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srI:
SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (21)
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CONCLUDING VERSES
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In his inimitable style, SwAmi brings this beautiful work of his to
conclusion with a SlOka in Sanskrit and two verses in Tamil.
As people are busy with their own work to attend, they may not find time to
devote to a detailed study of our sampradaya literature to gain the basic
knowledge that would help them to lead a virtuous life. For their sake, SwAmi
Desikan has made it a practice of providing the message of his work in a Sloka
and/or a Tamil pAsuram at the beginning as well as at the end. If one studies
merely these verses, he will get an eye-sight into the message which Swami
Desikan conveys in the main text of his work. Those, who sincerely go through
the work in full, will be benefited if they memorize these SlOkas and the Tamil
pAsurams, so that the message of the main work will remain in their mind to
guide them in their daily chores.
We shall now study the Sloka:
ayamapyaparO mahOpakArah kalidOshAvila-cEtasAm narANAm /
karuNAjaladhih yadEsha dEvah prathayAmAsa mayA nijOpakArAn //
Meaning:
âkaruNAjaladhihâ â The ocean of compassion; âEsha dEvahâ â This
Lord; ânijOpakArAnâ â the favours done by Himself;
âkalidOshAvila-cEtasAmâ â for the sake of the people whose mind has been
polluted by evils in the Kali yuga;
âmayAâ â through me; âprathayAmAsa yatâ â has presented; âayam
apiâ â this also; âaparahâ â another; âmahOpakArahâ â big
favour.
In this SlOka, SwAmi Desikan says, âThe Lord, Who is an ocean of
compassion, has done another major favour in presenting this work through him
(SwAmi Desikan) for the sake of the people whose mind has been polluted by the
evils of this Kali age.â
Now, we take up the Tamil pAsurams:
thAn thanakkuth thannAlE thOnRi, thannOr
oLiyaNaikkum guNaththAlun thannaik kaNdu
than thanakkenRu aRiyAtha than guNaththaith
than guNaththAl thAniRaiyil thane kooTTi
oon maruththup pulan manam mAnAngkArangkaL
oru moolapirakruthi yanRi ninRa
nAn thanakkuth thAn thanakkenRu isaivu thantha
nAraNanai nAn-maRaiyAl nAn kaNdEnE.
Meaning:
âthAnâ â I, the jIvAtma;
âthanakkuth thannAlE thOnRiâ â itself appears to itself (as âIâ);
âthan Or oLi aNaikkum guNaththAlunâ â through the attributive knowledge
(dharma-bhootha-j~nAna), a glow of itself;
âthannaik kaNduâ â knowing oneâs own self (jIvAtma);
âthan thanakkenRu aRiyAthaâ â not knowing about itself and that it is for
itself (being non-sentient);
âthan guNaththaiâ â about the attributive knowledge;
âthan guNaththAlâ â by oneâs own spiritual knowledge;
âthan iRaiyil thane kooTTiâ â himself paying his attention to the Lord;
âoonâ â the fleshy body;
âmaruththuâ â the air of breath;
âpulanâ â sense organs;
âmanamâ â mind;
âmAnâ â the element known as mahAn;
âAngkArangkaLââthe entity known as ahangkAram;
âoru moolapirakruthiâ â an entity known as moola-prakruti;
âanRi ninRaâ â different from all these non-sentient objects;
ânAnâ â I, the jIvaAtama;
âthanakkuâ â for Himself (the Lord of all);
âthan thanakkenRuâ â that He is the Lord of Himself;
âisaivu thanthaâ â making me to recognize;
ânAraNanaiâ â nArAyaNa;
ânAn-maRaiyAlââ through the four vEdas;
ânAn kaNdEnE.â â I realized.
Explanation: If the jIvaTma is to know a thing other than himself, has
to know through his attributive knowledge only. It is known as
âdharma-bhoota-j~nAnaâ. As the self which has this attribute is also in the
form knowledge, he is known as âdharmi-bhoota-j~nAnaâ. For knowing his own
self, the JivaTma does not require of the help of the attributive knowledge. He
is aware of his soul by himself. This is known as âsvayam prakAsamâ â
self-illumination. This self-knowing capacity is called âpratyagatvamâ â
individuality (which is the nearest meaning). The attributive knowledge is
inseparable from the individual self, just as the sun-light is inseparable from
the sun. Therefore, a jIvatma does not require the help of the attributive
knowledge for knowing his own self. However, to know that the jIvatma is
eternal, atomic in size etc., the assistance of the attributive knowledge is
necessary. This is our siddhAnta. This attributive
knowledge (dharma-bhoota-j~nAna) is non-sentient (acEta). The jIvAtma can
survive only if he uses his attributive knowledge for knowing the Lord. For
doing it, he requires to know about the tattvas (truths). Once he gets that
knowledge, he realizes that he is different from his body and he is a servant
of the Lord. Only though the study of the Upanishads, I (SwAmi Desikan) came to
know about the Lord, Who has graced me with this knowledge.
Now, we take up the second Tamil verse for study:
kazhiyAtha karuvinaiyil padintha nammaik
kAlam ithu enRorukAl kAval ceythu
pazhiyAtha nalvinaiyil padinthAr thALil
paNiviththup pAsangaL adaiya neekkic
cuzhiyAtha cevvazhiyil thuNaivarOdE
tholaiyAtha pErinbam thara mEl ERRi
azhiyAtha aruLAzhip perumAn ceyyum
anthamilA uthaviyellAm aLappAr ArE?
Meaning:
âkazhiyAtha karuvinaiyil padintha nammaiâ -- Us who are immersed in the
actions that result in endless births;
âkAlam ithu enRuâ â thinking that this is the right time;
âorukAl kAval ceythuâ â trying to save us at the ripe time;
âpazhiyAtha nalvinaiyil padinthAr thALil paNiviththuâ -- prompting us
to bow at the feet of AchAryas who are established on the faultless path of
prapatti (surrender);
âpAsangaL adaiya neekkiâ â removing the bonds of karmas;
âtholaiyAtha pErinbam tharaâ â in order to give (us) the highest eternal
Bliss;
âcuzhiyAtha cevvazhiyilâ â in the best arcirAdi path;
âthuNaivarOdE mEl ERRiâ â uplifting (us) to Sri VaikuNTam under the
guidance (of AtivAhikas);
âazhiyAtha aruLAzhip perumAn ceyyumâ -- the eternal and compassionate
Lord holding the Discus is doing;
âanthamilA uthaviyellAmâ â all the endless favours:
âaLappAr ArE?â â Who can measure them? (None can, indeed.)
Explanation: The compassionate Lord, with a view to save us from indulging
ourselves further in the evil acts which result in our repeated births, makes
us to attain the feet of an Acharya at the ripe moment. Later, He involves us
in adopting the means for salvation, removes the bonds of actions totally,
through the guidance of AtivAhikas takes us on the arcirAdi path to the
Paramapada, and gives us the bliss of mOksha. Who is capable at all of
quantifying these favours the Lord does for us?
AtivAhikas are those who serve as the guides en route to Paramapada.
They are commanded by the Lord to guide the jIva proceeding to mOksha. The
presiding deity is known as amAnava.
Thus Ends SrI UpakAra Sangraham of SrI NigamAnta MahA Desikan
// SrImathE NigamAnta MahAdesikAya Namah //
---
// SrImathE Sri LakshmI Nrsimha Divya PadukA SEvaka SrIvaN SaTakOpa
SrI NArAyaNa Yatheendra MahAdEsikAya Namah //
// SrImathe SrIvaNsatakopa SrI Vedanta Desika
Yatheendra MahAdesikAya Namah //
// SrImathe AdhivaNsaTakopa Yatheendra MahAdesikAya namah //
// SrImathe NigamAntha MahAdesikAya Namah //
// SrImathe RAmAnujAya Namah //
// SrImathe SrI LakshmInrisimha Parabrahmane Namah //
----
[Concluding note: This work has been completed with the AchAryaâs grace,
which was made available to adiyEn by the Lordâs upakAram. If there are
mistakes, they are due to the authorâs avidya; if any credit, it should go to
my AchArya and through him to SrIman nArAyaNa, the Consort of SrI.
AdiyEn is grateful to all for bearing with me through out this series.]
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivAsan
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