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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00061 Oct 2004

 
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 SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

? Neer sollum. Neer vazhi nadatthum. You are one who
did not discriminate on basis of caste, gender, or
possessions. You have been exceedingly impartial to
all. But how can our God be impartial to the seeker?
In what way it makes a difference if the seeker has
learnt to chant vedas or not? Should we not cling to
whatever little of vedas or upanishads that are at our
reach? Sollum. Have you made any amends to this
mandatory clause (of ashramas) anywhere else? Neer
sollum. If you don?t show me the way, I would have to
re-interpret what I thought Raman indicated me on the
other day. Therefore sollum. Raman wont say anything
twice. You too wont say anything doubtful. Therefore
sollum.? So saying as I opened my eyes, all lights
suddenly went off and the Thirumeni of Ramanuja and
the garbha griham glowed in in-describable splendour
in the light shed by the  Thoonga ViLAkku.
Simultaneously I saw the bhattar taking the
deepaaraadhana near his thirumeni.
The immediate thought that flashed in my mind was
?INNER GLOW?.

The whole area presented a surreal picture of a
pleasant glow inside the garbha griha where I was 
able to see clearly the smile on the face of Ramanuja
glow in shantham, consolation (don?t worry
kuzhandhaai), karuNyam and an alAdhi prIthi. Tears
were streaming down my eyes. ?Yes I have understood
your message, swami.  It is the inner glow that
matters. It is the mental feeling that matters. If
that is what you wish to tell me, I am very much sure
that you would have somewhere indicated that. Bless me
to grasp it soon.?

As I was readying to leave, the bhattar started
telling on his own volition (?) that Ramanuja stood
for free inquiry, One must cultivate absolute faith
when young. But as one grows up, one  must go about
searching, discussing, debating and inferring the
salient aspects of Knowledge. Avaravar arivukku-th-
thakkapadi avaravar purindu koLgirArgaL. That was what
he wanted everyone to do.?

I recalled the first commandment of Ramanuja. Yes he
wanted everyone of us to study some part of Brahma
sutra every day. There is nothing that has not been
said in his sri bhashyam. If we have questions phrased
in different ways, we have to look at his bhashyam
again and again. Somewhere he would have certainly
indicated his reply. The pramana for Inner glow must
be somewhere  in Brahma sutras. 

I began to look for the answer and it didn?t take long
to identify them. Sutras 46, 47 & 48 in chapter 3-3
shed light on ?mental fires?.  He talks about the
glory of meditation (of mental nature) in the context
of sacrificial fires. The sacrificial fires are aimed
at certain fruits. Texts speak about different
ingredients that go into the conduction of sacrifices
of mental fires. ?The altars made of mind may be
equivalent to the altar made of bricks in some
aspects. This similarity does not authorise us to
connect mind-made altars with the actual sacrifice.
The point is that the fruit of both the performances
is common.?

He draws pramana from Satapatha Brahmana to establish
that the passages that speak about mental fires on
brick altars can not be taken as literal sacrifice but
as meditation. To transfer  this to reply our query,
?each one is as great as the previous one? (sat
X-iv-1.3) meaning that each type of meditation, one by
way of ?works? as prescribed by karma khandam and the
other by way of knowledge are independent of each
other and as great as each other.

Further we find in sutras 3-4-14, 16 &19 it is
established that knowledge is not subsidiary to works.
 ?permission to perform work is for the glorification
of knowledge. Indeed, one may work all his life, still
he is not tainted by the greatness of knowledge.
Therefore knowledge is not subsidiary to works.?

To present all this in a nutshell, Ramanuja says like
this in his commentary for verse 3-4-26.
? Knowledge is something absolutely different  from
the knowledge of the textual meaning. It is denoted by
words such as dhyana (meditation), upasana (worship)
etc. It is of the nature of remembrance, which has
attained the form of direct and clearest perception.
By practicing day by day, it attains excellence, and
being continued up to final departure, it becomes the
means of attaining final release.? 

What is this dhyana, manana, shraddha? ?it is of the
form of a succession of memories which is unbroken
like a stream of oil.? Elsewhere he regards this
stream of oil (thaila dhaaravathu) as bhakti. He
regards this non-stop remembrance as bhakti. It is for
getting Dhyana, manana and shradha that Karma khandam
is to be learnt (like how the children at early years
of schooling are trained in oral repetition of nursery
rhymes). This idea, transformed in latter period, with
full blessings of Gitacharyan  is known as bhakti
which has dhyana, manana and shradha as the basic
ingredients / requirements.

In simple parlance Ramanuja comes to regard bhakti as
the  result of works and knowledge as the result of
inquiry into Brahman. 

He talks about karma khandam and the scope of
sacrifices not with  a purpose to glorify them. He
instead highlights the limits on the nature of fruits
given by those sacrifices. 

Texts of yore insist on doing ?works? because they
help in constant remembrance and faith (shraddha). 
The substituting term for this is bhakti. 

In today?s condition, these ingredients of sacrifices
help one in growing in bhakti. Without sacrifices,
texts say, that knowledge can not gained. 

Without bhakti, knowledge into the nature of Brahman
or god can not be gained.

Texts say that vedic chanting (works) is the
antecedent to knowledge. 
Similarly, bhakti is antecedent to knowledge.

 Without bhakti, knowledge can not bloom. 
But at the same time knowledge is not subsidiary to
bhakti.

 Gyaana khnadam supported by karma khandam was the
path way to salvation. Similarly, knowledge in the
nature of Bhakti is the means of attaining the
Bhagavan (VS- 251)

Bhakti leads to knowledge just as how ?works? lead to
inquiry.
Knowledge without bhakti is wasteful just as how gyana
khnadam without karma khandam can not give results.
Bhakti leading to knowledge is like  how karma mimamsa
study leads to the study of gyana mimamsa.

Ramanuja has given the prescription. So grieve not, my
mind whether you have sanction to recite vedas. Any
such recital that leads you to bhakti-marga is
accepted. Without such recital you can not realise the
glory of Knowledge. Like without karma khanda, one can
not pursue utthara khanda. The recital though very
insignificant in today?s condition is aimed at
hastening your interest in gyana marga. 

Bhoothathaazhwar had shown the way in lighting the
lamp of knowledge by ?inburugu sindhai?. The urugum
inbam shows the preethi by name bhakti. The sindhai
stands for knowledge. So grieve not, my mind, grieve
not.

 To get sanction for this, I again went to see Kembhal
Raman. With eyes closed with a viNNappam that He has
to give approval for  my thought on INNER GLOW, I was
mentally concentrating on my favourite Senniyongu
paasurams. When it was ?vunnai-k-kondu ennuL vaitthEn,
ennaiyum vunnil ittEn?, I opened my eyes to see Him.
The bhattar was inserting a flower in Raman?s nenju
when I was saying ?ennaiyum vunnil ittEn?. Raman has
accepted this. 

It is what springs in our mind that He takes as our
offering.

 It is the inner thought, inner glow, inner bhakti
that is the ultimate outcome of all this inquiry ? no
matter whether it comes from a man or a woman. 

Thank you Rama.
I don?t forget the symbolism of your role in
Ramavathara.

You are all the more concerned that you must get back
your Sita who is none other than us, the jivas. 

You are the Creator who craves to get back His dear
ones ? i.e., us. 

 You can not bear the loss of your  dear ones into the
vicious cycle of birth and death. 

You always think of ways and means of getting us  back
to You. 

So it wont make  an issue whether I am a woman or not,
whether I chant vedas or not. You would catch hold of
me appropriately at the appropriate time!!

---------------------concluded-------------------------


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