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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00249 Jan 2008

 
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srI:
SrI  upakAra  sangraham ? 60
--- 
adikAram ? 1
poorva upakAra paramparai
(The Foremost Series of Favours) 
---   
SECTION ? 5 (17)  
(27 Favours of the Lord leading to the means for
MOKSHAM)  
-----   


        In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan showed how
the Lord conferred a favour on us by making us to seek
refuge in a sadAchArya and to become his disciple.
Even then, the traces of our earlier thoughts remain
in our minds which are being cleansed thoroughly by
the Lord. This is another favour done by Him. This is
explained by Swami Desikan in this sub-section: 

(17) ?IshvarOham? , ?na namEyam hi kasyacit? ennum
durvAsanaiyai  doorI-karittthu, ?tadviddhi praNipatEna
pariprashnEna  sEvayA? enkiRa ucithOpacAraththilE
oruppadutthinathuvum;

        Before our submission to the sadAchArya, we were not
only ignorant but also bubbling with wrong notions,
because of the low level of sAttvika quality and a
high level of demonic quality. That made us think too
much of ourselves, similar to demons. In that
situation we used to speak like: ?IshvarOham? , ?na
namEyam hi kasyacit?  as quoted by SwAmi Desikan.

        The first quotation is a passage from a verse in the
Bhagavadgita. We shall consider the entire slOka:

 ?asau mayA hatah shatrurhaniShyE cAprAnapi /
  IshvarOham-aham bhOgee siddhOham balavAnsukhee //?  
                                (16-14)

(That enemy has been killed by me, and I shall kill
the others also. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am
well established, mighty and happy. )
        
In this way, a man of asura (demonic) type speaks. The
Sixteenth Chapter of the Gita contains the Lord?s
explanation about the division of men into the divine
and the demonic nature. Those of the former type are
obedient to the shAstras and those of the latter type
are of opposite disposition. Earlier to getting the
grace of the Lord and through Him that of a
sadAchArya, the jIva was opposed to scriptural tenets
and behaved as quoted above. 
        
        The second quotation mentioned above is a passage
from a sloka in SrI VAlmikI rAmAyaNa:  

?dvidhA bhajyEyamapyEvam na namEyam kasyacit /
  ESha mE sahajO dOShah svabhAvO duratikramah //? 
(6-36-11) 

(I would rather break into two, but would never bend
before anyone. This is my inherent weakness. Nature is
hard to mend.) 
        Thus spoke RAvaNa to MAlyavAn, his maternal
grandfather who advised him to make peace with SrI
RAma. Evil-minded as he was, RAvaNa could not brook
the salutary advice given by MAlyavAn. Knitting his
brows on his face, RAvaNa, who had fallen a pray to
anger spoke as above to his grandfather, his eyes
rolling in anger. 

        These two samples are shown by SwAmi Desikan to
highlight the conduct of men of demonic nature. The
Lord, out of compassion, removes the traces of this
nature from the jIva whom He has just turned into a
good soul for reason known only to Him. After
cleansing him, He injects into him more of the sAttvik
nature, while bringing him before a sadAchArya, as we
saw in the earlier sub-section. 
        
Once cleansed of bad qualities, the Lord gives the
advice as quoted by SwAmi Desikan above, ?tadviddhi
praNipatEna pariprashnEna  sEvayA?  -- This too is a
part of a verse from the Bhagavadgita:

?tadviddhi praNipatEna pariprashnEna  sEvayA /
  upadEkShyanti  tE  j~nAnam  j~nAninah
tattvadarshiNah //?                              
(4-34)

(Learn this knowledge, just revealed to you by Me,
from the scholars prostrating at their feet and by
extensive questioning, and serving them with devotion
for a long time. The wise who know the spiritual
principles will teach you the knowledge.)

        A question may arise in our minds: Why does SrI
KriShNa, who has been discoursing Arjuna till now, ask
him to go to the AchAryas to learn the same knowledge?
It is because, whatever the Lord told Arjuna is in the
context of a war about to begin and in order to get
him ready for the fight.  The right manner of learning
such a high knowledge is quite different. It has to be
learnt from a sadAchArya in a proper way. The disciple
should approach the AchArya with all humility,
prostrate at his feet, and make the request politely,
and stay with him and do service to him with the
deepest devotion. The knowledge has to be sought by
questioning. Only then all the doubts that may rise in
the disciple?s mind will be cleared. 

        This method of learning is known as kAlakShEpam. Even
today many seekers of spiritual knowledge are
attending such kAlkshEpams of various AchAryas on
SrIbhAshyam, SrIrahasya-traya-sAram, GeetAbhAshyam and
Bhagavad Vizhayam, at a number of places in the
country. [?KAlakShEpam? means spending the time, i.e.,
spending it usefully.] These discourses are held in
camera for a closed circle of disciples who observe
certain discipline. This has been going since long,
from the time of our poorvAchAryas. This discipline is
very essential as otherwise whatever that is taught
would go waste with no one able to retain it in mind.
Such knowledge cannot be learnt by reading books, even
though they are available. The doubts that may arise
cannot be cleared. This can be done only in
face-to-face dialogue. 

 ?ucitha upacAraththilE oruppadutthinathuvum? --  

        Through this advice to Arjuna, the Lord involves us
in the proper learning from a teacher. That prescribed
manner is also described by Him in the Bhagavadgita,
as described above.


SwAmi Desikan mentions this as another favour done by
the Lord for the sAttvika jIvas.

(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivAsan
-------  
                   
      
                   



      
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