THE STORIES OF LORD KATHIKEYA II

Om: The Wise Child-Guha-Teaching His Father The Lord Karthik is seen as the embodiment of youth, compassion, beauty and knowledge.

In the 206-odd songs of Tamil poet and devotee of the Lord Muruga known collectively as the Thirupugal or praise of the Lord we hear the praise of Lord Muruga in a majority of them. Lord Guhan is considered as the source of all knowledge and according to Hindu mythology was even believed to have instructed his father, Lord Shiva. Thus the divine child Thirukumara even as a toddler became guru or teacher to his father. A Tamil prayer in praise of this miracle translated approximately to: You come as the Divine Teacher Lord Guhan and are praised for it. (Guru ay Varuvay Guhane potri). In Kailash, the young Lord Karthikeya was believed to have crawled onto his father, Shiva the divine destroyers lap and whispered the meaning of the most important mantra of the Hindu religion. Lord Muruga taught Lord Shiva the meaning of the Pranava Mantra (, AUM) and with this miraculous act gained the name Swaminathaswamy. The name means that Lord Muruga is god/guru to his father the power god Shiva himself. The Omkara or the pranave mantra AUM thats included in most Hindu chants finds its origin in Lord Muruga who is believed to be the very incarnation of the vast Space from which the universe evolved. The omkara is the primordial rhythm of the universe and thus finds resonance in all beings. Thus when a person is taught to meditate he is asked to repeat AUM and mentally concentrate on the form of the letter to gain the perfect trance. The primordial chant resonates beautifully with all the chakras and helps achieve the right state of mind and body to benefit from meditation. It is this mantra that the toddler Guha taught Shiva and thus became Guru (Teacher) to the Almighty. According to the ancient text Skanda Purana Lord Murugan is the origin of the Omkara. This is supported by the fact in the formula containing the names of Lord Murugan followed by Pranava. Lord Murugan in his whispered lecture to his father also explains that Lord Shiva also is part of this Omkara which encapsulates the entire universes. From Lord Shiva, the sages learnt it and pass it onto the rest of mankind. The Omkara is the basis of all creation. Thus the primordial sound resonates with all of creation. So Lord Muruga is considered as the supreme deity: Swamynathaswamy. Lord Muruga is Himself the Pranava or AUM, thus He alone has full knowledge of It. This gives Him the authority to question the divine creator Lord Bramha and teach the divine destroyer Lord Siva its meaning. Thus putting the son above the father and the divine trinity Bramha-Vishnu-Shiva (Creator-Protector-Destroyer). In one of the Arupadai temple Swamymalai, in Tamil Nadu, Lord Karthikeya is worshipped as Swamynathaswamy and the instruction of Lord Shiva is believed to have happened in Swamymalai (Hills of the Lord) rather than in Kailash. March 7, 2014, Friday