SrI sArasAram --I (17)

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SrI sAra sAram – I (17)

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I – ThirumantrAdhikAram

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The Significance of the ‘a’ in PraNava (continued)

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SwAmi Desikan has been dealing with SEshatvam conveyed by the first syllable,

‘a’ of the praNava, revealing the dative case, ‘Aya’ which is hidden in

the syllable. This dative case implies that one exists only for the sake of the

Other, Who is none other than the Lord himself and Who is represented by the

syllable (a) itself. But, who has to have this SEshatvam is to be revealed by

third syllable, ‘m’ which is yet to come. First, SEshi has come followed by

SEshatvam as in ‘a’ and the hidden ‘Aya’ which is clinging to ‘a’.

This peculiar line-up is illustrated beautifully by SwAmi Desikan in the

following sentence, in his inimitable way:

“‘tvam mE’ enRu swami thoDara ‘aham mE’ enRu thimirappaNNum

ahankAratthAlE asat kalpanAnavanai SEshatva-j~nAnam ujjeevipikkiRthAkaiyAlE,

athan prAdhAnyam thOTRa sambanthatthinuDaiya vidhi-nishEdhatthkku pothuvAna

dharmi-nirdESatthukku munnE ic SEshatvam prakASithamAyiRRu.â€

Here, Swami Desikan gives the reason for the priority SEshitvam gets over the

entity which possesses this quality: “dharmi-nirdESatthukku munnE ic-SEshatvam

prakASithamAyiRRu.â€

Let us try to understand this part of the sentence. “dharmi†means the

entity which possesses the “dhamaâ€, that is, quality. Here, ‘dharma’ is

SEshatvam. The possessor of this dharma is the jIvAtma who is referred to as

‘dharmi’. In the praNava, the possessor is placed at the last, in the form

of the syllable, ‘m’. The arrangement of syllables in the praNava is ‘a’

comes first followed by ‘u’ and the last is ‘m’ which is jIvAtma. Hence,

Swami Desikan puts it beautifully that, even before the jIvatma is mentioned,

his primary quality of being SEsha to the Supreme Lord is declared by the hidden

dative case, ‘Aya’ attached to the first syllable, ‘a’, representing the

Lord.

What is the logic behind this? It is simple. As the syllable ‘a’ is the

origin of all the letters, the Lord represented by it is the origin of all

things in the Universe. The existence of the jIvAtma also is in His hands. So,

the Lord is always the first, as the Cause will precede the effect. Along with

Him comes the fact of His being a SEshi for Whom all other things – sentient

and non-sentient exist. As soon as the jIvatma gets his self-consciousness,

after the praLaya period is over, the Lord tells him (jIva), “You are Mine!â€

and chases the jIva who has acquired a body by the grace of the Lord. The jIva,

on the other hand, due to avidya, thinks that he is independent and the body and

other accessories are his own. This ahamkAram (egotism) makes him to reply to

the Lord, “No, no. I am mine†(Ah< me) (aham mE). This egotism born out of

ignorance makes the jIva one like a non-existent (asat), just like a stone which

does not have

consciousness. When does he come into existence?

SwAmi Desikan says, “‘tvam mE’ enRu swami thoDara ‘aham mE’ enRu

thimirappaNNum ahankAratthAlE asat kalpanAnavanai SEshatva-j~nAnam

ujjeevipikkiRthAkaiyAlE,†– While the Lord goes after the jIva calling him

as His own and the jIva runs away with arrogance. This makes the jIva appear as

non-existent (asat kalpanAnavanai). But, he comes back to life because of the

dawn of the knowledge that he is only a servant and the Lord is the Master. This

is known as “SEshatva-j~nAnamâ€. Hence, SEshatva knowledge is the cause for

the jIva to exist as a sentient-being. Till then, he is equal to a dead-wood or

a stone, a non-sentient object which cannot act on its own without the help of a

sentient being.

SwAmi Desiakn uses the terms, “tvam mE†and “aham mE†taken from a

Sloka of SrI ParAsara Bhattar, which is as follows:

“tvam mE aham 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.

Thus, as Seshatvam is the basis for the existence of the jIva, even before the

syllable indicative of the jIva, the SEshatvam is highlighted in very first

syllable itself. When SEshatvam is established, its opposite, namely, the

responsibility of the Master is naturally derived:

“Ithukkup prati-sambandhiyAna rakshakanuDai SEshitvsm phalitam.†– While

the jIva is the protected, the Lord is the protector.. ‘prathi-sambandhi’

– the corresponding opponent is the protector; His quality of mastership is

derived as an analogue.

Next, Swami Desikan says that this SEsha-SEshi relationship is a permanent one:

“kAla-avacchEdam-illAmaiyAlE ithukku ayOga-vyavacchEdam siddham.†– There

is no time factor in this servant-Master relationship and so, it is a permanent

one. This relationship cannot be broken, neither by the jIva nor by the Lord.

There is also another fact derived from this. Of these two, one is the soul and

the other is the body. The Lord is the Sareeri (soul) and the jiva is Sareera

(body), sys SwAmi Desikan:

“iththAlE Sareera-Sareeri bhAvamum phalikkum.†– From this, also results

the concept of body-soul tie.

Here, we my recall a SlOka of Swami Desikan in his Srimad rahasyatraya-sAram:

“niScitE paraSEshtvE SEsham samparipooryatE /

aniScitE punastasmin anyat sarvam-asatsamam //â€

(When the relationship of our being the servants of the Supreme Lord is well

established in the mind, the other requisites follow easily as being necessary

to it. When that thought is not established in the mind, all the rest serve no

purpose and are really non-existent even though they may be there.. These

requisites for spiritual life are self-control and serenity.)

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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