SrI UpakAra Sangraham -- III(15)

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srI:

 

SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (15)

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niryANa adikAram

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Section - 10: SrI NammAzhvAr reveals all these so far described, in the first

verse of his work, Thiruviruttham.

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Sub-section: 1- Word-by-word meaning of the first verse (continued)

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SwAmi Desikan continues with his word-by-word commentary:

imaiyOr thalaivA! – sambandam otthirukkac ceithE, karma vasatthAlE nAngkaL

izhanthu kidakka, nityasoorikaL nityAnubhavam paNNumpadi sarvasamanAna

sarva-swAmiyAnavanE!

“imaiyOr thalaivA!†– Oh the Lord of the nitya sooris!

SrI NammAzhvAr addresses the Lord as ‘the Lord of the nitya sooris!’ This

has many connotations. BhagavAn is the Lord of all, then, why should the AzhvAr

address Him like this?

If we consider the context described by the AzhvAr so far, it will become

clear. The same is indicated by SwAmi Desikan in his commentary:

“sambandam otthirukkac ceithE†– The connection between the Lord and the

creatures is the same. There is no difference at all. That is the connection as

the Lord is the self of everyone, including the nitya sooris. All of us

including the nitya sooris have the Lord as our Atma. We are His sareera or

body, prakAra or mode. We are SEsha and He is the SEshee. We are servants, while

He is the Master, the only Master.

When that is the common connection, the Lord takes births in any ‘yOni’ --

any form of life, for the sake of us, the lowest of the lowest!

SwAmi Desikan further says:

“karma vasatthAlE nAngkaL izhanthu kidakka†-- Truly we are all equal to

nitya sooris. That is the real situation. But, we lost the status because of our

own fault – karma committed in unknown antiquity. That is why we are caught in

the endless cycle of births and re-births, unlike the nitya sooris who never

committed any such wrong action. Some of us have been lucky to get back to the

original position earlier due to j~nAna, bhakti-yOga or prapatti and now as

muktas are serving the Lord in His abode.

SwAmi Desikan continues:

“nityasoorikaL nityAnubhavam paNNumpadi sarvasamanAna sarvaswAmi-yAnavanE!â€

–

Unlike us, the nitya sooris are experiencing continuously the full and perfect

bliss which is equal to that of the Lord. If they are fortunate, it is because

of the compassion of the Lord! There is no question of losing the enjoyment

ever. That too is because of the Lord! But he is supposed to be the same for

all, including us, the bonded jIvas. He is equal to all without any partiality!

This is indicated by the expression, “sarva-samanAnavanâ€. He is the Lord of

all! This is indicated by the expression, “sarva-swAmiyAnavanâ€. Even then,

the AzhvAr addresses Him as “the Lord of the nitya soorisâ€!

How beautifully put by Swami Desikan!

We go further:

“meininRu kEttaruLAi†– Truly standing before us and please listen!

SwAmi Desikan has some thing to say about the AzhvAr’s selecting the word.

“meiâ€:

“mei†– ippadi rakShAyOgya-nAna ennudaiya padikaLum, rakShaNOnmukh-nAna

unnudaiya padikaLum pramANa-siddhangkaLanRO? avaRRil onRu apramANa-makilanRO

unakkuk kaNNazhivu collalAvathu enRu thAtparyam.

There are ways of appealing to the Lord for help. The elephant Gajendra was

caught by a crocodile in a pond where he had gone to pluck a lotus flower to

offer it to the Lord. Hundreds of years he struggled to get himself free but met

with failure. As a last resort, he called the Lord addressing Him as ‘Oh

AdimoolamE!’ and the story goes that the Lord rushed to the spot riding His

vehicle, Garuda and saved the elephant. When the elephant cried the Lord’s

name, the Lord was not physically present before him. Similarly, when Droupathi

was being stripped of her saree in the Kaurava Assembly, she appealed to the

Lord to save her. At that time, the Lord was not physically present there. But

He saved her from the ugly situation. Keeping such episodes in mind SrI

NammAzhvAr desires for the Lord’s physical present before him to listen to his

plea. That is why he used the term, “mei†– which has several meanings

including, truth, body etc. The

AzhvAr wants the physical presence of the Lord in front of him to listen to

whatever he is going to say.

If his intention is merely to seek protection, he need not insist for the

physical presence of the Lord. Why? SwAmi Desikan states that it is the Lord’s

duty to provide protection to the good people without their seeking the same:

“ippadi rakShAyOgya-nAna ennudaiya padikaLum, rakShaNOnmukh-nAna unnudaiya

padikaLum pramANa-siddhangkaLanRO?†– It is laid down in the scriptures,

which are the authority created by the Lord Himself, the qualifications of the

one deserving protection and the qualifications of the One, that is, the Lord,

who is the protector. That is why, the AzhvAr mentions the term “meiâ€.

Because, he is in a condition which requires the actual physical presence of the

Lord in front of him, he says “meiâ€.

There is an imaginary conversation between the Lord and the AzhvAr:

The Lord: Oh AzhvAr! Why should I appear before you showing My divya mangala

vigraham? You want some help which I can render from here and there is no need

to rush there.

AzhvAr: No, my Lord! You have to come here to save me.

The Lord: What for?

AzhvAr: It is because adiyEn wants to make a submission to You.

The Lord: That submission you can make straight away. As you know I can hear it

sitting on the couch of AdiSEsha! I have the capacity to hear every sound. Not

only that, I can know all that goes in your mind. Nothing can be hidden from me.

So, you go ahead with whatever you want to say.

AzhvAr: No, my Lord! It is not like what Draupati demanded from You. You granted

it without rushing to the spot.

The Lord: Then, what is your plea for which My presence is reqired?

AzhvAr: Oh my Lord! My very plea is your presence here. AdiyEn can be saved only

by Your physical presence. AdiyEn wants to see You with my eyes, Your

divya-mangaLa form! Without seeing it adiyEn will not survive.

The Lord: So, what?

AzhvAr: Oh my Lord! It is You have propagated the scriptures as an authority to

be followed.

The Lord: I am not bound by them, AzhvAr!

AzhvAr: No, my Lord! The same scripture declares You as the Protector and we,

the jIvas as to protected by You. So, You too are bound by Your own scriptures!

The Lord: You are intelligent! You have trapped Me using My own words! You are

accusing Me of blind to the authority!

AzhvAr: AdiyEn cannot accuse You of dereliction of duty. Because,

“avaRRil onRu apramANa-makilanRO unakkuk kaNNazhivu collalAvathu?â€

Not even one among the scriptures is un-authoritative! So, what prevents You

from acceding to my plea? There is no hindrance at all for You to appear before

me in Your true form, my Lord!

This may be in the mind of the AzhvAr who says, “meiâ€, and in the mind of

SwAmi Desikan for explaining thus the significance of this tiny word.

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrinivAsan

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