SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (7)

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srI:

 

SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (7)

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niryANa adikAram

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Section - 9: The Favours the Lord does to a MumukShu after he leaves his body

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[9.2 Favours being done after crossing the river, VirajA]

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In the previous sub-section, Swami Desikan described the favour the Lord does

by receiving the mukta-jIva into His fold and enabling him to acquire the same

essential qualities as His. He also makes the mukta to enjoy the bliss similar

to His own. Thus the mukta-jiva has attained the Lord as aspired for long. Here,

the story should have ended with the jIva attaining the ultimate puruShArta

(goal). But, it does not end. What is more to be achieved by the mukta-jiva is

dealt with by SwAmi Desikan in this sub-section:

(iv) AtmApahAri-kaLukkuLLE irunthu, “adiyAr kuzhAngkaLaiyudan kooduvathenRu

kolO†enRu manOrathittha ivanai, “savayasa iva yE nitya-inrdOSha-gandhAhâ€

ennumpadi niRkiRa mElAth thEvarAnavarkaL,

“nityAbhivAnchita-paraspara-neecabhAvaih†enkiRa nyAyatthAlE thangkaLukku

mElAka Adarikkumpadi paNNumathuvum;

The Lord not only enables the mukta to acquire his essential nature with the

eight great qualities like ‘apahata-pApmA’ (freedom from sin) etc., but also

places him in midst of the nitya-sooris who are His eternal servants. This is

what the jIva had been longing for, while he was in the bonded state. He was

longing, “adiyAr kuzhAngkaLaiyudan kooduvathenRu kolO?†– When am I going

to join the crowds of the Lord’s servants? The Lord fulfils what the jIva had

desired, when he was amidst the people who were yet to acquire the spiritual

knowledge. SwAmi Desikan recalls the mukta’s earlier situation by the

expression: “AtmApahAri-kaLukkuLLE irunthu†– While being in the midst of

those who are thieves of their own souls. Who is an ‘AtmApahAri’ (thief of

his own soul)? Before going further, it would be advisable for us to make

ourselves clear about the significance of this.

The jIva, who has turned towards the Lord by the compassionate grace of the

Lord, learns the true relationship that exists between himself and the Supreme

Being. He also understands the real nature of the self which is self-luminous

and the notion of “I†and “mine†is nothing to do with the body. Even

after knowing this, he remained ignorant of the Atma being a servant of the Lord

without any independence. When he acquired this knowledge of his relationship to

the Lord, he started moving towards Him. Till then he had been under the

impression that he is the very body and the sensual pleasures were the ultimate.

Latter, he came to know that he is really the soul and not the body. But he

still had the impression, he, as a soul, was the real master and no one else was

his master, and all things including his body and its accessories were owned by

him. That is, the feeling of “I†and “mine†was dominating. This is what

meant by

“AtmApahAri†– thief of the self. Even though this jIva acquired the real

knowledge, he had to remain amidst the people who were ignorant of this truth.

So, his longing to attain his true Master, that is, the Supreme Lord helped him

to adopt means for attaining Him.

The expression of “AtmApahAri†reminds us the verse of SrI ParAsara

Bhattar, in the form of an imaginary dialogue between the Lord and the jIva:

“tvam mE ham mE kutastat tadapi kuta idam vEdamoola-pramANAt

EtaccAnAdisiddhAt anubhava-vibhavAt tarhi sAkrOSa Eva /

kvAAkrOSah kasya geetAdiShu mama viditah kOtra sAkShee sudheessyAt

hanta tvatpakShapAtee sa iti nrukalahE mrugya madhyasthavat tvam //â€

(Thirumanjana Kattiya SlOka)

Meaning:

The Lord: You are mine.

The jiva: I exist only for myself.

The Lord: Where is it stated?

The jIva: Where is the opposite stated?

The Lord: In the original pramANa: the VEda.

The jIva: The opposite view is based on the strength of my own enjoyment of

myself from

Beginning-less time.

The Lord: But protests have been recorded then and there.

The jIva: Where is it objected to? And by whom?

The Lord: The protest or objection was made in such work as the Gita and it

was made by

me.

The jIva: Is there any witness?

The Lord: The wise man.

The jIva: But he is partial.

(In this dispute there is a need for an arbitrator. But, as

no one is

available, You appear as though undertaking a pledge, going

into the

pond adorning a Tulasi garland!)

This slOka is recited as part of the Kattiyam, at the time of the ceremonial

bath given to the Lord and his Consorts in temples.

The message conveyed through this slOka is that generally we are egotistic with

ahankAram and mamakAram rising their heads too often. That we are not

independent of the Lord is not remembered at times. Such persons are called

“AtmApahArisâ€. A realized person has to live with such people. Hence, this

exceptional person long for joining the Lord freed from this type of a crowd:

“adiyAr kuzhAngkaLaiyudan kooduvathenRu kolO?†as quoted by Swami Desikan

from a verse of SrI nammAzhvAr. The full verse is:

“kaLippum kavarvum aRRup piRappup piNimoopiRappaRRu

oLikkoNda cOthimayamAy udankooduvathu enRukolO?

thuLikkinRa vAninnilam cudarAzhi-cangEnthi

aLikkinRa mAyappirAn adiyArkaL kuzhAngaLaiyE.†(ThiruvAimozhi, 2-3-10)

(Being relieved of the series of birth, disease, ageing, death etc. which repeat

again and again, in which existence, the joy on achieving a thing is marred by

the grief on losing another, when will I acquire that state of being in His

abode where I can enjoy the crowds of devotees of the Lord, Who holding the

Conch and the Discus, protects this earth and the sky?)

Thus, even while being among the self-centered people, the mukta-jIva had

earlier longed for the company of the Lord’s devotees. As he has now reached

the Lord’s abode, SwAmi Desikan describes how the Lord fulfills the desire of

this jIva:

“‘savayasa iva yE nitya-inrdOSha-gandhAh’ ennumpadi niRkiRa mElAth

thEvarAnavarkaL, ‘nityAbhivAnchita-paraspara-neecabhAvaih’ enkiRa

nyAyatthAlE thangkaLukku mElAka Adarikkumpadi paNNumâ€

The Lord places the mukta-jIva who has attained Him among His eternal devotees,

nitya-sooris who hold the newly liberated jIva in high esteem. The expression

“mElAth thEvarAnavarkaL†refers to the nitya-sooris. They are described in

the quotation, ‘savayasa iva yE nitya-inrdOSha-gandhAh’ – They are of the

same age as the Lord, eternal, and free from all traces of imperfections

(SrI-guNaratna-kOSam-27). They have never been in SamsAra and are engaged in

eternal service to the Lord in SrI VaikuNtam. They include ananta (AdiSESha),

Garuda and VishvakSEna.

These nitya-sooris are standing examples of bhAgavatAs being SEShas to one

another, as described in the quote

‘nityAbhivAnchita-paraspara-neecabhAvaih’ (nitya-sooris are endowed with the

attitude of serving one another for ever), which is from the SlOka of SrI

VaikuNta stavam of Sri KoorathAzhvAn. We may study the verse in full:

“kainkaryanityanirataih bhavadEkabhOgaih

nityairnukShaNa-naveena-rasArdrabhAvaih /

nityAbhivAnchita-paraspara-neeca-bhAvaih

maddaivataih parijanaistava sangaseeya //†(SrIvaikuNThastavam-77)

(Oh Lord! Who are all rendering a service, out of love, without any other

motivating cause, always interested in the bliss flowing from that kind of

service? They do so like the nitya-sooris. They rejoice in the eternal

experience of You. They are soft in their reaction to other BhAgavathas. They

cherish a mutual servility, all experiencing a commonalty as servants of the

Lord. May I mingle with them all and engage myself in Your service.)

It may be asked whether this kind of mutual service is due to one’s nature or

whether it is adventitious due to some reason. The answer is that it is both

natural and adventitious. As it lasts as long as the soul lasts and will

continue in the state of mOkSha, it may be called natural. It may be said to be

adventitious also, due to certain conditions, as it arises from the knowledge of

one’s relationship to the Lord.

When the jIva acts on any occasion consciously, he gets his desired fruit by

the Lord’s will. The Lord’s will has to be ascertained from the scriptures

which disclose that the service to His devotees is the most delightful one to

Him.

The scriptures also declare the same:

“ArAdhanAnAm sarvEShAm viShNOrArAdhanam param /

tasmAt parataram prOktam tadeeyArAdhanam param//†(PAdmOttaram, 29-81)

(Of all forms of homage, the homage paid to ViShNu is the best; but superior

even to this, is the excellent adoration offered to His devotees.)

“mama madbhaktabhaktEShu preetirabhyadhikA bhavEt /

tasmAt madbhakta-bhaktAsca poojaneeyA vishEShatah //†(BhArata, AshvamEdika

Parva, 116-23)

(I have great affection for those who are devoted to my devotees. Therefore, one

should render service to them.)

“madbhaktajana-vAtsalyam poojAyAm cAnumOdanam /

matkathA-shravaNE bhaktih svara-nEtrAngavikriyA//

svayamArAdhanE yatnO mamArthE Dhambhavarjanam /

mamAnusmaraNam nityam yacca mAm nOpajeevati //

bhaktiraShTa-vidhA hyEShA yasmin mlEcchEpi vartatE /

sa viprEndrO munih shreemAn sa yatih sa ca panDhitah //

tasmai dEyam tatO grAhyam sa ca poojyO yathA hyaham //†(Garuda PurANa,

219-6 to 9)

(Devotion to Me is of eight types: (1) love to My devotees without any thought

of their faults; (2) rejoicing at the adoration offered to Me by another; (3)

delighting in listening to stories concerning Me; (4) a change in the voice, in

the eyes and in the body, while listening to such stories; (5) trying to offer

adoration to me; (6) freedom from hypocrisy in one’s relations with me; (7)

meditation of Me at all times; and (8) not seeking other benefits such as

worldly benefits from Me – if bhakti, which is of these eight types, is found

in an outcast (mlEccha), he should be respected as the best of Brahmins endowed

with j~nAna and bhakti; he is a real sannyAsee, he is a wise man and he may be

taught the scriptures and from him one may learn the truth. He is fit to be

adored even like Myself.â€)

“tadAshrayasyAshrayaNAt tasya tasya ca tasya ca /

samsEvanAnnarA lOkE pooyanatE sarvapAtakaih //†(Garuda PurANa, SrIranga

MAhAtmyam, 8-91)

(By seeking the protection of those who seek the Lord as their refuge and by

rendering service to him who is devoted to the devotee, who is, in turn, devoted

to the devotee of the Lord – by doing so, men are released from all their

sins.)

If attaining the Lord for doing service to Him is called puruShArtham, doing

service to the last devotee in series of His devotees is known as

puruShArtha-kAShTha, the last limit of puruShArtham. As seen in the

above-mentioned quote from the Garuda PurANa, SrI nammAzhvAr has expressed the

longing for serving the devotee of the devotee of the devotee…(seven times) of

the devotee of the Lord in ThiauvAimozhi, 8-10, beginning with

“nedumArkadimaiâ€, in which he asserts that service to BhAgavatas is the

ultimate goal of a jIva.

Of the eleven verses, the most important ones deserve our attention:

“tamrkaL kootta valvinaiyai nAcam ceyyum cathirmoortthi

amarkoL Azhi cangu-vAL vil-thaNdAthi palpadaiyan

kumaran kOlavaingkanai vELthAthai kOthiladiyArtham

thamarkaL thamarkaL thamarkaLAm cathirEvaikka thamiyERkE.†(ThiruvAimozhi,

8-10-9)

(The Lord, ever youthful, the father of Cupid, is ever ready, with various

weapons including discus, conch, sword, bow and club etc., to demolish the crowd

of enemies in the form of karmas, of His devotees! It would be wise strategy for

one like me to become the dAsa of the dAsa, of the dAsa of the faultless

servants of the Lord.)

“vAykka thamiyERku oozhithORu oozhi oozhi mAkAyAm

pookkoL mEni, nAnku thOL, ponnAzhikkai ennammAn

neekkamillA adiyArtham adiyAr adiyAr adiyAr em

kOkkaL, avarkkE kudikaLAic cellum nalla kOtpAdE.†(Thiruvaimozhi, 8-10-10)

(With a physical form shining like the kAyAm flower, four shoulders, and holding

the lustrous discus in a hand, the Lord captivated and enslaved me. The servant

of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord is my

master. Such servitude be my strong determination for ever.)

This attitude of serving BhAgavatas extends to readiness for being sold by the

master. This is stated by SrI PeriyAzhvAr, who is the great commentator of Kalpa

sootras:

“… pEsuvAr adiyArkaL enthammai viBkavum peRuvArkaLE.†(PeriyAzhvAr

Thirumozhi, 4-4-10)

(The BhAgavatas who utter the names of the Lord are entitled even to sell us,

who are the servants of BhAgavatas.)

Therefore, the farthest limit of the service of the prapanna to perform is the

service to the BhAgavatas, as it is part of the duty of one who is shESha to the

Lord.

The Lord fulfils this desire of the mukta-jIva by placing him at the feet of

the nitya-sooris, who too vie each other to serve the very last among the

Lord’s devotees.

Such is the favour the Lord does to the mukta-jIva, says SwAmi Desikan in this

sub-section.

 

(To continue)

dAsa

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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