crystal

  Lord Hayagriva(Hayavadhana, the Horse Faced God, is the lesser known avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is the ocean of knowledge, Wisdom, where Brahma & Goddess Saraswathi riside. He is the Four forms of Veda, viz. Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva Vedas. He is worshipped as the God of knowledge and wisdom. He is the one who taught knowledge to Goddess Saraswati.

Haya means horse and Greeva means neck. Brilliant white in colour, with white garments and seated on a white lotus, the horse faced form of Vishnu, is the God of Vidya or knowledge, wisdom and prosperity according to scriptures. He has four hands, one in the mode of bestowing knowledge; another holds books of wisdom, and the other two hold the Conch and Discus.  

ज्ञानानन्दमयं देवं निर्मल स्फटिकाकृतिम्

आधारं सर्व विद्द्यानां हयग्रीवं उपास्महे

Jnyaana-Anandamayam Devam Nirmala Sphatikaakrtim,

Aadharam Sarva-vidyaanaam Hayagreevam-Upasmahe

he God, who is the very form of True Spiritual knowledge and True Bliss, Pure as a crystal

One, who is the Basis/Foundation of all Knowledge, I worship that Lord Hayagreeva. 

Meaning in Depth

Jnyaana-True Knowledge; Ananda– True Bliss; Mayam– Full of/ Made up of; Devam– God

One, who is made up of True Spiritual knowledge and True Bliss.

The Supreme Reality(ParaBrahmam) is referred to a true knowledge, because outside of that, evrything is an illusion, a false image, Maya. The essence of Parabrahmam is Aananda or True Bliss. Bliss as we imagine is false too, as it is only what we can feel with our limited senses. True bliss is beyond the reach of the common man. Only through seep meditation and advanced spiritual practices can one experience the nature of  Parabrahmam, True Bliss. Lord Hayagreeva, is described here as a being of true knowledge and bliss or in other words, as Brahman Himself.

Nir– Without; Mala– Dirt(Ignorance); Sphatika– Crystal; Aakrti- Form: One, whose form is without dirt and pure as a crystal.

As Lord Hayagreeva is the embodiment of True Knowledge, He does not have even a trace of dirt. Ignorance is considered the dirt that surrounds True Knowledge to make it unrecognisabe to us.

(It is because of this ignorance that we percieve ourselves as being different from others and from animals and plants and planets. We are all indeed, just different reflections of the Supreme, say the learned Saints. But we find it difficult to even understand the full implications of that sentence.)

Aadharam– Foundation/Sub-stratum; Sarva-All; Vidyaa– Knowledge: One, who is the foundation/ Origin/ Sub-stratum of all knowledge.

All creation is permeated by the Universal Consciousness. Even the formation of a spec in the universe requires the Know-how for it. Nature is ruled by laws laid down at the time of Creation. These laws allow for the formation of everything, there are no random events in Creation. These rules, this know-how, are all the basis of creation, therefore nothing is possible without this basic “knowledge”, which makes everything work. That basis, that knowledge, that foundation is Lord Hayagreeva.

Hayagreevam– O Lord Hayagreeva; Upa– Near; Aas– Sit; Upaasmahe – We sit (together) to perform the formal worship of/ to formally (and in Reverence) worship.

O, Lord Hayagriva, You who are the substratum of all knowledge, Whose nature is True Knowledge and True Bliss, Who is as pure as a crystal, We worship Thee !

Chanting the mantra:

Best time to chant this mantra is at Brahma Muhurta, Ekadasis, Navami thithis; Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Special worship is conducted on the day of the full moon in August (Śravaṇa-Paurṇamī) (his avatāra-dina) and on Mahanavami, the ninth day of the Navaratri festival.

One can chant this mantra 9, 11, 108 or 1008 times, facing east direction.

One can use clear quartz crystal Japa mala – rosary beads.

BENEFITS

One who worships Lord Hayagreeva and chants this sloka will be blessed with:

Education: Students will attain:

Concentration in studies

Fluency in language, speech, vocabulary, mastery in debates etc

Good memory power.

Excellence in technical and vocational education, learning skills, advancement in new fields and in innovation.

Spiritual knowledge: Devotees will gain:

Interest in Spiritual path.

Spiritual growth leading to Liberation.

Relief from emotional distress, stress, tensions, depression.

Story of Lord Hayagreeva – the safe-keeper of Knowledge:

Lord Hayagriva is celebrated in the Puranas for rescuing the Vedas from the demons Madhu and Kaitabha and teaching them again to Brahma. 

The Puranas say that the Asuras Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Lord Brahma. Desolate, Lord Brahman approached Lord Vishnu for help. The Lord assumed the form of Hayagreeva to recover the Vedas from the Asuras. There is also a mention, that it was Lord Hayagreeva who composed the Vedas and gave it to Brahma, therefore this Avatara preceeds the Matsya Avatara.

Symbolically, the story represents the triumph of Pure Eternal Knowledge, guided by the hand of God, over the destructive forces of passion and darkness. It establishes that True knowledge is ever present and held by the Almighty, rescued if required from wrongful use and restored when required for the growth of good.