SrI sArasAram - I (2)

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SrI sAra sAram – I (2)

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I – ThirumantrAdhikAram

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Introduction (continued)

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After opening this work with a Tamil verse, SwAmi Desikan gives an introductory

statement, stating his intention:

“kaNNapuram onRudaiyAnukku adiyEn, oruvarkku uriyEnO?†enkiRapadiyE

sarvESvaranukku ananyArha-SEsha-bhootanAi irunthu vaiththu

anAdhi-karma-pravAhaththAlE adimai ceyyap peRAthE ninRa kshEtrajn~an

avasara-pradeekshai-yAna bhagavad-krupaiyAlE purinthu sadAcArya-mukhaththAlE

peRRa rahasya-traya-mAkiRa samsAra-bhEshajaththai upajeevikkumpadi

collukiROm.â€

The sentient being, the jIvAtma, is a SEsha (servant) to the Lord only, and not

to anybody else, as declared by SrI Thirumangai AzhvAr, in his work Periya

Thirumozhi:

“viDaiyEzhanRu aDarththu veguNDu vilankaluRa

paDaiyAl AzhithaTTa paraman paranjOthi

maDaiyAr neelam malkum vayalchoozh kaNNapuramonRu

uDaiyAnukku aDiyEn oruvarkku uriyEnO?†(Periya Thirumozhi, 8-9-3)

(I am the servant of the Lord of KaNNapuram, which is the best holy place, full

of ponds rich with blue lilies; and green-fields. That Lord is the One Who is

the greater than the greatest; having a very bright form; Who once had conquered

seven violent bullocks; Who once got a bridge constructed by the army of monkeys

blocking the sea. Will I be the servant to anyone else?)

Such a jIva, a sentient being, has not attained SrI VaikuNTam for rendering

service there! What is the reason? It is due to his revolving around in the

mire of samsAra having been caught in the endless stream of flood of karmas,

since unknown time. The Lord, however, has a lot of sympathy for him and has

been waiting for the right opportunity to help him to come up on the good path.

Now a good time has come for the jIva. And so, he approaches a good AchArya who

instructs him about the three secrets, namely, Thirumantra, Dvaya and the

CaramaSlOka, which are the best medicine for his serious disease of samsAra. We

shall describe how this jIva got the help from these secrets.

After this brief introduction, SwAmi Desikan explains how to use these three

secrets for leading a good life.

The Importance of Thirumantra

First, the sentient being, that is, the jIva should learn the secret of the

Thirumantra along with its significance. SwAmi Desikan says:

“svaroopam theLinthavanukku allathu svaroopa-anuroopamAna

param-purushArththaththil abhiruciyum, tat-upAya-parigrahamum kooDAmaiyAlE,

svaroopa-vaiSadya-hEthuvAna thirumantram muRpaDa anusamdhEyam.â€

Meaning:

Unless one gets a clear knowledge about the nature of the jIvAtma, he cannot

develop an interest in the ultimate goal, which is mOksha, and cannot adopt a

means for attaining it. It is, therefore, necessary that he should start

meditating on the Thirumantra which is the source of knowing one’s nature.

This Thirumantra will create a clear knowledge about the essential nature of

his Atma in the person who meditates on it. Unless one gets this clear

knowledge, the desire for liberation will not develop in him. Without such a

desire, he will not get an opportunity for adopting a suitable means for it. It

is, therefore, necessary first to meditate on the Thirumantra for getting a

clear idea about the Atma’s essential nature.

 

(To contine)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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