Our five senses are of little use in delving into our inner selves; the use of the sixth sense is, however, critical to the spiritual journey. The sixth sense is intuition. Lord Murugan is the sixth sense! Sadguru Murali Krishna has often affirmed intuition as being synonymous with Lord Murugan. By doing so he is affirming the vital importance of developing intuition to delve into the inner self.
Lord Muruga is the guardian deity of the sacrificial fire. He is the Lord of the Kali-Yuga. This mantra of six mystic syllables (sa-ra-va-na-bha-va) should be recited gently to kindle the inner flame of devotion and be transmitted by a preceptor to the disciple. Sadguru Murali Krishna Swamigal once said that in the Kali-Yuga the chanting of the sacred mantra ‘Om Sharavanabhava’ is the inner gateway to the supreme self. Such is the nature of its awesome power that its results cannot fail to be beneficial to the seeker of truth. This mantra is associated with Lord Murugan, otherwise variously known as Subrahmanya, Kartikeya, Guha, Skanda, Shanmukha. The first two syllables are said to be Kumarabijas, the middle two syllables are said to be Shaktibijas and the last two syllables are said to be Shivabijas. A bija-mantra is the seed mantra of a particular deity.
The process of meditation is said to involve a shifting of the focal point across six stages or chakras, from the muladhara chakra based at the bottom of the spine to the thousand-petal sahasra chakra located at the top of the head. These six stages symbolically represent the six abodes of Lord Muruga (Palani, Trichendur, Swamimalai, Tirutani, Tiruparakundaram and Pazhamuthircholai). He is also credited as the source of the twenty-five eternal *tattvas or principles.
The six faces of Lord Muruga symbolise the manifestation of the supreme self in the execution of its five principal functions, including creation, preservation, destruction, involution or veiling and *anugraham (grace). The sixth face symbolises Pranava Om (the primal source of wisdom or communion in silence). According to some the six syllables express six different attributes: purity, bounty, light, auspiciousness, splendour and infinite power. Lord Murugan is married to Valli and Deivayani and carries a vel, representing the force of desire, action and wisdom respectively. He possesses all the six divine attributes: wisdom, dispassion, strength, fame, wealth and divine powers. His mount is the peacock, which means that he is totally above pride, ego and vanity. Beneath the peacock lies the cobra which means that the lord is absolutely fearless, immortal and wise. The cock on his banner symbolises the nada-Brahman (god in the form of sound). The cock heralds the coming of day and the passing of night and symbolises the inauguration of the sunlight of self-knowledge by tearing through the darkness of ignorance. The grace of Lord Murugan is indispensable to the attainment of liberation. The spiritual search is the search for absolute happiness. It requires subtlety of mind and suppleness of intellect to grasp spiritual truths. Ordinary human experience is familiar with the relative world. This world is comprised of duality and the only truth that it admits is the relativity of its own truth. Spirituality consists of undertaking an uncompromising journey to realise the Self. Its objective lies in merging individual consciousness with the source from which it sprung in the first place. This source is the Supreme Being, variously described as God, Brahman or Atman.
Sanatana Dharma or the ‘Eternal Religion’ is the only wisdom tradition in the world that accommodates multiple ways to reach the supreme goal of self-realisation. Our sages insist that human beings are already self-realised; they instruct us that it is not a new state that has to be reached. It is present within us but its presence is obstructed by our ignorance. God in Sanatana Dharma cannot be known. He can only be experienced. In this tradition, to know god is to become god. A Self-Realised Master is one who has discovered his own divinity, is deeply connected to it, and is in absolute harmony with it. That is why it is said that even the five elements (air, fire, water, ether and earth) pay homage to one so blessed. There are four widely recognised paths in Sanatana Dharma. These four paths are evoked in our scriptures in order to suit the temperament of the individual.
The article has been taken from the book The Global Mission of Sadguru Sri Sharavana Baba