DEIVATHIN KURAL # 145 (Vol # 5) Dated 18 Mar 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 145 (Vol # 5) Dated 18 Mar 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 the page No 899 of Vol 5 of the Tamil original. The readers may note that herein 'man/he' includes 'woman/she' too mostly. These e-mails are all available at http://Advaitham.blogspot.com updated constantly)

The River Which Turned its Course!
936. By his eighth year of age, our AachaaryaaL had completed all his studies in Guru Kula and returned home. His father was no more. (In the books there are two versions that Siva Guru had died before his Upanayanam and another that he had passed away later.) For sometime he remained at home taking care of his mother. You know that he was born as a child to his parents only after the passage of many years of their life without an offspring. So, he did all the services to his mother who was all alone. One day she was unwell. Those days the Alwaye Puzha aka River was not flowing so close to Kaladi, but at a distance. His mother used to walk the distance to the river every day. Being unwell that day, his mother complained, “To day is a sacred day religiously. But, I am afraid that I will not be able to go all the way to the river! What to do?” AachaaryaaL said, “Let me pray to God” and he did so. Though the God Himself had come down to earth as an Avatara, in this edition he enacted the role of an ardent devotee repeatedly. So, earlier he had prayed to Maha Lakshmi Thaayaar.

937. Had he prayed that his mother’s health should improve and that she should be enabled to go to the river and have a bath, she would have been the only one to be benefitted. But he thought that if the river could flow a little closer to the village, instead of meandering somewhere in the forest, more would be benefitted. He asked for the river to come closer and flow nearer his hut. That is how it happened. On the way was a small temple for Sri Krishna which was damaged. Whatever good always happens to be mixed with some amount of bad isn’t it? This became news all around that a Brahmin boy, learning and completing his Vidya Abhyaasam in double quick time and after return home, had caused the course and flow of the river to come nearer for his mother’s sake; and such things became the talk of the nearby areas. He became famous and the matter reached the ears of the regional king. He came looking for a Darshan of this boy. Our AachaaryaaL, who had come down on earth so as to reinforce, revive and rejuvenate Dharma and who eventually renovated innumerable number of temples all over the Indian Sub-continent and revitalised and rehashed all the Karma Anushtaanaa procedures; got that temple of Sri Krishna which was damaged, due to the change in the course of the River Alwaye Puzha, repaired & renovated making use of the good offices of that King, as the first such action. That temple of Krishna is still there in Kaladi in a slightly raised ground on the river bank. As the local belief goes, when our AachaaryaaL took Sanyaasa and left Kaladi for his mission of Dig Vijayam, at that time the temple had been renovated and Sri Krishna statue was re-installed there. From the lay of the land in the general area around Kaladi, it is claimed that there is evidence of the fact that there should have been a change in the course of the river.

938. Call of Service – Human Nature and Mystery of the Avatara. AachaaryaaL was constantly reviewing his mission for which he had come down to the earth. From the time of birth, that was the main drive in all his endeavours in life. Doing the Nitya karma Anushtaana-s as a Brhmachari and other duties in service to his mother were all being done as though playing a role model! But he thought that when there are so many mothers waiting for his service, it is not very correct to remain stuck with the house hold duties in just one place. I am not the child of one mother only. I have my responsibility towards the whole society, and humanity at large. I cannot postpone my appointed role any further. Already my arrival here was necessitated because of much deterioration in standards of Dharma, morality and observance of the Vedic Religion. When the disease in the body has worsened, how long can we delay the administration of the medicines?

939. What medicine? The medicine of inaction! The medicine of Adwaita, that takes you to the stage of total inertia. To tell the people of the world, the value of keeping quiet, we have come amongst them to go on a non-stop pilgrimage of endless and dynamic circumambulation! Then what is the use of just going around only this village of Kaladi? For some time he remained in Kaladi as the only son of a widowed mother who was too lonely. Then looking at the plight of the world at large and deciding that he cannot delay his role as an Avatara further, decided to launch out in to the world as a renunciate Sanyaasi. In one way of looking at it, you may wonder as to what is this boy going to achieve in this highly competitive world, when he should have been taking care of his lonely, widowed and old mother?

940. Simply from the humane angle, his action to leave his mother in that condition seems rather cruel. But if you look at it as a Divine Play, you will agree that there are many things beyond our comprehension and control. The actions of Avatara Purushas should not be weighed only on the human scale. There are many things that happen, which are beyond our ken of understanding. God only knows as to who has done what and how to deal with each in accordance with what he or she or it deserves. Where to be kind and where to be ruthless, God only knows, is it not so? Avataras are not meant for individual father, mother, husband, wife and child! A little bit of such relationship things also come in. Dasaratha conducted the Putra Kameshti Yaaga and Rama was born as his son. For some time he grew up in the household of Dasaratha. Then when the onus of the particular job for which he was born as the son of Dasaratha, was beckoning, Rama had to go to the forest, leaving his father, mother and the kingdom, by which time Dasaratha’s PuNyam had also dwindled down next to nil possibly. So, it looked rather cruel on the part of Rama to have left the crying Dasaratha to his fate and gone to the forest. Then we know that Dasaratha died unable to bear the agony of being separated from Sri Rama! What we do not know anyhow is, as how well was Dasaratha taken care of in his after life!

941. Sivaguru and AaryaambaaL’s Tapasya of self denial was responsible for his Avatara as their son. The father’s account reached the nil balance as far as his playing the role of a loving father to our AachaaryaaL was concerned! So he died. After that we do not know as to whether he attained to ‘Saalokam or Saameepyam or Saayujyam’! Those three are supposed to be the final attainments of a devotee of Siva. ‘Saalokam’ means living in the same world as Siva. This need not be an achievement sometime in the future. Is the present world itself not permeated by divinity? If you feel so, we can see that we are already in ‘Saalokam’! Then is the point of ‘Saameepyam’. Nearness or proximity of God is a matter of how we feel about it. Sincerely and truthfully if we can be devoid of any guilt feelings, hypocrisy and or pride, we have every right to feel closer to God and that is Saameepyam! Then is the state of ‘Saayujyam’, that is, to merge in God without leaving any forwarding address! These things remain hidden from our eyes and senses. Once we realise the oneness of Adwaitam, differences matter no more! May be that lady had to go through some more trials and tribulations, I suppose. We do not know as to what God had in store for her future. For the present she had to suffer the separation from her son.

942. Even an Avatara had to come in as a child of some parents, isn’t it? We cannot be applying all human yard sticks for them very strictly. When events of much bigger proportions are waiting to be enacted, causing some hurt or inconvenience to some should be considered as acts of compassion and sacrifice only. Those who have come as parents of such Avataras may also have to do some sacrifices in the bargain, to go with the script of such role playing! If our AachaaryaaL was thinking of taking Sannyaasa, his mother and relatives were thinking in terms of getting him married! Normally it was the practise for the Brhmachari to be lifted in to Gruhastam on completion of Guru Kula Vaasa! What should have been completed by the time he was 12, this super intelligent boy had done in three years. But, it does not matter. There was the custom of ‘Balya Vivaham’ that is child marriage in vogue. After the marriage, it does not mean that they were permitted to indulge in all the responsibilities and pleasures of a married life! It only meant that you grew up in your respective households, under the tutelage of your own parents only. You were enabled to live as husband and wife only after the girl has come of age and the boy has become capable of taking care of his own family! (KTSV Adds – Contrary to the way the so called social reformers make a mountain out of a mole hill in India, in fact, the system prevented both the parties from going astray mentally as well as physically, as you knew that there was your partner waiting for you somewhere in some distant city or village! In the bargain, the urge and temptation for unfaithfulness and many of the sexually transmitted diseases were all obviated, without any need for moral lectures and or abortion / termination of unwanted pregnancy!)

943. Two different intentions as Marriage and Sannyaasa were there. Avatara Uddeshya is likely to succeed, is it not so? But there is no God superior to a Mother. Saastram itself says that there is no Saastram superior to her orders! Our AachaaryaaL’s Avatara was basically to re-establish the supremacy of Saastraas, isn’t it? But if he goes by her wish and remains at home as a well behaved son, married as per her wish, then what was to happen to the Avatara Karya? When God comes down on earth as a human being, such complications do arise. Then whatever he does is the Avatara Dharmam! A son, when his mother is dependent on him, should not take up Sannyaasa without her permission. Whether father or mother or wife, he has to make some permanent arrangement for them and then only take up Sannyaasa with their permission. He thought of making it a perfect example. Taking up Sannyaasa without a plan, on the spur of the moment is something else altogether! Poor lady, she was waiting for her son to be married, whereas he was deliberating on total renunciation! He did not wish to break her heart. So he was waiting for a suitable opportunity and so did not share his views on the subject with his mother. One day his mother had a bath in the river. Then he had a dip in the river and a crocodile caught hold of his feet from underneath, with its jaws!

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva.