Nine Wealths
Nava Nidhi
‘Nava’ means nine, and ‘Nidhi’ means Wealth , Navanidhi refers to the nine treasures that every human being ultimately strives for as per the Upanishads.
The nine forms of devotion are:
- Sama – Calmness
- Dama – Self control
- Uparati – Self withdrawal
- Titiksha – Capacity to endure sorrows and sufferings
- Sraddha – Sincerity and intellectual appreciation
- Samaadhaana – Tranquility; the poise gained by constant contemplation the Lord
- Viveka – Discrimination between right and wrong
- Vairagyam – Unshakeable faith, lead one to attain
- Mumukshutwam – The perfected man living absorbed in the self, equally disseminating joy, cheer and bliss to all.
We have depicted stories ,characters and from Hindu Mythology to explain the concept of Navanidhis.
Sama – Calmness
Character of Lord Shiva
Lord Shiva is one of the Trimurthis or Holy Trinity of Hinduism. He is known as the God of Destruction or the destroyer .
Although Shiva is known as the destroyer, he is also a symbol of calm and peace.
As the patron god of Yoga, and true meditation, he protects and transforms the universe and is an embodiment of pure masculinity. Shiva is believed to destroy the ignorance of humanity.
Lord Shiva symbolizes Moksha, or liberation through tapas (inner fire.) He guides creation to transcend this world into the eternal source of pure consciousness from which everything and everyone emerged.
Meditating Shiva is a symbol of peace and calmness that will spread out in the world.
Dama – Self control
Story of Bharatha
Uparati – Self withdrawal
Story of Karna and Indra
In Mahabharata , Indra, king of the gods (Devas) and father of Arjuna, realized that Karna would be invincible in battle as long as he had the Kavacha(golden armour suit) and Kundala(earrings) that he was born with.
During the Pandavas’ exile, when war was imminent, Indra took it upon himself to weaken Karna. He decided to approach Karna as a poor brahmin during his mid-day worship. He knew of Karna’s moral policy and that he would never refuse any request of a Brahmin or beggar at that time of the day.
Karna’s father, the Sun god Surya, informed Karna in a dream that Indra would disguise himself as a beggar and ask for Karna’s armour and earrings as alms. Surya exhorted him not to give away his protection. Karna, who did not know that Surya was his father, does not heed the warning.
As Surya had predicted, a disguised Indra approached Karna and asked for his kavacha (body armour) and kundala (earrings) as alms. Karna, despite knowing that the armor and earrings were his protection, readily gives them away. In fact, he cuts off his birth suit armor and earrings from his body without flinching. Indra, shamed into generosity by Karna’s gesture, reciprocates by giving Karna the boon to use Indra’s most powerful weapon, the Vasavi shakti, but only once.
Karna acted in a way that he withdrew his self needs and acted on behalf of the universal good thereby exhibiting Uparati.
Titiksha – Capacity to endure sorrows and sufferings
Story of Sage Viswamitra
A Hindu mythological story links the Gayathiri Mantra to Visamitra . Sage Viswamitra was a great Ksathriya king who had won several battles. He leaves his kingship, kingdom and all his wealth and turned into a sanyasi after an altercation with Sage Vashistha.
He was engaged in severe penance and each time his penance was disturbed by Indra and he had lost all th powers he gained through his penance due to those interventions.
Sage Viswamitra was once meditating towards Lord Shiva .Since Lord Shiva did not appear before him after long penance. Visvamitra lit the a holy lamp by making his body (Gayam) as the wick (Thiri) of the lamp.
Lord Shiva was then pleased with the prayers and appeared before Sage Viswamitra. Sage Visvamitra upon seeing the god prayed out the following mantra
“OM BUHR, BHUVA, SWAHA
OM TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YONAHA PRACHODAYAT”
We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of Sin and Ignorance;
May He open our hearts and enlighten our Intellect.
Lord Shiva blessed Viswamitra and said since you offered your body (Gayam) as a wick (Thiri) and offered me this mantra , let this mantra be known as Gayathiri (Gayam+Thiri ) Mantra and May this mantra be all powerful and let this mantra offer all the best things for the person who chants it.
Sage Viswamitra exhibited his capacity to endure sorrows and sufferings and he was able to reach God and obtain the all powerful Gayathiri Mantra.
Sraddha – Sincerity and intellectual appreciation
Story of Ekalavya
Ekalavya ,a young child from the tribe of hunters was very interested to learn archery from Guru Dronacharya. His mother had told him that Acharya Drona would not accept Ekalavya as his disciple as he is not a prince and it was futile to dream of such a privilege.
But the boy was not be put off, his determination knew no bounds. Near his house, under a tree Ekalavya installed a clay idol of Dronacharya that he worshiped as his Guru! Daily, morning and evening and took Self-Lessons in the art of bow and arrow. The talented young Ekalavya soon acquired high knowledge in archery. He attributed his success to his Guru Dronacharya.
One day, as it happened, Acharya Drona and Arjuna were passing near the hut of Ekalavya. It was pleasant and peaceful afternoon and people were taking rest. But the tranquility and silence was broken by constant barking of a dog. Ekalavya did not like this, and therefore, he shut the mouth of the dog with an arrow! Dronacharya and Arjuna were surprised to see the dog with his mouth sealed with an arrow!
Arjuna asked his Guru Dronacharya as to who could have done this delicate job. Even he was amazed and knew the archer must be exceptionally skilled. They reached the spot where Ekalavya was practicing with his bow and arrow in front of the clay image of Drona. It took no time for Dronacharya to understand the situation. Dronacharya went to Ekalavya and enquired who was his teacher .
Seeing the Guru in front of him, the boy Ekalavya was more that overjoyed and said, “Why, O Gurudev, this all is your grace! I worship you as my Guru. Look you are there in that image!” . Dronacharya was pleased with the dedication of Ekalavya.
Ekalavya demonstrated the sincerity is the key to success in any endevours.
Samaadhaana – Tranquility; the poise gained by constant contemplation
Character of Radha Krishna
The representation of Radha and Krishna is a symbol of soul seeking divine love. It is said that Krishna can only be reached out through Radha (devotion and love) .It is also believed there is no Radha and Krishna separate buy are a single entity Radhakrishna.
The relationship between Radha and Krishna is considered to be the highest form of love. Their relationship demonstrates the sanguine love, truth , peace , service , tranquility , friendship and simplicity
Viveka – Discrimination between right and wrong
Story of Karthikeya and Wisdom Fruit
One day, sage Narada visited Shiva on Mount Kailash and gave him a mango. Now this was not an ordinary mango but a special one given to him by Lord Brahma. The one who ate it would gain knowledge and wisdom. Now Lord Shiva was in a predicament. Which of his two sons should he give the mango to? After consulting with Parvati, he decided to hold a competition between the two boys and make the mango the prize.
Both boys were eager to win the mango. The terms were that whoever circled the world thrice would win. Kartikeya didn’t waste any time on thought. He jumped on to his peacock and zoomed off before anyone could even blink. But, at certain points, he thought he saw his brother’s rotund figure ahead of him. But it was too fleeting a glimpse for him to be sure so he continued on his way.
In the meantime, back on Mount Kailash, Ganesha called his parents and asked them to sit together. Then he folded his hands and walked around them thrice
Shiva and Parvati looked at him in surprise.Ganesha’s eyes twinkled, as he replied, “As my parents, you are the world to me; so when I went around you thrice, it was equal to going round the world.” Pleased with his wit, Shiva and Parvati handed over the mango.
This story teaches the fact the the parents mean the whole world to the children and children should be respectful of the parents . This story also demonstrates Ganesha’s Vivega , the ability to discriminate between the right and the wrong.
Vairagyam – Unshakeable faith, lead one to attain
Story of Prahalada
Hiranyakashipu was the king of the Asuras(Demons). He went to war with and defeated the Devas or gods and conquered the heaven. Hiranyakashipu declared himself to be the God of the whole universe and proclaimed that there was no other God but himself, and strictly ordered that Lord Vishnu should not be worshiped anywhere.
Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada devoted to God from his infancy. Hiranyakashipu sent Prhalada to the Gurukul of Shanda and Amarka. But the little Prahlada, instead of learning from his teachers, devoted all the time in teaching the other boys how to worship Vishnu. When the teachers found it out, they were frightened, for the fear of the mighty king Hiranyakashipu was upon them, and they tried their best to dissuade the child from such teachings. But Prahlada could no more stop his teaching and worshipping Vishnu than he could stop breathing. To clear themselves, the teachers told the terrible fact to the king, that his son was not only worshipping Vishnu himself, but also spoiling all the other children by teaching them to worship Vishnu.
Hiranyakashipu became very much enraged when he heard this and tried by gentle persuasions to dissuade Prahlada from the worship of Vishnu, but Prahlada’s devotion was unshakeable. Hiranyakashipu then ordered the boy to be killed . The demons tried to kill the child by many means like using weapons , try to trample him under elephant , throwing him from the mountain top etc.. But Prahalada’s devotion saved him from all the efforts to kill him.
Hiranyakashipu had the boy again brought before him, and tried to persuade him once more to listen to his advice, through gentle means. But Prahlada insisted that Vishnu was the Lord of the universe, the Beginningless, the Endless, the Omnipotent and the Omnipresent, and as such, he alone was to be worshipped. The king roared with anger and asked if Vishnu is Omnipresent, was he in the pillar before them . Prahlad replied affirmative causing Hiranyakashipu to break the Pillar to prove there is nothing there , Out of the pillar came Lord vishnu in his Half Lion Half Man form “Narasimha” and killed Hiranyakashipu
Then the gods descended from heaven and offered hymns to Vishnu, and Prahlada also fell at His feet and broke forth into exquisite hymns of praise and devotion. Prahlada’s hymns, songs and prayers calmed down the angry Narasimha , who picked the child and place him on his lap
This story demonstrates how unshakeable faith always gets all the best in the life.
Mumukshutwam – The perfected man living absorbed in the self, equally disseminating joy, cheer and bliss to all
Character of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha was a symbol of the greatest virtues, He was a lover of freedom and mankind. He never accepted followers but only fellow travelers. Gautama Buddha’s qualities were known all round the world and he is described in ancient pali language as
“Itipi So Bhagava Araham Sammasambuddho Vijja-Carana-Sampanno Sugato Lokovidu Anuttaro Purisa Damma-Sarathi Sattha Deva-Manussanam Buddho Bhagavathi”
Meaning “Such indeed is the great ; flawless and worthy of reverence; all-knowing; endowed with higher knowledge and great conduct; well spoken; wise in the knowledge of the worlds; incomparable leader of men to be tamed; teacher of gods and men; enlightened and shower of the path to Enlightenment; Blessed.”
Buddha was the perfected man who exhibited mumukshutwam , disseminating joy , cheer and bliss to all.
