"maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu" (PART 9)

[Guest guest]

“kaama”: Friend or Enemy of the Human

spirit?

 

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Despite all the negative impressions associated with

“kaama” in popular perception or imagination, in the

Vedantic school of human psychology, the 3rd great

“purushArtha” or Goal of life is not really looked

down upon with any sort of real moral disdain or

repugnance. The fulfillment of mortal Desires --- an

entirely normal urge that swells up quiet naturally in

every human heart --- is regarded, on the contrary, as

a necessary and positive step forward toward spiritual

progress. The fact of this matter is clearly revealed

to us in the very famous Vedic passage or “prashna”

called “chamakam”.

 

The “chamakam” occurs in the 4th “kAnda”, 7th

“prapAthaka” of the Yajur Veda. It has 11 “anuvAkAs”

or passages. The passage rings throughout its course

with the conjunctive word “cha”, “cha, “cha” meaning

“and”, “and”, “and”. Hence the name “chamakam” given

to the “prashna”. When a group of expert Vedic

chanteurs recite the “chamakam” in stentorian tones,

it is sheer joy to listen to the incantation. The

“chamakam” has a poetic cadence and sparkling rhythm

of its very own that is truly magical. No one who

listens to the “chamakam” incantation can remain

unmoved by it in a deeply spiritual way. The

“chamakam” also contains the verb “kalpataam” which in

Sanskrit means “may it be granted to me”. The whole of

the passage thus reads: “May this and (“cha”) this and

(“cha”) this and (“cha”) this and (“cha”)..... be

granted to me (kalpataam”), O Almighty!”

 

Between the verb “kalpataam” and the conjunctive “cha”

is contained a lengthy recital of things of this world

that one perhaps may best describe (using the modern

expression) as the “good things of life”! It is

virtually a “shopping-list” of every possible thing

that a human being may ever desire to secure happiness

and wellbeing in an entire lifetime. The whole of the

“chamakam” thus is a prayer for 347 items (to be

precise!) of the most valuable and desirable things in

life Man must petition God!

 

Perusing the “chamakam’s” virtual “shopping-list” of

human desiderata, one will find detailed in it a truly

amazing and formidable inventory of items to pray for:

the range swings from such ordinary necessities of

life as wholesome grain for food and medicament for

robust health-care to such higher social needs as

friendly neighbors, obedient subordinates and

kith-and-kin who harbor no secret jealousy! Every such

item in the inventory is thus invoked, one after the

other in series, in a cascading torrent of wonderful

poetry punctuated, as it were, with the magical sound

of the sweet refrain: “cha … cha… may… kalpataam…”.

 

Thus does the Vedic “chamakam” beseech the Almighty to

bestow the several things on earth that are dear to

the human heart - things that are worth craving for

in honest, earnest prayer.

 

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It is very significant to note that the 3rd ‘anuvAka’

of the ‘chamakam’ –- a very popular piece indeed that

is very often chanted on occasions wherever the Vedic

faithful congregate in worship –-- the 3rd ‘anuvAka’

is actually called “kaama” or “priya” “anuvAkam”. It

begins as:

 

“sham cha may, mayas cha may, priyam cha may, anu

kaamas cha may, kaamas cha may, sowmana-sas cha may,

bhadhram cha may, srEyas cha may……”

 

(meaning):

(quote):“May God grant me these things: the Happiness

of this world, the Happiness of the other world,

objects dear and pleasing, objects alluring, all

things desired for in the other world, the happiness

of having well-disposed relations, welfare and

prosperity in this world …….”(unquote)

 

>From the above we should be able to understand beyond

a shadow of doubt that the “kaama” ‘anuvAka’ of the

“chamakam” is an explicit prayer to the Almighty to

grant the human heart the fulfillment of its “kaam-ic”

urges i.e. to grant it all the natural and normal

desires that it unabashedly seeks in the world. It is

unimpeachable affirmation, indeed, of the human goal

of “kaama purUshArtha”. For the human spirit to

progress onward in its journey, the Veda says, its

earthly desires must be duly and fully whetted. No

unrequited appetites, no regrets should be left

behind. This is the natural and normal order of all

existence as revealed in the Vedas.

 

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

 

Now, the determination of the exact place of “kaama”

in the life of Man poses an extremely complex and

fundamental problem.

 

(In the previous postings) When we turned to classical

Vedanta, we saw “kaama” being held up as a

“purUshArtha”, one of the four cardinal goals of human

existence. Yet, when we turned to the Bhagavath-gita,

the last word on Vedanta that one can find in all the

scriptures, we heard Lord Krishna denouncing “kaama”

in no uncertain terms (“dushpurENa-nalEna cha”) as the

very bane or ruination of human existence. But then

again, when we turned to the Veda, we saw that

passages such as the “chamakam” above firmly declared

the importance of “kaama” as a central and desirable

human end in itself.

 

Thus, at the end of it all, we are left utterly

bewildered, are we not, by questions on “kaama” that

seem to pose themselves to us, as it were? Should we

yield submissively to the power of our “kaama”? Or

should we wage a battle against it? Should we seek to

root out our “kaam-ic” urges or should we pray for the

realization of desires, instead? Is “kaama” a friend

of the human spirit or its worst enemy?

 

These are daunting questions to which, however, that

seemingly simple but truly eloquent phrase of the 29th

Verse of AndAl’s “tiruppAvai” indeed provides

illuminating answers --– “maRRai nam kaamangaL

maaRRu”.

 

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(to be continued)

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

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