Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
The Endless Entity
All things we see in this world have an end. This is a universal law,
applicable to all beings and things. What is created, be it man or material,
surely has an end too, says the Gitacharya-"JAtasya hi dhruvO mrityu:" We may
say that this or that building stands proud, "defying the test of time", but in
reality, nothing can defy the test of Time. You may build with stone or any
other material considered invincible, and may employ the latest construction
techniques. The fact remains that all edifices are susceptible to dilapidation,
decay and destruction. The same applies to human life too, as we see with our
very own eyes day after day. While the length of our sojourn in this world may
differ, none can stay on indefinitely and go we must, some day or other, sooner
or later.
Finiteness can be of three types- Limitation by Time, Limitation by Place and
Limitation by Object.
We have seen above how all beings, sentient and non-sentient, are limited by
Time- that is, they are present at one point of time and not later, when their
lives come to an end. If a person were alive in the last century, he would not
be in the current one. And it is a fair deduction that those who inhabit the
earth now would not be around in the 22nd century.
Limitation by place indicates the inability of a person to be present at more
than one place at a time. If I am present at Coimbatore, ipso facto, I am not
at Chennai, at the same time. We refer here to physical presence and not mental
attendance, for all of us are aware how our minds have no frontiers and can
take us from place to place, country to country, in no time at all. We may thus
be present physically at one place and mentally at another (which happens all
the time in our class rooms and KalakshEpa ghOshtis), but it is impossible for
us to be physically present at more than one place at a time.
The third type of Limitation, that by Object, means that as Jeevatmas, we
occupy one body only at a particular point of time and are not present anywhere
else, during our lifetime. Our spiritual presence is limited to the body we
currently use, and there is no way we can enter or inhabit another piece of
matter. The soul may discard one body and assume another, much in the fashion
of a man casting off a torn shirt in favour of a new one, but it cannot occupy
two abodes simultaneously. Thus all earthly beings are limited by matter.
The three limitations described above appear axiomatic, in no need of any
elaboration, as there is no question of its being otherwise. It would be
contrary to all laws of nature, if it were otherwise. We have not known anyone
transcend these constraints imposed by Time, Place and Object.
However, there IS somebody who is not subject to these curbs and who admits to
no such fetters on His freedom. He is a free bird, who cannot be caged by such
a trivial constraint as Time, being the Cosmic Timekeeper, who cannot be
subjected to restrictions of place or country, nor is constricted by Visa
formalities, and has no restriction regarding inhabiting a single shareeram at
a time. It is none other than the Lord, who refuses to be subjected to any
restraint whatsoever. The TaittirIyOpanishad testifies to this by extolling Him
as "ananta" ("Satyam, GnAnam, anantam Brahma").
When the Shruti calls Him "ananta"(The Endless), it attributes to Him
endlessness in respect of Time, Place and Object-without KAla paricchEdam, DEsa
paricchEdam and Vasthu paricchEdam.
If we take up KAla paricchEdam first, we find that He has been around all the
time. In fact, He was there when nothing else was there ("SadEva Somya idam
agra Aseet"). He is the oldest inhabitant of all Creation and has been there as
Creator, Protector and Destroyer, watching with amusement and pity, countless
billions being born, live their lives in the erratic fashion common to all
humanity, and pass away when their time was up, only to be recreated. He has
been witness too to some of them making heroic efforts to throw off their
shackles and attain emancipation, to be welcomed by Him to His own abode with
open arms. As He is not created, He is not susceptible to an end too, and is
forever. He is the Lord of the past, present and the future ("Bhoota bhavya
bhavannAtha:") and is without a beginning and end ("Adi Madhya anta rahitha:",
"anAdi"). He was there when Brahma, the creator and Rudra the destroyer, were
yet to be born ("EkO ha vai Narayana aseet, na Brahma na IsAna:"). He is
"ajAyamAna:", the one without birth and "nitya:", the ever present. Though
these attributes of "ajatvam" and "nityatvam" are shared by the individual soul
too, the Jeevatma is unaware of its own permanence and believes itself to be
finite. Hence we may say that it is only the Lord who is infinite and knows it
too.
As far as Limitation by Place goes, the Lord simply cannot be constrained to a
single place or more, because He is omnipresent. "VisatIti Vishnu:"-the Lord
pervades everywhere and is present everywhere "Sa bhoomim visvatO vritthvA"
adds the Purusha Sukta. He is thus present at all places at all times,
demonstrating His DEsa paricchEda rAhityam. He is a "Vibhu", with all-pervading
attributes.
"sarvagatO Vishnu:" says the Vishnu Purana, attesting to His omnipresence. Not
only He but His Consort too is omnipresent, according to the same Purana-"Yata
sarvagatO VishNu: tataivEyam dvijOtthama!".
To a layman, it is clear that this should be so. If the Lord is omnipresent and
Piratti is always with Him without a second's separation ("nityA Eva Esha
JaganmAtA VishnO: SrI anapayinI"-Shri Vishnu Purana again), then Piratti too
must be a "Vibhu". If this were not so, there would be some places where only
the Lord would be present and not SrI, which runs counter to their
inseparability. Thus, both the Lord and Piratti are unlimited by place too,
apart from both being timeless. While the Jeevatma shares the attribute of
timelessness, it is however limited by place.
We are left then with Limitation by Object. Here too, the Lord scores, for He
is present in all objects and beings, sentient and non-sentient, past, present
and future. He resides in all beings as their inner dweller or antaryAmi,
guiding them through the jungle of samsara. He pervades all things live and
otherwise and fills them with His presence. "antar bahischa tat sarvam vyApya
Narayana: stittha:" says the Narayana anuvAka, attesting to His presence in all
that exists. "udal misai uyir ena karandu engum paranduLan" paraphrases Sri
Nammazhwar. He enters all beings and objects and directs them from inside-
anta: pravishta: ShAstA janAnAm sarvAtmA" says the Aranyakam. And when He
resides in the Atma of every being as the antaryAmI, He does so with His
Consort, for, as shown above, She is inseparable from Him always, whatever form
He assumes.
All these demonstrate beyond doubt that the Lord is indeed infinite, beyond any
limitations of time, place or object. He is the unique soul, the Paramatma, who
can be everywhere at the same time and at all times and in every object,
irrespective of size or shape.
However, when we look really closely at the matter, the Lord is not so free as
He would have us believe. Like others, He too is indeed subject to fetters.
These may not relate to time, place or object, but they are fetters
nonetheless. Love, untainted by expectations and unalloyed Devotion, are two
bonds He has been known to be susceptible to. He has proved Himself to be
vulnerable to being immobilised by the bonds of Bhakti. This is the person who
permitted Himself to be tied-up hand and foot to the grindstone by an irate
cowherdess, with a flimsy rope ("KaNNinuN siru thAmbinAl kattuNNa paNNiya
perumAyan"). This is indeed paradoxical-the Lord of all the Universe, who
destroys the bondage of all those who think of Him, the all-powerful Emperuman
who annihilates asurAs without effort, the Supreme Being without a beginning
and an end, bigger than the biggest and subtler than the most subtle- it is
this Lord who was tied up by a mere GOpa sthree. What made this possible was
the boundless maternal affection showered on Him by the cowherdess. Watching
with amusement her strenuous efforts to bind Him with an inadequate rope, He
took pity on her when her endeavours proved tiring and impossible (It is no
easy job to truss up the Parabrahmam) and let Himself be immobilised ("kattuNNa
paNNiya") at last. The synthetic sorrow on His bewitching countenance, the
beginnings of a sob that emanated from His beautiful throat, the look of abject
vulnerability that His eyes displayed-all these appear to be the height of
Soulabhyam to Sri Nammazhwar, who marvels, "etthiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu
Engiya eLivE".
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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