந்தன் கந்தகிரியிலிருந்து
தண்டாயுதம் தாங்கித் தருகிறான் காட்சியுமே
He will show himself in you and you in himself.
He would show himself everywhere and show you everywhere.
He would show himself everywhere and show you in everything everywhere.
The kanda who is the Sknda flame would from Skanda giri,
Carry his stick (dharma symbol) and would show you divine vision (inner wisdom).
And again:
காண்பன யாவுமாய்க் கண்கண்ட தெய்வமாய்
வேதச் சுடரோய் மெய்கண்ட தெய்வமே
மித்தையாம் இவ்வுலகை மித்தையென் றறிந்திடச்செய்
You have become what all I see, You are the God that I can see with my eyes.
Oh God, you have found the truth by becoming flame of Veda (symbolic)You have become what all I see, You are the God that I can see with my eyes.
Make me understand that this illusory world is but an illusion.
The same verses are also beautifully reflected in Adi Sankaracharya's Bhaja Govindam
त्वयि मयि चान्यत्रैको विष्णु-
र्व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः ।
भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं
वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम् ॥ २४॥
In me, in you and in everything, none but the same Vishnu
dwells. Your anger and impatience is meaningless. If you wish to
attain the status of Vishnu, have samabhAva, equanimity, always.
र्व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः ।
भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं
वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम् ॥ २४॥
In me, in you and in everything, none but the same Vishnu
dwells. Your anger and impatience is meaningless. If you wish to
attain the status of Vishnu, have samabhAva, equanimity, always.
शत्रौ मित्रे पुत्रे बन्धौ
मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ ।
सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं
सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदाज्ञानम् ॥ २५॥
Waste not your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend and foe, children and relatives. See yourself in everyone and give up all feelings of duality completely.
मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ ।
सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं
सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदाज्ञानम् ॥ २५॥
Waste not your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend and foe, children and relatives. See yourself in everyone and give up all feelings of duality completely.
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