Signifance of Chand Toda ???

daljeetputtar · #1 (**permalink**) 07-Jul-2008, 11:27 AM

Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ke fateh
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/sikh-sikhi-sikhism/22256-signifance-of-chand-toda.html

Payaari guru roopi saadh-sangat jee, i'd humbly wanna ask here the signifance of "chand toda" as a shastar on dumala.

Its like, by the apaar kirpa of guru jee, i started wearing dumala on regular basis (even in office) & used to tuck in sme small shastars, like kirpan, khanda, chakkar, etc. All have their signifance that I knw, but wht's that of CHAND TODA ?
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=22256

What I know is that toda is the steel wire type, very strong which is used to tie dumala & used to protect the head & the dumala when a vaar is made on head. It is accompanied by the chand. However, I fail to understand the signifance of the design & overall importance of the same.

After all ... "Meri mat thoodi ... "

So, i ask from my beloved sangat jee to explain this moorakh the same.

PS. Those who dont even know what is chand-toda, here is the pic of it ===> http://www.flickr.com/photos/daljeet/582380312/
Singh jee ne apne dumale te sajeya hoya hai

Dhoor of ur feet
Waheguru ji ka khalsa waheguru ji ke fateh

Harjas Kaur Khalsa · #2 (**permalink**) 07-Jul-2008, 12:26 PM

It is the Shiva lingum, united with Shakti as in awakened God-realized soul, to show a sant sipahi, not someone overcome by krodh or acting from revenge.

http://www.amritcares.com/amrit/sikhism/aad-chand/

daljeetputtar · #3 (**permalink**) 07-Jul-2008, 12:43 PM

Dear bhenji, i'd like to know the signifance of each of its components. specially - "The CHAND"

Harjas Kaur Khalsa · #4 (**permalink**) 08-Jul-2008, 08:06 AM

The Chand is a moon, representing deva Chandi yoni. Shiva is all the time shown wearing a moon or even Chandi deva on his head. Because Shiva is Master of Yoga, and union of Shiva and Shakti are the awakening of kundalini consciousness it relates specifically to yogic principles.

ਸੂਰ ਸਰੁ ਸੋਸਿ ਲੈ ਸੋਮ ਸਰੁ ਪੋਖਿ ਲੈ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਮਰਤੁ ਸੁ ਸਨਬੰਧੁ ਕੀਜੈ ॥
soor sar sos lai som sar pokh lai jugath kar marath s sanabandhh keejai ||
Heat up the sun energy of the right nostril, and cool down the moon energy of the left nostril; practicing this breath-control, bring them into perfect balance.
16 Maaroo Guru Nanak Dev

ਮੀਨ ਕੀ ਚਪਲ ਸਿਉ ਜੁਗਤਿ ਮਨੁ ਰਾਖੀਐ ਉਡੈ ਨਹ ਹੰਸੁ ਨਹ ਕੰਧੁ ਛੀਜੈ ॥੧॥
meen kee chapal sio jugath man raakheeai ouddai neh hans neh kandhh shheejai ||1||
In this way, the fickle fish of the mind will be held steady; the swan-soul shall not fly away, and the body-wall will not crumble. ||1||
~Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji p. 991

ਸੁਖਮਨਾ ਇੜਾ ਪਿੰਗੁਲਾ ਬੂਝੈ ਜਾ ਆਪੇ ਅਲਖੁ ਲਖਾਏ ॥
sukhamanaa eirraa pingulaa boojhai jaa aapae alakh lakhaaeae ||
He understands the Sushmana, Ida and Pingala, when the unseen Lord reveals Himself.
18 Raamkalee Guru Nanak Dev

ਨਾਨਕ ਤਿਹੁ ਤੇ ਊਪਰਿ ਸਾਚਾ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਸਮਾਏ ॥੬੦॥
naanak thihu thae oopar saachaa sathigur sabadh samaaeae ||60||
O Nanak, the True Lord is above these three energy channels. Through the Word, the Shabad of the True Guru, one merges with Him. ||60||
~Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji p. 944

Through practice of japping Naam Gurmantara with the pranayama (lifeforce breath) you are doing a yoga to cleanse your energy nadis and purify your energy chakrs. You place the consciousness (surti) on the praan and meditate on lifting the consciousness through the channels. The energy nadis are primarily 3, the Ire, Pingala and they go up and down the spine from lowest chakr to highest. Those meet at the Shushmana nadi at area of agni chakr at location of third eye which corresponds to pineal and pituitary glands. To raise your praan to this level through cleansing practices of pranayaam Gurmantar or Naam abhiyaas with rising at amrit vela and practicing Naam simran and dhyaan, with natural process of sehaj, intuitively you will form a seal like kechari mudra and the tongue will become a cup at the back of the throat to catch the amrit nectar. This nectar stimulates siddhias and opens the dasm duar at the top of your crown chakr to be the way a jeev can attain samaadhi of God-consciousness.

By doing the pranayaam practice you are moving the fiery energy of the sun from the right, Pingala into the house of the cool moon, or left. If someone raises their kundalini shakti into the right sun house, they will go insane and be unbalanced and have a lot of problems. The energy must be directed to the house of the moon which has cooling and calming properties, and this will open the jeevatma to siddhia and eventually by this purification process, darshan of Vaheguru.

So the Shiva is always shown with this same moon. Nihangs traditionally wore on the forehead at area of third eye, 6th agni chakr. That is where the kundalini must be moved into the house of the moon before it rises into the wrong channel. So a dumalla with this adhh Chand symbol shows a yogi who has mastered his senses and does not act from krodh or selfishness. It shows that he has raised his kundalini shakti and has powers for the battlefield like a feared siddhu. It shows that he has properly moved his spiritual energies into the house of Chandi.

All the yogic elements are there on Shiva. Jura of hair over the dasm duar, which is opened and he is having darshana of goddess. The moon is shown on the left side. And the cobra of coiled Kundalini energy.

Quote:

"In Tamil Siva literally means "the supreme one". Adi Sankara in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to mean either "The Pure One," i.e., the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name." Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means the One who is eternally pure, or the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas...."

"Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva) and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages. The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv- which means "to injure" or "to kill" and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness..."

"Third Eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes.[69] There has been controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name Tryambakam (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम्), which occurs in many scriptural sources...."

"Crescent Moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the moon. The epithet Chandraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = Moon, śekhara = crest, crown) refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva..."

"Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy...."

"Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis..."

"Gaṇa : In Hinduism, the Gaṇas (Devanagari: गण) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa. They are often referred to as the Boothaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their Lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the Lord on behalf of the devotee...."

"The name Rudra (Sanskrit रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name Rudra is derived from the root rud- which means "to cry, howl." Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, of rudra nature, and translates the name Rudra as "the Wild One" or "the Fierce God". R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "Terrible". Hara (Sanskrit हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the Shiva sahasranama, where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "One who captivates", "One who consolidates", and "One who destroys." Kramrisch translates it as "The Ravisher". Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "Time", and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "Great Time", which ultimately destroys all things. Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "Terrible" or "Frightful" is a fierce form associated with annihilation..."

"He is depicted as both an ascetic yogin and as a householder, roles which are mutually exclusive in Hindu society. When depicted as a yogin he may be shown sitting and meditating. His epithet Mahāyogin (The Great Yogi: Mahā = great, Yogin = one who practices Yoga) refers to his association with yoga. While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism, became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts."

"As a family man and householder he has a wife, Parvati (also known as Umā), and two sons, Ganesha and Skanda. His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama. Umā in epic literature is known by many names, including Pārvatī. She is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother, and with Shakti (divine energy)..."

"Mruthyunjaya, literally translated as 'victor over death', this is an aspect of Shiva worshipped as the conqueror of Death as manifested in the Hindu lord of death, Yama. The particular legend in question deals with the sage Markandeya, who was fated to die at the age of sixteen. On account of the sage's worship and devotion to Shiva, the Lord vanquished Yama to liberate his devotee from death. Shiva is often worshipped as Mruthyunjaya by the aged or ill, to ward off death and mitigate its harshness when it does occur..."

"Tripurāntaka, Tripura (mythology): Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras Shiva's name Tripurāntaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरान्तक), "Ender of Tripura", refers to this important story." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva

There is the origin of your Chand.

~Bhul chak maaf