SrI UpakAra Sangraham -- III (9)

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srI:

 

SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (9)

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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 spoke about the favour done by the

Lord to the mukta-jIva to experience the full and perfect bliss equal to His own

in His abode. In this sub-section, SwAmi Desikan deals with the special services

done by the mukta-jIva flowing from this experience of bliss:

(vi) ivvanubhava-parivAhamAk abhimata-roopankaLAna

ashESha-shEShavrutti-vishEShankaLaiyu koLLumathuvum;

The full and perfect enjoyment of the Lord overflows into service or kainkarya.

SrI BhAshyakAra has explained it in his work, sharaNAgati Gadya, in several

places. In the beginning, while he surrenders at the feet of SrI, the Consort

of the Lord, SrI rAmAnuja places his plea to Her for nitya kainkarya, eternal

service, to the Lord:

“pAramArthika bhagavaccaraNAravindayugala aikAntika Atyantika

parabhakti-para-j~nAna-paramabhakti-kruta paripoorNa anavarata nitya vishadatama

ananya-prayOjana anavadhika atishayapriya Bhagavad-anubhava-janita anavadhika

atishaya preetikArita ashESha avasthOcita ashEShataika-ratiroopa-nitya

kainkarya-prAptyapEkShaya pAramArthikee BhagavccaraNAravinda sharaNAgatih

yathAvasthitA aviratA astu mE //†(sharaNAgati Gadyam-2)

(May my sincere and faithful surrender at the Lord’s lotus-feet be continuous

and unending. This surrender is performed with the desire for the eternal

service to Him, which is of the nature of bliss in rendering all forms of

service appropriate to all states and situations with unlimited love, arising

out of eternal and full enjoyment of the Lord, which is the result of

parabhakti, para-j~nAna and parama-bhakti exclusively towards the lotus-feet of

the Lord.)

When he surrenders to the Lord, SrI ramAnuja makes the plea,

“bhagavad-anubhava-janita anavadhika atishaya-preeti-kArita ashESha--avsthita

ucita ashEShataika-ratiroopa nitya-kinkarO bhavAni //†(sharaNAgati Gadyam)

(May I become the eternal servant of the Lord, finding my sole joy in fulfilling

all His purposes at all states and situations without any exception, owing to

the infinite and unequalled delight arising from such an experience.)

The Lord also grants him the privilege of being His servant:

“madEkAnubhavah, maddAsyaika-priyah, ……..madanubhavastvam tathAvidha

madanubhava-janita anavadhikAtishaya preetikArita ashESha avasthOcita

ashEShataika ratiroopa nitya kinkarO bhava //†(sharaNAgati Gadyam-17)

(With the sole and exclusive enjoyment of Me, with the sole and exclusive joy of

serving Me …… experiencing Me without any other end in view, you shall

become My eternal servant finding your sole delight in rendering all forms of

service without any exception and appropriate to all states and situations –

delight which arises from the infinite and unsurpassed joy of such an experience

of Me.)

The Lord further tells SrI rAmAnuja:

“shareerapAtasamyE tu kEvalam madeeyayaiva dayayA atiprbuddhah, …..

tadAneemEva ……tvam … madanubhava-janita anavadhika atishaya preetikArita

ashESha avasthOcita ashEShshEShataika ratiroopa nitya kinkarO bhaviShyasi // mA

tE bhoodatra samshayah //†(sharaNAgati Gadyam-20)

(At the time of the body falling off from you and solely as a result of My

compassion, …. at that very moment, you will become My eternal servant finding

sole and exclusive joy in rendering all forms of service without exception

suited to all states and situations. Have no doubt about this.)

The Lord too delights when the jIva, both in his bonded state as well as in the

liberated state, involves himself in service (in accordance with the scriptures

while in the bonded state) not only to Himself but also to His servants, muktas

and nitya-sooris (in the liberated state). This is what SrI ALavandAr longs:

“bhavantamEvAnucaran nirantaram prashAnta-nishshESha-manOrathAntarah /

kadAhamaikAntika-nityakinkarah praharShayiShyAmi snAtha-jeevitah //â€

(stOtra-ratnam-46)

(When shall I always be Thy servant, look upon Thee as my Master and in this way

give Thee delight?)

The Lord is delighted when BhAgavatas are served by a jIva, who is also another

BhAgavata. If we examine the pramANas, the Lord Who has the BhAgavata as his

body, is the object of worship as is declared in the verse:

“yE yajanti pittrun dEvAn brAhmaNAn sahutAshanAn /

sarvabhootAntarAtmAnam viShNumEva yajanti tE //â€(MahAbhArata, shanti Parva,

355-41)

(Those worship the pitrus, the gods, the BrAhmins and Agni – they in reality

worship only ViShNu, Who is the Inner Self of all beings.)

The Lord himself has spoken of the BhAgavata as His very self:

“udArAh sarva EvaitE j~nAni tvAtmaiva mE matam /

Asthitah sa hi yuktAtmA mAmEvAnuttamAm gatim //†(Gita, 7-18)

(All are indeed noble; but My conviction is that the man of wisdom is My Self.

For, with dedicated self, he is devoted exclusively to Me as the highest goal.)

Hence, the Lord will be pleased at the service rendered directly to His own

inner self and not as that done to His body. In addition to causing pleasure to

the shEShi, the relationship of the jIva to the Lord as His shESha is also

through the medium of the BhAgavatas. Therefore, the mukta’s service to the

Lord may also be through the medium of the BhAgavata.

Here, it would be worth while to recall a shlOka of Swami Desikan:

“nityam shriyA samEtasya bhaktErAtmavatah sadA /

saha sadvArakam ca syAt shEShitvam paramAtmanah //â€

(To the Supreme Being Who is always with LakShmee and Who looks upon His

devotees as his very Self, the attitude of being a shEShi may be both by being a

shEShi along with LakShmee and by being a shEShi through the medium of His

devotees.) That is, those who look upon themselves as shEShas to His devotees

are, through the medium of these devotees, shEShas to the Lord himself. He is

just like a king who is independent and who takes pleasure in acting as he

pleases, places the ornaments and garlands worn by himself round the necks of

the servants and of his elephants and horses.

SrI ThiruppANazhvAr says:

“adiyArkku ennaiyAtpaduttha vimalan†(amalanAdi-pirAn-1)

(The Lord Who is spotless and Who has made me the servant of His servants). So

do SrI nArada say:

“nAradOhamanuprAptah tvaddarshana-kutoohalAt /

prabhavO bhagavad-bhaktA mAdrushAm satatam dvija //†(ItihAsa Samuccayam,

31-54)

(I, nAradA, have come here with an eager longing to see you. To men like me, Oh

Brahmin, those who are bhaktas of the Lord are masters.)

SrI Thirumangai AzhvAr says:

“mRRum Or deivam uLathenRu iruppArOdu

uRRilEn uRRathum unnadiyaarkkadimai†(Periya Thirumozhi, 8-10-3)

(I will not remain in the company of those who think that there is any other

deity deserving adoration than Thee; also what I have accepted with delight is

the duty of rendering service to Thy devotees.)

As stated in these passages, jIva is absolutely subject to the will of the Lord

and the service of the shESha is due also to those who are the favourites of the

Lord, our being a shESha to the Lord extends even to the BhAgavatas and should

last as long as the self lasts. Our being shEShas to BhAgavatas arises from

their being devotees to the Lord and pertains to our essential nature. It is

also because of their qualities and knowledge (guNa-j~nAna), which cause a

desire in us to serve them. The same sentiment was expressed by LakShmaNa:

“ahamasyAvarO bhrAtA guNairdAsyamupAgatah /†(rAmAyaNa, 4-4-12)

(I am His younger brother; I have become His servant by His qualities.) The

point to be noted here is that this relationship of being a shESha is due both

to our essential nature and to our admiration for their wisdom and character.

These two aspects are indicated in the shlOka quoted above as uttered by SrI

nArada, by the two phrases, (1) “bhaktas of the Lord†and (2) “men like

meâ€.

Thus SwAmi Desikan showed that the Lord does another favour to the mukta-jIva

by helping him to do service to His eternal devotees and other muktas, as He

delights Himself in such servitude of the mukta-jIva. It may be worth noticing

here that, whenever a SrI vaiShnavite dies, it is traditionally described as

“so and so has attained the AchAryan thiruvadi’ (the feet of AchArya),

because it is the ultimate object and also because it pleases the Lord. The Lord

is delighted by the service rendered by one to His devotees more than the

service directly to Himself. Moreover, the Lord Himself places the mukta-jIva,

after he attains mOkSha, at the feet of the BhAgavata who has already attained

His abode rather than taking him for His service. That is the farthest extent of

our ultimate object of life (puruShArth-kAShTha).

 

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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