Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari(DPDS-81)

[Guest guest]

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 -

81

(Digest of pp.1307 - 1321 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

(Shloka 100 Continued).

The great Acharya always does something different from

other poets. Usually they all end their work with a

phala-shruti – a listing of all the good things that will

accrue by the reading, recitation and repetition of the

stotra just finished. Here our author is himself a unique

combination of the deity of the stotra and Her own Lord.

So we would expect the last shloka of the stotra to be a

magnificent phala-shruti that soars far higher than the

ordinary. But what do we find?

 

Instead of trying to soar higher, he actually makes himself

the humblest of the humble. “Why talk of phala-shruti for

such an apology of a stotra, that has just been done by Her

Grace? What accrues to whomsoever that worships Her has

already been told in shloka #99. Let me stop there.

Whatever happens in the world, whether highly commendable

or not, all that is founded on Her Will. If everything

turns out to be commendable then that may not contribute to

the variety that is the spice of Her leela. That is why

perhaps She encourages and prompts some low-level

achievements also, for the very purpose of highlighting

really higher ones! This stotra is one of such promptings

of Hers. She is the Source of everything and so this is

also Her child. And I am placing Her child at Her own

feet.” This is the spirit of the final shloka #100. In

shloka #27 the Acharya laid himself at Her feet – that was

his Atma-samarpaNaM. Now he is placing this child of Hers

at Her own divine feet.

 

Thus he does not show it off as something worthy of being

submitted to Her as an offering. He thinks that it is

absurd to make such a submission. This absurdity reminds

him of three other absurdities that are current in the

world. And this is what makes the final shloka.

 

The word ‘divasa-kara’ means one who produces the day

(‘divasa’), therefore, the Sun. When a deity in the form of

an idol of worship is located in the innermost sanctity of

a garbha-griha in a temple then a waving of camphor flame

makes sense because it really lights up the dark sanctum

sanctorum and brightens up the deity with all its

decorations. But what can a poor camphor flame do to

brilliant sunlight? In fact it is the other way. The

brilliance of sunlight actually dampens any light that may

be emanating from the camphor flame! “The devi is the

fullest Effulgence of the Shakti that is Speech (‘Vak’).

Before that Light, what can this poor stotra of mine do in

terms of lighting up anything?” This is the attitude in

which the Acharya is submitting his work at Her feet and

compares his action to the absurd action of lighting up

camphor and showing it as an offering to the Sun-God!

 

Every time he talks of the ‘hot’ Sun he immediately refers

to the ‘cold’ moon! Here also the second example of

absurdity (2nd line of the shloka) is about the moon.

Worship is being done to the Moon-God. In any ritual

worship, there are usually three offerings by means of

water. One is ‘pAdyaM’ (that which is offered for washing

the feet). The second is ‘arghyaM’ (that which is offered

in the hands). The third is ‘AcamanIyaM’ (that which is

offered to be taken in by the mouth). Technically,

‘arghyaM’ means “that which is valued most”. Therefore that

formality has a special value. Now in one such pUjA that

the Acharya might have witnessed, probably something like

the following took place.

 

There are two gem-stones talked about in ancient

literature. They are Moon-stone and Sun-stone. Probably

these were there in ancient times and are now extinct. The

sunstone draws into itself the rays of the Sun and radiates

heat. Almost like a concentration through a lens. The

moonstone is just the opposite. It absorbs moonlight into

itself and pours out cool water! Now what some one did in

the worship of the Moon was to take that water poured out

by the moonstone and offer it to the Moon-God as an

‘arghyaM’! ‘candra-upala’ is moonstone. ‘upala’ is stone.

And the moon itself is called ‘sudhAsUti’ because moon is

said to pour out nectar by its light. ‘sudhA’ is nectar.

 

There is a gradation of absurdities in the two absurdities

cited. Camphor has an independent existence outside of the

Sun. The only dependence of camphor on the Sun may be that

camphor may not light up if it is continuously exposed to

an absence of any light or heat. On the other hand, the

case of the moonstone pouring out water is totally

dependent on the moon, because it is the moonlight that

makes it give out water. Thus the absurdity of using the

water from the moonstone to offer arghyaM to the Moon is a

greater absurdity than the camphor flame being shown to the

Sun!.

 

The third absurdity (from the third line of the shloka) is

still more absurd. And the Acharya must have witnessed it

many a time because he has travelled from coast to coast in

the entire country. For example he must have seen it in

Rameshvaram where people dip in the Ocean and offer worship

to the Ocean-God Varuna. Any ritual worship has, as one of

its sixteen formalities, a ritual bathing, called

‘abhishhekaM’. How does one do ‘abhishhekaM’ to the ocean?

Is it not funny? ‘Abhishhekam’ to the Ocean! But they all

do it. The Acharya himself must have done it when he went

to Rameshvaram. What do they do? They take some drops of

water from the ocean itself and sprinkle it on the ocean

with the mantra beginning with : “Apo-hishhTA mayo bhuvaH.

(Oh Water! You are conferring bliss) ....”. ‘If millions of

people over the centuries have done this kind of worship of

Varuna during their bath in the ocean, then why can’t I’,

says the Acharya, ‘take a few words from that ocean of Vak

(Speech) and offer it to Herself, the Goddess of all

Speech?’.

 

The word ‘sauhityaM’ in the third line of the shloka, is

generally taken to mean the ritual act of ‘tarpanam’

(offering a little palmful of water) but the word actually

means ‘that which is most beneficial or pleasant’. In our

country which is generally hot, the most pleasant thing is

to give a bath. So I extended its meaning to ‘abhishekam’

or bath, in the pUjA to the Ocean. Anyway it increases the

intensity of the absurdity still further and so suits the

context well!

 

Look at the gradation among the three examples. The Sun and

Camphor are two distinct entities. The water oozing out of

the moonstone gem, though caused by moonlight, still is

different from the moon. But in the case of water being

taken out of the sea and being offered to that sea of water

itself, there is no medium involved; the water is the same.

So the third example brings you to the peak of absurdity.

And this quite naturally fits with the attitude of the

Acharya when he thinks that what he has composed is nothing

but the words of ambaal Herself. She is addressed as ‘vAcAm

janani’ -- meaning, the origin, the source, of everything

that has anything to do with Speech -- in the fourth

line. “What has been done is what You Yourself have

composed in Your own words. It is all Yours. There is

nothing of mine there”. This is how the Acharya makes a

complete surrender. He does not even use the words

‘samarpaNaM’ or ‘arpaNaM’ meaning dedication. But it is

clear that he has offered his entire self to the Goddess.

The jIvAtmA has totally negated itself and there is only

the paramAtmA thereafter. By means of the bhakti stotra of

Soundaryalahari the Acharya has shown us what it is to

reach the Self-Realisation of Oneness with the Ultimate.

 

And, most of all, he shows to us the peak of modesty.

“vidyA-vinaya-sampanna” say our ShAstras. Here is the

colossal example of vidyA (Learning) and vinaya (Modesty).

If nothing else, we should learn this from the Acharya. His

advaita lesson may not penetrate into our head. But this

lesson in modesty that he teaches us should. Any time we

feel heavy in our head, the thought must come: ‘Whatever I

think I am is Her Grace’. And that thought will help us

lighten the burden of I-ness in the head. Even the inhaling

breath is given by Her; it is Hers. If only it had been

ours we would never die!

 

If we thus start living as an instrument in the hands of

ambaal, it will lead us to an advaita state of merging in

Her. This lesson of being nothing but an instrument in Her

hands and negating oneself as the doer is what this shloka

tells us as the final teaching of all brahma-vidyA.

Because it is this lesson and the consequent living of it

(‘abhyAsa’) that takes us on to an advaita-anubhava

(experience of non-duality). This is the phala-shruti that

is unsaid here by the Acharya. It is the phala (reward,

fruit) that asks for no phala! Only when there is a ‘doer’

there is a ‘phala for the doer’. When the ‘doer’ himself

has been negated, there is no question of ‘phala’.

 

How does one negate and dissolve oneself and be only Her

instrument ? Only by thinking of Her. We do not even know

what the Universal parAshakti is like? So thinking of that

parA-shakti is an impossibility. But here in this

Soundaryalahari our Acharya has brought Her to us in a

beautiful form from head to foot. Her form itself is

nothing but Beauty and he has added beauty to it by his

beautiful play of words. Looking at, and thinking about,

that beauty from head to foot, in all the details that the

Acharya has brought to us, is the only antidote for the ego

in which we are all steeped in. She has blessed us all with

our intellects and with the facility to use our speech

and mind. Use all this in Her favour as a decoration. What

She gave us, give it back to Her. That will kill our ego.

Not only speech, but any art or science that we are capable

of -- make it as an ornament for Her. In that attitude of

humility every activity of ours will take us up the

spiritual ladder. Whatever we then do will become a sAdhanA

to reach Her.

 

When one thus merges in the flood of Her beauty through

these delightful stanzas of Soundaryalahari, maybe he will

himself accrue all those qualities of beauty. Maybe not.

But one thing is certain. In the eyes of the world he will

appear to have become so endowed with all the beauties of

the Mother Herself. For he has taken the nectar of Wisdom

and the Milk of Love that flows from Her and so he should

naturally be bubbling with that divine bliss that She has

given him.

 

He might have a bald head. But the world will be attracted

to him as if he has the “kirITaM te haimaM” (cf. #42)

quality! His face may have all kinds of distortions. But

others would gather round him to see his

“vadana-soundarya-lahari” (cf. #44). Maybe he has squint

eyes; but it would be “dara-dalita-nIlotpalaM” (cf. #57)

for the others. His uncouth mouth will appear to surpass

the beauty of “vidruma-latA” or “bimba” (# 62). Even when

his body is disproportionate and unattractive, because of

the bhakti and Divine Love with which he is full he would

shine so well as to be said: “jayati karuNA kAcid-aruNA”

(cf. #93). Every movement of his would benefit the rest of

the world as to say there is nothing better than this

“lakshmI-caraNa-tala-lAkshhA-rasaM” or “nava-nalina-rAgaM”

(cf. #71). Every step that he takes would make us melt in

respect; and that is the “karaNa-caraNa-shhaT-caraNaM”-type

(cf. #90) of jIva which merges in that lotus feet of Hers.

Thus one who dips into the stotra that is Soundaryalahari,

would become ultimately a veritable Soundarya-lahari (flood

of beauty)! There is no doubt that, with the blessings of

our Acharya, The Mother of the Universe to whom we bow in

prostration, by means of these Soundaryalahri shlokas,

will gradually, but steadily, lead our Atman to become,

ultimately, one with that Ocean of Bliss.!

Concluded.

 

Thus spake the Paramacharya

 

Aum Shri Matre namaH / tvadIyAbhir-Angila-vAgbhiH janani

idam guror-bhAshhaNAkhyaM gadya-vyAkhyanam gurvanugrahAt

samkshhiptaM samAptam ca / lokAs-samastAs-sukhino bhavantu

// Aum tat sat //

 

Salutations to The Auspicious Mother. Oh Mother! By the

Grace of the Guru (The Paramacharya), this prose commentary

named ‘Discourses of the Guru’ has now been summarised

and also completed, in words of English which are Your

own. May all the Universes turn out to be happy. Aum tat

sat.

 

PraNAms and Thanks 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