“ Dakshinamurthy is regarded as an aspect of Shiva, as the universal teacher. He is the young and radiant Adi-Guru, Para-Guru, the Supreme Guru, imparting knowledge that liberates. He is the very personification of spiritual wisdom and eminence; and one who is immersed in Self. His teaching is through the subtlest form of speech- para vak – beyond the range of the physical ear, abiding in silence; the sort of silence that envelops within itself all other forms of expressions. It is the silence that underlines the limitations of rational knowledge, futilities of the blind alleys of metaphysical queries and the frailty hollowness of words. His teaching transcends speech and thought; it is experience. His listeners are learned and wise; ripe in intuitional understanding. The Guru’s language of silence dispels the doubts, the confusion and uncertainties in the minds of those around sitting in silence.
The banyan tree (vata vruksha) under which the Guru sits symbolizes creation as also the expanding universe , which regenerates itself. The tree known as Akshya vruksha with its unique growth pattern also represents the eternal principle, the Dharma. (Vata derived from vat means: to expand, to surround and to encompass). It is meant to suggest that Sri Dakshinamurthy who sits under the vata tree presides over the cyclic processes of srishti (creation), sthiti (preservation), samhara (absorption or gathering up), tirobhava (suppression) and anugraha (revealing true knowledge)”.
My humble attempt to understand the Dhayana Slokas on Lord Dakshinamurthy as presented by Sureshvaracharya in Manasolasa Vartikam is presented in Tamil.
Prabhu's Ponder 