SRI RANGA SRI e- Journal - VOL.09 / ISSUE # 09 dated 24th November 2007

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SrI:

SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //

SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/

SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//

KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /

SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.09 / ISSUE # 09 dated 24th November 2007

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. SUNDARA KHAANDAM PART - 7 (SRIMAD RAMAYANAM DISCOURSES IN THE

HINDU TEMPLE OF ATLANTA by SRI ANBIL RAMASWAMY SWAMI)

3. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 39 - SLOKAM 17 -PART 1

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

 

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ISSUES RELEASED

With this issue, about 272 Regular issues of SRS have been released

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15 Issues of Vol. 2

42 Issues of Vol. 3

35 Issues of Vol. 4

28 Issues of Vol. 5

30 Issues of Vol. 6

50 Issues of Vol. 7 and

36 Issues of Vol. 8

09 Issues of Vol. 9(including this)

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2. " SUNDHARA KHAANDAM " PART - 7 OF SRIMAD RAMAYANAM

(ANBIL RAMASWAMY)

--

 

51. " FIRE TO THE TAIL! "

 

Ravana said: " The most favorite part of the body of monkeys was the

tail. So, set fire to it " . The Raakshasas jumped in sheer glee and

immediately started to wrap up cloth pieces and jute to his tail and

set fire. Meanwhile, Sita who had learned about the punishment

through her guards prayed to the Fire-God that the heat of the fire

should not affect Hanumaan.

 

Hanumaan wondered how when wildfire raging from his tail and

incinerating everything, never hurt him with its heat! (VR 53)

Hanumaan hopped from house to house belonging to the Raakshasas and

in the process set fire to their properties. Thus, he gutted the

mansions of Prahasta, Mahaa-paarsva, Vajra-dhamshTra, Sukha,

SaaraNa, Indra-jit, Jambu-maali, Su-maali, Rasmi-kEtu, Soorya-satru,

Hrasva- karma, DhamshTra, rOmasa, yuddhOnmatta, mathan, dvaja-

greevan, Vidyut-jihvan, Hasti-mukhan, KaraaLan, SONIda-akshan, Kumba-

karNan, Makara-akshan, Yagjna-Satru, Brahma- Satru, Nara-anthakan,

Kumbhan, Nikumbhan and others. In short, the entire Lanka was in

flames and nothing was left out! (VR 54)

 

52. WHY ONE SHOULD CONTROL ANGER?

 

When Ravana torched the tail of Hanuman, the latter was so incensed

that with that fire he burned almost the whole of Lanka:

 

" Yah sOka vahnim Janakaatmajaayaa; aadaaya tEnaiva dadaaha lankaam " )

 

Suddenly, he realized that he had overlooked that Sita was also in

the same Lanka while exhibiting his anger against Ravana he had

inadvertently exposed Sita to a " friendly fire " . He

lamented:

 

" Kruddha: paapam na kuryaat ka: kruddhO hanyaad guroonapi? (VR 55.4)

An angry person would not hesitate even to slay his preceptor

 

52A. NOW, WHAT IS THE LESSON FOR US?

 

We get angry when someone does something wrong (of course, from our

own subjective point of view) or someone insults us (real or more

often as imagined by us). Both are not occasions to get angry. Maybe

we are capable of doing the wrong ourselves, if we were in the other

person's shoes!

 

The MRA principle that when you point one finger of accusation

against somebody, remember that three other fingers are pointing

towards you, suggesting that you are at least three times as capable

of committing the wrong you seek to accuse the other person of.

Maybe, we deserve the insult. If we remember and consciously

endeavor to incorporate these into our thought process – maybe, we

will not get angry at all.

 

It is said that 'Hatred does not kill your enemy'; only you will

become tensed; only your blood pressure will shoot up. A person who

gets angry all the time for anything and everything with or without

provocation (which itself may be more imagined than real) will soon

lose the sympathy of all. A person who cannot get on with his

parents, siblings, spouse, children and other relatives and friends

would do well to ponder over where the fault lies. A sensible

introspection would reveal that the real culprit to blame for his

discomfiture is none other than his own self. And, the sooner he

corrects himself, the better for him.

 

The angry person should remember that the targeted person could not

be treated as the " speed -punching bag " used in boxing exercises,

with smug confidence that contrary to its name, the punching bag

would never return the punch but would always be at the receiving

end. Maybe, if you punch it too hard, and if you are not very

careful, the punching bag might pounce back upon you with equal

speed and hurt you!

 

The other person at the receiving end is not a dumb, feeling-less

and emotionless moron whom you could hurt with impunity to suit your

mood swings and for long - but will be capable of hitting you twice

as hard as you hit, but, nevertheless, keeps his cool more out of

consideration for your immature antics and allows you to let out all

your steam than due to an inability to retort. Maybe, he is

conscious of the dictum " Any fool can criticize and most fools do;

it takes character and patience to be understanding and forgiving " .

And, in forgiving and forgetting, that person becomes larger than

life-size and that much greater than the petulant, strutting, silly,

stupid, stymied you!

 

Sage Tiruvalluvar cautions that if one does not control anger, it

would kill the very person who is getting angry.

 

As Dale Carnegie puts it " If you want to reform somebody, it is a

nice idea. But, why not start it on yourself? " - 11

 

Hinduism advises that we should grudge none and forgive all. So long

as we remember an injustice (real or imaginary), we have not

forgiven either the person or the action. There is more suffering in

the world than wickedness. If we realize this fact we would be only

too willing to forgive and forget. There is no virtue like

forgiveness and no vice like harboring ill will.

 

" Dayaa Samam naasti PuNyam, Paapam Himsaa Samam na hi " Hinduism

advises " Forgive and Forget " . How to do this? Ignore some, accept

others.

Nobody will care for you, if you get angry all the time and for

everything. Hinduism advises us to develop the habit of receiving

any news with a calm mind and never to get upset.

 

Ya: sam utpatitam krOdham kshamayaiva nirasyati /

Yath uraga stveva cham jeerNaam sarvE purusha uchyatE // (VR 55.6)

 

He who extinguishes his anger and replaces it with a sense of

tolerance and forgiveness, even as a snake discards its useless

skin, can be deemed as venerable. Hanumaan rushed back to Sita and

made sure that she was not scorched. He took leave of her. (VR 56,

57)

 

dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

(To be continued)

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3.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 39 - SLOKAM 17 -PART 1

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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SrImate ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 39, Slokam 17 Part 1,

tiruvAimozhi 1.6, pASuram 1.6.1.

 

akrItair-arcya bhAvAt (1.6.1) anihita vividhAbhyarcanAt (1.6.2)

alpa-tushTeh (1.6.3)

prahva Avarjya ISa bhAvAt (1.6.4) sva-vishaya niyateshu AdarAt

(1.6.5)

svAdu-bhUmnA (1.6.6) |

pAda Asakta-prasakteh (1.6.7) sakRd-upasadane mokshaNAt (1.6.8)

dharma-sausthyAt (1.6.9)

kshipra kshipta ahitatvAt (1.6.10) sukara bhajanatAm

 

madhavasyAbhyadatta (1.6) ||

 

The central theme of all the pASuram-s in this tiruvAimozhi is

identified by svAmi deSikan as `the ease with which mAdhavan can be

worshiped'. This is captured in the last half of the last line in

the above Slokam – su-kara bhajanatAm mAdhavasya abhyadatta.

 

For ease of understanding, I am giving here the summary of this

Slokam as given by Sri R. Ra'ngAchAri in English:

 

No need to buy anything to adore Him - Water, herb, leaf or flower

will do; (1.6.1)

Yea, no prescribed ritual too – one can cherish Him in his own way;

(1.6.2)

Strange, He is pleased with ever so little! (1.6.3)

He is the Master charmed by our good feeling! (1.6.4)

To those who are lost in Him, He is all support! (1.6.5)

His greatness is ambrosia – sweet! (1.6.6)

To the devotees who adore His feet, He is passing dear; (1.6.7)

Let them but once cherish Him, Salvation is sure for them! (1.6.8)

He is rooted in dharma and is its fruit as well! (1.6.9)

In an instant, He would wipe out clear all our sins; (1.6.10)

So, mAdhava (the Lord of SrI) is most easy to adore. (1.6)

 

The first 10 lines capture the thoughts identified by svAmi deSikan

for the first 10 pASuram-s of this tiruvAimozhi, and the 11th line

is the sAram of this tiruvAimozhi as a whole.

 

In his bhagavad vishaya sAram, SrImad tirukuDanthai ANDavan notes

that through these pASuram-s, AzhvAr points out that for bhagavAn's

worship, there is no constraint of materials, no constraint on time,

no constraint on who has the right to worship Him, no constraint on

tools, etc. AlavandAr's stotratnam-28, which is referenced in the

next section, emphasizes the same points – kadA'pi, kenacit, yathA

tathA vA'pi, etc.

 

• pASuram 1.6.1:

 

parivadu il ISanaip pADi virivadu mEval uruvIr !

pirivagai inRi nal nIr tUy purivaduvum pUgai pUvE.

 

Some of you might think that bhagavAn who is without any flaw should

be only worshiped through perfection by singing sAma gAnam properly,

etc. Not true! Even if you sprinkle some water with devotion, any

incense, any flower at all, He will gladly accept them.

 

svAmi deSikan identifies the guNam sung in this pASuram as `akrItaih

arcya bhAvAt' – `He can be worshiped with materials that do not even

have to be bought by paying money – those that are available for

free will do just fine, such as by `sprinkling' a tiny amount of

water – nal nIr tUy. The pASuram declares that there is no `drvay

nyAyam' for bhagavAn's worship – devotion is the sole requirement

for worship of bhagavAn, and there are no constraints regarding the

materials that need to be offered to Him; there is no excuse for

one to keep away from Him on this pretext.

 

SrI UV quotes the following Sloka that echoes the same thought (note

the words `akrIta labhyeshu'):

 

patreshu pushpeshu phaleshu toyeshu akrIta-labhyeshu sadaiva satsu|

bhaktyeka-labhye purushe purANe muktyai katham na kriyate prayatnah

||

(MahAbhArata)

 

" The Ancient Purusha is easily attainable by devotion alone, with

the offer of just leaves, flowers, fruits, and even water, that are

always attainable without cost. When such is the case, how is it

that people do not even want to try to work towards emancipation? "

 

SrI UV also gives reference to stotra ratnam – 28, which conveys the

praying with folded hands is all that is needed to worship Him:

 

tvad an'ghrim uddiSya kadA'pi kenacit

yathA tathA vA'pi sakRt kRto'njalih |

tadaiva mushNAti aSubhAnyaSeshatah

SubhAni pushNAti na jAtu hIyate ||

 

" Oh Lord! When one thinks of Your sacred feet as upAyam and phalan

and folds his hands in a'njali mudrA even once at any time, all his

ancient and sorrow-giving karmAs are destroyed without any left-

overs, and he enjoys Eternal Bliss at Your supreme abode, Sri

VaikunTham " .

 

There are several beautiful points to be enjoyed in this pASuram in

the context of the ease of worshiping bhagavAn. nal nIr tUy – mere

sprinkling of a tiny bit of plain water is sufficinent, if that act

is done with devotion; the water does not even have to be scented

with cardamam etc. (The word `nal' here is to be understood

as `plain', rather than `good', which brings out the emphasis that

nothing special is needed to worship bhagavAn). The order - Pugai

and pU as given in the pASuram is contrary to the SAstric injunction

that pU (flower) is offered first, followed by incense. AzhvAr

gives the reverse order, signifying that there is no constraint

whatsoever in worshiping Him, and there is no excuse for not

worshiping Him; the only requirement is that the worship should be

offered with devotion. There is a SAstric injunction that flowers

with thorns are not to be offered to perumAL (na kaNTakAri pushpam

devAya vinivedayet); the anubhavam of AcArya-s is that this

restriction is not because He will not accept the offering of thorny

flowers, but the restriction is so that the devotee does not get the

thorn pricking his hand and thereby getting hurt! So, it is His

concern for the deovtee that explains the SAstric restriction on the

unsuitability of thorny flowers for worship!

 

 

Regards

dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)

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