AcArya rAmAmRtam - Oct 05 - 1

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImate ra’ngarAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrImate SrInivAsa rAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrImate vedAnta rAmAnuja mahAdeSikAya nama:

SrI ra’nganAtha divya maNi pAdukAbhyAm nama:

SrI ra’ngarAmAnuja mahAdeSika divya pAdukAbhyAm nama:

 

AcArya rAmAmRtam - Oct 05 - 1

Translation of

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam in tamizh by SrImad

tirukkuDandai ANDavan

 

As published in SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA by

SrI U.Ve. nATTeri kiDAmbi rAjagopAlAcAriyAr (Editor

of SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA)

 

 

SrImad ANDavan tiruvaDi,

kalyANi krshNamAcAri

 

 

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SrI:

AcArya rAmAmRtam

SrImad rAmAyaNa upanyAsam by SrImad tirukkuDandai

ANDavan

 

 

vAlmIki rAmAyaNam has a very beautiful style. Easy (to

read); bhAgavatam slokam is difficult to read. Even

if a person recites a Slokam, we can give him a prize.

He does not have to say the meaning.

 

“satyavratam satyaparam trisatyam

satyasya yonim nihitam ca satye |

satyasya satyam Rta satya netram

satyAtmakam tvAm SaraNam prapannA: || “

 

This is bhAgavatam.

 

It is enough if one says the first Slokam.

“janmAdyasya yato’nvayAt itaraSca artheshvabhij~naH

svarAT ….”

 

A poet said once – how to test a vidvAn? We can ask

him to say rAmAyaNam; is he a vidvAn if he says

rAmAyaNam? No. We can ask him to say bhAgavatam; if

he does that, he is a vidvAn. There are different ways

to test each person. How can we test if one is a good

brother?

 

AhA! “na sarve bhrAtaras tAta bhavanti bharatopamA: “

– there is no brother like bharatan. We can find out

if a person is a good brother when he asks for the

division of family property. Some will even say ‘

break the sAlagrAmam that has been worshipped by

family elders and give a part to me’ (laughter in the

audience). A brother can be known during the test of

division of family property. One person said – no one

is better than my wife. She does not even eat rice

when I go out of town. She will keep eating only

snacks (‘bhakshaNam’)! (laughter in the audience).

 

What is an example of a test to find out if the wife

is really a loving wife? An example test is - tell

the wife “ I am thinking of having another marriage”;

then you will know! (audience laughs).

 

“AhA! Bring her. I will do Arati for her to welcome

her”; will she say that? Then you can really know your

wife. How to test a vidvAn? “vidvat parIkshA bhAgavate

hi kAryA” - if you ask a person to say bhAgavatam,

you can find out if he is vidvAn or not. Everyone can

say rAmAyaNam.

 

Everyone knows rAmAyaNam story. Why did SrI

bhAshyakArar listen to rAmAyaNam, that is known to

everyone from sEtu to himAcalam, 18 times from his

AcAryar? Doesn’t he know the meanings of the Slokams?

There is so much meaning in it.

 

“samudramiva ratnADhyam sarva Sruti manoharam”- What

is in it? ValmIki’s response is: “dharmArtha guNa

vistaram” – vAlmIki says he has only explained the

various dharma-s in detail.

 

It talks about kAmam too - when it talks about rAvaNa

carrying away sItA, it does talk about kAmam. People

will not listen if there is no mention of kAmam. They

will not come if we talk only about dharmam. A clever

AyurvEdic doctor would apply sugar on top of high

quality medicines that may be otherwise hot or bitter;

Even for current day medicines, they apply something

white on top of the medicines. Just like that, people

will listen to the best of dharma-s if they are given

with a tinge of kAma purushArtham – one of the things

sought in life. So he says - “kAmArtha guNa

samyuktam”. The specialty of rAmAyaNam is that it

includes some sweet things desired in life. vAlmIki

says that this is why he has added some sweet aspects

of life, so that people will listen.

 

What else is SrImad rAmAyaNam? It is declared that it

is “Adi kAvyam”. It can be called kAvyam; and it can

also be called itihAsam. The purpose of a kAvyam is to

propagate the principles of dharma in an easy manner.

 

There are 3 types of upadESas or instructions. One is

prabhu sammita upadeSam; one is mitra sammita

upadeSam; one is kAntA sammita upadeSam.

 

What is prabhu sammita upadESam? Vedam commands -

satyam vada, dharmam cara etc; it gives out orders. No

one can question that. Vedam is prabhu; if a king or

an authoritative figure gives orders, one has to just

obey them. Vedam gives that kind of upadeSam. Will

everybody listen to prabhu upadeSam? We know about

this from the current government; a lot of people do

not listen! This is well known. Especially, those

who are adamant will not listen. If it is asked what

to do about these people, that is why we have the

mitra sammita updaESam.

 

A person may listen if a friend says something. This

friend may keep him company, go to the club to eat

with him at his expense (audience laughs) without

spending any money – if such friends say something, a

person may like it; that is called mitra sammita

updESam. Some will not listen to even that.

 

The next is kAntA sammita upadESam; advising like a

wife. One may listen to anything a dear one says.

 

Thus, there are 3 types of upadESams - prabhu sammita

upadESam, mitra sammita upadESam and kAntA sammita

updESam. rAmAyaNam is kAntA sammita updESam; it talks

about sitA rAman’s story in a sweet way and teaches

the difference between good and bad.

 

PerumAL and tAyAr took incarnation as rAma and sItA,

and went through everything in life so that people

feel in their hearts what is good and what is bad.

Why?

 

“Think of mother as God and serve her; serve your

father; do all kaimkaryams to them” - who says all

these things? vedam does. Who said these through the

vedam? “yo brahmANam vidadAti purvam yo vai vEDAmsca

prahiNoti tasmai” - bhagavAn did. It was bhagavAn who

told everybody to serve their mother and father. But

does He have a mother and a father? (laughter in the

audience). Would He have said this if He had a mother

and a father? If He had, would He have said that the

two old people should be looked after and served with

devotion? People may agree if this was said by someone

who had a mother and a father. Look what perumAL had

to do to make people believe in what He said.

 

He had to take incarnation as rAma and had to

demonstrate in practice the “pitur vacana paripAlana”

dharmam. So what did the Supreme Lord do? “pitaram

rocayAmAsa tadA daSaratham nRpam” – He chose daSaratha

as His father, and decided that people will listen to

His instruction only if He demonstrated Himself that

He obeyed His father; His father said – “Go to the

forest”, and He showed that He obeyed, by going to the

forest.

What can be fairer? This Great Supreme Lord,

listening to the command of His father and mother.

Now people understand what a great surprise this is.

This is what is described in tiruvAimozhi pASuram.

 

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To be continued………