HH Sri Tridandi Jeeyar Swamy's Discourse II - The Purpose of Life (continued) Part III

[Guest guest]

The ability to befriend and guide the manas is vital in cultivating good

humane qualities. Two of these qualites are spoken about in the

taittiriya upanishad: abhima:nam and upama:nam. Abhima:nam is pride in

a good sense, a desire to maintain one's respectibility and integrity.

Upama:nam is a simile, or an analogy, in other words, putting ourselves

on par with this world through an understanding of our relationship with

it. Both together are necessary in a balanced way in order for us to

live a good life.

 

And both of these form a part of what was originally mentioned as being

our purpose in life, the constant cultivation of vinayam, humble and

loyal obedience, and vidhe:yata, the commitment to following the

teachings of those who know more than us, our elders and Acha:ryas, both

of which can be known through a proper understanding of the term

" namaha " .

 

" Namaha " in its literal meaning is " bending or prostration " . All of us

express us it in a superficial sense when we prostrate before the deity

in the temple. We even make our kids peform this act, calling them from

outside where they are playing with their friends at the end of pooja,

and asking them to prostrate in front of the altar. Our kids seem to

have figured out a shortcut to doing this, because even before we know

it, they have run into the room, completed their prostration and are

racing back outside to play.

 

Verbally, we all say " namaha " quite often, too, whether or not we mean

it. Our boss makes us work well into the night, and often-times all

weekend long. We do it if only to keep our jobs, and face the stress of

not only working, but of missing good quality time with our family and

friends. But, Monday morning comes around, and there we are, bleary-eyed

but with a smile on our face, ready to say " Good Morning " or " Namaste "

to him/her in our most polite way. Thank Goodness nobody knows what we

really want to say.

 

But, merely bending physically or saying " namaha " really achieves

nothing. What is really implied by the term " namaha " is a bending of

the heart, a genuine feeling of inspiration to live a life of humble

obedience to all that is good, and a genuine desire to respect and

follow the teachings of our sa:stras and those who bring them to us, our

Acha:ryas.

 

To gain this, we must be willing to bend both with the body and with the

soul, without pretention or false ego. And, to have the ability to do

this is something that we must constantly beseech God to provide us.

 

Those whose hearts are dedicated to this spirit of cultivating good

qualities will always see good things come to them, and will always have

the true respect of others.

 

In a beautiful passage in the Isava:sya upanishad, a deal is made

between the Divine and the spiritual seeker. Making a deal with God

should not be surprising, because we make deals with God all the time:

" Oh God in the temple, I am breaking 18 coconuts and offering them to

you; please let me pass my exams. " Or, " Lord, if you bless me with that

visa to the USA, I will be able to place lots of money in the hundi

(collection box) the next time I visit India. "

 

In the Upanishad, however, the prayer is far more noble. While on

superficial levels it is addressed to Agni, the deity of Fire, in

actuality, it really addresses He who is the Soul to Agni and all the

universe, the Supreme Lord, Sriman Narayana:

 

agne naya supatha raye asman visvani deva vayunani vidvan |

yuyodhyasmajjuhuranameno bhuyistham te nama uktim vidhe:ma ||

 

The prayer beseeches the Lord to take us on the noble path, the path

that leads to all wealth; it also beseeches Him to remove all our sins,

both the ones that we have committed knowingly and those that we have

committed unknowingly. In return, with our hearts filled with complete

devotion to HIm that comes from the knowledge of His wondrous

qualities, we will look to the Lord, His every desire and His every

action and think " namaha " with adoration.

 

Some important things to note in this prayer:

 

The term " wealth " is not intended to imply just material prosperity

alone, but all that is necessary for one's upliftment including

respectability, integrity, nobility and the support and company of

people who admire us.

 

Alos note that the verse does not say that we are to going to merely

chant " namaha " to the Lord, but will think it, experience it, in other

words, feel it in our hearts.

 

With the moving of the heart toward this level, comes the cultivation of

good humane qualities, integrity, and the respect and companionship of

those who respect us. Interestingly, our sa:stras speak of the company

of those who admire and support us as having four people around us.

 

Sri Rama in his mission to rescue Sita and liberate Lanka, was always in

the company of four good men: Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sugriva, and Angada.

This, along with many other things, was proof positive of his

uncountable good qualities.

 

Indeed, if there is one human being in this world who had perfected the

noble vinayam and vidhe:yata, it was Sri Rama. His heart was so good,

his actions so well-intentioned, his desire to bring good to the world

so great, his respect for his elders and teachers so unswerving, that it

is said that his name and his fame are known in every corner of the

universe.

 

And two men who admired and worshipped Sri Rama rose to a level of fame

that they will always be remembered by every person from India, Kalidasa

and Valmiki. While Kalidasa's fame is known in his peotry, Valmiki

experienced Sri Rama completely in his heart, and thus, his work is

considered indisputable as being the only true source on Sri Rama and

His Great Deeds.

 

It is the outpourings of Valmiki's heart, filled with love for the Lord

in the form of a human being, that is Sri Rama:yanam. Since it is a

work of such love and admiration, it is little wonder that it can still

move even the most modern and western-educated Indian to tears in its

sheer beauty and pathos.

 

This is the level of heart that we need in following vinayam and

vidhe:yata, a virtual soul-stirring feeling of humility, love, and

respect that naturally fills us with good intentions and good qualities.

 

It is this heart filled with love, respect, integrity, and servitude,

that opens the doors to Bhagavad kata:ksham (God's Unconditional and

Loving Grace), which we have shut out from our lives for countless eons

because of selfish attachment to our false ego. Such a Grace will give

us the strength and inspiration such that wherever we are, whatever we

do, we will be blissful in the knowledge that all that we are is in

service to Him and is for the benefit of the world.

 

HH Sri Tridandi Chinna Sriman Narayana Jeeyar Swamy concluded his talk

by praying that all of us will seek to cultivate these good qualities,

and in doing so, live a good and noble life, one that will allows us to

serve both God and HIs world.

 

------

 

The words that I have written are only my novice interpretation of the

profound wisdom of our Ve:das as shared with us by Sri Chinna Jeeyar

Swamy. I seek the forgiveness from all of you for any errors or

misinterpretations, and give the sole credit for all that inspires to

Acharya anugraham.

 

azhwa:r emperuma:na:r jeeyar thiruvadigale: saranam

 

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mohan