DEIVATHIN KURAL # 90 (Vol # 5) Dated 30 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 90 (Vol # 5) Dated 30 Nov 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 541 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)
386. In the 7th and 8th Parispanda of the 72nd Canto of Markandeya Samhita of Brhmaanda PuraNa, it says that since Easwara was very concerned in the welfare of the world, he came down as an Avatara. In addition to his being concerned, based on the petition from Brhma and other Devatas, he will take this Avatara. The purpose will be to vanquish the Sarvaka and other such agnostic religions. So, he will take an Avatara as the son of Siva Guru, a Brahmin of excellent credentials and his wife, with the name of Sankara, it says:-
“lokaanugraha tatpara: parasiva sampraartito brahmaNaa I
Saarvakkaadi mata prabheda nipuNaam bhuddhim sada taarayan II
Kaaladyaakya purottame siva gurur vidyaadi naathascha ya: I
Tat patnyaam siva taarakaamsa Mudita: sri sankaraakhyaam vahan II”
387. There is one more PuraaNa by the name of Saura – PuraaNa in which Sun is the primordial God. Surya the Sun God has a name as Savitaa from which is derived the word ‘Saavitri’. As Sun is the cause of coming into being of all life forms and their nourishment like a mother, this name ‘Savitaa’ has evolved. Similarly the word ‘prasavam’ which means ‘conception and delivery’ is also a derivative from the root word ‘Savitaa’ only. In the Gayatri Maha Mantra this word ‘Savita’ is mentioned. It is this Savitaa only having been born as Sankara is to explain the meaning and purpose of Vyasa’s Brhma Sutra, thereby establish the basic meaning of the Vedas, says the Saura PuraaNa:- “vyaakurvan vyaasa sutraartam sruterartam yatosivaan I Sruter-nyaayya: sa evaarta: sankara: savitaa na naa II”. The last phrase as underlined, divides itself in to ‘savita na naa’, which would mean that our AachaaryaaL is the very Savita and not anybody else. For example, ‘savitru’ becomes ‘savita’ and ‘pithru’ becomes ‘pitha’ and similarly ‘nru’ or ‘nara’ becomes ‘naa’, meaning ‘not any human being’!
388. There is a special appropriateness in calling our AachaaryaaL as the Surya NarayaNa Murthy. Agnaana is said to be the darkness of ignorance and the giver of Gnaana is the Sun who gets rid of the darkness. So, the brilliant brains are called the ‘Gnaana Bhaskara’. What pleases us in this respect is the two of his direct disciples have compared him with the Sun. Amongst Stotras eulogising our AachaaryaaL the foremost is ‘Thotaka Ashtakam’ written by one of his four direct disciples. In it standing directly in front of AachaaryaaL, with tears of gratitude streaming down from his eyes, Thotaka is saying, “ahimaamansur iva atra vibhasi”, meaning ‘You are shining brilliantly like the Sun’! The moon is said to be ‘himaansu’, meaning that the moon by its cool light is letting the misty flow of frost. The Sun does the opposite of drying up the coldness with its warm rays of brilliance! Our AachaaryaaL is such a Sun.
389. Amongst the four main disciples of our AachaaryaaL, Sureswara Aachaaryaar is another. He has written a ‘Vaartikam’ or explanatory notes for the Bhashyam written by AachaaryaaL for Bruhad AaraNyaka Upanishad. In that he has said that from the ‘Udaya Giri’ (hill of the rising sun) till the mountain range of the setting sun, the Gnaana Surya of AachaaryaaL having encompassed the entire world with the four disciples of his, who are the beams of light of his name and fame, are chasing away the world’s darkness of nescience! Thus not only in the books of Sankara Vijayam but also in Rik Veda, Sri Rudram, Siva Rahasyam, Markandeya PuraaNam, VishNu Dharmottaram, Vayu / Koorma / Linga / Bhavishyottara and Saura PuraNas, it is asserted that Sri Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL is not just a human being, but the very Avatara of Siva aka DakshiNa Murthy aka Sambhu!
390. The Evidence from the Direct Disciples of His Time. If the PuraNa and Itihaasa Granthas have some added value of credence in comparison with those books that have been written mainly so as to eulogize him, there is also some special value to the words of his disciples who were themselves venerably great, who moved with him closely and observed his concepts, convictions and responses in various situations. Rest of the world can know about anybody for that matter, only as much as a man reveals about himself. Their sincerity and integrity is clearer to the close disciples who cannot be easily duped. Most importantly the answer to the question as to whether they practice what they preach will be succinctly clear only to the immediate disciples. That is why there is a proverb in English that ‘No man is a hero to his valet’!
391. Almost uniformly leaders of the Sanaatana Dharma have never been lacking in sincerity and truthfulness and not given to hypocrisy. Whether the 63 Nayanmaars or the 12 Vaishnava Aazhvaars or the great Rishis and Sages from time immemorial have never entered in to the world of pontificating without Swanubhuthi of inner understanding and comprehension! If there were some hypocrites, they have been found out and never became too famous anyhow! (KTSV adds:- There have been a whole lot of great saints that have graced this part of the world more than any other! Starting anywhere, not bothering about the chronological order, there have been; VaLLalaar, Thaayumaanavar, AruNagiri Naathar, MaaNikka Vaachagar, Pattinaththar, Ram Surat Kumar, Nisarga Datt Maharaj, Srimad Thaandava Raya, Sant Kesav Das, Seshadri Swami, Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa, Vivekaananda, Naama Deva, Thukaram, Rama Dasa, Surdas, Tulasidas, Kabirdas, Sai Baba, Satya Sai Baba, Raghavendra, Ramana Maharshi, Amritananda Mayi Mata, Kavya Kanta Ganapathi, Muruganaar, Sadhu Om, Suddhananda Bharati, Subrahmanya Bharati, GopalaKrishna Bharati, Thirumoolar, ThiruvaLLuvar, Avvaiyar, Meera Bhai, Karaikkaal Ammaiyar, Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, Prabhu Paada, Gnaananda Swami, Santananda Swami, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Dayanand Saraswathi and so on and so on, the list will never be complete! In all their cases, they did not set out to correct the world but with the innate love and compassion of ‘Sarve Janaa Sukhino Bhavantu’ and with the idea of ‘let the worlds be happy and let all the people be happy’ and most importantly to share their experience with the world with the intention of ‘Yaam petra peru peruga Ivvaiyagam’, they have gone about spreading Gnaana unreservedly! That is why we love to read the reminiscences of the disciples who have seen and been with them when they were alive!) There is an innate natural urge in people like us who are reading about them to know as to what their close disciples thought of them. Especially as Aadi Sankara’s intimate disciples Sureswara, Padma Paada, Hasta Aamalaka and Thotaka AachaaryaaL-s have themselves been great as having attained to the highest of Gnaana Siddhi. Especially there is a natural urge to know as to whether they thought of their AachaaryaaL as an Avatara of Easwara or not?
392. Amongst those four Sishyas, Hasta Aamalak AachaaryaaL has only one small sloka known as ‘Hastaamalak Stotra’. It is pure Adwaita Vedaanta, which says that there are not different castes and sects or differentiations such as human beings, Devas, this caste and that caste; but everything is the same Aatma Swaroopa! In that sort of description we are sure that he could not have seen his Guru as different from his own Aatma Swaroopa. So, there is no singing of the praise of his Guru and or looking at him as an embodiment of Easwara! But the other three have all looked at their Guru as Easwara Swaroopa and have sung encomiums of praise for him! I am not going to quote all that they have said about their Guru, but only some. I have already told you about Thotakacharya’s Ashtakam and Sureshwara’s description of his Guru as the Gnaana Bhaskara.
393. Thotakacharya in his Ashtaka has finished each line with a ‘bhava sankara desika me charaNam’. Sankara is not a new name created for our AachaaryaaL. It is only one of the well known names for Parama Siva from very olden times. He has said this ‘bhava sankara desika me charaNam’ as though to tell us, “What you see here in front of your eyes as Sankara is the same Siva only”. Siva has eight famous names as, “Bhava, Sarva, Easaana, Pasupati, Rudra, Ugra, Bheema and Mahadeva”. That Bhava is this, my Guru Sankara to whom I surrender, is the meaning of ‘bhava sankara desika me charaNam’. If the word Bhava is taken as a verb, it means, ‘let it be so’. When we bless others younger to us or give Aaseervaadam, we say, ‘Deerga aayushmaan bhava or deerga sumangali bhava’ we are using the verbal form of that word that ‘may you live long or let the lady have a long and happy married life’! But in the fourth sloka of Thotaka Ashtakam, he does not let any doubt about the meaning linger in our minds by saying, ‘You are the self same Siva only’, “bhava eva bhavaan”, ‘as my happiness is full and overflowing’ so to say, “bhava eva bhavaan – iti me nitaraam sama jaayate chetasi koutukitaa” – as I have recognized the fact that you are the none other than ‘Bhava’!
394. Then, after three more slokas later he says, “Guru pungava pungava ketana”. Pungava means the Bull, the Rishabham! Anything awe inspiringly respectable is said to be Rishaba. When describing a mighty man, he is described as ‘Purusharshabha’ a Bull amongst men. Similarly in Tamil the commanding presence of a person is said to be, ‘Eru’ with the ‘E’ pronounced as in ‘Eden’. He is calling his Guru as ‘guru pungava’, so to say that he is a ‘majestic master’! Then he says, ‘pungava ketana’, meaning ‘the one with the Rishabha in his flag’ and that is none other than Parameswara himself!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 89 (Vol # 5) Dated 28 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 89 (Vol # 5) Dated 28 Nov 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 536 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)
376. Siva Rahasyam has been written mainly to emphasise the devotion for Siva. Our AachaaryaaL’s Adwaita Gnaana Marga is not very important for the purpose for which that book has been written. But our AachaaryaaL was as much important for the Bhakti Marga as he was for the Gnaana Marga. He has written many poems soaked in devotion for Easwara, AmbaaL, Ganesha, VishNu, SubrahmaNya, Lakshmi, Saraswathi, Govinda, DakshiNa Murthy, Mrutyunjaya, Dwadasa Linga, Ardha Naareeswara, Kaala Bhairava, Tripurasundari, Gowri, Bhavani, Sharada, Meenaakshi, Kamalamba, Hari, Panduranga, Jagannatha, Achyuta, Krishna, Lakshmi Nrusimha, Sri Rama, Hanuman, Kaasi, Ganga, Yamuna, and so on; as an ardent devotee of that particular God or Goddess. Thus he was devoted to each and every God proving that he was a ‘Sakala – Devata – Bhakta – Avatara’, though he was himself an embodiment of Siva and Parama Gnaana Swaroopa! The aim of course was to spoon feed the common man to imbibe the Gnaana, in preparation for which the masses at large have to learn to be devoted. So, he enacted very sincerely how a true devotee should behave, go on Yatra to visit all the holy rivers, temples, do all the Karma Anushtaanaas as required of his Varna and Ashrama and thus demonstrated the ways of being a model devotee to be emulated.
377. In doing so, he wrote the ‘Soundarya Lahari, AnnapoorNa Stuti, Amba Pancharatnam, Ambashtakam, Aanandalahari, Tripura Sundari Veda Paada Stotram, Tripura Sundaryashtakam, Tripura Sundari Maanasa Pooja Stotram, Devi Bhujanga Stotram, Devi Chatush Shashti Upachaara Stotram, Devi Aparaadha KshamaapaNa Stotram, Matruka Pushpamaala Stuti, Mantra Matruka Pushpamaala Stava:, KalyaaNa Vrushti Stava:, Navaratna Maalika, Shyamala Navaratna Maalika Stotram, Sri Lalita Pancharatnam, Gowri Dasakam, Bhavani Bhujangam, Sharada Bhujanga Prayatashtakam, Meenaakshi Pancharatnam, Meenaakshi Stotram, Bramaraambha Ashtakam, Kamalashtakam, Kanakadhaara Stotram, and so on, proving himself to be a highly devoted Bhakta of AmbaaL. He has also done Sri Chakra Pooja and installed the Meru / Sri Chakra in many temples.
378. In the same breath it can also be said that he has been an ardent devotee of VishNu also more than any other Vaishnavite! He has gone around the whole country chanting ‘Bhaja Govindam’ and written the Bhashyam for VishNu Sahasranaama. He has also written many slokas as an equally great devotee of Siva. In the Matams established by him to do Pooja for Chandra Mouleeswara is the main ritual every day. He has been going around wearing the Rudraksha Maala and adorned by the three horizontal lines of Vibhuti all over his body. Various slokas on DakshiNa Murthy, Uma Maheswara Stotram, Dwadasa Linga Stotram, Siva Panjaakshara Nakshatra Maala Stotram, Siva Paadaadikesaanta VarNana Stotram, Siva KesaadiPaadanta VarNana Stotram, Siva Aparaadha KshamaapaNa Stotram, Siva Maanasa Pooja, Siva Ashtakam, Siva NaamaavaLi Ashtakam, Siva Bhujangam, Veda Saara Siva Stotram, and most importantly Siva Aananda Lahari; have all been written by him. Thus he has immensely contributed for the growth of Siva Bhakti that is devotion to Siva, which has rightfully proved as to how well he deserves his rightful earlier inclusion in Siva Rahasyam, like the ‘post paid’ concept prevalent these days!
379. That book Siva Rahasyam tells the life history of Aadi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL from the time he was born in Kaaladi (in Kerala) till he dropped his mortal coil in Kanjipuram (in Tamil Nadu). It lays emphasis on his visit to Kailasa with the physical mortal body, having an audience of Parameswara and receiving the five Spatika Lingams known as Panchalinga made of crystal, with instructions to do Pooja to them with the Bilva Dala, thrice daily. That AachaaryaaL firmly established the principled point of view of Adwaitam, wrote Bhashyas for the Brhma Sutra, Ten selected Upanishad and Bhagawat Gita from the point of view of Adwaitam, caused each every intellectual forum in the country to accept Adwaitam by lectures, discussion and debate; and got famously known as ‘Adwaita Pratishtaapana AachaaryaaL’ as the crowning achievement of his life; is all not very important from the point of view of Siva Rahasyam. His visit to Kailas and receiving of the five crystal Lingams from the hands of Parameswara is what is given more importance!
380. From the point of Siva Rahasyam, Moksham means attainment of oneness with Siva (known as Siva Saayujyam) through devotion to Siva and that is all, period! But our AachaaryaaL was of the view that devotion per se is more important than which God are you devoted to, as all Gods eventually are one and the same. All duads and triads are also one. For example the devotee, act of devotion and the deity to whom you are being devoted to, are all one and the same! But, the very message of Siva Rahasyam is not concerned with Adwaitam and such Siddhaanta. It is mainly interested in praising the greatness of Siva and his devotees. In such a book it would have been quite reasonable if they had not mentioned his name at all. Such being the case, the fact that it was found necessary to include his name not only for being a great devotee of Siva but also for being an Avatara of Siva, speaks volumes as an irrefutable proof of it!
381. Ninth Amsam, 16th Adhyaaya of Siva Rahasyam is all about AachaaryaaL’s life history only. It starts with Parameswara telling AmbaaL that in the Malayala Desa, in a place known as Sasalam aka Kaladi a boy with Easwara’s Amsa was going to be born to an excellent specimen of a brahmin lady – “kerale sasala grame vipra patnyaam mat amsaja I bhavishyati mahadevi sankaraadhyo dvijottama II” Siva is calling AmbaaL as ‘Maha Devi’ that, ‘mat amsa ja’ = with my Amsa (or a fraction of my might) is to be born.
382. In Koorma PuraNa also it is mentioned that Easwara himself was born as our AachaaryaaL:-
“karishyat avataaram svam sankaro neel lohita: I srouta smaarta pratishtaartam bhootaanaam hita kaamyayaa II”, in which Easwara out of his extreme compassion is said to have come down as an Avatara for the well being of the people of the world. He is described as the blue eyed, ‘Neela lohita’. The word ‘Neela’ means blue and ‘lohita’ is red. Siva is normally described as red coloured or of the colour of ‘Spatikam’ which is synonym for crystal, which is colourless and takes the colour of whatever is located near it. In Sanskrit is said to be pure white whereas in Tamil Siva is described as red in colour, ‘pavzham pol meni’ or ‘semmeni ammaan’. This red Siva with AmbaaL on his left side as Ardha Nareeswara or with Vishnu on the left side as Hari Hara Murthy is described as ‘Neela lohita’. In Sandya Vandanam in Upasthana mantra, chanted facing the West, that is the Harihara mantra, he is described as ‘Krishna PingaLa’, in which Krishna stands for dark blue and PingaLa is for the red. In Koorma PuraNa, thus it is the description of Parameswara to be born as Sankara with blue eyes – ‘karishyat avataram svam sankaro neela lohita:”. As his Avatara is meant to bring genuine well being of people at large and to re-establish the ways of the Vedas (sroutam) and Dharma Saastraas (smaartam), it is said, “srouta smaarta pratishtaartam bhootaanaam hita kaamyayaa”.
383. In Linga PuraNa too similarly it is predicted that, ‘In Kali Yuga, when all knowledge and activities in connection with the Vedas, (Veda Vidya and Veda Karmas), will be ridiculed, misused and abused; blue eyed (Neelalohita) Rudra otherwise called Mahadeva will descend as an Avatara known as Sankara, vanquish all the deleterious influences of the Kali Yuga and victoriously return to his permanent abode.’ The exact words quoted are as follow –
“nindanti veda vidyaamcha dvijaa: karmaaNi vai kalou I
kalou rudro Mahadeva; sankaro neela lohita: II
prakaasate pratishtaartam dharmachcha vikrutaakruti: I
etam vipraanishevante enakenopi sankaram II and then,
kali doshaan vinirjitya prayaanti paramam padam II”
384. In ‘Bhavishya Uttara PuraaNam’ which talks about the future mainly says, “Two thousand years after the advent of Kali Yuga, for the specific purpose of the well being of the world, (for the sake of ‘Loka Anugraham’) Sankara will come as an Avatara with four disciples” – “kalyaadow dwi sahasraante loka Anugraha kaamyayaa I chaturbhi: saha sishyaistu sankaro avatarishyati”. The second line in this above sloka is exactly the same as in Vayu Purana as quoted by Abhinava Sankara, who has written the Bhashya for Sri Rudram. What Koorma Purana calls as ‘bhootaanaam hita kaamyaya’ is reworded here as ‘loka Anugraha kaamyaya’!
385. There is a Markandeya PuraNa, which contains the complete history of AmbaaL Lalita, Lalita Sahasranaama and Lalita Upaakhyaanam. A part of that PuraNa is the Maarkandeya Samhita containing 100 Cantos. Further parts of the Cantos are known as Parispanda-s. In the 72nd Canto the 7th and 8th Parispanda-s, describe our Aachaaryaal’s life history.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 88 (Vol # 5) Dated 26 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 88 (Vol # 5) Dated 26 Nov 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 530 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)
366. A portion of the Rudra Prasnam is called the Namakam. These are various names by which Rudra, the Parameswara is addressed and obeisance by Saashtaanga Namaskaara is done to him for each one of those names of Rudra. That means physical prostrations are offered to convey one’s subservience. (Saashtaanga Namaskaara means that we lie flat on our stomach with our hands joining extended straight on top of the head with the palms touching each other, face flat on the ground turned right and left, and legs stretched straight down together touching with the sole of the feet showing up.) Instead of the common nouns and proper nouns of English Grammer, here we use Names which are SaadaaraN (common Names) and AsaadaaraN (specific Names). They can be identified by two things. When He is said to be any of the things or people doing things, they will be in plural. When He is addressed by his specific special names, they will be in the singular! After a number of SaadaaraN names, there will be one AsaadaaraN with a ‘cha’ between each name. That ‘cha’ is as good as ‘and’ or acronym ‘aka’!
367. When describing Parameswara as many of the things occurring in the world, as common generic names they will generally be in the plural such as, ‘Namaskarams to those sitting, sleeping, standing, running and; when mentioning his own AsaadaaraN names they will be in the singular as ‘Namaskarams to Bhava, Rudra, Pasupati, Neelakanta and Sitikanta and so on. The name Neelakanta refers to Siva gulping the Aalahaala poison. When the milky ocean was churned by the Devas and Asuras one of the earliest outcomes was this poison. Everyone was taken aback at the cataclysmic effect of that this poison could have on the whole universe! Parameswara kindly consented to save others by swallowing it. But it was realised that its downward movement in to the stomach of Siva could have the same deleterious effect on the ‘Charaachara’ aka Universe from which, it was intended to be saved! So Parvathy aka Sivaa or AmbaaL with all concern massaged the throat of Siva to block the poison there forever. The Aalahaala Poison remained there at the throat of Siva and he got the name ‘Neela Kanta’ or ‘Blue Throated’! That same Neela Kanta became ‘Sitikanta’ by the fact that the ashes aka Vibhuti that is smeared on his throat all the time, that he came to be also known as the ‘White Throated’!
368. Then Namaskarams to Kapardi and Vyuptakesa in singular and then to the Sahasraksha who has thousands of eyes. Then obeisance is conveyed to Satadhanva who has hundreds of weapons. Then Namaskarams are to Girisa. Girisa and Gireesa, both are the names of Parameswara as the one who stays on the hill and the Easwara of hills respectively. What is the meaning of Kapardi? He is the one with long hairs on his head aka Jatadaari. Vyuptakesa is one who has shaved off all his hair. That is to say ‘similar and dissimilar’ are all the same Siva. Then are Jyeshta and Kanishta, the eldest as well as the youngest like the Senior and Junior; Poorvaja and Aparaja meaning the earliest born and the later born; each of them being the names for the same Siva!
369. There is something special about the name Kapardi meaning the one with long hair or Jatadaari that is, ‘wearing braided or knotted hair. But not everybody with knotted hair is called Kapardi, only Siva. Maha Vishnu, Brhma, Indra and other Devas have different hair styles much decorated by ornaments and crowns made of gold embellished with a variety of gems inlaid. Siva is the only one who has piled them up on top of his head like a pyramid! We celebrate that Jada only with, ‘paniththa sadaiyum, pavazham pol meniyum’. On that bundle of hair on his head is the River Ganges, the Crescent Moon, the Cobra, the Skull and flowers such as Oomaththam and Konrai! It is that Jatamudi in lieu of a crown that has been given a special name as ‘Kapardam’. So, it is clear that ‘Kapardi’ is a specific name for Siva – one of the AsaadaaraN Naamaas!
370. The name that occurs next, ‘Vyuptakesa’ also must be a specific that is, uncommon or AsaadaaraN name of Siva only. The Namakam which says that he is all the carpenters, pot makers, fishers, thieves and dacoits; also lists the specific names as the one and only Siva could have as being beyond all the common names! Vyuptakesa is one of those uncommon specific names. Namakam does not say prostrations to all those who have Jatamudi but to that specific Kapardi. Similarly Vyuptakesa is indicative of Siva only (and not all those who have shaved off their hair,) addressing him in the singular! The one who is addressed as Kapardi is the same as the one addressed as Vyuptakesa, another uncommon specific name of Siva. Here is a specific point to note!
371. When talking about generic names of people such as carpenters and shoe makers in plural, (short of saying that he is the indwelling reality in all of them as the Parameswara the Antaryaami,) when it comes to his many specific names the second person singular has been used such as, ‘Bhava, Rudra, Sarva, Pasupathi, Neelakanta, Sitikanta, Kapardi, Vyuptakesa, Sahasraksha, Satadhanva’ and so on. In that serial, when Kapardi the hirsute, is immediately followed by Vyuptakesa the shaved off baldy form of Siva, it makes you wonder as to when was Siva in that sort of a get up ever? Whether depicted as Nataraja or DakshiNa Murthy or Kaamaari or Tripuraari; they are all may be not bearded but with the Jada on his head only with braided or knotty hair! Nataraja is seen with ‘viriththa senchadai’, while DakshiNa Murthy is depicted with quietly peaceful ‘thaazh sadai’ and in Bhairava it is spouting flames of fire! There is no occasion of Parameswara depicted as clean shaven not only in the face but also in the head. When such is the case, for the Vedas to be talking about a Vyuptakesa as an individual name for Siva, it has to be clear that Vedas are predicting the future Sankara Avatara only, says the one writing the Bhashya for the Vedas, Sri Abhinava Sankara!
372. Sri Abhinava Sankara did not stop at that. He knew that there could be objections, if that happens to be the only occasion where Siva has been described as clean shaven of face and head! So he started looking for some supportive evidence elsewhere in the Itihaasa PuraNas. Itihaasaas and PuraNas are considered as explanations supportive of the Vedic statements. There is a tradition for this. “Itihaasa puraanaabhyaam vedam samupabruhmayet I Pibet alpasrutaat Vedo maam ayam pratarishyati II”. Meaning of the first line quoted above is like this. The student who has studied not only the Vedas but also the Itihaasaas and PuraNas is known as ‘Bahu Srutan’. The person who has learnt only the Vedas and is not so well read about all the Itihaasaas and PuraNas and tries to interpret the Vedas with his limited learning is called the ‘Alpa Srutan’. It seems that Vedas are afraid of such a person that, he is likely to pull the Vedas in every which direction as he pleases! That clearly brings out that, when it comes to the research in to the Vedas looking for subtle deeper meanings, you have to take the Itihaasaas and PuraNas also into consideration. So this gentleman who wrote the Bhashya for Sri Rudram did some research in to the aspect of depiction of Siva as Vyuptakesa. He found the supportive logic in ‘Vayu Purana’.
373. There in ‘Vayu PuraNa’ he located the sentence, “chaturbhi: saha sishyaistu sankaro avatarishyati”, meaning that, ‘with four disciples Sankara is to come down as an Avatara’! This was good enough to prove his contention that Sri Rudram while talking about Vyuptakesa is predicting the advent of Sankara Avatara only. He found another supportive logic in ‘Siva Rahasyam’ too. Now he had no doubt or hesitation and so wrote clearly that Vyuptakesa in Sri Rudram is talking about Sankara Avatara, in his Bhashya. For the statement that Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL is Avatara of Siva, we have seen the PramaaNam in Sruti itself that is Sri Rudram, then in Vishnu Dharmottaram which is addendum for VishNu Purana and now confirmed in Vayu PuraNa. Let us also see what secrets the Siva Rahasyam has to offer!
374. The divine stories that have even more authority of truthfulness than PuraNas are the Itihaasaas such as RamayaNa and Maha Bharatha. Siva Rahasyam is one such Itihaasa on stories related to Siva. It has some 50,000 slokas in it. One of the famous Dharma Saastra known as NirNaya Sindhu declares this Siva Rahasyam as a book of genuine authority. SubrahmaNya Swami gave this to Jaikeeshavya Muni, who in turn told this to Suta Maha Pouranik, through whom it was conveyed to the assemblage of saints at NaimisaraNya. Even Lord SubrahmaNya did not claim it to be his own creation. He also says that much before him Siva himself told this to AmbaaL and that he is only repeating it.
375. RamayaNa is in seven Cantos and Maha Bharatham is in 18 Parvaas while the Siva Rahasyam is divided into 12 Amsaas. It is totally devoted to describing various episodes and events related to Siva. In the 9th Amsa, the stories of devotees of Siva are described. It contains the stories of the 63 Nayanmaars, who are famous as devotees of Siva. There is a place Kanjanur some 10 miles from Mayavaram in South India. In that place there was one Hara Dutta Sivachaariyaar. He was born a VaishNava. The suffix Sivachaariyaar was added later in his life. There were many miracles in his life. He became an ardent devotee of Siva. His life is depicted in Siva Rahasyam not as an event of the past but as a prediction of the future. One of the stories described there is the life history of our AachaaryaaL Aadi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL as though being foreseen by some divine vision!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 87 (Vol # 5) Dated 24 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 87 (Vol # 5) Dated 24 Nov 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 page No 524 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)
356. From the end of 17th till the end of 18th century A.D. there was a gentleman by name of Bhaskara Raya, who lived for some 96 years. From his Guru, he had obtained the name Baasuraananda Naatha. Bhaskara and Baasuraa are synonyms indicative of the Sun, light, brilliance and effulgence! True to his name he was radiant in erudition like the early morning Sun. Especially he was an authority in Mantra Saastra. Many of the secrets of Mantra Saastra that we are enlightened about to-day are through him only. He has written widely on the procedures concerning Sri Vidya and a much appreciated Bhashyam on Sri Lalita Sahasranama. That revered gentleman has written slokas in praise of our AachaaryaaL too. From one of them only, it became known that there is an allusion about Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL being an Avatara of Sambhu DakshiNa Murthy Swami, in Rik Veda.
357. The sloka is as follows: “sri ramam prati pushkarabita mahaa yakshena vedatraya vyaakhyaana avasare visishya katitam sri vishnu dharmottare I etaam tenum upahvayaami sudukaam ityaruktam sankara aacharyam sishya chtushtyena sahitam vande gurooNaam gurum II”. At the end saying, ‘vande gurooNaam gurum’, our Guru Sankara AachaaryaaL has been revered as the Gur of all Guru-s! As the sloka starts off with the words ‘Sri Raamam’ we can make out that our AachaaryaaL has been connected to Sri Rama. How are these two connected?
358. Rama’s story does not finish with what is given in the RamayaNa. There are other books which tell us about other details not given in the RamayaNa, such as ‘Yoga Vaasishtam or Gnaana Vaasishtam and Sri VishNu Dharmottaram’. At the end of the second line of the sloka quoted above, it is this book that is referred. Sri Rama in behaving exactly like a human being, took Upadesa from two different Gurus, one for Pravrutti Marga and one for Nivrutti Marga. He got the Nivrutti Marga that is, Gnaana Marga Upadesa from Vasishta as the ultimate end of all advices known as Yoga Vaasishtam. (There is an interesting story as to how he got this Upadesa. Actually after he got this Upadesa, instead of taking Sanyaasa immediately as required, he had to proceed with Sage Vishwamitra to conduct certain Yaagas, finally ending in Mithila and marrying Sita! This story we will cover elsewhere later.) The book Yoga Vaasishtam is rather famous with all students of Vedaanta.
359. This other book known as VishNu Dharmottaram is not so well known. It describes as to how Sri Rama got Pravrutti Marga Upadesa from one Pushkara Maha Yaksha. This book is considered by some as a later addition to VishNu PuraNa. By the fact that the Yaksha has been given a prefix of Maha, it can be discerned that he was great enough to have given Upadesa to Avatara Purusha such as Rama on Rik – Yajus – Saama Vedas’ Karma Kaanda. A Yaksha is one of the divine beings such as Kinnara, Kimpurusha and Gandarva-s.
360. Coming back to our present story under consideration, while the Rik Veda mantra’s meaning is being explained, there is an indication of the future Avatara of our AachaaryaaL Aadi Sankara. The line – ‘tenum upahvayaami sudukaam’ is pointing at Rik Veda – 1st Mandalam – 164th Suktam – 26th Mantra. It is talking about how Easwara protects and takes care of the world as does the cow while feeding the calf. In VishNu Dharmottara when the Yaksha was explaining the meaning of the Mantra to Sri Rama, he is saying that one day in the future when the principle of Adwaitam will be forgotten by the people of the world, Parameswara will come as an Avatara to feed the people of the world with the Adwaita Tatva as a cow feeds it’s calf with milk, as indicated in the Rik Veda Mantra.
361. He did not stop at talking about AachaaryaaL’s Avatara only. He is to take an Avatara with the four disciples, as explained by Bhaskara Raya, “...avateerNam bhuvi sankara aachaaryam sishyair chaturbhi: sahitam...”. Word of a person like Bhaskara Raya, by itself has value. Then what is said in a PuraaNa Grantha like ‘VishNu Dharmottaram’ has immense value by itself. Now over and above all that, as the matter is as per what is said in the Vedas, the thing has further enhanced value. Thus this matter of the prediction of a future Avatara of Sambhu DakshiNa Murthy Swami, coming amongst our midst as Sankara, has triple value of truth and integrity. Further to add to the glory of the statement, the one making the statement that it occurs in the Rik Veda is Pushkara Maha Yaksha. Then the person said to be receiving the message is Sri Rama himself! (Further this is being told to us by Maha PeriyavaaL, that too in Deivathin Kural! What else do you want as proof?)
362. Now let me come to the reference in Yajur Veda. Though we keep saying that there are four Vedas, in practice for all Karma Anushtaanaas there are only three important ones, namely Rik, Yajus and Saama. So the Vedas when referred together, there is a practice to call them as ‘Veda Thrayee’ – as a ‘threesome and not as a foursome’! Even in the sloka by Bhaskara Raya referred above, there is a phrase, ‘veda traya vyaakhyaana’, isn’t it? Amongst these three Vedas, 1, 2 and 3; as 2 is in the centre, amongst Rik, Yajus and Saama, Yajur Veda is the central one. The centre is always the more valuable and important as the controlling power in any set up, organization or arrangement. At the centre of the temple will be the Sanctum Sanctorum or Garba Graham! Thus the Yajur Veda holds central place among the Veda Thrayee.
363. What is the centre of Yajur Vedas? Yajur Veda is in seven parts, known as Kaandam or Cantos 1 to 7. Amongst them, isn’t the fourth Canto the central one? In that fourth Canto too the fifth section, again the central section is ‘Sri Rudram’, also known as ‘Sri Rudra Prasnam’ or ‘Sata Rudreeyam’. It is chanted in adoring and venerating Parama Siva aka Parameswara. OK, what is the centre of that Rudram also, as that would be the very vital principle of all the Vedas, isn’t it? For the huge edifice of the temple of all Vedas, the centre of the sanctum sanctorum as the Moola Murthy of Mahalinga, is middle portion of the eighth Anuvaaha, that is the Siva Panjatchara Maha Mantra of ‘Nama: Sivaya’. Fetching us to that Maha Mantra are the leading two Mantras of Sambhu and Sankara. Let me give you that Mantra of Sri Rudram, 8th Anuvaaha, 1st Mantra is, ‘nama: sambhave cha mayobhave cha nama: sankara ya cha mayaskaraya cha nama: sivaya cha’.
364. First mentioning the name of ‘Sambhu’ then ‘Sankara’, ending in ‘Nama: sivaya’ as the Panjatchara Mantra, the order in which these names occur is very supportive of the argument we have been making. There is a requirement that the ‘Panjatchara Mantra’ is to be obtained by the mouth of a Guru and then only uttered. The moment you take the name of a Guru, our AachaaryaaL the Jagat Guru Aadi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL comes before our mind’s eyes. Before he came as an Avatara, we have seen that he was as Sambhu as the incarnate roopa sans actions, speech and desire. Then as Jagat guru he was of the roopa of dynamic action and speech. Then from him we have to get the Mantra ‘Nama: Sivaya’. Sri Rudram goes on with its narration in the same order of the Mantras! Here is the clear proof of the fact that Sambhu is the later Sankara! This is what occurred to me. Amongst those who have written the Bhashyam for Sri Rudram, one Sri Abhinava Sankara has pointed out that our AachaaryaaL is the very Avatara of Siva, for which he has identified the supporting proof from within the Rudra Suktam. Let me explain that. (The 38th Mata Adhipati of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam was also one Sri Abhinava Sankara. He is not the same as the one of the same name who did the Bhashya for Sri Rudram.)
365. Sri Suktam Anuvaaha 2nd to 8th describe as to how all the animate and inanimate parts of what is seen as the world are all Rudra Swaroopa only, that is various forms of the same God only, who is ever the only one! As there are serially 300 mantras, these are together known as ‘Rudra Trisati’. We convert these in to a Naama AavaLi (that is, a garland of names) and do Pooja / Archana with flowers of Bilva dala – a combo of three leaves. Carpenters, pot makers, shoe makers, hunters, fisher men, gypsies, nomads, thieves, dacoits, soldiers, archers; the ones shooting arrows from afar and those who are shooting at you from near and so on and so on; are all Rudra Swaroopa; it goes on to say! The chief of the thieves, the thief of thieves is described as ‘taskaraaNaam pati’, who is also the thief of our hearts, as Thiru Gnaana Sambandar says, ‘uLLam kavar kaLvan’! A tree or grass or weed; mountains or dales; flood or waves; the cloud, the sky the river and oceans; a bird or animal, a cattle or a dog or a man who eats the meat of the dog; the ‘chara + achara = charaachara’ of all that moves and does not move; amongst them all, the inner reality in all of them is the one and only, Parama Aatma Swaroopa! That is the message of Sri Rudram!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 86 (Vol # 5) Dated 22 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 86 (Vol # 5) Dated 22 Nov 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 last para on page No 517 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)
347. There is a virulent forest fire in the world of people’s mind due to Agnaana and Swami DakshiNa Murthy is sitting under the ‘VataVruksha Moole’ in static stoicism! Nobody can reach him or talk to him and or persuade him to come down to the earth as an Avatara. In the absence of the spring of Gnaana Teertha the people being roasted alive cannot be saved! Now what is to be done? Though he cannot be touched from outside, the inner spring of kindness in him is everlasting! That will cause him to come down as an Avatara. It is that kindness which cannot be separated from Siva that is known as Sivaa or Shakti or AmbaaL. When people are embroiled in the affairs of the world up to a certain extent, he will be sitting unconcerned. Once the threshold is crossed, he will not keep quiet. That is what happened now. (That is the thought process of analysing the situation, going on in the inner being of DakshiNa Murthy Swami, that we have been discussing for the past so many e-mails, isn’t it?)
348. In the forest fire of Agnaana, as people were being roasted alive in their involvement in Samsaara, Sambhu thought of saving them, ‘traatum lokaan’. Instantly he put a full stop to his silence, ‘muktvaa maunam’. The stagnant pool of love and kindness somewhere high up in the hills started on its downward voyage. Like the small stream gathers momentum and volume as it trickles down the slopes through crevasses, rivulets, through valleys, dales, forest, villages and townships; becoming a torrential gush, this Gnaana Ganga ran all over the country –‘muktva maunam vata vitapino moolato nishpadanti’. The actionless spring of bliss ‘Sam – Bhu’, became dynamically active ‘Sam – Kara’. The absolute silence became highly talkative, giving lectures, participating in debates, imparting Upadesa and writing copiously! He who was static under the banyan tree like a statue, walked bare foot covering all the corners of India in three rounds!
349. In short, from immobile Sambhu, he became the very mobile Sankara – ‘sambhor murthy: charathi bhuvane sankara aachaarya roopaa’! From being the Sambhu’s statue in the sanctum sanctorum as DakshiNa Murthy roopa, it became the Utsava Murthy of the Avatara Sankara AachaaryaaL. Word to word translation: ‘sambhor murthy:’ – the static statue of Sambhu became; ‘sankara aachaarya roopaa’ – taking the form of Sankara AachaaryaaL; ‘bhuvane’ – in this world; ‘charathi’ – is moving about! For the whole world India is like the space in the heart. So by going around this country thrice, he is said to have gone around the whole world. The word used here for going around is ‘charathi’, which is in the present tense.
350. Instead of saying that he went around the country sometime in the past, he is said to be going around now. This sloka as I said earlier occurs in ‘Madhaveeya Sankara Vijayam’ which is a biographical study of our AachaaryaaL in which he is described with fervour and devotion often and so is in the present tense. By its poetical beauty and very apt word selection, the poem is popular enough to be used as a prayer by many individuals and organizations. While chanting it you get a feeling as though our AachaaryaaL is amongst our midst even now and thus gives some pleasant satisfaction. Rama, Krishna and our AachaaryaaL and such Avatara Purushas, having moved around in human form, even after dropping their mortal coil, do not cease to exist. Their power to grant our prayers – called the ‘Anugraha Shakti’ does not cease. What is their body? It is only a form of conception unlike the ‘sthula sareera’ of ours, which is born and bred of material food! That Anugraha Shakti is eternal as God is eternal, otherwise known in Sanskrit as, ‘Amaram’ that is immortal. So they will continue their favourite job of protecting the people and granting their genuine wishes. That is how Rama, Krishna and our AachaaryaaL even after the passage of thousands of years are continuing their ‘Bhakta Anugraha’ of granting the devotees wishes. When the devotional fervour increases, they also give ‘Darshan’ in the roopa as cherished by the devotees! Thus till date it happens that our AachaaryaaL is roaming about amongst us all in a subtle form – “charati bhuvane sankaraachaarya roopa”.
351. I am reiterating what I have said so far, to underline and emphasize what I said earlier about how ‘Sambhu’ became ‘Sankara’ as Avatara amongst us all. ‘Sam’ is eternal bliss, comfort and pleasure – the Adwaita Stiti of Aatma Aanandam. ‘Bhu’ is the place of origin. Parameswara when he is the spring of eternal happiness is the ‘Sambhu’. Then as the Adwaita Aananda Swaroopa he will be the actionless DakshiNa Murthy sitting silently stoic. That spring of ‘Sam’ is in a very high place inaccessible to most of us human beings. Some amongst us also persevere to reach there, partake the ‘Teertam’, experience the eternal bliss of Gnaana, which rubs off on some of us also by reflection or proximity. But most of us are being roasted alive by the forest fire of Agnaana, some knowing that we are being roasted alive and some not even knowing it! Most of us are not even aware that there is an eternal fountain of Aananda of Gnaana – the spring called ‘Sambhu’ that could quench the forest fire of Agnaana. Some of us who are aware of its presence do not know as to how to reach there or are not powerful enough to do that! Feeling vexed of the state of affairs Parameswara decided that, “We should not leave the state of affairs as it is but, descend amongst human beings as an Avatara. Let this static spring start flowing as a river never standing at one place. Let it quench the fire of ignorance in the mortal life and enable all the people an access to the bliss of ‘Sam’. Thus the one who does that is the ‘sam + karar = Sankara’. For this Kali Yuga, it is not enough to be the ‘Sam’ or the source of it, as the carrier of Sam ‘as’ the river and flow of ‘Sam’, let me become Sankara running all over the world and in to all the people’s lives and minds.” Thus the static, stoic and silent Sambhu became the ever mobile, active and vocal Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL our AachaaryaaL!
352. The word ‘Sambhu’ has been defined as the one that conceives and produces ‘Sam’ – ‘sam bhaavayati, utpaadayati iti sambhu’! That stops at production only and is not the promoter, advertiser and distributor. Many of the mills and factories only produce and stop at that. There has to be some agents who collect and distribute the material. If the agents do not do their job, there will be stagnation at the factories, resulting in the finished goods in not being useful to anybody! So it is not enough to be only the producer of ‘Sam’ but also become the distributor, making it available to all. Such a producer cum distributor of ‘Sam’ is Sankara!
353. If the production point of ‘Sam’ is ‘Sambhu’, we have to go and reach that starting point. When he is as, ‘sam karoti iti sankara:’, extending from its point of origin, it reaches all of us and grants us the attainment of ‘sukam and soukyam’. We have to go on a trek for the river’s moola sthaanam to bring the Teertam from there. But the river comes to wherever we are, bringing the water to us. Moreover nowadays it comes to us in each of our houses as the tap water, kind courtesy the municipal corporations! Thus the DakshiNa Murthy, who was the unreachable fruit in the top most twig of the tree as ‘ettaak kani’, arrives within easy reach, being thrust into our hands even if we ignore and side step. With such extreme compassion he comes to us as Sankara Avatara, our AachaaryaaL!
354. Proof of Sankara Being an Avatara of Easwara: as Gleaned From Itihaasa and PuraNas. If we say that Parameswara as Sambhu took an Avatara as Sankara, as given in the biographical books titled ‘Sankara Vijayam’, it can give rise to one question. ‘Those who have written his biography ‘Sankara Vijayam’ are likely to be his devotees, having him as their Guru and fully subscribing to his views and principled stands only mostly. It is but natural for them to overly praise him and exaggerate his greatness sky high as Maha Purusha and an Avatara of the very God! On the grounds of pride when you say something it does not have to be very true. So, is there any other independent evidence that Sankara AachaaryaaL is an Avatara of the very Easwara? Then only we will agree to your this statement.’
355. There are many evidences to prove this fact. Above all this, there is the evidence by Sruti that is the Vedas itself. Even in our normal day to day talk, if anything is claimed to be an authority that cannot be questioned, we tend to ask, “Adu enna Veda vaakko?” What we mean is that we are asking if such a statement is as inviolable as the Vedas! Such a ‘Veda Vaakku’ is available. But it is slightly indirect. Even then when rightly interpreted, it is quite interesting! Having explained the meaning of the two words Sambhu and Sankara, I had told you as to how, the one who is the Sambhu originally came down to us as Sankara, isn’t it? Using the same two names in the same order, Veda ends that sentence with the Panchatchara Mantra of ‘Namah Sivaya’, in Yajur Veda, in evidence. Before this, in the Rik Veda, considered as the first among the Vedas also, there is a proof. But before talking about the Rik Veda, oldest of all scriptures, also called the ‘Aadi Grantham’, I have to go back to an episode of 17th /18th Centuries A.D.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 85 (Vol # 5) Dated 20 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 85 (Vol # 5) Dated 20 Nov 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 last para on page No 511 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)
337. To Give The Message of Need for Total Inaction – An Avatara of Dynamic Ebullience! Swami DakshiNa Murthy decided to take an Avatara for this very specific purpose of opening the way for the state of total inaction. ‘By strongly recommending and establishing the state of total inaction, me who has been a supreme example for static stoicism and Mauna (silence), will take an Avatara, visit all parts of India continuously; discuss and debate with all intellectual luminaries both with similar minded views and contradictory convictions; write copiously on Devotion and Adwaita Siddhaantam; and write Bhashyas (commentaries with explanatory notes) on Bhagawat Gita, Brhma Sutra and important Upanishads, firmly establishing Adwaita Siddhaantam through Devotion. As much as I have been keeping quiet in Mauna doing nothing, I have to do the exact opposite of talking as much as possible, propagating the value of silence and stoic inactivity.’ (PeriyavaaL smiles while saying this at the irony of his own statement!) That was the Easwara Sankalpa!
338. Sambu Becomes Sankara. There is a sloka in ‘Maadaveeya Sankara Vijayam’ as follows – “agnaanaantar gahana patitaan aatma vidya upadesai traatum lokaan bhava –tava – sika – taapa – paapasyamaanaan I muktvaa maunam vatavitapino – moolato nishpadantee sambhor – murthy: charati bhuvane sankara aachaarya roopa II” The sloka is written as though addressing Adi Sankara in his direct presence, over flowing with love and respect. So it is in the present tense – ‘charati bhuvane’ – that he is going about in the world – as though being seen in front of one’s eyes.
339. Who is being seen to be going about in the world? That is ‘sambhor murthy’ – sambhu or Siva’s Murthy. One of the names of Siva is ‘Sambhu’ or ‘Sambhomahadeva’! Siva’s devotees are referred as ‘Saivas’ or ‘Saambhava’ or ‘Parama Saambhava’. His consort AmbaaL is ‘Saambhavi’. Amongst many Mantra Deeksha-s ‘Saambhavi Deeksha’ is rather special as being very powerful. OK right, what is the meaning of ‘Sambhu’ and how is that name evolved? ‘Sam’ means eternal bliss or happiness. In Rudra and Chamaka, two types of happiness are mentioned. One is ‘sam’ and the other ‘mayas’. So Rudra is called ‘Sambhu’ and ‘Mayobhu’. Those who have dissected the words for meaning while writing the Bhashya-s have identified the word ‘Mayobhu’ as the source of happiness in Iham and ‘Sambhu’ as the source of bliss in Param that is, the eternal bliss of Moksha.
340. To the ‘Sam’, ‘bhu’ is the spring or source; and the two words put together become ‘Sambhu’. The place of birth or spring or source is the ‘bhu’. As the place of birth for all of us, this earth is called the ‘Bhulokam’. The place of origin for the eternal bliss of ‘sam’ is ‘Sambhu’. When Parameswara is sitting as the Adwaita Brhmam DakshiNa Murthy as the source of Moksha Aananda, he is called ‘Sambhu’. That form of DakshiNa Murthy, sitting under the ‘vata vitapi’ the Vata Vruksham that is the banyan tree, in absolute silence of ‘mauna’ is what is described here. He is called the ‘vata vitapi moola stita’ sitting under the banyan tree close to the base or roots. He is ever silent. Why? To talk, there has to be a second person. When you are all alone, there is no chance for a talk. He is the very form of the knowledge that there is no one else other than himself. That is the Adwaita Brhma Gnaana that we are all the time talking about. All the talking is only till that knowledge is not yet the reality of our Anubhava. Once that knowledge or awareness is inhered, all talking ceases. So, he is ‘mauni’ an epitome of silence. You have to have some matter to talk. To think of the matter there has to be a mind. DakshiNa Murthy Swami is in the truest state of mindlessness. How can a word arise without a thought and how can a thought form when there is no mind? So, he has to be silent only. As the originating source of ‘Sam’, that is as the ‘Sambhu’, to be absolutely silent is his nature.
341. The rivers have a starting point. Somewhere high up on a hill there will be a small pond from which a trickle of water will be flowing out as a very small stream initially. Even that stream may not be easily noticeable. We may see only a stagnant pond. That is how it is slightly north of Gangotri. Then it falls out through the rocks that look like the mouth of a cow, known as ‘Gomukh’ from where the river is said to start. The river Cauvery starts at a hillock Brhmagiri, in Kodagu Desa in the range of hills known as the Sahayadri Mountains. There it is called ‘Thalai Cauvery’ that looks like a small pond of water.
342. What is the use of a small stagnant pool of water somewhere high up in the mountains? May be some animals can use them. May be some enthusiasts interested in trekking and adventure, with some difficulty cross the inaccessible forests, valleys, dales and rivers; and feel happy about their achievement. May be some can write a book about it and some others can read it! But otherwise, what is the use of such a water source? There used to be a proverb which says, ‘vaazh naaLai koduththu vaaNa teertam’, that is to say that you have to stake your life to go to such places as VaaNa Teertam! VaaNa Teertam or BaaNa Teertam is the originating point of the Taamra BharaNi River! That pool of water without any waves or the gurgling sound of water, instead of remaining stagnant as a small pond, when it starts moving down the mountains joining with many other streams becomes a river, it is of much use to the people at large!
343. DakshiNa Murthy as Sambhu used to be remaining silent like a spring at the starting point of a river before commencing its journey towards the ocean. Like some who reach the starting point of the river with great difficulty, some great saints or Maharishis after much effort could go to that DakshiNa Murthy and could benefit spiritually in understanding the very essence of existence. From those few great Maharishis others could draw some solace. But not all people could hope to make such efforts and reach DakshiNa Murthy. At the time about which I am talking, that is some 2,500 years before now, people were ignoring even those Maharishis’ words and going astray, as I had described earlier. Like being lost in the forest of thick undergrowth, people were lost. That is what is meant by ‘agnaanaantar gahana patitaan’ as the sloka quoted earlier says.
344. It is difficult enough if you have lost your way and stuck in a dense forest. Then if that forest is also burning, you can think of how bad it can be. The forest is the simile for Agnaana, which means that you are far away from the path towards Moksha. What does it mean? Bhandam and Moksham are antonyms. Bhandam is being tied up as though you are stuck in chains. It is being tied in the whirl pool of the vicious cycle of life and death. Moksham is the state of freedom. Only the Adwaita Aanandam can give you that freedom. From what you thought of yourself as the small, limited and separate individual, you come to realise that you are the same as the unitary whole of Parabrhmam. Gnaana is that royal path (Raj Path) and Agnaana is the centre of the inaccessible forest on fire. In it ‘Samsaara’ of worldly involvement is the forest fire in which people are being roasted alive! This is what is described in that sloka as ‘bhava –tava – sika – taapa – paapasyamaanaan’.
345. I said that Swami DakshiNa Murthy is sitting silently immobile in Kailasa under the Vata Vruksha like the spring from which the river starts off. What is that spring? It is spring from which the eternal flow of ‘Sam’ starts flowing. That eternal flow is the Gnaana Adwaita Moksham. All other pleasures of life are all fleetingly transient also mixed with a packet of the opposite. That starting point ‘bhu’ of ‘sam’ is ‘Sambhu’, who releases us from the ties of Agnaana and provides the nectar of eternity!
346. Now let us connect up the two. Here people are getting roasted in the forest fire of Agnaana. There DakshiNa Murthy is quietly sitting in total silence cool as the spring of Moksha Sukha. If this forest fire of involvement in the worldly affairs due to Agnaana is to be quenched, we have to bring that ‘teertam’ of the flow of ‘sam’, down to this level, where we are anyhow stuck? Except for some Maharishis like Sanaka, we the common folks of the world are not able to go to those exalted heights! So now what to do? Bhagirath brought the Ganges from the heavens to this mother earth! Who has the power to do such herculean tasks? Who has the power to bring that Siva (who could bear the fall of Ganga from the heavens and let a controlled trickle reach down to the earth,) here? Because he is ever in Adwaita Samaadhi and so completely immoveable, the only way that he can be brought down is, as and when he decides to come down as an Avatara!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 84 (Vol # 5) Dated 18 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 84 (Vol # 5) Dated 18 Nov 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 last para on page No 505 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)
329. God’s Grace is the essential pre-requirement for anyone to get the qualifications for leaving the never ending cycle of ‘work – effect – more work’ and enter the Gnaana Marga! So if you are not interested in this release from the work related involvement, it is tantamount to refusing God’s Grace! Having refused God’s Grace, we go about claiming that we will do the needful for the welfare of others! Who are these others and who has the responsibility to take care of them, us or God? Even if we say that we will care for others, we need God’s Grace, isn’t it? That we have already refused! We will end up being ‘non-starters’ and will never get going! Without Easwara Anugraha, can anybody do anything, let alone doing social service! It is God who makes use of each one of us as tools in his grand scheme, including all sorts of transactions and Loka Vyavahaar! Having made use of us for a period in social service God may decide to make use of other tools for that purpose and put this man on the u-turn inwardly to go back to one’s origins. At that opportune moment this up-start is talking about devoting his all for the upliftment of the society at the cost of God’s Grace! Then how can he hope to draw on the same God’s Grace for his intended social service? He will be a double loser in the bargain, by this wasteful attitude!
330. There is a subtle dichotomy in our understanding of this word ‘selfishness’! When this man thinks that ‘I am ready to even give up on my personal attainment of Gnaana, so as to be able to keep doing social service’, let alone say or claim to be so; there is a thick layer of ego instigated pride there! In god’s arrangement, what this man thinks of as social service for others, there is in-built ‘adrushta’ (unseen) returns of cleansing and ripening of one’s own mind. His own part of the work may end in Upakaram or Apakaram for others, but he will benefit anyhow. ‘You take care of your own self and I will take care of my creation. In that if I use you as a tool, it is meant to be for the purpose of cleansing you of the debilitating pride and ego. So do not say in all ignorance that you do not wish for Moksham and that you are only working for other’s benefit and welfare, in some mistaken notion of priority. Though it may not look like a problem created by your ego, it is nothing else but that. So, do not miss out either way.’ That is what Bhagwan likely to say to such a devotee.
331. Why should you bother about those whom you consider as others? Are you wishing to take over God’s portfolios? Please bother about your own attitude and behaviour. Having not taken care of your own mind, to launch on some rectification and correction of the world and people’s behaviour is simply over stepping your appointed role! Till your mind is not under control running helter-skelter, it is unfit to do Aatma Vichara. Till then you have to keep at it through Karma Yoga. But when your usefulness is over, you have to know as to when to call it quits. Instead, to be continuing as though you are a critically essential king-pin, can only be due to a deluded sense of importance and nothing else!
332. After all this explanation, if you were to still ask if it is not being selfish to only take care one’s own self not caring for others, the answer is an emphatic ‘No’! What is Self? Thinking of you as a separate individual, being interested only about obtaining more and more gold, properties, titles, materials, position and power is being selfish. This greed is to be abhorred as all wealth is meant to be shared. When you have shed your greed, ego and pride, you are just your Aatma or Self and then there is nothing that is mine or others’. I and mine are gone forever from your mind. At that stage there is no chance for greed or stinginess. Now true Selfishness comes to the fore. At this stage to be opting for Self-Realization will prove to be a wonderful boon and example for others to study and emulate! At this point in perusing the meaning of the words self, selfishness and self realization; I cannot avoid laughing!
333. Till we are not able to keep quiet doing nothing, we have to immerse ourselves in work only. Why are we not able to recognise the fact that we are not some separate entity but the same as all existence everywhere, the Aatma the reality beyond the confines of space and time? It is because of the fact that we have moved away from our original innocence to a confused state of lack of clarity as though we have put a screen between ourselves and our perception. Thus we have become deluded. To undo our own past misdeeds, we have to patiently tear off that screen by present actions, good actions as directed by the Saastraas. The good Karma Anushtaanaas as approved by the Saastraas are, ‘playing our appointed role to perfection as a child, as a junior, youth, adult and old aged person; as a member of the community as a student, bachelor, house holder (husband or wife), king, worker, soldier, trader, and so on; towards our parents, relatives, others in the community, village, city, country and the world respectively; with love towards all including all forms of existence animate and inanimate; as far as possible, to the extent we are capable, true to the dictates of rules of the land and most importantly our own conscience; never getting flustered, disheartened, disappointed or hopeless’!
334. But to say, ‘Let the curtain be there. I will sit behind the screens and keep doing service’, is also not very correct and not acceptable to the God either. He has clearly said (in Bhagawat Gita VI – 5), “Uddharet aatmanaa aatmaanam na aatmaanam avasaadayet I Aatmaeva hi aatmanor bhandu: aatmaeva ripuraatmana: II” “Uddharet aatmanaa aatmaanam” – ‘try your level best to improve and raise yourself by yourself’. “Na aatmaanam avasaadayet” – ‘do not demean yourself’. Instead of raising yourself from ignorance, do not be stubborn that it is alright to remain in darkness of Agnaana! When you try to improve and refine yourself, then you are your best friend – “aatma eva hi aatmano: bhandu:” When you are not trying to raise and refine yourself, you are being stubborn, in which case you become your worst enemy too – “aatma eva ripu aatmana:”! That is God’s words for you. It is your own choice as to whether you want to help your own refinement and progress or prove to be a stumbling block and an enemy for yourself! To say, “Let whatever happen to my Aatma, I will only be interested in carrying on working for the welfare of the world”, on the one side is not very sensible as the result is uncertain being not in your hands; and even if it happens to be good by chance, is still only a mirage being part of this world of Maya. Anyhow your decision is not likely to have God’s approval or sanction!
335. If some great Mahaans, saints and sages have thus sacrificed their own self realization and Aatma Anubhuti, for the sake of the society’s welfare and said so also; we must understand that they have been so utilised by God for the sake of motivating the common man wallowing in ignorance and crass selfishness! May be as a result some of us who are all the time killing others’ happiness for the minor pleasures of life may be suitably motivated and weaned away from bad and evil behaviour! If there are some examples of Mahaans who have sacrificed even their own redemption, as a counter to it, we also have many examples of great souls who have opted for absolute detachment and aloneness at the zenith of their career of social service!
336. So, in the state we are in, though we have to remain on this side of the screen in pre-ordained darkness, our efforts to remove the screen must continue at the inner level, through Naama Japa or Nidhidyaasana. As the screen starts getting worn out giving glimpses of illumination of Gnaana, we have to arrive at absolute inertia some time or the other; instead of persevering in muddled thinking that, “I am doing social service for the world” and thus pulling back the dark screen of ignorance and ego over our eyes. When the slight rays of Gnaana start becoming discernible and visible, we should be curtailing our involvement in Para Upakaram too by cutting on our intoxication obtained by being a workaholic! Our analysis of the situation should be like this, as follows. “In this huge world, when the rule is that so many billions of people are predestined to enjoy or suffer as per their own Karma, what we can do is infinitesimally negligible. We should not carry an impression that the world will go to smithereens if our contribution is withdrawn. Let us not prevent the possibilities of attaining the Aatma Anubhava. Let us not plan to do this and that. Let the world go the way it goes. Let us delink from further involvement being aware of the fact that what happens to the world and people is very much in God’s very capable hands!” Thus we should be developing a detached attitude, being only deeply involved in Dhyana and Vichara of the Aatma, knowing very well that our stillness of inactivity by itself is a great Upakaram for the world!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 5) Dated 16 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 5) Dated 16 Nov 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 last para on page No 499 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)
320. To Attain the State of Inaction Through Actions. As I said some time earlier, in Saadhana Panchakam our AachaaryaaL exhorts the aspirant to do some 40 specific actions. Through all those actions the idea is to finally raise you to the level of total inaction only, though at the first glance it may sound ironical! Doing things, however much they may be critical and essential for progressing in the right path, are not the mission by themselves. The target is one of absolute standstill! To fetch you there are all the Karma Yoga, Dharma Karya-s, Yagnas, Poojas and Aasana-s including Sravana, Manana and Nidhidyaasana in Gnaana Yoga! Till that maturity is reached, since nobody is able to just be quiet, Adi Sankara, before him the Gita and prior to that all the Smruti-s, have all advised, “Do not go in every which way as prompted by this mind of yours, spoiling your own life and others in the neighbourhood. For streamlining the quirks of the mind and cleanse it by removing all selfish and vicarious tendencies, keep yourself busy by doing all the allotted duties of Karma Anushtaanaas strictly as per the restrictions of Dharma!”
321. Before the mind is dissolved in Aatma, it has to be cleansed of all dirt and spurious inclinations. For achieving this clarity there is nothing more effective than Karma Anushtaanaas for the common man. So to reach the state of absolute inaction there is no other option than getting involved in morally sound activities. That is the end aim of the Veda Saastraas, Gita and AachaaryaaL’s advices in various treatises big and small on Adwaita such as, Praata: Smarana Stotram, NirguNa Maanasa Pooja, Saadhana Panchakam, Aatma Bhodha:, Tatva Bhodha:, Viveka ChudaamaNi, and so many others. Similarly even in his devotional poems addressed to various deities as well as the rivers of India, he has stressed the final attainment of Paramam Padam as the Phalasruti. Thus despite having the Naishkarmya Stiti as the end point, the Karma Yoga has been repeatedly stressed, as in this world of transactions, Karma is the way for cancelling out the past accumulation of negative Karmas, as the accepted truth of all our Saastraas!
322. Method – Work; Aim – Naishkarmya Stiti. So, DakshiNa Murthy Swami thought, “People are not able keep quiet without doing some work or the other. They just do not seem to know as to how to avoid work. For that reason alone, they should be loaded with work to do, mainly as given in Veda Saastraas, while reminding them of the ideal of total inactivity.” That is what he decided to do. As a justification of being involved in work all the time, people say that the practical world runs on various activities only. Still beyond all such methods of the practical world, the genuinely true and ideal state of Moksha is the stillness of the Ideal, isn’t it? Where is the question of methods and procedure there? In that state or stage, there is no second entity, no work or tool or action.
323. The so called practical world is only there, till there is Maya and mind of the man. All this is part of the ignorance that is Agnaana. To get rid of Agnaana and be rid of Maya and Manas; is Gnaana. Such being the case, to ask people not to do anything will sound out of place. At the same time the only way to get out of the vicious cycle of doing Karma good and bad, which makes it necessary to do more Karma and so on; is to tell people about the ideal state of Naishkarmya of total inaction! So the process of reaching that state of total inactivity is through action only! That is why Bhagwan, having started a detailed lecture on Karma Yoga in Bhagawat Gita’s second chapter onwards, describes the state of the man who has gone beyond all this, in the 17th Sloka of the 3rd Chapter. He declares with finality, “ya; tu aatmarati: eva syaat aatma trupta: cha maanava: I aatmani eva cha santushta: tasyaa kaaryam na vidyate II”, meaning, ‘But for the man who rejoices only in the Self, who is satisfied with the Self and who is content in the Self alone, verily there is nothing to do!’
324. So, however much work may be entrusted as required duties to be done, they are all only preparatory spade work for converting the presently unattainable target into something that is feasible to be attained! They are outer works for inner stillness. Thus while emphasising the need for work, we must insist on final state of ‘not doing anything’ for which we must come down on earth as an Avatara, DakshiNa Murthy Swami decided.
325. The works so done are sometimes leading to some negative results also isn’t it? One may wonder as to why does this happen. This happens so as to remove our pride! Ego plays a major part in all our so called noble endeavours of correcting the whole world. We see no end to our capabilities and effectiveness. While doing such actions of social service, inwardly we carry an impression that everybody else is an idiot! The power that creates organizes and runs this world, has so created these checks and balances so that we may not develop too much of a head weight. Otherwise, the doer cannot help feeling a bit satisfied that he has achieved something great. After all, this is a relative world and in it, whatever happens, good and bad also is only relative. So in it, however much we may be aware of need for controlling our pride, success in our endeavour invariably leads to some well deserved satisfaction with a slight tinge of head weight! That is why some failures are also thrown up – that in all the Upakaram that we do, some Apakaram also gets mixed.
326. To explain the pitfalls in the process is not to be construed as pessimism. Nobody is being told not to do any social service. We are telling you to do a variety of social service activities only with love, respect and compassion in your hearts. Simultaneously we are duty bound to point out as to what can go wrong and that there may be times when you may have to face some embarrassing situations. Then only we will be correctly motivated to wish for the end state of inaction. Otherwise, however much one may hear the philosophy we are likely get lost in more and more work, going around in circles, falling back in to the pull of the dualistic whirlpool of this world! Only when we are faced with some failures, we will be constantly reminded of the likelihood of getting stuck.
327. So, instead our attitude should be like this. “Who are we to do anything? We try and do some social service. We never know as to what is going to be the result. There is a God who is apportioning the credit and debit values for ones work absolutely correctly as deserved by each individual. If our services are required, he will rope us in somehow and make us do the necessary service. As Sri Krishna said that there is no work meant to be done by such a Gnaani (‘tasya kaaryam na vidyate’), has also said that the Gnaani neither gains nor looses anything by such work. Immediately following, he goes on to say that for ‘loka Sangraha’ even Gnaanis such as Janaka continue to keep working. So let him make us do whatever, wherever and whenever! On our own we do not have to intend or plan to do anything. Without his inspiration what ‘loka Sangraha’ are we going to do anyhow? Whatever we may plan, however much it may look like noble and great deeds, calling it ‘Seva and Tyaaga’, there will be an element of the ego there. We also know that the moment ego comes in the way, we are far away from our destination of Moksha!” If our thinking is on these lines, then it means that we have grasped purpose of today’s talk!
328. Some people claim, ‘It does not matter whether my personal Moksham happens or not, my work is more important. As long as I get this opportunity to be of use and work for the welfare of the people of the world, I am happy!’ On deeper thinking even this will be found to be an expression of one’s ego only! Set aside your helping others. It is God who has made you, given you a mind and restricted you in a capsule as though of Jeevaatma Bhaava, this separate individuality as an independent entity in this world of Maya. On the other hand the door is open for you to get released from all the ties and realise your oneness with his NirguNa Swaroopa! There is a right royal path of Saadhana for it. When such is the case, for you to say that I am not interested in release is nothing short of Aham Bhaava! Remaining incarcerated in the jail, to say that I will work for the welfare of other prisoners in the jail, is more like a stupid statement. He the God is the Jailor. It is not in your hands to release anybody from the prison. All the Upakaram that you can do is within the shackles of samsaara bhandam only. Then to be adamant that I will enable some people to get some of the silly pleasures of this life within the strictures of this life, when there is an opportunity for the Gnaana Marga, it is both Aham Bhaava and adamantine stupidity!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 82 (Vol # 5) Dated 14 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 82 (Vol # 5) Dated 14 Nov 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 page No 493 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)
311. Upakaram in Sanskrit means, ‘to be of some help or assistance to somebody’. At times to do Upakaram to somebody or one set of people automatically could end in hurting somebody else’s interests in some roundabout way! We who started out on that venture may feel sad in the bargain eventually. So, whatever the Upakaram, it is well neigh impossible to equally help all the people at large simultaneously and there will always be somebody who expecting that help will be disappointed. Even a multi millionaire, when he starts contributing for charity, people start going to him pestering him for donation for ‘n’ number of causes that, somewhere along the line he is compelled to put up his hands and say, ‘no more’! The latest in the queue may have a very noble cause. Prior to him some undeserving characters might have exploited his largesse. But somehow the end result is disappointment for both parties! Many grand gala get-togethers are held with much pomp and show with the avowed intention of amassing funds for charity. But what exactly is meant to be the purpose of that charity and where does all that money go to, remain moot questions! Even when running a hospital or school on charity, sometimes a genuinely sick patient or a very intelligent child may have to be denied admission! I will quote from my personal experience once again.
312. How seemingly noble it is to save a life from extinction? In that endeavour also there could be contrary side effects! Let me explain. Once we were camping in a huge palatial house of a rich man of some ages past. Though the whole premises were clean and tidy, the wooden beams high up in the roof were evidently not in a good condition as they were being eaten up by some beetles or weevils or whatever you call them, which were buzzing about all over the place. One of them inadvertently hit the ground and fell on its back. It was trying its level best twisting and turning in endless circles, working its six legs in vain. After a few minutes there was an army of ants attacking this weevil in the inverted prone position, trying to bite off its legs! It was pathetic to look at and I thought that if the upside down beetle is straightened, it could fly off and save itself. I did not realize what I was getting into!
313. On my wish the beetle was enabled to get back on its legs. But on being saved he did not fly off from there. He that beetle or weevil simply started taking revenge. He caught hold of the ants by his forelegs and ‘labak’, put them straight in to his mouth! There was mass murder going on over there in front of my eyes! Upakaram for one life ended up in Apakaram for many lives! Before my ego could feel happy about having saved one life was given a good thrashing with a lesson for the future, not to interfere in the way nature functions. Even when saving a deer from the tiger, as the tiger is basically an obligate carnivore which cannot eat vegetables, it will be tantamount to saving one and denying the other. Is that animal responsible for its nature? This is one side of the story! On the other, when the horrendously corrupt Ravana was killed by an Avatara of Mahavishnu, is seen to be in the rightness of things, the suffering of Mandodari as a most pious and excellently behaved lady wife of Ravana seems an injustice!
314. In every Avatara that came about with the intention of doing something good of re-establishing dharma, there were some such negative outcomes too. Though Ramachandra Swami was the very picture of all wonderful character qualities, he not only caused so much suffering for the enemy’s wife, his own wife had to plod through years as a prisoner in Sri Lanka. And again even after return to Ayodhya, despite proving her chastity by walking through fire, she still had live separated from her husband. Then Rama’s father King Dasaratha who loved his son so much, anyhow died a death of agony due to being separated from his son! So, after so many Avataras for doing good which had side effects of sadness and sorrow, now was an opportunity for an Avatara for the purpose of ‘not doing anything’! If we have to ensure that there is no adulteration of sadness and sorrow, even doing beneficial actions will not suffice. To keep quiet not doing anything is the highest ideal. There has to be an Avatara to depict this ideal of not doing anything. To convey that message is the Avatara of Adi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL.
315. When AachaaryaaL took Sanyaasa and went away, his widowed mother had to bear extreme hardship and suffer the pangs of separation. After all he was the only son got after much tapasya of abnegation, vratam and upavaasam! So when he left the household she was all alone crying. Further when he defeated Mandana Misra, a great Meemaamsaka in debate and took him away with him as his disciple, his wife Sarasa VaaNi was heartbroken. So thus, even in this Avatara wherein the intention was to advice people to learn the value of inaction, there were some people who suffered. This only proved the point that his dynamic lifelong endeavour giving advice to people on ‘the value of inaction’, still resulted in some negative offshoot! So, he did not have to go far to look for evidence to prove his message that any noble action still has some negative effect!
316. So, this Avatara had to be there to clearly bring out the value of inaction. What we see in this world is that every Tom, Dick and Harry with their caboodle of ardent followers claiming that their principled stand (of Siddhaantam) is the best and that they are doing the best for the world and that others are out to spoil their efforts, pulling the world in every which direction as so many social parties, associations and religions. Before AachaaryaaL’s Avatara, as I said earlier there were 72 such religions clamouring for attention. In that situation of confusion confounded, there was our AachaaryaaL espousing the cause of ‘not doing anything’ as the best for others and oneself too! This was the main message of his Avatara. If we decide to do some good for some people, do you think that we can simply achieve that? When there is an Easwara as the Phala Dhaata, unless his blessings are there, will that benefit go to somebody unless he deserves it? Whether you accept the presence of a God or not, even simply by his own past Karmas, unless he is due for that benefit, it will not accrue to him. (It is here that we should remember what Ramana says, ‘karma kim param? Karma tat jadam’!) If it is written in his head that he has to suffer you just cannot undo that, even if you were to stand on your head for that!
317. This can be seen from yet another angle. As per Karma there is a phrase, ‘janmaantara kadan’, meaning ‘dues out of past lives’. May be by our help or assistance that man was to get some benefits or his problems were to be solved. That means that we unknowingly owed him. Anyhow we will be made to pay. The Law of Karma is so inexorable! Each one of us do benefit from others. Nobody can run his life without assistance from others as the English proverb says, ‘No man is an island entirely of itself’! We are all part of a whole. Mostly people benefit by the help from others and in some cases it fails. That is neither the reason for not helping others nor to be pessimistic about life. I am not for a moment recommending, “Do not help others, let anybody suffer any amount, how does it matter to us?”
318. In the present world we with our attitude, cannot help getting involved in activities. To avoid going astray and getting involved in criminal and socially undesirable activities, it is best to get involved in acceptably good activities. Even though there can be some not so very good side effects, it is our attitude and intention that should be good for our actions to be good! As long as we go by the traditionally accepted Saastraas, giving attention to the guidance of the elders, and not going contrary to one’s own conscience; we have to cancel our past negative accumulations of Karma by positive, helpful, socially useful activities only. We have to do things to help others and also accept help from others. I accept. I not only accept, with that, as I said for so long about not doing anything, (smiling) and I am not going to let you keep quiet either! Relentlessly I will keep on telling you to do this, that and so many things to do, virtually pestering you. As I kept elaborating and expanding on the point about not doing anything and keeping quiet, I hope you people did not misunderstand me!
319. I can read your minds. There are at least some who might have thought on the following lines! “Thank our stars! We do not have to any good to anybody. Not to do anything is the best Upakaram Swamiji is saying. From now we do not have to participate in the Veda SamrakshaNam, Pidi Arisi Dittam, and growing Aathikkeerai in kitchen gardens for feeding cows. We may not have to participate in activities such as Kumbha Abhishekam, digging ponds and wells and such pet projects of this Swamiji. He will not pester us anymore!” I have no such intention not to trouble you. Even Adi Sankara who took this Avatara to give us all the message of the superlative value of ‘keeping quiet, not doing anything’, gave us all a whole list of things to do, such as, “Study the Vedas, read the Saastraas, help others, be devoted, every day do Panchayatana Pooja, Sandya Vandanam, Brhma Yagnam, do ‘sravana, manana, nidhidyaasana’ and so on and so on!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 81 (Vol # 5) Dated 12 Nov 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 81 (Vol # 5) Dated 12 Nov 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 page No 486 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)
303. In both exporting and importing, it is the attitude that is important. You may export anything any amount. It has to be done without creating a local scarcity on the one hand and on the other hand the attitude should not be one of ‘let the country that imports our goods go to dogs’! It is wrong to think that however much the artisans and craftsmen in that country may suffer it is of no concern to us! Countries like India and China are capable of producing all their requirements from within their country. If they do not import, the countries which are dependent only on import for many of their needs, are bound to suffer. So, we cannot be too overly strict in being self sufficient. So after that, though I decided to use only Khaddar and not to make use of mill clothes at all, I started going slow on telling others to use only Khaddar.
304. What I came to say was that, while it is true that our industries should not suffer and our wealth should not be frittered for people of other countries to make undue gains, towards which if we take some measures, somebody else suffers as a result of it! Not only people of other nations, within India too handloom and other textile industries suffer if we give too much attention to Khaddar! If you give support to labour intensive handicraft industries, machine intensive industries suffer and vice versa. So many legislations have been enacted with some good intention to help out some sector only isn’t it? Has anyone of them been passed without objection from some other sector? You take any policy matter, somebody or the other is ready to do walk-out or demonstration or hartaal against it, isn’t it? What does it mean? It means that however good a plan, it is going to hurt some set of people or the other!
305. All the political parties have come into being only for the good of people. Why only political parties, all the religions of the world have been founded with very noble intentions only. But political parties are always fighting each other and religions are always at logger heads! Whose side is correct and whose is wrong? In the social arena starting from individual selfishness, it takes many forms as nepotism, parochialism, regionalism, racism and even nationalism as against internationalism, leading to so many splinter parties. If nothing else, for some assumed insult to a mother tongue, people are ready to take cudgels! Similarly in the spiritual field too, since nobody is able to see eye to eye with anybody else’s point of view, there are so many religions. Even when they may personally appreciate some of the noble principles and viewpoints of other parties or religions, ‘n’ number of things come in the way of openly accepting the same for reasons of ego, hegemony, loss of face and or likely objections from other members of one’s own party or religion! So objections, fight and confrontations seem to be the only alternatives. If you do something good for some deeply religious lot of people, the reformists object. If you make it convenient for the reformist, the others call it irreligious, saying that the Rishis will curse or even God himself will punish. If you try and facilitate one language, some other language is found to be on the decline, at least in some people’s minds. If you help the farm labour, land owners are feeling the pinch somehow. A part of the society has been considered as backward caste (B.C) and others forward, and you know the misuse, abuse and chaos it has led to! There is not a single thing on which all the people are united and are of one mind that it is good for all universally. At the least there are some ten or five percent who bear the brunt of some deleterious effect!
306. There is no better project than construction of a temple. Even in that sort of a job huge mighty rocks when they are transported, unloaded, erected, chiselled, smoothened and placed on high walls or on top of huge edifices, many injuries and accidents could take place. The whole country side gets in a festival mood for ‘Ratha Utsavam’ which happens once a year, with millions of people virtually milling around! (Rath representing horse driven chariots of yester years, is a behemoth of a structure made of wood reinforced by steel and iron scantlings or girders. It has two wheels of some 10 or 15 feet diameter. The whole structure may be 100 to 150 feet tall and weigh some 100 tons. On the day of the festival the Idol of the local temple is placed on it and thousands of people pull the Rath by two huge chains extending from the Rath on either side, pulling it along the four main roads in a circum ambulation around the temple.) In all that high excitement there will at least be one Mr. Character who will find it convenient to come under the wheels of the Rath, and be crushed to death!
307. Even construction of a temple may not be acceptable to all people these days! Let alone people from other religions, from your own religion there may be some who are likely to opine, “Why construct one more temple? Are the existing ones not enough? Actually we should be destroying some of the existing ones!” Construction of hospitals and schools are the only things universally acceptable nowadays, it seems! Yes, to remove bodily discomforts and to give education to youngsters are certainly welcome. But on the one hand such organisations are tending to be money spinning machines and on the other are proving to be avenues for spreading their own religions with missionary zeal. There could be a criminally minded somebody who may be lying quietly all by himself in some corner. By making him hale and hearty, you may be energising all his capacities for mischief that he may become a health hazard for many! Similarly the unread urchin may earn his livelihood by some manual labour. With an idea of enlightening him you try and give him education that he may develop into a perverted genius with a penchant for forgery and false witness! I am not focussing on the negative aspects leaving aside the good side of our endeavours. I am not saying that there are more possibilities for the wrong and evil side to every issue. I said ten or five percent possibilities are there for things to go wrong, may be even less. But the point I am making is that, any work, however noble the intention, runs the risk of inbuilt deterioration and corruption.
308. Think of it, as to how many times we ended up feeling bad about the unbridgeable gap between noble intentions and not so noble outcomes! The whole country or even the whole world heaped so much of encomiums of praise on Mahatma Gandhi for having struggled to achieve the Independence for India. But he was assassinated within six months of that Independence. Not only that, he had to endure the agony of partition of his beloved nation with resultant enormously massive transmigration with untold miseries that was forced on innocent millions! Looking at the uncontrollable mass fury, he must have cursed himself for having obtained the independence! Within those five to six months, for many of the unacceptably despicable behaviour of the people he loved so much, that he had to undertake fasting as self inflicted punishment to himself repeatedly! This is a classic example of how good intentions can go awfully wrong in action! There is an adage in Tamil which says, ‘kiNaru vetta bhootham purppattadu’, meaning, ‘the intention was to dig a well for water and what came out was a ghost’!
309. Another proverb. We try and do something to solve a problem. Temporarily it looks as though the problem is solved. But as time goes by, from the solution of the problem, there are many more problems that are spun off! The medicine administered to cure one disease causes a more serious disease, as the proverb says, ‘Remedy worse than disease’! Looking at all this, I am only coming back to my point that ‘to be quiet without doing anything is the best’! Actually there is another proverb which says, ‘summa irunda sangai oodik keduthaanaam Aandi’, meaning, ‘there was this shell lying undisturbed and the beggar who was passing by picked it up and blew on it reviving the ogre inside!’
310. Why talk about anything else? Let me give you an example from my own experience in the Matam. In some place where our camp was located some miles from the nearest township, on the last day of our stay there, we had organised ‘Anna Daanam’ (free food). Many poor people attended and ate to their fill. One whole bag of rice of some 100 kilos had been cooked with a variety of side dishes of vegetables and lentils. Not a drop was left in balance. It was very satisfying to see so many happy faces. What satisfaction? It was only our own pride and ego that made us feel, ‘see what a good thing we have done’ sort of a feeling. All the utensils had been washed and were being loaded in the trucks. As we were about to start our journey some women and children, may be numbering some 15 to 20 people landed up. They must have heard about the Anna Daanam late. Despite the heat of the day, they must have come all the way virtually running! As luck would have it, we did not have even dry rations left, as we do not keep huge stocks and the idea was to use up everything before going to the next village or township! The camp was also located slightly away from the township that to go and fetch some dry rations would have taken hours. Their disappointment was very tangible. Our satisfaction in catering for a thousand guests evaporated by our inability to satisfy the hunger of these few! We gave them some fruits and things like that with some cash. But the situation was almost painful to bear. If a thousand people have eaten, there is no reason to feel proud. Are we feeding them every day? Did we take care of them all these days? Are we going to feed them tomorrow? Somehow the world goes on, isn’t it? Because we announced that we are giving Anna Daanam, these people leaving their normal modes of satisfying their hunger have come running so many miles in this scorching heat! So at the end what is the balance? Have we ended up satisfying people or hurting people? Out of all giving, Anna Daanam that is giving food is considered as the highest! Even in that with all the good some awful problems do arise! That is what I meant to point out.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.