DEIVATHIN KURAL #154 (Vol #4) Dated 01 Mar 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #154 (Vol #4) Dated 01 Mar 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 on page number 854 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)
490. When did Sri Krishna say, “sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam saraNam vraja”? At the end of the Bhagawat Gita, it is the 66th Sloka in Chapter 18, just last but the 12th Sloka of whole lot of 700 Slokas! He did not say that at the very start of his advice. His advices cover the whole spectrum of the aims of life namely, Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha; the life to be lived for Artha and Kaama with the primary stipulation of Dharma and the last aim of Moksha to be reached by the paths of Karma, Bhakti and Gnaana. When Arjuna was ready to give up his duty of Kshatriya Dharma of fighting Adharma and claimed that he is going to take up Sannyaasa, Sri Krishna told him that his behaviour was that of a man who was not courageous but scared! He strongly advised him to do his Swa Dharma of the Soldier’s caste to which he was born. Having given all the necessary advices, and raised Arjuna to the highest level of understanding and after having given him the Viswa Roopa Darsana, towards the very end, He is telling Arjuna, “Leave all Dharmas and surrender unto me!”
491. That is exactly how, the Adwaita Saastraas too, having made you an Uttama Adhikaari, worthy of receiving the ultimate Upadesa, tell you to give up even Dharma, as it is an entity in relation to Adharma! Even then the advice is not that dharma is to be given up in all our actions; it is the mentality which is constantly thinking of the returns from our actions which is to be given up. For all the people who are not yet Uttama Adhikaaris, the prescription by the Doctors of Dharma Saastra from Manu onwards, including the Doctors who are Specialists in Aatma Saastra too is all mainly Dharma!
492. While writing his comments for this in his Bhashyam, Adi Sankara has taken special care so that it may not be misunderstood as applicable to all and sundry. He says, “Here the intention of Sri Krishna is that all actions may be set aside. When He says ‘sarva dharmaan parityajya’ He means that all Adharma may also be set aside!” Having said so, Adi Sankara also establishes on the authority of the Vedas that for most of the aspirants, it is important that they give up all sinful actions! Here he quotes Katopanishad 1-2-24; that a man who has not given up sinful behaviour can never hope to attain to Aatma Gnaana by the Highway of Pragnaanam! This is a common ground rule for all.
493. It is only later when you have advanced far ahead even Dharmam has to be given up. That is, one has to rise above the mental cognition of differentiation between Dharma and Adharma for which he quotes from the Shanti Parva of Maha Bharatha, “tyaja dharmam Adharmam cha”. (Maha Bharatha is considered as the fifth Veda, next only to the four Vedas as a book of authority.) This so that we may avoid falling in to a trap set up by the mind which is likely to say, “Very Good. Bhagwan Sri Krishna Himself has said, ‘sarva dharmaan parityajya’! We can happily give up all these restrictions on ourselves and do as we please!” (Saying this PeriyavaaL laughed resulting in the whole of the audience joining in the laughter for some time!) First leave all Adharma of sinful activities. Having been successful in that, let us learn as to how to go about giving up Dharma!
494. First Adharma is to be given up. With that as given in Karma Meemaamsa “ataato dharma jignyaasaa”, we have to follow the directions of Dharma with understanding and sincerity; then stop looking for the returns out of doing Dharma and Adharma activities; then as given in Uttara Meemaamsa pay complete attention to absorb the meaning of Brhma Jignyaasaa by surrendering our mind without the thought that “I am doing all these wonderful things”; surrender our total awareness and consciousness; and as part of that process give up even a trace of the thought of the difference between Dharma and Adharma! This is what can be interpreted to be the meaning of what Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “sarva dharmaan parityajya maam ekam saraNam vraja”! In the end is the state of equality of vision known as ‘sama drushti’, of not even recognising the difference between Dharma and Adharma just happens. To say that through Adwaitam there can be harm to Dharma, is based on not understanding the dynamics of the whole process as explained above!
495. First we have to move from our predisposition of attraction to the ‘proverbial forbidden apple’ to a strong adherence to righteousness; then from there to the state beyond even that! There can be no doubt in this whatsoever. Looking at the Gnaanis and those who get attracted to the Gnaana Marga as a follow up of ‘retained memories of past life’; others, if they get attracted towards Aatma Vichaara out of whims and fancies with fondness for shortcuts, it will only lead to chaos and calumny. A bird may know the art flying even as it comes out of the egg shell. If a worm tries to copy that, it will fall on its face. It has to go through the life cycle of larva and pupa before it can be transformed to a butterfly! There may be some who are able to still the mind with minimum efforts because of past Samskaaraas. All of us cannot adopt their methods.
496. Nowadays, there is just too much talk about philosophy and religion. Anybody as lecturers and professors with some degrees and doctorates, with may be some books authored by them in English, go about talking on Vedaanta. If you probe and see if any of them are Gnaanis, we will have to keep searching forever! As most people are getting grounded in westernised education, there is a mass following for these people too. Then they give Upadesa for others to follow that, whatever little bit of attachments that may be there left in the society for Saastraas and Sampradaaya (tradition) are all evaporating! I am saying all this because, instead of going through the process to the extent possible, there are more moving in droves towards a quick fix and fast food! My main concern is about the fact that even some innocent bystanders who otherwise would have gone by the acceptably normal route are being led astray! As though we do not have enough trouble with other religions, irreligious reformers and agnostics; we now have to face more trouble from the so called ‘Vedaantists’! That is my head ache these days. I am not telling all this to find fault with others, but to obviate avoidable faults. Dharmam with the connected Karmam and Bhakti Upaasanaa is the route to the destinations of Dhyana and Gnaana; which no short cut can fetch us to!
497. Dharmam and Universal Love. Gnaanis who had crossed the dichotomy of Dharma and Adharma have still kept their behaviour in an impeccable morally correct way of Dharma only. Though they had personally gone beyond good and bad, from the point of view of the world they have been excellent specimens of humaneness and kindness beyond compare! What Sri Krishna says in Bhagawat Gita 5.25 and 5.29; they have been, “sarva bhoota hite rataa:”, ‘as people who revelled in the welfare of all living things’; and “suhrudam sarva bhootaanaam gnyaatvaa maam”, ‘having known me they had pure love towards all living beings’; is word for word applicable to those Gnaanis that we have been talking about!
498. There is nobody to beat the Gnaanis in morality coupled with universal love. “Yes, love is a factor of Dwaitam, directed towards another human being or living thing. We know that the whole world is part of the scenery of Maya. How does it matter, whether there is Dharmam or Adharmam? If you really think about it, people in the world are as much part of the imaginary existence of Maya only. So why bother about whether they behave within the parameters of Dharma or not? Why should I care whether they come up the right way or go down the wrong way? What for should I care to help them? Even such help is only Maya!” With such thinking our AachaaryaaL Adi Sankara could have happily spent his 32 years of life, blissfully as ‘Aatmaaraama’, without a care in the world, is it not so? Instead, he and many others like him have persevered like the sugar cane being crushed through the mill for the sake of the common man!
499. Talking about Adi Sankara, can you give your mind to how much he packed in his short life? I wonder as to how many miles of walking must have been involved in his visit to every nook and corner of this country, visiting every village and hamlet from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and back, covering the western, central and eastern parts of India too; that too those days when we did not even have the road ways, let alone railways or any other facilities; through rain and snow, forests and deserts; debating and defeating so many opponents of other beliefs, talking to the common man in so many languages, in addition to writing all those slokas and poems dripping with devotion; rejuvenating, repairing, reconstructing, re-establishing the procedural paddatis in so many temples including installing of yantras with mantra (like the Bhakti Chakra in Krishna temple in Guruvayoor and the Lakshmi Chakra in the Balaji Temple in Thiruppati). I can never do justice to his super human achievements in his short life!
500. Most importantly, the point I am making is that, Adwaitam does not encourage doing anything against the righteousness of Dharma. Understanding of Maya does not make you a good-for-nothing nincompoop! There is a mistaken belief that due the wide prevalence of the Maya Doctrine, Indians have become incapable of effective leadership and action! In the world of Action, Adi Sankara’s life history is enough proof of what such Gnaanis are capable of!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.