Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama"
The Immaculate Incarnation
The word "Avataara" means "to come down". Though any number of words are
available to denote the Lord's numerous and periodical visits to the mundane
worlds of ours, it is the word Avatara which brings out Emperuman's sterling
quality, that of unbounded Accessibility or Soulabhyam. The Parama Purusha,
reigning supreme at Srivaikunttam in the blissful company of its permanent
inhabitants, has absolutely no need to forsake His eternal abode and come down
to this sorrow-filled land of ours. If He does, it is indicative of His
matchless mercy for us mortals. The Supreme Being, whom even the most
accomplished of saints and the most exalted of deities cannot set eyes upon,
descends voluntarily to the world below, making Himself visible to the jaded
and jaundiced eyes of mere mortals. Not content with this come-down, the Lord
also moves as one among us, sharing our happiness and sorrow, partaking in our
pleasure and pain, rejoicing with us during celebrations and shedding more
tears than us when we are in distress-
"Vyasaneshu manushyaanaam bhrisam bhavati du:khita:
"utsaveshu.piteva paritushyati:"
It is these traits of Emperuman, those of Soulabhyam and Souseelyam, which set
Him apart from other deities and make Him the universal object of admiration
and adoration.
Apart from the three avowed objectives of the Lord in assuming avataras, as
proclaimed in the Gita (viz., protection of the righteous, destruction of the
wicked and re-establishment of Dharma), are there other incidental goals which
Emperuman has not specified? After all, there is no need for Him to descend
from His eternal abode, for achieving the aforesaid objectives-being the
omnipotent being that He is, it is enough for Him to just will them to be so.
For instance, He could have sat in comfort at Srivaikunttam and merely willed
that Gajendra be saved from the crocodile and the job would have been done. Sri
Ramanuja tells us that while this is indeed so, what the Lord's devotees need
is not mere protection from threats, but yearn to see Him in person, to offer
paeans of praise to His face and to shower His holy feet with the choicest of
flowers-all these can not be achieved without the physical presence of the
Lord, which is the principal reason behind His avataras. Thus, beyond anything
else, it is a desire to please the devotee that makes Him come down to our
mundane worlds, which makes the ocean of difference between mere "Traanam"
(protection) and "Paritraanam"(comprehensive and complete protection), as
indicated in the Gita sloka, "Partitraanaaya saadhoonaam..".
However, Sri Koorattazhwan puts an entirely different light on the matter. He
says that the Lord descending to the earth for protecting His devotees and
pleasing them, to enable them to have their blissful eye-fill of Him and to
adore Him in person, is only one aspect of Avataras, and a minor one at that.
The prime purpose, according to Azhwan, is for satisfying the need, not of
devotees, but of the Lord Himself. To the puzzled reader, who wonders what
possible axe of His own the Lord can have to grind in assuming an avatara,
Azhwan reveals the Lord's insatiable need for and delirious delight in seeing,
mingling and interacting with His beloved children down below. More than the
devotee yearns for His company, it is Emperuman who pines away for us, longing
to be one amongst us, hoping against hope that at least His personal visit
would impress us so much that we would forsake the path of perdition that we
insist on treading and step instead on to the path to Paradise. This is the
prime motivation behind the Lord's periodical descents to the earth, according
to Azhwan, which takes the Lord's endearing and enchanting virtue of Soulabhyam
to a new pinnacle.
Let us leave Emperuman and His avataras for the present.
Would it surprise you to know that there is another exalted entity, which too
assumes avataras? Though the Lord's periodical come-downs attract wide
attention and acclaim, the avatara of this other entity is hardly known and
appreciated. Shall we see a little about this little-known avatara?
The Vedas, as we know, are no less than the Lord Himself in glory. They are
without a beginning and an end-"Aadyanta rahitam". They are as unblemished and
eternal as Emperuman. They are as vast and unfathomable as the Lord Himself
is-"Anataa vai Vedaa:". In their pristine purity and lack of mundane origins,
they are akin to the Parabrahmam. We may even hold this stupendous storehouse
of wisdom one step above the Lord, since we come to know of Him and His glory,
only through the Shruti. Even when Emperuman attempts to lift us out of this
mundane morass, He does so only with the aid of the indispensable
Vedas-"Magnaan uddharate lokaan, kaarunyaat Shaastra paaninaa". Though all of
the Shruti is one continuous eulogy to the Supreme Being, nonetheless it is
independent and does not owe its origin to the Lord-all He does is to bestow
the four-headed Brahma with the wonderful wisdom of the Vedas, at the beginning
of each Yugam-"Yo Brahmaanam vidadhaati poorvam, Yo vai Vedaanscha prahinoti
tasmai". Thus the Lord merely propagates the Shruti and is not its author.
Seeing the Lord descending periodically to earth on various missions, the
magnificent Shruti, the venerated Vedas, too decided to take an Avatara. And
this avatara was so glorious and magnificent that till date we keep speaking of
it, despite the event having occurred millennia ago.
To relieve you of further suspense, when the Lord took an avatara in the
Ikshvaaku dynasty as Sri Rama, Vedas too decided to descend to the mortal
worlds. Since the Shruti is nothing but a paean of praise to the Parama
Purusha, once the Supreme Being decided upon an avatara, Vedas too resolved to
be born, to record, chronicle and adulate the Parabrahmam and its activities
during His sojourn on this earth. This is what the paraayana slokas of Srimad
Ramayanam tell us-
"Veda vedye Pare Pumsi jaate Dasarathaatmaje
Veda: Praachetasaat aaseet saakshaat Ramayana aatmana".
Eternally used to singing Emperuman's praises, Vedas refused to be left behind
when the Lord descended to earth as Sri Rama, and were born through Sri Valmiki
as the glorious Ramayanam, so that they could continue their pleasurable
occupation of praising His glory.
When you think of it, there appear to be several similarities between
Emperuman's avatara and the Shruti's.
1 It was after careful consideration that the Lord chose His father
during Ramavatara. To give Himself the best of backgrounds, the Parama Purusha
opted for the Ikshvaaku Vamsam, famed for its sense of justice, fair play,
philanthropy, valour, etc. After considering and discarding several
possibilities, the Lord chose Dasaratha as His father-"Pitaram rochayaamaasa
vriddham Dasaratham nripam".
The Shruti too, while deciding upon an avatara, chose the best possible of
persons to emerge through-a Maharshi of renown, with latent sensitivities and
limitless devotion, which would be conducive to the composition of a great
Epic. Had he not been endowed with great erudition and compassion, Sri Valmiki
would hardly have been able to author the scintillating story of Sri Rama.
2. The very purpose of the Lord's avatara is to rid Himself
of His Supremacy (Paratvam) and to display His endearing trait of Soulabhyam
(Accessibility).
Similarly, Vedas too, in their immaculate original form, are not easily
comprehensible to ordinary mortals, only accomplished Yogis being able to
divine their deep purport. Further, an extensive knowledge of such Shastras
like Meemaamsa, Nyaayam, Seeksha, Niruktam, etc. is required, if one is to have
first-hand knowledge of what the Shruti really says.
However, when the Shruti took the form of Srimad Ramayanam, it became easily
comprehensible to all, set in the simplest of metres (the Anushtup Chhandas)
and couched in the easiest of phrases. In its original, immeasurably extensive
form, it was impossible for mortals to learn the entire Shruti. Srimad
Ramayanam being limited to 24000 slokas, was more within the grasping powers of
humanity.
3. The primary purpose of Emperuman's avataras is to protect
the saintly and to establish Dharma on a firm footing. Destruction of
the wicked is incidental to these principal objectives.
Vedas too, by laying down the guide posts for human conduct, result in Dharma
Samsthaapanam and Saadhu Paritraanam. However, the Vedic avataram is more
compassionate than the Lord's, in the sense that no Dushkrit vinasanam
(annihilation of the unholy) ensued due to the Vedas being born as the
Ramayana.
4 When the Lord assumes an avatara, not even a minute bit of the
glory, magnificence and splendour, that characterise His eternal form at
Srivaikunttam, is diminished. "Aadi am sodi uruvai angu vaitthu ingu piranda
Veda mudalvan" says Sri Nammazhwar, telling us that even during His avataras,
Emperuman retains all the majesty and grandeur of His primordial form.
During its avataram too, the Shruti retained all its pristine purity and
immaculateness while being born as Srimad Ramayanam. None of its magnificent
purport was lost due to the new form and format it assumed. As Sri Valmiki
himself says, Ramayanam incorporates all that is of essence in the
Shruti-"Punyam Vedaischa samhitam".
We have seen the aspects of similarity between the Lord's avataras and that of
the Shruti.
However, are there any pointers to the Vedas having been born as Srimad
Ramayana, or is it just the fertile imagination of a facile poet?
There are indeed many such indications, a plethora of similarities, which
confirm that Srimad Ramayanam is indeed an avataram of the venerated Shruti.
1. The Yajus:Samhita, consisting of the principal and major portion of
the Yajur Vedam, consists of seven Kandams.
We find that Srimad Ramayanam too consists of seven Kandams-Baala Kandam,
Ayodhya Kandam, Aranya Kandam, Kishkindha Kandam, Sundara Kandam, Yuddha Kandam
and the Uttara Kandam.
2. All that the Vedas have to say can be clubbed under five major
heads- (Arttha Panchakam)--Nature of the Parama Purusha, nature of the
individual soul, the strategy for the latter to attain the former, the
impediments that stand in the way of the Jeevatma's liberation and the fruits
of emancipation.
A thorough perusal of the Epic would tell us that Srimad Ramayanam too is all
about these five crucial topics. In fact, the Epic starts with an exhaustive
description of the nature and attributes of the Parabrahmam, as recounted by
Sri Narada to Sri Valmiki. And the other four components are to be found
narrated at appropriate places in the Epic. Thus, Srimad Ramayanam is indeed
Shruti, its contents being described by Swami Desikan as "Shokam tavirkkum
surudi porul".
3. After delineating several strategies for liberation, Vedas (the
Upanishads in particular), glorify Nyaasa Vidya or Saranagati as the best of
paths for emancipation-"Tasmaat Nyaasam eshaam tapasaam atiriktam aahu:".
This concept of Saranagati forms the entire foundation of Srimad Ramayanam-so
much so that the Epic is fondly called the Saranagati Vedam. It was as if the
Vedas took an avatara specifically to highlight the importance of Saranagati as
a sine qua non of Liberation. Several episodes of Saranagati are featured in
the Epic-those of Devas to Sri Mahavishnu, (seeking protection against the
atrocities of Ravana), that of Sri Lakshmana praying Sri Rama that he too be
taken to the forest, that of Sri Bharata to Sri Rama imploring Him to return
and assume the reigns of Ayodhya, that of Dandakaavana Rishis to Sri Rama
seeking protection against Khara, Dooshana and other raakshasas, the surrender
of the hapless crow who offended Piraatti, Sugriva's Saranagati to Sri
Lakshmana, the renowned Saranagati of Sri Vibhishana at the lotus feet of
Chakravarthi Tirumagan, that of Sri Rama Himself addressed to Samudra Raja and
that of the rakshasis of Asoka vanam to Sri Sita.
Thus, from beginning to end, Srimad Ramayanam could be termed a continuous saga
of Saranagatis, setting out the modalities therefor and confirming its efficacy
as an instrument for achieving not only liberation but also other lofty ideals.
In the words of Swami Desikan, "Ippadi aaru kaandatthilum Saranagati dharmame
anjuru aaniyaai kokka pattadu"
4. Vedas, as we know, have functional divisions like the Samhita,
(incorporating the mantras and guidelines for ritualistic worship of the
Ultimate), Braahmanam and Aaranyakam, with the Upanishad forming the fitting
finale or the quintessence of esoteric and philosophic instruction.
Srimad Ramayanam too conforms to this pattern and format--while the rest of
Ramayanam consists of the Samhita and Brahmana portions, the sections dealing
with Saranagati represent the Upanishad part, says Swami Desikan-"Idil abhaya
pradaana prakaranam sarva rahasya saarangalayum veliyitta Upanishad bhaagam".
5. Vedas are intrinsically musical. Music, as we know it now, and the
seven Svaras that form the foundation of all music, emanated from the three
basic Svaras of Udaattam, Anudaattam and Svaritam, that characterise Vedic
recital. The Sama Veda in particular is comprised of divine music which is a
rare pleasure and privilege to hear.
Srimad Ramayanam too was sung, not merely recited, by the young sons of Sri
Rama, we are told. Set to appropriate Ragas and beats ("Tantree laya
samanvitam"), the story of Sri Rama makes an everlasting impression on
listeners, even till date, when sung.
6. Vedas are full of terse exhortations like "Satyam vada" (Be always
truthful) "Dharmam chara" (Always tread the path of virtue),
"Maatru devo bhava", "Pitru devo bhava" "Acharya Devo Bhava" "Athithi Devo
bhava" (Venerate your parents, preceptors and guests as veritable Gods) and so
on, laying down guidelines for good conduct.
Srimad Ramayanam toes the line of the Shruti faithfully, with its emphasis on
honesty even in the face of the worst of adversities, never straying from the
straight and narrow path of Dharma irrespective of provocation, filial and
marital fidelity and so on. In its avataram as Srimad Ramayanam, the Shruti
appears to have abandoned its cryptic and aphoristic pattern of instruction,
preferring to sugar-coat its directives in ways much more palatable to mankind.
7. Not a single word of the Shruti is false or untrue, with the entire
body of Vedas representing the highest of truth.
Sri Valmiki's magnum opus too contains not a grain of untruth, as per the
certification of the venerated four-headed Brahmaa-
"na te vaak anrutaa kaavye kaachit atra bhavishyati"
Thus, whichever way we look at it, Srimad Ramayanam qualifies eminently to be
called an avatara of the venerated Vedas. In fact, Swami Desikan goes to the
extent of saying that even if the four Vedas are placed on one side of the
balance, it would not tilt in their favour, if Srimad Ramayanam is placed on
the other side. This is rich tribute indeed, from the most exalted of sources.
Let me conclude this piece with another quote from Swami Desikan's Abhaya
Pradaana Saaram, confirming that Srimad Ramayanam is indeed an avatara of the
Shruti-"Sri Valmiki Bhagavanaale drishtamaai iruppadoru Saranagati Vedam". The
Acharya says that the Epic has all the admirable traits of Vedas and was "seen"
(not created) by Sri Valmiki. Just as other Veda mantras too existed prior to
their discovery by various Rishis (who are known as "Mantra Drashtas"), Srimad
Ramayanam too was brought into this world by Sri Valmiki, not as his own
creation, but merely as a recital of an existing work, which is without a
beginning and an end.
Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page
http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/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/
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |