AndAl tiruppAvai - "vedamanaittukkum vittu"

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contd ..

"nArAyananE nammakkE parai taruvan" - we saw how vedAnta, gItA and this

verse give the same meaning. Now let us see how AndAl explains something

more in the same verse.

 

In chapter 2 , 12th verse Krishna preached the difference between the

"Reals", paramAtma and jIvAtma. In his caramaslOka - chapter 18, 66th verse

- he says "mAm Ekam saranam vraja" , meaning - surrender "only" to me. By

specifying "mAm Ekam - only me", whom does he negate. Is it the various

others means like karma yOga or gnAna yOga, or other deities like brahma or

indra. Not both. Because, by saying "sarva dharmAn parityajya" he advices to

abandon all the other means. By saying "mAm saranam vraja" he advices us to

abandon the other gods. When both these are cleared then what does he mean

by adding the word "Ekam - only me"

 

"ittAl swIkArattil upAya bhAvattai tavirkiradu". This is a very subtle

meaning in our sampradaya. Even when we surrender absolutely to the Lord,

there will be a small feeling at one corner of our mind that "WE

SURRENDERED" to the Lord i.e. we feel that "SaranAgati is a way I have

selected to reach the Lord". This feeling is dangerous. We must be devoid of

this feeling also. We must understand that "the Lord himself made me

surrender".

 

TirumAlai 38th verse - "kAmbara talai Siraittu".

Here "talai Siraittu" would mean abandoning other means like karma or gnAna

yOga. "kAmbara" would mean without even root of the hair - without even the

feeling that "I surrendered".

 

Swami Desikan beautifully explains this as "swAmin swaSEsham swavaSam

swabharatvE nirbharam, swadattam swadIya swartham swasmin nyasyasi mAm

swayam". "Me - your servitude, your controlled,your protected, body given by

you, knowledge given by you,for your sake, you made to surrender in your

lotus feet" Is there anything which is left to us here ?

 

Nammalwar's divine words are " en unarvinulle iruttinEn - aduvum avanadu

innarule" - that I meditate and focus on my Lord- is also due to his grace

and not my effort.

 

This is meant by "Ekam " in gIta. All these meanings where just included in

AndAl's verse by a single syllable "E" - "nArAyananE". If she has said

"nArAyanan parai taruvAn" it would not have negated our thinking that we

surrendered. By adding the syllable "E" - (Evakaram - avadhAranam), it means

"He and only He - not even the SaranAgati which I perform, would be the

means for attaining His feet"

 

The same meaning is explained in the following also :

nAganamiSai nambiran saran"E" saran,

mAm"Eva" ye prapadyante,

Arenakku nin pAdam"E" saranagattandu ozhindAi.

 

Sastra and gIta have put these meanings (difference between jIva and para,

that the Lord fulfills desires,and that the Lord only is the means not even

our thinking) in different places. But our incomparable andAl has neatly

explained all these meanings in just 4 words in the same place "nArAyananE

nammakkE parai taruvAn"

 

andAl tiruvadigalE Saranam.

 

 

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