DayA /Anukampaa : NammAzhwAr & Swami Desikan--Part 6.1

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi group :

 

Today is Friday. This morning I had the good

fortune of hearing the majestic renditon of

Daya Sathakam by Sangeetha Kalanidhi

Srimathi Mani KrishNaswamy , the mother of our own dear

Sri Sudarshan of Bahrain .. I am fortunate to

have received a copy of this exquistely rendered work of

Swami Desikan from another dear member of this group .

The musical scholarship of the artist trained by giants like

Mysore VasudevAchAr and Tiger VaradAchAr is astounding .

Her exemplary uccharaNam of the Sanskrit text

of Swami Desikan is a thrilling experience to hear . It was a moving

experience . The occasion also reminded me of the song of

ANNamAcharya about Thirumanjanam for Sri Alamelu MangA on

a SukramVaaram day. I thought I will continue today with

the AzhwAr's anubhavam of Daya of the Lord of Seven hills

on this Sukra Vaaram instead of roaming with Sri Ramachandra

in the depths of DaNdakAraNyam . We will therefore focus on

the forst section of the fifth decad of Thiruvaimozhi in this posting .

 

I will start this posting with a slokam of the Ashta sloki of

ParAsara Bhattar , which is appropriate for the occasion .

This is the sixth verse of Ashta Sloki composed by Bhattar

to teach us the meaning of AshtAkshari :

 

IsAnAm jafadhAm adhIsa dhayithAm nityAnapAyAm sriyam

samsrithAsrayaNOchitAkila guNasyAngri harerAsrayE I

ishtopAyatayA sriyA cha sahithAyAthmEsvarAyArtayE

karthum dAsyamaseshamaprathihatham nityam tvaham nirmama : II

 

( Meaning ) : Sri Devi ( Lakshmi ) is the empress ( Soverign

Goddess ) of ALL the worlds, as NarAyaNa is the emperor. She is

the inseparable consort of His. We offer our prostrations at Her

lotus feet to empower ourselves to acquire the means of access

to the Lord's feet for our SaraNAgathi . May I be blessed always to

perform service devoid of ego to the Lord , who is the embodiment

of Dayaa. .

 

The hundred verses of the fifth decad is a gigantic celebration of

the Lord"s matchless and limitless Daya GuNam . Almost every subsection

of this decad brim with the mood of celebration of Lord's

AnukampA and KaruNA .

 

Section 5.1.1 ( kaiAr chakkaratthu yen karumANikkamE ) salutes the Lord's

magnanimous qualiy as Para Tantran ( who obeys the wishes of BhakthAs/

Yathoktha Kaari ) because of His daya for His devotees . Swami Desikan

describes His nature as that of a KaruNA paravasan , who is

overcome by His profound mercy to help the suffering ChetanAs .

 

MaNavALa Maamuni state in his 41st paasuram of Thiruvaimozhi

NuRRanthAdhi that the Lord out of His infinite compassion blesses

even those , who have not expressed genuine Bhakthi towards Him

(Poli Bhagavathars) , who pretend that they love him through the

practice of Kapata Bhakthi .Out of his infinite humility, AzhwAr

reveals that the Lord blessed him for expressing his

vyAjamAtra abhilaashai . AzhwAr says that he did not declare

proudly that he was the servant of the Lord , but he only said casually

that the Lord has accepted him as His servant . Even that was sufficient

for the Lord to bless him fully out of his infinite compassion . That vyAjam

(half-hearted pretext ) was sufficient for Him to rush to accept

him says the AzhwAr .The Lord's blessing of Prapatthi was

Nirhethukam (without any quid pro quo consideration ) ,

NirupAdhikam ( without any condition or clauses ) . This is so

because He is Nirapekshakan ( he does not want any return ) .

AzhwAr hints that the Lord thinks that this AyOgyan ( unfit one )

deserves the fruits of Prapatthi because he is unable to practise

the requisitesofthat effort . Such is His boundless Daya !

 

Parasara Bhattar intreprets NammAzhwAr's feelings expressed

in this section as follows : " I am a fraud, a liar. I am guilty of

soul-theft ( AatmaabahAram ) and thought that this soul is mine ,

where as it is His property . It is not possible for me to control

my desires, discipline my senses , to shake off my sorrow over

not realizing my mundane yearnings or to make a distinction between

the soul and the body .This lowliness, attachment to this perishable

body and weakness to do anything in the direction of Moksham

necessitates me to place myself as the object of your mercy totally.

That is what I said half-heartedly. He called me to His abode

fulfilling His assurance offered in His charama sloka. Such is

His Nirhethuka KrupA ! "

 

AzhwAr states in 5.1. 7 ( AmmanAzhipirAn ) , that the Lord's love for

me(us) is the same irrespective of mine(ours) being feigned or true.

" yemmA pAviyarkum vidhi vAykkinru vAykkum kandeer ". AzhwAr says that

he sat in a corner , raised his hands in false spirti of pathos and cried

" O Lord ! You came rushing to save an elephant in distress! Do n'"t You

know how much I suffer ? " That was all I did . He took it seriously

as a true complaint , came and rescued me. Now my love has become

true love as a result of His Nirhethuka Dayaa. It is clear that His love for

me is the same irrespective of mine being feigned or not. He is the supreme

Lord. I am the smallest, the most despicable . If his limitless Dayaa

can be extended to me even, then I can attest that any sinner , even

the WORST can reap my Lord's AnukampA .

 

In 5.1.9 , Azhwaar describes his condition and the extraordinary grace of

the Lord to come to his rescue in his hour of need . Azhwaar says :

" aavaa yenru aruL seythu adiyEnodumAnAnE ". Sri V.N. Vedantha Desikan

translates this Paasuram this way : " I recall the time . I was helpless.

It was very much like the plight of a ship caught in a strong cyclone and

totally helpless to reach the shore safely . --Just at that time , He came with

 

His divine charm and effulgence , the chakrA and SankhA , with overflowing

mercy for me. He took me into His fold. I enjoy His company as any one in His

heavenly paraphernalia. What a great Mercy ? Now His merger with me is

a FAIT ACCOMPLI ."

 

AzhwAr goes on to say in the next verse that he learnt that it was NOT

his effort that secured the happy union between the Lord and him ; rather

it was His special effort . AzhwAr says that that the Lord seems to exult

over the thought that all His efforts have now been fructified and AzhwAr

has become His own . AzhwAr confides that he has detected a distinct

glow in the Lord's face over His achievement .

 

Thus ends the the first ten Thirumozhis of decad 5.

 

AzhwAr ThiruvadigalE saraNam

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

 

 

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