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srI:
SrI sAra sAram â I (17)
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I â ThirumantrAdhikAram
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The Significance of the âaâ in PraNava (continued)
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SwAmi Desikan has been dealing with SEshatvam conveyed by the first
syllable, âaâ of the praNava, revealing the dative case, âAyaâ which is
hidden in the syllable. This dative case implies that one exists only for the
sake of the Other, Who is none other than the Lord himself and Who is
represented by the syllable (a) itself. But, who has to have this SEshatvam is
to be revealed by third syllable, âmâ which is yet to come. First, SEshi
has come followed by SEshatvam as in âaâ and the hidden âAyaâ which is
clinging to âaâ. This peculiar line-up is illustrated beautifully by SwAmi
Desikan in the following sentence, in his inimitable way:
ââtvam mEâ enRu swami thoDara âaham mEâ enRu thimirappaNNum
ahankAratthAlE asat kalpanAnavanai SEshatva-j~nAnam ujjeevipikkiRthAkaiyAlE,
athan prAdhAnyam thOTRa sambanthatthinuDaiya vidhi-nishEdhatthkku pothuvAna
dharmi-nirdESatthukku munnE ic SEshatvam prakASithamAyiRRu.â
Here, Swami Desikan gives the reason for the priority SEshitvam gets
over the entity which possesses this quality: âdharmi-nirdESatthukku munnE
ic-SEshatvam prakASithamAyiRRu.â
Let us try to understand this part of the sentence. âdharmiâ means the
entity which possesses the âdhamaâ, that is, quality. Here, âdharmaâ is
SEshatvam. The possessor of this dharma is the jIvAtma who is referred to as
âdharmiâ. In the praNava, the possessor is placed at the last, in the form
of the syllable, âmâ. The arrangement of syllables in the praNava is
âaâ comes first followed by âuâ and the last is âmâ which is
jIvAtma. Hence, Swami Desikan puts it beautifully that, even before the jIvatma
is mentioned, his primary quality of being SEsha to the Supreme Lord is
declared by the hidden dative case, âAyaâ attached to the first syllable,
âaâ, representing the Lord.
What is the logic behind this? It is simple. As the syllable âaâ
is the origin of all the letters, the Lord represented by it is the origin of
all things in the Universe. The existence of the jIvAtma also is in His hands.
So, the Lord is always the first, as the Cause will precede the effect. Along
with Him comes the fact of His being a SEshi for Whom all other things â
sentient and non-sentient exist. As soon as the jIvatma gets his
self-consciousness, after the praLaya period is over, the Lord tells him
(jIva), âYou are Mine!â and chases the jIva who has acquired a body by the
grace of the Lord. The jIva, on the other hand, due to avidya, thinks that he
is independent and the body and other accessories are his own. This ahamkAram
(egotism) makes him to reply to the Lord, âNo, no. I am mineâ (Ah< me)
(aham mE). This egotism born out of ignorance makes the jIva one like a
non-existent (asat), just like a stone which does not have
consciousness. When does he come into existence?
SwAmi Desikan says, ââtvam mEâ enRu swami thoDara âaham mEâ enRu
thimirappaNNum ahankAratthAlE asat kalpanAnavanai SEshatva-j~nAnam
ujjeevipikkiRthAkaiyAlE,â â While the Lord goes after the jIva calling him
as His own and the jIva runs away with arrogance. This makes the jIva appear as
non-existent (asat kalpanAnavanai). But, he comes back to life because of the
dawn of the knowledge that he is only a servant and the Lord is the Master.
This is known as âSEshatva-j~nAnamâ. Hence, SEshatva knowledge is the
cause for the jIva to exist as a sentient-being. Till then, he is equal to a
dead-wood or a stone, a non-sentient object which cannot act on its own without
the help of a sentient being.
SwAmi Desiakn uses the terms, âtvam mEâ and âaham mEâ taken
from a Sloka of SrI ParAsara Bhattar, which is as follows:
âtvam mE aham mE kutastat tadapi kuta idam vEdamoola-pramANAt
EtaccAnAdisiddhAt anubhava-vibhavAt tarhi sAkrOSa Eva /
kvAAkrOSah kasya geetAdishu mama viditah kOtra sAkShee sudheessyAt
hanta tvatpakShapAtee sa iti nrukalahE mrugya madhyasthavat tvam //â
(Thirumanjana Kattiya SlOka)
Meaning:
The Lord: You are mine.
The jiva: I exist only for myself.
The Lord: Where is it stated?
The jIva: Where is the opposite stated?
The Lord: In the original pramANa: the VEda.
The jIva: The opposite view is based on the strength of my own enjoyment of
myself from
Beginning-less time.
The Lord: But protests have been recorded then and there.
The jIva: Where is it objected to? And by whom?
The Lord: The protest or objection was made in such work as the Gita and it
was made by me.
The jIva: Is there any witness?
The Lord: The wise man.
The jIva: But he is partial.
(In this dispute there is a need for an arbitrator. But, as
no one is
available, You appear as though undertaking a pledge,
going into the
pond adorning a Tulasi garland!)
This slOka is recited as part of the Kattiyam, at the time of the
ceremonial bath given to the Lord and his Consorts in temples.
Thus, as Seshatvam is the basis for the existence of the jIva, even
before the syllable indicative of the jIva, the SEshatvam is highlighted in
very first syllable itself. When SEshatvam is established, its opposite,
namely, the responsibility of the Master is naturally derived:
âIthukkup prati-sambandhiyAna rakshakanuDai SEshitvsm phalitam.â â While
the jIva is the protected, the Lord is the protector.. âprathi-sambandhiâ
â the corresponding opponent is the protector; His quality of mastership is
derived as an analogue.
Next, Swami Desikan says that this SEsha-SEshi relationship is a
permanent one:
âkAla-avacchEdam-illAmaiyAlE ithukku ayOga-vyavacchEdam siddham.â â There
is no time factor in this servant-Master relationship and so, it is a permanent
one. This relationship cannot be broken, neither by the jIva nor by the Lord.
There is also another fact derived from this. Of these two, one is the
soul and the other is the body. The Lord is the Sareeri (soul) and the jiva is
Sareera (body), sys SwAmi Desikan:
âiththAlE Sareera-Sareeri bhAvamum phalikkum.â â From this, also results
the concept of body-soul tie.
Here, we my recall a SlOka of Swami Desikan in his Srimad
rahasyatraya-sAram:
âniScitE paraSEshtvE SEsham samparipooryatE /
aniScitE punastasmin anyat sarvam-asatsamam //â
(When the relationship of our being the servants of the Supreme Lord is well
established in the mind, the other requisites follow easily as being necessary
to it. When that thought is not established in the mind, all the rest serve no
purpose and are really non-existent even though they may be there.. These
requisites for spiritual life are self-control and serenity.)
(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivAsan
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