"maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu"- (PART 22)

[Guest guest]

The Story of Saint Poosalar: Conquest of “kaama”

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through Sublimation of Desire --

“bhakti yOga”

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The third "mArga" (pathway) in the Vedantic theory of

"hita" is called "bhakti": it is the way of

sublimating selfish human Desire ("kaama") in order to

reach the highest pinnacle of Bliss recognized in

Vedantic philosophy as true "purushArtha" (i.e.

"inbam", "kaama").

 

The sublimation of "kaama” -- i.e. Desires of ordinary

flesh -- in fact, is the central theme of the whole of

the TiruppAvai. It lies too at the very core of the

expression “maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu”.

 

The English word 'sublimate' is derived from the Latin

"sublimarE". It means "to direct the energy of an

impulse (or desire) from its primitive or gross aims

to one that is ethically or culturally higher"

(Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). The

idea of "sublimating" the energy or power latent in

human desire, by re-directing it away from "primitive

aims" towards "culturally higher" ones in life,

through undivided Love and Devotion to a personal

Deity, is at the core of Vedantic “bhakti”. This idea

is not mere lofty philosophy. It translates into a

whole way of life. It is a fine and great "art of

living".

 

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

 

Such an art is well illustrated in the life of a great

Tamil saint who belonged to the mystic order called

"nAyanmAr-s".

 

The "nAyanmAr-s" were "63" in number (known

collectively in popular Tamil as "aaru-pathu-moovar")

and in the rich cultural and religious history of

Tamilnadu, they are regarded as the Saivite

counterparts of the "12" Vaishnavite "AzhwArs". The

"nAyanmArs" were mystic saints who were the

chronological seniors of the AzhwArs. They too, like

the "AzhwArs", devoted their lives, wholly and

exclusively, to the experience of Godhead in that

elevated emotion called "parama-bhakti" (intense love

and devotion to a personal Deity, who in their case

was "Shiva", while it was "Vishnu" in the case of the

AzhwArs).

 

Like the "AzhwArs" again, the "nAyanmArs" too poured

out their "bhakti" in thousands of heartfelt and

mystic Tamil verses that have been handed down the

centuries and to this day celebrated and cherished by

millions in the Tamilian laity. The lives and works of

these saintly "63" were made famous by a Tamil

classical work of hagiography called "peria-purANam"

written by a great literary figure, Sekkizhar, who

lived more than 1200 years ago in the Tamil country.

 

In the "peria-purANam" one finds the story of one such

"nayanmAr" who was called Poosalan or Poosalar.

 

When we read the life of Poosalan, we are not only

moved by his example of extraordinary "bhakti" but,

more importantly, we are also able to grasp the

Vedantic principle of how the power of "bhakti" can be

harnessed by us to transform, through improvement or

refinement, the basic quality of our desires in life.

It is exactly the sort of transformation conceived in

the phrase of the TiruppAvai: "maRRai kaamangaL

maaRRu". Poosalar's life is a shining example of how

"bhakti" can be used by Man to sublimate "primitive"

"kaama" and then re-invent and redefine it into

another qualitatively different "kaama" --- "one that

is ethically or culturally higher" or, to use a

Vedantic term, one that leads to the ultimate goal of

life ("parama-purushArtha").... In other words, once

again, "maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu".

 

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

 

Now, in some SriVaishnavite "die-hard" circles

("veera-Srivaishnava"), it is generally frowned upon

to make even the vaguest allusion to examples drawn

from Tamilian hagiography other than those of the holy

AzhwArs themselves. Such circles even regard it as

blasphemeous to speak of the Nayanmars and the AzhwArs

in the very same breath. Likewise, the vice versa may

perhaps be the case too with hard-core Saivites

("veera-Saiva").

 

For the purpose of this series of postings, however, I

am going to ignore the great and ancient sectarian

divide amongst Saivites and SriVaishnavites. My aim is

to concentrate solely on the common bond of "bhakti"

that is the hallmark of saints within both sets of

pantheon. I believe there is no such thing as "saivite

bhakti" or "srivaishnavite bhakti" nor anything

remotely like "advaitic bhakti" or "visishtAdavaitic

bhakthi". When one reads the hagiographic accounts of

the saints on both sides of the sectarian divide, one

cannot help being convinced that the emotion of pure

"bhakthi" itself --- that which took possession indeed

of the hearts of both the Saivite and SriVaishnavite

saint -- was somehow essentially of the same nature,

intensity and fervor wherever you looked.

 

Hence, for the limited purpose of our ongoing inquiry

into the subject of "kaama", and its conquest through

"bhakti", it is my view that it is equally profitable

to take examples from both sides of the sectarian wall

of the Vedantic faith and subject them to study.

 

In the last few postings, we enjoyed the life of Sri

Tondar-adi-podi AzhwAr. Now let us turn to the life of

another great saint, Poosalan, who centuries ago lived

in the little town of "tiru-ninnravoor" (very near

Chennai, India).

 

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(to be continued)

Regards,

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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