PARAMACHARYAL JAYANTHI

[Guest guest]

KANCHI PARAMACHARYAL JAYANTHI;

SPIRITUAL GIANT WHO CALLED SHRI SIVA SANKAR BABA AS MAHAJYOTHI;PARAMACHARYAL

SPEECH ON

November 21, 1957.

MANY PATHS TO SAME GOAL

The dancing Nataraja and the reclining Rangaraja are but dual expressions of the

one Supreme. Different schools of philosophy have come into existence to satisfy

the needs of varying human temperaments, tastes and aspirations and any path, if

consistently pursued, will lead to the same goal.

 

In most of our temples, the principal deity is installed to face east, though in

a few temples we have the deity facing west also. In the latter case, the

principal gopuram (tower) will be on the eastern side. But in Chidambaram and

Srirangam, the deities face south, as if proclaiming to the devotees that they

are there to protect them from the threat coming from the south, namely,

mortality, as the God of Death, Yama, hails from that direction. As Lords of the

entire created world, both are called " Raja " , and each holds His court in a

ranga (stage), the Lord of Chidambaram dancing in joy with uplifted leg and the

Lord of Srirangam stretching himself at ease in the repose of yoga nidra.

 

Dakshinamurthi, another aspect of Siva, is also found facing south. Nataraja

stands for aananda (bliss) in excelsis, which expresses itself in the dynamic

rhythm of ecstatic dance, His matted locks stretching out stiff as He whirls

round with his kunchita paada. Dakshinamurti personifies subdued aananda and He

is depicted as being seated in silent serenity in static pose, with one crossed

leg resting on the other and his locks gliding on his shoulders.

 

The Maheswara Sootras peal forth from Nataraja's dhakka, (Udukku), as He beats

it to keep time with His dance, and constitutes the basic alphabets of every

tongue spoken in the world. The same sounds or sabdas are recorded in the pages

of the book which Dakshinamurti is holding in His left hand. Aananda mudra is

expressed by the right hand of Nataraja, while Chin mudra is expressed by

Dakshinamurti. We stand and gaze in wonder with eyes wide open at Nataraja's

dance, but we sit down to meditate with indrawn eyes in front of Dakshinamurti.

To the former we go for darsana, for feasting our eyes with the supreme majesty

of that manifestation, to the latter we go for japa or meditation, because He is

the embodiment of the fullness of peace and bliss that comes as a result of

jnana. Ranganatha has adopted the nidra mudra - the sign of sleep. All these

three, the Aananda murti (Nataraja), the Dhyaanamurti (Dakshinamurti) and the

Yoganidraamurti (Ranganatha) face south to protect mankind from the fear of

death.

 

The question that is likely to arise is " why should there be three deities? Is

not one enough? " The answer is given by Pushpadanta in his Sivamahimna Stotra.

 

Trayee saankhyam yogah pasupati-matam vaishnavamiti

Prabhinne Prasthaane param-idam adah patthyamiticha;

Rucheenaam vaichitryaat rjukutila naanaa pattha jushaam,

Nrnaam-eko gamyas-tvamasi payasaam arnava iva.

 

The variety of schools, namely, Vedas, Saankhya, Yoga, Paasupata, and Vaishnava

came to be formulated to satisfy the varying tastes of men. Though their

directions may appear to point differently, yet, as one pursues any school with

the constantly ordained it, after a shorter or longer journey, as the case may

be, one will ultimately reach the Supreme, which is Omnipresent, even as all

rivers flowing in different directions reach the ocean, which appears at land's

end everywhere and envelops the globe in all directions. Like the ocean, the

Supreme envelops all - sarvam aavrtya tishthati.. To whatever school one may

belong, one ought not to linger or stop on the way. If a person adheres to the

chosen path without faltering, God will dower each votary, whatever his

predilection, with constancy of faith to pursue his path with devotion. All of

you are familiar with the scene at a railway station, as soon as a train arrives

and the passengers emerge out of the platform. A passenger will be stormed by

drivers of a variety of conveyances, each trying to snatch his baggage in order

to attract him to his vehicle. In whichever conveyance he ultimately decides to

travel, his destination is his home. Similarly the protagonist of each school of

religious thought try to attract the seeker after truth by saying that their

school is the easiest and surest way to realise the truth. When it is recognised

that all paths lead to the same goal, there is no necessity to change the path

one is already following. There is also no room for hatred towards a person

following a different path. The temple, the God installed therein, and the form

of worship, all these three may differ for different people, due to difference

in taste. But what is required of one is to persist in the path one is

following.

 

When the mind becomes ripe with the true knowledge of Paramatma, the soul gets

liberated from the bonds of birth and death. This liberation is called Moksha or

Salvation. The Trayambaka mantra epitomises the special kind of Moksha, which

accrues by the grace of Trayambaka, the three-eyed Siva. The Mantra conveys the

meaning that one is released from mortality by the grace of Siva in the same way

as the cucumber fruit gets separated from its stalk, that is, automatically

separated without even the cucumber being aware of its liberation from the

creeper to which it has been all along lying attached. Every fruit, when fully

ripe, is sweet, though it may have been bitter or sour when unripe. Similarly,

when the soul becomes ripe through devotion, it is filled with the sweetness and

joy that comes from Jnana. All fruits fall down from the branches on top, at the

roots below, signifying that the root is their source, sustenance and ultimate

sanctuary. The ripe soul, however, is the fruit of the tree of Samsaara, worldly

bondage, whose roots are on top, Oordhva moolam and whose branches grow down

below (Atha shakham). So the passage of the liberated soul is upward, Oordhva

gati, and not downward or Adho gati. Strictly speaking, there is no gati or

going, for the soul. It is released at the very place where it existed. That is

why the example of cucumber fruit is given. This fruit does not fall down but

gets itself detached from the stalk, or rather, the stalk gets itself detached,

even without the fruit knowing it. Similarly the liberated one does not give up

the world; the world gives him up. Remembering that this life has been

vouchsafed to us to get rid of future births and deaths, let us pray to the God

of our heart, to obtain His grace to qualify for this kind of liberation of the

soul, " cucumber mukti " .

 

SOURCE;KAMAKOTI