SrI UpakAra Sangraham - II (22)

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SrI UpakAra Sangraham - II (22)

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SAdhanAdhikAram

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Section - 8 (5)

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(The Favours being done by the Lord to the mumukShu

when he leaves the body)

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In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan showed how

the Lord, Who is pleased with the dedicated prapanna,

takes care of him by embracing him without showing any

nausea and leads him out of the physical body. There

is a special treatment which the prapanna gets at the

time of his leaving the body. The Lord ensures that

the prapanna jIva does not get into other routes which

lead to either heaven, hell or re-birth in this world.

As mentioned earlier, there are one hundred and one

veins pointed towards various directions. Of these,

one only pointed straight upwards through which is

taken that deserving jIvAtma to attain the Lord’s

abode. The rest of the one hundred veins provide ways

to heaven, hell or back to the earth. The Lord ensures

that the prapanna who has emerged without either puNya

or pApa is taken through the vein that is known as

Brahma-nAdi passing through the centre of head. This

is what is indicated in this sub-section by SwAmi

Desikan:

(5) svarga-narakAdi-kaLukkup pOkum

nAdi-vishEShangkaLilE pravEship-piyAthE “oruvan

adiyEnuLLAn” ennumpadi hArda-roopatthAlE idam pArtthu

edukka ninaikkiRa thanakkum, para-roopatthAlE

meeLAvadimaip paNikoLLa irukkiRa thanakkum cevvithAna

cEmavazhikku mukamAna brahma-nAdi-mukhatthilE

pravEshippikkumathuvum;

In regard to the passage of the jIva from the body,

it has been stated in the YAj~navAlkya Smriti:

“anantA rashmayastasya deepavadyah stithO hrudi /

sitAsitAh kadru-neelAh kapilAh peeta-lOhitAh //

oordhvamEkah sthitas-tEShAm yO bhittvA

soorya-maNdalam /

brahma-lOkam-atikramya tEna yAti parAm gatim //

yadanyANyad-rashmishatam-oordhvamEva vyavasthitam /

tEna deva-shareerANi sa dhAmAni prapadyatE //

yEnaika-roopAshcaA-dhastAd-rashmayOsya mrudu-prabhAh

/

iha karmOpabhOgAya taih samsarati sOvashah //”

(YAj~navAlkya Smriti, 3-166-169)

(The jIva stays in the heart which, like a lamp, has

numerous veins (nAdis). There are of many colours:

white, black, violet, blue, golden yellow, yellow and

red. Among these veins, there is one which proceeds

upwards. The jIvAtma who passes through this vein

breaks through the sphere of the sun and having passed

beyond the Brahma, reaches the highest state. One

hundred other nAdis also go upwards. The jIvAtma who

goes out through them attains the bodies of gods and

reaches their worlds. Some nAdis of various colours go

downwards and they are dim. The jIvAtma who goes

through them is born in samsAra in this world, without

any choice in order to experience the fruits of his

karma. As the nAdis are proceeding from the heart

which is like a lamp, they are called rays (rasmis).

“svarga-narakAdi-kaLukkup pOkum nAdi-vishEShangkaLilE

pravEship-piyAthE” -- by this SwAmi Desikan means:

The Lord, however, sees to it that this prapanna does

not go through any of these nadis which lead those

that are thieves of their own Atmas (who do not

realize that they belong to the Lord), to svarga

(heaven) and naraka (hell). These nAdis are like the

route along which thieves take their victims.

SrI Thirumangai AzhvAr has referred to deeds which

lead to hell:

“mAnEy kaN madavAr mayakkilpattu mAnilathu

nAnE nAnAvitha narakam pukum pAvam ceythEn”

(Periya Thirumozhi, 1-9-2)

(In this big world, having caught by the sensuous

beauty of deer-like eyes of women, I committed evil

deeds that cause entry to different hells.)

“konREn palluyiraik kuRikkOL onRilAmaiyinAl

enREnum iranthArkku inithAka uraitthaRiyEn.”

(-do- 1-9-3)

(I killed many lives and never spoke sweet words to

those who begged, as I didn’t have wisdom.)

“eppAvam palvum ivaiyE ceythu iLaitthozhinthEn.”

(-do- 1-9-5)

(I suffered because of many bad deeds committed by

me.)

“theriyEn pAlakanAi palatheemaikaL ceythumittEn

periyEnAyinapin piRarkkE uzhaitthu EzhaiyAnEn.”

(-do- 1-9-7)

(When I was a boy, I committed many evils ignorant as

I was; when I grew up as a youth, I worked for others

indulging in sensual pleasures and was doomed.)

“chAnthEnthu menmulaiyAr thadanthOL puNarinba

veLLatthu

AzhnthEn arunarakatthu azhunthum payanpadaitthEn.”

(-do- 6-3-4)

(I indulged in sensual pleasures provided by beautiful

women, that resulted in my falling into the worst

hell.)

Those who commit such evil deeds and those who

perform yagyas for heavenly life go through the

respective nAdis to hell and to heaven accordingly.

There are those who commit good and bad acts take

rebirths in different classes and castes in this

world. ChAndOgyOpanishad says:

“tadya iha ramaNeeyacaraNA abhyAshO ha yat tE

ramNeeyAm yOnimApadyEran, brAhmaNa-yOnim vA

kShatriya-yOnim vA vaishya-yOnim vA / atha ya iha

kapooyacaraNA abhyAshO ha yat tE kapooyAm

yOnimApadyEran shva-yOnim vA sookara-yOnim vA

caNdhAla-yOnim vA //” (5-10-7)

(Those whose conduct has been good here will get

rebirth such as a BrAhmaNa, a kShatriya or a vaishya.

But those whose conduct has been evil will be re-born

in evil births such as a dog, a pig or a chaNdAla.)

The point is that those who return from the sOmalOka

will get re-birth in this world, according to the

residual karma (good or bad) after experiencing the

benefits in heaven.

In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan indicated

that the Lord relishes in taking the prapanna with

Him. How does he look is described by SrI NammAzhvAr

in this pAsuram from which Swami Desikan quotes:

“oruvan adiyEnuLLAn” ennumpadi hArda-roopatthAlE.

We shall see the verse in full:

“kaNkaL civanthu periyavAi vAyum civanthu kaninfthu

uLLE

veNpalilaku cudar ilakuvilaku makara-kuNdalatthan

koNdal vaNNan cudar-mudiyan nAnku-thOLan

kuni-cArngkan

oNcangkathai vAL-AzhiyAn oruvan adiyEnuLLAnE.”

(ThiruvAimozhi, 8-8-1)

SrI NammAzhvAr sings thus enjoying his Atma svaropam

as revealed by the Lord Who in the process reveals His

enjoyment of the AzhvAr’s Atma, just like the

ornaments He is adorning on His beautiful form. The

Lord is delighted because of His association with the

AzhvAr. In that process, His eyes become reddish and

broadened. His lips also turn reddish and sweet like a

fruit. Inside His mouth, teeth shine as bright as

pearls. The fish-shaped ornaments adorning His ears

are moving this way and that. His body shines like a

rainy-cloud which is black. On His head shines the

Crown. Also are His four arms, holding the bent bow,

sArnga, the beautiful conch, club, sword and discus.

“With such unique appearance, the Lord shines in me”,

says the AzhvAr.

“idam pArtthu edukka ninaikkiRa thanakkum,

para-roopatthAlE meeLAvadimaip paNikoLLa irukkiRa

thanakkum cevvithAna cEma-vazhikku mukamAna

brahma-nAdi-mukhatthilE pravEcippikkumathuvum” -- The

Lord appears to be happy as He lifts the lovable

prapanna and also happy because the prapanna is going

to assume the endless service to Him in the highest

Abode. With this joy, He lets the jIva to go through

the best path of prosperous, Brahma-nAdi.

Before reaching the Brahma-nAdi, the process of

getting the jIvAtma ready for getting out of the body

is same for both the person who has realized Brahman

and for the person who has not.

The process of getting into the Brahma-nAdi is

described in the Brahma Sutra, 4-2-16):

“tadOkOgrajvalanam tatprakAshita-dvArO

vidyAsAmarthyAttacchESha gatyanusmrutiyOgAcca

hArdAnugruheetashshatAdhikayA /”

(The upAsaka (prapanna) passes out of the body through

the nAdi of the hundred and first being blessed by the

Lord Who is residing in the heart and the heart, the

resting place of the jIvAtma is made radiant and the

doors of that nAdi become illuminated by His grace on

account of the efficacy of upAsana and also on account

of the reflection on the path of archirAdi which is an

accessory to the upAsana.)

The archirAdi path is described by the Lord Himself

in SrI Bhagavadgita:

“agnir-jyOtir-ahash-shuklah ShaNmAsA uttarAyaNam /

tatra prayAtA gacchanti brahma brahmavidO janAh //”

(8-24)

(The men who know the Brahman depart from their bodies

go through the path of light, consisting of fire, the

day, the bright fortnight preceding the full moon, the

six months of the sun’s northern progress and attain

Brahman.)

The man, who has done good deeds, goes through the

path of smoke (dhoomAdi mArga):

“dhoomO rAtrih tathA kruShNah ShaNmAsa dikShiNAyanam

/

tatra cAndramasam jyOtiryOgee prApya nivartatE //”

(8-25)

(The man, who has done good deeds, goes through the

path of smoke, night, the dark fortnight of the waning

moon and the six months of the sun’s southern progress

and attains the light of the moon and comes back to

the world.)

Thus the Lord confers a favour to the prapanna who

spends his post-prapatti life in the service of the

Lord, by leading him through the brahma-nAdi to His

abode where he will be doing the everlasting divine

service.

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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