DEIVATHIN KURAL # 105 (Vol # 5) Dated 31 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 105 (Vol # 5) Dated 31 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 650 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)
534. Now, the difference between the NirvaaNam as mentioned by Buddha and Bhagawat Gita lies in the fact that in the Gita, the word NirvaaNam comes with the prefix ‘Brhma’! Buddha talks about simply ‘NirvaaNam’, thereby meaning that there is a total obliteration of ‘Jeevaatma Bhaava’ with the arrival at ‘soonyatvam’ or ‘zeroness’! Instead it is our belief that the Saadhak losing his separateness is no more an individual entity but is completely merged in the universal whole of ‘Brhmatvam’! That is the reason for reiterating the phrase ‘Brhma NirvaaNam’ in the last Sloka (that is the 72nd Sloka), in Chapter 2 of the Gita and here, in all the three Slokas 24, 25 and 26th of Chapter 5!
535. I was saying that Suka was not even wearing the ochre clothes of a Sanyaasi and so was a Digambara! Not only was he uncaring of the physical differences between man and woman, in his presence others also had the same feeling. There is a story slightly different to what I had told you earlier. I had told you that he left home and hearth and ran away even before he was given the Yagnyopaveetam and that Vyasa his father ran after him calling his name, isn’t it? As per this changed version, he is said to have run away only after he had attained to adolescence. Vyasa was wishing that he may be blessed with an off spring, while working on the ‘AraNi Kattai’ to start a fire. (This needs to be explained. In the days of yore there was no electric lighter or match box. So they used to make use of a particular type of wood. The base was a bowl of wood on which another log was made to move at a fast pace with the help of a rope twisted around it with two loose ends. When you pulled the loose rope ends alternately, this captive log would rotate vertically while one end of it was rubbing against the surface of the wooden bowl. The wood was of some such composition that sparks would fly off. This used to be caught in a bundle of coir wool that would easily catch fire. On that you piled some small twigs and blew till there was a blazing fire!)
536. From that fire Suka emerged already with a youthful figure. As he emerged he started walking away. Vyasa knew that he was his son. So he ran after him, calling for him. Enroute there were women bathing in the nude. Suka walked by in the altogether and carried on not even noticing the ladies. Neither he nor the ladies felt any embarrassment at their nakedness! A minute later Vyasa came by, well covered by clothing made of barks of the trees as well as deer skin. The moment they saw Vyasa, the women were over taken by shame and abashment! They covered themselves hurriedly with whatever clothing they could get hold of. Vyasa felt compelled to ask, “What is the matter? When my son as a youth walked by you people continued to enjoy your bathing and here I am an old man passing through and you are so chagrined with shame!” They are said to have replied, “How does it matter as to what is his age? We were touched by his innocence and purity. In his presence we did not feel the difference as in your proximity!” For people like Suka there are no rules and regulations.
537. Amongst the four Ashramas the last one is Sannyaasa. So, there are rules for it with so many Do’s and Don’ts. Suka despite being born in this world remained in the (Swaroopa) or form of Brhmam, not subject to any rules. So, he had gone beyond the Sannyaasa Ashrama. Such people who have gone beyond the parameters of the VarNa – Ashrama – Aachaaras are called the ‘Ati-varna-aashrami’ or simply ‘Atyaashrami’. The one who has gone beyond the confines of Aashrama has any how transcended the VarNa divisions too and so, ‘Atyaashrami’ as a title will do most sufficiently!
538. In the Guru Parampara that is lineage of Gurus, after DakshiNa Murthy and before Maha Vishnu, there is a tradition to take the name of Dattaatreya. Formless Parabrhmam is DakshiNa Murthy, then the Trimurthy Swaroopa of Dattaatreya, then one of the Trimurthy Maha Vishnu then Brhma; and thus goes on the Guru lineage. Siva as one of the Trimurthy already comes as DakshiNa Murthy. Then as the central piece in the garland of gems is Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL also Siva only. Like Suka, Dattaatreya was another Atyaashrami. Though he was a combined form of DakshiNa Murthy, Maha Vishnu and Brhma; unlike the deities he came into the world as a human being and transcended all divisions and classification as ‘Ativarnaashrami’ like Suka. Never staying in one place, forever on the move, having discarded all ownerships and relationships with no rules and regulations, he roamed about as a Digambara (not wearing any clothes) with only matted hair covering his head!
539. The Ativarnaashrami dwelling constantly inwardly in his Brahmic experience, can be any which way in his outer appearance and behaviour. He can own property or be a land owner or even be a King and stay in one place all his life and do anything! Still, Suka and Datta (in short for Dattaatreya) were like Sanyaasis having no properties and never stayed in one place but kept roaming. As the sloka starts off ‘yam pravrajantam’, Suka had opted for a nomadic life of the Sanyaasis and so had Dattaatreya.
540. Very venerable and respectable as Gnaana Aachaaryaas, there were four brothers, namely Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanaatana and Sanat Kumara. The four put together were considered as one of the 24 Avataras of Maha Vishnu called ‘Kumara Avatara’, derived from the name of the last of the four brothers. Another reason for their being called thus is the fact that, they were the first four ‘mind born children’ to come into being as part of Brhma’s act of creation. The third reason for calling them ‘Kumara Avatara’ is the fact that they were eternally young!
541. DakshiNa Murthy and Suka are also ever young. Markandeya is said to be ever 16. These ‘Sanakaadi’ (meaning the four starting from Sanaka), are not youths but forever kids, but with the highest wisdom! So, they are children without being childish! Born without a trace of the Agnaana like Suka, uncaring for even differences between genders, from birth they have gone on to the Nivrutti Marga and become Maha Gnaanis. They have also imparted that Gnaana to whosoever cared to approach them. They have also not taken Sanyaasa or shaved off their heads or taken to wearing ochre clothes. They also roam about not wearing any clothes and so should be included amongst the ‘Ativarnaashrami’ lot.
542. In the Matams of the Adwaita tradition, on the day of the Vyasa Pooja (which is also known as Guru PoorNima), we do pooja to all the Guru Lineage. In that we group the whole lot of them in sets of five each. One of those sets contains this Sanakaadi foursome to which we add Sanat Sujaata, making it five and pay our respects to them. In summing up, in the Guru Parampara up to and including Suka, none have taken to Sanyaasa as per rules on the subject. Still being Brhma Gnaanis, they have been Aachaarya Purushas for imparting Brhma Vidya to others. We have seen earlier that in kali Yuga, remaining in Gruhasta Ashrama, to do Gnaana Upadesa will not be appropriate. The same applies to Ativarnaashrami also. Uncaring for whether they have the Brhma Gnaana or not, taking only the excuse that they need not bother about any of the Aachaaraas, it is likely that such people are likely to claim that they have transcended all classifications. Such aberrant behaviour does create a lot of confusion and scope for ridicule, disrespect and distrust in the general public. In Kali Yuga there is no possibility whatsoever for Ativarnaashrami-s to come in to being. So, after Suka AachaaryaaL onwards, they are all those who have taken Sannyaasa quite legally and ceremoniously as per rules of the Saastraas. Such tradition started from Gowda Paada.
543. My saying this may not please be misunderstood to mean as though, taking up Sannyaasa started only from Gowda paada. It is a tradition from much earlier ages from the time of Vedas. In Vedas there are four major divisions as Samhita, BrahmaNam, AaraNyakam and Upanishad. This very division and order is meant to cater sequentially for the requirements of people in each stage of life. Samhita contains the slokas, mantras and rules and regulations for the Brhmachari’s Adhyayanam and his periodical Karmas. BrahmaNam caters for all the daily, monthly and special occasions Karma and Yagna Anushtaanaas of a Gruhasta. AaraNyakam covers all the Karma Anushtaanaas and philosophical Tatva Vichaaraas to be observed by the person in Vanaprastha, having retired from worldly involvement, but still in the transitory period of life between Pravrutti and Nivrutti Margas. Finally the Upanishads are meant for the Sanyaasi who is completely in the Nivrutti Marga! That means that the four Ashramas of Brhmacharya, Gruhasta, Vanaprastha and Sannyaasa are as old as the Vedas! You will be surprised to note that this understanding of our ways is kind courtesy, the research and analysis by a German by birth who had unlimited interest in our Hindu religion and the teachings and philosophy of Adi Sankara Bhagawat PaadaaL! That gentleman’s name is Paul Deussen!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 104 (Vol # 5) Dated 29 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 104 (Vol # 5) Dated 29 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 643 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)
(Note: There is a contradiction in terms of the likely dates of these events as well as the names of the sons of Chandra Sarma as per the experts in History and research analysts of the Saastraas. PeriyavaaL has gone mostly by what is given in the Patanjali Charitram and the general belief that is prevalent all over India. We can safely slide through avoiding any controversy and go by what PeriyavaaL has said.)
525. Chandra Sarma intended to go back to his Guru Gowda Paada from whom he had received Maha Bhashya Upadesa, for Sanyaasa Deeksha also. He came to know that his Guru had gone to the Himalayas and taken Sannyaasa Deeksha from Suka Brhmam and was still in the area of Badrikashram only. Earlier his Guru had asked him a question about ‘nishta pratyaya’. Now the disciple wanted ‘Brhma Nishta’ Upadesa from the same Guru! Guru Gowda Paada was thrilled to receive his old disciple. He was more than pleased to give his disciple Sannyaasa Deeksha now. From that time his ‘poorva ashrama’ name Chandra Sarma was gone to be renamed as ‘Govinda Bhagawat Paada’. Sri Krishna is the Jagat Guru. Out of his names Govinda is something special. This Chandra Sarma aka Govinda Bhagawat Paada is the one to become the Guru of our Adi Sankara later in this narrative. As Govinda is the name of the Jagat Guru for all the worlds and also our AachaaryaaL’s own immediate Guru, he seems to have had a special liking for that name that he made the whole world reiterate his famous, “Baja Govindam, Baja Govindam, Baja Govindam” song!
526. Sanyaasis in Guru Parampara. Starting from Narayana to Suka Brhmam, in our traditional lineage, nobody was a Sanyaasi as such as we know of them. None of them had shaved off the hair on their head, wearing the ochre robes and or removed their Yagnyopaveeta that is, PooNool! That is so in the case of the ever silent Aadi Guru DakshiNa Murthy too. Like Narayana and Brhma, DakshiNa Murthy has remained a divine being. It is only human beings who have to go through the four Ashramas namely Brhmacharyam, Gruhastam, Vanaprastam and Sanyasam. Vasishta, Shakti, Parasara and Vyasa are Rishis who cannot be considered as simply human beings but a class apart! They could recognise the breath of Easwara in the form of Mantras in the open spaces of the Universe (known by the generic name of Aakaasa), by their super human abilities, receive those Mantras and could transmit them for the benefit of the humanity at large. So the definition of Rishis is ‘Mantra Drashtas’ or the Seers of Mantras.
527. Some human beings tend to develop their human powers to such levels that they go beyond the limits of human capabilities. With those powers, they have also ‘Ashta Maha Siddhies’ and many other divine abilities not as something special but, as part of their ordinary abilities. So for the purposes of classification, we have three, namely Deiveekam (divine beings), Maanusham (human beings) and Aasuram (Asura or non- divine beings). With those three we have a fourth class of beings known as Aarsham (the Rishis). In terms of protocol we have Aarsham after Deiveekam and before Maanusham, as people who started as human beings, went beyond human capabilities but remained short of becoming divine beings! From Vasishta to Vyaasa they were all like that only. None of them were Sanyaasis who had cut and thrown away their PooNool or shaved their heads or taken to wearing of the ochre clothes. But they were all attained souls who had realized their Self or in other words attained Brhma Gnaana! That is, they were already arrived at the destination that is aimed to be reached through the act of taking Sannyaasa Ashrama! (We do not have to even say that DakshiNa Murthy, Narayana and Brhma; had Brhma Gnaana already!)
528. Then was Suka. In what condition was he? He was in such a condition that from childhood or even before birth, he had the clarity of Adwaita Gnaana. So, nowhere is there any talk about his taking up Sanyaasa either. No shaving off the hair on the head; no removal of PooNool as he never got Upanayanam; and no ochre clothes as he never wore any clothes at all! Such people who never had body – consciousness’ requiring wearing of clothes, were known as Digambara or Avaduta. Avaduta is somebody who has forsaken all. In Digambara, there are two words as ‘dig’ and ‘ambara’; ‘dig’ means cardinal directions and ‘ambara’ means clothes. For example ‘pitaambara’ which Sri Krishna is said to be wearing is the ‘yellow cloth’. For the Digambara the very directions are his clothes. How is that? When we are wearing clothes we are enveloped by the clothes in all directions? When there are no clothes we are enveloped and surrounded in all directions by those very directions! That is what is meant by Digambara. We ordinary folk say that they are NirvaaNa, meaning that they are naked. Knowingly or unknowingly we are correct in saying that, as they are in ‘NirvaaNa’ the truest and highest state of awareness when you are totally unaware of the world and surroundings! Suka Brhmam was in such a state.
529. NirvaaNa. The Jain and Buddhist religions are often thought of and spoken about as one religion by people from other religions due to paucity of understanding. Amongst Jains there are more people who do not wear clothes than amongst Buddhists. They are called ‘Sramanas’, which is known as ‘Samanas’ in Tamil or even ‘Amanas’ or ‘Ammanam’ which means ‘naked’! Relating their ‘Ammanam’ or nakedness with Buddhists’ NirvaNa’ may be due to the fact that these two words are almost considered as synonymous!
530. The direct meaning of NirvaaNa is ‘to blow out light of the Deepak or candle’. To blow off and extinguish the burning and bright light is NirvaaNa. Nothing else can be so obliterated as you can do with the glow of the lamp in less than even a fraction of second! Even water has to be heated, boiled and dried. Even then it becomes only water vapour. Similarly the other five ‘Boothas’ too can never be done away with. Even when you think that you have obliterated them, they will be existent in some other form not seen by the eyes! Matter can never be destroyed. For the fire to burn, we need oxygen; but the fire is not to be thought of as made up of the atoms of oxygen. Agni or fire, as it is not made up of atoms its roopa or form can be obliterated. To get so extinguished is NirvaaNa. Amongst Boothas the most powerful and virulent is this Agni. Even a small spark if fire is difficult to be tolerated. Even that small spark can burn out a whole village or forest! Remember the famous statement of Maha Kavi Bharathiyaar? “Agni – kkunjonru kanden, athai maraththinil oru pondinil vaiththen. Vendu thaNindadu kaadu”. That means, ‘I found a spark and kept it in a small hole in the tree and the forest burned and abated!’ None of the other Boothas has such potency. Only a fire’s form can be so done away with. Can you do that to a wind? You can try and create a vacuum within an enclosed space but, there will still be some air. It is like the process of division of one by two and you get half. Further as you go on halving the resultant fraction, can you ever finish?
531. The ‘Jeevaatma Bhaavam’ is something that is a body with eyes, ears and other parts, their millions of experiences with a strong sense of its being a unique ‘something’! That inner being called the ‘anta: karaNam’, with Manas (mind), Chittam (will), Buddhi (intellect) and Ahankaaram (ego); causing that each individual to feel separate and unique! These four entities though having no independent existence are beyond any control of even that one individual. So one goes on endlessly gratifying the desires of that ‘anta: karaNam’. The sense that ‘I am this body’ thus gets established with roots that are deeply and strongly embedded. With much potency like the Agni it is capable of heating, singeing, frying, drying, scorching and scalding! To cause that sense of individuality to be extinguished as we do with Agni was given the name ‘NirvaaNa’! Slowly but steadily after progressing step by step in the path of Saadhana or endeavour, that destination is reached when in the last step, almost at the threshold, there is a tornado of ‘Easwara Anugraha’ or God’s Grace, that in one fell sweep removes the sense of ‘dehaatma buddhi’ or ‘Jeevaatma Bhaava’ of being a separate individual entity. That process is very aptly given the name of ‘NirvaaNa’!
532. There is a mistaken belief that Buddha was the first one to give this process the name of NirvaaNa. Much before him, in our Saastraas this liberation of the being from the tyranny of ‘dehaatma buddhi’ or ‘Jeevaatma Bhaava’ has been christened as ‘NirvaaNa’! In the Bhagawat Gita (II – 72), Sri Krishna in defining the ‘Stitapragna’ (the one merged in Gnaana) says that he ‘brhma NirvaaNam ruchchati’, meaning that he reaches ‘Brhma NirvaaNam’. Three chapters later in the chapter on Sanyaasa Yoga (V – 24, 25 and 26th slokas) he says that the Yogi “abiding in his Self, totally merging in the inner effulgence, while still living in this mortal body experiences ‘Brhma NirvaaNa’!”
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 103 (Vol # 5) Dated 27 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 103 (Vol # 5) Dated 27 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 637 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)

515. How can a Brahmin marry a girl from the Vysya community you may wonder! But we should not forget that we are talking about an incident that happened long back. As we believe to the best of our knowledge, our AachaaryaaL’s Avatara is dated some 2,500 years back. We are looking at what happened when his Guru Govinda Bhagawat Paada was known as Chandra Sarma. Yoga Siddha Purushas like Gowda Paada and Govinda Bhagawat Paada could have lived for many hundreds of years unlike the common folks like us! As far as we can trace back there may be an unfathomable time gap here because, the spread of 72 non-Vedic religions do not get even a mention in the life history of the Guru and Parama Guru of our AachaaryaaL! The root Sanaatana Dharma was prevalent everywhere. We know that Suka AachaaryaaL is of the period of end of Dvapara Yuga and start of Kali Yuga. So these two AachaaryaaLs may be of the interregnum known as Yuga Sandhi, between 2,500 and 5,000 years back. May be Kali Yuga’s mischievous prevarications were not yet so noticeable then. There could have been many Brahmins who were still safe guarding the luminous power of their Brahma Tejas then.
516. One thing we must take note of. If the fire is powerful enough and the water is less then, water will be dried and evaporated. If the fire is small and water is more the fire can be extinguished. When the Brhma Tejas was more powerful, even when they happened to intermix with non-brahmins of lesser severity of Aachaara leading to even marriage and getting of progeny, it led to an up-gradation and ennoblement of the non-brahmin. That is how it was those days. A Brahmin had to be full of ‘Brhma Varchas’ with a tremendous self control, uncaring for women, wealth, progeny, possessions and properties. If he was like that, other castes would consider it a privilege to offer their daughters in marriage to such Brahmins as an opportunity for getting excellent offspring in their midst. He having obliged may walk out after the child is born or after imparting some education to the child, without getting mired in relationships. This custom in practice in earlier times is not approved or recommended in this Kali Yuga when ‘Brhma Varchas’ is noticeably dwindling. May be it was a socially acceptable practice in the early part of the Kali Yuga! (KTSV observes: May be this word ‘Varchas’ is the origin for the English word ‘Virtues’ as the words are very close in the meanings. The above practice may be explainable by the modern day studies of Genes / DNA and RNA.)
517. This is not acceptable for later day periods and virtually forbidden in the present day world. AachaaryaaL talks about people of his age itself as ‘alpa veeryatvaat’ ‘heena veeryeshuvaa vaartamaanikeshu manushyeshu’; to mean ‘nowadays people are of lesser potency and power’! That is some 2,500 years before now! (Refer to AachaaryaaL’s Bhashyam for BrhadaaraNyaka Upanishad 1.4.10.) Though he did his best to rekindle that Brhma Tejas and made it shine bright and effulgent, once again nowadays, the situation is worse than before! Now further mixing of castes instead of lifting up the lower castes will only lead to further deterioration of whatever Brhma Tejas that is there in the Brahmins!
518. In the times of Chandra Sarma instead of personal desire for it, due to some necessities as applicable to specific situations, there could have been some rare occasions of Brahmins conceding to such inter caste liaisons. That is why that Vysya father must have been keen on enabling his daughter to wed this brilliant young Brahmin evidently. But Chandra Sarma was not at all keen about this. Having earned the Maha Bhashyam after so much of effort and perseverance, he was mainly interested in teaching the Maha Bhashyam to worthy students. He was not for getting involved in the binding fetters of a family and household! So he started to go from there saying that he had no intention to get married. His dispassion and lack of interest in getting married further added fuel to the fire of the father and daughter’s firm resolve to get him anyhow!
519. The father was very clear that he was not going to let this lad get away. He said, “Your very life is her dole and charity out of human kindness to you, let alone being a Brahmin! We have every right to demand you as a son-in-law. Come to the King’s court. Let us find a solution to our dispute as per the King’s orders!” So, they went to the King’s court. One look at Chandra Sarma with his apparent brilliance and intelligence borne out of years of self control, Karma Anushtaana and Vidya Shoba; the King was already thinking of giving his daughter in marriage to this boy, even before the Vysya father could come out with his complaint! The King was deliberating, “This boy is looking very good. He has an attractiveness that goes beyond just the physical. We have been searching for an eligible match for our daughter everywhere! This Brahmin youth is the ideal choice. Let us check up with our minister if such a marriage has approval of the Saastraas.” He called forth the nearest servant, “Hey, who is there? Call my chief minister here at once!”
520. The minister came there. Normally the ministers used to be well read Brahmins. As he entered the place, one look at Chandra Sarma was enough to make him a fan of Chandra Sarma. The funny thing was that he also had a daughter of marriageable age. He was thinking, “Oh I see! It is evidently my good luck. The King knowing the fact that I have a daughter ready for marriage, has called me to tell me that he has selected this boy as my future son-in-law!” Before he could open his mouth, the King was enquiring the rules as per the Saastraas if it permits a Kshatriya girl to be wedded to a Brahmin boy!
521. The Minister clarified the situation saying that the proposal had the approval of the Saastraas. He further added a Brahmin boy with Brhma Tejas and Varchas could marry in the same Muhurtam (that is, auspices moment) a girl each from each one of the four Varnas, that is, Kshathriyas, Brahmins, Vysya and Sudras! He also put up his request to get his daughter also married to this boy! The king happily agreed that half the job is over. Unexpectedly getting a clarification for his case, the Vysya father who had brought this boy to the King’s court, also pleaded for his case, as to how his daughter had nursed and revived the Brahmin boy from near death situation! The King happily agreed to this plea also! So the appeal from three would be Father-in-laws had the King’s sanction and approval from the Saastraas! To make the three-quarters case wholesome, there was also a girl from the fourth caste waiting on the side lines!
522. Her case was this. She was a good looking girl of excellent character from the shepherd community. She used to serve the wayfarer mendicant Saadhus with milk and butter and take care of their creature comforts. They had blessed her that she is so noble and virtuous that she will one day get married to a Brahmin boy! They had given her description and signs to be able to recognise him when she sees him. That prediction was coming true now as this Chandra Sarma just evidently is the one indicated by those Saadhus! One after another seeing how it all developed, Chandra Sarma realised that this was just the Easwara Sankalpa (God’s wish) in addition to the King’s orders, that he should not only marry, but marry four girls one from each caste! Having decided not to ever get married, he ended up tying four knots to four different girls!
523. When you do get married, then you have to manage the Gruhasta Ashrama Dharma. Chandra Sarma got a son each from his wives and they were all intelligent children. Chandra Sarma educated all of them and taught them the Maha Bhashyam. To save the traditional Dharma Anushtaanaas one child is enough. The first born is called ‘Dharmaja’ given the responsibility to do Karmas. The children born after that are only ‘Karmaja’, who are to stand on their own and make a living. Amongst Namboodri Brahmins the household property goes to the eldest only. Because the ancestral property is also meant for works related to Dharma only. Similarly in royalty too the crown automatically goes to the eldest son only and not distributed amongst all the children. After the birth of a son each Chandra Sarma remained with Indriya Nigraha (that is, self control). By his superior intellectual acumen, his children were also quite brilliant. Since he had the responsibility to spread the knowledge of the Maha Bhashyam, he taught them all that he had ever learnt. Having spent some years on this, knowing that Maha Bhashyam will spread amongst the people after this, he gave up the married life and walked away as a mendicant nomad Sanyaasi.
524. The readers may like to know as to what happened to his children, quite rightly. As given in the Patanjali Charitram the son born to the Brahmin lady is the intellectual giant Vararuchi, known in the world of Sanskrit literature as next only to PaaNini and Patanjali, also known as Kaatyaayana. He was one of the Nava Ratna (Nine Gems) of the Vikrama Aaditya’s court! The boy born to the Kshatriya wife was this Vikrama Aditya himself! The third wife, the Vysya lady who took good care of Chandra Sarma when he was totally lost to the world, begot a son named Patti. He was Vikrama Aaditya’s Chief Minister. He has written a book known as ‘Patti Kaavyam’ that explains the rules of grammer through the story of Ramayana! The son born to the lady from the fourth caste was known as Bartruhari, who was a great poet and moralist as well as an Adwaitin and became as famous as the other three brothers of his!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 102 (Vol # 5) Dated 25 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 102 (Vol # 5) Dated 25 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 631 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)
(Note: There has been a factual error in Deivathin Kural # 101 (Vol # 5) Dated 23 Dec 2011. Make the following corrections please. For the existing para 501 read what is given below within Quotes.)
QUOTES.
501. Having handed over all his knowledge of the Maha Bhashyam, Gowda Paada searched for a Guru who is a Jeevan Mukta who could teach him Aatma Gnaana. He learnt that Suka AachaaryaaL was in Badrikashram those days. From the banks of the Narmada River he found his way to Badrikashram in the Himalayas and surrendered to Suka, who gave him Sannyaasa and Gnaana Upadesa. The one who did the Upadesa was a Brhma Gnaani from birth as we have seen earlier. He then remained in Badrikashram totally merged in Brhma Gnaana and came to be known as Gowda Paada AachaaryaaL, finding a place in the ‘Brhma Vidya Guru Parampara’! (Later Chandra Sarma took Sanyaasa Upadesa also from this Guru – Gowda Paada AachaaryaaL.)
END QUOTES.

505. Suka was the very embodiment of Gnaana. But, that does not mean that you cannot have devotion. It was Suka who narrated the devotional story of Bhagawatam to King Parikchit. Our AachaaryaaL though steeped in Adwaita Gnaana, has not left out any God or Goddess for whom he has not written slokas of devotion! Similar is the case of Gowda PaadaaL. On the western shores of India in Goa there is a place called Shiroda, where there is ‘Gowda Paadaachaarya Matam’ of Gowda Saaraswata Sect. See the national unity in this! Goa is located in KonkaNa Desa in the border of Karnataka, one of the five Dravida States of Yore. Saaraswatas are originating from Kashmir one of the five Gowda States. Govinda Bhagawat Paada is a Kashmiri. Gowda Paada is a Gowda. In that Guru Parampara, our AachaaryaaL is a Dravida from Kerala!
506. For Gowda Paadaa’s Maandookya Kaarika, our AachaaryaaL has written a Bhashyam. At the end of that Bhashyam he is singing praise of his Parama Guru Gowda Paada saying, “Gowda Paada out of his infinite kindness has given to the mortal human beings so deeply mired in the worldly affairs, the nectar of Gnaana that is not so easily available to even immortal divine beings known as Amaras, a name derived from the very Amirtam or Nectar which they are said to have partaken!” Further he says that his Parama Guru is venerable amongst all who are highly respectable – ‘poojyaa abhi poojyam ‘. I do fall on his feet to pay my respects to him – ‘parama gurum amum paada paatair natosmi’! People are stuck in the cruel and inescapable grasp of crocodile’s mouth which is the birth – death cycle in the ocean of life. So, AachaaryaaL says, “Gowda Paada, out of his infinite kindness, using his Gnaana as the Mandara Mountain, churns the ocean of milk that is the Vedas, brings out the Nectar of Adwaita Amirtam and distributes it to the people of the world”. Prostrating to him our AachaaryaaL falls (paata) in his Parama Guru’s feet (paada) – that is, falls in the feet of Gowda Paada. With great Mahatma’s names it is the tradition to add a respectful suffix as ‘Paada’. With the same meaning in Tamil, we add the suffix ‘AdigaL’.
507. The one whose feet, is our end destination is called the ‘Paada or PaadaaL’. Here the one who is falling in the feet of Gowda Paada has a name as Bhagawat Paada that is the very form of our own journey’s end, ‘Easwara CharaNaaravinda Swaroopa’! Our AachaaryaaL and his Guru are the only two persons with whose names it is the custom to add the suffix ‘Bhagawat Paada’ instead of just ‘Paada’; as Govind Bhagawat Paada and Sankara Bhagawat Paada.
508. There used to be a system in the olden times, to give at the end of each chapter / Adhyaaya / Canto; details of the author as written by disciple of so and so, by such and such a person by name, title of the book and chapter number or end of the book; known as ‘Pushpikai’ or Colophon, like the Footer in today’s terminology. In our AachaaryaaL’s books while making such colophons, instead of saying ‘Bhagawat Paada’, he is referred as God Himself, ‘as Bhagawaan’ – for example – ‘iti Sri Govinda Bhagawat poojya paada sishyasya – Sri Sankara Bhagawata: krutow’! OK! We finished the story of Gowda Paada in Badrikashram, sitting in Aatma Nishta under the feet of Suka Brhmam! What happened to Chandra Sarma whom we left with all the knowledge of Maha Bhashyam, on the banks of Narmada River? How and when did he become Govinda Bhagawat Paada?
Chandra Sarma’s Story.
509. Before we talk about as to what happened after receiving the Maha Bhashya Upadesa from Gowda Brhma Raakshasa, we have to know as to what was his life in the previous birth. In his previous life, this Chandra Sarma was none other than Patanjali himself! Mahatmas have both powers to give boons and blessings as ‘Anugraha Shakti’ as well as, power to curse or ‘shaapa’. He did both to Gowda Paada, isn’t it so? He gave him a curse to become a Brhma Raakshasa and also gave him the ‘Anugraha’ that he transferred all the knowledge of the Maha Bhashya in one go to Gowda! Then for a number of years there was no one who merited enough to receive that knowledge, as I told you. Patanjali was worried about this state of affairs that despite carrying out God’s orders of writing the Bhashyam, the knowledge remained bottled up, being of no use to the world! The Saastra was to be publicised and the disciple’s curse is also to be lifted. Not finding anyone to fill the qualitative requirements, he himself took another Avatara as Chandra Sarma. Thus the Guru Patanjali became a disciple to his own disciple and learnt the Maha Bhashyam from him and wrote it all on fig leaves.
510. If you ask me as to why should he have to write his own work, the only answer can be that all that happened before the Avatara cannot be expected to be remembered. More over once this human form is assumed even Avatara Purushas are covered by some shade of ignorance with varying intensity. So the Patanjali Avatara was going towards Chidambaram and met Gowda Paada as a Brhma Raakshasa on the banks of the Narmada River and thus learnt the Maha Bhashyam as well as wrote it down! After Brhma Raakshasa got his Gowda roopa back and went in search of Suka Brhmam, Chandra Sarma also got down from the tree and started back home with his bundle of fig leaves manuscript.
511. Having not slept for days together, he was very hungry and tired. With just the bundle of fig leaves beside him he fell asleep. As luck would have it a goat came there and started munching the leaves! After many troubles and tribulations, the Maha Bhashyam written in the blood of Chandra Sarma was lost to the world! In God’s Leela such things do take place. Whatever one may say, the whole world is still never the whole and remains incomplete! Luckily the goat only ate a part of the bundle. Rest is what is available for the world, thus getting a name as, ‘Aja Bhakshita Bhashyam’ to mean, ‘The Bhashyam Partially Eaten by the Goat’!
512. Chandra Sarma got up and to his shock, noticed that his manuscript written so arduously had been partially lost. What to do? He picked up the balance and was on his way. He reached Ujjain. There he came to a trader’s house. In the houses of the past, outside the house on either side of the entrance, there used to be a raised platform known as ‘ThiNNai’. That place is meant for wayfarers to rest, protected from rain and sun with walls on three sides with the roof of the house extending to cover it. He kept his bundle of leaves manuscript and went to sleep. For days together he was sleeping like a log!
513. The house owner had a daughter. She rather liked this wayfarer with an apparent brilliant aura around him! She took pity on this man who evidently was extremely tired and thus sleeping on for days together without getting up! She decided to try and save his life. She knew as to how to treat such cases, as she had some knowledge of Vaidyam, treatment of patients as per the Ayurveda methods of treatment. She brought cooked rice and mixed it with curd. This she applied on his stomach, rubbing it in. By the root of hair follicle the nourishment entered the system. You may wonder if anybody can be fed like this! There is such a method in our Vaidya Saastraas. Nowadays, people inject through a needle directly in to body and give intra venous or intra muscular injections. But in our Ayurveda methods, there is a procedure using the root of the human hair. The ‘Navarakkizhi’ method uses this to introduce medicated oils through a body massage in to the human body.
514. After a few days of such treatment Chandra Sarma could get enough energy to wake up. His first concern was to see if his bundle of leaves manuscript was safe enough. From deep sleep of being unaware he had woken up into the ‘jaagrat avastha’ of wakefulness. The Maha Bhashya bundle was also safe and sound! He picked his bundle and started out! The owner of the house stopped him. He said, “This is very funny! My daughter has been working day and night to revive you from a death like condition as she has taken a liking for you! Here you are, without even a word of thanks, ready to go? She has saved your life, man! First you better take her permission to do whatever!”
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 101 (Vol # 5) Dated 23 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 101 (Vol # 5) Dated 23 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 623 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)
494. Do you know as to why the Gowda who became a Brhma Raakshasa selected the Narmada River bank as his future residence? It was due to the fact of its being located at an important traffic bottle neck! Not in terms of what we know of traffic these days. In the days of yore, people were either on foot or on carts driven by oxen or some such animals. All such traffic between Gowda Desa in the North and Dravida Desa in the South was through that particular River Crossing! So, he could have plenty of choice of Brahmins who have done Adhyayanam as his potential food, while simultaneously increase the possibilities of finding someone who could correctly answer his question and thus provide eventual salvation from the curse.
495. There having seated himself on a tree, he would call up a suitable traveller and ask him answers to his question as advised by his Guru. The question is as to what happens to ‘pach’ dhatu when it is added to nishta pratyaya. For long nobody could answer his question. He will kill them and make them ‘mince meat’ for his dinner or whatever! We see a lot of such words in English, which have similar pronunciation with different spelling and words with similar spelling and different pronunciation, for example, ‘but, cut and put’; and ‘rough, tough and puff’’; and so on. Not only children, even elders can make mistakes unless they were well grounded in grammer and usage.
496. Since there was a need for the Brhma Raakshasa to select a well qualified student to be taught the whole of the Maha Bhashya, he would so ask the question that the not so well qualified persons would get confused. The questions and answer session would go something like this. “What is the nishta roopa of ‘bhuj’? The answer would come forth, ‘bhuktam’. OK. What is nishta roopa of ‘synch’? Answer ‘siktam’. OK. What is the nishta roopa of ‘pach’? Answer would come automatically ‘paktam’!” The Brhma Raakshasa will laugh and say, “Oh Ho! You said ‘paktam’, and you are wrong! The answer should have been ‘pakvam’. So I will make you into ‘pakvam’!” Finished, the poor wayfarer becomes one more dinner! Many years went by like this.
497. Then one day a young man with apparent aura of brilliance arrived there. He was from Kashmir. Even at that northern end of the country, the information had reached him that some 2000 miles down south, in Chidambaram Patanjali was teaching the Maha Bhashyam. He was going down south for that reason only. Looking at him the Gowda Brhma Raakshasa was very happy that he was about to get a first rate meals! As usual, he came in front of the wayfarer in the guise of a Brahmin and started asking questions. Having asked the ‘nishta pratyaya’ for many root verbs, he came on to the word ‘pach’. This boy instead of making a mistake correctly answered ‘pakvam’!
498. The Gowda Brhma Raakshasa did not feel bad that he is going to miss his lunch, but felt immensely pleased that he had found a suitably worthy student to receive the Maha Bhashyam and also that, finally the period of his curse was at an end! He asked him, “Who and wherefrom are you and where are you proceeding to?” He replied, “My name is Chandra Gupta Sharma. I came to know that in Chidambaram, Patanjali is conducting Maha Bhashya classes. I am going there to learn the same.” Brhma Raakshasa replied, “All that is past history. That Maha Bhashyam is here with me which you can learn from me. You do not have to go there. For years I have been waiting for a suitable person worthy of learning that wealth of knowledge. What Patanjali gave me, I shall give you now and later you can share it with as many as you wish. Sit down and I shall teach you!”
499. There is a proverb in Tamil which says, “kumbidappona deivam kurukke vandadu” to mean that “The god whom I went to pray to, came in my way!” Chandra Sarma was thrilled at the opportunity of getting this unexpected bonanza! But it is not easy to have a Brhma Raakshasa as a Guru! The Raakshasa Guru laid many difficult conditions. He had to behave abnormally cruelly, which is quite normal for a Raakshasa, isn’t it? He declared, “I will teach you sitting in this fig tree only. I will start just now. I will finish it only as when I please. You have to sit here in the branch of this tree only and either memorise or take down notes. Uncaring for day or night, I will just carry on dictating. You cannot get down from the tree. You cannot go to sleep and you are not to eat!” Anyhow Chandra Sarma had no choice but to accept whatever the conditions! He was keen on learning the Maha Bhashyam and nobody else in the world was capable of teaching it! What cannot be avoided has to be endured, isn’t it? So he consented to all the conditions laid by the Brhma Raakshasa.
500. This unique and uncommon Guru – Sishya avant-garde teaching session started off. The Guru was going at super-fast speed. To write down, the disciple had no paper, pencil, ink or pen! He was not to get down from the tree! Chandra Sarma scratched his thigh. The pen was a twig from the tree and the fig leaves formed the paper and the ink was the blood oozing out from his thighs! This strange session carried on for nine days continuously! As the Guru continued to dictate, the Sishya carried on writing on fig leaves. That was the level of sacrifice and devotion to teaching and learning that the Guru and Sishya duo could evince! Chandra Sarma packed all the leaves in order. That is what is available today as Maha Bhashyam. By Chandra Sarma’s perseverance and hard work, his Guru’s Raakshasa roopa was erased. Having completed this monumental task, Chandra Sarma’s mind now turned towards Gnaanam, Vairaagyam and such.
501. Having handed over all his knowledge of the Maha Bhashyam, Gowda Paada searched for a Guru who is a Jeevan Mukta who could teach him Aatma Gnaana. He learnt that Suka AachaaryaaL was in Badrikashram those days. From the banks of the Narmada River he found his way to Badrikashram in the Himalayas and surrendered to Suka, who gave him Sannyaasa and Gnaana Upadesa. The one who did the Upadesa was a Brhma Gnaani from birth as we have seen earlier. He then remained in Badrikashram totally merged in Brhma Gnaana and came to be known as Gowda Paada AachaaryaaL, finding a place in the ‘Brhma Vidya Guru Parampara’! (Later Chandra Sarma took Sanyaasa Upadesa also from the same Guru – Gowda Paada AachaaryaaL.)
502. In Aachaarya Parampara the line of divine characters of PuraNas finishes with Suka. From there starts the Guru Parampara of human beings like you and me, called the ‘Maanava Sampradaaya’! In that lineage, Gowda Paada AachaaryaaL’s name is the first. The first book ever written totally on Adwaita philosophy is said to be ‘Maandookhya Upanishad Kaarikai’, as confirmed by the modern day philosophers, was written by Gowda Paada. Going deep in to the truth of the principle of what is Aatma, it discards many ideas and concepts finally arriving at Shantam – Sivam – Adwaitam – Tureeyam beyond wakefulness, sleep and dream, the ever present reality of all existence as the Self or Aatma; is this Maandookhya Upanishad! Kaarikai means the ‘precise statement of the doctrine’. It is in elaboration of what is given in the Upanishad!
503. You might have heard of the name, ‘Yapparungalakkaarikai’ in Tamil. ‘Yaapparungalam’ is a work on the rules governing the making of poems. The Kaarikai for that is work further elaborating those rules on form and metres. Dwaitam is a creation of Maya. Giving no chance for any doubt or confusion created by duality of Maya, this Upanishad is pure Adwaitam. Its first part is ‘Aagama PrakaraNa’. Thus it is also known as ‘Aagama Saastram’. Normally ‘Aagama Saastram’ is the book on devotional procedures. In Adwaita Vedaanta, it is Gowda Paada Kaarikai that is the Aagama Saastram. This Gowda Paada though he completely set aside the Maya, has also written ‘Subhakodayam’ which is a book on devotional procedures for AmbaaL, who at one and the same time is Maya SwaroopiNi and Brhma Vidya SwaroopiNi!
504. Gnaana and Bhakti. Having been deeply involved in devotion to God and devotional procedures of Karma Anushtaana; once the Saadhak enters the Nivrutti Marga, till he attains to Aatma Gnaana, the world with all its give and take transactions is to be just set aside as simply part of illusion of Maya and Leela! Then there is no scope for devotion – as there is no chance for thinking of oneself as this man or person and God or the Deity as He or She or That! After Gnaana has been understood, realized or comprehended, nobody can push you back into the delusion of Maya. (Short of it, the threat is very much there.) So, after Realization, one could dare to get involved in the worldly affairs without any fear! Then you will be seeing all the happenings of life as the Maya Leela of Easwara. The Gnaani enjoys the Easwara Swaroopa also as the NirguNa Swaroopa only. With that he can have the freedom to enjoy the SaguNa Leela of God and be devoted to God too. Then it becomes a matter of personal preference! With that automatically it is but natural for him to feel ‘KaruNa’ of empathy for the downtrodden lot of the people of the world. To motivate them and to be a model to be emulated, he can and does participate in devotional procedures; for their sake, not with the idea of one’s own superiority but with the idea of enabling others to share one’s own bliss!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 100 (Vol # 5) Dated 21 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 100 (Vol # 5) Dated 21 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 615 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)
483. Having placed a curtain around his self with the instruction that no one is to leave without his permission, Patanjali Muni was conducting classes on the Maha Bhashyam for a long time. Each student was in direct communication with the teacher individually. He had given instructions that the curtain was not to be lifted to obviate the fire hazard. The classes went on smoothly for quite some time. Then one of the students got curious to see as to how this one man behind the screen is ‘multi tasking himself’, to be able to teach so many students! ‘There must be some magic involved here’, he thought! Breaking the Guru’s orders, he lifted the curtain. The effulgent brilliance of his being, Laser like eye sight and poisonous breath reduced all the students into ashes instantly! If you break the teacher’s orders, much harm is in store for you, says the Patanjali Charitam; ‘guru vachana-vyati-langanam-hi –anartha:’.
484. Thus the class on VyakaraNam ended in complete chaos! Instead of total chaos, there was one exception. Instead of all 1,000 students being burnt off one escaped! In all, out of the students 999 were reduced to ashes. That was one in a thousand saved! I do not know if the quote, ‘aayiraththil oruvan or hazaron me ek’ came from that incident! How was he saved? He was slightly dull witted. The subject was not very clear to him. Somehow he was controlling himself all these days. He had come from thousands of miles away from Bengal known as Gowda Desam.
485. In India, all lands north of the Vindya Hills were known as Gowda Desam and areas south of it were called the Dravida Desam. Gowda Desam was in five parts and so was the Dravida Desam in five parts. The Pancha Gowdas were inclusive of people of Kashmir called the Saraswaths, people of present day Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were known as Kanya Gubjas, present Nepal and Bihar were Mythilas, people of Orissa were known as Utkalas and Bengal and east of it were together retained the name of Gowdas. Pancha Dravidas included Kurjara of present day Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra, Karnataka and the Tmilians of the south. Malayalam as a language evolved out of Sanskrit and Tamil, only some thousand years back. They were part of Dravida Desam. It may be noted that when the Britishers became the rulers in this country, it is these Gowdas from Bengal and Dravidas from south who picked up their language fast and started filling up the vacancies from the clerical to the I.C.S. level of the bureaucracy.
486. Let us come back to our ‘one in a thousand’ who escaped being reduced to ashes, when patanjali was teaching his Bhashyam for VyakaraNam! He had felt like going for a pee. With that excuse he had just slipped out. Then when he came back none of the other students were to be seen! Guru Patanjali was feeling very sad that children from various part of the country had just disappeared! His aim was to finish the teaching quickly and go back to stand beside Nataraja. He was in a very bad state of grief! This student who had gone away without permission hesitatingly approached his teacher. Seeing him Patanjali was happy that at least one had been saved and so invited him back with a smile on his face.
487. Since all his plans to teach a thousand students had been annulled, he decided to teach at least this one student properly. But this student was rather a dullard and he was wondering as to how long the process of teaching is going to take! Already so much effort had been wasted. This boy being slow on the uptake, we have to be prepared for a long slog, he thought. Then it occurred to him that he may have recourse to a short cut! What the father earns over a life time, don’t the son inherit in one go? So we should simply grant him all that knowledge in a flash, he thought.
488. Divine people can do much with their ‘Anugraha Sakti’. What is sung in some distant place is converted in to radio waves broad cast over the skies and received here and reconverted in to sound waves instantly and heard isn’t it? Much more magical transmissions can be done by such Mahatmas by using their super human powers. All their knowledge acquired over a life time could be transmitted to their disciple in one concentrated dose with utter clarity, if they wish so! Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa is supposed to have done that to Vivekananda, in recent times. Human beings by using their limited mortal powers could first of all live a life of Dharma. As they refine themselves and progress, they could become worthy of divine experiences and even attain to the highest of all Gnaana! Motivating people on such lines becomes one of the duties of Avatara Purushas. Controlling their divine powers, mostly they will try and do things with their human capabilities only. Only when it becomes absolutely necessary, they will resort to their divine powers. That is how initially Patanjali started teaching his thousand students with the idea of giving individual attention to each of the students. That is why he took the Adisesha Roopa. But having come upon this accidental fiasco, he had to fall back on his divine powers.
489. Patanjali looked at Gowda and blessed him saying, “Whatever I know in VyakaraNam may become known to you too”. At once Gowda was knowledgeable of it all! Teaching of Maha Bhashyam was done. But there was a problem too. Having gone out without permission, he was due to become a Brhma Raakshasa as per Patanjali’s original orders, isn’t it? Their words can never go waste. You cannot take it back also. The only way their words can be retraced or undone is by adding some conditions for the lifting of the earlier curse! This Gowda has to become a Brhma Raakshasa anyhow. We can now lay the conditions on which he could be relieved, Patanjali thought.
490. The Condition for the Lifting of the Curse: A Novel Method for Selection for a Job! The Brhma Raakshasa will pose questions only to those who have done Veda Adhyayanam, and kill and eat those who do not reply correctly, isn’t it? So now this Gowda, after he becomes a Brhma Raakshasa is to ask a question related to VyakaraNa. If that person gives a correct reply, he is fit enough to learn everything about the Maha Bhashyam. So, all that Gowda has now learnt about Maha Bhashyam by Anugraha Shakti, will have to be taught in a humane manner to that worthy student. Once he has completed the coaching, he will be relieved of the effects of the curse and cease to be a Brhma Raakshasa anymore and become the same Gowda as before! Having so decided, Patanjali taught him the question he is to ask and the correct answer for that.
491. Now, I will try to explain the question asked by the Brhma Raakshasa and the correct answer for that, for which I have to tell you some details of Sanskrit grammer. In Sanskrit, there is something known as ‘pratyaya’. With a word, we add some ‘viguthi’ as we say in Tamil or ‘suffix’ as it is called in English. So, ‘pratyaya’, ‘viguthi’ and ‘suffix’ are synonyms. There are many types of ‘pratyaya’ such as. ‘tatidam, krut, sup, thing, and nishta’. In this question asked by the Brhma Raakshasa, we are concerned with the ‘nishta’ pratyaya. The root word (Prakruti) in this should be the Dhatu (or source) of a verb. When you add the ‘nishta pratyaya’ the verb becomes a noun. For example if you take the word ‘buj’ (to mean ‘eat’) and you add the pratyaya it becomes ‘bukta’, to mean ‘edible or eatable or the food eaten’. Similarly, ‘rakta’ is reddened and ‘sikta’ is wetted. From this you can make out that when for a verb the Nishta pratyayam is added at the end, the word ends in ‘...kta’. There is one exception. That dhatu or verb is ‘pach’. With nishta pratyaya, instead of ‘pakta’, it becomes ‘pakva’ to mean cooked. When we say in Tamil that the food is ‘pakkuvam’, what we mean is that the food is ‘soft and well cooked’! Similarly when we talk about a refined person we say in Tamil the he is a ‘pakkuvam aanavar’, to mean that he is a very well behaved and ripened person! To convey this fact that only when joining the ‘pach’ dhatu, the nishta pratyaya, instead of ending in ‘kta’ ends in ‘kva’; there is a Sutra in PaaNini’s VyaakaraNa, “pacho va:”!
492. Many people do not know this exception to the rule. So Patanjali decided that Gowda after he becomes a Brhma Raakshasa, he should ask this question about the exception to the rule regarding pratyaya of nishta to verbal root words. So, he told Gowda, “Since you took a break without permission, you have to suffer being a Brhma Raakshasa for a period. You can ask those whom you catch as to what is the exception to rule regarding nishta pratyaya to verb root words. Anybody giving a wrong answer will become your food. The moment somebody answers correctly, teach him the whole of Maha Bhashyam and by that PuNya you will get the relief from this curse of becoming a Brhma Raakshasa and regain your original roopa”.
493. Gowda’s Later History. Gowda became a Brhma Raakshasa and flew off in the sky. We do not know his real name and know him only from the place he belonged to. Like we have in the music world, people with place names such as, ‘Semmangudi’ and Ariyakkudi’, we know him only as Gowda. May be because he was not so noticeable for brilliance of brains, he might have been considered as one amongst many. Since he had come from a very far off place, for learning grammer, he just might have been referred by the place of his origin as Gowda and it stuck to him. He came by the sky route to the banks of Narmada River and appropriated an Arasa Maram (a fig tree considered as a king amongst trees), as his residence!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 99 (Vol # 5) Dated 19 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 99 (Vol # 5) Dated 19 Dec 2011

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavaaL of Kanchi Kaamakoti Peetam, over a period of some 60 years while he was the pontiff in the earlier part of the last century. These have been published by Vanadi Padippagam, Chennai, in seven volumes of a thousand pages each as Deivathin Kural. Today we are proceeding from page No 607 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)
471. For his book on prognosis and diagnosis for the treatment of the diseased body, the title is not accredited to the name of Patanjali but to Charaka, whereas his original book on Yoga and his Bhashyam for Grammer, carry that name of Patanjali. He who had given very valuable Saastraas for ‘Tri – KaraNa’ Suddhi, has also given the Saastra for the treatment of physical diseases including the methods of identifying and treatment of ‘Tri – Dhaatu – Suddhi’ namely, ‘Pittam (bile), Vaadam (various air pressures in the body being either over active or not being sufficiently effective) and Kabam (expectorations from the sinus of phlegm with mucous). To stop wrongful thoughts and thereby attain thoughtlessness through Yoga Sutra; to talk grammatically through the Maha Bhashyam; and to avoid diseases through Charaka Samhitai; thus are three major contributions by Patanjali for Tri – KaraNa Suddhi! (If the body is not functioning properly, if the eyes do not see properly, or the ears do not hear correctly or any of the other body parts do not function properly, all our actions become topsy turvy, isn’t it? So to correct that imbalance is what the Vaidya Saastram is meant for.)
472. PaaNini’s Sutras are also known as ‘Ashtaadhyaayi’, as they have eight chapters. So Patanjali’s Maha Bhashyam also has eight parts and thus is known as ‘Ashtaanga Yogam’. In Vaidya Saastram also there is a book by the name of ‘Ashtaanga Hrudayam’. But that book is not the same as Patanjali’s ‘Charaka Samhita’. It has been done by one ‘Vaakpata’. Patanjali Maharshi has thus taught us the way of obviating all mistakes that are likely by the ‘Tri – KaraNa’. So, the word ‘apaa karot’ means ‘obviated’ all possible mistakes. Such a great contributor for all people’s well being is being referred as, ‘muneenaam pravaram’ to mean the first amongst the best of them! I started telling you the order of excellence of the Aachaarya Parampara. He stands first among them all. ‘For such a Patanjali I am expressing my special regards’ says the Sloka at the end, ‘patanjalim praanjalir aanatosmi’!
473. I will share with you another special feature of these three books. Whatever the Saastra, there are three types of books namely, Sutram, Bhashyam and Vaartikam. Sutram is the basic text containing the rules and parameters of that particular subject covered by that book briefly, precisely and succinctly! Sutram can be very close in style and form to a book of Aphorisms! To enable understanding that, the Bhashyam gives the meaning and explanatory notes. Vaartikam is the further detailed analysis, like expanding, enlarging and going deeper into the subject matter, while remaining faithful to both the Sutram and Bhashyam. Generally the Sutram has greater authority while there could be some examples wherein one or two or all three having equal validity. In Patanjali’s three books, for Yoga it is a book of Sutras, In VyakaraNam (Grammer) it is Bhashyam and in Vaidyam (Medicine) it is Vaartikam!
474. Further special value of Patanjali’s contributions is the fact that in each of the three different subjects, whether it is Sutram or Bhashyam or Vaartikam, his words are the authority of greater validity and acceptance! In Yoga Saastram Patanjala Sutram gets the first place. For that Sutra Vyasa has written a Bhashyam and for that Bhashyam Vaachaspati Mishra and Vignaana Bikshu have written the Vaartikam. Neither the Bhashyam nor the Vaartikam have the popularity as does the Sutram. If you take the subject of grammer, though PaaNini’s Sutra is very logical and complete, not leaving anything to chance, clearly explaining the rules of the Sanskrit Language! Though people are struck dumb at the complexity and enormity of the work, when it comes to understanding it, they have to break their heads. Patanjali’s Bhashyam softens the VyakaraNa Sutra’s hardness and enables the readers to understand the same, and thus has more authority and acceptance. Though there are many Bhashyams for many Sutras on various subjects, it is Patanjali’s Bhashyam which has the special prefix as the ‘Maha’ Bhashyam! Similarly in Vaidya Saastram too, more fame, authority, publicity and acceptance are due to ‘Charakam’ only! Another book of authority in Ayur Veda is what is done by ‘Susruta’, which is mainly concerned with surgical procedures and instruments. Though they are much appreciated by the intelligentsia, practically speaking the Ayurvedic surgical practices have been replaced by Allopathic methods, whereas in the field of prognosis, diagnosis and administration of medicines, Ayurveda still holds its own relevance and popularity in which Patanjali’s Charaka Samhita is the authority.
475. For the art of dancing as there is Bharata Saastram, for Governance and Economics, there is Artha Saastram. Similarly for Grammer it is Maha Bhashyam; for Yoga it is Paatanjala Sutram; and for treatment of diseases it is Charakam; all by Patanjali continue to be relevant till date! In one way all three books are concerned with removal of Malam in their respective fields. Though the Yoga Saastra has pre-eminence as the Saastra for Aatma, for intelligentsia and brains, it is the Maha Bhashyam which has importance as it teaches the Deva Bhasha Sanskrit. Even for understanding Aatma Saastras, knowledge of language and grammer is essential, isn’t it? For Yoga there are some contrary opinions. I would say that Adwaitam itself is slightly against the idea of Yoga! But, Maha Bhashyam is universally acceptable for all.
476. In Chidambaram enrolling a large number of disciples, Patanjali started teaching them Maha Bhashyam. PaaNini wrote the VyakaraNa Sutra by noting the sounds of the Udukkai that Nataraja was holding in his hands and playing on, and the Maha Bhashyam was an elucidation cum commentary on that isn’t it? So, it was very appropriate that the teaching of the Maha Bhashyam was started in that place. There is a devotional but humorous poem (Ref – Yagnya Narayana Deekshidar’s ‘Sahitya Ratnakara – XI. 124.), connecting PaaNini’s Sutram and Patanjali’s Bhashyam with Nataraja’s hands and legs respectively. A synonym for hands in Sanskrit is PaaNi. So PaaNini has written the Sutra for the sounds of the Udukkai in the PaaNi of Nataraja, forming the basic sounds of VyakaraNam. Now what is the connection between Nataraja’s legs and Patanjali’s Bhashyam?
478. Patanjali was not happy enough standing close to Nataraja while he was dancing. He was the anklet around the legs of Nataraja like an ornament made of beads inside a metal casing. To the movements of the legs and sounds of the Udukkai, the anklet will be making sounds in absolute synchrony and harmony! That becomes the Maha Bhashyam for the Sutra on VyakaraNa by PaaNini. So, the Sloka says that the sounds from the hands form the Sutra for which the explanatory notes come from the sounds of the anklet in the legs of Nataraja! In later days too it became the custom to have a special edifice inside the Sivan Koils for the specific purpose of teaching Sanskrit grammer and the place was known as VyakaraNa Mandapam.
479. Just imagine Patanjali conducting lectures on his Bhashyam, in the Aayiram Kaal Mandapam (a building with a thousand pillars). He after all is the Adisesha with a thousand tongues! There is an adage which says, ‘aayiram naa padaitha aadiseshan thaan sollaNum’, meaning, ‘only that Adisesha with a thousand tongues has to say that’, for it to be appropriate! Normally Patanjali Muni was only in the normal human form with one face only. But now to learn from him there were a thousand students. So, he decided to take the form of Adisesha with a thousand heads at the time of teaching the students.
480. Human beings cannot face the real form of Adisesha! His mere sight could burn or even the slightest breath of his was good enough to turn us into ashes! Not only was his seeing us so powerfully ferocious, we human beings cannot afford to look at him without being atomised or ionised or blown to smithereens ourselves! That is how potent he was. So what he decided to do was to put a screen between him and the students in a concentric circular form, one directly in front of each face. To prevent any body playing truant without being observed by the teacher, he gave an order that if anybody leaves without permission, he will be turned in to a Brhma Raakshasa!
481. What is Brhma Raakshasa or Brhmarakshas? It is a life form like a Ghost / Ogre or an evil spirit. Like there are many varieties in all forms of life, such as there are the static, walking, flying and crawling species amongst animals there are types and sorts amongst Raakshasaas too. Actually the very Raakshasa Jaati is one of the Deva Jaati only. Generally as we have heard that in the PuraNas there are stories of fight between them, we think of them as totally different. In truth, in the spectrum of the Devatas if one end is the highly refined deities of the Devas or the Suras, the other end is that of crude Asuras or Raakshasa types. In the Amara Kosa, while listing the Devas, it says, Vidyadara – Apsaraso – Yaksha – Raksho – Gandarva – Kinnaraa’, including the Raakshasaas. They are all ‘deva yonaya:’, then it lists ‘asura – daitya – daiteya – danuja’ and so on.
482. In this Raakshasaas then, there are further sub sects. In that, one is the ghost like Brhma Rakshas. Surprisingly even the ethereal Pisacha is part of the Deva Yonaya: only! The list goes on, ‘pisaacho – guhyaka: - siddho – bhooto amee deva yonaya:’! Having been born as a Brahmin, having done Veda Adhyayanam and been given Upanayanam, then if they go on to do unlawful and illegal acts such as grabbing other’s property or wives and then die in ‘alpa ayus’ (before their allotted period of life as per praarabda), they roam about as Brhma Raakshas, (till completion of Praarabda). ‘Their daily diet is to catch hold of a Brahmin and eat him! It will go to a Brahmin in disguise. Keep asking many questions as though they are highly qualified in all matters of Vedas. Then having tied you up in knots, when you are flabbergasted unable to reply, they will kill and gobble you up’, as they say in our villages!
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 98 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 98 (Vol # 5) Dated 17 Dec 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 599 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)
460. For Maha Vishnu to sleep the snake is the bed. Then when he sits up, it will become the throne and when he walks it will become the decorative umbrella! But Maha Vishnu does not dance. How can the snake do any service to someone who is dancing? So in the case of Nataraja, the snake becomes the decorative ornament in the hands and necklace and anklet! Because Adisesha had gone to Siva as the Patanjali Maharshi does not mean that Vishnu was deprived of his bed! Continuing to do his service to Maha Vishnu he took an Avatara Roopa also on earth.
461. He took an Avatara as the son of Athri Maharshi and so came to be known as Aathreya. We have already seen earlier that our AachaaryaaL is also from the same Aathreya Gothra. He is also known as KoNika Putra. As per some PuraNas KoNika was a Tapswini who holding her hands in the Anjali mudra, with the palms touching each other prayed to the Sun god for a noble son. At that moment Adisesha fell on her Anjali hasta as a child. The word ‘path’ in Sanskrit means ‘to fall’. So, having fallen through the Anjali hasta, he came to be known as ‘path + anjali =patanjali’! He is also known as ‘Charaka’. His main wish was to witness Siva’s Thaandava Nrutya. That wish was completely fulfilled. Living in Chidambaram, witnessing his dance repeatedly, he became one of the two main devotees of Siva. Maha Vishnu having fulfilled his wish, had also expressed his wish that Patanjali should write the VyakaraNa Bhashyam, isn’t it? That was also fulfilled fetching him much name and fame!
462. His social service did not stop there. When we talk of someone’s personality we think about three things namely, mind, speech and body – (mano, vaak and kaayam). He created the basic Saastraas for cleansing all these three aspects of personality, (for tri-karaNa Suddhi). There is a sloka thanking him for this: “yogena chittasya, padena vaachaam, malam sareerasya cha vaidyakena I Yo apaakarot tam pravaram muneenaam patanjalim praanjali – raanatosmi II” People of Saiva Siddhaanta talk about ‘mummalam aruppadu’ to mean ‘three fold cleansing’ in a different way. In another way, Patanjali has written books in three different disciplines. The word ‘malam’ means dirt or feces. It could happen to come out of mind, speech or body, due to illness. (We are not talking about the natural process of expulsion of dirt.) Good health is only when one is rid of illness. When a patient goes to the doctor, isn’t one of the first question to be asked is, ‘Are the bowel movements alright?’
463. The ‘malam’ that occurs in the mind are wrong thoughts, evil intentions, hate, greed, jealousy and so on. Only when the mind is rid of wrongful ideas, we can turn the corner towards healthy thoughts and hope to get ‘Easwara Anubhava’ eventually. MaNikka Vaachagar says, ‘chitta malam aruvittu sivam aakki’, to mean ‘clearing the dirt of my mind and converting me in to Sivam’! Initially bad thoughts are malam and good thoughts are OK! As we progress we will get to know the Mind, Manas, Chittam and Ahankaara are all intimately connected. Then we become aware that the very mind is the culprit! The dirt that occurs to the Aatma through Maya is this Mind! It is this malam that MaNikka Vaachagar is talking about. At one stage, instead of being concerned about the dirt of the mind, mind itself is identified as dirt. With that realization, thoughtlessness happens and we remain as just the Aatma and that is ‘sivam aakki’!
464. That is, ‘to rejoin with the source’ – is Yoga. This is what is meant by the first phrase in the first line of the sloka ‘yogena chittasya’. The basic reference book on Yoga is Patanjali’s ‘Yoga Sutra’ also known as ‘Patanjala Yoga Sutram’ or simply Paatanjalam! As the mind is controlled and we are enabled to rejoin with Paramaatma, it is called Yoga – to mean ‘to couple with reality, with no residual separateness or separate identity’. Today, all the people of the world are very concerned about finding a relief from the chaotic confusion of our daily life and are looking forward to peace and balance. All other types of exercises build up further tension into our bodies and minds. It is only Yoga that is the correct antidote! The procedure for Yoga has been analysed to the minute details, in the most scientific manner as recognised the world over that Patanjali’s Sutras are known as the Raja Yoga that is, the Right Royal Yoga method. That is his major contribution, enabling the Jeevatma to realise his oneness with the Paramatma! This is addressed towards the Mind out of the three. Next is ‘Vaak’ or speech.
465. To remove the ‘malam’ of speech Patanjali wrote the VyakaraNa Maha Bhashyam – ‘padena vaachaam’. The ‘chitta malam’ was cleansed by Yoga Sutra and speech was cleansed by ‘padena vaacham apaakarot’. Padam means the word that was cleansed by VyakaraNa Saastra that is, the Grammer book. As it is said, ‘yogena’, meaning ‘by yoga’; why is not said as, ‘vyaakaraNena’? The very word ‘padam’ means ‘vyaakaraNam’, or the ‘grammer book’. So, we can say ‘padaanusaasanam’, to mean ‘as organised by the padaa’. What is the need for grammer? To organise a language systematically and set the rules for it is the purpose of grammer. The language is made up of so many words connected into so many sentences conveying some meaning. So the word or ‘padam’ is itself a definition.
466. In Sanskrit books and edicts, while referring to persons who are very learned authorities in the language and it’s usage, will give out their name, fathers name, place of birth or where they lived, and say, ‘iti Srimad pada – vaakya – pramaaNa – paaraavaara – paareeNa’, like a long suffix. In truth, to deserve such a suffix, that gentleman should be really variously qualified for such an addendum after their names! In that ‘pada – vaakya – pramaaNa – paaraavaara – paareeNa ‘, ‘pada’ means VyaakaraNam. The next word ‘vaakya’ means Poorva Meemaamsai. The Poorva Meemaamsai Saastram, taking the words of the Vedas, exploring all its meanings, individually and put together in sentences, finally gives out its verdict as to what could be the purport. That verdict ‘Vaakyam’ in English is called the Sentence, isn’t it? The next word in the phrase is ‘pramaaNa’, which means ‘Nyaayam’ or the Tarka Saastram, as it gives out the authoritative meanings beyond any further discussion or argument. Now, the next word in the series is ‘Paaraavaara’, meaning an ocean and ‘paareNa’, means ‘the one who has crossed. Put together the title ‘pada – vaakya – pramaaNa – paaraavaara – paareeNa’, conveys the idea that person so referred is an expert in VyaakarNam, Poorva Meemaamsai, Tarkam and has crossed and found the other side of these oceans!
467. Adding Vedaanta as one more parameter for the above, they are called the ‘chatus – saastraas’, including ‘Tarkam, VyaakaraNam, Meemaamsai and Vedaantam’! In it changing the order of the first three, ‘pada – vaakya – pramaaNa – paaraavaara – paareeNa’ is used as a suffix for very qualified scholars. I was explaining as to how Patanjali is said to have erased the ‘malam’ in speech by ‘padam’ and as to how that refers to his book on VyaakaraNam.
468. There is a special value for his book on grammer in which he has gone deep into subtle aspects of variations in that most scientific of the languages known as Sanskrit, the most classically and correctly organised of all languages of the world! Sanskrit is known as the Deva Bhasha, the language used by deities and angels! The language spoken by the English people in England is called the English. In France, Germany, Japan; and here in India in Bengal, Maharashtra and so on, the name of the language evolves from those place names. Hindi has variations based on the place names such as Vraj Bhasaha, Maithilee and so on. Similarly, the Deva Bhasha is the language spoken by Devatas in Deva Loka or the Heavens. When this country was ruled by the Englishmen, we all had to learn their language, isn’t it? Exactly similarly, as the world over, the subtle reins of power are in the hands of the Devas, we have to know their language also correctly and systematically, is it not so? So, to learn and correctly speak and chant the mantras in the Karma Anushtaanaas and Slokas; is as good as talking to and conversing with the Devatas. For this knowledge of VyakaraNam is essential, is it not so?
469. Gnaanam is beyond languages. Devotion and love can be expressed in any language or even without a language! But we are in a state of having to do much Karma as per the Saastraas to cancel out the past accumulation of negative balances, isn’t it? For that to be done correctly and faultlessly, we have to learn the Sanskrit language, don’t we? Moreover, to chant the mantras faultlessly, knowing the rules of grammer becomes Mantra Yoga which cleanses our nervous system and gives us Chitta Suddhi! Further as knowledge of English has become necessary for modern science, to learn Aatma Saastraas and know the ins and outs of Indian culture, knowledge of Sanskrit becomes critically essential! For all these reasons, we can forever be thankful to Patanjali for his Maha Bhashyam of PaaNini’s VyakaraNam.
470. So now, we have covered the immensity of Patanjali’s contributions in cleansing of our minds and speech, (‘Mano – Vaak’)! What has Patanjali done about removal of bodily malam? In the sloka quoted in para 462 above the first line finishes with the words, ‘malam sareerasya cha vaidyakena’. For the human body, the dirt is ‘disease’. (KTSV adds: Actually Ramana Maharshi calls the body itself a disease! So, he says, when you fall sick, be happy that the very disease is diseased!) Short of such understanding, to be rid of physical bodily illness is the third prong of ‘tri karaNa Shuddhi’, which is again Patanjali’s contribution for the well being of the world at large! Ayur Veda’s basic book is his, called the ‘Charaka Samhita’. As I said earlier that one of his names is ‘Charaka’. As his name is also ‘Aathreya’, the same book is also called ‘Aathreya Samhita’.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 97 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 97 (Vol # 5) Dated 15 Dec 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 592 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)
449. If you visit the Chidambaram Nataraja temple, you will know for sure as to how closely Siva and Vishnu are related! All over the country normally in a city or township, if there is a Siva temple, there may not be a Vishnu temple and vice versa. Even in places where both the temples are located, they will be sufficiently far apart to enable independent conduct of devotional procedures without mutual interference. Here in Chidambaram the shrines of both Siva and Vishnu are co located in two adjoining edifices. Siva here is known as Nataraja and Vishnu is known as Govinda Raja. Govinda Raja is lying on his bed of Aadisesha. Thrilled in visiting both the shrines in one go Appayya Deekshidar was intensely moved to sing the song ‘MaaramaNam UmaaramaNam’. ‘Maaramanum’ means Lakshmi’s consort Vishnu and ‘Umaaramanam’ means Uma’s consort Siva. So, both are related. What is the relation? A very close relation indeed, connected by heart! Nataraja is dancing in the lotus heart of Maha Vishnu. (After all, they are two different forms of the same ultimate principle!)
450. People who carry out research about such things say that in the Thyaagaraja temple in Thiruvaroor, there are many signs and symbols related to Vishnu. Moreover, the name ‘Raja’ is more in use for Vishnu as Rangaraja, Varadaraja, Govindaraja and so on. So, they claim that it must have been a Vishnu temple originally and then with Saiva devotee’s predominance, it was changed to a Siva temple! Similarly the opposite is claimed in the Naachchiyaar PerumaaL koil. It is said that it used to be a Sivan koil and with the VaishNava’s domination, it was converted into a PerumaaL koil! All these researches are ill informed, motivated and so not correct. There is a proverb in Tamil for such researches which says that, ‘he dug a whole mountain and caught a rat’! These people carrying out researches have a tendency not to be fully aware of the religious principles behind these things and are also not fully aware of the respective Sthala PuraaNaas! In fact these temples are as they were meant to be from when originally constructed. We are not now immediately concerned about the Naachchiyaar koil.
451. If you take the temple at Thiruvaarur, the koil itself has been constructed to represent a physical form of Vishnu. In that form, where his heart should have been, that is in the Hrudaya Sthaanam, the Murthy of Thyagaraja has been installed. Like Nataraja, Thyagaraja is also a dance form only. But except for his face, rest of the figure has been covered and hidden. There is a difference between the dance of Nataraja and Thyagaraja. Nataraja by himself has lifted his left leg and doing the Ananda Natanam of the cosmic dance, whereas Thyagaraja does not dance on his own. He is in the heart of Vishnu isn’t it? So, with the expansion and contraction of his chest with his breath, he moves and that becomes a dance.
452. Siva’s dance in the lotus of Vishnu’s heart is specifically mentioned in ‘Narayanopanishad’ in the Vedas itself! First Narayana is the ‘Viraat Swaroopa’ that is the universal cosmic form! All the heads and all the eyes of the universe are his only. Having described him in all his glory in the macro cosmic form, coming to the microcosm of his physical representative figure, it says that his heart is like the inverted lotus bud, in its upper part his Paramaatma Swaroopa is said to be in the ‘Daharaakaasa’. Outside is the vastness of ‘Perambalam’ and inside is the ‘Chitrambalam’, the space of the heart. That is the same as ‘Gnaana Aakaasa’ or ‘Chit +Ambaram = Chidambaram’! That is the Aakaasa Kshetra, the Chit Sabha, the dancing form of Nataraja Siva. Thus they are all interconnected subtle principles of the very Aatma!
453. Ajapaa Hamsa Natanam. What is generally described as the Thaandavam of Siva, there are many varieties and interpretations. In Chidambaram is the Aananda Thaandavam. In Thiruvaalankaadu is the Oordva Thaandavam (or the dance of Armageddon). Other than this in the Sozha Naadu itself, in seven different temple towns Thyagaraja is doing seven different dances. They are called ‘Sapta Vidanga Kshetraas’. Amongst them the more famous and important one is Thiruvaarur. His dance is known as Ajapaa or Hamsa Natanam.
454. What is not Japa is Ajapaa. All other mantras we chant with devotion and intensive concentration, using our brains and intellect. By the vibrations of the Mantras there is a response in the millions of nerves in the body. That causes power, clarity and abilities, never known before to ourselves! For a full effect, the Mantras have to be intoned coordinated with deep inhalation (poorakam), holding of breath with the air inside (inner kumbakam), exhalation (rechakam) and holding for a period of time with the lungs fully vacated (outer kumbakam). This is one method. Another method is to sit silently without any intended control of breath. In this method we are to keep the mind absolutely calm and watch one’s own breath in an uninvolved manner. As we do this (actually not doing anything but only observing), we will notice that the duration of inhalation, exhalation and holding of the breath slowly increases. Initially if we just calm our minds as far as possible, slowly but surely we will start experiencing a novel and unique peacefulness. Even the little bit of strain that we experience in Pranayama, will not be there. Thus the act of observing the breath and thoughts will fetch us to the common source, which is also the source of our very existence! There is no chanting of the Mantra in this, isn’t it? So it is called ‘Ajapaa’!
455. Out of courtesy this is also called a Japa. That is the ‘Hamsa’ mantra japa. When the breath is inhaled or exhaled ‘the vibration will be similar to the sound waves of ‘hum and sss’, so forming the ‘hamsa’ which in Sanskrit is similar to ‘aham sa:’ which means, ‘I am he’ or that is, this Jeeva Aatma that is me is the same as that Parama Aatma! If you stop at, ‘I am he’, that would be as good as reducing the illimitable vastness in to a limited entity, isn’t it? Also this can lead to pride and prejudice! So, it is correct to say, “That primordial omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Paramaatma is the same as this limited entity of Jeevaatma”. That would mean a long story once again. So, ‘ham saha and a soham’, becomes ‘h a m s a s o h a m’, meaning ‘this and that is one and the same’! Like the other mantras, even if you keep chanting this ‘hamsasoham’, the sound vibrations will automatically fetch you to supreme peacefulness of real and natural oneness! At some stage in the progress to the indivisible oneness, the chanting of the Japa will cease on its own and become ‘ajaapa japa’! In ‘soham’ ‘sa’ and ‘ha’ will erode, vanish and cease leaving only the ‘ohm’ sound of the PraNava Mantra. That will take you to the beyond of ‘Tureeya’, merging the separate identity of the Jeevaatma irrevocably and inalienably in oneness!
456. Now relate this to Maha Vishnu in Yoga Nidra. The Kundalini in every one of us is coiled snake like in basic Mulaadhaara of the power body. That is symbolically represented as the Adisesha bed on which Maha Vishnu is resting. He is doing the Ajapaa Saadhana by which he is one with the Parameswara. At that moment according to the movement of his breath and the vibrations so caused Parameswara is moving in Ajapaa or Hamsa dance. If this is shown sculpturally as though Siva is dancing on the chest of Maha Vishnu, it can be misunderstood and taken to represent an eternal enmity between Siva and Vishnu; who actually are eternal friends! As the dance of Nataraja on Muyalaga and KaaLi’s dance on Parameswara’s chest are misunderstood; there could be one more cause for confusion in people’s minds. That is why in Thiruvaroor, Thyagaraja’s face only is seen and everything else is covered.
457. Adisesha’s Avatara. One day Vishnu lying on the bed of Adisesha was in dhyana and enjoying the Siva Thaandavam in his heart. Looking at the happy face of Siva dancing on the lotus of his heart, he also felt immense thrill. Adisesha could not bear that weight. He asked Vishnu, “What is the matter? Suddenly you have become so heavy that I am not able to bear your weight. What is the reason?” Vishnu replied, “Parameswara danced in my heart. That is the reason for the added weight.” When the weight increases due to happiness it is Adwaitam. Because Easwara appeared in his heart, the increase in weight is said to be due to the addition of Vishnu’s and Easwara’s weight; it is understood as Dwaitam! What was apparently Adwaitam in Thiruvaroor, to avoid being misunderstood, more than three fourth of the depiction had to be hidden, isn’t it? So, the common man has to be taken to the principle of Adwaitam through Dwaitam only. Thinking on such lines Vishnu thought of doing this known to the world through Adisesha. That is why, knowing the likely response from Adisesha, Vishnu said like this. As expected, Adisesha asked, “If so, I wish to see Easwara’s dance. May I be permitted to do so?”
458. Maha Vishnu was waiting for just this and he immediately sent him to Nataraja who was openly dancing in Chidambaram and thus by the deep devotion of Patanjali enhanced the fame of the place, so that more people will be motivated to see Nataraja’s dance and have their eyes full and through that attain to Mukti! If you are born in Thiruvaroor, you are entitled to Mukti – ‘Thirvarooril pirandaal mukti!’ To be born wherever is not within our control. In Chidambaram by witnessing the dance of Siva you are entitled to Mukti – ‘darsanaath abhra sadasi’! You may be born anywhere, but if you visit Chidambaram and watch the dance of Siva, by that action of Dwaitam, you get Mukti of Adwaitam! Through Patanjali the name and fame of Chidambaram was to be enhanced sky high for the benefit of the humanity at large! So, Maha Vishnu told Patanjali, “OK, you wish to see the Siva Thaandavam, is it? OK go to South India. There in the Thillai Vanam of Chidambaram, Siva is happily dancing as Nataraja. There you can have his darshan to your heart’s content.”
459. For his and people’s benefit, he gave him another task. “There, by making use of the sounds of the ‘Damaruka’ (the twin drum small enough to hold with the thumb and index finger, that Siva is holding and twisting and turning it to make sounds to go with the dance), PaNini has written the VyaakaraNa Sutram, not easily understood or comprehended by the general public. They contain the rules of grammer for the divine language of Sanskrit. You study the VyaakaraNa Sutram by PaNini and write the Bhashyam to it for the ease of understanding by average students of the divine language.”
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 96 (Vol # 5) Dated 13 Dec 2011

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 96 (Vol # 5) Dated 13 Dec 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 584 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)
438. Everything is Maya, within that your dream is Maya, the transactions, stories, cinema, drama and the so called ‘reality shows’ are all Maya. In other words, the Gnaani who knows everything to be Brhmam need not go here, there or anywhere! Still, if he remains in one place, others will imagine wrong attachments that he belongs to that place, or that place belongs to him, or that he belongs to them and or they belong to him! To avoid such attachments the Gnaani roams about like a nomad. (Of course, Ramana Maharshi remained rooted to the ThiruvaNNamalai for some 54 years from 17 to 71 years of age till he dropped the mortal coil and exceptions prove the rule!)
439. Suka waited till he was able to move about and then he started out. Though Vyasa AachaaryaaL was a great Mahatma, he was not in the same stage like his son as though nailed to the Brahmi stiti. He was fully enshrouded by ‘putra vaatsalyam’ (love for his son). The son thought that he should not let this attachment grow on him. Once he permits ‘Upanayanam’ then the whole series of Adhyayanam, Samitaa Dhaanam, Bikshachaaryam and what not will get started! If we let this continue, father’s attachment will keep on getting reinforced. Though nothing may bind us, he is bound to get stuck. So I have to run away from this restricting influence of the household as early as we can. Of course he will feel unhappy with my separation, but more we postpone the parting of ways, greater will be the attachment and deeper the sorrow of separation. So, I have to make a clean get away this very moment itself. Thinking on these lines, as said in the sloka, Suka ran away – “yam pravrajantam anupetam apetakrutyam”!
440. If we go somewhere, we should be having some job there. The instant that job is done, we will carry on from there. You have all come here to listen to my talk. Will you keep sitting here after I have finished talking? You will go from here, isn’t it? Vyasa had the good luck of getting a Brhma Gnaani as a son and play with him as a baby. He has had his heart fill of enjoying the child’s company. Any further stay will only turn the good luck into binding fetters! His job of visiting was over and so Suka launched himself into the job of giving ‘darshan’ to the people at large! Many others had it due, to have his ‘darshan’ and benefit. He did not start out with such intention, but automatically had the divine sanction behind it.
441. Seeing his son running away, Vyasa ran after him to stop and bring him back. The old man could not run as fast as the young boy! He vanished in no time. Vyasa was shouting, “Putra, Putra”, while running after the boy – ‘dwipaayano viraha kaatara aajuhaava – putreti’. Then there was a miracle – ‘taravo abhinetu:’! All the trees in the forest were enacting a scene as though replying on behalf of Suka, saying, “Yes Daddy! What can I do for you?” The word ‘abhinetru’ means an ‘actor’. What does an actor do? As a representative of some character in the play, does whatever that character is supposed to do. Sri Rama has been there thousands of years before now. He is happily back in Parama Padam or Vaikundam or wherever. But till date in many places in India and many of the South East Asian countries like Thailand, Java, Sumatra and Cambodia; that play of Ramayana is enacted. Somebody as the ‘abhinetru’ wears the guise of Sri Rama. Though the true Rama is unconcerned sitting somewhere in his high pedestal, many others as his representative, go to the forest for ‘Vana Vaasa’, lose their Sita to Ravana, cross the ocean, fight with Ravana and kill him. When somebody calls for ‘Rama’, it is this actor who responds. Like that, when Vyasa was running in the forest shouting, ‘Putra, Putra’, Suka did not reply. As his representatives, all the trees responded –‘taravo abhinetu:’, on behalf of Suka.
442. Why should the trees respond on behalf of Sukha? Who is he? He is the ‘sarva bhoota hrudaya’, the heart of all living things as well as inanimate objects! He is in all of them and so they are all his forms only. They all replied, ‘Yes, what’? Not only trees, animals, birds, hills and valleys replied. When someone stands inert, do we not say, “Why are you standing like a tree?” When any body part becomes senseless, do we not say that it has become wooden? If such trees which are normally thought to be ‘dead wood’ spoke on behalf of Suka, does this not underline the fact that the whole of animate and inanimate world was responding on his behalf? That is the power of expression of Suta who was lecturing on Bhagawata PuraNa! (At the start of the narrative in Bhagawatam, Suta is addressing all assembled intelligentsia of Saints, Rishis and Mahatmas. The one doing ‘pravachanam’ (lecture) on any Purana is known as ‘Pouraanik’, which has become a caste name among Maharashtrian Brahmins these days. Suta was such a Pouranik much venerated by the assemblage of intelligentsia in NaimisaaraNya (the forest of Naimisa), lecturing on Bhagawata PuraNa, though Suta was known to be a non-brahmin. Point to note is that the division of caste was never such a hurdle in India as it is made out to be, but a disciplined acceptance of being born in a particular caste as divine justice as expressed by Nature, while the effort has always been to raise oneself above, by personal and individual Saadhana for self progress, improvement and ennoblement!)
443. Sloka stops at that. Trees and animals answered for Suka to Vyasa’s shouts. Then what happened to Vyasa? Sloka does not say that. But, we can guess as to what could have happened. Suka who was in the body as an unfeeling entity, had gone away. Even in the worst case of inertness, God would not have let him go without some compassion. As the ‘sarva bhoota hrudaya’, he did cause the trees to respond to his father’s cries. Vyasa got some solace and his sense of dispassion too must have got a boost. If the son was only in one form, then one would have felt like keeping him close by. When the son is to be seen in all forms then it means that the son is everywhere, isn’t it? So, you do not have to cry. Vyasa was also a highly refined soul. As a guess work or as an intellectual certainty, he would have understood his son to be the all pervasive principle of Brhmam, including himself too! If there was a trace of ignorance in Vyasa, even that would have been wiped off, kind courtesy Suka! Gowda Paada was a disciple of such a Suka Brhmam! Let us know a little more about him!
444. Before that we have to know a little about his Guru! His own story will come about closely following that. What I mean is not the Sanyaasa Guru of Gowda Paada who is Suka, but the Vidya Guru of Gowda Paada. In this world, Gowda paada is famous for the spread of Brhma Vidya and VyakaraNa Saastra (grammer). It is that Guru who taught VyakaraNa to Gowda Paada about whom we are going to learn about now. That life history of that Guru Patanjali, how Gowda Paada got the Upadesa from him and as to how our AachaaryaaL became a disciple under Gowda Paada’s direct disciple is all given in a Kavyam known as ‘Patanjali Charitam’. Let me tell you about that now.
445. At the end of the 17th Century A.D., there was a king at Tanjore by the name of Shahji. Desiring that there should be a city or township for all the intellectual giants of his time, he gave vast amount of landed property and houses to such erudite scholars in Thiru Visai Nallur. That place was famous as the capital for education and fine arts! There were 46 such Vidwaans in that village. Amongst them there was one Rama Bhadra Deekshidar. He was a poet scholar with critical knack for appreciating music. Normally it is said that literary ability and expertise in grammer does not go together in the same person. But Rama Bhadra Deekshidar was an expert in both and so had a title as, “Pratyagra Patanjali’.
446. Originally Patanjali is the one who wrote the rules of Sanskrit grammer, famous as VyakaraNa Maha Bhashyam. His story and Gowda Paada’s story are intimately interconnected. ‘Patanjali Charitam’ is written by Rama Bhadra Deekshidar. It is this author of ‘Patanjali Charitam’ who has a title ‘Pratyagra Patanjali’ to mean that he is as good as Patanjali in the present day world in Sanskrit grammer. As a poet he has written some dramas in ‘Sringaara Rasa’ (amorously flirtatious shades) too. But he is better known for devotional literature. Especially, he had much devotion for Sri Ramachandra Murthy. His drama ‘Janaki PariNayam’ is rather famous. He is also the author of ‘Rama Stava KarNa Rasayanam’, Rama Chitra Stava and many other Stotras with ideas and imagination as not to be found in any other literature about Sri Rama. Actually there used to be a derogatory notion that South Indian authors are no good in Sanskrit, especially in the genre of dramas, like Kali Daasa, Bhavabhuthi and Bhasa of the North. To wipe that smudge, he is said to have written ‘Janki ParNayam’. We are mainly concerned with his ‘Patanjali Charitam’.
447. The moment you mention the name of Rama, we immediately think of his devotee Anjaneya, don’t we? Similarly the name of Nataraja will bring before our mind’s eye Vyagrapaada and Patanjali, one with human body above the hips and tiger like below the hips while the other has a human body above the hips and is snake like below the hips. Though fearful to hear and see, instead of hurting or being harmful to anybody they would be seen to be totally concentrating on Nataraja’s cosmic dance. Bringing out the name and fame of Nataraja and Chidambaram, another poet from that Thiru Visai Nallur, Venkata Krishna Deekshidar has written a Kavyam known as ‘Natesa Vijayam’. In it also there is some amount of details about Patanjali. The Patanjali Charitam written by Rama Bhadra Deekshidar in which Patanjali is the main hero and this Natesa Vijayam are quite concordant in most of the details.
448. Patanjali is said to be an Avatara of Aadi Sesha Naaga. He belongs to Maha Vishnu. In the Thiru Paarkadal (Milky Ocean) he is the bed of Maha Vishnu. How did that hard core Parama Vaishnava Vishnu Bhakta, become Parama Saiva Siva Bhakta, never to be separated from his closeness to Nataraja in Chidambaram? That reason is given in short in Natesa Vijayam and in detail in Patanjali Charitam! Maha Vishnu is said to have sent him for this. So what is the connection between Maha Vishnu of the Milky Ocean and Nataraja of Chidambaram?
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva.