SrI UpakAra Sangraham Part - 58

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srI:

SrI upakAra sangraham – 58

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adikAram – 1

poorva upakAra paramparai

(The Foremost Series of Favours)

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SECTION – 5 (15)

(27 Favours of the Lord leading to the means for

MOKSHAM)

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In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan noted the

Lord’s favour in bringing the sAttvika jIvas within

the glance of a sadAchArya.

SwAmi Desikan himself has defined the qualifications

such a sAttvika AchArya to be endowed with:

 

“siddham sat-sampradAyE sthira dhiyam-anagham

shrOtriyam Brahma-niShTham

sattvastham satyavAcam samaya niyatayA sAdhu

vruttyA samEtam /

DambhAsooyAdi mukttam jita viShaya-gaNam

deergha-bandhum dayAlum

skhAlityE shAsitAram svapara hitaparam dEsikam

bhooShNureepsEt // ”

 

(nyAsa-vimshati – 1)

(One, who desires to obtain true spiritual wealth and

prosperity, must secure an AchArya with the following

qualifications: (1) One, who firmly attaches himself

to and takes his stand on the worthy and proper

tradition; (2) who is possessed of steady and

unflinching intellect; (3) who is blemish-less in

though, word and deed; (4) who has mastered the Vedas;

(5) who is deeply attached to the Lord and who lives,

moves and has his being in Him; (6) who is firmly

established in virtuous qualities; (7) who ever speaks

the truth and truth only; (8) who possesses good

conduct as per the pure tenets; (9) who is totally

free from vanity; (10) who keeps under control the

senses prone to go after worldly pleasures; (11) who a

life long relation; (12) who is ever full of mercy and

compassion; (13) who never hesitates to point out

lapses from fair conduct; and (14) always acts in a

manner that is conducive to the welfare of himself and

others.)

SwAmi Desikan also points out how an AchArya should

be respected in the next verse of the same work:

 

“ajnAna dhvAnta rOdhAdagha pariharaNAdAtma

sAmyAvahatvAt

janma pradhvamsi janma prada garimatayA divya

druShti prabhAvAt /

niShpratyoohAnrushamsyAnniyata rasatayA nitya

shEShitva yOgAt

AchAryah sadbhirapratyupkaraNa dhiyA dEvavat

syAdupAsyah //” (nyAsa-vimshati-2)

 

(The AchArya should be venerated and worshipped as if

He were the Lord himself. Because, both possess the

same qualities: (1) Dispelling the darkness of

ignorance; (2) wiping out sins; (3) bringing into

existence qualities like those in them i.e. AchArya

and the Lord; (4) the excellent trait of conferring a

new life which does away with the present life (for

ever); (5) the efficacy and power of divine glances;

(6) the flow of unobstructed compassion; (7) ever

sweet and (8) being eternal shEShi or SwAmi. The

disciple must know that the help done by the AchArya

cannot be compensated, as that of the Lord.

 

Now, the lord Himself steps in as an AchArya and

confers upon us a remarkable favour. What is the

uniqueness about His being the AchArya? SwAmi Desikan

gives the answer:

 

(15) ‘birama-guruvAki vanthu’ ennumpadi AchArya

moorthiyAna thAn nammudaiya dOshangkaLaik kaNdu nammai

upEkShiyAtE, nAm

dukkha-sAgara-duritha-paramparai-kaLilE

nOvupadukiRapadiyaik kaNdu, “krupayA nihspruhO

vadEtha” enkiRapadiyE aRivillAtha namakku aruLi,

arjunan vizhayaththil sArathiyAi ninRa thannaip pOlE

namakkum “neRiyellAm edutthuraikka” ninaikkumpadi

paNNinathuvum;

 

‘birama-guruvAki vanthu’ ennumpadi –

 

Normally any teacher or guru sits on a raised platform

and his disciples, sitting in front of him, politely

listen to his instructions. But the Lord is unique in

this respect also. He proves Himself as very different

one! Have we seen any teacher entering in our mind and

stay put there? Or have we seen any teacher becoming

the driver of our vehicle, whether it is a car or a

chariot? No. Not in our circle. Not even anywhere in

the world. We recall the national leader and poet,

BhArathiyAr sang a lyric under the title, “KaNNan en

veettu vElaikkAran” , ‘KrishNa, the servant of my

home’. There He taught us how humble He can come down.

In that also he remained a teacher.

Hence, it is no surprise for PeriyAzhvAr to say this:

 

“EthangaLAyinvellAm iRangaviduviththu, ennuLLE

peethakavAdaip pirAnAr pirama-kuruvaki vanthu

pOthil kamala vannencham pukubthum en

chenniththidaril

pAthavilacchinai vaiththAr paNdanRu pattinam kAppE.”

 

 

(PeriyAzhvAr Thirumozhi, 5-2-8)

 

(The Lord adorning the bright yellow garments,

revealed Himself as an AchArya who teaches Vedic and

VedAnta scriptures, came near me, drove away the

doubtful, ignorant and wrong thoughts totally from me,

entered into my lotus heart and stamped on my head

with His Feet. This is not that old body. It is now a

safe city.)

 

In this verse, PeriyAzhvAr who is also known as SrI

ViShNuchitta, tells us that instead of treating our

guru as the very Lord of lords, but treating him as an

ordinary person is an offence to elders. He calls the

Lord as “PirAn”, one, Who has done great favours with

compassion.

Here, “EthangkaL” means sins which were blocking the

flow of the divine grace. These are: omissions and

commissions, perverse notions – such as thinking the

body as the soul, the egoism, “I” and “mine” etc. The

Lord drove away all these from his mind and took him

as His disciple by putting the mark of His Feet on the

head by which declaring the AzhvAr as His own

property.

 

These points are mentioned by SwAmi Desikan in these

words:

 

“AchArya moorthiyAna thAn nammudaiya dOshangkaLaik

kaNdu nammai upEkShiyAtE,”

 

--- As an AchArya, the Lord did not neglect us after

seeing our defects.

 

SwAmi Desikan further says:

“nAm dukkha-sAgara-duritha-paramparai-kaLilE

nOvupadukiRapadiyaik kaNdu” –

 

The Lord also saw our suffering in the continuous

series of miseries each of which was like an ocean.

 

“krupayA nihspruhO vadEtha” enkiRapadiyE aRivillAtha

namakku aruLi, ---

 

As it has been said, “with compassion and without the

desire for any self-benefits”, gracefully giving

instruction to us, who are ignorant, .. .. …

 

Here, SwAmi Desikan quotes a passage from a sloka in

the ChANdilya Smriti. Let us see the verse in full:

 

“samvatsaram tadardham vA mAstrayam athApi vA /

parOkShya vividhOpAyaih krupayA nihspruhO vadEt //”

(ChANdilya Smriti, 1-116)

 

(AchArya should give instructions to his disciple

after testing him in various ways for one year or six

months or three months, without expecting any

self-benefits, but only out of compassion.)

 

The AchArya should instruct us “who are utterly

ignorant.”

 

Even though the disciple may be “utterly ignorant”,

but he must be of virtuous qualities, as stated in

ViShNu Dharma:

 

“dvividhO bhootasargOyam daiva Asura Eva ca /

viShNubhaktiparO daivO vipareetastathA Asurah //”

(ViShNu Dharma, 109-74)

 

(All beings are either of the two categories – divine

and demonic. The divine beings are those who ever

remain full of devotion to the Lord. The opposite

category is called demonic.)

 

It has also been stated:

 

“yadrucchayA upasannAnAm dEshAntara-nivAsinAm /

iShTOpdEshah kartavyO nArAyaN-ratAtmanAm” //

(SAttvata Samhita, 21-45)

 

(If a person has come by chance from a distant land

with a mind filled with the love for the Lord, he

should be taught what he desires without any prolonged

tests.)

 

The AchArya would reveal the spiritual truths in such

a manner that is heard only by the disciple’s two ears

and only to a disciple who has no desires and is

content and is keenly desirous only of learning the

shAstras.

SwAmi Desikan himself has highlighted such AchAryas

and such instructions in a couple of Tamil verses, in

his work, ‘SrImad rahasyatraya sAram’:

 

“pAttukkuriya pazhaiyavar moovaraip paNdorukAl

mAttukkaruLtharu mAyan malinthu varuththuthalAl

nAttukkiruKL ceka nAnmaRaiyanthi nadai viLangka

veettikkidaikazhikkE veLikAttum ammeyviLakkE.”

 

(Those lamps of spiritual wisdom, which lighted the

threshold of a certain house, in Tirukkovaloor, when,

the cow-herd KriShNa who granted His grace even to

cattle in an ancient age, came of His own accord and

squeezed Himself among those three ancient singers.

(This refers to the first three AzhvArs- Poygai,

Bhoota and PEy- AzhvArs.) – Those lamps lighted there,

i.e., their songs, dispelled the darkness of the land

and revealed the path indicated in the Upanishads

which form the concluding part of the four Vedas.)

 

“maruLaRRa dEsikar vAnukappAl intha vaiyamellAm

iruLaRRu iRaivan iNaiyadi pooNduya eNNuthalAl

theruLuRRa chenthozhil chelvam perukic

chiRanthavarpAl

aruLuRRa chinthaiyinAl azhiyA viLakkERRinarE.”

 

(Our great AchAryas, who were absolutely free from

ignorance and error, lighted the undying lamp out of

compassionate grace, in the minds of worthy disciples

who had grown rich in the true wealth of the

performance of ordained rites in a manner which would

accord with their knowledge. They did so because they

desired that the whole world should become free from

ignorance and adorn their heads with the Lord’s Feet

owing to their longing for Paramapadam.)

 

SwAmi Desikan further continues:

 

“arjunan vizhayaththil sArathiyAi ninRa thannaip

pOlE namakkum “neRiyellAm edutthuraikka” ninaikkumpadi

paNNinathuvum;” –

 

The Lord inspires the AchAryas to follow the example

set by Himself. Where He did so? The Lord took upon

the role of the driver of Arjuna’s chariot during the

MahAbhArata war. He not only drove the chariot but

also guided the master of the chariot, i.e. Arjuna by

explaining all the tenets of scriptures, while on the

chariot itself. In the chariot, the seat of the driver

is at a lower level than the master of the chariot.

Actually, the driver’s head will be protruding just

above of the floor on which the master stands, in such

a position as the head is between the two feet of the

master. While fighting, the master gives instructions

about the direction to which the chariot has to be

driven by hitting the driver’s head by either the

right or the left foot. During the MahAbhAratha war,

both sides of SrI KriShNa’s head were oozing out blood

because of the frequent hits it received from Arjuna’s

booted feet. Any one who can imagine how the Lord’s

head appeared with blood strains, will not remain

un-swooned. Such is the compassion of the Lord, to

perform the role of the driver of Arjuna’s chariot!

However, our AchAryas need not undergo such a torture

as that under went by the Lord. But, He has shown the

way to explain all the spiritual tenets, so says SwAmi

Desikan:

 

“thannaip pOlE namakkum “neRiyellAm edutthuraikka”

ninaikkumpadi paNNinathuvum;”

Here, SwAmi Desikan quotes from a verse of SrI

nammAzhvAr: “neRiyellAm edutthuraiththa”. This is from

the Thiruvaimozhi. Let us look at the full verse:

 

“aRivinAl kuRaivillA akalj~nAlaththavar aRiya

neRiyellAm eduththuraiththa niRaij~nAnaththoru

moorthi

kuRiyamANuruvAkik kodungkOlAl nilamkoNda

kiRiyammAn kavarAtha kiLaroLiyAl kuRaivilamE.”

(ThiruvAimozhi, 4-8-6)

 

(The people of this world are not even aware that they

do not have the knowledge. In order to make them know,

the Lord explained the essence of all the principles

and the means of attaining the ultimate goal. He is

the incarnation of the Perfect Knowledge, Who,

appearing as a dwarf, robbed the demon king, MahAbali,

of the entire universe through deceit means. What is

the use of this beauty of my form, when that Lord has

not cared to enjoy it? )[The AzhvAr speaks as a

Lady-love.]

 

Here, the AzhvAr indicates the great service rendered

by the Lord, out of compassion by explaining to the

whole world all the means of salvation, such as the

karma-yOga, the jnAna-yoga, the bhakti-yoga and the

saraNAgati, keeping Arjuna as a pretext. As the

incarnation of SrI VAmana, the Lord took possession of

all the worlds from MahAbali by the measurement of His

feet; using this as a pretext, He put His Feet on the

heads of all the beings and blessed them.

SwAmi Desikan points out that the Lord did this

favour to us by setting Himself as an example for

AchAryas to follow Him and give instructions to all

for their salvation.

 

[books consulted:

1) Nyaasa Vimsati – Commentary by SrI D.Ramaswamy

Aiyengar, Advocate, Madras.

2) Srimad Rahasyatrayasara – Ed. By Sri Navaneetam

Sriramadesikachary Swami.

3) Srimad Rahasyatrayasara – Translation by

M.R.Rajagopala Ayyangar, formerly of the

 

Madras Educational Service)

4) PeriyAzhvAr Thirumozhi – Commentary by Sri Uttamur

Veeraraghavacharyar

5) ThiruvAimozhi – Commentary by Sri P. B.

Annangaracharya.

6) -- do -- -- Commentary by Sri

V.N.Vedanta Desikan. ]

 

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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