DEIVATHIN KURAL # 13 (Vol # 5) Dated 25 Jun 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 13 (Vol # 5) Dated 25 Jun 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 middle of page No 80 of Vol 5 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)
KaLabam
127. In the sloka we have seen in the previous few e-mails, as the Mangala Sloka of Sita – RavaNa Samvaada Jhari, PiLLaiyaar’s name is not mentioned. There is only a rhyme of ‘kalayatu kalabo’. (In Sanskrit, the difference between ‘la and La’ is not made much of. The pronunciation of the letter changes depending on the letters preceding and following. (Here in the English translation we are using the two letters to emphasise the differentiation in pronunciation.) Anyhow, ‘KaLabam’ is a baby elephant. This baby elephant which achieves great end result in fun, simply as though it is only in the act of a prank. Instead of being called by names such as Vigneshwara or GaNesa, that would indicate it’s apparent divinity; He seems to be fond of pet names for Himself. So the poet has preferred to use the word ‘KaLabam’. Similarly Avvaiyar starts her ‘Agaval’ with the words, “seedak kaLabach senthaamarai poom paadach chilambu”. But here this underlined ‘kaLaba’ does not mean a baby elephant. In PiLLaiyar’s feet a mixed paste of saffron, sandal and camphor has been applied. This anointment is mentioned as a ‘kaLabam’ in the ‘Vinayagar Agaval’.
128. Here in the Vinayagar Agaval, the poet Avvaiyar’s intention is to pray to Ganesha as the very form of the Ultimate Adwaita Gnaana Murthy. So, she could not talk of PiLLaiyar as a ‘Baala Leela Raaman’ or a baby elephant! She does give him the exalted names of ‘arpudam ninra karpagak kaLiru’ and ‘vittaga vinaayaka’, since this particular work was meant to give us the secrets of the Yoga Saastra! So she found it necessary to use suitable serious names than child – like names. But she also must have felt the necessity to play with this baby elephant, since she is the eternal grandmother who has addressed all her works to the infants and toddlers of the world! I hope you know that she in her youth prayed to this very Lord GaNesha and asked for old age as a gift so as to obviate any possibility of being way laid into pitfalls of teenage and middle age! So she had to mention the children’s favourite ‘the baby elephant’ as ‘seedak kaLaba’, with the idea possibly of letting those who do understand, may do so!
129. Take it Easy! He is the God to whom all celestials pray to for removal of all obstacles and impediments in their way. Those Deities who are at the pinnacle of their order, within themselves whether they agree or disagree; when it concerns their wishes and powers to sanction the devotees’ wishes; it is this Vigneshwara who has to be prayed to! Let us also pray to Him and by His Grace be devoid of all problems and be happy. (KTSV adds: That reminds me of an endearing experience that I had with my second son Anandji, when he was just seven or eight years of age! This incident happened in Hyderabad, AP. I was annoyed with something, I do not remember with what! Seeing his father in an angry mood this toddler sidles up to me and says in his lisping voice, “Daddy! Light le le!” In Hindi that means, ‘take it easy’. It was simply a Hyderabadi slang mixing English and Urdu. [He had started speaking as a baby only in Lucknow in North India and that too not in his mother tongue of Tamil but in Hindi!] I was flabbergasted at this affront by this youngster! I said, “What do you mean?” He said again, “Wohi to bolaa naa, Daddy! Light le le!” For a moment I paused and a smile came on my countenance! If only we stop being overly serious and take life in a lighter vein, many of our problems will be solved, before they become problems!)
130. The biggest stumbling block is our own minds. Some Kaamam, some fear or expectations such as – ‘this should happen like this’ – ‘hope it happens so’ – ‘but you never know’ – ‘but this man is going to spoil all my fun’ – and so on. Almost all the stress and strain of life are 20% real and 80% self created and unreal! Our own mind itself is the biggest obstacle in our path of happiness. By praying to Vigneshwara, let us also become as innocent as the children and take the life in a lighter vein with instant laughter, never taking life too seriously, being able to look at the brighter side under all situations! Instead of regretting the past and fearing the future, let us become more efficient in the present. The absence of bickering and imagined fears is the secret of a child’s happiness. Though he is a heavy weight as the baby elephant, he is devoid of the weight of mind and heaviness of heart! Let us pray to him to make us like Him!
131. Worries and regrets are not the only weight we have, our sense of our own greatness, pride and infallibility is another great cause for our stress and strain. This worry is the weight of sadness whereas pride is the weight of Ahankaaram. In the case of the first we are at least aware of the need to avoid that. In the case of Ahankaara, we are not even aware of the need to control our pride. So we increase the pressure on ourselves. Just carefully listen to others when they complain about any situation. There will be a whole lot of statements such as, “Do you know what all I have done, I have done this and this, for her (or him) and what returns have I got? Very bad, there is no sense of gratitude in this world at all!” When anyone does a mistake, we are tempted to say, “You know what I would have done in such circumstance”, or words to that effect. By this Ahankaara, we have tied a huge heavy rock to our own neck that is pulling us down at all times, to our own doom! Even a notional progress in the paths of Bhakti and Gnaana will reveal that ‘Kartrutvam’ that is the ‘sense of having done so much’, is the heaviest load that we are all the time belaboured with.
132. What is PiLLaiyar’s attitude, who is praised and cherished by all the Devas, doing the important job of removing the impediments in their paths? Is he making a big issue of it? Like a child he is just playing with the crescent moon on his Daddy’s head, presenting himself as a small baby as though innocently unaware of his greatness! Though big and heavy for appearances, in truth he is as light as the delicate threads of the lotus stem, forever happy and playful. Let that child God enable us to sail smooth in the voyage of our lives. One great man had called him ‘sarva artha prati paadaneika chatura:’ and another great man had said that he is capable of giving what we need that we may not have even fully thought of and not yet formed in to words! Such a loveable baby God PiLLaiyar let Him take care of us by teaching us to take life lightly and sportingly!
Sambhomahadeva.