Sri Parthasarathi thunai Srimathe Ramanujaya
Namaha Sri Vara Vara munayE
Namaha Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE
Namaha In the previous posting we saw about the
kaivalya nishtan, who understands the misery of the world and hence wants to get
rid of all these and reach a better place where he could enjoy his own SELF
(athma). But that person ceases to
understand that even the enjoyment of athma is not the ultimate but there is
something beyond that that will grant him happiness forever. That is the moksha, where one enjoys the
lord along with the nithya sooris.
A samsari (Arthan/arthArthi) is the one
who knows only the qualities of the achit and hence he considers the body alone
to be the tattva and whatever worldly pleasures he attains to be the hitha
(good) and hence his purushArtha is to attain the pleasures and therefore he
cycles between birth and death. The
next stage is the kaivalyArthi (jiggyAsu) the one who understands that there is
something beyond this body. Thereby
he realizes the existence of the chit tattvam. According to him hitha is that which
removes his bondages from this samsara and leads him to Self-realization and the
purushArtha is attaining kaivalyam.
The last stage is the bhagavan lAbArthi (jnAni) who understands the
tattva that is greater than the chit or achit, the Ishwara tattva. That which leads him to bhagavan is
hitha according to a jnAni and his ultimate goal (purushArtha) is to attain the
divine abode of emperuman, Moksha.
Sri Krishna in bhagavat geetha talks elaborately about these four types
of bhakthas and says that though all of them are generous according to him since
they give him the chance to help them still the jnAni?s are very close to his
heart. According to geethAcharya,
jnAni is his athma (?jnAnee thu Athmaiva mE matham?). In the seventh chapter of Srimad
bhagavath geetha, geethacharyan talks about the true nature of the Ishvara
tattva (svayAdhAthmyam) and how it is hidden by the moolaprakruthi (otherwise
called the Ishvara mAya). Again in
the tenth chapter, geethAcharyan talks about himself. It is no repetition but there he talks
his svamAhAthmiyam, greatness. The
Ishvara tattva has such greatness that it cannot be fully explained by even the
emperuman himself. Can there be a
task that cannot be accomplished by sarvasakthan,emperuman? Why not? How can we find the limit to
something that doesn?t have limit at all? The greatness of the divine couples
has no limit and hence even they cannot find the same. In the first six chapters the nature of
the chit and achit have been detailed.
So the person who has understood the SELF wants to enjoy the same leaving
behind this world. So now emperuman
wants to educate him further that there is something beyond that and that is
bhakthi towards the lord. To
develop bhakthi/deep love towards the lord we have to first understand him
fully. That is only given by
emperuman in the 7th chapter where he further talks about the 4 types
of bhakthas and finally completes with the greatness of the
jnAni. Ok then does thirumangai azhvar also
talk about nature of emperuman to sow the seed of bhakthi in our hearts? Yes he does the same in the next
line. (ennum ponnuruvAi) At this point let me
bring to your memory the excellent article on ?All that glitters? written by Sri
Sadagopan Iyengar recently in these groups. Where he talked about how we all
consider gold to be so precious all through the posting and finally ended with
his golden conclusion that there is something beyond gold that is highly
precious ?Anjali? that we do and on emperuman?s side it is his thirumeni
sowndaryam. Here thirumangai mannan
stresses the same point comparing emperuman?s thirumeni to be golden. Sri periyavAchAn pillai says,
?ponnuruvAi endru svaroopa niroopanam? (the word ponnuruvai proves the nature
of the divyAthma svaroopa). In his
commentary, paramakArunikar Sri periya vAchan pillai excellently compares the
nature of gold and how it is applicable to emperuman. First he says, ?spruhaneeyam?
that which could be enjoyed. Second, ?vundu endru vuyir nirkai?-
Pleasure of possession. Third,
?sarvApEkshithangalaiyum sAdhiththu kolludhal?- Grants all our
wishes. Fourth, ?eththai
vudaiyavan kAlilE lOkam adanga vizhumpadi erukkum?- the whole world falls to
the feet of the one who possess this (Both gold and emperuman gives fame and
power). Here one thing has to be remembered, the glitters of gold can never even touch the greatness of emperuman but for mandha buddis (dull-headed people) like us it is very difficult to explain anything without an example and hence this comparison is made to atleast give us an hint of the greatness of emperuman. What we consider great in this world doesn?t even equal a drop in the ocean of emperuman?s greatness. Nammazhvar who tried to do the same comparison finally concluded, ?sutturaiththa nan pon vun thirumEni oli ovvAdhu? and the sastras declare, ?yathO vAchO nivarthanthE apprApya mansA saha? (emperuman's greatness is beyond our words and understanding) Next kaliyan tries to imagine
emperuman?s greatness with another example. Let us enjoy the same in the next
posting. (To be
continued) Azhvar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE
sharanam Adiyen ramanuja
dAsee Sumithra
Varadarajan Yahoo! Groups Links
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |