SRI RANGA SRI ELECTRONIC JOURNAL -VOL.10 / ISSUE # 02 dated 2nd November 2008

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SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //

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SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//

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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.10 / ISSUE # 02 dated 2nd November 2008

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IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. VEDIC WEDDING – Sri ANBIL RAMASWAMY

2. TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 56- SLOKAM 21 – Part 2 to 4

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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1. VEDIC WEDDING (By Anbil Ramaswamy)

AN INTRODUCTION

 

Marriage is a religious ceremony and is an important " Samskaaram " .

 

" Samskaaram " is meant " to purify " There are 40 Samskaaras

prescribed in the Saastras. 26 of them relate to wedding and post-

wedding periods. This shows the importance of the role of Grihasta

(householder) who is considered to be pivotal in Society. Also, the

others belonging to Brahmacharya (The Celibate), Vaanaprasta (The

Anchorite) and Sannyasa (The Renounced) are not qualified to perform

any rites involving the use of fire (agni Karyam) and they are

prohibited from begetting progeny. " Dharma prajaartham vriNeemahE "

says the mantra which means that marriage is primarily for begetting

progeny. It is therefore the duty of the house-holder to enter this

Aasrama with due respect. Marriage is, no doubt, primarily for

begetting children but it was also required for the proper

performance of worship.

To drive home this point during the first four days after the

wedding function, the couple is supposed to share the same bed but

is not supposed to indulge in sex.

Marriage is not only a contract between individuals but also a

contract between families. Marriage is in NOT a license for sexual

pleasures but a holy and irrevocable contract not only between the

man and wife but also casts the burden of ensuring it to be so, till

the very last, on the community comprising of the families of both

sides.

 

" Marriage is marriage " and is not a mere " love affair " which is

nothing but an infatuation. Love affair is a relationship just for

pleasure and when the pleasure wears out, the affair is gone. But,

marriage is a lifetime commitment to yourself, to your other half

and represents the prime concern of your life.

 

If you make a sacrifice, you are not sacrificing to that person. It

is a sacrifice to a permanent relationship. If pain there is in such

relationship, there is also life in it. Love bears all, endures all.

If the relationship has pains, remember that life is also not all

that blissful all through all the time. The stronger the love, the

more pain it is prepared to bear and ultimately the pain would turn

out to be even enjoyable.

 

Partners who enter in wedlock are not 'paragons of virtue' as they

appear in the first flush of enthusiasm. None is perfect and to seek

for perfection in the partner is like `seeking a mirage in the

desert'. Perfect relationship is created by conscious effort and not

discovered all on a sudden. The incompatibilities have to be

resolved by a continual mutual adjustment and reconciliation by a

willing attitude of 'give and take'.

 

1. Samaavartanam

After completing studies in " Gurukula Vaasam " (Residential school in

the teacher's home) learning the Vedas and other scriptures, the

student proceeds to marry with the permission of the preceptor.

 

2. Kaasi Yatra

The bachelor is now in a dilemma. He has to decide whether to remain

a confirmed bachelor (naishTika Brahmachari) for the rest of his

life or to get married and become a Grihasta. His first inclination

would be to choose the former. He would plan to be a mendicant and

go on a " Paadayatra " to holy places. He would prefer to start with a

journey to Kaasi (Vaaruna-asi). At that time, the father of a

prospective bride would intervene to persuade him to marry his

daughter and start a family of his own offering him a lot of gifts

to start the Aasrama. He would consult his parents and other elders

in his family. The bachelor would be convinced, when they give the

green signal!

 

3. KANYAA SULKAM

A few representatives of the boy would be deputed to meet with the

parents of the girl. An offer would be made by the boy's party to

the girl's party for conducting the marriage. This is known

as " Kanyaa Sulkam "

 

In the good old days, the practice of " Vara dakshiNai " now enforced

ruthlessly on the parents of the brides with disastrous consequences

was practically unknown and is nowhere contemplated in the Saastras.

 

4. VARA PRESHANAM

When once the parents of the bride accept the offer, the groom is

deemed to be a replica of Mahaa VishNu himself and treated as such

and is shown due courtesies by the bride's party.

 

5. NANDI and VARA POOJA

 

Nandi is a ceremony in which, the two families solicit the blessings

of their ancestors for formalizing the marriage.

When once the parents of the bride accept the offer, the groom is

deemed to be a replica of Mahaa VishNu himself and treated as such

and is shown due courtesies by the bride's party.

The priest announces three generations of the ancestry of both the

bride and the groom.

 

6. VRATAM

This consists of several preliminary Samskaaras like NaamakaraNam,

Jaata karaNam etc. For boys, all these would have been done already

during Upanayanam. For girls, however, this is required to be done

immediately before the marriage. Usually, it is done on the previous

morning or on the morning of the wedding day.

 

7. VISHWAKSENA ARADANAM / LAKSHMI POOJA

Before the commencement of the rites, the first event in any

religious ceremony will be to seek the blessings of Vishwaksena who

removes all obstacles in the way of successful conduct of the

function. Lord Mahaalakshmi is invoked by placing at the feet of the

Goddess, a gold pendent and other jewelry of the bride seeking her

blessings for a long and happy married life for the young couple.

 

8. PUNYAHAVACHANAM

VaruNa, the Lord of waters with appropriate mantras is then invoked

in a vessel containing holy waters and decorated with a coconut,

flowers, kumkum and turmeric. Invoking Lord VishNu and the nine

planets, the place is sprinkled with this water as a means of

purification to make the venue fit for the functions that follow.

 

9. AnkuraarpaNam

Some seeds of paddy, black gram, green gram, sesame and mustard are

soaked in water and filled in small mud bowls. The sprouts are

carefully nursed and kept intact till the completion of the wedding

functions. This is known as " Paalikai " . The sprouting is symbolic of

the intended production of progenies of the couple.

 

10. BOY AND GIRL MEET

At the time of the first meeting, several mantras are chanted by the

prospective groom praying for the removal of any blemishes that the

girl might have contracted knowingly or unknowingly.

 

11. EXCHANGING GARLANDS

The boy and the girl exchange flower garlands and shower each other

with rice mixed with turmeric as a token of their coming together

for the holy wedding. This indicates that free exchange of ideas

between them after the marriage and that neither of them would keep

back anything from the other.

 

12. OONJAL

They are made to sit on a swing. The swing symbolizes the ups and

downs of life, which the couple may have to face united and with

confidence and full faith in each other. Ladies sing songs in

lilting tunes to add a festive fervor of the occasion.

 

13. Parting is painful

Any parting is painful. The bride is about to leave her parent's

home where she had grown up all along and is about to enter a

totally new and alien surrounding of her would - be husband. Both

the girl and her parents would feel the pangs of prospective

separation and the uncertain atmosphere in which the girl would have

to lead her life post-marriage, tears might roll down their cheeks.

Since it would not be proper to shed tears on such an auspicious

occasion, a special mantra is uttered to ward off any evil effects

of such feelings.

 

14. PRATISARA BANDHAM / RAKSHA BANDHAM

A string soaked in turmeric is tied around the left wrist of the

girl and on the right wrist of the boy, probably to indicate a

resolution of loyalty to each other. This is known as Pratisara

Bhandham.

 

15. YOKE

To reassure them, a ritual is prescribed in which one side of a

miniature yoke is placed on the head of the bride signifying that

the boy and the girl would act in unison in carrying out their new

life like a pair of bulls dragging a cart. The Mangalyam is placed

in the hole in the yoke and water is poured drop by drop through the

hole on the bride. There are other interpretations of this ritual

linking it to the story of one " Apaala " (daughter of Sage Atri) who

was rescued by Indra (the Lord of Gods) through a yoke of his

chariot as a result of which she became relieved of disease and

shone in full luster.

 

16. MANGALA SNAANAM

The bride is then given a ceremonial bath called MangaLa Snaanam.

The bridegroom has a shave and bath. He wears a " Panchakachcham " and

two sacred threads (yagjnOpaveetam)

 

17. AGNI PRATHISHTA

Fire god is deemed to be the intermediary between the devotees and

Gods. He is the Chief witness to the entire proceedings. So, fire is

ignited in the fire pit (hOma kuNDam) into which the offerings

(Mainly ghee (Clarified butter) are offered with a request to the

Fire God to carry the offerings to satisfy the Gods.

 

18. MADHUPARKAM

The bride and the groom are then offered some pieces of fruits and

honey to indicate that their married life would be sweet all the way.

 

19. KOORAI PUDAVAI

The groom presents an expensive sari (with blouse) to the girl. She

returns to the hall wearing this sari and fully bedecked with jewels

befitting the occasion. The groom ties a string of reeds around the

waist of the girl, perhaps indicating that she is " tied " to him!

 

20. THE GIRL IS ALREADY MARRIED!

According to Saastras, a spinster is euphemistically said to have

married the celestials called Soman, Chandran, and Agni before

marrying a human! In other words, she has been blessed by these

celestials. The groom recites a mantra to this effect and proceeds

to go through the rest of the rituals.

[To be continued]

 

dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

(To be continued)

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2.TAATPARYA RATNAVALI - SUBMISSION 56 - SLOKAM 21 -PART 2-4

(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARAIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)

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SrImate Ra'nga RAmAnuja MahA DeSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submssion 56 - Slokam 21 Part 2,

tiruvAimozhi 1.10 - pASuram-s 1.10.3- 1.10.10.

 

pASuram 1.10.3:

 

empirAnai endai tandai tandaikkum

tam pirAnait taN tAmaraik kaNNanai

kombarAvu nuN nEr iDai mArbanai

empirAnit tozhAi maDa ne'njamE.

 

maDa ne'njamE! empirAnai, endai tandai tandaikkum tam pirAnai,

taN tAmaraik kaNNanai, kombu arAvu nuN nEr iDai mArbanai, empirAnait

tozhAi! - Oh my mimd that is under my control! Continue to worship

that empirAn who is my Lord, the Lord of all my ancestors, has

beautiful lotus-like reddish beautiful eyes, and has pirATTi with

the slender waist on His chest.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the gist of this pASuram through the words -

vyakta pUrvopakAram - endai tandai tandaikkum tam pirAn - He who is

known to have been One who has provided help and sustenance to our

ancestors from time immemorial. Note the mention of pirATTi by

AzhvAr in this pASuram where he sings the praise of bhagavAn's guNam

of being a paropakAran - always helping His devotees. AzhvAr

meditates on the cause for this Mercy of His, and sings about

pirATTi who is the cause of this mercy.

 

pASuram 1.10.4:

 

ne'njamE nallai nallai unnaip peRRAl

en SeyyOm, ini enna kuRaivinam?

maindanai malarAL maNavALanait

tu'njum pOdu viDAdu toDar kaNDAi.

 

Oh my mind! Since I possess you who were good (by seeking Him alone

with full dedication) even before I asked you to be good, and since

you continue to be good after I asked you, there is nothing that is

beyond my ability to accomplish. I have no unfulfilled wish

whatsoever. Even when I sleep or can't worship Him for any reason,

I ask you to be with the ever-youthful Consort of PirATTi.

 

svAmi deSikan describes the gist of this pASuram with the

words 'svAntasya aikAgRya hetum ( 'svAnta - mind, heart; aikAgRyam -

intentness on one object) - BhagavAn who is the cause for our

mind to be with Him without interruption (again because malarAL or

pirATTi is with Him) - ne'njamE malarAL maNavALanai tu'njum pOdum

viDAdu tuDar kaNDAi.

 

The interpretations given by different AcArya-s for svAmi deSikan's

words to describe the gist of this pASuram differ slightly, and are

given below:

 

Ve'nkaTeSAcArya - manas tanniDattilE tAnE aikAgRyattai aDaivadaRku

hetu bhUtanAi - He who facilitates the mind of the devotee to dwell

on Him with full devotion.

 

SrImad TirukkuDandai ANDavan - manasu avaniDattil aikAgRyattai

aDaivadaRkuk kAraNa bhUtan - He who is the Cause that drives our

mind to meditate with full dedication on Him.

PBA - manam eppOdum viDAdu toDarum paDi iruppavan - He who has the

guNam that ensures that the devotee's mind is fixed on Him without

interruption.

tanniDattil ASritaruDaiya manassu vandu vizhum paDi Seigai - He who

makes the devotee's mind get drawn to Him and fall at His feet

naturally (handwritten manuscript by SrI V. K. Ramanujachariar,

kindly provided by SrI Srinivasan of Delhi)

 

Several examples of His drawing the mind towards Him come to mind.

The fact that BhagavAn is a sulabhan who ensures that the mind of

the devotee is directed towards Him at the time of the final parting

of the soul from the body is convyed in the varAha carama Slokam -

aham smarAmi mad-bhaktam nayAmi paramAm gatim - where PerumAL

assures BhUmi PirATTi that even if the devotee is unable to have

last thoughts on Him while leaving this body, He will enter the

devotee's thoughts and ensure that the devotee has the last thoughts

about Him and attains His feet.

 

While BhagavAn will ensure that the devotee attains His feet as

assured to BhUmi PirATTi, note that there is a small requirement -

'madbhaktam' - to My devotee. We should be devoted to Him with

ananya bhakti, with advesham, with the five a'nga-s of prapatti as

instructed by svAmi deSikan in his nyAsa daSakam etc. While

nammAzhvAr's mind was totally subservient to him - as he reveals in

this pASuram (ne'njamE nallai nallai), the minds of most of us

are 'anything but nallai'. This pASuram should remind us of the

importance of training our minds and getting them under control to

think of His divine feet constantly.

 

The importance of training one's mind to meditate on Him while we

are in good physical and mental condition itself, is emphasized by

many AzhvAr-s. PeriyAzhvAr sings " …appOdaikku ippOdE Solli vaittEn

ara'ngattu aravaNaip paLLiyAnE! (4.10.1) - Oh Lord! I am seeking

Your protection at the time of the final moment right now, since I

won't be able to remember you at the final moment " . In fact, in all

ten pASuram-s of this tirumozhi, PeriyAzhvAr directs his mind to

think of Him while it is in a p;osition where it can think of Him,

so that BhagavAn will ensure that the mind thinks of Him in the last

moment.

 

Similar feelings are echoed by SrI Kulasekhara AzhvAr in his Mukunda

mala stotram:

 

KRshNa tvadIya pada pa'nkaja pa'njrAntam

adyaiva me viSatu mAnasa rAjahamsaH |

prAna prayANa samaye kapha vAta pittaiH

kaNThAvarodhana vidhau smaraNam kutaste ||

 

'When I am in my final moment, I am sure I won't be able to think of

You.

Therfore, my Lord KRshNa! Let my mind dwell on your lotus feet

right now.'

 

In his PerumAL tirumozhi 4.5 - taru tuyaram, Kulaseshara AzhvAr

again sings the need for thinking of His divine feet always - 'there

is no other choice'.

 

For those who thus make effort to think of Him constantly and who

are devoted to Him with simple but unswerving devotion, He displays

His 'sva-vitaraNa mahA audAryam' - He reveals Himself to them

because He is a sulabhan when it is a devotee who is seeking Him

 

pASuram 1.10.5:

 

kaNDAyE ne'njE! karuma'ngaL vAikkinRu Or

eN tAnum inRiyE vandu iyalumARu

unDAnai ulagu Ezhum Or mUvaDi

koNDAnaik kaNDu koNDanai nIyumE.

 

ne'njE! ulagu Ezhum uNDAnai, Or mUvaDi Ezh ulagum koNDAnai, nIyum

kaNDu koNDanai. karuma'ngaL vAikkinRu Or eN tAnum inRiyE vandu

iyalumARu kaNDAyE - Oh my mind! You are enjoying along with me the

empirAn who swallowed all the seven worlds and kept them in His

stomach during the pralaya, and took over all the seven worlds by

measuring them with His three strides. Now you have seen for

youself the way by which untold benefits are bestowed on us without

our even thinking about them.

 

svAmi deSikan describes BhagavAn's guNam sung in this pASuram with

the words - svayam udaya jusham - He who chooses to appear of His

own choice (svayam - By Himself; udayam - appearance; jush - to

choose) - Or eN tAnuminRiyE vandu iyalumARu. AzhvAr tells his

mind: I was not expecting or counting on having His darSanam, nor

were you. But both of us saw Him in person. This is just like His

keeping all things in His stomach during pralaya, which no one was

expecting; and also similar to His extending the purification

extended to all the jIva-s by the touch of His feet during His

trivikrama incarnation, which nobody knowingly sought or expected.

These are proofs that He is One who offers His protection of His own

choice without our least expecting it.

 

It should be kept in mind that the benefits that one derives

certainly are related to one's karma-s, and not independent of it -

karuma'ngaL vAikkinRu. The time when they bear fruit is purely up

to Him - they will come when we least expect it - Or eN tAnum inRiyE

vandu iyalum. It is not independent of our karma-s or actions. So

one should strive for good karma-s all along. Also, it is not

worthwhile comtemplating and worrying about all our karma-s in our

countless previous births, but instead, we should dedicate ourselves

to devotion to Him uninterruptedly here and now. He will give the

benefits without any constraints at the most unexpected time, and

they will exceed all our expectations.

 

pASuram 1.10.6:

 

nIyum nAnum in-nEr niRkil mEl maRROr

nOyum SAr koDAn ne'njamE SonnEn

tAyum tandaiyumAi iv-ulaginil

vAyum ISan maNivaNNan endaiyE.

 

ne'njamE! nIyum nAnum in-nEr niRkil, mEl tAym tandaiyumAi iv-

ulaginil vAyum ISan endai maNivaNNan maRROr nOyum SAr koDAn SonnEn -

Oh my mind! If you and I stand steadfast resorting to Him, then He

who is our Mother and Father retrieves us from the ocean of samsAra,

the Lord of all, and is blue-hued like a shining blue precious

stone, will ensure that no negative attributes such as desire,

anger, etc., come anywhere even close to us - and that is a promise.

 

If we hold on to Him, then He will never let go of us. Even though

the true devotee will have the natural disease of longing for union

with Him constantly, the real diseases such as kAma and krodha -

lust, anger, etc., won't come even near that devotee. He will do

what is pleasing to us like a mother, and what is good for us like a

father. He takes incarnations in which He has His powers intact,

just to be accessible to us. His tirumEni is beautiful like a

beautiful, precious, blue diamond, just to attract us to Him. He is

maNi vaNNan, beautiful and easy to handle - like a small beautiful

bead.

 

svAmi deSikan describes the key aspect of this pASuram that reflects

BhagavAn's guNam of " His magnanimity in giving Himself without

constraint to His devotees " - 'sva vitaraNa audAryam' - through the

words 'bandha mAtra upayAtam' - He who helps us purely based on His

connection to us like the mother and father help their child - tAyum

tandaiyumAi iv-ulahinil vAzhum ISan. A mother or father who see

their child falling in a well will jump into the well instantly,

without thinking about their safety. Similarly, BhagavAn will

ignore all our faults, and help us just because He is our Lord and

we are His possession (the Sesha-SeshI relationship, He being the

Lord and we being His possessions).

 

Again, note that AzhvAr stresses the need for our devotion to Him -

nAnum nIyum in-nEr niRkil - if we continue to be steadfast in our

devotion to Him, then He will not let anything happen to us.

Otherwise, does He not help? Of course, He does - He gives us

another opportunity through another birth and a fresh body, with its

sense organs, etc., according to our karma. But what AzhvAr is

talking about is the state where one's thought, word and deed are

unswervingly dedicated to Him; for those, He ensures that the

disease of being infected with desire and anger, and all other such

diseases do not come anywhere near them.

 

ASuram 1.10.7:

 

endaiyE enRum em perumAn enRum

SindaiyuL vaippan Solluvan pAviyEn

endai em perumAn enRu vAnavar

SindaiyuL vaittuc collum SelvanaiyE.

 

VAnavar endai em perumAn enRu SindaiyuL vaittuc collum Selvanai,

pAviyEn endaiyE enRum em perumAn enRum SindaiyuL vaippavan Solluvan -

The same Lord whom the nitya sUri-s call their Father and Master

and are meditated upon in their minds, is being called by me as " my

Father " and " my Master " , and being meditated upon by me also and

sung about, though I am a lowly sinner myself.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the essence of this pASuram through the

words - cintA stutyAdi lakshyam - He who will be visible through the

thoughts and praises of the bound souls in this world at the same

level that He is accessible to the nitya sUri-s of SrI vaikunTham -

. vallavarAna vAnavarin cintnaikkum stutikkum pOla nam cintA

stutikkum vishayamAginRavanai . In other words, He is easily

accessible to the mind and thought of the true devotee, irrespective

of whether it is nitya sUri or a bound soul. SrI UV prefers the

pATham - nIca stutyAdi lakshyam - He who is recognized by the praise

and worship of even the lowly people, to the same extent that He is

accessible to the nitya sUri-s of SrI vaikunTham.

 

In this pASuram, AzhvAr sings the saulabhyam (easy accessibility) of

the Lord of the nitya sUri-s, towards even the lowliest of bound

souls of this world. The nitya sUri-s who are equal to BhagavAn in

most respects, and who can't separated from Him even for a moment,

feel free to address Him as 'Our Father', " Our Lord', etc., and that

is a reflection on His unlimted aiSvaryam - wealth. AzhvAr notes

that this greatness of His extends to the level that He gladly gives

the same level of liberty of closeness to the lowliest of the bound

souls of this world as well.

 

pASuram 1.10.8:

 

Selva nAraNan enRa Sol kETTalum

Malgum kaN paNi nADuvan mAyamE

allum naR-pagalum iDai vIDinRi

nalgi ennai viDAn nambi nambiyE.

 

Selva nAraNan enRa Sol kETTalum kaN pani malgum; nADuvan; mAyamE.

nambi nal allum pagalum iDai vIDu inRi nambi nalgi ennai viDAn - My

eyes fill with tears of joy the moment I hear the name SrIman

nArAyaNan, and I keep seeking Him. BhagavAn who is overflowing with

infinite kalyANa guNa-s is trying day and night without stopping,

with great attachment to me, and with full confidence, to get me

under His control. The word nambi occurs twice in the pASuram. The

first nambi means 'paripUrNan' - One who is full in all respects;

the second nambiyE means 'trusting'. Even when a devotee feels that

he is too flawed and inferior to aspire for BhagavAn's feet,

BhagavAn won't rest, and will ceaselessly hold on to that devotee

and take Him to His feet.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the principal bhagavad guNam sung in this

pASuram as 'nata jana satata SleshINam' - BhagavAn seeks His

devotees and holds on to them without any let-up (nata jana - those

who have bowed to Him, who have surrendered to Him; Slesha -

clinging to, adhering to; satata - always, without interruption -

allum naR-pagalum). SrI UV suggests the alternate pATham - pravaNa

jana bhRSa SleshiNam' - (pravaNa - favorably disposed; bhRSa -

intensely), which seems to give the same meaning.

 

pASuram 1.10.9:

 

nambiyai ten-kuRu'nkuDi ninRa ac-

SemponE tigazhum tiru mUrtiyai

umbar vAnavar Adi am-SOdiyai

empirAnai en Solli maRappanO.

 

ten-kuRu'nkuDi ninRa nambiyai, ac-SemponE tigazhum tiru mUrtiyai,

umbar vAnavar Adi am-SOdiyai, empirAnai, en Solli maRappan? - What

flaw can I attribute to forget that great nambi (paripUrNan - One

who is full in all respects) who resides in ten-kuRu'nkuDi, shines

with the tirumEni that shines like freshly molten pure gold, is the

cause of eternal joy for the nitya sUri-s, and keeps helping me

always? None.

 

One cannot find any excuse to forget Him - One cannot say that He is

not full in all auspicious qualities - because He is; one cannot

say that His tirumEni is not beautiful - because It is; one cannot

say that He is too far away to access - because He stands right here

in tirukkuRu'nkuDi and other places; one cannot say that He does not

help His devotee - because He always does. So there is no

justifiable reason one can conjure up to keep away from Him.

 

svAmi deSikan expresses the gist of this pASuram with the

words 'darSita arcam' - He who displays all His attributes to the

people of this world by taking the arcA tirumEni such as in ten-

kuRu'nkuDi - ten-kuRu'nkuDi ninRa ac-SemponE tigazhum tiru

mUrtiyai.

 

pASuram 1.10.10:

 

maRappum j~nAnamum nAn onRu uNarndilan

maRakkum enRu Sen-tAmaraik kaNNoDu

maRappaRa ennuLLE manninAn tannai

maRappanO ini yAn en maNiyaiyE.

 

maRappum j~nAnamum onRu nAn uNarndilan; maRakkum enRu maRappaRa Sen-

tAmaraik kaNNoDu ennuLLE manninAn tannai, en kaN maNiyai ini yAn

maRappanO! - I did not get my dharma bhUta j~nAnam - my ability to

recognize or forget the outside objects - by my own free will;

BhagavAn with the beautiful red lotus eyes, has taken His seat in my

mind to ensure that I will never forget Him, and He is in me as if

He is subservient to me. Based on both counts, there is no way that

I, who am only interested in full and uninterrupted enjoyment of

Him, will ever forget that dear and precious Gem of mine.

 

svAmi deSikan captures BhagavAn's guNam sung in this pASuram

as 'smRtyai citte mishantam' - BhagavAn keeps eternally glittering

in the mind of the devotee so that the devotee always thinks about

Him - maRappaRa en uLLE manninAn tannai (mishantam - mish - to

shine, to glitter; mannudal - to stay permanently). Most of us

have only imperfect memory; btu in the case of His devotee,

BhagavAn keeps eternally glittering in the mind of the devotee and

ensures that the devotee will always think of Him, and the flaw of

lack of memory won't come in the way and make the devotee ever

forget Him - such is His udAra guNam - generosity of giving Himself

freely to His devotee.

 

Summarizing the subject of this tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr sings

BhagavAn's guNam of " His magnanimity in giving Himself without

constraint to His devotees " - 'sva vitaraNa audAryam' - through the

following guNa-s of BhagavAn in the ten pASuram-s of this

tiruvAimozhi:

 

- BhagavAn extended His sacred feet to as far out as it was

necessary to cover wherever there was a devotee in His trivikrama

incarnation and sanctified them (1.10.1)

- He is a sulabhan for those who chant His nAma-s repeatedly

with devotion (e.g., while doing japa mantra-s) (1.10.2)

- BhagavAn has been providing help and sustenance to all of

us and to all our ancestors for time immemorial (1.10.3)

- BhagavAn helps the devotee's mind to be fully concentrated

on Him with full dedication (1.10.4)

- BhagavAn is One who bestows benefits without the least

expectation from us with regard to the timing when He bestows the

benefits, the extent of the benefits etc. (1.10.5)

- BhagavAn offers His help to all His devotees because of

His inseparable relationship with them, just as a mother and father

offer their help to the child because of that relationship between

them (1.10.6).

- BhagavAn provides the same ease of accessibility to the

lowliest of bound souls of this world when they meditate on Him and

sing His praise with devotion, as He provides to the nitya sUri-s of

SrI vaikunTham who constantly think of Him without interruption, and

who are almost equal to Him in most respects (1.10.7).

- BhagavAn will not allow Himself to be separated from His

devotee even for a moment (1.10.8)

- BhagavAn displays all His kalyANa guNa-s to the people of

this world by taking the arcA tirumEni in different places, and is

close to His devotees and keeps attracting them to Him (1.10.9)

- BhagavAn keeps eternally glittering in the mind of His

devotee, and ensures that there is no way that the devotee will have

any problem of not remembering Him even momentarily (1.10.10).

 

Regards

dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)

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