SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 19 : Slokam 12 - part 3
(tiruvAimozhi 1.2).
· pASuram 1.2.7 starting with "aDa'ngu ezhil sampattu". svAmi
deSikan describes the guNa that stands out in this pASuram as "Subha
vibhavatayA" ? Because all His belongings are auspiciously disposed
to our reaching Him. (vibhava ? wealth, Subha ? auspicious).
In the previous pASuram we saw that bhagavAn is a suhRt (well-wisher,
friend) for everyone without bias. But He has as His wealth, both
the nitya vibhUti and the leelA vibhUti. In His nitya vibhUti He
has the nitya sUri-s who are far above us in realization. Some of us
might feel hesitant to approach Him, feeling that these nitya sUri-s
may laugh at us because of lowly status. BhagavAn also has as His
possession the devatA-s in His leelA vibhUti, and they are known to
create obstacles to our approaching Him as evidenced by the Sruti.
bRhadAraNya upanishad (1.4.10) says: tasmAt eshAm tan-na priyam
yadetan-manushyA vidyuh ? The gods do not like us to know Brahman.
This is because the deva-s consider that we are all like animals that
should toil for them alone, and if we worship bhagavAn and stop
worshipping them, it causes pain to them. This is also declared in
the bRhadAraNyaka Upanishad ? yathApaSurevam sa devAnAm | yathA ha
vai bahavah paSavo bhu~njyuh | evamekaikah purusho devAn bhunakti |
ekasminneva paSavAdIyamAne'priyam bhavati " . But we should
remember that the nitya sUri-s in His nitya vibhUti and the gods in
His leelA vibhUti are both His belongings, and are subject to His
will. They will have no choice except being auspicious to us if He
wills so, as declared in the same mantra in bEhadAraNya Upanishad ?
tasya ha devASca na abhUtyA ISate. If we surrender to Him with the
realization that we are also part of His vibhUti just as these deva-s
etc. are, and if we realize that it is our birthright to perform
eternal kai'nkaryam to Him, nothing can interfere with that. And
His wealth is available for all of us to enjoy, as we are all His
children, just as a father's wealth is there for the son to enjoy.
This is the message conveyed by the phrase "Subha vibhavan".
AzhvAr's instruction to us in this pASuram is that we should clearly
realize that all that exists is under His control, and we should
therefore surrender to Him with mahAviSvAsam without the slightest
doubt ? ISan aDa'ngu ezhil ahdu enRu uL aDa'nguka.
.ig
Subha vibhavatayA ? kaTTaDa'nga nanRAna sampattai uDaittAgaiyAlum
(V); kaTTaDa'nga nanRAna sambbandattai uDaiyavan (A); SiRanda iraNDu
vibhUtikaLai uDaiyavan (PBA); vibhava ? wealth, sampat.
..
· pASuram 1.2.8 starting with "uLLam, urai, Seyal". Whatever
we need for worshipping Him is available to us all, without our
having to look for something new ? our thoughts, words, and actions.
SvAmi deSikan reflects this through the guNa "mAnasAdi arcya
bhAvAt". To meditate on Him, to sing His praise though our words,
and to prostrate to Him ? these are means that are available to
everyone equally. One does not have to undertake any effort
whatsoever to acquire these three; He has given these to all, and
this again illustrates that He is sarva saman, or equally accessible
to all without any distinction. These three instruments ? thought,
word and deed, are given to us for the sole purpose of devoting them
to His kai'nkaryam. AzhvAr's message to us that we should realize
this simple truth, turn these three from the pursuit of worldly
interests, and devote them to His worship instead. AzhvAr
explicitly tells us to think ? uLLi, as to why we have been the mind,
the body and the ability to speak, and realize that these are all
given to us for His kai'nkaryam. Once we have realized this, the
next step is `keDuttu ? diverting them from the external
materialistic distractions and turning them inwards, and iRai uLLil
oDu'ngu ? get them immersed in thoughts about Him.
AzhvAr describes the activities of his own "uLLam, urai, Seyal" in
pASuram 8.10.4 ?
po'ngEzh pugazhgaL vAyavAi pulan koL vaDivu en manattAi
a'ngEi malargaL kaiyavAi vazhi paTTODa aruLilE? (tiruvAi.
8.10.4)
"Being immersed in eternal kai'nkaryam to the Lord, my mouth will
utter the infinite kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn. His captivating
tirumEni's beauty that would madden my senses will remain in my mind,
and my hands will offer flowers at His Lotus Feet" ? note uLLam,
urai, Seyal ? manasAdi arcya bhAvAt.
BhUtattAzhvAr echoes the same thoughts in his 2nd tiruvantAdi pASuram
21.
tAm uLarE; tam uLLam uL uLadE; tAmarayin
pU uLadE; Ettum pozhudu uNDE ? vAman
tiru maruvu tAn maruvu SenniyarE SevvE
aru narakam SErvadu aridu. (2nd tiruvanTAdi ? 21).
"We have been given this body and the indriya-s for His worship; We
have been given our minds to think of Him; He has created the lotus
flowers that we can offer to Him; There is plenty of time to worship
Him; We have the head so that we can bow to Him. When we have been
given everything needed to worship Him, there is no narakam for us"
(if only we use all these for His worship!).
poigai AzhvAr conveys the same message in his 1st tiruvantAdi pASuram
95 ?
nA, vAyil uNDE; namo nAraNA enRu
OvAdu uraikkum urai uNDE; - mUvAda
mAk-kadikkaN Sellum vagai uNDE; en oruvar
tIk-kadikkaN Sellum tiRam?
"We have been given a tongue inside our mouth for praising Him; We
have benn given the ashTAkshara mantra that we can repeat
continuously without interruption; we have been the easy path to SrI
vaikuNTham from which we never have to return; When we have all
this, why is it that some people insist on following only the path to
narakam?"
.ig
po'ngEzh pugazhgaL vAyavAi ? A true devotee `s words will only
consist of the praise of bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s.
mAnasAdyarcya bhAvAt ? mano vAk kAya'ngaLAlE bhajikkap paDubhavan
AgaiyAlum (V); mano vAk kAya'ngaLAlE ArAdhikkap paDubhavan (A)
..
· pASuram 1.2.9 starting with "oDu'nga avan kaN". svAmi
deSikan describes the key guNa sung in this pASram as "sa'nkoca
unmocakatvAt" (oDu'ngalum ellAm viDum) ? because He frees us from all
the limitations to His kai'nkaryam. "avan kaN oDu'nga, ellA
oDu'ngalum viDum" - Once we turn the three instruments (namely uLLam,
urai and Seyal) towards Him, He removes all the enemies to bhagavat
kai'nkaryam that we encounter, such as our sins, our ignorance
(avidyA), etc. avidyA or ignorance is the lack of realization that
we are eternally subservient to Him, tae lack of realization of our
role as a jIva - to be performing eternal kai'nkaryam to Him, and the
lack of realization that He is the only goal to be attained, and that
He alone is the means to attain Him. Meditaing on His kalyANa guNa-s
will automatically lead to the intense desire to perform kai'nkaryam
to Him. lakshmaNa declares: aham asya avarah guNaih dAsyam upAgatah ?
It is my sa'nkalpam to perform kai'nkaryam to rAma because of His
kalyANa guNa-s.
.ig
It does not suffice to just be content with the feeling that mokshama
is guaranteed. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan gives several examples
of the state in which our mind should be, once we have successfully
started devoting our uLLam, uRai, and Seyal towards Him.
..
All the obstacles to attaining Him ? such as avidyA, karma, etc. are
not natural attributes of the self; if we resort to Him by turning
the karaNa-s towards Him, these obstacles disappear automatically.
If we devote our thought, word and deed in His kai'nkaryam, then once
the body falls, moksham is guaranteed ? Akkai viDum pozhudu eN ? once
we get control of our karaNa-s, we should eagerly look forward to the
time that our body falls, so that we attain Him.
Again, all that is needed from us is the control of the three karaNa-
s of thought, word and deed, and diversion of these towards Him. He
takes care of the rest in attaining Him. This is available to
everyone who has controlled the three karaNa-s and turned them
towards Him, and so He is sarva yogyan.
.ig
sa'nkoconmocakatvAt ? avidyAdikaLilE uNDAna j~nAna sa'nkoca'ttai
viDuvikkaiyAlum (V); avidyai mudalAna sa'nkocattaik kai viDukirRavan
(A)
..
- pASuram 1.2.10 starting with "eN perukkanalattu". svAmi
deSikan captures the essence of this pASuram through the words "jagad
avanan" ? (nAraNan tiN kazhal SEr) - The Protector of everything in
all the Universes. An alternate pATham is "jagad ayanan", a direct
reference to nArAyaNan, the name that has the word "ayana" embedded
in it. ayanam means `abode'. Since He is the final resting place
for all the beings, the nArAyaNa nAma uniquely applies only to
emperumAn. AzhvAr's instruction to us in this pASuram is - "vaN
pagazh nAraNan tiN kazhal SErE" ? "Resort to the divine Feet of Lord
SrIman nArAyaNa who is endowed with infinite kalyANa guNa-s, and
whose divine Feet will never ever forsake anyone who surrenders to
them".
There are several interpretations for the nArAyaNa nAmam. The one
that AzhvAr specifically picks in this pASuram is
- He who is the Lord of the countless jIva-s who by nature are
j~nAna Ananda svarUpa-s" ? eN perukku an-nalattu eRu ila oNporUL;
- Has infinite kalyANa guNa-s Iru ila vaNpugazh nAraNan
- Has the auspicious and never-failing Lotus Feet to those who
surrender to Him
As the Lord and owner of all the jIva-s, He is the Protector of all ?
jagad avanan, the guNa described by svAmi deSikan. His infinite
kalANa guNa-s are there solely for the protection of the jIva-s - na
tE rUpam na cAkArO nAudhAni na cAspadam tatA'pi purushAkArO bhaktanAm
tvam prakASasE" - (jitantE - 1-5) - His AtmasvarUpa, His ma'ngala
vigraha, His divine weapons, His dwelling SrIvaikunTham, none of
these are for His benefit; they are all for the benefit of His
devotees, and He Himself belongs to His devotees. His Lotus Feet
never fail anyone who seeks their protection ? "sakRdeva prapannAya
tavAsmIti ca yAcate | abhayam sarva bhUtebhyo dadAnyetad vratam mama
|| AzhvAr himself declares that it is bhagavAn's nature to protect ?
kAkkum iyalbinan kaNNa perumAn" (tiruvAimozhi 2.2.9). All these are
captured by svAmi deSikan in the phrase "jagad avanan".
SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya uses the version "jagad ayanatayA", and gives the
explanation ? "Sine He is the AdhAra or Support for all the worlds,
the antaryAmi in everything, and the sole means to attain Him". He
is sarva ArAdhyan because of these attributes or guNa-s.
Thus, AzhvAr is instructing us through the 10 guNa-s sung in the 10
pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi 1.2 that bhagavAn as `sarva yogyan' - as
described by svAmi deSikan in the last line of Slokam 12 of tAtparya
ratnAvali - "upAdiSat sarva-yogyam".
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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