DEIVATHIN KURAL #197 (Vol #4) Dated 30 May 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL #197 (Vol #4) Dated 30 May 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti 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 second para on page number 1,115 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)
111. Just think of the incident! However much you may be learned, good in administration and however high your status; how crude and uncivilized you must be, to be able to give orders for an innocent passerby to be given ‘ardha chandra upachaaram’ of ‘galta’!? Mahadeva Saastri thought for a flash of a second, “Who is this man? Seems to be rich and high in power and position! Seemingly well educated to give orders in very sophisticated language, that too in Sanskrit! But evidently a half cocked character!” Mahadeva Saastri responded with firmness and literary nicety to put this Deekshidar to instant shame!
112. The following sloka composed impromptu was the response! “soorye pranashte – sasi nihyatdrushte – taaraasu manda – dyutishu prakaasam I mahaandakaare (a)diviraajite hi gadhyaata gopyalpa ruchir – na chitram II” The meaning: ‘soorye pranashte’ = sun is gone; sasini hi adrushte = moon is not yet seen; taaraasu manda dyutishu prakaasam = the stars are dim; mahaandakaare = in this darkness; gadyodaka api = fire flies too; alpa ruchi: = by their meagre light; viraajate = making much of it; na chidram = not surprising!”
113. This under statement by Mahadeva Saastri was enough to tickle Deekshidar to senses. Is it not said in the pro verb that ‘for a good cow the light touch of the branding needle is good enough’? Deekshidar, who was an attained person in many respects, immediately thought of AmbaaL and the situation was crystal clear to him. He realized that the great learned Mahadeva Saastri whom he wished to meet all this time, is the one whom he had insultingly addressed as ‘thongal kaadar’ (the man with hanging ears)! He could also discern that it is the Goddess Alankaareswari to whom the Saastri prays to, is the one who had sent him here to Madurai to Deekshidar’s Ishta Deivam Meenaakshi!
114. Great people will also be great in accepting their faults, once they are aware of it! Deekshidar immediately jumped from the Sivika and ran to Mahadeva Saastri and with apparent love and respect, asked him if he is not the same Mahadeva Saastri whom Alankaareswari Amman had sent to have the darshan of Meenaakshi Amman? By this very question, Saastri also recognised the questioner to be the venerable Deekshidar! As per the wish of AmbaaL both her beloved children could meet mutually lovingly. Had it been us in their shoes we could have had ‘n’ number of reasons to continue nursing feelings of hate and distrust from either side! Deekshidar felt happy about being taught a lesson in Vinayam, just similar to the way KaaLidaasa felt when AmbaaL directed a drop of the nectar from the flower on her ears to be propelled and fall on the plate containing Bhavaboothi’s sloka, causing that side of the balance go down and win; making him feel, “Aho! may sowbhagyam!”
115. Despite being a highly honoured and revered poet, able administrator and the king’s right hand man, despite being roundly snapped at in front of all the town’s people with an impromptu rejoinder by the Saastri; with humility and due respect Deekshidar had accepted his short outburst as avoidably crass action and made amends for it! It just so happens that when such poets and scholars are bitten by the bug of pride and ego; it becomes a lesson for us all in nicety and civility!
116. Pushpadantar (possibly a title meaning that his teeth were like a row of flowers) in ‘Siva Mahimna Stotra’ says ‘vikaaro api slaaghya:’ meaning even oddity is worthy of appreciation! Siva drank the ‘Hala Hala poison’ which made an ultramarine blue gem like appearance on his pure white neck near the thymus! That is how even slightly errant behaviour by greats brings out their real worth and becomes a lesson for us all!
MANGALA AARTI
The Greatness of Maruthi
117. The mind is often compared with the monkey. ‘Kurangu Buddhi’ is the catch phrase! Never concentrating on any one subject, forever flitting from one to the other is the famous character of the Monkey. That is how our human mind also behaves! Our AachaaryaaL says in Sivananda Lahari (sloka 20), ‘hrudaya – kapim atyanta chapalam’! He says, “Parameswara! Catch hold of my mind which is extremely fickle with a rope and earn your livelihood by entertaining people as a handler of Monkys! This is better than begging with a skull as the begging bowl! If you do that, you will also make a good earning and I will also be saved from myself!”
118. Thus when he is having a dig at himself, our AachaaryaaL uses the phrase, ‘hrudaya kapi’. In English also ‘monkey mind’ is an often used phrase! To be without any control forever drifting, flitting and vacillating ‘monkey like’ is the correct comparison for our minds. The ever quite and contained cow and elephant are herbivores. That is nothing much surprising. Whereas the tiger which is constantly restless is a carnivore! Even when hungry the tiger will not eat grass. If ever the tiger eats grass that will be a shock!
119. Aanjaneya Swami’s surprising greatness is in this. Despite being a monkey famous for fickleness, despite being physically very strong, he has controlled his mind without any ‘monkey like behaviour’! Having brought his mind and senses under control, he has completely devoted his entire being in the service of Sri Ramachandra Murthy. That is his greatness. There is one more surprise. With complete control of the vacillating senses and mind, he did not give up all his duties and retire into some forest cave somewhere catching hold of his nose, like any other recluse! Aanjaneya is not like that. He is known as, ‘asaadhya saadhakar’, meaning the one who makes the impossible possible’!
120. He jumped across the ocean, lifted a mountain (Sanjeevi) and flew, destroyed a whole forest (Asoka Vanam) and set fire to a whole township (Lanka Puri)! He never gave up against whatever the odds, was never disheartened or disgruntled; with total focus he could concentrate his attention on Sri Ram’s lotus feet bringing his mind to a standstill; with a body that could run anywhere and everywhere in Sri Ram’s service! What is the fastest? Speed of air, speed of light or is it the speed of mind? In the gross, air is the fastest and in the subtle the mind. Arjuna is complaining in the Bhagawat Gita (Gita 6-34.) that this mind is running helter-skelter and is uncontrollable like the air: “chanchalam hi mana: Krishna!.....vaayoriva sudushkaram’! Bhagawan also has compared the steadiness of a Yogi’s mind to an oil lamp in a windless place, “yataa deepo nivaadasto nengathe sopamaa...” (Gita 6-19.). The word ‘nivaada’ means windless. By the words ‘vaada’ and ‘vaayu’ we mean the same thing, the air or wind.
121. Who is Aanjaneya Swami? He is born a monkey well known for its fickleness. He is the son of Vayu, the God of Air. Air again is famous for instability and dynamic random movements. He is known as Vayu Kumara and Vaataatmaja. Aatmaja means son. “vaataatmajam vaanara – yoota mukhyam sri rama dootam sirasaa namaami”. ‘Yootam’ means a ‘mass of people’. ‘Vaanara – yoota – mukhyam’ means, an officer of the army of monkeys. He has both the gross speed of air and the subtle speed of the mind which he achieves not by the mind but body! “mano – javam maaruta – tulya – vegam jitendriyam buddhi mataam varishtam”.
122. The phrase ‘mano javam’ means having the subtle speed of the mind. Javam means speed. Then, ‘maaruta tulya vegam’ means having the physical speed of air. ‘Maaruta’ means air. The pleasant southerly breeze is known as ‘manda maarutam’. As the son of ‘maarutam’ he is also known as ‘Maruti’. In bhajan they sing ‘veera maaruti, gambeera maruti’. As the mind-son he is ‘manojavar’ and we know that mind is ever vacillating. He is as fast as the air ‘maruta tulya vega’; and the son of air also. Then he is the head or chief of a monkey army! The surprising thing is that despite all this, he is “jitendriyam buddhimataam varishtam”; victorious over the five senses and foremost amongst the intelligentsia. He has won over the senses and so is ‘jitendriya’. Mind being the controller of the senses, ‘jitendriya’ also means that his mind is under control too. That is why he is foremost amongst the intelligentsia, ‘buddhimataam varishta:’! ‘Buddimaan’ itself is a word of praise for being brainy. Then amongst the brainy if you are amongst the first few, you are known as ‘buddhimataam vara’; higher than ‘vara’ is ‘vareeya’ relatively and ‘varishta’ superlatively. Even this is not enough to describe Maruti. There is no place for comparison when we talk about him.
123. Amongst Gnaanis also such words of comparison exist such as, Brhmavid (positive), Brhmavidvara (comparative) and Brhmavidvarishta (superlative). Like that Maruti is Buddimataam Varishta:. More than all this, his greatest value is as ‘Rama Daasa’, the servant of Sri Rama Chandra! He is the foremost amongst all devotees of God! Amongst the brainy he is tops; amongst the physically tough he is the toughest; and then amongst the servants of God he is the best! His most important duty was when he was sent as the messenger of Sri Rama to search and locate Sita and convey the message of encouragement with His Signet Ring! At various times throughout RamayaNa his words of wisdom are worthy of note to be memorised and absorbed! He gave hope and encouragement to Sita and Rama; Life to Lakshmana, counsel to Vibhishana, and saved Bharata from self immolation on completion of 14 years of Sri Rama Vana Vaasa! For all this and for our own hope and redemption, we should all be saying “Sri Rama dootam sirasa namaami” and do Saashtaanga Namaskaar!
“manojavam maaruta – tulya – vegam jitendriyam buddhimataam varishtam I vaataatmajam vaanara – yoota – mukhyam sri rama dootam sirasa namaami II”
(With that we come to an end of Volume 4 of Deivathin Kural. We will start with Volume 5 with effect from 01 June 2011.)
Sambhomahadeva.