tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 14 - Slokam 11 Part 2.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

 

tAtaparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 14 - Slokam 11 Part 2.

 

 

 

Submission 14 – Slokam 11 – part 2.

 

svAmi deSikan has treated the next three pASuram-s as one group, and

has given the guNa-s for the three pASuram-s in one phrase – svAyatta

aSesha sattA sthiti yatana bhidA vaibhavAt. svAyatta – subservient

to Him, under His total control; aSesha – without exception, all the

acetana-s and cetana-s, including the anya devatA-s such as brahmA,

rudra, indra etc., who are jIva-s subject to their karma-s; sattA –

being, existence; sthiti - protection; yatanam – effort, the ability

to function and act; bhidA – kind, species, different; vaibhavam –

greatness; here it refers to His Adhipatyam or Lordship, absolute

control.

 

· pASuram-s 1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6: svAyatta aSesha sattA sthiti

yatanabhidA vaibhavAt – svAdhIna trividha cetanAtmaka svarUpa sthiti

pravRtti bhedan (SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya). He Who is responsible for the

inherent nature, existence and functioning of all without exception.

This includes the people, the deva-s, the acetana-s etc. pASuram

1.1.4 refers to the nature of everything being subservient to Him,

1.1.5 refers to their protection and sustenance being purely under

His control, and 1.1.6 refers to the actions of everything and

everything being under His total and absolute control. All of these

again stand to support His guNa of paratvam (the guNa at the daSakam

level), and sevyatvam, (the guNa at the Satakam level).

 

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan's anubhavam is that in the 1st pASuram

of tiruvAimozhi (1.1.1), AzhvAr sang about bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-s,

tirumEni and aiSvaryam in the form of His nitya vibhUti. 2nd pASuram

sang His svarUpa vailakshaNyam (difference, uniqueness). 3rd pASuram

mentioned His leelA vibhUti. The next 7 pASurams (1.1.4 to 1.1.10)

elaborate on the guNa-s sung in the first three pASram-s further. Of

these, pASuram-s 1.1.4 to 1.1.6 – the subject of the current posting -

elaborate on His leelA vibhUti further, and point out that the

svarUpam, sthiti and pravRtti of all cetana-s and acetana-s are

bhagavad-adhInam. The word adhInam means " bhagavAn iTTa vazhakkAi

irukkiRadu " - as bhagavAn wills it to be.

 

The three words sattA, sthiti, and yatana that svAmi deSikan has used

are equivalent to the terms svarUpa, sthiti and pravRtti, that

bhagavad rAmAnuja uses in the gadya-trayam. For instance, in cUrNikA

5 of SaraNAgati gadyam, bhagavad rAmAnuja describes bhagavAn's leelA

vibhUti, and says: " sva sa'nkalpAnuvidhAyi svarUpa sthiti pravRtti

sva Seshata eka svabhAva prakRti purusha kAlAtmaka vividha vicitra

bhogya bhoktRvarga bhogopakaraNa bhoga sthAna rUpa nikhila jagadudaya

vibhava laya leela! " . – " Thy sport is creation, maintenance, and

dissolution of the world, which contain in themselves many different

kinds of enjoyment and suitable places of such enjoyment, such as

prakRti, purusha and kAla which are by their nature ever under Your

service, Oh Lord! In the matter of their form, their existence, and

their activities, they always follow only Thy wishes and dictates of

Thine " . The sentence in italics reflects the idea that svAmi

deSikan is extracting as the main thrust of the three pASuram-s we

are looking at right now- svAyatta aSesha sattA sthiti yatana bhidA

vaibhavAt.

 

· pASuram 1.1.4 – pASuram starting with " nAm avan ivan uvan " :

vividha nirdeSa nirdiSyamAna samasta vastu svarUpam bhagavad

adhInam. What this means is that bhagavAn is the antaryAmi in

everything, and they exist because He is present in them as their

antaryAmi; without Him they do not have an existence. This is the

main guNa extolled in this pASuram – (yAvaiyum yAvarumAi) ninRa

avarE.

 

The term svarUpam here can be understood as `amaippu' – the way the

things are, with their unique attributes that identify them as they

are; all this is as per His will, and under His total control.

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan explains that if He is not present in

everything as their antaryAmi, then they cannot even have an

existence - " avan uL nuzhaindirAviDil avai irukkavE irukkAdu.

AgaiyAl ellAm avan adhIna'nkaL enRa paDi " .

 

SrI UV gives the following supports – sarvam khalvidam brahma

(Sruti); jyotIgmshi vishNuh bhuvanAni vishNuh vanAni vishNuh girayo

diSaSca | nadyah samudrASca sa eva sarvam yadasti yannAsti sa

vipravarya || (VP 2.12.37) – The stars are vishNu; the worlds are

vishNu; forests, mountains, regions, rivers, oceans are vishNu; He is

all that is, and that is not " . Lest someone jump to the conclusion

that the above quote is a support for the advaita philosophy, note

that this is just saying that it is their nature – svarUpam that they

do not exist even for a moment without Him, and thus the VP quote

just declares their total dependence on Him for their essential

nature. SrI UV notes that this supports the Sruti statement – bahu

syAm prajAyeya – Let me become many.

 

· pASuram 1.1.5 – pASuram staring with " avar avar tama tamadu

aRivu aRi vagai " : sakala devatAntara AtmatayA ArAdhyanAi sakala

phala pradan AgaiyinAlE rakshaNamum tad-adhInam. The guNa that is

chosen by svAmi deSikan for this pASuram is sthiti – protection. One

has to understand the meaning of the full pASuram to appreciate how

this guNa is derived. Very briefly, the idea reflected here is that

bhagavAn has established several devatA-s (such as varuNa, agni, vAyu

etc.,), and has given them powers to bestow the necessities for the

people of the world, such as rain, air, heat, etc. All these are

needed for the protection of the beings in this world. Some may be

tempted to think that it is these gods who are performing at least

some part of the act of our protection. AzhvAr reminds us in this

pASuram that these gods have indeed the power of offering the

protection in their respective areas, only because bhagavAn has given

them these powers, and they are able to perform these functions only

because He is their antaryAmi. In other words, all these gods are

also bhagavad-adhInam – in other words, they and their powers do not

exist without Him, which is another guNa that supports the guNa of

paratvam. `avar avar vidi vazhi aDaiya, ninRanarE " - BhagavAn

stands as the Supreme One who bestows the powers to these gods (such

as indra, rudra, brahmA etc.)., based on their karma phalans.

 

SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya captures this idea in the following explanation

for svAmi deSikan's choice of sthiti (protection) as the guNa here:

emperumAn sakala devatAntara AtmatayA ArAdhyanAi sakala phala pradan

AgaiyAlE rakshaNamum tad- adhInam. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan

explains the idea conveyed as follows: antaryAmiyAna nArAyaNantAn

phalan koDukkiRAn enbadAl devarkaLAl Seyyap paDukiRa rakshaNamum

(kAppARRutalum) SrIman nArAyaNan tAn SeikiRAn - aham hi sarva

yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca.

 

The fact that the function of sthiti – protection, is assigned to the

gods by bhagavAn, is conveyed to us in the following Slokam in the

gItA:

 

devAn bhAvayatAnena te devA bhAvayantu vah |

parasparam bhAvayantah Sreyah param avApsyatha || (gItA 3.11)

 

" By this (sacrifice), you propitiate the gods who form My Body and

have Me as their self. Worshiped by sacrifices, may these gods, who

have Me as their Self, nourish you with food, drink etc. Thus

supporting each other, may you attain the highest good called moksha " .

 

The key concept relevant for us here is that bhagavAn has established

the gods such as varuNa, vAyu etc. to give us the necessities for our

living. Thus, in a sense they are performing the act of rakshaNam.

But this should not taken to mean that these gods are doing the

actual act of rakshaNatvam of us. It is He who is giving them this

power, based on their karma phalan and their rigorous worship of Him,

and they are purely subservient to Him – they are His adhInam – under

His control, subservient to Him.

 

BhagavAn is the Ultimate Enjoyer and Recipient of all our offers to

these gods:

 

aham hi sarva yaj~nAnAm bhoktA ca prabhureva ca | (gItA 9.24)

 

" I am the only Enjoyer and the only Lord of all sacrifices " .

Bhagavad rAmAnuja explains that " I am the only Lord " here means that

He is the only One who bestows the benefits or the rewards everywhere.

 

· pASuram 1.1.6 – pASuram starting with " ninRanar irundanar

kiDandanar " : svAmi deSikan gives the guNa for this pASuram as `yatana

vaibhavAt " – BhagavAn is the One Who gives the power to the cetana-s

to indulge in any kind of activity or desist from any activity – all

their actions are bhagavad adhInam – under His total control. SrI

ve'nkaTeSAcArya explains yatana vaibhavam as " cetanAcetana samasta

vastu pravRtti nivRttikaLum tat-sa'nkalpa adhInam " .

 

SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDAvan explains the concept involved here by

pointing out that He is the antaryAmi in those whose actions include

standing, sitting, lying down, or walking. (ninRanar irundanar

kiDantanar tirindanar) This covers everything a cetana can do, and

these are examples of pravRtti. Those who desist from doing any of

these actions – ninRilar, irundilar, kiDantilar, tirintilar (nivRtti)

also have Him as their antaryAmi, and so He is responsible for their

inactions also. Works and the absence of works are all as He

ordains. SrImad ANDavan's words are: niRpadu, utkAruvadu, paDuppadu

mudaliya pravRttikaLaic ceikiravarkaLukkum avan antaryAmiyAga

irukkiRAn.

 

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)