nAnmugan thiruvandhAdhi-30

[Guest guest]

Sri Parthasarathi thunai

 

Srimathe ramanujaya Namaha

 

Srimad Vara Vara munayE Namaha

 

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

 

 

Paasuram-23

 

 

 

" viththumida vENdum kolO vidaiyadarththa

 

paththi uzhavan pazhampunaththu - moiththezhundha

 

kArmEga manna karumAl thirumEni

 

neervAnam kAttum nigazhindhu "

 

 

 

In the previous paasuram, azhvar introduced a great physician to all of us

" maruththuvanAi nindra mAmanivaNNan " . This special doctor knows how to cure our

disease of samsAram. The medicine is nothing other than just falling to the

feet of the almighty and surrendering to him " pazhagiyAn thAlE panimin " . But we

are all blessed with minds to think and analyse. Will we accept any fact that

easily? Oh! No. How is that possible since we always have the benefit of doubt

and the right to question. So the question arised, " When we see in this world

(pratyaksham) even in our day to day life that a lot of effort is to be put in

attaining even a small result how is that we can attain the ultimate result, the

Moksha by just falling to the feet of the divine lord (negligible effort)? "

 

Azhvar answers, " As said in the last paasuram, the lord due to ultimate grace on

us took various incarnations viz., narasimhan, matsyam etc to protect his

devotees in awake state whereas he also saves all the jeevatmas in the dormant

state during the pralaya. When the lord has so much krupai (mercy) what is the

necessity for any other conditions to exist? The requirement is only the natural

wish that arouses to fall to the feet of the divine lord the rest is taken care

by that emperuman who acts as the prAptha and prApagan. Further he does all the

necessity jobs to make us attain the ultimate result (paththi uzhavan). What

else should a jeeva do other than desiring moksha/him?

 

 

 

(paththiuzhavan pazham punaththu viththu mida vENdum kolO) Bhakthi is the crop;

paramapurushan is the owner of the fertile land (this world), the farmer. What

is the necessity for us to sow the seeds of punyam/good deeds for bhakthi to

grow in our minds?

 

 

 

(paththi uzhavan) Emperuman is the farmer. The amount of hardships a farmer

undergoes to attain a good yield is innumerable. He has to irrigate the field,

remove the unwanted weeds, sow the seed, plant the sprout in the appropriate

places, add the necessary manure and fertilizers and all these should be done in

appropriate time. Similarly emperuman, the farmer also undergoes a number of

hardships.

 

 

 

This farmer, the divine lord has a very fertile land, the nithya vibhooti that

gives a great yield but still he just doesn't relax but wants to cultivate the

crop of bhakthi also in the land of leela vibhooti. So first he involved

himself in Creation of the jeevas. He gave them body and mind and remained as

their antaryAmi to guide them in the right path. Moreover he took a number of

avatarams to uplift the jeevatmas.

 

 

 

[see how Swamy Nammazhvar also has the same type of anubhavam considering

emperuman as a farmer,

 

" ooravar kavvai eruvitttu annaisol neermaduththu

 

Eeranelviththi mulaiththa nenjapperunjseyyul

 

PEramar kAdhal kadalpurraiya vilaiviththa

 

KAramar mENi nam kaNNan " (thiruvai 5-3-4)]

 

 

 

(pazham punaththu) To start cultivating a new land a lot of initial processing

should be done for a good yield. But for an already cultivable fertile land

where regular cultivation is done even just throwing the seeds here and there

will give a good yield. This world is a fertile old land where the paththi

uzhavan does regular cultivation. This leela vibhooti is not created afresh but

exist forever.

 

 

 

(pazham punaththu viththumida vENdum kolO) Like throwing the seeds here and

there in a regular cultivating land just the desire is enough for the paththi

uzhavan to grow the crop of bhakthi in this world.

 

 

 

The above interpretation results from the words of Sri PeriavAchAn pillai's

commentary verse, " pazham panangalilE vidhaikka vENdAdhE vudari mulaikkumApOlE. "

 

 

 

A slight variation in the interpretation can be obtained while looking into the

words of other acharyas. Let us enjoy the same in the next posting.

 

 

 

(To Be Continued)

 

 

 

Azhvar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

 

 

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

 

Sumithra Varadarajan