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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

                          The Coveted Birth
 

        If there is something all scholars agree upon, it is the need to get 
out of the unending cycle of SamsAra. Everyone is born, lives out his or her 
lifespan, accumulating more and more of merits or sins through their good and 
bad deeds, and when the time comes, passes away. The matter, unfortunately, 
doesn't end there. The person is reborn with another body, name and ambience, 
to experience the fruits of his earlier Karma. In the process of deleting some 
portion of the Karma, we perform actions which lead to a fresh accretion of the 
benumbing baggage, thus entangling us interminably in a cycle of births and 
deaths, out of which there doesn't appear any way. Caught in the bewildering 
catacombs, we keep going round and round in the maze, lost forever and 
wandering without direction.

 

It would be interesting to find out when and where it all began, to discover 
which particular act of ours, shrouded in the distant past, was responsible for 
our taking the initial birth, that has in turn led to a million others. And any 
such act or abstinence could have been done only by an embodied soul. If we 
already had a body when we performed the initial and entangling act that formed 
the very first millstone in the crippling baggage that we now carry, then what 
was the act that brought our very first body into existence? In other words, 
which came first-the body which performed the Karma and led to more births, or 
the Karma, which forced us into the maximum-security prison that is the body? 
Without a body, no Karma would have been possible: equally, no praAkrita 
sharIram would have been there, had it not been for some Karma, which 
necessitated it. This is akin to the famous question, which came first, the 
chicken or the egg, the seed or the sprout?

 

Shastras tell us that both Karma and Births are timeless-"anAdi"-without a 
beginnning and an end. Swami Desikan speaks of the "anAdi karma pravAham", 
likening the baggage of deeds, good and bad, to a swift-flowing river, 
apparently without an origin, which sweeps us all inexorably away in its 
torrents.  Sri Bhashyakara too mentions the "anAdi avidyA sanchita ananta 
asakya visramsana Karma pAsa pragathita:", likening Karma to an eternal bondage 
that is impossible to unravel. And it is the aim of all religions, all sects, 
to show us a way out of this apparently interminable entanglement.

 

The Scripture, which is but the luminous signpost set up by the Lord to guide 
us on to the right path, lists no less than 32 Brahma VidyAs, most of them 
difficult if not impossible to practice, as a way out of this morass of 
SamsAra. Our Acharyas, in all their mercy, have shown us the NyAsa vidyA or 
Sharanagati as the panacea for all ills hounding us from time immemorial and as 
a way out of the not-so-merry go-round of Janma-MaraNa chakram.

 

There is thus no difference of opinion that Liberation represents freedom from 
births, deaths and attendant Karma pAsam. All Azhwars and all Acharyas have 
fervently prayed to the Lord to rid them of the crippling and constant SamsAra 
chakram. Sri Nammazhwar terms this "pirandum setthum nindru idarum pEdamai". 
Sri Tondaradippodi calls this an absurdity-"avattamE piravi tandAi 
arangamAnagaruLAnE!". Considering that life, though it appears long, is in fact 
too short for us to undertake any serious endeavour for emancipation, Azhwar 
beseeches Emperuman to spare him any further births-"AdalAl piravi vENdEn 
aranga mA nagaruLAnE!". And relief from such births is considered to be the 
ultimate fruit anyone could aspire for. The Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram, for 
instance, tells us that none who recites the Stotra with sincerity and 
devotion, would be subject to births, deaths and attendant maladies-"janma 
mrityu jarA vyAdhi bhayam na Eva upajAyatE". Sri Nammazhwar is in a hurry to 
leave these mortal coils and to attain the state of birthlessness-"koovi koLLum 
kAlam innum kurugAdO!". The Lord is equally eager to rid Azhwar of mundane 
shackles-"viNNulagam taruvAnAi viraigindrAn". Sri Kulasekhara Perumal too 
expresses extreme distaste for births, even if blessed with robust health and 
unimaginable wealth-"oonEru selvatthu udal piravi yAn vENdEn".

 The unanimous chorus from all those in the know of things thus appears to be 
to rid them of the phenomena of births and deaths.

 

Amidst all the voices praying in unison for Liberation and freedom from further 
births, we hear a lone voice raised in dissent, which seeks to be born in this 
world again. No, it is not the voice of a philistine who seeks to return time 
and again to this earth to immerse himself in the puerile pleasures this world 
has to offer. When you look up to see who it is that prays for a birth, when 
all other devotees of distinction crave freedom from SamsAra, we find that 
these are the dulcet tones of no less a personage than Sri Kulasekhara Azhwar. 
It is he, of all people, who insitsts on being born in this despicable world. 
"AdalAl piravi vENdum" appears to be his refrain, in total disagreement with 
the rest of the elite club of divine minstrels. 

 

It is not only that this Azhwar craves mundane births, but the things as which 
he wishes to be born are also extremely trivial-a tree, a fish, a bird and so 
on. We are quite surprised-first of all, no one in their right mind would seek 
to be born again in this world of sorrow and sadness, which has nothing to 
offer anyone except pain and punishment. Secondly, even if a birth here were 
inevitable, one would choose an exalted janma like that of an Emperor who would 
never lack anything, a beautiful damsel with all the world at her feet, a 
scholar of repute with the masses looking up to him for enlightenment and so 
on-never as inanimate objects like trees and rivers or lowly life forms like 
the fish and the bird. We wonder why Azhwar should crave for birth as such 
humble beings, when he was already a King of no mean bravery and 
accomplishments ("SEralar kOn"). 

 

When we go through the fourth decad of Perumal Tirumozhi, we find that there 
are indeed reasons, and verymuch valid ones at that, for the lowly births that 
Azhwar craves for.

""VEnkatatthu KOnEri vAzhum kurugAi pirappEnE"

 

"MeenAi pirakkum vidhi udayEn AvEnE"  

 

"SheNbagamAi nirkkum tiru udayEn AvEnE"

 

"Venkata malai mEl tambakamAi nirkkum tavam udayEn AvEnE"

 

"KanArAi pAyum karutthudayEn AvEnE"

 

"neriyAi kidakkum nilai udayEn AvEnE"

 

"padiyAi kidandu un pavaLa vAi kANbEnE"

 

We find that all the births that Azhwar craves for are connected with the 
glorious Tirumala, where the Lord reigns supreme as the VEnkatEsa, venerated by 
mundane mortals and the immortal celestials alike. Azhwar is so enamoured of 
this king among hills which forms the abode of the Lord of the Lords, that he 
would prefer any odd birth, as even the lowliest of low beings, on Tirumala, 
rather than being the most exalted Emperor elsewhere. He deems it his eminent 
good fortune to be born in the divine hills as a mere fish, which would keep 
the "KOnEri" (the Lord's tank) clean of moss and algae, clean for the Lord's 
tirumanjanam and for the ablutions of His devotees. He considers himself to be 
blessed to be born as a flowering shrub on Tirumala, so that he might 
contribute to the Lord's floral adornments. He would similarly prefer the janma 
of a step right opposite Emperuman's sanctorum, so that the holy feet of all 
the devotees leave their imprints on him. He would deem it a huge favour if he 
were permitted a birth as the pathway across the seven hills, sanctified by the 
stepping of millions of devotees.

 

The common thread running through all these births the Azhwar seeks is 
therefore Tirumala-he considers any birth on Tirumala, however lowly it is, to 
be the highest of prizes. He doesn't really mind what the janma is, as long as 
it is in the hills of VEnkatam-"Emperuman pon malai mEl EdEnum AvEnE". And as 
we already saw, it is Azhwar's kainkarya ruchi, that insatiable appetite for 
service to the Lord, that makes Kulasekhara Perumal seek all these births, 
while other Azhwars seek a relief once for all from the Janma Chakram.

 

And when we look hard enough, we find other Azhwars and Acharyas too refusing 
to leave this world, with all its failings, for the incomparably greener 
pastures of Sri Vaikuntam. Sri Tirumangai Mannan would rather stay on in this 
mundane morass and perform kainkaryam to the arcchA moorthies at various 
divyadesams, than hanker after the distant and unseen Sri Vaikuntam and 
ParamapadanAtha ("ErAr muyal vittu kAkkai pin pOvadE!"). 

 

 Sri Alavandar, for instance, prefers a birth as a mere worm (below which one 
possibly cannot go, in the totem pole of existence) inhabiting a crevice in the 
household of mahAtmAs whose only delight is in kainkaryam to the Lord-vis-à-vis 
such good fortune, he spurns a birth even as the Chaturmukha BrahmA, renowned 
as the Creator-

"tava dAsya sukhaika sanghinAm bhavanEshu astvapi keeta janma mE

 itara AvasatEshu mAsma bhoot api mE janma ChaturmukhAtmanA"

 

Not to be outdone, Sri Bhattar deems it a privilege to be born as a lowly dog 
living off the streets of Srirangam, rather than being an exalted celestial 
steeped in pleasure-

"na jAtu peetAmrita moorcchitanAm nAkoukasAm nandana vAtikAsu

 RangEsvara! Tvat puram AsritAnAm rathyAsunAm anyatamO bhavEyam"

 

And we have Swami Desikan swearing to the Lord of Hastigiri that he would much 
prefer to stay on in this world and SamsAra, witnessing the Lord's utsavams to 
his heart's content, rather than ascend to Sri Vaikuntam-

"Satyam shapE VaraNa saila nAtha! Vaikunta vAsEpi na mE abhilAsha:"

 

A poet of more recent times too follows the foot steps of the great ones 
mentioned above, by praying to the Lord for a birth as a mere blade of grass in 
the hallowed BrindAvanam ("pullAi piravi tara vENum,BrindAvanam adil oru pullAi 
piravi tara vENum"), so that Sri Krishna's tiruvadi or atleast that of one of 
His cows or calves, steps on the grass to make it more fortunate than the 
celestials.  

 

We therefore find that Azhwars and Acharyas are not very particular about a 
birthless berth at Sri Vaikuntam and all that it stands for, if they are able 
to attain the infinite pleasure of kainkaryam in this mundane world itself, 
with all its maladies. They were prepared for births as lowly as those of a 
fish, a dog or even a worm, if it meant opportunity for performing incessant 
and intimate kainkaryam to the Lord or His devotees. When Sri Nammazhwar seeks 
ceaseless service at the tiruvadi of TiruvEnkatamudayAn for all time to come 
("ozhivil kAlam ellAm udanAi manni vazhuvilA adimai seyya vENdum nAm"), he 
doesn't incorporate a stipulation limiting the duration of the kainkaryam till 
the time comes for ascent to Paramapadam. Left to himself, Azhwar would have 
perhaps lived on in this leelA vibhUti itself, delighting in continual service 
to Tirumalayappan, rather than be elevated to the Promised Land. It was the 
ParamapadanAtha, who couldn't bear separation from the Azhwar anymore, who took 
the latter to His own abode.

 

We thus find as much rationale in the fervent prayers of some, "AdalAl piravi 
vENdEn", as in the diametrically opposite demand of some other devotees-"AdalAl 
piravi vENdum".

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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