DEIVATHIN KURAL # 157 (Vol # 5) Dated 11 Apr 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 157 (Vol # 5) Dated 11 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 974 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)

1038. “Is that so? Sorry, that I did not realize that it is Vyasa Bhagawan that I have been discussing with all this time! How absent minded can I get?” So saying, our AachaaryaaL became overtaken by an immense sense of awe, devotion, happiness and humility! He requested Vyasa that in truth if the Bhashyam as written is approved by him, he should assume a form that will reveal his original identity. The old Brahmin gave a Darshan immediately to all the people present there as the famous Vyasa AachaaryaL. He blessed our AachaaryaaL and told him, “Whosoever can raise any reasonable or unreasonable objections to your Bhashyam, I have raised all those points myself, only to prove that it is clarifying all of them. To demonstrate this fact only I had come in a disguise. Your Bhashyam has my complete approval”. AachaaryaaL kept all his writings in Vyasa’s feet and said. “Once your approval is there, there is nothing more for me to do. I know that these things will get the necessary publicity automatically. I have also finished my allotted quota of 16 years of life, after it’s doubling from eight! You must now permit me to return to the base.”

1039. Vyasa responded quickly thus, “No. No. It is not enough even if you have written the books and that they will be publicised by your Sishyas. There are still some tasks pending, which cannot be done by the books and your disciples. You have to visit every corner of India and discuss and debate with many hard core proponents of various other viewpoints claiming themselves to be different religions! They cannot be defeated and won over by anybody else other than you. More importantly the common masses have to have your Darshan. Let books, Siddhaantams, arguments and counter arguments be set aside; one look at you will achieve greater salutary results. So having doubled eight into 16, now double it once again and live for 16 more years on this earth as Sankara Bhagawat Paada. You have to circumambulate the whole of the Bharatha Khand (Indian Sub-continent) and establish a record of Dig Vijayam as never done before by anybody, thereby completing the task of upliftment of Dharma”, Vyasa said and gave his blessings.

1040. Though on one side it was Sankara Saakchaat and the other was Narayana Swayam, as Avatara they demonstrated their behaviour purely as human beings; they arranged to extend his life through Brhma and thought about him, since it is his portfolio to give and extend life times. So, Brhma also came over there in person. Thus the Holy Trinity were there together in space and time! “Who am I to extend or cut short the life time of Easwara? It is his sweet will and pleasure”, said Brhma. First by Siva’s boon our AachaaryaaL’s life was extended from eight to 16 and now by the wish of Brhma and Vishnu, it was made in to 32. Then Brhma and Vyasa vanished from the scene. During our AachaaryaaL’s time in Kaasi, four important events occurred. One was our AachaaryaaL’s writing and exposition of Brhma Sutra Bhashyam; second was Sanandana becoming a Sishya, Sanyaasi and getting the name as Padma Paada; third was Vyasa’s visit and testing and approval of the Brhma Sutra Bhashyam; while the fourth is what I am going to tell you now!

1041. If he is a Gnaani, even an Untouchable is my Guru. One day, our AachaaryaaL was going with his entourage of disciples. On the way an untouchable purposefully came near him. “Move off, move away”, said our AachaaryaaL. He started asking our AachaaryaaL some questions. ), as under: “anna mayaat annamayam atavaa chaitayameva chaitanyaat I dvijavara (or yativara) dooree kartum vaanchasi kim broohi gachcha gachcheti II” (Refer to Manisha Panchakam by our AachaaryaaL.)That is to say, “My Dear Sir! Whom are you telling to go away? Who has to go away from whom? Is it the cage made of blood and flesh, which is breathing and eating food, producing excreta, sweat and urine, which should not come near another such physical body or – anna – mayaat – annamayam – atavaa – ; or are you talking about what is inside the physical body – the life – the PraaNaa or Aatma – chaitanyameva – chaitanyaat – as though there are two different existences – are you telling that near a Saint’s soul a common man’s soul should not come anywhere near? Is that the reason for your shouting, ‘Go! Go away?’

1042. Chaitanya is one indivisible entity, which is seen as so many life forms in all existence. This is all the Vedaanta and Adwaitam! That is what this untouchable is saying and questioning our AachaaryaaL. ‘When all existence is one Chaitanya, it is not different in different bodies. So, for a Brahmin to tell a lower caste man to ‘Go away’ is not Adwaitam at all but, pure and simple Duality of Dwaitam! He is indirectly asking, “What are you saying Mr. Great Superior Caste! What does your Vedantam say, that you are mouthing every day? Is it said anywhere that each individual’s Aatma is different from the others? Are do you mean that one this body should not come near that other body? From a level of understanding of a Gnaani also, such a statement is out of place. For a Gnaani his own body is equally the same as anyone else’s body – made up of exactly similar materials. Like a brick wall is made up of bricks joined by cement and mortar painted or white washed; the body is made up of flesh, blood, bones, nerves, tendons and muscles, nourished and maintained by food. So how can you differentiate between them as preferable and to be detested?

1043. This same point has been made by Bhagwan Sri Krishna also in Bhagawat Gita (V.18). He is talking about someone who is called a ‘Pundit’ not only by educational qualifications but, has the Brhma Gnaana Siddhi. For him all are one. “vidya vinaya sampanne brahmaNe gavi hastini shuni cha eva swapaake cha panditaa: sama darshina:” – meaning, Sages look with an equal eye on a Brahmin endowed with learning and humility, on a cow, on an elephant and even on a dog and an outcaste. The liberated Sage or Jivanmukta or a Brahmana has equal vision as he beholds the Self only everywhere. This magnificent vision of a Gnaani is beyond description. Aatman or Brhman is not at all affected by the Upaadhis or limiting adjuncts as He is extremely subtle, pure, formless and attributeless. The sun’s rays fall on all equally, and so should be the vision of a Gnaani. Also, the sun’s reflection falls on the River Ganga, on the ocean, or on a dirty stream, and that does not affect the sun in any way, as it makes no difference to the sun. So is the case with the Supreme Self. The Upaadhis or limiting adjuncts cannot affect Him, just as the space is not affected by the limiting adjuncts of a pot or the walls of a room or the clouds, etc., so also the Self is not affected by the Upaadhis. The Brahmana is Saatvic, the cow is Rajasic, the elephant, dog, and outcaste, are Tamasic. The sage sees in all of them the one homogeneous immortal Self, and so is unaffected by the three Gunas and their tendencies.

1044. Here the talk is about a Gnaani. He sees all as equal and is a ‘Samadharshi’. He sees the whole world as various expressions of the one Brhmam and so he has to be balanced and equal. If you take the animal kingdom, for us that is the Agnanis, cow is considered as high and so is the elephant, while the dog is in the lower strata. Similarly if you take the Manushya Jaati, a learned and genteel Brahmin seems to be a high caste. Looking at a low caste person eating the meat of a dog say, seems lower down in the order. Even within living beings, human being seem to be superior to all other types of static (plants of all types) and mobile life forms such as animals including germs, insects, fishes, crawlers, creepers, birds and quadrupeds; because humans are said to have the sixth sense! For a Gnaani these gradations have no relevance. So he does not have the view that one is higher and the other lower. That is what is being said by Sri Krishna in this above quoted sloka of the Bhagawat Gita. Let him be a Brahmin (of ‘Vidya and Vinaya’); or ‘dog eating dog’ (‘swapaake’); or a cow (‘gavi’) or elephant (‘hastini’); they are all seen as equal by a Gnaani.

1045. Our AachaaryaaL who lived by the principle of Adwaitam, who spoke extensively and wrote copiously on that one subject, who had earned a sobriquet as ‘Adwaita Pratishtaapana Aachaarya’ – how can he now without equal vision tell me to walk at a distance? How can it be acceptable? That was the question by that untouchable man? He evidently knew what he was talking about and so continued further. Had he taken it as a personal insult and asked, “In what way are you too big and high and how am I anything less”, as asked by many of the so called reformists of the society these days, AachaaryaaL could have thought that, ‘he is evidently a rabble-rouser who would not be amenable to any reasoning by quoting of Saastraas and such. So, if he does not give way, we should let him pass by and if need be, we should get down to the Ganges’, could have been AachaaryaaL’s reaction. ‘This man however is not talking from the point of ego hurt but, talking sense and high principles of philosophy! Instead of being a trouble maker, he seems to have come to erase the residual cob-webs in our minds! So he is not an agent provocateur and it is our duty to listen to him.’ Being a man of ‘Vidya and Vinaya’, our AachaaryaaL waited attentively to that man’s talk!

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva