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   The Story of Saint Poosalar: Conquest of ?kaama?
   ------------------------------------------------ 
         through Sublimation of Desire -- 
         ---------------------------------
                   ?bhakti yOga?
                    -----------

The third "mArga" (pathway) in the Vedantic theory of
"hita" is called "bhakti": it is the way of
sublimating selfish human Desire ("kaama") in order to
reach the highest pinnacle of Bliss  recognized in
Vedantic philosophy as true "purushArtha" (i.e.
"inbam", "kaama"). 

The sublimation of "kaama? -- i.e. Desires of ordinary
flesh -- in fact, is the central theme of the whole of
the TiruppAvai. It lies too at the very core of the
expression ?maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu?. 

The English word 'sublimate' is derived from the Latin
"sublimarE". It means "to direct the energy of an
impulse (or desire) from its primitive or gross aims
to one that is ethically or culturally higher"
(Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). The
idea of "sublimating" the energy or power latent in
human desire, by re-directing it away from "primitive
aims" towards "culturally higher" ones in life,
through undivided Love and Devotion to a personal
Deity, is at the core of Vedantic ?bhakti?. This idea
is not mere lofty philosophy. It translates into a
whole way of life. It is a fine and great "art of
living". 

               ***************

Such an art is well illustrated in the life of a great
Tamil saint who belonged to the mystic order called
"nAyanmAr-s". 

The "nAyanmAr-s" were "63" in number (known
collectively in popular Tamil as "aaru-pathu-moovar")
and in the rich cultural and religious history of
Tamilnadu, they are regarded as the Saivite
counterparts of the "12" Vaishnavite "AzhwArs". The
"nAyanmArs" were mystic saints who were the
chronological seniors of the AzhwArs. They too, like
the "AzhwArs", devoted their lives, wholly and
exclusively, to the experience of Godhead in that
elevated emotion called "parama-bhakti" (intense love
and devotion to a personal Deity, who in their case
was "Shiva", while it was "Vishnu" in the case of the
AzhwArs). 

Like the "AzhwArs" again, the "nAyanmArs" too poured
out their "bhakti" in thousands of heartfelt and
mystic Tamil verses that have been handed down the
centuries and to this day celebrated and cherished by
millions in the Tamilian laity. The lives and works of
these saintly "63" were made famous by a Tamil
classical work of hagiography called "peria-purANam"
written by a great literary figure, Sekkizhar, who
lived more than 1200 years ago in the Tamil country.

In the "peria-purANam" one finds the story of one such
"nayanmAr" who was called Poosalan or Poosalar. 

When we read the life of Poosalan, we are not only
moved by his example of extraordinary "bhakti" but,
more importantly, we are also able to grasp the
Vedantic principle of how the power of "bhakti" can be
harnessed by us to transform, through improvement or
refinement, the basic quality of our desires in life.
It is exactly the sort of transformation conceived in
the phrase of the TiruppAvai: "maRRai kaamangaL
maaRRu". Poosalar's life is a shining example of how
"bhakti" can be used by Man to sublimate "primitive"
"kaama" and then re-invent and redefine it into
another qualitatively different "kaama"  --- "one that
is ethically or culturally higher" or, to use a
Vedantic term, one that leads to the ultimate goal of
life ("parama-purushArtha").... In other words, once
again, "maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRu". 

                  **************

Now, in some SriVaishnavite "die-hard" circles
("veera-Srivaishnava"), it is generally frowned upon
to make even the vaguest allusion to examples drawn
from Tamilian hagiography other than those of the holy
AzhwArs themselves. Such circles even regard it as
blasphemeous to speak of the Nayanmars and the AzhwArs
in the very same breath. Likewise, the vice versa may
perhaps be the case too with hard-core Saivites
("veera-Saiva"). 

For the purpose of this series of postings, however, I
am going to ignore the great and ancient sectarian
divide amongst Saivites and SriVaishnavites. My aim is
to concentrate solely on the common bond of "bhakti"
that is the hallmark of saints within both sets of
pantheon. I believe there is no such thing as "saivite
bhakti" or "srivaishnavite bhakti" nor anything
remotely like "advaitic bhakti" or "visishtAdavaitic
bhakthi". When one reads the hagiographic accounts of
the saints on both sides of the sectarian divide, one
cannot help being convinced that the emotion of pure
"bhakthi" itself --- that which took possession indeed
of the hearts of both the Saivite and SriVaishnavite
saint -- was somehow essentially of the same nature,
intensity and fervor wherever you looked. 

Hence, for the limited purpose of our ongoing inquiry
into the subject of "kaama", and its conquest through
"bhakti", it is my view that it is equally profitable
to take examples from both sides of the sectarian wall
of the Vedantic faith and subject them to study.

In the last few postings, we enjoyed the life of Sri
Tondar-adi-podi AzhwAr. Now let us turn to the life of
another great saint, Poosalan, who centuries ago lived
in the little town of "tiru-ninnravoor" (very near
Chennai, India).
           
                **************
               (to be continued)   
Regards,
dAsan,
Sudarshan


























                
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