"maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu" (Part 4)

[Guest guest]

“Tattva”, “Hita” and “pUrUshArtha

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The whole of Vedantic philosophy of the Upanishads

revolves around well-structured and robust inquiry

into many of the central and perplexing questions of

human existence. “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?”,

“Where am I going?”, “What are the true ends or

purpose of my existence?” “What is life?”, “What is

death?” etc. This rigorous and structured inquiry is

technically termed as pursuit after the truth of

“tattva”, “hita” and “purushArthA”, the 3-fold Wisdom

of Vedanta which is the principal and profound

subject-matter of the “brahma-sUtras”, Sage VyAsa’s

(or Badarayana’s) seminal commentary on the

esotericism of the Upanishads.

 

Anyone who begins serious inquiry into any subject or

field of knowledge must encounter 3 fundamental

questions:

 

(1) “WHAT can I KNOW from the inquiry?”

(2) “WHAT OUGHT I TO DO in order to attain what I have

set out to inquire?” and

(3) “WHAT WILL BE THE FRUIT OR RESULT to be had once I

attain the object of inquiry?”

 

In the vast and sometimes very dense field of Vedantic

inquiry, where one can quite easily fall into

trap-doors of intellectual confusion or minefields of

moral doubt, questions such as the above invariably

assume perennial significance to Man. There are simply

no instant, formula-driven or rule-determined answers

to such daunting questions of life. Any one who

chooses to undertake the Vedantic journey has to be

really prepared to labor and persevere all one’s life.

That is why the intellectually rigorous system of

thought called “vEdanta-vichAra” in India has always

been known as “the Perennial Philosophy” or “sanAtana

dharma”. A true Vedantin in dogged pursuit of Wisdom

and Truth must possess both the passion of an amateur

and the commitment of a professional.

 

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Now, in Vedanta, the answer to the first question

-- “WHAT can I KNOW?” -- is said to constitute the

whole of the subject of “tattva”; the answer to the

second –- i.e. “WHAT OUGHT I TO DO”? -- is said to be

the subject-matter of “hita”; and answer to the third

– “WHAT WILL BE THE FRUIT OR RESULT” -- is said to be

“purUshArtha”.

 

What is “tattva”? The knowledge of “tattva”

(“tattva-gnyAna”) is the beginning of Vedantic wisdom.

It lies in deep-felt conviction, more personal and

intuitive than plainly intellectual, that there exists

a Reality beyond Appearance. It is an immeasurably

greater reality than that of the perceptible world. It

is the Reality of Brahman or Isvara, the “Supreme

Being” who is the immanent ground of all existence, as

well as the inner self or spirit of all things.

Unfortunately, "tattva-gnyAna", the knowledge or

conviction about a greater-than-human Reality is a

rare commodity amongst men of the world. It varies

widely in degree from human to human, depending upon

character and the circumstances of birth and living.

 

“Hita” is all about how a Vedantin with genuine

“tattva-gnyAna” goes about in life determining the

moral and spiritual means (“sAdhana”) of somehow

realizing Brahman, that larger and truer Reality

extant beyond the phenomenal. These “sAdhanA-s” may be

one or more, in permutation or combination, of the 3

principal Vedantic “mArgAs”, or spiritual Pathways,

popularly known as “gnyAna-yOga”, “karma-yOga” and

“bhakthi-yOga” (“prappathi-mArga”, the Way of

self-surrender included therein). The sacred Vedantic

text of India, the Srimadh Bhagavath-Gita is the

finest and most authoritative manual or compendium of

the 3 principal Vedanta “mArgAs”.

 

And finally, there is “pUrUshArtha”. It constitutes

the fruition to which a spiritual seeker’s (a

“brahma-sAdhaka”) efforts ultimately reach. It is what

happens to him/her upon attainment of Brahman. It is

the “summum bonum” of human existence, by realizing

which everything he/she wished to realize in life is

realized and there is nothing left unrealized.

 

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The 29th Verse of TiruppAvai and “tattva”, “hita”

 

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and “pUrUshArtha”

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The lofty themes of “tattva”, “hita” and “pUrushUrtha”

-- which ordinarily one would find expounded only in

the long, inscrutable texts of the “brahma-sUtras” or

in the extremely difficult passages of an Upanishad

“bhAshya” or commentary of a Vedantic master -- have

been captured and condensed in a charmingly simple

manner in but a couple of deft, sweet and richly

evocative lines of Tamil poetry in the TiruppAvai’s

29th Verse.

 

In the verse we see AndAl invoking the “nAma” of

“gOvindhaa”, one of the most hallowed names of Vishnu.

Actually, it is more than merely a sacred name. It is

AndAl's poetic allusion to the whole of the theme of

“tattva” i.e. the “Supreme Being” Narayana, or

Brahman, personified in “paurAnic” terms as the avatar

of Sri Krishna who was well-known as “gOvindhaa”, the

cow-herd.

 

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When we look closely at the next phrase in the Verse

i.e. “maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu”, we see that it

sums up the whole of the Vedantic theme of “hita”. It

is AndAl's poetic symbol for the spiritual “sAdhanas”

that are known to lie along the “mArga” or pathway of

“bhakti-yoga”. The inner transformation (“maaRRudhal”)

that one’s personality must necessarily undergo while

following the way of Bhakti or “bhakti yOga” -- the

Way of pure God-Devotion; the various practices and

efforts a "bhakta" undertakes; how a traveler on the

pathway of Bhakti will soon have the character of

his/her desires in life (“kaamangaL”) turned

inevitably from the mundane to the sublime; all these

fine but lofty Vedantic concepts find their echo in

AndAl’s pithy but exceptionally beautiful phrase.

 

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Lastly, AndAl’s phrase “un thannOdu

uRROmE aavOm unakkE naam aatcheyvOm” (“Bound to Thee

in kinship eternal/Slaves to Thee, we shall remain/Now

and forever”) is unmistakable reference to the highest

ideal of Vedantic “pUrUshArtha”, to the summum-bonum,

the ultimate and everlasting Joy in God’s kingdom

(“parama-padam”) that is the birthright of every

spiritual seeker (“sAdhaka”). AndAl’s phrase describes

it as “eternal servitude” to Brahman, the Lord of All

Creation.

 

The conception of personal salvation as being

“servitude in the eternal realms of Joy” is one of the

greatest and most unique contributions of the school

of VisishtAdvaita to the history of Vedantic thought

and theology. In the parlance of SriVaishnava laity,

it is known as “nithya-kainkarya-prApthi”. It is

cherished as the highest “pUrUshArtha”, the only

desirable object of all spiritual effort –- the object

by realizing which one has nothing more left in the

world to be realized. It is the exalted state of

existence which the Upanishads have described

variously as “brahmAnandam”, “mOkshAnandam”,

“pari-pUrnatvam”, “brahma-sAyUjyam”….

 

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(to be continued)

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

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