DEIVATHIN KURAL # 53 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Sept 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 53 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Sept 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 page No 322 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that here in 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)
60. Before Krishna Avatara, from Matsya Avatara (as a fish) up to Rama there had been seven Avataras. Balarama being a brother and contemporary of Krishna, I stopped with Rama. None of them were meant for advising people about Pravrutti and Nivrutti paths. Though there might have been some advises in bits and pieces, the purpose of the Avatara were not meant for that. Because till then the situations existing did not require that God should take an Avatara purely for such purposes of giving Upadesa for the common folk. Surya, Manu, Ikshvaku, his subsequent sons and grandsons were going on getting advised (as to how to do their job of governance while maintaining a tight leash on their own behaviour for the citizens to emulate) as said by Krishna, quite systematically, continuously and traditionally, from father to son or Guru to Sishya, satisfactorily.
61. The common folk were generally observing the Do’s and Don’ts of Dharma Saastraas, reasonably well. In those times, the purpose of Avataras used to be for sorting out some of these Asuras who became intolerably interfering with the common man’s righteous living. It is their despotic behaviour necessitating the direct intervention by God, the cause of Avataras. Once the purpose of these Avataras had been achieved, life went on as before on even keel. Without the Avataras having to take up the role of a Guru, sufficient Upadesa were available through Mahatmas’, Saints and Rishis at various times and people were proceeding on Pravrutti or Nivrutti paths depending on individual maturity and preferences.
62. Just to make the value of Gnaana known to people though, once in a while God came amongst the people of this world as Dutta or Hamsa Avataras, but he did not have use all his powers for this. Only when things go very bad, we need to use all the powers to re-establish the status quo, isn’t it? That is why, to sort out the powerful Asuras and Raakshasaas, the Avataras of God are counted as ‘Dasa Avataras’. Otherwise there have been many ‘Amsa Avataras’ (with a fraction of God’s might) such as, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat Kumara and Sanatana, Kapila, Dutta, Vyasa and such. Though the whole world is permeated by God’s presence and He is the ‘Antar Yami’ in all animate and inanimate entities of existence. There are said to be 24 ‘Amsa Avataras’, of god which include those meant for ‘Gnaana Upadesa’ ones, as well as others including Dhanvantari and Mohini Avataras.
63. What happened after Ramavatara and before Krishnavatara was that, instead of being separately as a type of beings as Asuraas. Many human beings started behaving like the Asuraas. Kamsa, Jarasanda and Kouravaas; were all human beings only behaving horrendously with Aasuric traits. Parasurama too started with sorting out an ill behaved family of kings only. Then he went on a binge of vendetta of a killing spree, doing away with all Kshatriya kings and finally lost to Sri Rama. It was in Krishna’s time that many Kings started misbehaving. There were also Asuras such as Narakasura, Bakasura and BaaNaasura. But more atrocious was the behaviour of many kings spoiling the normal life of the general public. Despite all that, the majority of people were still Dharmic and abiding with the rules of the Saastraas. As I quoted Krishna in Gita, there were many who were following the Karma more for the resultant benefits, whom Krishna called the ‘Kaamaatmaas’ and hypocrites quoting the Vedas, without understanding and comprehension. It was as though the whole society was getting infected, before the disease became endemic. So, Krishna giving the ‘Gitopadesa’ to Arjuna covering all aspects of Pravrutti and Nivrutti paths was in the form of preventive vaccination.
64. Still, we cannot say that his Avatara was only for this purpose. His Avatara is called ‘Poorna Avatara’, covering all aspects of the whole noble values of life with the full force of his powers of Godhood! Bhagawatam says that the Bhumadevi (Earth as a Goddess), went and complained to Brhma about the intolerable behaviour of Asuraas in the form of rulers of the lands. Brhma went to Mahavishnu with Bhumadevi and all the Devas, seeking his benign interference, in response to which Mahavishnu came down to Mother Earth as the Krishna Avatara.
65. Look at what all he did during the Krishna Avatara! He sorted out many Asuras in the form of Kings, thereby reducing the heavy load of anarchy and tyranny on earth. He gave the right advices for both involved extroversion and detached introversion on various occasions as well as in the Gita. Then he did whatever can be done in an exemplary manner as a child, youth, son, disciple, friend, lover, ruler, warrior, wrestler, Guru and what not as a human being as well as a God! As a child he was a loveable pest and jester, stealing the butter from the shepherd women’s households, that nothing can ever be hidden from him. Playfully he kills so many Asuras like Bakasura and Sakatasura. As he comes across the girls carrying water from the river in mud pots, he shoots sling shots at them and breaks the pots as well as their hearts. As a child he puts mud in his mouth and when his mother asks him to open the mouth, he displays a video show of the whole universe! When the girls are bathing in the river or pond, quietly he steals on them and whisks away their clothes. Then he does ‘Raasa Kreeda’ with them, lifts up the Govardhana Mountain like an umbrella against pouring rains and dances on the hood of the poisonous snake KaaLinga.
66. He goes as a carrier of messages, works as a charioteer, showers his grace on devotees, and endows enormous wealth and affluence on Kuchela for old tome friendship sake! When Duschsana tries to unrobe Droupadi in the royal assembly and she mentally resigns to Krishna, the sarees start flowing endlessly, making a fool of Duschasana’s efforts. In all that he did in that Avatara, advising Arjuna on the battle field was only one of the important activities amongst many! That too he opened his mouth as a Gnaana AachaaryaaL only after a major portion of his life as a human being was over. Towards the end of his sojourn in this world as a mortal human being, he gave Upadesa to another devotee of his Uddhava, known as Uddhava Gita. The first one was named after the Guru, the Adviser as Bhagawat Gita. The second one was named after the disciple as Uddhava Gita!
67. Start of Kali Yuga and Later. Kali Yuga had been ushered in slightly before Krishna’s dropping of his mortal coil. So that there may not be an immediate collapse of all righteousness, decency, integrity, truthfulness and moral values, whatever Krishna had done in his life time acted as props to hold as underpinning braces and buttresses. Human abilities had dwindled and to suit the same Vyasa (another Avatara of Vishnu) had divided the huge ocean of Vedas into four parts, each with a few branches so that, each family could at least uphold the integrity and purity of one of those branches. Through that, he ensured that both the paths of Pravrutti and Nivrutti retained the essential element of morality in them so that they do not become chaotic endeavours. With that he collected all the important principles scattered in the nook and corners of the Vedas as precise and brief succinct statements as ‘Brhma Sutram’, like a garland of flowers or gems serially arranged according to size and brilliance on a string, thereby contributing towards Nivrutti Dharma. He further contributed to the general public’s spiritual nourishment and upliftment by writing the 18 PuraNas and another set of 18 Upa PuraNas. Thus even after the birth of Kali Yuga, for some 2,000 to 2,500 years, people were generally moving in the acceptably right paths only.
68. The advent of Kali Yuga was in 3,102 B.C. as precisely calculated. In the daily ‘Nitya Karma Anushtaana’ while taking ‘Sankalpa’, every day is counted and added on as to, in the present Brhma’s age, in which Kalpa, Manvantara, Chatur Yuga cycle in which Yuga, the particular year, its Ritu (season), Ayanam (Sun’s seeming travel northwards or southwards in relation to the Earth’s tilt), Masam (month), Paksham (the Moon’s waxing or waning fortnight), Tithi (lunar day after new / full moon) up to that particular day; are mentioned. Thus the calculation is going on every day by individuals as well as experts in Jyotish Saastraas, without any doubt! From that only we can say with near certainty that, till some 2,500 years back, the world was running quite reasonably well in terms of morality. Still in God’s play, the Kali Purusha has to be on the ascendant and so, his naughty endeavours became more pronounced since then!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.