Kumbhabhisheka of Lord Samba Sadashiva at Shankaranarayana
On 28th May 2015, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahasannidhanam and Jagadguru Sri Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Sannidhanam graced the Kshetram of Shankaranarayana in Dakshina Kannada district and performed the Jeernoddharana Kumbhabhisheka of Lord Samba Sadashiva.
Sri Sannidhanam, in His Anugraha Bhashanam, said that ego prevents man from developing devotion and realising the need for God’s Grace for the fructification of any human effort. Hence, ego has to be given up for pure devotion to arise. We find that most who come to a temple come with a prayer for securing some material benefit or the other, or for the removal of some suffering. However, not all approach God with the same intensity in devotion. When we look at the life of Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada, we know that His parents, Aryamba and Shivaguru, had been without an offspring for a long time. Even though they were offering prayers to be blessed with a child, the prayer did not bear fruit. Aryamba had then told her dejected husband that the fault was not with the Lord, but probably in the intensity of their devotion. So Aryamba and Shivaguru worshipped the Lord with renewed Bhakti and Shraddha and were blessed with a child who, as Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada, was verily the Avatara of Lord Parameshwara. Such is the example set by the great mother Aryamba.
Sri Sannidhanam ended His Anugraha Bhashanam quoting from Sri Adi Shankaracharya’s Shivabhujanga Stotram where steadfast Bhakti is extolled –
अयं दानकालस्त्वहं दानपात्रं
भवानेव दाता त्वदन्यं न याचे ।
भवद्भक्तिमेव स्थिरां देहि मह्यं
कृपाशील शम्भो कृतार्थोऽस्मि तस्मात् ॥
In His Anugraha Bhashanam, Sri Sri Mahasannidhanam expressed joy at the construction of the granite temple. Sri Mahasannidhanam then posed the question as to why we must construct a temple. Is not the Lord ever-satisfied? Is He not omnipresent? Since we do not have the Samskara to be able to see the omnipresent Lord in everything, the Shastras advocate the consecration of the all-pervasive Lord in a particular location so that we can direct our minds towards the deity installed therein. Light is all around us, and yet (only) a mirror reflects it, not a wall. So, our reflection can be seen clearly on a mirror. Similarly, even though the Lord is omnipresent, we find His presence in a consecrated Vigraha. When we come in front of the Lord consecrated in such a Vigraha, we find solace in the midst of our difficulties.
The Jagadguru praised the efforts of the devotees in the renovation of the Samba Sadashiva temple and their devout feeling that the Sringeri Jagadguru perform the Kumbhabhisheka, as a result of which the sanctity of the place would be further strengthened. The Jagadguru ended the Anugraha Bhashanam expressing joy and blessing all Astikas involved in the efforts and the conduct of the event.