tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 44, Slokam 18 Part 1, tiruvAimozhi 1.7, pASuram-s 1.7.1, 1.7.2.

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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH. tAtpary aratnAvaLi - Submission 44, Slokam 18 Part 1, tiruvAimozhi 1.7, pASuram 1.7.1, 1.7.2. · Slokam 18 of tAtparya ratnAvaLi – tiruvAimozhi 1.7 – piRavit tuyar. sat-citta Akarsha hetoh (1.7.1) agha Samana nidheh (1.7.2) nitya bhogya amRtasya (1.7.3) tyAge hetu ujjhitasya (1.7.4) pravahad upakRteh (1.7.5) dus-tyajasva anubhUteh (1.7.6) | tyAga AkAn’gkshA niroddhuh (1.7.7) Srita hRdaya pRthak-kAra nitya akshamasya (1.7.8) svAtma SlishTasya (1.7.9) gAyac-chrama hara yaSasah (1.7.10) sevanam svAdu avocat (1.7) || The theme emphasized by svAmi deSikan in this tiruvAimozhi is ‘sevanam svAdu’ – Worship of bhagavAn is sweet, it is supreme delight (bhajanam parama bhogyam), as indicated in the last

phrase of the above Slokam. The ten guNa-s selected from the ten pASuram-s of this tiruvAimozhi will all support this point. Those who perform worship of bhagavAn without any desire except attaining Him, will find the worship absolutely delightful. Those who perform the worship for other benefits will not derive that full delight. The idea reflected in this tiruvAimozhi is conveyed in chapter 9 of the gItA in the chapter on ‘rAja vidyA’.

rAja vidyA rAja guhyam pavitram idam uttamam | pratyakshAvagamam dharmyam su-sukham kartum avyayam || (9.2) “This knowledge about worship is the best among all knowledge. This is greatest of secrets. It will lead to the actual realization of bhagavAn. It is the path of righteous conduct. It leads to the greatest of happiness. It leads to the Eternal Benefit”. · pASuram 1.7.1: piRavit tuyar aRa j~nAnattuL ninRu tuRavic cuDar viLakkam talaip peyvAr aRavinai Azhip paDai andaNanai maRaviyai inRi manattu vaippArE. Even those who want to be just relieved of the sorrow resulting from this birth, and who resort to j~nAna yogam and realize the kaivalya sukham of realizing that the soul

is different from the body and thereby get relieved of the false identity between the body and the soul and are saitsified with this Atma sukham only, end up keeping Him in their thoughts for deriving that benefit of kaivalyam. The idea here is that His worship is delightful, no matter whether the person worships Him for the ultimate benefit of attaining Him (of performing eternal kai’nkaryam to Him in SrI vaikunTham), or for just getting relief from the suffering resulting from the false association of the body with the soul and thereby enjoying the full realization of the eternal and unlimited nature of the soul (kaivalya

Anandam). Thes latter devotees think of bhagavAn as a person who is like a Cleaner, who can eliminate their sorrow from birth, but do not think of Him as parama bhogyan – the Most Enjoyable. The kaivalyArthI-s get immersed in j~nAna yogam, and do not go beyond that to bhakti yogam – of enjoying Him as the Ultimate benefit to be attained. But bhagavAn’s dharmam is that He will attract the minds of all who seek Him for any benefit. svAmi deSikan captures the essence of this pASuram through the

words ‘sat-citta Akarsha hetoh’ – He who does not distinguish between paramaikAntin-s and a-paramaikAntin-s, and attracts the minds of both – ‘piRavit tuyar aRa j~nAnattuL ninRu turavic cuDar viLakkam talaip peyvAr maRaviyai inRi manattu vaippArE’. The term ‘sat’ in svAmi deSikan’s words should be taken to refer to jIvAtmA-s. · pASuram 1.7.2: vaippAm marundAm aDiyarai val vinait tuppAm pulan aindum tu’njak koDAn avan eppAl evarkkum nalattAl uyarndu uyarndu appAl avan e’ngaL Ayar kozhundE. nalattAl eppAl evarkkum uyarduyarndu appAl avan – BhagavAn, in the joy that He bestows on His devotees, is far, far above anything that is known (as described in Ananda valli – ucchritocchritan), and is also beyond our reach (vA’ng manasA agocaran – yato vAco nivartante aprApya mansA saha…). e’ngaL Ayar

kozhundu – However, for the sake of the ananya prayojana-s among us (those who seek nothing except Him as the only desired goal), He has taken birth as the Chief among the cowherds. avan – That sarveSvaran, val vinait tuppAm pulan aindu tu’njak koDAn – will not let the five senses that are skilled in inducing one into bad karma-s destroy His devotee (tuppu – skill, sAmarthyam; tu’nja – naSikka, to destroy); marundAm – (Thus) He is the Medicine for the disease of samsAra (He is the upAyam – means to attain Him); vaippAm – He is also the Treasure (He is also the final goal to be attained). When bhagavAn is held in one’s mind like a treasure (vaippu), H will act as the medicine (marundu) that prevents the indriya-s from going in their own unctorlled way and sinking the person in deep karma. svAmi deSikan describes the aspect sung in this pASuram in support of bhagavAn’s ‘sevanam’ being ‘svAdu’ - “worship being sweet – a source of delight” through the words “agha Samana nidheh” – BhagavAn is the Wealth that removes all the blemishes in us

(agha – blemish; Samana – removal, destruction; nidhi – wealth) – avan val vinait tuppAm pulan aindu tu’njak koDAn marundAm vaippAm. The detailed meaning for the pASuram given in the previous paragraph clearly provides the basis for svAmi deSikan’s choice of the guNa sung in the pASuram - “agha Samana nidhi”. Because bhagavAn destroys all the effects of karma-s caused by the effect of indriya-s of His devotees, worship of bhagavAn is svAdu or the most delicious. -dAsan kRshNamAcAryan (To be continued)

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