SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi Slokam 13 ? tiruvAimozhi 1.3 - pASuram 1.3.1.
bandhArhatvAt sva-bhaktaih (1.3.1) adhikatara guNa ananta divya
avatArAt (1.3.2)
sarveshu AsaktimatvAt (1.3.3) nata sugamatayA (1.3.4) sva-prabodha-
pradatvAt (1.3.5) |
khyAtAbhikhyAdi-cihnAt (1.3.6) sva-ruci-vitaraNAt (1.3.7) sarva-
kAla-AsrayatvAt (1.3.8)
SarvAdeh-sva-a'nga-dAnAt (1.3.9) prahita-padatayA (1.3.10) ananta-
saulabhyam (1.3) Aha ||
The guNam that is being emphasized in this tiruvAimozhi is captured
by svAmi deSikan as "ananta-saulabhyam" ? Infinite Ease of access".
(svAmi deSikan has included the guNa emphasized at the daSakam level
at the end of the corresponding Slokam for each tiruvAimozhi, as is
indicated above by high-lighting). We will note the guNa chosen for
each pASuram of tiruvAimozhi 1.3 by svAmi deSikan stands out to
support this guNa of anata-saulabhyam at the daSakam level.
pASuram 1.3.1: Paratvam alone is not sufficient in order to enable
the jIva-s to surrender to Him with the full confidence that He will
accept the jIva. saulabhyam is equally essential. It is this guna
of saulabhyam of emperumAn that is sung in tiruvAimozhi 1.3.
bhagavAn is difficult to access only for those who do not have
devotion to Him; for His devotees, He is sulabhan. pASuram 1.3.1
sings about "pattuDai aDiyavarkku eLiyavan" ? sva-bhaktaih
bandhArhatvAt - He lets Himself be tied by His devotees through
their devotion. yaSodA tied Him with a tiny stretch of rope, and He
stood powerless, just pretending to cry ? mattuRu kaDai veNNai
kaLavinil uraliDai AppuNDu ettiRam uralinODu iNaindirundu E`ngiya
eLivE!". Many gopi-s tied Him up with their love for Him. The guNa
to be enjoyed is that He submits Himself to easy access and lets
Himself be tied by their devotion.
In the first tiruvAimozhi, bhagavAn's paratvam is pointed out; in the
second, AzhvAr advises us to surrender to Him with devotion. The
natural question that arises is: Given that He is sarvasmAt paran,
is it even possible to approach Him? This is like asking someone who
has lost both his hands, to climb on an elephant. In the current
tiruvAimozhi, AzhvAr points out that bhagavAn is easily accessible to
those who truly want to attain Him ? He is like the elephant that
kneels down so that the person without both hands can still climb on
it. He takes incarnations so that He is available to those of us who
want to access Him. He takes incarnations such as the kRshNa
incarnation that are filled with saulabhyam. It is up to us to
meditate on Him and attain Him.
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan points out that `pattu' in "pattu uDai"
is not a reference to bhakti yoga that is very difficult to follow
for even the most intense practitioners; it is a reference
to `paRRu' - `ASA lESam' ? the tiniest amount of desire to reach
Him. Some even interpret the word `pattu' to mean `advesham ? lack
of love to Him'; in other words, He is a sulabhan to those who do not
have hatred towards Him; that is all what He looks for. It is His
nature to not forsake anyone who approaches Him with genuine love ?
"mitra bhAvena samprAptam ne tyajeyam". He is One who declared that
He is the `servant' of sage viSvAmitra when He accompanied him to
protect his yAga ? imau sma muni SardUla ki'nkarau samupasthitau. He
tells arjuna that it is His nature that He is easily accessed by a
truly devoted one, just as the complexion of an individual (being
dark, fairm etc,) is natural to that individual. BhagavAn has
demonstrated this by being a messenger, by being a Charioteer, etc.
Perhaps more illustrative is the fact that rAvaNa could not even as
much as move lalshmaNa when he had lost conscience in the
battlefield, whereas devotee hanuman just easily carried away the
same lakshmaNa with no difficulty whatsoever. He is One who let the
cowherd girl yaSodA tell Him ? "Now, if You are capable, release
Yourself from this mortar to which You are tied" ? "yadi Saknoshi
gaccha tvam"; She tells this Infinite Power above all powers ? "If
You are capable". He just remains tied - such is His saulabhyam to
His devotee. She says "Shut up!", and He just stands without
crying, without moving. All we need to do is to have the faintest
amount of desire to attain Him (ASA leSam, to use SrImad ANDavan's
words).
SrI UV points out that, consistent with AzhvAr's use of the plural ?
"paTTuDai aDiyavarkku", svAmi deSikan uses the plural "bhaktaiH".
He also gives another interesting meaning to the words "bhaktaih
bandha arhatvAt" of svAmi deSikan ? He Who has made Himself easily
availabale to mix with His devotees.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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