Adi Sankara's koodu vittu koodu paaithal

[Guest guest]

To ascertain whether Sankara's composition on Lakshmi nrshimha has anything to

do with this koodu vittu koodu paayum episode, I suspect not. This ia different

"story" in Sri Adisankara's life history as narrated by the mutt. The one

expalined earlier that kaaplika's were to sacrifice him and nrsimha appeared

through Sankara's disciple padma paadaa is the right one and that is the time

it was composed.

 

This episode "koodu vittu koodu paathal" has kindled many questions in my mind

when I heard this episode of sankara being discussed by sankara mutt people and

some strong vaishnavite in my home towm. As a preamble I would like to mention

that my home town Kumbakonam used to be the de-facto head quarters of Kaanchi

mutt for 4 of the peetams from 64 th to 67 th peetams and untill the

paramaacharyaa Sri Chandrasekara Saraswathi reinstated the prominance of the

mutt in kanch town. It is needless to say that Kumbakonam had a very strong

kanchi mutt followers. The discussion was as follows.

 

1. If Srimath Bagwath Geetha was accepted by Adi Sankara, then how can he

belive that an aatman or soul can carry experience from one body to another.

The episode narrates that he lacked that experienc and switched bodies to

"acquire" such experience. There was no good explanation provided by the mutt

followers on this. "If it doesnot fit, quit" that story from the life history

was argued by the vaishavite side. It was later suggested that it was

possible that, to add "attraction" to the Great Saint's life history the

later day story tellers would have added this episode and didnot explain it

very well.

 

The question in my mind was, is there any other explanation possible to this.

 

2. There was an other way to look at it. When a person gets possesed by a

spirit

he talks or does the action as to the nature of the spirit or the hanging

aatman. If it would be possible for a spirit to carry its nature to another

body

then is it possible for the spirit to feel the nature of the body it possessed

?

so that when it leaves that body it can take with it the nature of both its own

and the other person's nature with it. No answer is known to such questions. If

it would be possible for a spirit to do so, then it would be possible for an

aatman performing koodu vittu koodu paaythal. If an aatman should go in for

pursuit of materilistic experiences through "koodu vittu koodu paaythal" then

it certainly was not in that "zero" or "neutral" state srimath bagwath geetha

was explaining. then what was the "state" of that aatman at the instant of such

pursuit ? ( Please donot read this as derogatory statement on Adi sankara. Adi

sankara is one of the best srivishnavite we had so far when one looks at his

message thorugh Sri Baja Govindam it is clear that he also puts SRiman Naarayan

the first and the only one and the ultimate to obtain Salvation). If the aatman

doesnot have that "neutral" state without any "attributes" does it contradict

the whole advaitin theory ?

 

This is not a very great philosphical discussion. But it remains to answered by

the pundits of the mutt and vaishnavite friends of the kaanchi mutt strongly

feels that this is a mere story. Can anyone from kancheepuram add to this or

contradict this with explantions.

 

Sampath Rengi