DEIVATHIN KURAL # 74 (Vol # 6) Dated 27 Oct 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 74 (Vol # 6) Dated 27 Oct 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 going ahead from the last paragraph on No 505 of Volume 6 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)

405.  At this stage of the ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ the Saadhak and his goal the NirguNa Brhmam are playing essentially a game of  Love in which the very atmosphere is charged, enflamed and shining bright (while the  NirguNa Brhmam remains as it were and the Saadhak devotee is deep in Samadhi).   He would not be aware even if a lightening thunder bolt were to fall on him, and the NirguNa Brhmam is just about to display their mutual oneness in such a flash precisely now.  As we said earlier, NirguNa Brhmam does not react or respond.  But the Saadhak is going to become aware of his oneness with NirguNa Brhmam as his ignorance suddenly vanishes like the darkness goes when the light is there!  Between the SaguNa Murthy as the object of our adoration and the devotee as the aspirant pilgrim, we are able to treat him as Lord, Mother, Son, child, friend, husband and so on!  That state of mind is exhibited in a variety of ways, as singing and dancing of bhajans / keertans / abhangs in praise of the Lord, the target of adoration; visiting places of sanctity of the Lord and temple towns; chanting his name silently or to the accompaniment of other singers and musical instruments; attending temple celebrations known as ‘Utsavam’; reading of scriptures and PuraaNas and Itihaasaas either individually for oneself or for the pleasure of an assemblage and in so many such ways!  Since Bhakti is the centric force in such ways, one does it with the clarity that one is devoted.

406.  The highest point of such devotion is that Bhagawan as the object of such adoration also responds, though all the devotees may not directly perceive, some amongst them get face to face with God, becoming the object of His Love!  If their Love is one part, His Love is a million times more, making them cry, curse with all liberty, mixed with the nectar of devotion, freedom and rights.  Thus God dances the cosmic dance and makes you do a whole array of dances starting from swaying to music, to cha-cha-cha and what not, to the latest ‘gangnam’ style!  To hear about what he did to those devotees in the narration of the story, it gives similar pleasure to the hearers of an intimate relation with him!  Thus through ‘sat sang’ he keeps conveying his Grace to all bystanders too!  Thus what is done in duality, since the love and devotion is so evident, it has been defined as the ‘Bhakti Marga’ and the aspirant pilgrim has been named the Bhakta, the Devotee as different from the aspirant in the Gnaana Marga.

407.  Still, in Gnaana Marga, when the aspirant is ready to not only sacrifice his all, but also himself and his identity , this man stands tall higher than the Bhakta in Bhakti Marga.  Yes, that Bhakta too has erased all his pride and Ahankaara as far as the worldly affairs are concerned.  Inside in his attitude too he has rubbed off his conceit totally.  But further inside, he wishes to retain some iota of identity so as to stand apart and enjoy his relationship with God!  Between Ahankaaram and Ahambhaavam he wishes to retain a trace of the former, to be able stand apart and partake of the pleasure of God’s company.  So, the Saastraas on Bhakti eulogize the concept of ‘Total Surrender’ aka ‘पूर्णसरणागति’ / ‘प्रपत्ति’.  This is so in Visishtaadwaitam as towards Vishnu as well as Saiva Siddhaantam as towards Siva.  (KTSV adds:  – To the extent I am aware similar is what is preached and expected of the devotee in Islam towards Allah!) 

408.  But in fact none of them are really ‘Total Surrender’.  If you carefully analyse, you will notice that it is only in the Gnaana Marga that at the end, there is no aspirant or Bhakta or Saadhak left in balance.  He goes without a trace of his having been present!  The man on the path of Gnaana, the one who never claimed any credit for his sacrifice, makes an offering of himself as an oblation in the blazing fire of ‘Brhma – Agni’, makes the Jiva Aatma an ‘Aahuti’, without making a big show of it.  This in truth is whole Aatma Nivedanam’, SaraNaagati, Bhakti, Prapatti and Surrender!  Since thus Bhakti is like a key for the secret for Adwaita Siddhi, our AachaaryaaL has chosen and selected the words full of pregnant meaning and used them, when he said, “मोक्ष कारण सामग्र्यां भक्तिरेव गरीयसी”, that Bhakti is the most powerful tool in the hands of the Saadhak as the cause of Moksha, to make the value of Devotion in the Path of Gnaana known to the world!

ஆத்மா உயிர் மயமானது: தத்வப் பொருள் மட்டுமன்று

     (Aatma is not only a notional concept, but also a living entity!)

409.  This Sloka quoted in the previous paragraph is the first line of the Sloka No 31 in Viveka ChudamaNi and the second line defines devotion saying, “स्वस्रूपानुसन्धानम् भक्तिरित्यभिधीयते”.  That is, to be continuously adhering to our own inner reality is devotion.  The end phrase in that quotation, ‘abhideeyate’ means that it is known as or it is so named.  He says that we should be doing ‘anusandaanam’ of our own ‘swaroopa’ that is, form.  He is not talking about our gross form, shape and size of the body, but the inner reality, that is the Aatma.  The word ‘sandaanam’ means to ‘adhere to’ or keep at it and ‘anusandaanam’ means, to keep sticking to, to research, investigate and carry out deep scrutiny!  If we have to so closely adhere to the Aatma, does it mean that there are two entities as this one trying to attach his self and the one to which he is trying to get attached?  No, you can never go near or get attached to the Aatma.  It does not encourage or give scope for the slightest amount of duality.  It may simply gobble up the Jiva, his ‘AntahkaraNa’ and especially his ‘Ahankaara’ and stand alone and there are just no two ways about it.  Even that is only a way of saying.  It is not that Aatma does anything like, not encouraging or giving scope or gobbling up.  It is the Saadhak who has to set aside the promptings of the body, mind and heart; and continuously go on mulling and cogitating about his own inner reality and that is ‘anusandaanam’.  Some time back we saw as to how, ‘to invest the Buddhi in Suddha Brhmam’ meant that, as the ‘Suddha Brhmam’ is unapproachable, we came to the conclusion that the mind should be imbedded in Aatma Vidya Saastraas.  Similarly here, we have to keep on mulling over our own inner reality and that is Aatma Anusandaanam. 

410.  This anusandaanam that starts before taking up Sannyaasa, afterwards becomes strengthened, deepened and gets completed when the aspirant Saadhak completely sacrifices himself and finishes in the effulgent shining of the Aatma.  Thus to continuously inhere, invest, imbibe and melt is what is loving devotion, isn’t it? When Parabrhmam swallows the Jiva Bhaava of separateness and stands itself as the Aatma, we have to mention one other aspect.  It just does not finish with one swallow.  It is as though the Jiva is swallowed and regurgitated repeatedly by the Aatma.  Please take note of an important point here.  Whatever I am saying, you have to perceive it from the view point of the Saadhak and not keep looking for what the Aatma does!  It is about being in deep Samadhi unaware of the world and surroundings for some time and coming out of it for a short period and again going back into Samadhi.  Every time the he comes out of Samadhi, the ‘Jiva Bhaava’ would be a little less, but will still be there.  On all those occasions the Saadhak has to continue with his efforts and intention that the sense of separateness has to be dissolved in Bhakti Anusandaanam. 

411.  We have to go back to what our AachaaryaaL said, when he was talking about Mumukshuta.  At that time he said that we should wish for release from being bound in worldly affairs so that we may wake up to our inner reality – saying “swa swaroopa avabhodaaya”.  Then by our intense aspiration for waking up to our own inner reality of the Aatma, ‘swa swaroopa avabhodena’, we felt that we will finally be released of all delusion.  Thus from the Antah KaraNam of Mano – Buddhi – Ahankaaram, the mind (including the body parts) was controlled by the six tools starting with Sama and Dama; Buddhi was controlled by Shraddha and Samaadhaana; Ahankaara was controlled by Mumukshuta.  Then as a logical sequence the sense of devotion was re-introduced to reduce and thin out the semi-subtle Ahankaara. Now we are at the threshold of our waking up to our inner self and reality of Aatma.

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva