AcArya rAmAmRtam - (from SrI ra’nganAtha pAdukA dt. June 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. June 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

 

 

Shouldn’t the one who cooks look decent? In answer to that question, vAlmIki

says how the one who serves food should look –

 

yasya tvAhAra samaye, sudhA: kuNDala dhAriNa:

 

The cultured ones in those days (before foreigners came) – the person who was

cooking for rAman and serving food on the leaf (banana) – how was he? That

cook was wearing diamond ear-stud and wearing a dhoti that was as white as the

foam of the pARkaDal (the ocean of milk). It is not the foam of the water – it

is the foam of the pARkaDal! The white dhoti and the while (diamond) ear-stud

would shine brilliantly. When he was stirring the pAyasam (sweet pudding), the

brilliance of the ear-stud would reflect on the pAyasam and it would appear

white. When some people serve, it is best that we don’t look at them. We

should close your eyes and eat (laughter in the audience). yasya tvAhAra

samaye, sudhA: kuNDala dhAriNa:

 

[iLaiya perumAL is asking:] What is wrong if I come with You? Am I not

handsome? Am I any less handsome than You? After all, I am also the son of

daSaratha. Don’t I have charm? You can ask SUrpaNaka for witness! She will

tell you! When she put the application for you, she said ‘cinna ayyirum

tevalai! (the younger one is also okay!) (laughter in the sabhai).

vaidharmyam neha vidyate – there is nothing wrong. lakshmaNan pleaded that he

should be taken along by doing SaraNAgati and established his svarUpam as a

servant (ki’nkaran).

 

Likewise, in AraNya kANDam, on the banks of gOdAvari river, ten years passed;

only four more years to go. rAman asked lakshmaNan to build an Asramam. Where

should it be built?

 

vana rAmaNyakam yatra jala rAmaNyakam tathA |

sannikRshTam ca yatra syAt samit pushpa kuSodakam || (AraNya kANDam 15.5)

 

“The ASramam should be built where there is water close by, where there are

beautiful trees close by, where there are flowers, tulasi etc close by. You

have done kai’nkaryam for the past 10 years. You are a prince also. You have

suffered too much for me. You build an ASramam in such a place that you need

not suffer from at least now on” said rAman. As soon as He said this,

lakshmaNan started crying aloud. sItai came running!

She asked, “Why is brother-in-law crying?”

rAmar said, “I don’t understand anything”.

“What did You tell him?”

“I did not say anything! I said build an ASramam in a place of his choice such

that he doesn’t have to suffer too much any more in performing kai’nkaryam. I

did not say anything else.”

“You would have hidden some meaning in what You said. Only You two will

understand what You two talk. Why did You say that and made him cry?”

iLaiya perumAL said, “Why did you say like that to me, elder brother! svayam

tu rucire deSe kriyatAm iti mAm vada | (AraNya kANDam 15.7) - You should have

shown a place that You liked very much and should have ordered me to build an

ASramam there. Instead,You said: “Build an ASramam for your convenience”.

There is no such thing called ‘my convenience’. Your convenience is my

convenience also. .

 

jIvAtmA should be parArtham (subservient). jIvAtmA is only for paramAtmA. I

am here only for Your welfare. You talked about my goodness and separated me

from You.”

 

jIvAtmA is an object existing for the benefit of emperumAn.

 

“tanakkEyAga enaikkoLLumIdE

enakkE kaNNanai yAn koL SiRappE” (tiruvAimozhi 2.9.4)

 

bhagavAn asks nammAzhvAr “What do you desire?” AzhvAr says, “You should accept

me as Your servant. That is all I want. What is Your desire? Please tell me.”

maRRai nam kAma’ngaL mARRElOr empAvAi.

 

“aDiyEn uLLAn uDal uLLAn aNDtagattAn puRattuLLAn” ( tiruvAimozhi 8.8.2) said

AzhvAr. The term “aDiyEn” is very significant.

 

SrI bhAshyakArar says “Seshataika rasam AtmAnam” – [Our self is subservient to

emperumAn] (gItA bhAshyam 7-15). Today, cakkaraip po’ngal has been prepared.

It is very good. It is very sweet. What is so special in cakkaraip po’ngal?

Everything is good. But, there are a lot of cashews. That is the specialty.

What does this AtmA have? It has j~nAnam; it is j~nAna svarUpam [its true

nature is one of infinite knowledge]. nityatvam – it is eternal. But, what is

its specialty? That is the Seshatvam. ”Seshataika rasam AtmAnam” is the

specialty. Seshatvam is being “aDiyEn” to bhagavAn. dAsabhUtatvam – being the

eternal servant of bhagavAn - that is the aspect of interest for AtmA. It is

doing kai’nkaryam in all places (sarva deSa), at all times (sarva kAla), in all

physical conditions (sarva avasthai). That is the beauty. What is sarvadeSa?

Someone is performing kai’nkaryam in the ASramam. He says, “If the opportunity

is in SrIra`ngam, I will do kai’nkaryam. I cannot do in other places”. What

is sarva avasthai? “If I have no problem with my legs, hands, etc., then I

will do kai’nkaryam; but if I fall sick, I cannot do”. sarva kAlam – “I will

do whatever is needed if you ask during daytime. I cannot do in the night”.

‘sarva deSa, sarva kAla, sarva avasthai’ means jIvAtmA should do kai’nkaryam to

bhagavAn irrespective of the place, time, or physical condition. That is the

rasam. That is the rasam in Seshatvam. iLaiya perumAL is demonstrating that

only.

 

bhavAmstu saha vaidehyA giri sAnushu ramsyate |

aham sarvam karishyAmi jAgrata: svapata: ca te || (ayodhyA. 31.26-27)

 

“My Brother! You please be comfortable with pirATTi. aDiyEn will do

everything. I will do all the kai’nkaryam when You are wide awake and when You

are lying down.” – that is how he requests kai’nkaryam to perumAL. This is

Sesha svarUpam – the true nature of being subservient.

 

lakshmaNan does kai’nkaryam when there is prosperity, when He (rAman) is in the

forest, when He is managing the kingdom after coming back, and at all times.

That is the jIva svarUpam. This is conveyed in the vedams. vedopabRhmaNArthAya

tAvakrAhayata prabhu: - thus vAlmIki composed SrImad rAmAyaNam to instruct us

about pratyagAtmA (jIvAtmA) who is the prAptA (the attainer).

 

Thirdly, prAptyupAyam - the means to attain Him is prAptyupAyam – SaraNAgati –

all the kANDams in rAmAyaNam talk about SaraNAgati. SaraNAgati is the

center-bolt that binds together all the kANDa-s of SrImad rAmAyaNam In bAla

kANDam, three SaraNAgati-s are described - SaraNAgati by the deva-s, triSa`nku

SaraNAgati, and Suna: Sepan SaraNAgati; in ayodhyA kANDam, there is SaraNAgati

by bharatan; in araNya kANDam, there is SaraNAgati by the Rshi-s; in

kishkindA kANDam there is sugrIva SaraNAgati; in sundara kANDam, there is

trijaTAi SaraNAgati; in yuddha kANDam, there is vibhIshaNa SaraNAgati. This is

what SaraNAgati SAstram is. This is spoken of as SaraNAgati vedam. For this

vedam, the topic of giving protection to vibhIshaNa serves as the upanishad

part (the essence of the veda).

 

tathA prApti virodhi ca – The enemy to attaining the goal is pApam – the

performance of unrighteous acts. Why one does not go to bhagavan? It is all

because of committing pApam. Kaikeyi asked for a boon. PerumAL prepared to

leave. He got blessings from kausalyai. He went to sItai and said, “14 years

will pass like minutes quickly.” Time flies very fast. It has been 20 years

since I entered sanyAsa ASramam. It feels like I just got sanyAsam. But, 20

years have gone by. Over the last 2 days, I have been thinking how I have

survived like this for the last 20 years. I should have gone by now. There is

so much difficulty. (AcAryar laughs to himself ---- Notes by Editor – this

part was taken from the rAmAyaNa upanyAsam recording in chennai ASramam in

1984. The cassette recording from the old 1972 part is not available. Only

because of AcArya anugraham, with great effort, this 1984 part was obtained).

 

PerumAL tells pirATTi – “14 years will pass by quickly. I will go to the

forest and come back. You be careful.” devi says – “What svAmi, You are

asking me to stay? pApam mayi na vidyate (ayodhyA kANDam 27.8) – “I am not

aware of any act on my part that should lead to suffering for me”. If You say

I have to stay without You, only if I have pApam, I can do so. I do not have

anything unrighteous associated with me”. What a response from pirATTi! . If

there is pApam, it will separate one from perumAL. The sole reason why we are

separated from perumAL is our pApam! If we commit pApam, we are kept away from

perumAL. See how simply pirATTi is conveying the message! Similarly, she says

to tiruvaDi [hanuman] - “mamaiva dushkRtam ki’ncit mahadasti na samSaya:”

(sundara kANDam 38.48) - “ I have behaved offensively towards lakshmaNan.

PApam. That is why I am punished with these 10 months (of abduction by

rAvaNan). I have committed one that is even more significant. I said bad things

about bharatan also. – prayukto bharatena vA (AraNya. 45.24)) – I scolded

lakshmaNan saying that bharatan might have sent him to follow rAman with wrong

motive. Bharatan is a mahA bhagavatan. BhAgavata apacAram will destroy the

effects of bhakti, prapatti or anything else as well. That is the obstacle

(pratibandhakam). pApam – unrighteous conduct, that is the cause for not

attaining Him. Of all the pApa-s, bhAgavata apacAram is the most severe.

That is why I got separated [from the Lord]. I did apacAram [committed an

offense] to iLaiya perumAL. That is why I got separated from perumAL.

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To be continued…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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