tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 16 - In Response to Feedback on tiruvAimozhi 1.1.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 16 - In Response to Feedback

on tiruvAimozhi 1.1.

 

One of the feedbacks I received was:

"As we enjoy the kalyANa guNa-s of tiruvuRai mArban emperumAn, we

should also contemplate on what this means to our jIva-svarUpam, i.e.

our guNa-s, as the jIva-s are but His Body. In other words, as jIva-

s, our guNa-s should resonate with each and every kalyANa guNa of

SrIman nArAyaNa, which He possesses only for our benefit (He

possesses infinitely more kalyANa guNa-s than what are revealed to us

and what we are capable of perceiving)". As the jitante stotram

echoes,

 

"na tE rUpam na cAkArO nAyudhAni na cAspadam |

tathA'pi purushAkArO bhaktAnAm tvam prakASase ||" (jitantE 1-

5)

"Neither Your divya Atma svarUpam, nor Your divya ma'ngaLa vigraham,

nor for that matter Your weapons, or Your own SrI vaikunTham, are for

Your benefit (they are all for Your devotees' benefit, and thus You

are not independent, but You are the possession of Your devotees).

Even so, You shine as the Supreme Being".

 

In my humble opinion, AzhvAr's 1000 Divine Collects transcribing

vedic extollation of bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s in tamizh are

a vade mecum (a constant companion, a handbook) so that we would

study and learn them, and realize what is expected of us jIva-s in

relation to bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s and, more importantly,

live our decreed mortal life with a jIva-svarUpam that is

commensurate with and worthy of His and our AcArya's Causeless

Mercy. Lord kRshNa instructs us in the gItA:

 

tad-viddhi praNipAtena paripraSnena sevayA |

upadekshyanti te j~nAnam j~naninas tattva-darSinah || (4.34)

 

"Know this (knowledge concerning the self) by prostration, by

inquiry, and by service. The wise, who have realized the truth, will

instruct you in knowledge".

 

Through tivuvAimozhi, AzhvAr is instructing us, and we should benefit

from it by learning it with humility, meditation, contemplation and

service.

 

It is SrI vaishNava svarUpam to indulge ourselves in activities that

are ever-pleasing to Him, and to desist from any activity that is

averse to Him - AnukUlya sa'nkaplam, and prAtikUlya varjanam, which

are two a'nga-s or aspects of prapatti or surrendering ourselves

unconditionally to Him. Thus, for instance, in SrI vaishNava

sampradAyam, singing about makhA lakshmi when praising Him, and

thinking of Him as "SrIman nArAyaNa', `tiru uRai mArban', etc., will

delight His heart, as sung by nammAzhvAr himself: "agalagillEn

iRaiyum enRu alarmEl ma'ngai uRai mArba!"

 

The feedback I receivdd was that I should not just stop with

describing the kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn, but proceed to the next

step of actively realizing what this means as far as my guNa-s and

conduct are concerned, and reflect these im my postings. I am well

aware that I do not have the training or knowledge to make this next

step in an august forum like this. All that I have posted in the

past several years is a repetition of what the learned pUrvAcArya-s

have already said, even though I may have misunderstood and

misrepresented even some or all of them. In writing the current

postings on tAtparya ratnAvaLi, I am already faced with having to

stretch my siRumati (my infinitesimally small knowledge) to explore

the explanations for svAmi deSikan's choice of bhagavAn's kalyANa

guNa-s, since the available vyAkhyAna-s are not detailed enough for

my siRumati's comprehension.

 

Still, the current posting is the attempt to respond to the feedback

that was given in a spirit of helping me to reflect further on

AzhvAr's message. I am thus reflecting on the guNa-s expected of

the jIva that resonate with bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-s as ideintifed

in each pASuram of nammAzhvAr, trusting that His and my AcAryA's

Causeless Mercy will steer me through this effort, using me as a

tool . Everyone is invited to add to this anubhavam. I may end up

repeating the same thought again and again for each guNa of bhagavAn -

that we the jIva-s should be constantly aware that we are part of

His body, that we exist solely to serve Him, that He is our only Lord

and Master, that we are eternally His servants and should serve Him

thus, and that we should surrender to Him unconditionally with mahA

viSvAsam and the other a'nga-s pf prapatti. I would like to add that

our sampradAyam enjoins that our AcArya is pratyaksha bhagavAn for

us, non-different from bhagavAn Himself, and we should reflect the

prapanna-s' guNa-s in relation to him. svAmi deSikan makes this

point very clear to us in his SrI nyAsa vimSati – Slokam 2, which has

been commented on in an earlier posting a few years back.

 

We will start with the guNa of sevyatvam at the Satakam level. The

guNa chosen by svAmi deSikan for the first Satakam (group of 100

pASuram-s) is sevyatvam – BhagavAn is One Who is worthy of being

worshiped. Another term used to describe this guNa is upAyatvam – He

being the means to attain the end (see the write-up for Slokam 6).

We will also see that He is also One Who alone is worthy of worship,

to the exclusion of all other deities (the subject of Sataka-s 5 to

10). The guNa that we the jIva-s should possess, to be in synch with

this guNa of our Lord and Master, is to worship Him alone as the

Deity to be worshiped – the concept of avoiding anya-devatA worship

for any benefit of any kind, at all costs. This is usually one of

two main do's and don't-s that our AcArya-s generally tell us at the

time of our bhara samarpaNam or SaraNAgati – desist from anya devatA

worship (the other being that we should at all costs be careful not

to commit bhAgavata apacAram).

 

The guNa at the daSakam level for tiruvAimozhi 1.1, is paratvam – the

Lord's supremacy over all the cetana-s and acetana-s. For our part,

we should fully realize our Sesharvam or servitude to Him as our Atma

svarUpam – inherent and natural state for us, and we should indulge

only in actions that will please Him (AnukUlya sa'nkalpam), and

desist from all actions that will displease Him (prAtikUlya

varjanam). These are two of the a,nga-s of prapatti.

 

We will next proceed to meditate on the guNa-s of bhagavAn that are

identified as the primary guNa-s sung in each pASuram of tiruvAimozhi

1.1, , and contemplate on how the jIva resonates withis guNa of

emperumAn.

 

- pASuram 1.1.1 – bhagavAn's guNa: He Who possesses infinite

kalyANa guNa-s. We as sentient beings should constantly meditate on

His kalyANa guNa-s, and should surrender to Him unconditionally.

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDAvan points out in his SrImad rAmAyaNa

upanyAsam, that His guNa of sauSIlyam – His ability to move with the

lowliest beings at thjeir level, is one guNa that stands out above

all the other kalyANa guNa-s. We should keep this in mind and

surrender to Him unconditionally with the five a'nga-s of prapatti

identified in svAmi deSikan's nyAsa daSakam, and be eternally

relieved of the bondage of samsAra.

 

- pASuram 1.1.2- BhagavAn is One who is full of Infinite

Bliss. The question we should ask in our mind is "What leads to this

state of infinite bliss?". This is a state where there is no desire,

no anger, no attachment, no selfishness, etc. Bliss arises out of

lack of involvement in any activity for our own selfish purposes, and

dedicating everything we do to Him and Him alone.

 

- pASuram 1.1.3 – He is the Lord and Master of all things in

the leelA vibhUti – His splendor of being manifested in everything in

all the Universes, which are all subject to His sport of repeated

cycles of creation and destruction. What is the jIva to learn from

this realization that we are the subjects of this leelA vibhUti –

that we have been given a body so that we can expend our karma-s and

attain Him at the end of expiation of our karma-s? It is to realize

once and for all that we belong to Him in SrI vaikunTham where we do

not have to be born and re-born by being subject to the effects of

karma. This happens when we surrender to Him unconditionally and

attain Him by following the path of prapatti with its five a'nga-s or

aspects as outlined in svAmi deSikan's nyAsa daSakam as mentioned

earlier.

 

- pASuram 1.1.4 extols that our svarUpam is bhagavad adhInam.

The desired svarUpam of the jIva-s is to be the eternal Sesha-s or

servants of bhagavAn. We should pray to our AcAryan to guide us and

shower his blessings on us such that we are constantly mindful of our

subservience to Him, and perform kai'nkaryam in this world until we

pass on to the stage where we will perform kai'nkaryam to Him

eternally in SrI vaikunTham along with the other released and

eternally free souls.

 

- In pASuram 1.1.5, we see bhagavAn's guNa that all the anya

devatA-s and their powers are bhagavad adhInam – subservient to Him

and under His total control. The corresponding guNa in us is for us

to realize that the Supreme Deity is none other than SrIman nArAyaNa,

to worship Him alone, and to desist from anya devatA worship in any

form. It should be kept in mind that this does not mean that we in

any way induge in any action that shows disrespect to the anya-devatA-

s, since they are His adhIna-s and devotees. For example, rudra is

considered one of the greatest devotees of Lord vishNu by our AcArya-

s.

 

- pASuram 1.1.6 points out that all our actions, and inactions,

are His adhInam, or under His total control. In SrI bhAshyam, we

find that the jIva has initial momentary control in making the

decision to perform any action, or to desist from it, since bhagavAn

has given us this control, thus making us responsible for our karma-s

(sUtra 2.3.41 – kRta prayatnApekshastu vihita

pratishiddhAvaiyarthyAdibhyah). Once we make this momentary decision

without His involvement, then He takes over and gives us the power to

perform this action – good or bad, and then we acquire the karma

associated with that action, since we chose it in the first

instance. We the jIva-s for our part, should develop this freedom of

choice that He has given us, such that we only involve ourselves in

activities that are pleasing to Him (AnukUlya sa'nkalpam), and desist

from activities that are displeasing to Him (prAtikUlya varjanam),

which are two of the a'nga-s of prapatti.

 

- pASuram 1.1.7 notes that everything in all the Universes form

His body, and He is the the Owner and we are the parts of His

SarIram. This is similar to our own body-soul relationship, where

our body exists solely for the purpose of serving the needs of our

soul. Similarly, we are all part of His body, and our role is to

solely serve Him and Him alone. Whatever we do should be dedicated

to His service, and not for our own selfish purposes. This is along

the lines of the AnukUlya sa'nkalpam that was referred to in the

previous paragraph.

 

- pASuram 1.1.8 points out that He is the Lord of all the other

gods such as brahmA, rudra etc., and that they derive their powers

because He has bestowed these powers on them based on their good

karma-s. Our role as jIva-s is to realize that He is the One and

only Supreme Soul worthy of being worshiped, and desist from anya

devatA worship, and surrender to Him with mahA viSvAsam – total faith

that He will protect us (another a'ngam of prapatti). SvAmi deSikan

has put it nicely thus: "tvayi rakshati rakshakaih kim anyaih |

tvayi cArakshati rakshakaih kim anyaih || " - When He wishes to

protect us, no one else can prevent it; If He doesn't want to

protect us, no one else can protect us.

 

- pASuram 1.1.9 notes that bhagavAn is known as sat (has as His

possession all things that are in sthUla form after creation) as well

as a-sat (has as His possession all the things without a physical

form and name at the time of pralaya). But there is never a time

when He Himself does not exist – He always exists, and always has as

His belongings everything that exists in any form or without a form.

Our pUrvAcArya-s have interpreted this pASuram as a repudiation of

the SUnyavAdi-s who argue that everything originated from nothing,

and everything goes back to nothing, and thus refute the existence of

ISvara. One subtle point about bhagavAn's guNa that should be

realized from this is that even as He destroys everything during

pralaya, He preserves them all in His stomach without their suffering

the slightest damage, and gives them again another chance during the

next cycle of creation by giving them bodies with sense-organs etc.,

so that they can exhaust their karma-s at least in the next birth and

reach Him eternally. It is His Infinite Mercy that He owns

everything in their sUkshma form at the time of pralaya and gives a

body again to everything. We should meditate on this Infinite Mercy

of bhagavAn, lead our lives in such a way that we use this body and

the indirya-s for the purpose for which it has been given, dedicate

all our actions and their effects to Him alone, and be guided by oyr

AcArya-s so that we do not face the fearful samsAra again at the end

of this life.

-

- pASuram 1.1.10 stresses that emperumAn is present in all the

sentient and non-sentient things in all the worlds at all

times without any exception, as the Controller of all things. The

realization that He is our Controller and our Lord, and that we are

His eternal servants, should result in the longing to perform

kai'nkaryam to Him in everything we do. The fulfillment of this

desire to perform eternal kai'nkaryam to Him is the ultimate goal of

the jIva – moksham.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued).