Prapanna ParithrANam 10

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Is Wealth a Protection?

 

We have seen how varios relations and devathas cannot protect us form this

samsara. Wealth helps us accomplish so many things in this life. Even an

uneducated person is well-respected if he is wealthy. Does this wealth has the

capacity to protect us?

 

Let us dwell into what Swamy PL has to say about this:

 

"Artham rakshagam endru nirUbithAl kalvan kolluthal, kAmam kolluthal, kOpam

kolluthal, nyAthi kolluthal, vyAthi kolluthal,

pirarOdu ethirittu thannai thAnaE vishapakshanam seydhu mudithukkoluthal

seykaiyAlaE, arthamum rakshagamAga mAttAthu..."

 

Swamy PL discusses various case scenarios where wealth will create a lot of

problem to the soul.

 

kalvan kolluthal

More the wealth we have, more it is prone to be looted . It does not stop just

with the case of thieves. In case, the government comes up with the rule that

none of the citizen should save more than a stipulated amount of money, then

there would be a necessity to surrender the money to the governement. Not just

that. In those days, the amount of wealth was propotional to the amount of

dhAyam one used to have from the fields. If one tried to store the extra dhAyam,

there was a chance that mouse would eat them off.

 

Swamy Vedanta Desikar wrote VairAgya PanchAsat when he was offered with wealth

by his friend VidyAranyar. He points to Varadar as the one and only property.

SImilarly, Swamy KUrathAzhwan left all his wealth to join Swamy Ramanujar's

gOshti. Our AchArya Purushas considered jnAna, bhakti vairAgyam as the only

property from their ancestors.

 

kAmam kolluthal

kondaattum kulambunaivum thamaRuRRaar vizhunNidhiyum,

vandaar_pooNG kuzhalaaLum manaiyozhiya vuyirmaaydhal, kandaaRREn

ulagiyaRkai...... (ThiruvAymozhi 4.9.3)

 

kAmam has even worse impact than thieves. Azhwar points to the fact that this

person will not even have the strength in his body, but will be a total slave to

kAmam. He will get flowers for his lover. He will not be able to enjoy, but the

fly that sits on her hair will be enjoying that. Still, he will not stop

spending money for this insatiable desire despite the fact that he has become

old.

Instead, the same Azhwar recommends something else before he gets old..

kiLaroLiyiLamai keduvathanmunnam, vaLaroLimaayOn maruviyakOyil,

vaLariLampozilsooz maaliruncOlai, thaLarvilaraagil saarvathusathirE

(ThiruvAymozhi 2.10.1)

He asks all of us in samsara to visit ThirumAlirunchOlai before we get old.

Similarly, Thirumangai Azhwar asks us to visit Badri before we get old.

nYathi kolluthal, kOpam kolluthal

This aspect to refers to fight among brothers for the protperty. The consequence

of this is very much evident form Mahabharata. Azhwar refers to the wealth as

fire, and hence recommends us not to embrace it.

vYathi kolluthal

This case is very much relevant to the current age. None of us can get treated

for even a small ailment without paying for that. Thondaradippodi Azhwar pleads

that his life gets wasted with all the aspects including vidyA, sleep, sickness,

age factor and other materialistic aspects, and hence requests RanganAthar to

take him away from this samsara.

vEthanool piraayam nooRu manisar_thaam pukuva rElum, paathiyu muRankip pOkum

ninRathil pathinai yaaNdu,

pEdhaipaa lakana thaakum piNipasi moopputh thunpam, aathalaal piRavi vENdEn

arankamaa nakaru LaanE (Thirumaalai 3)

Visha paksham Seydhu mudithukkoluthal

This case scenario is also read about in present days in news papers. People

sopmetimes get involved in increasing their materialistic lifestyle by borrowing

money. Sometimes it might soi happen that the person may not be able to pay the

interest and hence gets submerged in total liability. To escape from this

situation, he tried ending up his life with poison.

Here again, Azhwar suggests a way for them..

adisEr mudiyina raagiyarasargaL thaamthozha, idisEr murasangaL muRRaththiyamba

irunthavar,

podisEr thugaLaayp pOvargaLaadhalin nokkena kadisEr thuzhaaymudik kaNNan

kazhalgaL ninaiminO. (ThiruvAymozhi 4.1.3)

Infact, Azhwar talks about the distress caused by wealth in all the ten pasurams

in this pathikam. Even a king will come to a stage where he will become a dust ,

and hence asks us to grab the feet of Kannan before we actually get to that

stage. Indra, because of his ahamkAra was turned to a beggar by DurvAsa. We saw

this story while discussing about him.

Thus, Swamy PL has shown us that even wealth cannot protect us from samsara. The

only kadan that we as SriVaishnavas can have is also advocated by Azhwar in the

following pasuram..

vEnga dangaLmeym mElvinai muRRavum, thaangaL thangatku nallana vEseyvaar,

vEnga datthuRai vaarkku namavenna laanga damai,a thusumanN thaarkatkE

(ThiruvAymozhi 3.3.6)

 

adiyEn,

ramanan