geethA sAstramum nedunthAndaka sAstramum-22

[Guest guest]

Sri Parthasarathi thunai

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

Sri Vara Vara munayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

According to the ramanuja sampradayam there are actually three

tattvas. The tattvatraya vibhAgam has been clearly stated time and

again by our dear geethacharyan also. The first step to divine

knowledge is clearly understanding the three tattvas.

 

“kshEtrajgyam chApi mAm viththi sarvakshEtrEshu bhAratha I

kshEtra kshEtragyayOr jnAnam yat tat jnAnam matham mama” (13-2)

 

[Oh! the one born in the bharatha kula! Understand that I am the athma

of both the sareeram (body) and the kshEtrajgyan, the jeevan. The

chit and the achit (sareeram and jeevatma) are different and I am the

athma to both and hence different from both of them. Understanding

these three tattvas in the appropriate manner is my philosophy]

 

On understanding the three tattvas one starts to realise the supremacy

of the divine lord. Once we understand his paratvam we try to get

away from him considering him to be not reachable by us. But then

the sastras and the words of azhvars come to our rescue by making us

understand that he is sarva sulabhan though his is sarva sankalpan

and sarva sakthan. Slowly getting involved with his kalyana gunas we

start developing a bhakthi towards him. We may think, “Why didn’t

that bhakthi grow till today and what has been an hindrance to it?”

GeethAcharyan answers,

 

“yO mAmajamanAdhim cha vEththi lOka mahEsvaram I

asammoodasa marthEshu sarvapApai: pramuchyathE II” (10-3)

 

He is the Ishvaran ‘ajam’ who is birthless, different from baddha

jeevatmas, ‘anAdhim ajam’ he has been birthless forever so different

from the muktha jeevas, ‘lOka mahesvaram’ thereby he is different

from the mukthAthmas also. In the above sloka, Lord Krishna says,

“The jeeva who realises that I am different from all the chit and

achit and that I am birthless for ever and that I am the supreme will

get realised from all the sins that prevent the growth of bhakthi in

his minds.

 

So as all the sins that has hindered our bhakthi is removed by

emperuman, now we start involving ourselves in the divine kalyana

gunas of bhagavan and immerse in bhakthi. This bhakthi develops in

three stages, para bhakthi, para jnanam and parama bhakthi.

 

What is para bhakthi, para jnAnam and parama bhakthi?

 

The first stage of bhakthi is called as para bhakthi. Our

poorvacharyas say that the first three thiruvandhAdhis of the mudal

azhvars symbolise the three states of bhakthi. Poigaiazhvar started

his prabhandam, “vayyam tagaliyA vArkadalE neiyAga vaiyya kadirON

vilakkAga seyya sudarAzhi yAn adikkE sootinEn solmAlai edarAzhi

neengugavE endru” This is para bhakthi, the state where azhvar

realises the existence of other objects in the world and attributes

the same to emperuman. This azhvar lights a lOka deepam. The second

azhvar bhoodhaththAzhvar sings, “anbE tagaliyA ArvamE neiyAga enburugu

sindhai edu thiriyA nanburugi jnAna sudar EttrinEn nAranarkku jnAna

thamizh purindha nAn” This azhvar forgets about the world. Why

should I search for emperuman elsewhere when he is very well inside

me? So he lit a lamp with love as the lamp, his interest to see him

as the ghee, his thoughts/mind as the wig, and thereby lit a jnAna

deepam. This is the second step or para jnAnam. When the first two

have lighted two lamps shouldn’t the third azhvar also light a lamp?

No he doesn’t. His bhakyam is that in the brightness of the first two

lamps lit by the first two azhvars he is able to see emperuman

“thirukkandEn pon mEni kandEn thigazhum arukkan aniniramum kandEn

serukkilarum ponnAzhi kandEn purisangam kai kandEn ennAzhi vannan pAl

endru” This is the final state of parama bhakthi. So the bhakthi that

slowly starts growing on listening to the kalyana gunas of emperuman

finally reaches the state of parama bhakthi. This is the state

attained by all the azhvars, “jnAnam kanindha bhakthi”. On reaching

this state we fully understand the relationship between emperuman and

us. He is our father “endhai” calls thirumangai azhvar with great

love.

 

Now that we have realised our relationship with the supreme lord/our

dear father what will be our next reaction. What will a lost child

who has found his father after a long time really do on seeing his

father? Yes. Fall to his feet. Beg pardon for all the mistakes

committed and pray for his support and love forever. But will the

father ever think about the past instead he will say, “leave the

past. Now that I have got you back I am filled with ecstasy so let us

both cherish these moments of togetherness forever”. Yes the lord is

the one who feels more on the separation from the jeevatma for so

long so he really cherishes the moment when even a single jeeva comes

to his feet. So what happens next we will enjoy in the next posting.

 

(To be continued)

 

Azhvar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

 

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan