DEIVATHIN KURAL #149 (Vol #4) Dated 19 Feb 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #149 (Vol #4) Dated 19 Feb 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 middle of page number 831 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)
A DESCRIPTION OF SUCH PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD ADWAITA ANUBHAVA
442. That Easwara gives the Adwaita Anubhuti and that Jeeva receives it, does not have to be displayed as though in hoarding! Without making a show of it, as the Jeeva matures, his ripe mind can be made to soak itself in Aatma Vichara at the end of which there can be a flash of lightning erasing his mind and self consciousness, with Aatma the only shining effulgence in balance! Many great Mahatmas have thus meditated on Gnaana Vichaara and ruminated on the Maha Vaakyaas of the Vedas (which essentially talk of the oneness of Jeeva and Brhma and the World), from which they have obtained the experience beyond the mind and expression. Easwara has not only hidden His role in the world affairs, but also in finally granting the relief of Mukti to the Jeeva.
443. When I say that He hides His role playing, what I mean is that He hides His SaguNa role playing, mostly. We have seen earlier that the SaguNa Easwara is not His real self but underneath, He is the NirguNa Aatma. So, the Atma Anubhava comes over a Jeeva and slowly but surely encompasses this Jeeva into itself irrevocably, that there is no more separate Jeeva left! How does it matter whether what is left is SaguNa Brhmam or NirguNa, Niraakaara, Nishkriya Parabrhmam or whatever! As reiterated often, so as to avoid the idea of duality in Gnaana Marga, the emphatic role of Easwara is not mentioned but hidden. As the disguise of Jeeva is removed, Easwara also removes His and sanctions the dissolution of otherness into oneness.
444. So, many such realised souls when asked to explain as to how they got the Adwaita Anubhava tell us, “We did put in our effort in the Gnaana Marga as instructed by our Guru. One day this mind just blanked out and we had the Swanubhuthi, that is the realisation of the Self!” If you now ask me as to why I am talking about Easwara’s role in sanctioning the Anubhuti, when none of those who have had that unique experience have mentioned it, then my answer is only this. “It never happens that one day Easwara comes before you in all his dress up and paraphernalia with a name plate on his chest declaring Him to be Mr. Easwara Esquire. Then if you expect that He will give you a packet of gift, saying ‘here is Gnaanam for you’; you are sadly mistaken!” Easwara underplaying His SaguNa role, simply sanctions the Anubhava after which they are seen to be completely devoid of any sense of ego or pride without an iota of being different. We will find plenty of uniqueness in them as they are unlike any of the millions of other characters that we come across in our lifetimes! (KTSV adds: Even between them you may not easily notice the oneness as no Gnaani is like any other of his genre! RamaNa is not like Sai Baba or Amirtananda Mayi Mata or Thaayum Aanavar or VaLLalaar and so on. But, if you carefully analyse their message, you come to understand the background undercurrent of the Oneness of Adwaita!)
445. In the case of certain others He has come into their lives as the Guru who gave them the Gnaana Upadesa and led them holding their hands in theirs to Gnaana as friend, guide and philosopher. To certain other devotees deeply merged in Bhakti, He has whisked them in a flood of Aatma Aananda Anubhuti! AruNagiri Nathar who has written the Thiruppugazh has expressed this experience in Kandar Anubhuti very clearly, repeatedly!
446. “That thief told me to ‘keep quiet and do not talk!’ Immediately everything just disappeared! Vow! What is this miracle?” “summaa iru sol – ara enralume Amma poruL onrum arindilane!” That same thief, who whisked away VaLLi, also took away his Jeevatvam, of being a separate human being and everything of Dwaitam and gave him the Adwaita Anubhuti! In another place AruNagiri Nathar says more clearly “yaan aagiya ennai vizhungi, verum taanaai nilai ninradu tarparame”. He says, “That Param devoured me and stood all by itself!” In yet another place, he says, “tannan tani ninradu taan ariya innam oruvarku isaivippaduo?” This means that, “having stood all alone as the very existence who can ever be considered as the other and who can be told about it?”
447. MaNikka Vaachagar similarly says that Easwara converted him into Sivam and absorbed him unto Himself! He says, “sivam aakki enai aanda”. There is a subtle difference in the meaning in saying, ‘sivan and sivam’. You cannot become ‘sivan’ as He is the Easwara, the ‘SaguNa Brhmam’, which nobody can become. But we can be absorbed in the ‘NirguNa Brhmam of Sivam’! This we have seen and understood before. In Thiru Vaachagam, in another place MaNikka Vaachagar causes Parameswara to stand before him and questions Him, “Who amongst the two of us is smarter? You gave your eternal form of everlasting bliss to me and in turn You got me, this good for nothing character! What a bargain I say!” He is talking about Easwara giving him indivisible, eternal bliss of Adwaita Anubhuti and with his tongue in cheek, in jest says that in return, Siva got this MaNikka Vaachagar! AruNagiri Nathar calls Him a thief and MaNikka Vaachagar says that He is not being very clever! This is poetic licence with God!
448. Nammaazhvaar similarly says that the Paramaatma having become the Jeevaatma gives Himself to the Jeevaatma and later makes the latter become His own self: “yaane neeyaagi ennai aLiththaane”! At the end of ‘Thiru Vaay Mozhi’, in talking completely in the Adwaitic vein says, the speed with which a drop of water falling on a red hot iron will be sucked up in no time, you have forcefully swallowed me! He says, “theera irumbunda neeradu pola ennaaruyirai aarapparuga”!
449. Similarly Mookar who had written the Kamaakshi Panchasati says that, “with SaguNa Upaasana, Ambal has serially step by step formed the order in which the NirguNa Upaasana has to be done to reach the pinnacle of Moksham!” His words I Quote: “sat kruta desika charaNaa: sabhija – nirbhija – yoga – nishreNyaa I apavarga – souda – valabheem aarohant – yamba ke(a) pi tava krupayaa II” Elsewhere in the same sloka he says that, “once you get Her sidelong glance, what miracle is in store for you! For such people, home and forest are one; friend and foe are one; a sliver of a piece of mud pot and the lips of a young lass are one; their perspective becomes uniformly equitable!” Let me Quote: “siva siva pasyanti samam Sri Kamakshi katatchitaa: purushaa: I vipinam bhavanam amitram mitram loshtam cha yuvati bimbhoshtam II”
450. We had seen earlier as to how Sekkizhaar talks of the devotees of Siva having such equitable perspective, did not wish to have even Adwaita Moksham as they ‘loved to love Siva’! (Refer ibid para 404 of Deivathin Kural # 145 of 11 Feb 2011.) On the other end of the spectrum is Appayya Deekshidar who was of the opinion that the very concept of Adwaitam is Moksham, as there is nothing more to be obtained or realized! While singing the praise of Parameswara he says that He is so easily pleased that, we need not have to go in for very detailed procedures and costly arrangements. He tells Siva, “the devotee can get the Empire of Moksha just by plucking a few road side flowers such as ‘Erukkan and Thumbai’ and offering them to You that is enough!”
451. Samarta Ramdas says that Sri Ramachandra Murthy grants Adwaita Moksha! Thus these Adwaitins have all claimed uniformly that their own Ishta Devata, whosoever that may be, had the power to grant Adwaita Anubhava Siddhi! Our AachaaryaaL who adored every Devata with the vision that they were all representing one and the same idea of Adwaita, while singing their praise would not have left it unmentioned somewhere or the other in any of those slokas, about their granting the Adwaita Moksha!
452. Now let us say that your question is on the following lines, as given hereinafter! “OK. Swamiji! You talked about those Adwitins who followed the path of Karma and Bhakti initially. You also insisted that after having done all the Karma required to be done and after having progressed far in the Path of Devotion; then and then only one can go to the Gnaana Marga and do Adwaita Vichaara! But when we look at the life history of many of the Gnaanis, it is seen that many of them have not done much in the Paths of Karma and Bhakti and seem to have gone directly to the Path of Gnaana! Some others have been deeply involved in world affairs as house holders or as kings or administrators or business people and seem to have suddenly turned a corner and pronto, they have suddenly advanced far on the Path of Gnaana! How is that?” You will have to wait for the next issue of Deivathin Kural for an answer!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.