SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha // SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha // SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/ SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya// KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: / SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm// ================================================= SRI RANGA SRI VOL.06 / ISSUE # 07 dated 12/015/04 ================================================= EDITORIAL: Dear Bhagavatas: Bhagavatas in Atlanta have arranged for Tiruppaavai KaalakshEpams by aDiyEn on Saturdays (5.00pm to 6.30 pm). The first session is scheduled for 18th December 2004. Due to Christmas holidays, there will be no kaalakshEpam 25th December 2004. The classes will be continued from the following Saturday. Bhagavatas residing in Atlanta area on the occasion are cordially invited to attend the event. Date and time: Saturday, 18th December at 5.00 PM to 6.30 PM Address: Residence of Sri M.K. Shrinath and Smt. Hema Shrinath 510 Sessingham Court, Alpharetta, GA 30005 Phone: 770-622-3797 H E-Mail: mk_shrinath@xxxxxxxxx For directions etc., please contact the above Moderator ====================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: 1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN MARGAZHU (DHANUR) MONTH 2. WHO IS THIS AZHWAR? ? GLORY OF GARUDAZHWAR Part 6 (CONCLUDED) (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) 3. NAMMAZHWAR SNIPPETS- TIRUVOIMOZHI Part ? 12 (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) 4. ?TRIMURTIS?- IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI- PART 4 (SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO) ====================================================== 153 Regular issues have been released, so far besides several Special Issues) ? - 27 Issues of Vol. 1 - 15 Issues of Vol. 2 - 42 Issues of Vol. 3 - 35 Issues of Vol. 4 - 28 Issues of Vol. 5 & - 06 Issues of Vol. 6 These issues have been archived for public view at - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/srirangasri by Sri Diwakar Kannan (diwakark@xxxx) You may also view the archives at http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia maintained by Sri Srinivasan Sriram (ajiva_rts@xxxx) We strongly urge you to kindly peruse the "Regular Issues" archived in the ?Files? Section and view the Contents at ?srsindex.html? (Not the individual postings allowed for encouraging "Reader participation"). We are sure that You will be convinced of the quality of the contents. IF you are satisfied with the quality and contents of ?Sri Ranga Sri?- Tell your friends to join by sending an email to Srirangasri-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx IF NOT: Tell us, as to how we may improve. Ever at your service Dasoham Anbil Ramaswamy, Editor & Publisher, ?Sri Ranga Sri? ====================================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ====================================================================== 1. IMPORTANT DAYS IN MARGAZHU (DHANUR) MONT ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DATE/ENGLISH)/DAY/NAKSHATRAM/ (THITHI)/ EVENT/ REMARKS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 01/12.16.04/Thursday/Avittam/Panchami/DHANUR MAASA POOJA Begins, TIRUPPALLI EZHUCHI 03/12.18.04/Saturday/Purattadi/Saptami/Nachiyar Koil Kal GaruDa Sevai, Lakshmi Nrisimha Satakopa YMD (AM) 06/12.21.04/Tuesday Aswini/Dasami/NAACHIYAAR TIRUKKOLAM 07/12.22.04/Wednesday/ BharaNi/Sukla Paksha Ekadasi/ SARVA BHEESHMA VAIKUNTA EKAADASI, TIRUVOIMOZHI TIRUNAAL 11/12.26.04/Sunday/Mrigaseersham/POURNAMI VRATAM 13/12.28.04/Tuesday/Punarpoosam/Dwiteeyai/PARASURAMA JAYANTI 16/12.31.05/Friday/Magam/Panchami/ TIRUVOIMOZHI TIRUNAL SAATRUMURAI 17/01.01.05/SaturdayPooram/ShashTi/IYARPAA SAATRUMURAI, English New Year Day (2005) 21/01.05.05/Wednesday/Swati/Dasami/ValayapETTai VRMD 22/01.06.05/Thursday/Visaakam/Ekaadasi/KrishNa Paksha Ekaadasi, RSYMD (AM) 24/01.08.05/Saturday/KETTai/TrayOdasi/TONDAR ADIPPODI AZHWAR, Periya Tirumalai NambigaL, Srirangam Narayana Jeeyar, Nalloor Aachaan piLLai 25/01.09.05/Sunday/Moolam/Chaturdasi/BODAAYANA AMAAVAASYA 26/01.10.05/Monday/Moolam-PooraaDam/AMAAVAASYA/HANUMAT JAYANTI, 27/01.11.05/Tuesday/UtraaDam- TiruvONam/Prathamai/SRAVANA VRATAM 29/01.13.05/Thursday/Avittam/Triteeyai/BHOGI PANDIGAI, Azhagiya ManavaaLa PerumaaL Naayanaar ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AM: Ahobila MaTam, YMD: Yatindra Mahaa Desikan, VRMD: Vedanta Ramanuja Mahaa Desikan, RSYMD: Ranganatha Satakopa Mahaa Desikan ============================================================================ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================================ 2. WHO IS THIS AZHWAR? ? GLORY OF GARUDAZHWAR Part 6 (CONCLUDED) (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOME HISTORICAL REFERENCES TO GARUDA: VIDISA AND GARUDA: A stone inscription at Vidisa shows that in the tear 140 BC, a stone pillar was erected in Vidisa (Gwalior) and this transformed itself into a ?GaruDa Sthambam? ??GaruDa Pillar? HELIODORUS AND GARUDA: The Greek King who lived in Takshasila was a Bhaagavata who raised a pillar dedicated to VaasudEva, with the figure of GaruDa adorning the top of the pillar. MAURYAS AND GARUDA: The Maurya dynasty considered GaruDa as the most auspicious deity who they believed brought good luck to them. SAMUDRA GUPTA AND GARUDA: History reveals how the Gupta dynasty especially Kumaara Gupta and Samudra Gupta minted gold coins with the image of GaruDa embossed on them and believed that this would bestow prosperity on them. GAJENDRA MOSHAM AND GARUDA: During the 4th to 6th Centuries AD, Guptas are known to have inscribed the ?GajEndra mOksham? episode in which GaruDa was prominently chiseled with the Lord riding on his shoulders. CHANDRAGUPTA VIKRAMAADITYA AND GARUDA: Chandragupta Vikramaadityan was the first to erect a GaruDa Sthoopam in Delhi for blessing his kingdom with prosperity. DEVAGIRI YAADHAVAS AND GARUDA: The flag and the emblem of Devagiri Yaadhavas was GaruDa. ----------------------------------------------------- GARUDA IN ALIEN LANDS: NEPAL AND GARUDA: A very famous festival in Nepal called ?GaruDa- Naaga Yuddham? is celebrated every year. During this festival, perspiration would appear on the face of the image of GaruDa. The priests would wipe off the perspiration with silk cloth and send the cloth to the King of Nepal. The King would save every strand of that cloth. It is believed that when the thread from the cloth is tied around the wrist of anyone suffering from snakebite, miraculously, the venom would lose its virulence and the patient would survive. This is another mystery that Science has not been able to explain to this day. U.S.A. AND GARUDA: We all know the national bird of America is the ?bald eagle? with a white band on its neck. This is none other than our very own GaruDa, as 44th PaTTam Azhagiya Singhar used to say. Thus, GaruDa is one more aspect that links India and America! HOMER?S ILIAD AND GARUDA: IN the great Roman epic ?Iliad? written by Homer, there is a reference as to how GaruDa bird circled over the skies holding a huge snake in its mouth. KALSAN AND GARUDA: He was considered a world famous astrologer. He held that the sighting of GaruDa was the most auspicious omen for all. MATHEW AND GARUDA: The Christian apostle, St. Mathew in 6.2 of his Gospel advises his followers to look for GaruDa flying across the skies, as a good omen. KAMBOJA AND GARUDA: People in Cambodia (Kamboja) used to make the image of GaruDa first before constructing anything, because they believed that it was GaruDa who would bring to fruition any construction work. BOUDDAS AND GARUDA: GaruDa is a favorite deity with even the Buddhists. In Amaraavati, Buddhist sculptures, we find the image of GaruDa holding a flower bud like sphere on his right palm. This ball is believed to be the reputed pot of nectar ?Amrita Kalasam?. MATHANGA LEELA AND GARUDA: ?Mathanga Leela? a work written in North India (author unknown) mentions that GaruDa and SuparNa appeared at the dawn of time along with the wheel of time - ?Kaala Chakram?. SRILANKA AND GARUDA: There is a belief that Lanka (the present day Sri Lanka) is a chip off the block of MEru Mountain that GaruDa pulverized and which accidentally fell in mid sea. WE do not know, however, whether this is a fact or mere fiction! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONCLUDED ========================================================================== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================================================== 3. NAMMAZHWAR SNIPPETS ? TIRUVOIMOZHI Part ? 12 (CONCLUDED) (ANBIL RAMASWAMY) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paasuram 8.3.3 AaLum aaLaar, aazhiyum sangum sumappaar taam VaaLum villum koNDu pinselvaar matrillai TaaLum tOLum kaikaLai aaraat tozhak kaaNEn NaaLum naaLum naaDuvan aDiyEn jnaalathE This decad is said to describe Azhwar?s ?MangaLaasaasanam?. This is also known as Nammaazhwar?s ?Tirup PallaaNDu?. ?Oh! Lord! How come you carry the entire load of your disc and conch and other weapons all alone with none to accompany or assist you in this? Cannot someone share your burden by carrying at least your sword, bow or arrows?? Like LakshmaNa, he would like to assist the Lord to get an opportunity to admire the shoulders and arms of the Lord at close quarters all the time. The Azhwar seems to feel sorry for the lack of assistants for the Lord in this regard. ================================================ Paasuram 9.6.10 Vaarik koNDu unnai vizhunguvan KaaNil enru Aarvutra ennaiozhiya- ennil munnam Paarithu taan ennai mutrap paruguinaan Kaarokkum kaaTkaraiyappan - kaDiyanE The Azhwar expresses a peculiar Bhakti experience in which he portrays vividly how the devotee is within God and God is within the devotee each devouring the other almost an instance of ?cannibalism? in which ?the eater is eaten? as A.K. Ramanujam puts in his ?Hymns for the drowning? ?Oh! Lord! As soon as I saw you, I wanted to devour you whole. But, you overtook me and completely drank me up? In 9.6.5 the Azhwar said that under the pretext of showering His grace, the Lord entered his body, mind and soul and devoured his life. ?TiruvaruL seibavan pOla ennuL puguntu uruvamum aaruyirum uDanE uNDaan? NAMPILLAI explains the word ?Paruginaan? to mean that while in 9.6.5, He ate, here HE drank. While the Azhwar was considering KaNNan as his ?uNNUm sORu, parugu neer etc?, it was now the Lord?s turn to reverse the roles considering the Azhwar as His uNNum sOru, parugu neer etc. BY exhibiting His qualities, He literally liquefied the mind of the Azhwar and drank it even before the Azhwar could devour the Lord. It can be inferred that between the two, the Lord seems to be more hungry and thirsty than the Azhwar in this game of eating up each other! IN 10.8.2, the Azhwar says that Bhagavaan, who entered his mind as a non-immigrant visitor, fully occupied it and is now refusing to move out and claims citizenship on the grounds that ?possession is nine points of law?! A strange predicament indeed! How strange that the Lord who with His huge belly felt insatiable even after devouring the seven worlds, seven seas and seven mountains ? sought mere tenancy but was held virtually a prisoner without parole, in the heart of the Azhwar! A case of ?Container contained?! ================================================= Paasuram 10.8.2 SaraNam aagum tanataaL aDiantaakku ellaam MaraNamaanaal vaikuntam koDukkum piraan Aran amainda madil soozh tiruk kaNNapurathu TaraNIyaaLan tanatanbarkku anbaagumE This verse confirms that the Lord out of His infinite compassion grants to ALL PRAPANNAS who surrender at His feet, mOksham INSTANTLy ON THEIR DEATH. This gives the lie direct to the concept of ?Jivan Mukti? contended by some. The Azhwar exhorts us to surrender at the feet of the Lord of TirukaNNapuram. NAMPILLAI Says that except when he is in a trance like state of devotion, the Azhwar during his awakened state never tires of exhorting us to reach for the Lord?s feet since that alone can ensure salvation AFTER the current life. =================================================== Paasuram 10.5.1 kaNNan kazhalinai eNNUm manam uDaiyeer ENNUm tiru naamam tiNNam naaraNamE The great Aacharyas of yore used to give invaluable and rare advice to near and dear ones right about the time when they are about to give up their mortal coils. Similarly, the Azhwar tenders his sage advice to all of us in this deacd, which represents the grand finale of his immortal work. ?Oh! Those who desire to attain the feet of the Lord, who is renowned for His accessibility to His devotees! The ONLY name you ever need to remember and meditate is that of NARAYANA and NOTHING ELSE. This is THE ONLY TRUTH. Take this seriously and in right earnest? This is like Vyaasa?s swearing- ?Satyam Satyam punah Satyam?? etc? NAMPILLAI comments on the word ?NaaraNam? thus: Unlike other mantras in which mutilation of pronunciation or variation in intonation etc. are likely to result in disastrous repercussions like the perpetrator being born as BrhmaRaakshasa etc. the efficacy of Narayana mantra never gets affected by any distortions if and when the letters ?na, ra and na? are uttered whether with or without the ending ?m? or the fourth case ending, so long as they are uttered with sincerity and a pure heart. How reassuring, this! The Azhwar carefully avoids the word ?mantra?; instead, he uses the word ?Tirunaamam? to indicate that there are no restraints or constraints either in the matter of ?adhikaari? (fitness of the person) or ?anganyaasa, karannyaasa (gestural invocations) etc. It is like a child calling its mother in its ?baby talk? and the mother feeling happy over this. ?First do this ?Sabda anusantaanam?? ?artha anusantaanam? will follow? the Azhwar seems to advise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------CONCLUDED) ======================================================================== 4. ?TRIMURTIS?- IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI- PART 4 (SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO) 1.5.4: (6) tAn Or uruvE tani vittAi tannil mUvar mudalAya vAnOr palarum munivarum maRRum maRRum muRRumAi tAn Or peru nIr tan uLLE tORRi adanuL kaN vaLarum vAnOr perumAn mA mAyan vaikuntan en perumAnE. nammAzhvAr describes bhagavAn?s role in Creation in more detail in this pASuram. He points out that bhagavAn is the Sole Creator of everything in all the Universes, without any other external aid of any kind (tAn Or uruvE tani vittAi). He created brahmA and rudra as part of the trio with Him being the first, or the Creator (tannil mUvar mudalAya). In the first two pASuram-s of this tiruvAimozhi (1.5.1 and 1.5.2), which we did not cover, AzhvAr sings the praise of bhagavAn?s parattvam ? Supremacy or mEnmai. Then, in pASuram 1.5.3, which we just covered, he praises His sauSIlyam or nIrmai, and indicates that bhagavAn is equally great in His sauSIlyam as He is in His parattvam. In the current pASuram, AzhvAr points out that His sauSIlyam is indeed His dominant guNa, and His parattvam is only subservient to His sauSIlyam. This is amply evident in His process of creation as described below. BhagavAn created this whole Universe, all by Himself, by being Himself the upAdAna, nimitta and sahakAri kAraNa-s (the Material, Instrumental, and Supporting causes); He chose to be the Sole Cause so that nothing goes amiss unexpectedly for the creation, by depending on other external causes; He made all the living and non-living beings part of His body; He became the antaryAmi of all beings so that He resides with each being always, and He did all this by descending down from SrI vaikunTham ? His Supreme Abode, where the nitya sUri-s are performing constant and uninterrupted kainkaryam to Him. In addition, He created the great Ocean in Himself, and is reclining in this Ocean, and waiting there so that He is accessible to the deva-s whenever they want His assistance. All this is because He is the embodiment of sauSIlyam. The start of every cycle of creation involves a samashTi sRshTi - aggregate, and a vyashTi sRshTi ? distinctive, individual. The first two pAda-s (the first two quarters of the four-lines) of the pASuram describe the vyashTi sRshTi, and the third pAda describes samashTi sRshTi. BhagavAn is responsible for both the steps. tAnE Or tani uru vittAi ? This refers to bhagavAn being the sole Origin of all the Universes Himself: i) The Material cause or the upAdAna kAraNa ? like the mud for making a mud pot, ii) the Instrumental cause or the nimitta kAraNa? like the pot maker in making the pot, and iii) the Supporting cause or sahakAri kAraNa ? like the wheel, water etc. in making the pot. ?uru? means ?beautiful? ? He alone beautifully becomes all the three causes. PurvAcArya-s explain the above ideas through the following grouping of words: vittAi ? He is the Material Cause or upAdAna kAraNa ? like the mud for making the mud pot. tani vittAi ? He is the Instrumental Cause or nimitta kAraNa ? like the pot maker for making the pot. Or tani vittAi ? He is also the Supporting Cause or sahakArI kAraNa ? like the wheel, water, etc. that are needed for making the pot. Note that in all matters of any man-made creation such as the pot in this example, the material cause, instrumental cause and the supporting cause are different; not so in bhagavAn?s Creation ? He is the Sole Cause for all aspects of Creation. Or uruvE ? He of beautiful form, with no change of any kind in Him because of all this, which is another wonder in itself. We have an analogous declaration in the upanishad: sadeva somya idam agra AsIt; ekameva advitIyam (chAn. 6.2.1) ? ?Good looking one! All this universe of diverse names and forms was, prior to creation, only one sat, the ever-existent Reality, ParamAtman, and Non-second?. Note the terms ?sadeva?, ?ekameva?, and ?a-dvitIyam? in the Upanishad mantra above. ?ekameva? refers to His being the sole Material cause; ?sadeva? refers to there being no other ?sahakAri kAraNam?; and ?advitIyam? refers to there being no other ?nimitta kAraNam?. He is the First Cause or upAdAna kAraNam because cit and acit are part of Him. He is the nimitta kAraNam because of His sankalpam to create. He is the sahakAri kAraNam because of His Infinite j~nAna and Sakti to achieve this wonder that is creation. Why does He choose not to use anything other than Himself as the upAdAna, nimitta or sahakAri kAraNa-s? It is because He loves the jIva-s so much, that He does not want anything to go wrong in His creation by using anything that is not part of Himself. So He, Who is the embodiment of sauSIlyam, decides to become the Sole cause for everything from His One form, that of vAsudeva. From this form, He then creates the other deities and devatA-s, Rshi-s and other great souls, and all the other cetana-s and acetana-s. He becomes their antaryAmi, and permanently resides in them to guide them in whatever path they choose to follow while they are embodied, and this is how His great guNa of sauSIlyam expresses itself. tannil mUvar mudalAya: This phrase has been interpreted in different ways by different AcArya-s. SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan has given two of these interpretations in his vyAkhyAnam titled bhagavad vishayam: tannODu mUvarAna tri- mUrtigaL tuDakkamAna ? starting with the tri-mUrti-s that includes Him. ?Piramanukkum rudranukkum antaryAmiyAi irundu sRshTi samhAra?ngaLaic ceigiRAn. tAnAgavE irundu rakshaNam SeigiRAn? ? He performs the function of rakshaNam or protection Himself, and He performs the functions of creation and destruction by being the antaryAmi of brahmA and rudra respectively. The question can be asked: ?Why does He present Himself as ?one among the three?? Would it not be a negative reflection on His parattvam, by just being ?one among the three??? To understand that His parattvam is not in the least affected because of this, all we have to do is to look at His rAma incarnation, His kRshNa incarnation etc., where He took incarnations among ordinary folks. Just by taking incarnation as one among the ikshvAku family, He does not become just another ordinary ikshavAku, but He is emperumAn in all senses, even though He is an ikshvAku for our eyes. Just by taking incarnation in the yAdava clan, He does not become just another yAdava. He is still the paramAtmA. So also, His being counted as ?one of the three? does not in any way diminish His parattvam. svAmi deSikan explains that bhagavAn does not in any way lose any of His kalyANa guNa-s in the least in any of His incarnations (SaraNAgati dIpikA Slokam 17, where the avatAra rahasyam of perumAL is described). - The second interpretation given by SrImad ANDavan is: brahmA, rudra, indran mUvarkkum kAraNa bhUtan ? He Who is the Cause of the three principal deva-s, namely brahmA, rudra and indra (followed by the creation of all the other deva-s etc. ? vAnOr palarum ? muRRumAi). This second interpretation is supported by reference to this ?trio? in the upnaishad - ?sa brahmA, sa SivaH, sendraH so?ksharaH paramaH svarAT? (mahA nArAyaNa upanishad). Here, ?mudalAi? can be taken to mean ?mudalAya ? et cetera?, instead of meaning ?Supreme - mudal?. In addition, ?il? in tamizh means ?house, meaning ?in Him??. So, ?tan il mUvar mudalAi? can mean ?He Who has His body as the residing place or Origin for brahmA, rudra, indra, etc.?, or, He Who has their bodies as His residing Place, namely, He is their antaryAmi. An alternate interpretation for ?tannil mUvar mudalAi? is that He manifested Himself in the forms of sa?nkarshaNa, pradyumna, and aniruddha ? the vyUha incarnations, all of whom are manifestations of the same Supreme Deity, vAsudeva, and form the base for all the other deva-s etc?. (tannil ? in Himself; that is, svAntargatamAna, sva avatAra?ngaLAna ? Not different from Himself in any sense, His own incarnations). The following are the different anubhavam-s of the words ?tannil? and ?mUvar?: ? the three including Him; tannODu SErndu mUvar (na?njIyar) ? in His sankalpam, in His mental resolve. He decided He will be many, and then He proceeded with the creation of the many, and He became their antaryAmi. This is described in taittirIya upanishad, in the mantra starting with ?so?kAmayata | bahu syAm prajAyeyeti |??. (taittirIya. upa. BrahmAnanda. 6). ? il ? house. He who has made the three (indra, rudra, and brahmA, and all the other deva-s, etc.) as the house for Him ? in other words, He is the antaryAmi of all of these. ? tannai viDa vERu paDAda mUvar ? referring to sankarshaNa,a pradyumna and aniruddha ? the three vyUha emanations from the para vAsudeva form. ? With Him being the first and foremost among the trio. maRRum maRRum muRRumAi ? He decided to create everything, including the humans, animals, and acetana-s, etc., in addition to the others mentioned earlier ? namely, vAnor palarum, munivarum, etc., without exception. Everything is His creation. tAn Or peru nIr tannuLLE tORRi adanuL kaN vaLarum ? He creates this big Ocean in Himself, and then is reclining on it. Again, multiple anubhavam-s are available for our enjoyment, for this phrase. The last syllable ?Ai? in ?muRRumAi? can mean ?Aga ? ?to become?, or ?Agi? ? ?having become?. - If ?muRRum Aga? is taken as the meaning, then the interpretation is that bhagavAn is reclining in the waters of pralaya prior to the creation of brahmANDam in the small fig-tree leaf (Al ilai), contemplating on how to protect the jIva-s that are to be created ? all the cetana-s and acetana-s described in the first two lines of this pASuram. Note that protection of the jIva-s is His main concern (kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa perumAn ? 2.2.9). - If the meaning is taken as ?muRRum Ai? ? ?having become all of the things outlined in the first two lines?, then the interpretation is that He is reclining in the Milk Ocean, after the creation, for the benefit of the deva-s etc., so that He can help them whenever they need His help. He reclines in it and patiently waits just in case the deva-s etc. need His help in times of trouble from the asura-s. - Not being content with thus ensuring that all the jIva-s get all they need for recovering themselves from the ocean of samsAra, He creates a big Ocean in Himself, and lies in this great ocean and keeps meditating on what else He can do to help the jIva-s overcome their cycle of birth and death. vAnOr perumAn ?The Lord of all the deva-s and all the other deities. He is the Seed from which everything originates. mA mAyan ? One Who conceals His identity superbly such that even those who consider themselves very learned, do not figure out His mAyai (ivai avan tuyakkE ? 1.3.9). vaikunthan ? He Who is the Lord of SrI vaikunTham - SrIman nArAyaNan. kunTha in samskRt denotes obstacles to union (kuThi ? gati pragAthe ? obstructing the path). Since bhagavAn removes the obstacles to union with Him, namely the sins of His devotees, He is called vai-kunThan. His Abode is SrI vaikunTham, where the nitya sUri-s are performing constant, eternal and unblemished service to Him. He leaves His Supreme Abode of SrI vaikunTham, and involves Himself in all the above-mentioned actions, just for the sake of redeeming the jIva-s, once again an expression of His limitless sauSIlyam. em perumAn ? He is My Lord and Master. ?em? ? My own. Because of His infinite sauSIlyam, He is the Master to whom AzhvAr feels intensely dedicated to perform kainkaryam without interruption. The best analogy to explain the message of this pASuram is to think of a seed that contains in it all the extensive branches, leaves, fruits, etc. When the tree grows out of the seed, we see all of these branches, leaves, etc. displayed. So also, Lord SrIman nArAyaNa has all the beings of all the Universes inside Him ? including brahmA and rudra who form the trinity along with Him, and all the deva-s, the Rshi-s, and all the other cetanas and a-cetana-s. It is from Him that everything arises ----------------------------------------------------------------- To Continue ================================================================= xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ================================================================= ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/VkWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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