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srI:
SrI sAra sAram â I (2)
--
I â ThirumantrAdhikAram
--
Introduction (continued)
--
After opening this work with a Tamil verse, SwAmi Desikan gives an
introductory statement, stating his intention:
âkaNNapuram onRudaiyAnukku adiyEn, oruvarkku uriyEnO?â enkiRapadiyE
sarvESvaranukku ananyArha-SEsha-bhootanAi irunthu vaiththu
anAdhi-karma-pravAhaththAlE adimai ceyyap peRAthE ninRa kshEtrajn~an
avasara-pradeekshai-yAna bhagavad-krupaiyAlE purinthu sadAcArya-mukhaththAlE
peRRa rahasya-traya-mAkiRa samsAra-bhEshajaththai upajeevikkumpadi
collukiROm.â
The sentient being, the jIvAtma, is a SEsha (servant) to the Lord only,
and not to anybody else, as declared by SrI Thirumangai AzhvAr, in his work
Periya Thirumozhi:
âviDaiyEzhanRu aDarththu veguNDu vilankaluRa
paDaiyAl AzhithaTTa paraman paranjOthi
maDaiyAr neelam malkum vayalchoozh kaNNapuramonRu
uDaiyAnukku aDiyEn oruvarkku uriyEnO?â (Periya Thirumozhi, 8-9-3)
(I am the servant of the Lord of KaNNapuram, which is the best holy place, full
of ponds rich with blue lilies; and green-fields. That Lord is the One Who is
the greater than the greatest; having a very bright form; Who once had
conquered seven violent bullocks; Who once got a bridge constructed by the army
of monkeys blocking the sea. Will I be the servant to anyone else?)
Such a jIva, a sentient being, has not attained SrI VaikuNTam for
rendering service there! What is the reason? It is due to his revolving around
in the mire of samsAra having been caught in the endless stream of flood of
karmas, since unknown time. The Lord, however, has a lot of sympathy for him
and has been waiting for the right opportunity to help him to come up on the
good path. Now a good time has come for the jIva. And so, he approaches a good
AchArya who instructs him about the three secrets, namely, Thirumantra, Dvaya
and the CaramaSlOka, which are the best medicine for his serious disease of
samsAra. We shall describe how this jIva got the help from these secrets.
After this brief introduction, SwAmi Desikan explains how to use these
three secrets for leading a good life.
The Importance of Thirumantra
First, the sentient being, that is, the jIva should learn the secret of
the Thirumantra along with its significance. SwAmi Desikan says:
âsvaroopam theLinthavanukku allathu svaroopa-anuroopamAna
param-purushArththaththil abhiruciyum, tat-upAya-parigrahamum kooDAmaiyAlE,
svaroopa-vaiSadya-hEthuvAna thirumantram muRpaDa anusamdhEyam.â
Meaning:
Unless one gets a clear knowledge about the nature of the jIvAtma, he
cannot develop an interest in the ultimate goal, which is mOksha, and cannot
adopt a means for attaining it. It is, therefore, necessary that he should
start meditating on the Thirumantra which is the source of knowing oneâs
nature.
This Thirumantra will create a clear knowledge about the essential
nature of his Atma in the person who meditates on it. Unless one gets this
clear knowledge, the desire for liberation will not develop in him. Without
such a desire, he will not get an opportunity for adopting a suitable means for
it. It is, therefore, necessary first to meditate on the Thirumantra for
getting a clear idea about the Atmaâs essential nature.
(To contine)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivAsan
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