Self Realization - a thought .

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Sri Ramanujaya Namaha

 

Sri Vedhantha Desikaya Namaha Srimate

 

Sri Lakshminrisimha Divyapadukasevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri NarayanaYatindra

Mahadesikaya namaha

 

Dear Bhagavathas !

 

Kindly read the following article prepared , keeping in mind the starting of

the current month of Margazhi , youth of today for their understanding of the

topic , based on informations collected after detailed study and listening to

various lectures. Trust bhagavaths would find it interesting . May Sriyapathi

bless us all.

 

Regards

 

yours- Ramanuja Dasan G.Sampath.

 

Quote

 

Self Realization.

 

Andal Vs Meera.- a comparative study .

 

The process of self realization involves understanding of Lord Krishna and one’s

eternal relationship with Him. Lord Krishna Himself in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15,

verses 7 and 19, has narrated very clearly that all living entities in this

conditioned world are the eternal fragment parts of Him and whoever knows the

Supreme personality of Godhead , without doubt , has the knowledge of every

thing and so engages himself in the full service of the Lord. Constant chanting

of Lord’s name is the simplest way to reach that self realization. In Srimad

Baghavadam , it is said that Namasankeerthanam is the only way to save us all

from all our sins ( " Namasankeertanam yasya sarva papa pranasanam " ). Only

persons who have performed all kinds of penance and sacrifices and have

thoroughly understood the glory of the Lord with a high degree of total

surrender to Lord alone can do such chanting with strong passion and attain the

desired self realization. In our Ithihasas , Puranas and history we

have plenty of examples to substantiate the above. To name a few Prahlad ,

Andal and Meera could be taken .

 

In line with the topic under consideration , out of the above , the two ladies

Andal and Meera are classic examples of how a child can attain that self

realization even at prime youth .So let us try to understand their life pattern

, on a comparative study , to know how they were able to achieve their life

objectives .

 

Even though we all know the life stories of both Andal and Meera , I am inclined

to dwell a bit on each , only to bring out the salient features , for us to

understand the topic. This is just for the benefit of modern youth , who

probably may not be aware of . As such I would request you all to pardon me for

a bit long note and lend me your valuable time to appreciate the thoughts .

 

First let us take the case of Andal.

 

While she is well known in south India , especially among Srivaishnava family ,

only a very few know her in North. During Pandya Dynasty , in Kaliyug 98 in the

month of Adi ( Aashada month) , sukla chathurthi , Tuesday , on the day of Puram

, Andal ( her real name was Kothai, meaning garland) was supposed to have been

found in Srivilliputtur (a small town in the Virdunagar district of Tamil Nadu)

, under the Tulsi plant , in the flower garden of Perialwar ( real name

Vishnuchittar , meaning an ardent devotee of MahaVishnu ) . Accordingly, her

date of birth is supposed to be , 8th of June 3004 B.C. But modern historians

fix the date as the first half of the 8th century A.D.

 

In Srivilliputtur is situated the temple of Vatapathrasayee and it is one of the

108 Srivaishnavaite Divya desams . Added to this it happens to be the birthplace

of Vishnuchittar , the ardent devotee of Vatapathrasayee.

 

Vishnuchittar brought up Kothai in a most simple and Godly surroundings natural

to a pious devotee and so the child grew up in an environment of devotion and

austerity. Right from her childhood Kothai developed a strong love and passion

for Sri Krishna. Vishnuchittar used to narrate the various Avatars of Lord

Sriman Narayanan and also the Thirukalyana Gunas of Lord Krishna and other forms

of Mahavishnu , covering the 108 Divya Desams and as such the child , having

heard those narration very attentively, developed a strong devotion and love for

the Lord Himself.

 

Hearing the leelas of Srikrishna in Vrindavan during Dwapara Yugam , the child

started enacting the same scenes in Kaliyug in Srivilliputtur itself at that

young age . She considered herself as one of the Gopikas , Vatapathrasayee as

Lord Krishna , Vatapathrasayee temple as the palace of Krishna in Dwaraka and

Srivilliputtur as Vrindavan. She enjoyed herself in such dramatic scenes and

actions and felt that she is one with Lord Krishna Himself . Such was her true

devotion to Lord.

 

Vishnuchittar was doing the pushpa kainkaryam to Vatapathrasayee and every day

he would weave a garland of Tulsi leaves and other flowers in his garden and

then keep it sacredly rolled in a basket. When he went to temple he used to take

that garland for offering to the Lord. Child Kothai , due to her innocence ,

used to take out the garland from the basket without her father’s knowledge ,

adorn herself and look at the mirror ( her reflection in well water ) to make

herself sure that she is the right match for the Vatapathrasayee . Then she

would keep the garland back in the basket. She was doing this for quite a number

of days. When Vishnuchittar used to garland the Lord , the deity , would look

different and would be beaming with extra beauty and glory.One day Vishnuchittar

noticed the act of his daughter and was shocked . He brought to her attention

the wrong act of hers and refused to take that garland to temple. He fasted that

day for Kothai’s act . In the night he had a dream.

In his dream came Lord Vatapathrasayee and said that He relished the garland

worn by the child Kothai , as she is His ardent devotee. He also told

Vishnuchittar that Kothai is not an ordinary mortal child like others . In the

morning when Vishnuchittar went to see that Tulsi garland worn by Kothai , it

had not faded and still looked fresh . So he could understand the glory of his

daughter. From then on the Lord used to get His garland only after it was worn

by Kothai . Hence Kothai was called "Choodi Kodutha Sudarkodi ".

 

When Kothai attained her marriageable age, her father was trying to find a

suitable match for her. But, Kothai being a divine child was adamant and said

that she would not marry anyone except lord Krishna Or Ranganatha Himself . The

Thirukalyana Gunas of Lord Ranganatha attracted her so much , that she said to

her father to take her to Sri Rangam and offer her to Lord Himself.

Vishnuchittar meditated to Sri Ranganatha , to advice him further course of

action. Lord Ranganatha said in his dream , that Kothai is none other than

Bhoodevi Herslf (one of the consorts of Lord Mahavishnu ) and as such He is

waiting to marry her.

 

Simultaneously the lord ordered the officials in charge (sthanikas ) of

Srirangam to go to Srivilliputhur and bring Kothai in a palanquin in all

royalty. King Vallabhadeva along with his attendants joined the procession from

Srivilliputhur to Srirangam with Kothai in a palanquin. The whole route was

decorated on either sides with flowers and finely weaved green saplings (called

thoranam). As Kothai entered the sanctum sanctorum or the inner shrine of Sri

Ranganatha, the magnetic beauty of the lord instantly attracted her. She boldly

mounted up His serpent couch ( Adisesha) and joined the eternal lustrous light

of Sri Ranganatha in the presence of the entire gathering. She was then named

Andal by Lord Ranganatha Himself ,as she conquered Him by her sheer love and

devotion.

 

Andal wrote many verses in praise of Lord Krishna or Ranganatha, the deity at

Srivilliputhur. Among them the Thiruppavai is very popular with its 30 verses.

In Gokulam , during Dwapara Yuga , in the month of Margazhi ,the Gopikas

observed Kathyayani Vritham for 30 days . In the early morning they would get up

and have a bath in cold water in yamuna river and sing the praise of Lord

krishna and do pooja to Kathyayani Devi to help them get Krishna as their

Nayaka. Keeping this in mind Andal , in Kaliyuga , in the month of Margazhi ,

sang 30 Thiruppavai verses for 30 days , all in praise of Lord Krishna , with a

view to attain Him in wedlock. Andal also wrote the Nachiyar Thirumozhi in 143

verses. She attained the status of an Azhwar because of her total devotion to

the Lord Ranganatha.

 

Thus we could notice that the child , may be the Avatar of Bhoomadevi Herself ,

developed such a passion and love to Supreme Godhead and went to the extent of

telling her father that she would not marry any one other than the Lord Himself

and held her view till she attained her wish. So she could have that self

realization even at that young age . This was possible because she had that

implicit faith and strong conviction that Sriman Narayanan alone is the saviour

and can offer Moksha to a mumukshu.

 

Now let us try to understand the devotion of Meera.

 

In the present Kaliyug , more than 500 years ago, the kingdom of Rajasthan in

India was a land of warriors , sages, sadhus and kings. The Rajputs of Rajasthan

believed themselves to be the descendants of the Kshatriyas , the ancient

warrior caste .The Rajputs vary in profession from aristocrats and warriors to

farmers. Most Rajputs are Hindus.

 

Meera , was a Rajput princess and lived during the period 1498 to 1547 A.D. (

she was born after, nearly 1400 years of Andal’s time ) . She was born in

Chaukari village in Merta District of Rajasthan (about 40-50 miles north-east of

Ajmer) in Northern India . Her father, Ratan Singh, was the second son of Rao

Dudaji, a descendent of Rao Jodhaji Rathor, the founder of Jodhpur .

 

Meera was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna right from her childhood . When she

was a child , a holy man named Jiva Goswami came to their palace with a

beautiful idol of Lord Krishna. Knowing that Meera would love to have it, her

mother gave her that little Krishna . Meera used to listen from her mother , the

stories and leelas of Lord Krishna and thus slowly developed a passion for the

Lord . Meera started thinking of only Krishna and nothing else . Whole day she

used to sing in praise of Krishna, dance with the Krishna idol , holding it to

her heart. Thus a small light of devotion implanted in her by her mother ,

started becoming a big fire and became uncontrollable. Meera's mother died when

she was four or five years old. She then started living with her grandfather .

 

Vikram Dev is the elder brother of Meera’s father. He succeeded to the throne.

He was responsible for Meera’s marriage with the handsome warrior Prince Bhoj

Raj, the eldest son of Rana Sanga of the house of Sisodiya . Meera got married

at her tender age of 13. Her wedding was celebrated in an elaborate way in

accordance with the custom of the Rajputs. The members of her family were all

inclined towards Vaishnava practices and culture . In that environment Meera’s

own religious sentiments could grow freely.

 

Initially her husband tried to support her , in her devotion to Lord Krishna and

went to the extent of honoring her request for the construction of a separate

temple for "Giridhar Gopal" inside the palace . Meera started spending most of

her time in the temple itself in the company of sadhus and used to dance before

the image of Lord Krishna in pure devotion . She used to forget herself in that

state of devotion and never considered herself a princess.

 

Just to oblige her father , Meera married the Rajput prince . But she always

believed in her heart that she belonged to Lord Krishna only . Even though she

was a princess , she renounced every worldly thing and lived like a sadhu , a

life of total detachment from all worldly things . She neglected her marital

responsibilities even and did not concentrate on anything other than the service

to Lord Krishna and singing His praise. She felt strongly that it was impossible

for her to be married to a king when she was already married to Lord Krishna in

her childhood itself . Her thought was always about Krishna and His leelas with

Gopikas.

 

During Meera’s time , there was widespread political and social turmoil in

India. Conflicts on petty matters for meager selfish gains , disrespect for

human life and hatred for one another were the order of the day at that time .

Meera was surprised to see people behave in that odd way and could not

understand all that was going on around her. She was in constant search of

mental peace herself . She found the secret of true happiness. in the hearts of

the Lord’s devotees . So she dedicated her life to the love and service of Lord

Krislina.

 

The king prince was unhappy at the stance of Meera and her ardent devotion to

Krishna .The relatives of the prince threatened to poison her food but Meera

never moved by those threats . She had the full faith that in the presence of

Lord Krishna , poison cannot harm her , as she is His property. Uda, the

prince’s sister, warned prince Bhoj that Meera will have to change herself and

should abide by the ways of their family and the rules of the palace . Bhoj was

horrorstruck to find that Meera started spending all the time in the temple to

chant with other devotees of Krishna. With bells tied to her ankles, Meera used

to dance in the temple of her Lord . This was against the custom of Rajputs.

 

In the village, Meera heard the teachings of a humble shoemaker Ravidas, and

felt that she found her master to guide her in her path . The family of Prince

Bhoj is disgraced by Meera’s behavior. Once again, Prince Bhoj and his sister

Uda begged Meera to stop, but nothing can come between Meera and her Krishna.

The teachings of Ravidas further inspired Meera’s devotion. And Ravidas, in

turn, was deeply moved by Meera’s sincere devotion to Krishna . He gave her a

sitar, which she played as she chanted to her Lord . Meera’s voice and devotion

become known throughout India.

 

The great emperor Akbar himself came to visit Meera , after hearing her glory .

Even though he belonged to a different religion ,he was thrilled by her true

devotion . With profound gratitude, he presented her with a jeweled necklace ,

which Meera adorned to her Lord Krishna idol .

 

One day Meera decided to leave the palace and took that action . She felt happy

that she was no longer a queen and has now become a free bird to sing the praise

of Lord Krishna. The prince’s relatives , in their pride and anger determined to

kill her. They sent her a gift, which was supposed to be a garland of flowers

for Krishna. But really it was a poisonous snake hidden inside a basket. The

king’s attendants brought the deadly snake to Meera telling her that it was a

garland for her Lord. Meera’s faith in Krishna was so strong that when she

reached into the basket, instead of finding a snake she pulled out a beautiful

garland .

 

Meera travelled to the towns where Krishna spent His time, including Mathura .

She started seeing Krishna every where and in every thing. She started spending

her time mostly in Vrindavan. One of her meeting in Vrindavan with Jiva Goswami,

a renowned Vaishnava of the Chaitanya school was a notable one. Jiva Goswami at

first refused to meet with her, since she was a woman. He did not know it was

the same Meera whom he met in the palace and gave her the Krishna idol . Meera

immediately retorted to his devotees saying " I used to think that the Lord

Krishna was the only man in Vrindavan and that all the rest of the inhabitants

were gopikas to service the Lord . Now I have discovered that there’s someone

else here besides Lord Krishna who thinks himself to be a man." On hearing this

Jiva Goswami felt ashamed and then on , he became her ardent devotee .

 

She also visited Dwarka in Gujarat and sung in praise of Lord to open the doors

of sanctum sanctorum , which was closed for quite some time , due to the anger

of God when Meera was poisoned by her own people earlier in the palace . This

incidence shook every one who witnessed the scene , including Jiva Goswami.

 

Krishna Himself felt that the time had come for Meera to join Him as He Himself

could not bear the separation . So one fine morning in 1547 A.D. , He took Meera

with Him after her prayers and thus the union of Meera with Krishna was

completed .

 

Meera was a born poetess. She composed numerous bhajans, which are very popular

even to this day. The Bhajans are in praise of lord Krishna and held in great

esteem for their high literary value. They are full of devotion and feelings for

the Almighty . She composed hundreds of poems in simple style. Her poems gained

a unique popularity and are sung by the rich and the poor alike, even to this

day. Meera is a beloved saint in the hearts of the people , who are devoted to

Lord Krishna . She is a great Hindu woman saint and will always be remembered .

 

We thus notice from the life of Meera that , her implicit faith on Lord Krishna

, as the only male and all others are gopikas , meant to do service to Him for

His happiness and that all are married to Lord Krishna only in celestial wedlock

for His service , gave her the opportunity to have that self realization even at

that young age.

 

Let us now briefly do the comparative study on both the lives of Andal and

Meera.

 

Andal , even though was very young had the strong conviction that she belonged

to Lord Krishna or Ranganatha only and refused to oblige her father for marrying

some one else. She was a strong Srivaishnavite . Where as Meera , obliged her

father , having belonged to a Royal family . But in her mind she held the same

view like Andal and did not do her marital obligations to her prince. She only

did service to Lord Krishna.

 

Vishnuchittar , himself is a Srivaishnavite and an ardent devotee of

Vatapathrasayee. He was doing Pushpa Kainkaryam . Andal ,being an Avatar of

Bhoomadevi Herself , it was not so difficult for Vishnuchittar to develop the

devotion to Krishna in her mind . Where as Meera’s parents were Rajputs and they

had their own life in the palace. However, Meera’s mother kindled the devotional

fire in Meera at her tender age by telling stories about Lord Krishna . She in

fact encouraged her to follow that path.

 

Andal was conscious that she had to be the right match for Lord Krishna and

hence tested her beauty by garlanding herself with that Tulsi garland meant for

Vatapathrasayee. Where as Meera saw Krishna every where and in every thing. She

never bothered about her look , dress etc.

 

Andal enacted the scene that happened in Dwaparayugam in Vrindavan , in

Srivilliputtur itself in Kaliyug and considered herself to be one of the gopikas

meant for the service of Lord Krishna. Meera also considered herself to be one

of the gopikas in the service of Lord Krishna.

 

In the case of Andal , being an avatar of Bhoomadevi , Lord Ranganatha Himself

ensured all course of action for Andal’s wedlock with Him. In the case of Meera

, she herself mentally got married to Lord Krishna in her youth and started

behaving like a bride to Krishna in her service to Him.

 

When Andal was taken to Srirangam Ranganathar’s sanctum sactorum , she herself

climbed the serpent couch ( Adisesha ) to unite with the Lord. She could do this

, since her body was not made of the conventional panchaboothams. ( Prithvi,

appu, tejas, vayu and water) .In the case of Meera , as she was not an avatar

and only a devotional saint , she had to leave this sthoola sareeram to unite

with Lord Krishna and only the inner Jyothi joined the Lord.

 

Andal had her father Vishnuchittar as her Acharyan and Meera had her mother as

her Acharyan , to show the right path of devotion for them .

 

However, in both cases , we can clearly note that only by true and sincere

devotion to Lord with implicit faith in Him, they were able to achieve self

realization. Once we achieve that stage Lord Himself will pull us to Him as He

cannot wait any further .

 

So to have that kind of devotion we should first approach an Acharyan , who

would guide us in the right path of total surrender to Almighty and once we get

that initiation done , we should follow that path with all sincerity and with

implicit faith for reaching our life objective .

 

Here we should never forget the incidence in our purana. Till Droupathi lifted

her both hands, realizing that she had no power to save her shame and only

Krishna can do it , Lord Krishna never acted. The moment she lifted her both

hands and cried for help to Krishna , Lord was there to oblige her request and

helped her out in that central hall of Duriodhana’s durbar , where Durchasana

tried to remove Droupathi’ s saree in public to put her to shame.

 

Hence , the principles of Ananyagathithvam ( no other place to go other than

Sriman Narayanan ) , Aakinchanathvam ( nothing in our hands to offer to Lord ,

which does not belong to Him) and poorna Viswasam ( implicit faith in Lord that

He alone will save us, as we are all His property ) alone can help us attain the

state of self realization and there by reach our life objective of Mokshaprapthi

..

 

Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu !

 

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

 

G.Sampath.

 

Unquote.

 

 

 

 

 

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