DEIVATHIN KURAL # 10 (of Vol 3) Dated 25 Oct 2008

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 10 (of Vol 3) Dated 25 Oct 2008

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyavaal of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam, over a period of some sixty years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of last century. These have been published in Tamil by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each, as Deivathin Kural. To day we are proceeding from the middle of page number 41, of Vol 3, of the Tamil original, as a continuation of Deivathin Kural # 9 (Vol 3) Dated 23 Oct 2008. )
(Note:- Deivathin Kural e-mails are available at http://advaitham.blogspot.com’ which is being updated every time this e-mail is sent. )
50. Desikan / Desikar, it is said is the name of a person who knows the ins and outs of a 'Desh' or country. Similarly, someone who knows all the ins and outs of the Saastraa-s and guide you through the maze of their intricacies is also given the same name.
51. To name the esoteric act of giving Deekshai by the names of animals or birds such as, Chicken, Fish and Tortoise, is rather funny and odd indeed. But within that is much deeper meaning, not normally known to many in the world! When the Deekshai is effective enough, the Sishya from thence completely changes from leading an inane and stupid existence to a meaningful new life. He literally turns a corner and re-invents himself! It is in this sense, a brahmin is supposed to have a second birth, when he is given the Yagnopaveetam and given Gayatri Mantra and hence known as a 'Dvija'. Dvija means twice born. It is interesting to note that, this Chicken, Fish and Tortoise are all 'Twice Born'.
52. However in one way it is not very appropriate to give the impression as though before he was something else and after Deekshai, the individual is entirely changed. When he was blindly unaware as a agnani and brilliantly aware as a gnani; he was always and ever the same brhmam only. Only the perspective has changed. Inside the shell he was covered by the nescience and so remains inert, as though. Once the covering nescience is removed, then not only does he become intensely aware but liberatingly mobile too; like the bird in the air, fish in the water and tortoise in land and water!
53. In this process of hatching of the egg there are three methods. That is where the Chicken, Fish and Tortoise differ remarkably! What does the mother hen do? It physically sits on the eggs. It may not put all its weight on the eggs but there is complete envelopment of the eggs by the body parts. This is the touching 'sparsa deekshai', by which the Guru breaks the Sishya's nescience, known as 'Kukkuda Deekshai'.
54. The fish delivers its eggs in the water of the river, which will be moving if not flowing. Fish also cannot remain at one place. But she will keep an eye at all times on the eggs. I do not know as to what they say in Zoology or Biology. But our Saastraa-s say that it is the loving look of the mother fish that incubates and causes the eggs to hatch! This is the 'Nayana / Matsya Deekshai'.
55. Now what is the 'Kamata Deekshai'? The mother tortoise comes to the shore of the ocean or river, digs the earth painstakingly with its hands and legs which are not really suitable for such action. Lays the eggs a few inches under ground and goes back into the water. So there is total separation between the mother and the eggs in space. But the mother will be continuously and constantly thinking that, "the eggs may not be ransacked by predators and that they should nicely hatch in time and get back to the water which is their abode!" By the intensity of its thoughts, eggs will hatch and the young ones will find their way to the water. Similar is the 'Manasa Deekshai' of the Guru, known as 'Kamata Deekshai'.
56. Ambal's beauty of the eye is specially praised and her name is derived from that, in three famous Kshetra-s, namely Kanchipuram, Madurai and Kaasi as, Kamaktchi, Meenaktchi and Visalaktchi respectively. Though in all the three places, it is Ambal's glance of the eyes that is adored, they are not all considered as 'Nayana Deekshai'.
57. It is the eyes of Meenaktchi that is compared with the eyes of the fish. 'Meen, Meena, Meenam and Matsya' is fish, in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages. It is the glance of the fish which hatches the eggs and is compared with the Guru's 'Nayana Deekshai'. It is thus Meenaktchi who is the Guru giving 'Matsya Deekshai' by a glance of her eyes.
58. In Soundarya Lahari, it is Kanchi Kamaktchi being described. Adi Sankara is telling Her, who is holding in Her hands, the Baana of sugar cane bow and arrows made of flowers, Paasa the Rope of attachment and Ankusa the instrument of control; to place Her feet which are being reverently held up by the Veda-s, on his head too! Out of extreme kindness She will lightly touch the devotee's head with Her feet and remove his nescience in no time. He says, “...maataha sirasi dayayaa dehi charanou”.
59. Ambal who is known as Visaalaaktchi in Kaasi, is the one who gives the devotee Kamata Deekshai by a mere thought of Hers, as a tortoise does. It is the Ambal who gives all these Deekshai-s and it is Ambal who comes as the Guru in our lives as I said before.
60. Thus there are many methods of giving Gnaana to the Sishya and the paths in which he is made to progress. Though the destination is the same, neither the initiation nor the routes taken are the same or similar. For the one pinnacle of the top of the mountain, there could be many routes. The same Guru may change the method for different Sishya-s depending on his level of maturity! The same Guru may change the direction to the same Sishya at different times, depending on the progress made by the Sishya.
61. Thus there are Guru-s who give Deekshai in Mantra / Tantra / Yoga and in various sampradaya-s of Adwaita, Dwaita and Visishtadwaita or Saiva Siddhanta. Taayumaanavar says that his Guru was someone who was all types of Guru roled into one and finally calls him as, "...moolan marabil varum mouna guruve!" . By 'moolan' he refers to Thiru Moolar who in 'Thirumandiram' covers all the traditional paths and finally ends in Yoga and Gnana Marga-s. There was a Guru parampara which started from Moolar in which there was a Sarama Munivar, who established a Matam in Trichy. In that line there was a Mouna Guru Swami in the 17 century AD. That was the time period of Thayumaanavar. Later this Matam came under Dharmapuri Aadeenam of Saiva Siddhantam.
62. Though Thaayumaanavar in his writings refers to his direct Guru, Mouna Guru, he seems to be addressing the Dakshinamurti from eons past, who is said to have given Deekshai to the four 'Maanaseeka' putra-s of Brhma, namely Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana and Sanatkumara. The remarkable thing about His medium of upadesa is Silence. Thayumaanavar ends many of his poems with, "siragiri vilangavaru dakshina murtiye, chinmayananda guruve".
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.