Devaranama on Jiva kartrutva by Purandara Dasaru to show that 'Jiva is a dependent doer

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Hare Srinivasa ! Is the jiva an independent doer? Or Is the jiva totally under the Lord's control? How do we know or understand this through expereince? These questions are answered by Purandaradasaru in this devaranama wherein he uses animated analogies to show that the jiva is only a dependent doer and is controlled by the Lord at all times in all actions/thoughts and existences. Acharyaru has said, 'na hi pratibiMbasya kriya" meaning that the jiva who is a pratimba has no kriya , implying that the jiva has no independent wish to act and never acts independtly of the Lord. But Acharyaru has also said ," jivOpi karta" meaning the jiva is a doer. From these two statements the essence to be taken is that the jiva is a doer but not an independent doer. The jiva is the dependent doer. Only the Lord has the independence to wish and act accordingly. We don't. We get wishes based on our swabhavas and previous karma store and action being the essence of the jiva, we are propelled by a strength superior to ourselves in the form of tatvabhimani devatas and Mukya prana devaru and the Lord. One may ask "When I have the expereince of having the wish myself and then doing the action myself, then why should I think

otherwise?" For that , " If the jiva had such a control on wishing and implementing the wishes then it would never have to suffer , because it would concentrate on wishing only good expereinces and never bad ones. But by expereince everyone knows that this is not the case. All are made to expereince bad and good things in life. So it follows that there must be a higher power controlling the expereinces of jivas. And from the shastras it follows that this niyamaka is the Lord who operates through His parivara devatas. Dasaru's intention is to convey the complete independence of the Lord and the jiva's total dependence on the Lord with respect to his existence. Existence implies the body which

is occupied by the jiva, the place of living, the food which sustains, the shelter ,the clothes , the knowledge obtained etc. In this devuru nama , Dasaru wants to put before us the following concepts contained in the Hindu scriptures and highlighted by Srimad Acharya. 1. Lord Hari is the sole independent doer, the jiva is the dependent agent. 2.The jiva has jNana, iccha and kriya i.e the ability to recognise a wish, a little knowledge, and the option to attempt. At no time, does the jiva have the ability to act independently. This is hidden from the jiva due to the achintya adbhuta shakthi of the Lord. Lord Krishna says "nA datte

kasyachitpApam na chaiva sukritam vibhuH aJnAnenAvrutam jnAnam tena muhyaMti jaMtavaH || 5.15 " The jiva on his own earns neither merit nor sin from his actions. He enjoys no independence either in doing deeds or its consequences. Jiva's buddhi is blinded by ignorance. Hence they are bewildered and behold not the Paramatman who prompts them all." The jiva feels as if he is the independent doer. But Dasaru shows us through various vivid examples, that such is not the case. We all have experienced at one time or the other, the feeling that we are not in control while doing because if we were doing independently then when we set out to do something, we should always succeed. We set out to go to one place, and

reach some other, we set out to purchase one thing and end up buying something else. These are just mundane examples, but life changing actions also happen in a similar way only. 3. One can progress well spiritually , if one understands these concepts and exerts one's option to attempt at implementing it in every action and thought . The option to attempt is also not one's independent choice but as a form of submission to the Lord' will. Purandara Dasaru cites the dependence of the jiva on the Lord by giving examples of unsuccessful actions which are caricatured to capture the imagination of the sadhaka, so that one can grasp the truth and retain it. He uses many techniques to deliver his message. He uses imagination, fantasy and finally harsh

words to ensure that his message reaches the maximum number of people while making the maximum impact . Finally Dasaru says that anything and everything is due to the grace of Lord Purandara viTTala and that without His grace every endeavour will fail . Here the message is loud and clear ,"As long as things go as we want them, then it is so by God's grace" . We can conclude that if a wish of ours is in tune with God's wish for us, the it becomes true. When an event goes haywire it means that the Lord intended it to go wrong due to many reasons. We should practise submission to the will of God. "iTTAnge iruveno hariye enna doreye" says Sripadarajaru . I shall exist as You direct , Oh Lord". To understand this, it is relevant to know that

there are 5 basic conditions to be fulfilled for an action to occur. Lord Krishna in the BG 18.14 says , adhisshTanam tata karta karaNam cha pritagvidam vividAshcha pritakchEshTA daivam chaivAtra panchamam II 1. adhistAna- earth,body 2. karta -the agent for doing the work 3.karaNa - indriyas 4.vividhA chEshaTA-the various actions performed by the jNana indriyas and karma indriyas to carry out the action . d. Daiva- the Supreme God who is the inner regulator of all beings inEninnEnu raMga inEninnEnu inEninnEnu krishna inEnEnnenu Dasaru says," Oh Lord Ranganatha, what else, Oh Krishna , what else?" The tone of Dasaru when he says 'what else?" conveys the urgency with which he wants to express his regret that human beings seem unaware of the independent agency of the Lord and the helplessness of the jiva. He is asking the Lord ," When there are so many unsuccessful undertakings evidenced by every man, then also why doesn't man realise that indepentdent doership is NOT his forte. What else

is needed to make man realise this?" bhAvi thoDalu bhavya betAla horaTare inEninEnu kUDidda gaMDanu kODuganAdamele inEninEnu A person digs a well. From the depths of the well instead of water to quench the thirst there arises a vampire. A woman who is married with many good aspirations finds all of them dashed to the ground because her husband turns out to be a cruel man. Dasaru wants to indicate that generally what is true will not be true for one who is shorn of God's grace with respect to that action. Generally when a person digs a well, he wants to get water from it for various activities. Instead of that if he is further troubled by a ghost then it is clear that the person's wish is at variance with the Lord's will. With repect to the Gita verse above let us see how we can understand the Lord's doership in this example. - the earth is the adhistAna , the person is the karta , his hands, crowbar etc are the karana, thinking of a strategy to dig, digging out the mud,is the vividha chEshaTa . 1.Now the earth is created by God. It is maintained by Him and destroyed by Him. He controls every aspect of it. 2.The person is the jiva who has been given a body by the Lord according to his past karma,swabhava(soul's own nature). So that also depends on the Lord. 3.The hands - being part of the body function if they are healthy and also depends on karma, thereby on the Lord who disburses accordingly. 4. The mental and physical faculties of all men don;t work as they should even if they exist. Eg: a paralysed man cannot move his limbs, a mad man cannot think up a strategy. The existence and functioning of the indriyas depend on the

grace of the Lord keeping in view our past karma. Finally we come to the 5th condition: The Lord's grace. If it is not there then the action is unfulfilled. The fifth factor is most important because all the four factors are indirectly dependent on the fifth factor. In the concluding line Dasaru says ,"kaMditA purandara viTTal rAyana karuNe tappidemel inEninEnu". Once the grace of Lord is lost then there is nothing left . Everything is there only when there is Grace. From this one sentence we should understand that many wishes may pop up in our mind depending on our swabhava and karma , being placed there by the Lord Himself. But we

are impelled towards some actions and complete them successfully while some other just dissppear temprarily and come back later and some are unsuccessful even though undertaken with zeal. The nature of the soul and its anadi karma determine the wishes and the nature of the soul, the effect of the trigunas on the intellect determines the choice of the wish which is then implemented by the Lord through the tatvabhimani devatas. Dasaru in another devuru nama says ,"Hari chitta satyA nara chittakke bandaddu lava lEsha naDayadu" When a young girl is married she may expect to be cared for, by her husband , but if he turns out to be a cruel man then Dasaru

says that it is nothing but God's will. He says that everything in this world happens only because God wills it. Nothing happens just because man wills it. Even the will/thought of man to think of such an unsucessful thought is God's will. mADDidda gaNapanu maMganant Adamel inEninEnu nADa janake nAlku nAlige Adamel inEninEnu One sets out to make a statue of an elephant but ends up making the figure of a monkey. Even though one intends for a certain outcome, some other outcome happens. Let's apply the BG verse 18.14 to this verse. 1. adhisshTanam= body of man, earth on which he resides 2. karta - the jiva who wants to make the elephant 3. karaNa- the brain of the person which understands the know how of shaping clay, the hands which should be dextrous 4. vividha chEshaTa - thinking about the object, the bringing of the clay, the shaping of it etc. Now the above 4 conditions are dependent on the Lord, so the fifth condition occupies the topmost place . It is no wonder that Dasaru says ,kaMditA purandara viTTal rAyana karuNe tappidemel " The people of the neighbourhood may respect one, but at some time if one resorts to an angry,misguided outburst triggered by distress or hate, they may all turn their heads against one and whisper behind one's

backs. One should realise that every relationship on earth is by the grace of God beginning with one's parents, spouse, children and neighbours. He is the one who is the preraka for all actions . One may ask how can He decide when we should be angry or hate others etc. For that the Lord says in the BG Chapter 13, that He is the real knower of the entire body which is referred to as Kshetra. He also says that the five great elements and the tatwas- Mahat-tatwa, Ahankar, intellect and unmanifest Prakriti, the five sense objects, the ten sense organs the Mind with the presiding deities, the entire prapancha is counted as the Kshetra. Will, hate, delight, distress of body, pervasive intellect and courage are modifications of Kshetra. Since the Lord is the knower of kshetra , He is directly controlling the emotional aspects of all the jivas being their inner controller. So

actions that are arbited out of hate feelings are also controlled by the Lord. He moderates the jiva's actions according to the jivas past karmas, swabhava and option/wish to act as per the Lord's will. This option or wish is again dependent on the Lord because He ensures that the choice the jiva makes is the one that the jiva is eligible for. Sripadarajaru in a devuru nama says , "nara YAna dolu kshaNa narashrEshta nenisuvi vara chatra chAmarava hAkisuvi karuNAnidhe ninna karUNe tappidamel pAdarakshEyu doreyadaiyya You bestow a human birth, then bestow fame and make people praise and serve that person, when You stop showeing Your grace then even getting a slipper to gaurd one's feet is impossible." hakikoMDa heralu tAvAgi aridamel inEninEnu hAkkida hAsige hAvagi hodamel inEninEnu Braided hair which is usually fastened by a knot , suddenly comes undone on its own. This signifies that tasks which we think we have taken care of and finisihed may backfire. We should always be aware that things fall into place if one is eligible to reap the fruits based on swabhava ,past karma and that is decided by the Lord. It is of utmost importance to be grateful to the Lord for His benovelence and also treat adversities with equinamity as they are also sent by the Lord for the soul's progress. A person intends to relax on a mattress, but when he lies down he finds that it is not a mattress but a coiled snake . It could refer to the seemingly

pleasurable activities in life which can turn poisonous for the soul's spiritual progress. Example: Gossiping about other people is detrimental to one's spiritual growth as it wastes thought resources and encourages jealousy,hate and other negative emotions disturbing the peace of mind. One should not be complacent but should always be on the alert to follow the guidelines set by the Guru . In one devuru nama Dasaru says ,"modalu torutide madhura vishaya suka , kaDeyali dukha anEkaThe pleasure obtained through the senses like may seem sweet at first , but they definitely lead to distress." Eri kulitha kombe eraDAgi muridamel inEninEnu Ariddha ijjalu agNiyAgurida mel inEninEnu One sits on a branch of a tree and that branch breaks into two. If our perception of truth is flawed then the outcome is a fall. The power of the mind is so great that whatever it perceives to be true , it finds evidences to corroborate that and therefore a lot of time can be wasted if the initial perception itself is wrong. Thus it is of utmost importance that one should seek God's grace in consolidating correct knowledge with the help of strong conviction in the purport of the scriptures as shown by Srimad Acharya. If not what we think to be the truth may not be

the truth and we may have to begin all over again. Peices of coal that have been put out , suddenly catch fire and burn. Past karma which we may consider as erased can suddenly flare up and cause disturbance. If we have committed a folly it is best not to ignore it but to seek God's grace in repenting for it and trying to not do it again. irisidda bEliyu holavanne mEddamel inEninEnu kalisidda avalakki kalaberike tiMdaamel inEninEnu One erects a fence to ward

off unwanted pests from feeding on the grains in the field, but one finds that the fence itself eats up the grains. The mind is the fence as well as the pasture. If one can control one's mind from the onsluaght of the sense organs, then thoughts of the Lord and His glories can grow and flourish in it. But if the mind is not controlled then it continuosly consumes the pleasures from the sense organs and and there are no thoughs of the Lord in it. In otherwords the pasture(contemplative thoughts) is destroyed by the mind(fence) itself. kalaberike -mixture One mixes pounded rice to eat but finds that the mixture of ingredients has been

consumed by the mixture itself. The mind is the organ to receive the mixed input from all the senses and it is the mind which enjoys the mixed inputs too. Dasaru is warning the sadhaka about the importance of seeking God's grace in controlling the mind. It is like a two way valve and can open towards the Lord or towards ephemeral pleasures of the world. karNavolaginna boMbe kacchalu baMdamel inEninEnu anna unnadde bahala AjirNavAda mel inEninEnu kaRna - organ of sense A figure which is the product of one's imagination comes to bite the person. Dasaru could be referring to the state of a dream where figures are created by the mind through the Lord's prerana . The experience of the dream is real, and if a figure from the dream chases us we really feel as we are running during the dream. Dasaru is highlighting the Lord's control in the dream state. A person who has not eaten dies of indigestion. This happens due to malfunctioning of various organs which are internally controlled by the Lord through the tatvabhimAni devatas. The subtler view of this verse can refer to " Why bad things happen to good people?" This is because the Lord disburses

justice at a suitable time only. One may not have done anything severely wrong in this birth, yet one may have to expereince severe hardships. This should be understood as the Lord's dispensation because of previous karma done many lifetimes ago. At no time does one have the right to question the Lord. One should understand that the Lord does everything for the benefit of the soul only. He seeks not to punish but to encourage the soul to reach the state of eternal happiness. goDege barahULi guDDuguDisi tina baralu inEninEnu kUDDidda kathtale karaDiAg hodamel inEninEnu guDDuguDisi- growl ,to roar The writings engraved on a wall begin to growl and roar. Dasaru is getting on with piquing our imagination by introducing fantasy. Seemingly impossible things can begin to happen if the Lord wills it. One might be very rich and secure financially at one time but y cases of such people becoming paupers overnight are not unknown. One who never complained of any sickness can die overnight. One who was a pauper can become rich in a short span of time. One who never dreamed of fame can become famous. One is wandering in a forest and night falls. One retreats to a dark corner of a forest in order to escape being spotted by fierce

animals, but finds that the darkness is actually a black bear. We always tend to visualize ways and means to make ourselves financially, physically and emotionally secure.But having accomplished any number of schemes for this , security reamins an illusion. We can be safe and sercure only if the Lord desires it. gaMDU makkalu yamagaMDaraMtha Adamel inEninEnu kaMditA puraMdara viTTala rAyana karuNe tappidemel inEnu Parents always expect sons to be obedient. Dasaru thinks otherwise. He says ,"When sons who should be

obedient start giving orders that cannot be overlooked like Yamadharmaraja ,then what is there to be said?" Yamadharma gives orders to vacate the physical body and he never takes 'NO' or 'Later' for an answer. Dasaru has used imagination, fantasy in the previous verses and now he is using harsh words to send a wake up call to all humanity. What is there to be experienced? Is it necessary for one to expereince anything further than this to understand that all the good things that we have are due to the GRACE of the Lord and not otherwise. This is the absolute truth. Whatever we do, we are being made to do by the Bimba rupi Paramatma with His grace. Whatever sadhana we are doing it is the Lord who is making us do by giving the correct inspiration to our mind. All that we

eat, is being digested by the Lord's VaishvAnara rupa who resides in the stomach. Any security we have now is being afforded because the Lord prevents us from being attacked by the onslaught of natural disasters, mental stress and accidents due to other living and non-living creatures. We feel secure on earth because the Lord sees to it that the earth bears the weight and keeps us stable. We are not burnt by fire or lightening because the Lord ensures that . Dasaru says that when the Lord decides to do otherwise then even the simplest of things becomes impossible. Jayesha vittala dasaru : "jiva kartrutvada bhrameya biDidsO " "Oh Lord, please remove this illusion that I am the doer." Jagannatha Dasaru in his HKAS Ganesha sandhi says: Enu bEDuvadilla ninna kuyOnigalu barallaMge laskhmi prAnapathi tatvEsharindoDaguDi guNa kArya tAne mADuvanemba I

sujNAnavane karuNisvudu enage muhurmhur prArtisuve initeMdu "Oh Lord, I will not ask anything of you, not even that I should never get births in the lower forms of life, but I want to beg of you ,Oh Lord Lakshmi pathi, Please give me the correct knowledge that it is You, prAnapati who inspires other tatvabhimAni devatas and does all the karma. I pray and plead with You again and again." I request learned scholars to point to corrections whereever necessary and also to add in more to throw more light on the subject. I am not the doer, Lord Hari is the doer Whatever He makes me do is His worship by His grace R.Parimala

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