Part 20: "There is Salvation in numbers" - The Theme of "satsangh" in TiruppAvai

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

(23) "yAm vandha kAriyam araaindhu arUL…"

 

This expression literally means "Inquiry into the

purpose of our visit".

 

As human beings none of us has a clear idea of the

true purpose of our sojourn on earth. We know not why,

whence or whither we came visiting into this world.

Nor do we know why, whence or whither we shall exit

it. Not knowing our real purpose in life, often we lay

to waste our existence in pursuit of trifles and the

evanescent things of life -- pelf, power, vanity,

wine, women… It is a sad predicament indeed and as the

poet Shelley mused on it:

 

"We look before and after

And pine for what is not…

Our sweetest songs are those

That tell of saddest thought".

 

Vedanta, the way of the Veda, illumines our path in

life. It uncovers for Man the true purpose of

existence and counsels him on the right choices he

must make in life to advance towards his goals.

 

Firstly, one must choose wisely between the 3 sources

of joy that the world has to offer. The first is

"aihikam" -- all the enchanting and glamorous things

of life that offer quick but transient gratification.

The second is "amushmikam" -- the things in this world

like wealth, family, work and knowledge -- that are

worthy of strife and effort since they are sources of

enduring and long-term value and joy to us. But Man

must never lose sight of the third source of Joy in

life -- "nissrEyas" -- since it is the one and only

source of joy that is everlasting in nature. It is Joy

the human soul truly craves more than an other but it

is available only in the realm of the divine.

 

Secondly, Man must carefully balance too the four

principal goals of life. These are what are called the

4 "purushArthA-s" in Vedanta --"dharma", "artha",

"kAma" and "mOksha". (IN Tamil, these 4

"purushArthA-s" are commonly translated as "aram",

"poruL", "inbam" and "veedu"). The art of Living

consists in striking perfect balance and harmony

between these 4 drivers of human life. "Dharma" is

right conduct. It is everything that a Man must do

within his life-span by way of answering calls of duty

--- duty to himself, to those around him and to

society at large. "Artha" is all of Man's productive

and gainful effort. It is what enables Man to give

back to the world whatever he may have taken away from

it for his own benefit. It is the unwritten "social

contract" through which Man settles account with the

material world. "Kama" is the sum of all of Man's

desires and aspirations in life. Extreme care is to be

exercised in cultivating the right kind of desires.

Equal care and circumspection is required of Man to

control and direct these desires along right channels

of living. In the conquest of "kAma" lies the key to

Man securing the fourth and ultimate goal of life --

"mOksha", the deliverance from re-birth and Man's

ascent unto God.

 

Life in the world poses Man the third and yet another

tremendous challenge of purpose. It lies in the

perennial moral dilemma he must encounter throughout

his living days. It is the dilemma that is best

described in the 'Katopanishad', in the famous

dialogue between the child Nachiketas and the God of

Death, Yama. In the Upanishad Yama asks Nachiketas to

make up his mind about his true aspiration in life --

is it going to be "shrEyas" or "prEyas"? The latter

represents the promise of bliss in the mundane world.

The joys of worldly existence are countless and the

avenues for human self-gratification almost infinite.

The former, "shrEyas", in contrast, has none of the

allure of "prEyas" but it is pursuit of a far higher

order of Bliss -- the eternal bliss there is in

"Atma-vichAra" and "Atma-samarpaNa". It is pursuit of

riches within God's own domain.

 

The phrase "yAm vandha kAriyam ArAindhu aruL.." in the

TiruppAvai encompasses all three dimensions of the

subject of Man's purpose and aspiration in Life -- all

the dimensions of "aihikam", "amushmikam",

"nissrEyasam", "dharma",

"artha", "kAma", "mOksha", "prEyas" and "shrEyas".

 

A true 'satsangh' is fully and deeply appreciative of

its Vedantic destiny and the 'aayarpAdi' girls in the

TiruppAvai are the best example of such a 'satsangh'.

Their extraordinary expression of "yAm vandha kAriyam

ArAindhu…" is ample proof.

 

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

(to be continued)

 

Rgds,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

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