AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. May 06. Part 2)

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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 - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. May 06. Part 2)

 

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

 

kaRpAr rAmapirAnai allAl maRRum kaRparO

puRpA mudalA pul eRumbAdi onRinRiyE

naRpAl ayottiyil vAzhum SarASaram muRRavum

naRpAlukku uittanan nAnmuganAr peRRa nATTuLE

 

nArada bhagavAn came as AcAryan to vAlmIki mahaRshi and taught him rAmAyaNam in

a condensed form. For the same reason, the four headed brahmA blessed vAlmIki

by making sarasvatI devI appear through vAlmIki’s face in the form of a Slokam.

He told vAlmIki that he will see rAma’s story as it happened. He ordained

vALmIki to “create rAmAyaNam”. He said there will be nothing that will be

untrue in vAlmIki’s words. vAlmIki wrote rAmAyaNam in 24,000 Slokams. For the

sake of welfare of the world, he presented the teachings of vedams in the form

of rAma’s story. rAma’s sons, kuSa and lava were living in his Asramam. He

taught them (rAmAyaNam).

 

kuSI lavau tu dharma~jnau rAjaputrau yaSasvinau (bAla. 4.5)

 

‘kuSala’ means “able, skillful, clever, proficient, well-versed”. “kuSIlava”

means “a bard, singer”; kuSIlavau refers to “two who are very skilled in

singing”. They are well versed in music. dharma~jnau – they know dharmam.

Should one know dharmam for singing? Do all those who sing do that knowing

dharmam? We don’t find dharmam in those who sing. He (vAlmIki) has written

“dharma~jnau”. What is being conveyed here?

 

kuSa and lava are khsatriya-s. It is said that brahmaNa-s are not supposed to

sing. na gAyet na nRtyet na vAditrANi vAdayet - says manu smRti. A brahmaNan

must not sing - na gAyet; should not dance – na nRtyet; na vAditrANi vAdayet

- should not play any instruments like violin, harmonium, vINai etc. Thus, it

is declared that brAhmaNa-s should not sing, dance, etc. When brahmaNa-s are

referred to, it applies to the 3 castes brahmaNa, khsatriya and vaiSya. [We

know that lava and kuSa are kshatriya-s]. Then how did they sing? dharma~jnau

– he wrote it for that. Those who know dharmam are singing. It is said

brahamaNa-s cannot sing; can they chant tiruvAimozhi? Can they do that or not?

 

paNNinbam varap pADum pattaruLLAr

paramAna vaikuntam naNNuvarE ! (periyAzhvAr 3.4.10)

 

iSaiyoDum paNNin pADavaLLAravar kESavan tamarE (tiruvAimozhi 2.6.11)

 

nammAzhvAr says tiruvAimozhi must be sung with tunes. He says it should be

sung with music. If brahmaNas cannot sing, I should not say tiruvAimozhi. If

one asks why it is like that, there is a rule. brAhmaNa-s cannot sing anything

except bhagavad vishayam. If it is bhagavad vishyam, then one can sing or

dance. deSikan wrote a drama, sankalpa sUryodayam. If one asks whether dance

can be performed for that - Because it is bhagavad vishayam, yes, it can be

done. So, vAlmIki said dharma~jnau. rAjaputrau yaSasvinau AsramavAsinau –

they lived in that Asramam. He felt that only those two would be able to recite

that well. “ tau tu medhAvinau dRshTvA” – kuSa and lava are very intelligent

also. vAlmIki thought he can teach them. “vedeshu parinishThitau” - they had

completed veda adhyayanam. If the message of vedams is to be spread to the

world, these are the right authorities to do that. They have mastered the

vedams, and they know dharmam also. They can communicate the message of the

vedam-s knowing the interpretations correctly. .

 

“vedopabRhmaNArthAya tAvagrAhayata prabhu: “ (bAla. 4.6)

 

vALmIki says he accepted them as Sishya-s so that the meanings of vedams will

be explained (upabRhmaNam). He has that by God’s Grace, he accepted both of

them as Sishya-s. What is upabRhmaNam? VedopabRhamaNAm - upabRhmaNam means

explaining the meanings of vedams in a simple way. Vedams teach in a somewhat

hard way. Meanings will not be obvious. Some say that vedams themselves are

scared that they may be misinterpreted. " bibhEt-yalpa-SrutAd-vedo mAmayam

pratarishyati " (MB 1.1.204) [the vedam winces that the man of little learning

would subvert it!] . They are afraid what this person will do with the wrong

interpretation. The real meaning will be known only through a teacher.

Otherwise, it will not be known. A lot of people read a lot by themselves and

start teaching!

 

Some say that the vedam sanctions that a woman can marry 5 men; they say that

there is a mantram in vivAha praharaNam. Isn’t there such a mantra? (Srimad

ANDavan asks one of the persons in the audience who is learned in the veda-s).

 

soma: prathama: vivide gandharvo vivida uttara: |

tRtIyo agnishTe pati: turIyaste manushyajA: ||

 

somAya janivide svAhA: ! ”When this girl was unmarried, 3 devas protected

her. You, the man, is the forth. You protect this girl”. (But), some give a

novel interpretation to this mantra to mean that a girl can marry 5 men.

 

I went to gayai. When I went to gayai, I had arranged to do srArddham. I had

arranged for panDA-s ( brahmins in gayai). Three people came for brAhmaNArtham

at eleven o’ clock. They had impressive mustaches. Big mustaches. I asked why

they have come with mustaches. They said that even vedam says – have mustache;

“eshA mISe paSupati: paSUnAm catushpatAm uta ca dvipadAm” (audience bursts into

a laughter).

 

[The mantra is eshAm ISe…, but the panda-s quoted it as eshA mISe..

incorrectly].

 

The next day I came back by train. I was there for 3 days. Someone close to

me said that when he did srArddham in gayai, the person who had come for

brAhmaNArtham was waiting outside. When he was asked to come inside for eating,

he threw the cigarette he was smoking, crushed it with his foot and came

inside. When he was asked why he was smoking, he said even vedam says you can

smoke. ”Where does it say that?” “Vedam says even devas smoke cigarettes”.

“Not in the vedam that I have come across”. “agni mukhA vai devA:” ( audience

bursts into a loud laughter) It really means that when havis (offering) is

offered to the homam in bhUlokam, agni devan takes the havis and delivers it

to the devata-s. See how the mantra is misinterpreted.

 

The meanings of vedams must be taught correctly.

 

“vedopabRhmaNArthAya tAvagrAhayata prabhu: “

 

upabRhmaNam means teaching the true meanings of vedams in a simple way. That is

what SrImad rAmAyaNam is doing – teaching the vedic truths in a simple way.

Okay. The two boys sing well. Sage vAlmIki wanted to teach the whole world

through these boys. You may ask: “What is taught in the vedam-s? What is SrImad

rAmAyaNam teaching in a simple way?” There are four vedam-s. rAmAyaNam is

equivalent to those four vedam-s. They have been compared as if on a weighing

scale

 

“puNyam vedai: ca sammitam” - vAlmIki himself has made the comparison and

tells us. If four vedam-s are placed in one side of the scale, and SrImad

rAmAyaNam is placed on the other side of the scale – so says SrI nigamAnta mahA

deSikan in abhaya pradhAna sAram. vAlmIki weighs using a scale that has 2 pans.

He kept rAmAyaNam in one side and kept the four vedam-s on the other. The

needle was right in the middle.

 

puNyam vedai: ca sammitam

 

Did he weigh well? Yes, he did. Which scale did he use? There will be a

scale in the place that sells firewood. Have you seen the scale used in the

place that sells firewood? He will throw a humongous stone on to one pan and

the logs on to the other pan. The scale will move up and down on either side.

He will say – put 2 more logs; let “ayiRu” (this Brahmin) eat. Is the person

going to eat the log? (the sabhai bursts into laughter) Did vAlmIki weigh

like that? No, not like that. “puNyam vedai: ca sammitam”. There will be a

scale for weighing the best diamonds - A very delicate and accurate balance.

It will kept in a glass case so the air from the fan won’t disturb it. He kept

the four vedams in one side and SrImad rAmAyaNam on the other; he weighed it

delicately. “puNyam vedai: ca sammitam”.

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To be continued………