SrI sArasAram --I(54)

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srI:

SrI sAra sAram – I (54)

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I – ThirumantrAdhikAram

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The Significance of ‘nArAyaNanAya’

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Once the jIva, seeking mOksha, becomes aware of his being the natural servant

of the Lord, what should be his prayer to the Lord? SwAmi DeSikan explains:

“keezhil padangkaLilE nirupAdhika-nitya-SEsha-nAkat thannait

theLinthavanAkaiyAlE, SvAmiyAna nee ennaip parisuddhanAkki aDimai koLLa vENDum

enkiRathuvum SEshi-prayOjanatthai apEkshitthapaDi.†---

From the passages quoted just before, the jIva is clear about his being the

eternal servant of the Lord, that too, not conditionally, but by his very

nature. Hence, his prayer to the Lord for taking him as His servant after making

him absolutely pure is aimed at the Lord’s benefit.

“‘praharshayishyAmi’, ‘paDiyAik kiDanthun pavaLavAi kANpEnE’

enkiRapaDiyE cEthananAkaiyAlE sva-prayOjanatthil thuvakkaRa cEshi-prayOjanatthil

bhuddhi-poorva-pravrutti kooDAthu.†--

Here, SwAmi DeSikan makes a very important point from the practical angle. For

understanding this point it is necessary to understand the message conveyed by

the two quotes referred to by SwAmi DeSikan. The first quote is from SrI

ALavanthAr’s stOtra-ratnam. The full SlOka is:

“bhavantamEvAnucaran nirantaram praSAnta-nihSEsha-manOrthAntarah /

kadAhamaikAntikanityakimkarah praharshayishyAmi sanAthajeevitah //â€

(stOtra-ratnam-46)

Meaning:

“When shall I give You delight, ever remaining Your servant and considering

You as my Master?â€

The second quote is from SrI PerumAL Thirumozhi, which we shall see now in

full:

“ceDiyAya valvinaikaL theerkkum thirumAlE

neDiyAnE vEngkaDavA nin kOyilin vAsal

aDiyArum vAnavarum arampaiyarum kiDanthiyangkum

paDiyAik kiDanthun pavaLavAi kANpEnE.†(PerumAL thirumozhi, 4-9)

 

Meaning:

“ceDiyAya valvinaikaL theerkkum thirumAlE†– Oh Lord, Who destroys the

thicket-like sins!

“neDiyAnE†– the Lofty One!

“vEngkaDavA†– the Lord of the vEnkaTa Hill!

“nin kOyilin vAsal†– At the entrance of Your Temple,

“aDiyArum vAnavarum arampaiyarum kiDanthiyangkum†– at the place where

even Your devotees, gods and the heavenly dancers are hesitant to stay

“paDiyAik kiDanth†– remaining firm as a step

“un pavaLavAi kANpEnE.†– I desire to enjoy Your coral-like lips.

 

Summary:

SrI KulasEkara AzhvAr prays to the Lord of VenkaTa Hills and expresses deep

desire to remain for ever as the stone-step at the entrance of the Lord’s

inner chamber, where even the nitya sooris, gods and the divine dancers are

hesitant to stay (in fear of committing an offence), and to enjoy looking at His

lips that resemble coral gems.

The message conveyed by these two quotes, SwAmi DeSikan points out, is:

“enkiRapaDiyE cEthananAkaiyAlE sva-prayOjanatthil thuvakkaRa

cEshi-prayOjanatthil bhuddhi-poorva-pravrutti kooDAthu.†--

SwAmi DeSikan says that it is impossible to perform service with awareness for

the sake of the pleasure of the Master without one’s own enjoyment. That is,

in every activity, there is an element of self-enjoyment. It is an unavoidable

natural state of any cEtana, a person of knowledge.

The jIva is a person possessing the quality of knowledge. Being such a person,

he cannot avoid his own enjoyment in any activity including the service he does

for his Master. In every activity done for another person, there is an element

of self-enjoyment. He takes pleasure in helping the other person even if it

involves sacrificing his material wealth or physical strain. This applies to the

service rendered to the Lord too.

For example, if a person sacrifices all including his family, material wealth,

physical comforts and social position for the sake of his mother-land, there is

an element of self-enjoyment even if it is infinitesimally tiny in quantity.

 

(To continue)

dAsan

anbil S.SrInivAsan

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