Thiru viN Nagaram - Oppiliappan koil - part 7 - "peRREn peRRathum piravAmai"

[Guest guest]

Thirumangai azwar have delivered 30 pasurams on this lord of which this pasuram

is special to me. Thirumangai describes the mindsety one may have during the

moments of baranyAsam or prapatti and also conveys the fruits of it ie

piravAmai.

 

 

maRROr theyvameNNE Nnunnaiyen manaththuvaiththup ,

peRREn peRRathuvum piRavaamai yemperumaan,

vaRRaa neeLkadalchoo zhilangaiyi raavaNanaich

cheRRaay, koRRavanE! thiruviN NagaraanE (6.3.5)

 

thirumangai

 

The following is based on some discussion i and Sri Jagan had on this pAsuram

an

year ago. It is also good in the context of why one must avoid annyAdevathA

arAdhana.

 

We understood the Pasuram in the following way because of our Guru's

anugraha. Perhaps someone else in this group can elaborate on the

inner meaning when they get the time.

 

"maRROr theyvameNNE N"

 

The starting line is "I will not worship anyone else". At this point

one has already achieved

 

"BahunAm janmanAmante jnanavAm mam prapadyante.

Vasudeva sarvam iti sa mahatma su durlabha."

 

After many, many births, one understands that Vasudeva is supreme and

surrenders to me. Such a mahatma is very rare.

 

 

This may be one of the inner and the second layer of meaning.

 

At this point the individual is already a mahatma. By keeping YOU in

mind - this happens only with the grace of Sriman Narayana. I

obtained the piravAmai or nyAnam of worshipping nArAyan alone -

 

In our perception this is the literal first or surface meaning. The

pAsuram that precedes describes thirumangai's "pulambal" or cry wherein

he pours out as to how he was struck with the pleasure of a woman and

that he is now pleading for release from all his annyAnams associated with

that. So the meaning of getting a birth in which one can attain this

"piravAmai" or "not to be born again status" in sequence is a physical

meaning. Whereas the pleasure of association with woman specifed in the

previous pasruam is also a physical meaning and it can be inpterted as

the gunaas or karma bhAvam that were prevalent due to prArabtha karmas

in one's case. I donot imply that azwar had prArabdha karmAS. The

interpretaion on these lines or this layer of menaing is intended for

jivAtmAs.

 

 

In some oblique way this can only refer to Prapatti, since Prapatti

and Bhakti Yoga are the only 2 upAyas that can confer moksha. Out of

these only Prapatti can guarantee this in one lifetime.

So the "obtaind" can only refer to Prapatti. I have heard

of Prapatti being a marriage to Bhagavan. It could also be such that

Prapatti being referred to as birth of a nyAnam (the nyAnam that our

jivans or souls belong to HIM and HE oned them Owns them and will

continue to own them for ever and we have nothing to do intellectually

once we surrender this "we" or "I" to HIM abosluetly) or obtained.

 

 

The second meaning of this is I obtained (peRREn is both giving birth and

"obtained" in Tamil) piRavAmai ie state of no birth because I was thinking of

you at the time of my birth. (As per Swami dEsikan when one is seen by Lord

Vishnu during HIS birth will not be born again). The three births are physical

birth (we donot know what we thought this time due to the effect of shata

vaayu) second birth ( dwijan) ie at the time of brahma upadEsam third birth

(prapatti) ie becoming a prapannan or at the time undertaking prapatti as

"obatined" through acharyan. If one can do so at both 2 nd and 3rd or atleast

3rd stage it is enough .

 

Thinking of nothing at the 2nd stage is also not possible

especially when the brahma upadEsam is done at an earier or adolecsent age when

one is not mature enough to understand and realise these. However one

may be aware of these during baranyAsam stage ie at this time DONOT ask

anything. (uNNai en manaththu vaiththup peRREn piravAmai empuremAn -

thiru mangai in this pAsuram). Just keep this Lord in your mind and

that is enough as per thirumanagai. Though it is said that whatever we

wish for during the moments of prapatti, we simply must keep our

thoughts on Lord and surrender and should not linger in bringing to our

mind any petty desires of material nature.

 

 

On the subsequent lines, Ravana refers to any baddha jivatma. The

ocean refers to Samsara that stands in the way of the jivatma

approaching ayodhya or Sri Vaikuntham. It also refers to the jivatma's

lack of interest in obtaining Sri Vaikuntham. It shows the jivatma

coming in contact with Sita while still in pursuit of sense

gratification. With Her anugraha, the jivatma loses material opulence

and faces frustration in material existence.

 

This refers to the destruction of Lanka by

Hanuman prior to Rama's approach. The jivatma is still adamant at

this time. Finally Rama Himself comes to claim the jivatma at the

time of Prapatti to reclaim the till now lost soul ie "seRRAi

koRRAvanE, thiru vin NagrAnE" ! "You conquered the life of this

jivatma (which was rightfully belonging to you all the time though the

jivan thought untill this moment of prapatti that it has some free

will) my lord at this moment of prapatti" !

 

The jivatma's spiritual progress started many lives before the life in

which Prapatti was obtained. After Prapatti, the Prapanna has also to be

careful to prevent offending all other jivatmas that may be only

a few lifetimes away from Moksha.

 

I watched a TV serial in which a yogi sits under atree and meditate in

India for years and keeps in mind only one question. How many more

times I will have to be born again ? he proudly tells the TV crew that

he got the reply from the Lord and he is satisfied with that. ie.. He

has to be born so many times as to the number of leaves in that tree.

The yOgi was happy because he was aware that the number of leaves are

atleast finite and "countable".

 

It is perhaps possible that the yogi obtained the kind of reply because he

probably thought that he had to obtain moksha with the help of his own efforts.

So this yogi has to complete all the lives due until Satya yuga or by some

good fortune obtains the grace of a mahabhagavata and turns to

Prapatti.

 

Please let me know of anymore inner meanings one may understand from this

Pasuram.

 

Thanks,

 

Sri BoomidEvi thAyAr samEtha Sri Oppiliappan thiruvadikaLE charaNam

adiyEn

Sampath Rengarajan

 

Note: One day, I woke up chanting this pAsuram an year ago. Perhaps it

was in my inner layer of the mind. When I visited the Oppiliappan

sannithi this time, Sri gOvinda battar poured out this pAsuram to the

moolavar and offered me with all the prasAdhams pf perumAL and asked me

to "charge" my "battery" and let me to stand for a very long time and

pray to Lord "One on One". It is usually the practise to sing the pAsuram

by nammalwar "ennappan enakkaay ihulaay" to this Lord. This time it was

surprising and unusual. I thanked the Lord for reminding me with this

pAsuram a year ago and for having a thoughtful discussion with jagan on

this pAsuram so that my prapatti was well conceived and meaningful and

I am able to translate it for others use as understood by me.