"adhuvum avanadhu innaruLE"

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

I have a few more thoughts on what I understand

to be our Alvars' and Acharyas' idea of grace.

The key idea we should keep in mind is this:

it is not so much He who responds to our prayers

or requests, as much as we who respond to His

everpresent grace.

 

God's initiating grace is present prior to our

very existence, since creation itself is a manifestation

of this grace. If there is any way by which we

even begin to turn our thoughts in the direction of

the Divine, it is because of the thiruvaruL of PerumaaL.

God's grace is the very foundation of any relationship

with Him, and as such can never be undervalued.

 

Time and time again, Nammalvar denies that it is any

quality in him that "prompts" or "evokes" the grace

of God. It is no question of being worthy, compared

to other beings, of the grace of God, or a question of

"earning" the experience of Him. He declares "neecan enniRai

onRum ilEn" (tvm 3.3.4) -- I am low and without any merit

whatsoever, but yet He continues to bless me. This is

identical to Sri ManavaaLa MaamunigaL's view that there is

no need to prompt Him for his thiruvaruL; nor is it

different from Sri Desika's reminder to never think of

prapatti as the cause of moksha.

 

In other words, God's making Himself accessible is not

induced by us; He is always accessible should we allow

ourselves to realize His grace. It is no exaggeration

to say that God desires us to realize Him far more than

we desire to go to Him. This is what is so apparent

in Nammalvar's poems: we would not even have the smallest

inclination toward Him had He not condescended and made

Himself accessible in the first place.

 

aazhvaar emberumaanaar dhesikan jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

 

Mani

 

P.S:

 

In the end, it is perhaps futile to try to actually ascertain

a causal relationship between grace and any human effort to

"procure" it. Nammalvar describes this vividly, speaking

of the Lord showing him the path, his finding refuge, and

of his realization that nothing he could do or give could

be sufficient payback for this supreme gift of grace:

 

aaRenakku nin paadhamE saraNaagath

thandhozhindhaay, unakku Or kaim

maaRu naan onRilEn enadhaaviyum unadhE

sEru koLkarum pumperuncennellum

malithan sireevaramangai

naaRu poondhan thuzhaaymudiyaay! dheyva naayaganE!

 

-- thiruvaaymozhi 5.7.10

 

You have given me

your feet where

I find my only refuge

I have nothing to give in return

my soul too is yours

O resident of cool Sri Varamangai

where stalks of sugarcane and

paddy grow tall

O Lord of celestials

wearing the cool fragrant Tulasi crown!

 

Without denying the reality of human volition before

relying on His grace, nor denying the primacy and

ever-existent nature of this grace to begin with, I

believe we can all appreciate the wonderful mystery

expressed by Nammalvar.