IshTu dina e vaikuMTA- Devaranama by Sri Kanaka Dasaru

[Guest guest]

Hare Srinivasa,The revised powerpoint slides available athttp://www.aarshavani.org/mainpage/presentations/ishtudina/index.htmlA detailed chintane here.Sri Kanaka Dasaru

is an amsha of Yama. He is an aparOxa jNAni and has given the expereince of his

God-vision in this devaranama. Other Haridasas have also given their experiences

in their compositions .

Sri Vijayadasaru

has sung ,'AMtaraMgada kadavu tereyetiMdu yeMtu

puMyada palavu prApti dorakitu enage..."

Sri

Vyasarajaru has sung , "enna biMdamuruthiya

pUjisuve nAnu manamuTTi anudina mareyade janare"

 

This is

nice to hear, but when one tries to imagine if such a vision would happen for

oneself, one understands the intense sadhana required with the grace of God to

have this blessing of seeing the “Bimba murthiâ€.

The

requirements are stringent and coupled with one’s lack of discipline and

motivation one tends to feel that the concept of “moksha†is unreachable. What

with the BG passage saying ,â€bahunAm janmanAm aMte.....†etc one tends to feel

that the journey is too long . The road seems extremely long and the time for

the journey seems incomprehensible to an embodied human being who thinks in

terms of years . Even decades seem like long periods of time, then what about

lifetimes. To such struggling jivas like

oneself, Dasaru has given a new spurt of encouragement by saying, “ I have

always thought that this VaikuMTa is very very far. But I have had the vision

of “Sri Ranganatha on the serpent bed.â€

The

word ‘far’ gives the sense of time and space. It gives the impression of a long

, long period of time, and a great distance. But Dasaru seems to contradict

this by saying “It is not so far, it is right here because he uses the verb

‘ee’ meaning here giving the impression of nearness.

We get

rejuvenated when we listen to this composition by Dasaru. If our guru .. Sri

Kanaka Dasaru says it is right here, then it must be so. We only have to put

our steps to the track and move on.

 

What are the steps that we have to take?

This is

clearly described in the first charanam. In order to motivate us to continue

with our work to the best of ability ,Dasaru dangles a wonderful description of

Vaikunta as the end result of hard work.

What is special about the abode of Vaikunta ?

In the next few charanams Dasaru then talks

about the magnificience of the vision that he had about Vaikunta the abode of

the Lord.

 

ishTu

dina I vaikuMTa eshTu dUravu ennutalidde

drishTiyiMdali

nAnu kaMDe srishTigIshane shriraMgashAyi

"All these

days, I was under the impression that this Vaikunta is very far away, but today

I have seen the great Lord who is the master of the creation and beings, who is

Ranganatha lying on the bed of sesha with my eyes."

Here Dasaru

indicates that this scene has taken place right here, meaning where he was

singing the song. It means on this earth. The vision of the Lord, in his heart

is the final expereince to clinch the place in Vaikunta. Vaikunta is the place

described in the shastras as that which is celestial, has no kind of

abberations and is ideal, appealing to the minds of all mukthi yogya souls,

giving constant bliss due the special presence of the Lord of Vaikunta."

 

It seems as if

Dasaru wonders ,How did I come here? . He answers to himself:

eMTu

eLanu kaLedudariMda baMTaraivara tulidudariMda

tuMTAkanobbana

tulidudariMda baMtanAgi baMdeno raMgashAyi

 

I have overcome 7

and 8 , I have stepped on 5 assistants, and I have stamped on one naughty

person. After I did all this then I surrendered myself as your dAsa and now I

find myself right in front of you O rAMgashAyi."

What are these eMtu

and elu that Dasaru is talking about?

These are the 15

fences which the jiva has to cross in order to understand oneself. The word “jayaâ€

is associated with the number 18. The number 18 is described asVictory. It is

because after breaking the 15 fences one realises oneself which is at 16.

Number 17 is Mahalakshmi and number 18 is Lord Narayana. So the 15 fences block

our view of our own true self as well as our understanding about the Lord and

Mahalakshmi. What are the fences?

1.

Shraddha

2.

Pancha bhootas- air,water,fire,earth

and space

3.

Senses of taste,smell,touch,sight and

hearing

4.

Mind

5.

Annam

6.

Viryam

7.

Tapas

8.

Mantra

9.

Karma

10.

Loka

11.

Nama

Why is Shradda a

fence?

Shradda means

faith. Faith is the first and foremost barrier because it dictates the path we

take. Our life experience is shaped by the faith that we hold. The knowledge we

obtain is also controlled by our faith. If faith is itself in the wrong concept

, then the jiva is stuck. Example: An

atheist never sees the hand of God in creation. A believer always sees God’s

hand in the beauty of creation.

 

Why are Pancha

bootas an abstacle ? How do the five indriyas become obstacles?

 

- Prithvi, kam,

vayu, Apa, tejas. The body is composed of these five elements. The entire gross

world is also composed of these five. We depend on the five elements knowingly

as well as unknowingly.

· Vayu:

We need air to breathe, air to keep us alive, air to keep us cool, air to dry

ourselves, Prithvi:The earth is

where we stand, sit, live, talk. Our very existence depends on the favourable

conditions on the earth.The earth with the aid of water and sunlight, provides

food for the living beings.

· Apa: Water is

extremely essential for our body’s well being. Without water one cannot survive

for long. We know that ¾ of the earth’s surface is covered by water.

· Tejas:

Heat gives warmth and warmth nourishes life. So without tejas-one would have no

life on earth.

· Kam: Space is

of course the most unique of the pancha bhootas.Without space all the others

would have no space to exist in. Without space, we cannot exist.

 

The organs of sense

enable us to taste food and water, to feel cool or warm, to enjoy sunlight or

shade, to breathe fresh air. But why are all these called as obstacles? They

seem more like helpful tools. They are obstacles until one realises that all

these are under the control of God and work as per His inspiration. The very

same things which can deter us, also help us in moving forward if we have the

correct attitude. Every experience, ever thing of beauty that we see, any

wonderful music that we hear should end in disclosing the glory of God. If we

trace back any experience of ours we find that the originator is God and His

wonderful creation. .... But.....

This is for those

who have the SRADDHA that God is the Supreme controller. The point to note is

that which is a fence becomes a support if we have understood with conviction

that the Lord is the omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent Supreme being.

Being grateful for

all the experiences, not complaining of heat,cold and other dwandhwas(doubles)

are a few steps that have been advised for crossing this hurdle. Cultivating

virtues like truth, kindness, compassion,patience,forbearance,peace which are

all related to our sense organs etc make one more pliant in devotion to God.

 

Mind: The shruthi vAkya mana eva

manushyAnAm karaNam baMda mOkshayOH tells us that the mind is the cause of

bondage as well as the cause of liberation. How should we understand this?

The objects of the

senses are the objects or experiences that give pleasure to the respective

sense. The association of the mind with the objects of the senses causes the

mind to get attached to the objects. This constant association develops the

attachment and one never wants to be separated from the object of pleasure. If

such a separation is forced negative emotions like anger, revenge etc flare up

.. The flood of negative emotions overpower the jiva and one is unable to even

cognise if one is doing the correct thing or wrong. So it is a very very big

fence. On the other hand if one associates one’s mind with the Lord by

chanting, listening and talking of His glories then one ‘s mind gets attached

to the Lord. Once this happens, He takes over and showers His grace on the

jiva.

Annam: All living beings thrive on food.

Without food we would lack energy to do anything. But Lord Krishna has

described the effect of food on our thinking. If we consume foods that are

satvic in nature then the mind is in the satvic mode which is tuned to

acquiring knowledge . So the types of food we eat, the amount of food and the

time when we partake of this food as well as how we partake of it is important.

One has to eat food that is offered to the Lord and not otherwise. One should

eat just enough to sustain oneself and not for indulgement of taste. The Lord

exists in the food grains, in the prepared food and in the stomach as VaishvAnara.

He has no doshas because of being present in these different entitities as He

has changeless, infinite auspicious attributes always. Understanding that the

Lord has designed the universe with so many diverse foods for the different

beings and being grateful for the food that He has made available to us while

eating goes a long way in overcoming this fence.

Veeryam: The mental

strength required to carry through our thoughts into action.If this strength is

not there, then it is impossible to acheive anything. A willpower of a strong

nature is required to progress spiritually. The necessity to form convictions

on thoughts imparted by our guru is very real and one has to have the strenght

of mind to not be swayed by opposite notions of this thought. The strength to

adhrere to the sayings of the Guru in the face of any opposition and the

ability to recollect and state with conviction the same is necessary for

success in spirituality. This can be cultivated by serving the Guru, by serving

the Bhagavathas, by being constantly immersed in listening to the leelas of the

Lord followed with the other with the other eight forms of bhakthi.

 

Tapas: The ability to undertake physical

and mental activities which go beyond the comfort zone of our normal life is

called as tapas. Tapas helps in discipling the mind and is a necessary tool for

moving the senses towards the service of the Lord. Tapas enable ones to reach a

state of stability referred to by Sri Krishna as ‘samattvam yOga uchyateâ€. It

is the state which is necessary to obtain the grace of the Lord . Tapas also

cleanses the body and mind. The heightened purity of the body due to penance

results in undertaking of more penance

and then more and more. Similarly the purity of the mind enhances the

grasping power of whatever Shastra is being read or heard to. The subtle

meanings that are contained in the Shastras can be grasped only when the mind

is very pure.

On the otherhand

tapas without the feeling of reverence that the Lord has in His abundant mercy

given us the strenght to undertake it, causes the jiva to feel full of ego.

Impatience towards others, intolerance of people of lesser discipline etc

results and this is a sure deterrent to spiritual upliftment.

Mantra: Speech is used to

communicated our inner thougths and feelings. If Speech is used in the correct

way, it is a very good tool, otherwise it can be the cause of downfall. Speech

has to be controlled and free from resentment towards others. It should not

hurt others, then such words are accepted by the Lord as a flower .

It is said that one

of the favoured flowers that the Lord likes to receive from His devotees is “ahimsA

“(ahimsA pratamam pushamâ€). Maximum hurt is caused by speech and this should be

avoided at all cost. On the other hand talking about the glory of the Lord and

His devotees, expressing feelings of gratitude through song and verse are all

the positive ways in which this barrier can be overcome.

Karma: All actions, thoughts come under

this banner. If one offers everything that one does with the mind,body and

speech to the Lord with the understanding that He empowers us to

think,move,speak etc and that we are nothing without His great benevolence,

then the Lord accepts and releives the jiva of being burdened with that karma.

Since most of the time, one forgets to have this anusandhana the entire life is

spent in accumulating karma baggage. We have to bring the right attitude into

our life and make it as part of ourselves as just as breathing is a part of our

bodily and mental process. This can be done only by constant rememberance of

the sloka

‘yagnyArtha karmaNo

nyatra lOkoyam karma bhandanaHâ€

Loka: The wordly possessions that one has

were not ours before we were born and will not be ours when we leave the world,

inbetween whatever we are bestowed with is definitely not ours. But we always

tend to identify it as part of ourselves and this causes bondage. We should

move above this tendency to possess and understand that the Lord is giver and

we are just there expereince what He bestows on us. He decides when and how to

end the expereince of every possession.

Nama: Name and fame are the most “WANTEDâ€

but difficult to acquire things for all. It is very desirable to be famous and

to be welcomed and accepted as great by many. This desire causes the downfall

of many. People are ready to commit any injustice to obtain fame. The

understanding that fame is not something permanent and is again under the Lord’s

control releases us from doing good things just for fame . On the otherhand if

we don’t give importance to this thought of obtaining fame or name then our

energy is foccussed on doing the service as offering it at the Lord’s feet. This is right attitude that one should try to

develop.

baMTaraivara

tulidudariMda:

The sense organs

should be trained to move towards acquiring knowledge, serving the Lord,

visiting temples of authentic origin .

Sripadarajaru says,

nA

ninagEnu bEDuvudilla enna hridaya kamaladalli niMdiru hariye

shira

ninna charaNagaligerali enna

chakshugalu

ninna nODali hariye

karNa

gITaMgala kELali enna

nAsika

nirmAlya AgrAnisali hariye

 

nAlige

ninna koMDADali enna

karaMgaleradu

ninage mugiyali hariye

pAda

theerthayAtre hOgali ninna

dyAna

enagoMdu kODu hariye

 

buddi

ninnolu kkuNidADali enna

chitta

ninnali nalidADali hariye

bhaktha

janara saMgavu dorakali raMga

viTTala

ninna dayavAgali hariye

tuMTakanobbana tulidudriMde: Ahamkara

: Even if one gets associated with the Lord, if one continues to think thatâ€I

am listening, I am singing, I am chanting..†then this causes bondage. Why? We

feel strongly about possessing what we perceive to be exclusively ours. Whereas

the actual fact is that “WE DO NOT POSSESS ANYTHINGâ€. Whatever we seem to

possess are all gifts of God and will be there with us only as long He wills

it. Taking all the good things that come to us with this anusandhana lessens

the attachment as well as the accompanying grief that would come with the inevitable

loss of the said possessions.

 

vana

upavanagala kaMde gaNa sarovaragala kaMde

kanakagOpuraMgaliMda

ghAna shobitane raMgashAyi

 

vajravaiDuryada

toLegala kaMDe prajvalipa mahadwArava kaMDe

nirjarAdi

munigala kaMDe durjanAMtakane sriraMgashAyi

 

raMbeurvashiyara

melava kaMDe tumburu muni nAradaranu kaMDe

ambujOdbhava

rudrara kaMDe shaMbarAri pitane raMgashAyi

 

nAgashayanana

muruthi kaMDe bhogibhushana shivananu kaMDe

bhAgavatara

sammelava kaMde kAgineleyAdi keshavaraMga shAyi

 

The grandeour

vaikunta is described in the next three charanams quoted above. The presence of

those who medidate on the Lord without fear of death or disease, those who

dance in devotion, those who sing in devotion and the great Brahma, Vayu, Rudra

are all visible to me, so says Kanaka Dasaru. It is evident from here that each

jiva has its own form of expression of devotion and each one has a place in

Vaikunta. So one has to use the ability one has been endowed with to the

fullest and move towards perfection in that by being present in time always.

All the great devotees of the Lord are always present where His praise is sung.

And with the thoughts of reverence to these great devotees we can invoke thier

presence among our midst and thereby enhance our sadhana. Satsangha can be

obtained by thinking of the words, deeds of the great devotees of the Lord or

even by recollecting their great devotion towards the Lord and finally by

devotion to their ishtadevata-The Lord supreme. This satsangha can be obtained

by singing devaranamas . This is THE WAY

to go for one who wants to experience

the presence of the Lord in one’s own heart. Let us render our service to the

world, with the attitude of surrender to the Lord .Sri krishnArpaNamastuI am not the doer, Lord Hari is the doerWhatever He makes me do is His worship by His graceParimala

 

 

 

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