DEIVATHIN KURAL # 131 (Vol #4) Dated 14 Jan 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 131 (Vol #4) Dated 14 Jan 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by Periyaval of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from the last para of page number 723 of Vol 4 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
291. Adi Sankara, our AacharyaaL has often spoken about God’s Endowment of Gnaana. Though he was steeped in Adwaitam, he also excelled in spreading Bhakti wherever he went, all over India. He has written many slokas on all the Gods soaked in deep devotion. For example in ‘Soundarya Lahari and Sivananda Lahari’ both basically devotional slokas, he has said that Maya is removed and Moksham is granted by God’s Grace. Even in those works oriented mainly towards Gnaana, he has mentioned in several places the critical role of Easwara Anugraha in attaining Gnaana. The reason for this could be that, as you go on being devoted to God, the end result could well be Gnaana. (KTSV adds:- In introducing Baja Govindam song by Adi Sankara sung by Dr.M.S Subhalaxmi, Rajaji says I Quote, “End of Bhakti is Gnaana and end of Gnaana is Bhakti”.)
292. We do not have to tell people who are in the Bhakti Marga that they can hope to get Gnaana only by doing Gnaana Vichaara and Nidhidyaasana. As they progress in the Bhakti Marga, it will naturally lead to single pointed devotion of the mind. Such a mind will stop playing its tricks and quietly lead you to the source eventually. We do not have to talk about it. Devotion can be and is an end in itself! That is called ‘Ananya Bhakti’ or devotion without a second; which in other words is Adwaita Anubhava! If you have it in your mind that there is Gnaana beyond Bhakti, then you may feel like dropping the devotional activities even before your attaining to maturity of ‘Chitta Aikaagrata’ required to do Gnaana Vichaara! So, thinking about all these things, Bhakti is emphasised first, so as not to create confusion in people’s minds. To be acceptable to the people on the devotional path of the Bhakti Marga, he could have said that Gnaana Siddhi, Moksha and Adwaita Anubhava are all by sanction of Easwara only! We saw the reasons for not mentioning this fact in the Bhashyam for Adwaita Granthas. At the same time, Adi Sankara has not ignored this fact totally also! (One point of clarification: Adi Sankara has written his commentaries on Brhma Sutram, Ten important Upanishads and Gita. These commentaries are known as Bhashyas. Then he has himself authored Adwaita Granthas such as, ‘Viveka ChudaamaNi, Upadesa Saahasri, Aparokcha Anubhuti, Aatma Bodha: and Tatva Bodha:’ together known as PrakaraNa Granthas.)
293. If Adi Sankara had talked about Easwara Anugraha while making the Bhashya to statements made in the Gita such as, “By all means surrender to God the Easwara. By His Grace you will attain to eternal peace”, it would not have been so surprising. But, despite being champion of Adwaita; he has gone out of his way to emphasise the importance of Easwara Anugraha in his PrakaraNa Granthas as well as in such places in the Bhashyas where there is no mention of it in the original. For example, in the 18th Chapter, even before that sloka on, “sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam saraNam vraja”, Sri Krishna Bhagawan says that, “One should never give up one’s assigned duties of Nitya Karma Anushtaana. His Swadharma of daily and periodical duties itself, when he does as an offering of love and devotion to God, he gets the Siddhi! That is, I will tell you how the Saadhak gets the highest attainment of merging into the Parabrhmam itself!” (Gita 18.46 – 50.) That means that a person simply doing his duties without hankering for the immediate gains of such actions gets the maturity of ‘Gnaana Nishta Yogyataa’! He does not say that God does anything like a favour for the devotee. But the devotee becomes deserving of receiving Gnaana. He uses a word, “tat prasaadajaam”, meaning ‘as an endowment’. This is not so mentioned in the original text, to which AachaaryaaL is giving the Bhashyam. But, of his own volition, he is bringing in the idea of God’s Grace doing the needful!
294. Easwara only gives the fruit of our actions, as the organizer, manager and executive. Karma does not give the ‘Phal’, the fruit of our actions, being an inanimate law. This is the belief of the Adwaitins. Poorva Meemaamsakas used to hold the view that Karma itself gives the fruits and that there is no need to bring in the element of Easwara at all! They the Poorva Meemaamsakas were roundly criticised and put in their place by our Aachaaryal Adi Sankara. For all that happens the dispenser of fair justice according to your actions is the job of Easwara as the Chief Executive and Chief Justice rolled in to one! But, his power is within the ambit of the world of Maya only! They do not say that he is the ‘Phala Dhaataa’ even when we are aspiring to get relieved of the strangle hold of Maya. All their contention is that, “Karma Yoga gives Chitta Shuddhi. Then the Jeeva does Gnaana Vichaara. That matures him to become worthy of attainment of Gnaana.” Here our AachaaryaaL is affirming that it is directly as a result of Easwara Anugraha.
295. That to move from Karma Yoga to Gnaana Yoga, we need the Easwara Krupa or sanction, is being mentioned in the last chapter of Gita that is the 18th! The first step for this commences in the 2nd Chapter of Gita. There, having described all the nuts and bolts of Gnaana Vedaanta, for some 26 slokas, He says, “So far I told you about Sankhya and now I will tell you about Yoga!” Normally Sankhya would mean Kapila’s Saankhya Saastra and Yoga would mean, Patanjali’s Raja Yoga. Here Bhagawan Sri Krishna is referring to the Gnaana Marga as Saankhya and Karma Marga as Yoga! But set aside the names and follow the main thrust of my point of view. Here Bhagawan Sri Krishna at the very start of talking about Karma, is saying that “Karma itself cuts asunder all ties. When you do Karma interested in the returns, it enhances the involvement and ties you up in knots! When you simply do your duties not aspiring for the returns, that action itself relieves you from all the ties, while simultaneously proving to be salubrious for the society also. When you do your duties simply for the sake of one’s own clarity of mind and attitude, it cuts all ties! You cut your Karma Knot thus He says, “karma bandam prhaasyasi”!
296. Here too, though not mentioned by Sri Krishna, our AchaaryaaL, so as not to leave it unsaid emphasizes in his Bhashyam to Gita that; “by Easwara Anugraha having attained to Gnaana, cut asunder the ties born of good and bad karmas of dharma and adharma actions!” That is Karma does not give the returns on its own but the fruit of karma is provided by Easwara, our AachaaryaaL says. He uses the phrase, “Easwara prasaada nimitta”, that as a result of God’s Grace, “gnaana praapte:” meaning ‘attainment of enlightenment happens’ he says! So, ‘doing Karma should be considered as a way of attainment of Gnaana, undoubtedly’, says Adi Sankara. Thus starting from sowing the seeds for Karma Yoga, till it takes you to ‘nish kaamya karma’, it is Easwara Anugraha that takes you to across the ocean of Samsaara. There at the end point, for people asking as to how to catch the Aatma by the Buddhi, that is the combination of brains, mind and intellect, He says that, “This will be known to those who get the Guru Prasaadam in themselves”! That is, he says, “labda gurvaatma prasaadaanaam”. Here he says that Guru Prasaadam is the same as Aatma Prasaadam. That means that, by the Grace of the Guru we could catch on to the Aatma. What was Antah KaraNam made up of four different entities of ‘mano – buddhi - ahankaara – chittaani’ of the devotee; gets the right clarity from the AntaHh KaraNam of the Guru, which is the same as Aatma; pointing out His Anugraha! Though there is no mention of Grace of God or Aatma or Guru here in the original, our AachaaryaaL deems it necessary to bring out the special effect and power of Anugraha!
297. Guru is like a prophet of God, as a true representative of His. The root of all Gurus is God Himself. Easwara Himself is the Guru of all Gurus. “sa poorveshaamapi guru:” Easwara Himself comes as the Guru and guides the Jeeva. That is the basis of all our beliefs in our Religion. So Guru Prasaadam is Easwara Prasaada, the God’s Grace!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.