DEIVATHIN KURAL # 156 (Vol # 5) Dated 09 Apr 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 156 (Vol # 5) Dated 09 Apr 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 middle of page No 968 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)

Kindness to Someone Who Has Come to Kill You!

1029. On an important occasion momentarily once, Padma Paada was spiritually over taken by the Nrusimha Swami and acted very violently as the Nrusimha Avatara! Let me tell you that story also! That happened many years after he had become our AachaaryaaL’s disciple. There was set of people known as Kapalikaas, who used to live in cremation grounds, eat human flesh like cannibals and follow ‘Vaama Aachaara’ methods of worship including drinking liquor and experimenting with hallucinating drugs and random sex experiments! Their religion was known as Kaapaalikam. Our AachaaryaaL was pointing out the mistakes in their methods and was advising them to come back to the Saatvic methods of Vedic Saastraas. Many of the Kapalikaas had a change of heart and were giving up their crude methods of worship of Siva and Durga wearing garlands of human skulls as ornaments and things like that. Some of them were nurturing hatred for our AachaaryaaL, as they could not put up any counter argument against AachaaryaaL’s, and found their own numbers dwindling.

1030. One of them was planning ways and means of getting rid of our AachaaryaaL. He hit upon an idea. “This man is very kind and compassionate. Let me request him to be considerate to our viewpoint. May be he will agree. Let us try.” So, when our AachaaryaaL was alone he went to him and did Namaskar (prostrated) before him. He said, “My Dear Sir! Till date despite many types of Bhali (sacrifices of living things by chopping off the head), I have not had the Darshan of Kapaali (Siva as their God)! I am told that if we sacrifice the head of a King who has been crowned as an Emperor or some great Gnaani who has attained to the Ashta Maha Siddhi (eight great powers) then God Kapaali will certainly reveal himself. If I go to any king, before I can even make a request he will execute me! But you are a great Gnaani, Yogi and a kind hearted person. I am sure that you will accede to my request. Please permit me to behead you!” If you wonder as to how could anybody dare make such a horrendous and outlandish request, the only answer can be that, our AachaaryaaL was such a considerate person that you could ask for anything that you need and he will most condescendingly oblige!

1031. In fact our AachaaryaaL was very happy with the request of that Kaapaalika! ‘What we thought as the most useless material, this human body, if it can be useful to someone that too, to get the vision of God; nothing like it at all! When the tree dies, it is useful in making furniture or as firewood. The horns of cattle are useful for Abhishekam that is, pouring oblations on sacred idols. Elephant’s bones and tusks are ever valued as Ivory. Deer skin and even the cruel tiger’s skin are used to cover the seat when you do Yoga Aasana! I thought only this human body is good for nothing and this man is asking for it to be given to him as donation! That is very good’, he thought. He told the Kaapaalika, “As you wish you can have my head but, my disciples should not know about it! They can be very dangerous. So, when I am sitting in meditation all alone, you can come and take away my head. Now, there seems to be somebody coming, you better hurry up and leave!” Saying this he closed his eyes.

1032. Kaapaalika did not want to wait. He thought this very moment to be opportune enough and pulled out his sword. From somewhere Padma Paada materialised there. There was a huge roar and noise that sounded like, “Haa, Haa”. AachaaryaaL opened his eyes. Kaapaalika was lying on the ground with his stomach torn to pieces with his intestines pulled out, dead! Padma Paada was standing nearby. Our AachaaryaaL asked him, “What happened? Who has done this?” Padma Paada said, “I do not know. I was near the river Ganges. Something happened and only now I have regained my consciousness.” AachaaryaaL said, “Oh I see! Were you ever given the Nrusimha Mantra as Upadesa?” “Yes”, he replied, “But there was no use. Nrusimha Swami duped me and gave Darshan to a hunter. He said something like ‘I will come to you sometime when you need me!’ As he was answering, it became clear to Padma Paada. “Oh, Nrusimha Swami has done as promised! He must have come over me that this man has been sorted out! There could not have been a better time than this for his coming over!” Saying so, he did Namaskar to both his AachaaryaaL and Nrusimha Swami. This was a later day story. Let me tell you another story that happened, within a few days of his becoming one of the disciples of our AachaaryaaL, as to how he got the name as Padma Paada!

1033. Walking on Water – How Sanandana Became Padma Paada. It is the normal custom to add the suffix ‘Paada’ to the names of Mahatmas like Gowda became Gowda Paada. You dare not look at their face and whole body but look only at their feet with respect. In this case, Padma Paada did not get his name like that. It is a name with a reason and logic of its own, with a story behind it. One day Sanandana was on one bank of the River Ganges and our AachaaryaaL was on the other bank. AachaaryaaL was having a bath and so his clothes were dripping wet. He wished to demonstrate Sanandana’s respect and devotion to the Guru, for the world and other disciples to note, it seems. AachaaryaaL told Sanandana to bring the fresh dry clothes to him. Guru’s orders are to be obeyed implicitly, was the only response by Sanandana. In responding to his Guru’s call, he completely forgot that there was the deep River Ganges flowing in between! He just started walking, as though on plain ground. Then what happened was that, there was a lotus flower bearing his weight, wherever he put his foot down and Sanandana was this side of the River in a trice, handing over the dry clothes to his Guru! As the man whose feet were borne by the lotus flower, he got the name as ‘Padma Paada’ from then onwards! Other disciples of our AachaaryaaL collected there in admiration of this miracle, where Ganga Devi (The River Ganges as the Goddess Ganga) had put up a lotus flower each for each one of his steps, for bearing his weight across the whole breadth of the river, appreciating his devotion to his Guru! But without feeling proud of his devotion he said, “This is nothing. Just a thought of my Guru, can cause the Ocean of Life to become a puddle of knee deep water only! When he himself has ordered, what is the breadth of this river?” Padma Paada was a Vishnu Amsam and a man who had the realization of Nrusimha Mantra. So, he could recognise another Vishnu Amsa Avatara Vyasa, even before our AachaaryaaL could do so! That is yet another story that happened in Kaasi.

1034. You know that the name of the author of famous book of succinct aphorisms ‘Brhma Sutra’ is Vyasa AachaaryaaL. His Jayanthi (Birth Day) is celebrated as the Guru PoorNima all over India. He is one of the seven immortal beings known as ‘Siranjeevis’. He wished to publicise the value of the Bhashyam written by our AachaaryaaL. Since his book of Aphorisms was rather terse and brief, either people did not talk about it or when talking about or quoting it, were making all sorts of wrong and unworthy interpretations as against what was originally intended. So, our AachaaryaaL’s Bhashyam was the most correctly understood and comprehensively interpreted. He wished to make this point understood and appreciated by the world. So, Vyasa decided to further test our AachaaryaaL in public and at the end make the world understand that his Bhashyam has the stamp of approval from himself.

1035. He thought that if he comes in front of our AachaaryaaL as Vyasa, that very humble man will not even open his mouth out his extreme respect. Keeping his intelligence and high learning hidden, he will only display respect and devotion. So Vyasa went to our AachaaryaaL like some old octogenarian Brahmin. Starting with an enquiry if he is the one who has written some Sutra Bhashyam, Vyasa slowly pulled Aadi Sankara deep in to discussion about every sentence of Brhma Sutra and its Bhashyam. Whatever answer was given, inwardly enjoying within he kept disputing ever word of whatever our AachaaryaaL had to say and was objecting to them all. Aadi Sankara would give a cogent and deep analysis of the point and shut him up. But if he was shut up on one point, he will go at a tangent and rack up another issue. He virtually started making a mockery of a logical analysis!

1036. In debates and discussion, there are a few concepts namely, Vaadam, Jalpam and Vidanda. To argue with sincerity, integrity and an open heart, is ‘Vaadam’. (Physical problems in the muscles and joints in the various parts of the body related to improper circulation of air in them is another meaning for this word in Sanskrit.) ‘Jalpam’ is to repeatedly keep insisting one’s own point of view, with a ‘holier than thou’ attitude. The third is ‘Vidanda’, which is to dispute whatever is said by anybody simply to prove any and every argument to be wrong, uncaring for logic or reason! Vyasa was using all the tricks in his armoury continuing with all the three methods of Vaadam, Jalpam and Vidanda, for days together! To see these two masters having this marathon session, the disciples and other scholars were struck with awe! Sometimes the disciples were afraid that this octogenarian die-hard may end up conquering their own Guru. Then when our AachaaryaaL would give a suitable and most appropriate reply to each and every point raised, they would get encouraged that nobody can defeat their Master.

1037. Padma Paada was wondering as to who this man could be that he is able to stand up to our AachaaryaaL’s incisive reasoning for so long! Then he could understand by his ‘Gnaana Drushti’ (divine vision and intuition), that this old man was none else but, the very Author of Brhma Sutra, Veda Vyasa himself! “Oh! This is a once in a life time event to be seen, heard and cherished! On the one side is our AachaaryaaL who is an incarnation of Parameswara – ‘sankara: sankara: saaktchaat’. The man arguing with him is the very Maha Vishnu in the form of Veda Vyasa – ‘vyaso narayaNa: swayam’! If Siva and Vishnu were to be playing such games of intellectual exercises, who can ever predict as to how and when will this match finish? What is the use of our wishing this way or that? We have no role to play here than watch the fun and enjoy their Leela! They are Gods and we are only menial servants like ‘Kimkaras’ and so what can we do?” There is a sloka in Aananda Gireeyam – 52nd PrakaraNa on what Padma Paadaa’s analysis of the situation is.
“sankara: sankara: saaktchaat vyaso narayaNa: swayam I
tayor – vivaade sampraapte kimkara: kimkaromyaham? II
Kimkaras are supposed to be servants in heavens for Gods. There is a pun on that word in the last phrase of the above sloka – ‘kim + karomi + aham = kimkaromyaham’, meaning, ‘what can I do?’ Thus addressing them both Padma Paada did Namaskar to both!

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva.