Fwd: Ninna Olumeyinda - Devaranama by Vijayadasaru

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Parimala Raghavendran

Thursday, December 27, 2007 3:17 AM

 

Hare Srinivasa!

 

Ninna olumeyinda nikila janaru baMdu mannisuvaru maharAya

 

Vijaya Dasaru is offering thanks to the Lord in a unique way by listing the positive changes in his life due to God's grace. First he says ,'nikhila janaru' meaning people from the whole universe coming and honouring him by thier visit. The foremost of these people Dasaru is referring to could be'Sri Purandara Dasaru' who visited him in a dream while he was in Kashi. He says that by just my punya I could not have got such sampattu. What sammpattu is he talking of ?

He is talking of the wealth of knowledge which he received. He says that it is the Lord's benevolence that has caused him to possess such wealth. Vijaya Dasaru was not in the league to just thank God for the wealth that is worldly. He must have been referring to the spiritual upliftment that he had received and the consequent changes in his worldly life. In a way when he is constantly in contemplation of the Lord and His great attributes it is but natural for him to have the blessings of all kinds of worldly wealth. Today's western philosophers also agree to the fact that , " Your thoughts shape your destiny. " So thinking of the Lord created a lovely synchronisation for him. But unlike these thinkers, Dasaru is thanking Him for these thoughts too because at any point we cannot claim independence on our thought process because thoughts are based on previous expereinces, knowledge and subconsious memory. All these are controlled by the Lord and depend on the swabhava of the jiva as well as the anadi karma. The anadi karma is of course a by product of the swabhava.

 

In the Bhagavad Gita 5.13 the Lord says , "

sarvakarmANi manasa saMyasyAste sukhaM vashI |

navadwAre pure dehI naiva kurvanna kArayan ||

 

" The embodied being, who has subdued his senses and offers all actions to the Supreme with the knowledge that God alone, for his good is getting things done through him as His adoration and that his ability to act is subject to Him and that neither is he doing things on his own nor can he get them done through others independently, resides in comfort in his body of nine gates and is not smeared by his acts. "

Reading through this composition one finds the extent to which Vijaya Dasaru conformed to this definition of Lord Krishna. Let us see how Dasaru examines all the incidents in his life and how God has changed them .One may ask where has Dasaru said that God is reponsible for the changed situation in his life. He does not say so explicitly but he thanks the Lord at every step. If we reflect back on that word of thanks we know that we offer thanks when someone has done something for us. Since Dasaru is thanking the Lord it means he acknowledges that God has done all these things for him.

ninna olumEyiMda nikhila janaru baMdu mannisuvaru maharAya enna puMyagaliMda E pari yuMTenO ninnade sakala sampAthu

 

jIrNamalina vastra kANada manujage pUrNavichitra suvasanA

varNa varNAdiMda bAhOdEno sampUrNa guNArnava devA

 

obba heMgasina hoTTege hAkuvudakke tabbibbugoMDeno hiMde

nirbharadiMdali sarvara kUDumbo habbadUTava unisuviyO

 

saMji tanaka iddu saNNa souTina tumba gaMji kAnade balalidenO

vyaMjana modalAda nAnA rasMgala bhujisuvudu mattenO

 

mane mane tirugidaru kAsu puTTade summane chAlvaridu balalidenO

haNa hoNNu dravyagaliddalige tanage tAta prapti noDo jIYA

 

madhyAnna kAlakke atithigalige anna meddeneMdare IyagAva

I dhareyolage satpAtrara kUDumbO paddhati nODO punyAtmA

 

nIchOcha tiliyade sarvara charaNakke chAchidenOsala hastagala

yOchisi nODalu sOjigavAgide vAchakke nilikadO hariye

 

vaidika padavIvagIbage loukIka vaidisuvadu balu kyAthe

maidunagOlida shrIvijayaviTTala ninna pAdasAkshiya anubhavavo

 

It is easier to understand this composition of Sri Vijayadasaru if we go back to his early years . He was born in 1682 to a poor brahmin couple in a small village called Chikalaparavi in Manvi taluk of Karnataka. His parents were Srinivasappa and Kusamma. Their poverty was very dire and feeding the family was a great problem and was mostly unsuccessful. Sri Vijaya Dasaru went to Kashi and studied there. On his return he was married to a young girl called Aralmma from the same village. But due to poverty their family life was miserable. He went to Kashi again and it was during this time that he had a divine vision of Sri Purandara Dasaru who initiated him into Daasa diksha and gave him the ankitha of " Vijaya Vittala " . He is an avatar of Brigu muni who proclaimed the superiority of the Lord after conducting a test. This is stated as part of Srinivasa Kalyana in Bhavishya purana. He had an indepth knowledge of the shastras and great devotion . These are reflected in each of his krithis be it devuru namas, ugabhogas or suladhis.

In this devurunama Sri VijayaDasaru discusses about his state of being during his earlier life and compares it with his lifestyle after he was graced by his guru and the Lord Vijaya Vittala.

Dasaru says , " O MaharAya, It is but your grace due to which I am being received well by people and am being given respect. Your grace has made my life full and rich in all aspects. All these are only due to your immense compassion and not due to my previous good work or punya. "

Here Dasaru addresses the Lord as maharAya. It means the greatest Lord of the Lords. Lord is the term used to address a respectable entity. Lord of Lord's is an adjective for this respectable entity to show the extraordinary respect He commands. So if we do the upAsana of the Lord as mahArAya then it is appropriate that He being in our heart as our bimba will see that such respect is awarded to Him( who exists in one and all) by others around us. But this should not increase the ego of the person to whom the respect is directed albeit indirectly. Therefore the continuous reminder that everything is by His Grace.'ninna olumeyiMda " .

sampathu means worldly wealth , but Dasaru says sakala sampathu meaning worldly wealth as well as spiritual wealth. Worldly wealth is not just money,property etc but also health, peace of mind, stable life and other things related to the body, but spiritual wealth goes beyond the body and is of a permanent kind which can be possessed only by the soul. He is the giver of both.

In one devurunama Jagannatha Dasaru says, 'ihaparada soukya pradAta nine ahudo lokaika vikyAtha " . You are the most eminent Lord who bestows peace both in this world and the other because it belongs only to You. " Dasaru rightfully states that everything belongs to the Lord. ninnade sakala sampathu .

VeMkata vittala dasaru also echoes this in one devurunama , " nandEnadO swAmi ninde idellavu. " This can be understood as follows : A cashier in bank is the controller of the cash for the day. He dispenses the money based on the conditions. Cheques, standing instructions etc. So the cashier is in control of the bank. He can never use the money or give it to whomever he pleases. In a similar, we are also temproary custodians of what is given to us. We should be aware that we don't have complete control on what is entrusted in our hands even for a short while, and thereby understand that there is someone else who controls and look for Him . The example is crude and limited and is just meant to emphasise that whatever we have actually belongs to God.

 

It is relevant to recall the verse from BG 5.14 which says, "

na kartrutvam na karmANi lOkasya srjati prabhuH |

na karmaphalasMyOgam swabhAvastu pravartate ||

" Jive though more capable than matter , lacks the independent initiative. Neither can he do things on his own nor can he get them done through others independently. Neither can he reap the results thereof. These are entirely under the jurisdiction of the Paramatman who steers the jiva based on his essential essence or swabhava. "

Dasaru wants to highlight the fact that whatever good work we may do we have to understand that it is insufficient to bring us fruits of the kind that we enjoy. It is only that God accepts what we offer and multiplies it infinite times and gives them back to us.

Jagannatha Dasaru in his Harikathamrutha saara says,

smarisuvara aparAdagala tAsmarisA sakalEshTa pradAyaka

marali tangarpisalu koTTadanna anaMta maDi mAdi

(He multiplies the offering infinite times and then gives it back at the right time)

paripariyali uMDunisi sukha sAgaradi lOlADisuva maMgala charita

chinmaya gAtra lOkapavitra sucharitrA || HKAS 2.15

He is only seeing our intention and not the volume. Nothing comes to fruitful completion until the God wills it. So indirectly even if we do something good successfully that also is due to God's grace. In the Mahabharata there is a story of Janaka maharaja. This is related by Lord Krishna as part of the Anugeetha which he gives to Arjuna after the war was over. He says, " There was a brahmin who had comitted an unforgiveable offence. The offence is not mentioned but it was very bad and King Janaka gave the following sentence. He said, " I order you to leave my kingdom and go away from it. You can live anywhere but not in my kingdom. " At that time the brahmin asked him , " Your orders shall be obeyed. But can you tell me where your kingdom ends and where the other kingdom begins? Which kingdom belongs to you? To whom did it belong before you came? To whom will it belong after you go? " Janaka raja was perplexed by this question and began a chain of introspection which led him to understand that the brahmin was not an ordinary brahmin. It was the Dharma devata in disguise to point out the pointlessness in thinking about our temporary possessions as " OURS " .

 

Neither the wealth nor the family property nor the relationships that we have are exclusively ours at point of time. Always they are there only due to God's grace. He places us there and we have it for that time. For example : If a man who has a lot of property dies and comes to be reborn to the neighbour but has the memory of his previous birth. Is it acceptable for him to claim that the property still belongs to him? Is it acceptable to claim that his previous parents/family belong to him? " Not at all. It is not possible. None would be able to accept it.

This clearly shows that the wealth and other things are temproary and are there for the time period that the Lord wills it. It is not unheard of to hear of stories of complete devastation of entire properties of a person overnight. Neither of lost families due to disasters and accidents. If these were ours we should have been able to keep them forever. It belongs only to the Lord as He is the supreme controller. He metes out the fruits based on certain conditions and we just experience them .

At first Dasaru says that it is the Lord's compassion which makes people to flock to him and pay thier respects. One way to understand it is that when Dasaru had the realisation of the Lord in himself at that time the presence of the Lord affected the attitude of other people towards him. They had to automatically respect him because of the Lord's presence knowingly or unknowingly.

He experienced the Lord and therefore the Lord who is present in His heart centre became His constant companion.

Even socially when we go out with someone who is great then we also get the same respect and treatment that is accorded to them.The sannidhana of the Lord is greater in the learned and thereby they automatically command respect. Even in the BG the Lord says, " When something is extraordinarily brilliant then know that it is My power that works through that person or thing. "

Vijay Dasaru realised it and sang this song.

Vijayadasaru is repeatedly comparing his lifestyle in terms of dress, food, the company and the respect awarded to him.

He says , " Before I used to struggle to get even a torn costume or dress but now I have access to colourful costumes of various textures and colours. How did it happen? The answer, " Ninna olumEyinda...... " " olume means benevolence.

Then he says , " How can it happen that I get so many coloruful clothes now, Oh Lord, full of auspicious attributes when I did not have even a torn cloth to call my own? Definitely this is Your overflowing Grace and not anything to do with my efforts. "

He says , " Previously I could not even provide my young wife a proper meal each day and I was continuously tormented by that fact. Now You have enriched my life by making me have sumptuous feasts each day and that too not alone but with many many people.He talks of eating 'habbada uta' meaning eating with great happiness in the company of other devotees. habba is a celebration of God's grace on us and such a day occurs only sometimes for normal people like us but Dasaru says it was so everyday. "

He is saying to the Lord , " If it was not Your Grace then what is it? He says 'matteno' meaning " What else is the reason? " He is referring to the change in his affordability . He says, " Previously , I used to go hungry for days waiting and waiting for even half a ladle of porridge, but in vain. Now I have the means to prepare food of different types and of different tastes everyday . " Dasaru says , " I have expereinced it. There is no way that I could get such a change from my earlier life without Your Grace, Oh Lord. "

Dasaru is exclaiming at the Lord's benevolence. He says , " When I used to go begging from house to house getting even one paisa was a difficult and almost impossible task. But now I stay put in my place and the wealth, gold and property comes to me. "

Dasaru is asking the Lord to see the change.He address the Lord with an endearing term. He says , " noDo jIyA " . " O sweet Lord,Please see the difference in my life and also notice that I am aware that the difference is due to Your GRACE and not anything else. " One should not conclude that Dasaru is saying that the present things were due to His grace while the early days were not. If the early days were not there then the present days change would not be felt.

He says, " Oh punya Atma, O wonderful one without any defects! Previously during the afternoon times, there would be nothing to give to any guests if they visited, but now it a tradition to have distinguished guests, guests who are knowledgable about You, to come and partake of the prasadam offered to You. " Dasaru is mentioning where all these great changes took place. He clarifies that the place is still the same but the tradition has changed. One may say that after moving there I had some changes in my life. But Dasaru says , " all these changes occured right here, in this body, in this same place. " " What an auspisious Lord He is to be able to effect such change without making a change of place. Only the change is in Time. "

He tells the Lord, " Without any consideration for the purity of my body and birth, I begged by falling at the feet of anybody and everybody. I did not understand how to respect Your presence in the body. I did not take into consideration that You are the Supreme giver and none can give what you Will that I should not have. Now I proclaim that None can take away what You Will to give. Such is Your pre-eminence, Oh Lord! I am really ashamed of myself. How could I ever think otherwise? None other that You would be benevolent enough to let me even speak now, after all the blunders that I have comitted. But You are so compassionate You are letting me sing Your glory. "

Here it is relevant to recall the first verse of Ishavasya " Upanishad.

" IshAvAsyam idam sarvam yatkiMcha jagatyAm jagat

tEna tyaktEna bhuMjItha ma grida kasya sviddanaN "

" The Lord exists in every atom of His creation and whatever He gives, one has to accept and be contented with it. Never hanker after what is not yours. Never covet the wealth of others. "

The realisation of the second part is what Dasaru is talking about. " Whatever He gives, one has to accept with grace and willingness to expereince. "

Finally Dasaru says , " Oh Lord You are the giver of the higher benefits, the benefit of knowledge and bliss but I am talking about all the physical and social benefits that I have obtained by Your grace. People seek You for these kind of reasons mostly, and these reasons are popular for doing Your seva. But the inner reason for Your seva is known only to Your sincere devotees like Arjuna who perform NishkAma karma and obtain Your grace , O Lord Vijaya Vittala. "

 

Dasaru says that he has the experience of the above and the Lord's feet is the sAkshi for everything that he has experienced.

In the BG the Lord tells about the special bhaktas as being very few in number. The majority of them hanker after freedom from troubles, or acquisition of wealth.

He says ,

'manushyAnAm sahasrEshu kaschitdyatati sidhAnAm

yatatAmapi siddAnAm kaschinmAm vetti tatvataH ||7.3 "

 

" Among thousands of devotess only a few of them pursue the higher ends of Vedantic knowledge, among those who pursue such knowledge only a few of them reach the required perfection to expereince ME. "

Dasaru is indirectly exhorting the layman to begin his/her journey on this path and try to become one of the thousand devotees pursuing a higher end. His life expereinces are laid bare bereft of any ego , in order that sincere seekers can understand by observing the experiences and thereby try to implement the constant thought that the Lord is the inner controller of everything and everybody. Once this is brought into practice then one can consider that one is quite near to VaikuMTa. How so? It is said so by the Lord Himself in the BG6.31

" That jnanin who considers Me as the immanent Lord controlling from within the entire existence and subduing the sentient beings and adores Me with this " oneness fo vision " dwells in Me alone. (secures salvation) "

Let us pray to Vijaydasaru is give us this faith and perseverence to follow his example.

" smarisi badukiro divya charanakkeragiro

durita taridu poreva vijaya gurugalembara " ... Vyasa vittala dasaru's adoration of his guru.

I am not the doer ,Lord Hari is the doerSri KrishnArpanamastuR.Parimala-- parameshvara bhaktirnAma niravadhika ananta anavadya kalyANaguNatva GYAnapUrvakaHsvAtmAtmIya samasta vastubhyo aneka guNAdhiko antarAya sahasrenApya

pratibaddo nirantara premapravAhaH (jiGYAsAdhikaraNam.h, a verse from Sriman Nyaya Sudha)(Meaning from Srimad Bhagawad Gita (The song Olympian) by Sri G V Nadgauda.[Devotion to Lord] (bhakthi) is the invariable & continuous flow of ardent

affection to God, undettered by varied frustrations in life, [excelling the attachment to self, our kindred & other lovable assets] (vairagya), reinforced by [sound knowledge] (jnAna) & solid conviction of His glory &

greatness, as the sole independent Power, the abode of all auspicious attributes, free from foibles. As such, it differs from blind belief & selfish live. It should be founded on an unshakable intellectual &

emotional conviction in the Majesty of the Lord- as the embodiment of all spiritual excellences.