Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS-43)

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Namaste.

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’,

from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

V. Krishnamurthy

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

43

(Digest of pp.982 - 987 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

The very deed of ambaa in keeping some people on the border

of duality and non-duality is probably for the purpose of

making them see the Cosmic Play of Dissolution. Naturally

such people will not be engulfed in that play of

Dissolution, because they are themselves privileged

spectators of the play! These are the “I-am-one-with-You”

people (of shloka 30). Even when it is said in shloka 26

that He (Shiva) is the only one who survives the praLaya,

the “I-am-one-with-You” people who are those in

identification with Shakti are, by the very reason of their

being very privileged spectators of the Pralaya, are not

consumed by the pralaya. They are one with Her. There is no

contradiction between the shlokas.

 

This concept of ‘being consumed by pralaya’ needs further

clarification. Though we use the word ‘Shiva’ generally, so

long as He is the ‘Kameshvara’ or the attributeless

‘shivam’ He cannot be consumed by pralaya. But when He is

one of the divine triad, as the Rudra in charge of

Dissolution, or the Maheshvara in charge of the ‘tirodhAna’

function, or the ‘SadAshiva’ of the anugraha function, he

will not be there after the pralaya, because there is no

pancha-kRtyam (the five Cosmic Functions) once the pralaya

is over. The Kameshvara who is non-distinct from ambaa, and

the nirguNa-shivam which is the substratum of them both are

the only ones which are there. The eternal truth and

existence of nirguNa-satyaM need not have to be

re-emphasized or re-affirmed. So when we talk of who

survives the pralaya it is only ambaa and the

Kameshvara-shiva who is One with Her. This is what is

referred to in Shloka 26 when it says “viharati sati

tvat-patirasau” (meaning, ‘Your husband alone is in the

play’). Read along with the word “para-brahma-mahishhi”

(Shloka 97), we should have meant only the para-brahman by

the word ‘tvat-patiH’ in #26. But in the case of

para-brahman, there is no question of any action like

‘playing or sporting’ (“viharati”); that is why the

interpretation of ‘Kameshvara-shiva’ (who is non-distinct

from ambaa) for “tvat-patiH” in Shloka 26.

 

In the shloka where it talks of the

‘I-am-one-with-You’-people it says even the ‘wealth or

prosperity’ of Shiva Himself is nothing before them. With

great gymnastics of sound effect it says:

“trinayana-samRddhiM triNayataH” (that is, even the majesty

of the three-eyed One is like straw before the wind). Why

was it said like this? Shiva might be Ishvara; but the

‘aishvarya’ (Wealth) that gave Him that name, came from the

parA-shakti. Without Her action, there is no Shiva, no

Wealth of any kind for Him. Even if there was anything in

terms of authority or jurisdiction, He shares it with so

many other divinities to each of whom She has allotted

responsibilities as well as the associated authority and

wealth of Power. On the other hand, the

‘I-am-one-with-You’ people are one with Her and so they

enjoy all Her aishvarya in fullness. So they are the

greater ones!

 

I must warn you here. Let us not be carried away by this

poetic devotional exaggeration. There is no separate

identity for either of Ishvara and devi. In fact what is

Hers is His and what is His is Hers.

 

A final subtle point. I just talked about the greatness of

the ‘I-am-one-with-You’-people. But notice that they are

not saying ‘You are one with me’; that is where there is

also a modesty revealed. One of the mahA-vakyas is ‘aham

brahma asmi’ that is, ‘I am brahman’. Another is: ‘ayam

Atma brahman’, that is, ‘This Atman, in other words, what

is cognised as jIvAtman, is nothing but brahman’. These two

mahA-vAkyas and the essence of ‘I-am-one-with-You’ of

shloka 30 are all the same. However, those who look only

at the word-sequence of the mahAvAkyas, are likely to

misunderstand them as saying : “The person who is in this

jIva-bhava is calling himself brahman’ – instead of

correctly understanding: “It is brahman that is this

jivAtma”.

 

But when the mahAvakya comes forth from the mouth of the

Guru it creates no such confusion. Because it says: “That

is what you are” and clearly implies ‘That has become you’.

In fact it indicates “Without you there is nothing to be

called ‘I’”. And thus modesty is automatically oozing out

here. This is what the conviction ‘I am one with You’ also

disseminates. Along with it, there is also the grandeur of

the association with the aishvarya of the Almighty. All

these ideas have gone into the Acharya’s expressive line

‘trinayana-samRddhiM triNayataH’.

 

The bottom line is this: The jIva which is in identity with

the Mother Goddess and the Lord who is non-distinct from

Her, both are ever there.

 

I referred to shloka 26 above. It talks about how when

everything and every one gets dissolved in the pralaya,

only the Lord Shiva along with ambaa are remaining in

sport. It mentions the disappearance of the others one by

one. The Creator BrahmA reaches his end. Vishnu arrives at

a dead stop. The God of Death (“kInAsha”) himself dies (“

vinAshaM bajati”). The Divine Treasurer (“dhanadaH”) also

perishes without any help from all his wealth (“nidhanam

yaati”). Notice the gymnastics in the poetry here, which

describes the gymnastic sport of the divine couple during

the process of Dissolution of the Universe. Even during

such a great pralaya (mahA-samhAra), ambaal’s spouse

(“patiH”) alone survives! Reason: Your tATanka-mahimA.

This is what is taken up in shloka 28.

 

Thus spake the Paramacharya

To be Continued

 

PraNAms to all advaitins and Devotees of Mother Goddess

Profvk

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html