Kulapathi Swami NammazhwAr's Thirunkashathram : Pramathi Samvathsaram , VaikAsi VisAkam

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

Sri NaarAyaNanuvAkam reveals to us the supermacy

of Sriman NaarAyaNA with the declaration :

 

pathim visvasyaathmEsavaragum saasvathagum sivam Achyutham I

NaarAyanam mahAjn~Eyam visvAthmAnam parAyaNam II

 

(meaning) : Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Lord of ALL .

There is no one , who is equal or superior to Him .

He is His own Lord . He is of the form of eternal

auspiciousness . He never forsakes anyone , who sought

His feet as protection . He is the essence of all

that is to be known , all that is to be meditated upon

and He is the pulsating life behind all that

are sought as parama hitham and parama purushArtham .

 

In support of this declaration , Sri NaarAyaNAnuvAkam

goes on to assert that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Para-

Brahmam , supreme tattvam (doctrine) , unparalleled

lustre (Param jyOthi) and the ParamAthmA .

 

That He is the SarvantharyAmi ParamAthmA is attested

further with the next manthram :

 

yaccha kinchijith jagath saravm dhrusyathE srUyathEpi vaa

antharbhaisccha tath sarvam vyApya NaarAyaNa; sthitha:

 

(meaning) : Whatever is seen by the eye or whatever

is the subject of SaasthrAs , every one of them

is occupied/pervaded inside and outside by

Sriman NaarAyaNan .

 

Such is the glory of our Lord saluted by the Sruthis .

 

Swami NammAzhwAr based his divya prabhandhams and

particularly ThiruvAimozhi on these Vedic truths

and qualified them to become known as Tamizh Vedam .

This unison of thought between Sanskritic VedAs and

the Tamizh maRai is known as Ubhaya VedAntha IykyakaNDyam .

 

On this VaikAsi VisAkam , PourNami day , the day

of Swami NammAzhwAr's birthday ,we will reflect on

selected excerpts from his Thiruvaimozhi paasurams ,

which establish and celebrate the Parathvam of

Sriman NaarAyaNan unambiguosly .After establishing

Sriman NaarAyaNan as the means and goal ,AzhwAr

performed saraNAgathi to Him and showed us

out of his infinite mercy as an AchAryan ,the way

to perform prapatthi and attain mOksha siddhi .

 

The first 32 paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi(TVM) have

been identified by AchArya RaamAnujA , Swami

Desikan and others as the essence of Brahma Soothrams

and the Upanishads .AchArya Hrudhaya soothrakArar

through his 65th soothram has declared that

Sri Bhagavath RaamAnujA intrepreted Brahma SoothrAs

in his Sri Bhaashyam completely in accordance

with the letter and spirit of Swami NammAzhwAr's

Sri Sookthis .

 

In his first decad , Swami NammAzhwAr celebrated

the Parathvam (Supermacy ) of the Lord.In the second decad ,

he blessed us with his upadEsam about the ways to

receive the Lord's paramAnugraham . In the third

decad , he shares his own anubhavams of the Lord ,

Sriman NaarAyaNan .

 

Through the first 32 paasurams of TVM , Swami NammAzhwAr

has explained to us clearly the Jagath KaaraNathvam of Sriman

NaarAyaNan , His distinction from the chEthanams (sentients )

and the achEthanams (insentients ), His saguNa Brahma svarUpam ,

His relation with the chethanams and achethanams (Sarira-

Saariri relation ), His infinite splendour and auspicious

qualities .

 

Here are some excerpts for the First 32 Paasurams of TVM:

 

1. uyarvaRa uyar nalam udayavan =He is the Lord , who possesses

anantha klayANa guNams that can not be surpassed (TVM 1.1.1)

 

2.inanilan =He has no equal or superior

poRiyuNarvavaiyilan = His full splendour can not be

comprehended by the human mind .(TVM:1.1.2)

 

3. aamavaiyAi ninRa avarE = all are but aspects of

His splendour ( sarvam kalvidham Brahmma ),(TVM:1.1.4).

 

4. avyavai thORum udanmisai uyiryena)---> He pervades every thing

yengum ParanthuLAn --TVM :1.1.7 ) in and out .He is the soul

of all things and beings.

 

5.Paraparan(TVM:1.1.8)= He is the parAth Paran , PurushOtthaman

 

6. In the second ThiruvAimozhi of the first patthu

(TVM Paasurams 12-22 ) , NammAzhwAr gives us exquisite

upadEsams .

 

7.Renounce all things except the Lord ;then surrender

your soul (aathama samarpaNam ) to the Lord ; He is

indeed the actual owner of that soul of yours .Banishing

all desires and performing prapatthi to Him , you will

secure Parama Padham without doubt ( TVM: 1.2.1)

 

8. Eradicate your ego and the sense of possessive

arrogance. banish form your heart the feeling of

svathanthram (independent existence ) without Him.

Then surrender unto Him to achieve mOksham .(TVM : 1.2.3)

 

9. He is the soul of all souls , but the dhOshams

of the souls do not taint Him . (TVM: 1.2.4)

 

10. Kaivalyam or AathmAnubhavam (soul realization )

is an obstcle to God realization. Hence abandon it

and with the correct attitude of total subservience

to the Lord , surrender your soul unto Him .(TVM:1.2.5)

 

11. He , the most merciful One , will shower His

mercy on One and all, once they become His thru

SaraNAgathi at His lotus feet.(TVM:1.2.6)

 

12.With the three faculties of Manas , Vaak and Kaayam

serve Him guided by the knowledge that you are His

sEsha bhUthan (dependent servant and He is the sarva Seshi

(Supreme Master).(TVM: 1.2.8 deals with sEshathva anushtAnam )

 

13. AshtAkshara MahAthmyam : TVM-1.2.10

Countless indeed are the radiant Jeevans . Their

attributes are beyond counting .Our Lord has all

these JeevAs and His anantha kayANa guNams as His

aspects (prakArAs ).All of these are subservient

to Him as sarva sEshi. His matchless name ,

NaarAyaNan denotes all these doctrines.

Throw yourself at His feet and cling to them

always. Those auspicious and powerful feet

are your sole protection .

 

Third Decade : Anubhavams of AzhwAr

************************************

 

14.Soulabhya Kaashtai : TVM-1.3.1

" YetthiRam uralinOdi iNainthirunthEnkia yeLivE "

The limits of soulabhyam demonsrtated by the Lord ,

who is SarvEsvaran, who let Himself tied up a

small knotted rope by His mother and behaved

as though He was frightened and helpless .Over

the thought of the Lord's being tied up , AzhwAr

went into a trance for six months .That is the depth

of his Bhagavath anubhavam of soulabhya Kaashtai .

 

15. nanRezhil NaaraNan --nanRena nalam seyvathu

avanidai nammudai naaLE ( TVM: 1.3.7 ;the 29th

TVM paasuram ): Remember the anantha kalyANa guNams

of Sriman NaarAyaNan and cultivate devotion and

practise service ( kaimkaryam ) to Him and make that

your primary goals of life.And start this immediately ,

since life is so short like the life of the bubble

on the surface of water .

 

In the continuing Paasurams of His ThiruvAimozhi ,

he appealed to us: "iRai sErmin , iRai uLLUha "

( Worship Sriman NaarAyaNan; Meditate on Him ).

 

He confessed to the Lord : " yaanum nee thAnE "

( All this prapancham and its beings and things

are You. What I am is You as Your sEsha bhUthan ).

 

He celebrated his blissful experience of Him :

"veevil inbham ; veevil seeran " ( Infinite indeed

is His matchless bliss; infinite indeed is the majesty

of His attributes ).

 

He reminded himself of his relationship to the Lord:

" adiyEnuLLAn udaluLLAn padiyE ithuvenRuraikkalAm

padiyanallan Paramparan " ( To the omnipotent ,

omniscient Sriman NaarAyaNan , I am His subservient ,

dependent servant (sEsahan )and a happy ,

contented one at that ).

 

AzhwAr thus shows us the way to Parama Padham ,

from where there is no return ( na punarAvrutthi)

and the bliss of Saayujyam at Sri Vaikuntam and the

parama PurushArtham of nithya kaimkaryam to

Sriman NaarAyaNan there .

 

May Swami NammAzhwAr bless us all on this

special day and accelerate our journey

to a clearer understanding of the Tattva-

Hitha -PurushArtham doctrines of VisishtAdvaitham

and life as PrapannAs here on His leelA vibhUthi

and at the end of our earthly journey bless us

to reach His supreme abode and the enjoyment

of the "anthamil pErinbham " there through

nithy kaimkaryam along with Him .

 

NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan