tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 19 - Slokam 12 Part 4 - tiruvAimozhi 1.2 contd.

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SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Slokam 12 Part 4 - tiruvAimozhi 1.2 contd.

 

 

· pASuram 1.2.9 starting with " oDu'nga avan kaN " .

 

oDu'nga avan kaN viDum pinnum Akkai

oDu'ngalum ellAm viDum pozhudu eNNE. (1.2.9)

 

avan kaN oDu'nga, oDu'ngalum ellAm viDum; pinnum Akkai viDum

pozhudu, eN. – When you devote your thought, word and deed to Him,

all your karma-s will be removed from you; then, until your prArabdha

karma-s (those karma-s that have already started giving fruits) are

exhausted and your soul leaves your body, keep meditating on Him.

 

svAmi deSikan describes the key guNa sung in this pASram as " sa'nkoca

unmocakatvAt " (oDu'ngalum ellAm viDum) – because He frees us from all

the limitations to His kai'nkaryam. " avan kaN oDu'nga, ellA

oDu'ngalum viDum " - Once we turn the three instruments (namely uLLam,

urai and Seyal) towards Him, He removes all the enemies to bhagavat

kai'nkaryam that we encounter, such as our sins, our ignorance

(avidyA), etc. avidyA or ignorance is the lack of realization that

we are eternally subservient to Him, the lack of realization of our

role as a jIva – namely, to be performing eternal kai'nkaryam to Him,

and the lack of realization that He is the only goal to be attained,

and that He alone is the means to attain Him. Meditaing on His

kalyANa guNa-s will automatically lead to the intense desire to

perform kai'nkaryam to Him. lakshmaNa declares: aham asya avarah

guNaih dAsyam upAgatah – It is my sa'nkalpam to perform kai'nkaryam

to rAma because of His kalyANa guNa-s.

 

All the obstacles to attaining Him – such as avidyA, karma, etc. are

not natural attributes of the self; if we resort to Him by turning

the karaNa-s towards Him, these obstacles disappear automatically.

 

If we devote our thought, word and deed in His kai'nkaryam, then once

the body falls, moksham is guaranteed – Akkai viDum pozhudu eN – once

we get control of our karaNa-s, we should eagerly look forward to the

time that our body falls, so that we attain Him.

 

Again, all that is needed from us is the control of the three karaNa-

s of thought, word and deed, and diversion of these towards Him. He

takes care of the rest in attaining Him. This is available to

everyone who has controlled the three karaNa-s and turned them

towards Him, and so He is sarva saman and sarva yogyan – One who can

be attained by all.

 

 

· pASuram 1.2.10 starting with " eN perukkannalattu " .

 

eN perukku an-nalattu vaN pugazh nAraNan

oN poruL IRla tiN kazhal SerE. (1.2.10).

 

" eN perukku an-nalattu oNporuL Iru ila; eN perukku vaN pugazh IRu

ila; Iru ila vaN pugazh nAraNan tiN kazhal SEr " – " Surrender at the

never-failing Feet of nArAyaNan, who has as His possession the

infinite collection of jIvAtmA-s whose nature is one of infinite

bliss and knowledge, and who Himself in full of Infinite auspicious

qualities " .

 

For ease of understanding the meaning of this pASuram, it is useful

to remember the following words: IRu – antam, end; IRu ila –

uncountable, immeasurable, infinite. The phrase `IRu ila' is to be

taken with `eN poruL an-nalattu oN poruL IRu ila', `vaN pugazh IRu

ila', and `IRu ila vaN pugazh nAraNan'. `nalam' refers to auspicious

qualities – recall `uyarvara uyar nalam uDaiyavan', in the very first

pASuram of tiruvAimozhi. vaN = strong, bounteous, liberal; oN =

bright, beautiful, abundant.

 

svAmi deSikan captures the essence of this pASuram through the

words " jagad avanan " – (nAraNan tiN kazhal SEr) - The Protector of

everything in all the Universes. An alternate pATham is " jagad

ayanan " , a direct reference to nArAyaNan, the name that has the

word " ayana " embedded in it. ayanam means `abode'. Since He is the

final resting place for all the beings, the nArAyaNa nAma uniquely

applies only to emperumAn. AzhvAr's instruction to us in this

pASuram is - " vaN pagazh nAraNan tiN kazhal SErE " – " Resort to the

divine Feet of Lord SrIman nArAyaNa who is endowed with infinite

kalyANa guNa-s, and whose divine Feet will never ever forsake anyone

who surrenders to them " .

 

There are several interpretations for the nArAyaNa nAmam. The one

that AzhvAr specifically picks in this pASuram is

 

- He who is the Lord of the countless jIva-s who by nature are

j~nAna Ananda svarUpa-s " – eN perukku an-nalattu IRu ila oN poruL;

- Has infinite kalyANa guNa-s - IRu ila vaN pugazh nAraNan

- Has the auspicious and never-failing Lotus Feet to those who

surrender to Him – tiN kazhal.

 

As the Lord and Owner of all the jIva-s, He is the Protector of all –

jagad avanan, the guNa described by svAmi deSikan. His infinite

kalyANa guNa-s are there solely for the protection of the jIva-s - na

te rUpam na cAkAro nAyudhAni na cAspadam tatA'pi purushAkAro

bhaktanAm tvam prakASase " - (jitante - 1-5) - His Atma svarUpa, His

ma'ngala vigraha, His divine weapons, His dwelling SrIvaikunTham,

none of these are for His benefit; they are all for the benefit of

His devotees, and He Himself belongs to His devotees. His Lotus

Feet never fail anyone who seeks their protection – " sakRdeva

prapannAya tavAsmIti ca yAcate | abhayam sarva bhUtebhyo dadAmyetad

vratam mama || AzhvAr himself declares that it is bhagavAn's nature

to protect – kAkkum iyalbinan kaNNa perumAn " (tiruvAimozhi 2.2.9).

All these are captured by svAmi deSikan in the phrase " jagad avanan " .

SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya uses the version " jagad ayanatayA " , and gives the

explanation – " Sine He is the AdhAra or Support for all the worlds,

the antaryAmi in everything, and the sole means to attain Him " . He

is sarva ArAdhyan because of these attributes or guNa-s.

 

Thus, AzhvAr is instructing us through the ten guNa-s sung in the ten

pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi 1.2 that bhagavAn is `sarva yogyan' - as

described by svAmi deSikan in the last line of Slokam 12 of tAtparya

ratnAvali - " upAdiSat sarva-yogyam " .

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)