DEIVATHIN KURAL # 110 (Vol # 5) Dated 10 Jan 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 110 (Vol # 5) Dated 10 Jan 2012

(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 681 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)
584. From that line in the sloka, “tasmin stite nija mahimni videha muktyaa”, it sounds as though our AachaaryaaL started his job as a Guru only after his Guru attained ‘Videha Mukti’. But there is another version too, as per which our AachaaryaaL as Jagat Guru did the Dig Vijayam, went to Kailasa, got the five Lingams, visited Badrinaath, Kedaarnaath and on the way back once again met his Guru and Parama Guru and chanted ‘DakshiNa Murthy Ashtakam’, while doing Namaskar for each line of that sloka. As per Patanjali Charitam it is only after Govinda Bhagawat Paada’s Videha mukti our AachaaryaaL started his work as Jagat Guru. Then whatever our AachaaryaaL did in his balance life time of some 16 years has been condensed in the second half of the sloka.
585. In his life time the corpus of his writings includes some 75 devotional slokas big and small; 25 slokas as advices to the future Gurus, disciples and aspirants on the path of Aatma Gnaana and Adwaita Anubhava including Viveka ChudamaNi; and the magnum opus ‘Prasthana Thraya’ that is, his Bhashyams on Brhma Sutra, Bhagawat Gita and 10 Upanishads. This is mentioned as ‘adwaita bhashyam upakalpya’. To spread his views and directions he went all around the country thrice by walk, covering every village, town and megalopolis, in all directions and that is mentioned as, ‘diso vijitya’. Then in the end he permanently settled in Kanchipuram – mentioned as ‘kaanchipure stitim avaapa’. The word ‘stiti’ here does not mean settled in retirement really but, completed his life as an Avatara!
586. In ‘Guru Ratnamaala’ on Govinda Bhagawat Paada, all his previous incarnations have been listed; “haridalpa haarangri noopura kshamaa dhara soumitri baladriputra lakshmaa I jayadaat uparevam aattadaama jayagovinda muni sa chandra naamaa II” Before Sanyaasa he was Chandra Sarma, renamed as Jayagovinda Muni after Sanyaasa. Here the prefix ‘jaya’ is not a prefix but, part of the name itself. As the second half of the sloka is already starting with ‘jayadaat’, meaning ‘may he win’; the hail has been done and so, here like ‘Jayaraman’, ‘Jayalakshmi’ and ‘Jaykishan’, his name itself is ‘Jayagovinda Muni’.
587. When someone is alive, if you do ‘Jaya Gosham’ that is, praise and applaud, you mean to wish that all his endeavours may be successful. If you do that to a person who is no more, you are hailing the ‘yashah kaayam’ (the body of his fame and name), so that his Aatma may continue to bless, lead and inspire us. For the actions of his life time you are wishing subtle continuity and victory! Not only victory, the very sound ‘Jaya’ is healthy and invigorating. The letters ‘ja and ya’ indicate number 18, an auspicious, beneficial and powerful number. These are the reasons for adding ‘Jaya’ as prefix to names of people. Our AachaaryaaL who was only a small boy till he came to him, he made into a Sanyasi and a Jagat Guru! Such, being the great achievement by Govinda Bhagawat Paada, if we do not add a ‘Jaya’ to his name who else can deserve such a prefix? When we say ‘Jaya Jaya Sankara’, we should add at least one ‘Jaya’ before his Guru’s name, isn’t it? So, the sloka says, ‘Jayagovinda Muni: sa chandra naama’, for him who was ‘Chandra Sarma’ before becoming ‘Jayagovinda Muni’, that was in this life only.
588. What was he in his previous life? He was Adisesha, the serpent bed / umbrella for Maha Vishnu, isn’t it? That is mentioned as ‘hari dalpa’. Then he was the ‘Noopur’ or the anklet for Nataraja when he was dancing in Chidambaram, as I told you earlier. So he is also ‘haraangri noopura’. Then there is a major job that he does, as he bears the weight of the whole world on his thousand heads, which is mentioned as ‘kshmaa dhara’. The Earth patiently bears all the misdeeds of people including all the digging and drilling by people all over the world, isn’t it? So the Earth is called the epitome of forbearance as ‘Kshmaa’. He as Adisesha bears her weight also as, ‘kshmaa dhara’. Govinda Bhagawat Paada’s original form is this Adisesha only. Then there have been some more Avatara-s by him. What are they?
589. The sloka further says, ‘sowmitri balaadriputra’. Son of Sumitra is Sowmitri, that is, Lakshmana as the younger brother for Sri Rama. When Maha Vishnu was born as an Avatara, as Sri Rama, Adisesha was his younger brother Lakshmana. On the Indian fig / banyan tree Chandra Sarma took down notes of Maha Bhashyam on fig leaves, without sleep or food for days together, isn’t it? For the question as to how he could have done it, the answer comes from this Avatara as Lakshmana, during which, for 14 years he went without food or sleep in serving and protecting his brother and his wife! He had mastered the art of living on air at that time I suppose! That man who came as Sowmitri, later accompanied Sri Krishna as Bala Rama, Krishna’s elder brother! He is also Adisesha Avatara only. Then he was born as Atri Putra or Aathreya aka Patanjali! The one who was or came as Hari’s bed, as Hara’s Noopur, as the bearer of the Earth, as Lakshmana, as Bala Rama and as Patanjali, now having come as Chandra Sarma; now became the resident of the banks of Narmada River –‘uparevam aattadaamaa’! The Narmada River has a name as Reva. So the sloka mentioning all his Avatara-s says let him be ever victorious – ‘jayadaat’!
590. Lineage of Aachaaryaas and Empowerment of Guru Parampara. It is in order that before hearing the life history of our AachaaryaaL, we should have learnt about his predecessors, which we have done now. To rekindle the inner brilliance of our Aatma Jyoti and cause us to become deathless and sleepless, we need an AachaaryaaL certainly. Thus the Guru of a time period transfers his knowledge and experience to the disciple, while also empowering the next, so that there is continuity in flow of Gnaana for generations of the masses to get enlightened. Like charging the batteries in the cars and cell phones, the Guru makes the Sishya in charge to hold the office of the Guru. Anybody and every Tom, Dick and Harry cannot hold the office of being a Guru except those who have been empowered to do so and this is called the Guru Parampara. They do the most excellent benevolent action for the man at large amongst the masses as the Guru. We have been thus exposed to the Aachaarya Parampara. Now we can go on to our AachaaryaaL’s story of Avatara!
591. Prayer and Boon. DakshiNa Murthy was sitting under the Vata Vruksha (Banyan tree also known as Indian Fig tree), full of piety and compassion. He was commiserating, “People are not able to come here. They are not even intending to visit here. Still they are poor children of ours only. We should ourselves go and tell them what is good for them. The Devas are not as ignorant as human beings about the state of affairs on the Earth. For the sake of the human beings the Devas should be coming and complaining to us. That is the protocol. When Karma Anushtaanaas deteriorates, it is the Devas who are the main sufferers as their apportioned ‘Aahuti’ dwindles. So, let them come and complain and then we can go down to be born as an Avatara!”
592. Devas also make mistakes for which they may have to suffer. When the problems increase, they will feel humble enough to go and pray to God. Then God will either take an Avatara or solve their problem in some other way. That is what happened now. They all went to DakshiNa Murthy and submitted their petition. The first one to feel bad was Narada, about the situation of deteriorating morality, defaulting religious traditional activities, and confusion in philosophy too due to massive inputs of befuddling concepts. He went to his father Brhma and conveyed his feelings. Then Brhma collecting all the Devas went to Kailasa, as given in ‘Aananda Gireeyam’ aka Sankara Vijayam by Sri Anandaananda Giri. They said that in the world ‘srutyaachaaram’ has dwindled and ‘mityachaaram’ is on the increase – ‘srutyaachaaram parityaja mithyaachaaram samaasritaaha’! The Vedic ways are ‘sruti + aachaaram = srutyaachaaram’, is all going by default! The ideas and concepts which seem to be great, but will end up compounding the orderly ways of systematic life is ‘mityaachaaram’.
593. Their petition was on the following lines. “On the one hand Buddhism and such non-Vedic religions are criticising and degrading the Vedas and Vedic methods and VarNa – Ashrama systems. Indian Nation was known as ‘Yagnya Bhoomi’ once upon a time. The people of that country are now running away closing their ears if they hear the word ‘Yagnya’ or ‘Yaaga’! On the other hand even those who as Saivites and Vashnavites being devotees of Vedic Gods, have instead of normal methods of Upaasanaa have taken up such crude practices as marking their bodies with hot irons with signs of Lingam and Sanku / Chakra Mudra-s. Further, people known as Kapaalikaas are adopting very cruel methods as cutting off their heads in supplication! So you have to take steps to educate the masses, correct the situation and punish if need be such crude, cruel and demeaning methods of devotion. So, ‘tat bhavaan loka rakshaartam udsadya nikilaan kalaan I vardma staapayatu sroutam jagat yena sukam vrajet II’ For them to get true happiness and comfort, You have to re-establish the Vedic methods in the land”
594. In the book ‘Maadaveeya Sankara Vijayam’ it is said that after this petition was put up to him, Easwara who was already waiting for them to come to him, acceded to their wish and decided to personally take care of the situation as an Avatara in the Bharata Bhoomi!
(We will continue the next e-mail with God Easwara Sambhu Murthy aka DakshiNa Murthy’s wholesome response to their petition.)
Sambhomahadeva