kempErit ambaradi -Devurunama by Ananda Vittala Dasaru

[Guest guest]

Hare Srinivasa

 

Ananda Vittala Dasa gurubhyoh namah!

 

keMperit aMbaradi thaMpilitu saMbramadikaMpanaagide chitta kAyo krishNA

 

Time is passing. Time is passing. Says Ananda vittala dasaru. What is the consequence?

He says ," When the sun rises and sets with great virbancy, my mind and chitta shiver with fear, O Lord Krishna. I have not done anything with this precious lifetime. What shall I do?"

 

hyAMge mADalaiyya krishna hoguthide AyushyA

maMgalaMga bhava bhaMga biDisi ninna diMgarigana mADo anaMGajanaka

The heartfelt cry of SriGopala Dasaru on behalf of the sincere sadhakas who are caught in the whirlpool of life and are helpless against the passage of time ..

 

This devurunama refers to this great truth about time and how time once passed can never be recovered and utilitised differently. Time and tide wait for no man is a universal truth .

Ayur harati vai pumsAm

udyaM astaM cha yann asau

tasyarte yat kshanO nIta

uttama shlOka vArtaya 2.3.17

In the Bhagavatham Suta tells the Shaunakadi rishis about Sage Shukas narration of the Bhagavatham to Pariskhit .

" With every sunrise and sunset , one day in the life of each embodied being is taken away. Effectively the remaining time on earth shortens and the time for leaving the mortal coil moves nearer and nearer. Only one who has spent one's time in discussing, thinking, reading and reflecting on the Lord and His leelas will not be adversely affected by this. "

One may ask why, time is the same for everyone?

The answer is that the purpose of life is to discover the supreme truth about one's own self as well as one's eternal relationship to the master. Time spent in fulfilling this aim is time well utilized and cannot be called as wasted. It is is time that has been used for acquiring eternal merit that will not dissappear when the body is destroyed. Time spent in other activities is considered wasted from this higher point of view that it has not been utilized for what it was originally intended by the Lord. Not only that, the acquisition of wealth, property and worldly knowledge can not be retained by the jiva when it moves on . So such time is once again wasted ."

Those who have utilized their time on earth as they should have rather than as they wanted to don't have to fear the time of reckoning. Ananda Vittala dasaru is seeking the Lord's protection for the common man who is usually not of this type..

 

kemperit ambaradhi thampilitu sambramadhikampanaagide chitha kAyo Krishnashashi mukhi viththAse hesijivanadAsemosamaDade enna kAyo Krishnapashupathi sakha ninna hasanaagi bajipasevasudheyolu enagittu kayo Krishna

"Please don't cheat me by giving me the desire related to the pleasures of this body. Don't cheat me by giving me the desire for wealth. Don't cheat me by giving me the attachment to this body and the life entangled among the triguna prapancha. " Dasaru is saying that if at all any sadhana has to be done then the desire for it comes from the Lord's inspiration. Similarly if on the contrary there are plenty of worldly desires that too is due to the Lord's prerane. So Dasaru is requesting the Lord not to give him such desires that would facilitate wastage of time. Then Dasaru directs his entreaties to the Lord who is Pashupathi sakha. He addresses Lord Krishna as the friend of Shiva. And the context here is about desires. All desire arise in the mind and Shiva is the diety for the control of the mind. Entreating the Lord with this anusandhana that He is the

controller of Shiva who under His direction rules the minds of embodied beings is a sure method as shown by Dasaru to control the unwanted desires of the mind. Praying to the antaryamis of the tatvabhimani devathas is a way to propitate the devathas as they themselves become the seat for the upasana. The dieties are also pleased with this devotion towards the Supreme Lord who exists in all as well as in them and they also bless the devotee so that one can progress along the spiritual path.

Dasaru is saying ,"vasudeyolage" In this world only, in this life only please give me joy in singing your prasies. I should be able to do it voluntarily and with enthusiasm experieincing the joy of singing your glory. Dasaru is once again referring to the ticking of the clock by saying 'vasudeyolage'. As already mentioned time keeps moving and the presence of oneself on earth is limited. During this limited time, one has to get the desire to sing the prasies of the Lord with devotion and that can be possible only with His grace.oorolage vyapisiha ghorandhakAravanupaaru kanisi enna kayo Krishnameru bennali hotththa sarasijOdbhava janakabhArave naa ninage kayo krishna

Then he analysis ,"If at all I am having such lowly desires related to the body and possessions it is because of ajnana. My whole world which is the mind, intellect and antahkarana are completely in darkness. I cannot see anything that should be seen.So, O Krishna please remove the darkness that envelops my mind and show me the light of knowledge. You have carried the great meru mountain on your back in Kurma avatar , You are the one who gave birth to Brahma born of the lotus . I ask you if I am burden to you."

Dasaru's entreaties is very touching. He says ,'Did't you carry the mountain Meru with utmost ease?"

 

Another point of view for this verse.

As age advances the time on earth dimishes and the horizon bears the foreboding of impending change . This is at the dusk of life and all appears bleak. Even at that time if the devotee sincerely seeks the Lord's grace and surrenders to Him with full faith, then the Lord will carry the heavy jiva on His back and give them full support to progress either in that lifetime itself or in another. Why would the jiva be heavy and what is the need to compare a infinitesmal jiva to the mountain Meru. ?

This is because the karma that is done during one's time on earth get accumulated as a heavy baggage for the jiva. Not only the karma of this birth but of countless births since time immemorial. It is said in the scriptures that the karma one performs since the age of 14 yrs is counted and added on , then by the time one leaves the earth there is suffiencient karma to rotate the jiva in samsaara for another 10 janmas . So it is quite easy to imagine the wieght each one carries.

Only those karmas which are done with the intention to please the Lord with the understand that He is the doer and does everything by inspiring the jiva through the tatvabhimani devatas and not for any selfish reason, lighten the baggage.

Ananda Vittala Dasaru is entreating the Lord on the common man's behalf who have but little or no karma that can lighten the baggage and stores of those which make it heavy.

 

In the Bhagavad Gita the Lord says that," Even a little done in the spiritual path goes a long way in the sadhana of the jiva. At least it lays a foundation for more deeper sadhana in the coming janmas. The improvement goes on and on and after many janmas the sadhaka becomes a jNAni."

Realising one's folly in pursuing perishable pleasures is the first step towards this spiritual path.

 

 

anna vasanakaagi anudinavu yaachisutaanyara mane dwAra kaaide KrishnaDeena rakshka ninna thOnDarol irisaiyadana vaanthaka ananda vittala Krishna

Dasaru says ," I am in a most pitiable state. You are the saviour of those who are in such a state. So save me by placing me in the company of Your devotees. You are the killer of the demons and the embodiment of knowledge and bliss O lord Krishna."

 

What puts one into a pitiable state?

For this Dasaru says that it is the need for food, clothing and shelter that I have begged from door to door. One need not rest assured that one did not do any such thing and hence one is not in a pitiable state. Being a beggar and going from house to house it hardly meant here. It means the time spent in working for the money that others will be giving when we work for them. This is unavoidable as everyone needs to work in order to sustain oneself and one's family, in this age.

Then the question arises, should one not work at all?

For this the Bhagavatham has an answer to a similar kind of question .

Shuka tells Parikshit that all words signify the Lord and one should be able to recollect His glory with every sound one hears. Then the question pops up,"If all words were used to only tell about the glory of God in daily life then how would daily life be carried. None will be able to communicate with the other. Life would come to a standstill." The answer given is that," Use language and words to communicate what is necessary for a smooth flow of life. Don't waste words on gossip and small talk. Don't waste words on critisising and analysing other people." At other times use the sound, the words to discover the glory of the Lord.

Similarly one has to take this. Work has to be done to earn and support oneself and one's family. But there should be a limit to the time that is spent in working. Amassing more wealth, more gold, more property should not be the aim of earning money. Time for listening to the glories , for chanting His name,for the study of scriptures for meditation and other such divine activties have to be allocated and this is possible only if one realises that just amassing more possession and property is not the aim of life and any such thing that one has is due to His grace and not due to one's own efforts .

 

How does one implement this in life? Ananda Vittala Dasaru himself answer this:

ninna thOMDarOl irisaiyya.

One who is already sinking cannot save himself without a hand from the one on the bank. So one has to pray to the Lord to bestow the company of His devotees. It is only by the association of the high souled ones that one can move away from the pressures of material life and spend more time on study and reflection. This fact is highlighted by many Dasarus .

 

Sri Purandara Dasaru says

haridasara sanga dorekitu engIga inEninEnu

varaguru upadEsha neravAyit enage inEninEnu

"I have secured the sangha of haridasas , so what else is needed. I have had the fortune of getting upadesha from a guru whose words are boons and that is my shelter, what else do I need?"

After Sri Purandara Dasaru realised his folly of running after wealth, he renounced everything and went in search of a guru. He reached the feet of Sri Vyasarajaru who is a great Haridasa and who readily gave him haridasa dIksha, being aware of his capability and eligibility. So he is glorifying his guru and the fact that he has the sangha of haridasas is enough for him and nothing further is needed. This shows that once the company of Haridasas has been bestowed by the Lord , then the rest follows.

 

saMgha vaagali sAdhu saMgha vagali

saMgha diMDa liMga dEha baMgavAgali

Here Prasanna Venkata Dasaru talks about the benefits of sadhu saMgha and hopes and prays for such suMgha which can really uplift the jiva from the mire of samsaara. liMga dEha is the innermost tight covering over the jiva and it is broken off only when the Lord graces the jiva with mukthi. So Dasaru is saying if one wants to be rid of the liMga dEha then one has to seek out the company of the great devotees.

 

Jagannatha Dasaru also asks the Lord to bestow the bliss of being in the presence of the devotees who gloriy the Lord.

raMga ninna koMDADuva maMgalAtmara

saMgha sukhavittu kAyo karuNAsAgara

In this devurunama Sri Jagannatha Dasaru describes the qualities of a Haridasa and how they behave in daily life. Finally he exclaims that the devotees of raMga are really blessed people and if the Lord could grant their company to him then it would be bliss to him. This shows the extent of the influence that a hari bhaktha can have over those in his company.

 

People are motivated by the presence of such a person. They try to emulate them in ways that are possible for themselves. Slowly they progress and after many janmas they themselves become such pure devotees of the Lord based on their eligibility . So movement towards becoming a devotee is possible only if the company of the haribhaktas.

 

In the bhagavatham we come accoss an incident which is relevant to recollect.When Parikshit Raja sits for prAyopavesham during his last days, he is fortunate to meet many great saints and devotees of the Lord. To crown it all the great avadhuta Shuka muni also arrives there to narrate the entire leelas of the lord as told in the Bhagavatham to Pariskshit. The king exclaims that this is surely a Godsend. And so it is. The Lord bestows the benefits of satsaMgha to those He wants to uplift.

 

With our obeisances to the Lord Supreme ,Sri Hari and His consort Sri Mahalakshmi and all the parivara devathas let us seek the shelter of the devotees of Srimad Ananda Theertha as told by Sri Vijayadasaru.

He asks for the company of the devotees of Srimad Anandatheertharu and not the devotees of the Lord. This is because the Lord is pleased with those who revere His devotees . Further one can rest assured that the great guru Srimad Anandatheertharu will be there as the protector of his devotee and as the protector/guide/gaurdian angel of his devotee's devotee.

 

bhakta jana pAlaka bhakthi sukha dAyaka

muktIsha dIna baMdhu

 

AnaMda theertha muniya dyAnipara saMgha

AnaMdadalli nilliso kirshnA

 

Sri krishNArpaNa mastu

 

I am not the doer, Lord Hari si the doer

Whatever He makes me do is His worship by His grace

R.Parimala

Get your preferred Email name!

Now you can @ymail.com and @rocketmail.com.