DEIVATHIN KURAL # 87 (Vol # 6) Dated 22 Nov 2012

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 87 (Vol # 6) Dated 22 Nov 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 middle of page No 589 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)

21.    'Jivan Muktan' is a term that should be understood clearly to mean, a person who has realized his Self or has had the Adwaita Anubhava, and continues to be alive. He may have come to have that experience after some effort, may be suddenly or gradually.  Between the time when he was yet unrealized and the time when he was fully realized some years might have passed.  Now we are mainly discussing about how such a Gnaani would be interacting with God, other devotees and the general public?  He would not just be demonstrating his devotion for God, but be genuinely in a state of, 'Love to Love You God!'  He will be constantly in awe of that God who remaining the one non-dual principle plays so many beautiful interesting dramas of duality and variegated multiplicity.  Though there are much avoidable incidents and situations seemingly in it, there is also so much variety, beauty, surprise, love and compassion.  The Gnaani can never finish appreciating and cherishing it and sincerely loving it.  Whole heartedly he loves that ultimate power, repeatedly prostrating to it, that his devotion now knows no bounds.  Suka AachaaryaaL has said in Srimad Bhagawatam (I.7.10) that, "The sages who revel in the Aatma, despite rid of all attachments are devoted to God without any reason, logic, purpose or expectations!"  "If the devotee who is not yet realized, is interested in his own ennoblement to Mukti, having attained to Gnaana, while still in the body, living in the world, without any quid-pro-quo is devoted because he loves to be a devotee", he says paying a tribute to him.

22.    PeriyavaaL again talks as though AmbaaL is talking.  "Like that while in a state of Gnaana, I am the one who has given him a sense of devotion.  Similarly, when your turn comes, from a state of devotion, I shall give you Gnaana.  So why do you cry now?  You have come to me calling me as your Mother, isn't it?  Then leave it to me to do the needful as and when required.  I put you in fetters and I will release you to be free of all binding ties.  Don't cry for release again.  Put it firmly in your mind that I am here to take care of you.  When everything is Me only, simply take it that you do not have to be released from anything."

23.    "Those who are doing research and analysis on Gnaana Marga – may say that only when our sight is cleansed of duality, we will get the peace of unity.  Let them say whatever!  If you are not capable of such sight, do not cry about it.  My dear Sir, do not feel bad about it!  Come in the path of 'Universal Unconditional Love'.  Look at the variety with the clarity that it is all Me only.  With Love towards me, embrace the whole world of all species and types.  I will also, in my Love grant you the best of all experiences by simply lifting you from humdrum monotony of existence to the highest of knowledge and awareness."  Thus, in the path of devotion itself, AmbaaL will grant us the wholesome experience by her compassion.  Here, by AmbaaL I mean, Paramaatma and our own favourite whichever God!  Such a Parabrhma Shakti can and will dupe us in the Maya of delusion; as SaguNa Brhmam in the Path of Devotion grant us Anugraha; in the Path of Gnaana as NirguNa Brhmam give us Moksham; through devotion also fetch us to Gnaana!

24.    Now after all this discussion what occurs to me is that, there may be those who may ask as to whether a person who writes on Gnaana ever come to write a devotional song; but I would say the exact opposite!  My contention is that if someone has written a book on Gnaana, he must have written a lot on devotion before that.  Then only he can be considered as an AachaaryaaL.  He who had obtained Adwaita Saakshaatkaara, despite that, thinking of the people of the world, when he writes books on Gnaana for their sake; it means that he had accepted the duality of the world and has wished to be of assistance in reforming  and ennobling that world.  The one instructing these people who are so tied up in the fetters of delusion, has also to teach them about the power that creates all this Maya and teach them as to how to be devoted to that power in being, isn't it?  Because of the love he has for the world, he cannot help teaching them as to how they have to be beholden to the power that creates and sustains them.  Any improvement of their lot has to be dependent on the Grace of that power, known as "दया मूल तत्वं" read as 'daya moola tatvam', which means 'compassion as the essential root principle.  Here one may recollect Appar SwamigaL's padigam starting with these very words, "தயா மூல தன்மம் என்னும் தத்துவம்". Though a Gnaani has no personal axes to grind, once he is involved in ameliorating the condition of the people of the world, knowing fully well that there is a power beyond all of us, it is but natural to be respectful, humble and beholden towards that power!  So, devotion in a Gnaani is a natural corollary rather than a contradiction in terms!

25.    'Gnaani giving Upadesa to people on Gnaana', is also an event in our vision only.  He has no sense of 'doer-ship' or authorship.  His 'I' is erased forever.  So, if he can write on Gnaana, he can also write on devotion.  He is already available as an excellent example and model worthy of emulation. So, for the sake of encouraging people at large, when God makes use of a Gnaani for giving Gnaana Upadesa to people, could also use him for spreading devotion in people's minds.  In fact, Easwara makes use of a Gnaani to work for the benefit of the general public, till his 'Praarabdam' is worked out.  But, is benefitting the general public done through lectures on the subject of Gnaana alone, is it?  The moment you mention 'Gnaana Marga' as the subject of the talk to-day, majority of the public will avoid being seen anywhere near!  That is why the public is better benefitted by activities related to devotion such as, conduct of discourses, celebrations, visit to temples, reading of devotional literature individually or collectively, singing of Bhajans and Keertans, visit to temples, visit to holy places known as 'Kshetra AadaNam, installation of Yantras, conduct of individual or collective Pujas and such activities.  There is another concept that a Gnaani does not have any Praarabdam as all his past has been cancelled out.  Then they ask the question as to how and why does he do many of his activities as advising, consulting, lecturing and worshipping?  The answer can only be that it is all part of Easwara Sankalpa, God's scheme of things beyond the normal ken.  In it is included all his devotional activities. 

26.    Having said all this, there is nothing that we can pin-point as the only way that a Gnaani behaves.  Whatever we may say in trying to define as to how the Gnaani functions, the fact remains that either only he will be able to say or he also does not know.  So, all these questions as to whether he will support the Gnaana Marga or enlarge the path of devotion have no meaning.  He may do anything or may not do anything.  It could be work through inaction and speech through silence or entirely the other way around!  So, the best definition of a Gnaani is that he is indefinable.

27.    Then our AachaaryaaL is an Avatara of Easwara.  For him there is no 'poorva karma', a past with Karma Vinai to be accounted for!  All Avatara come about for the benefit and uplift of the world at large.  The moment he takes an Avatara, it means that he is different from world, at least in his vision.  To bring the people of the world a little closer to himself and absorb them unto himself is the purpose of his Avatara.  Such action can only be done by the gradual process of Swadharma Karma, Bhakti and then Gnaana ending in Adwaita Anubhava; as otherwise the only alternative is Pralaya.  So, an Avatara Purusha has to develop all this by preaching and demonstrating by his own actions.  All such earlier Avataras have done these things such as, living as a role-model, nourishing Vedic Swadharma Aachaaraas and devotional procedures.   So there is nothing contradictory in his visit to temple towns, installing of Yantras and working out the operational drills in the temples aka Upaasana Krama or writing poems on devotion, slokas, stotras and prakaraNa Granthas. 

'கவிதை பிறந்த கதை' – 'How the Poem Came into Being

28.    AachaaryaaL having taken birth on earth as an Avatara, like other human beings visiting every important temple towns, composing and singing devotional songs, participating in debates with people who had opposing views, landed in Kailās and had the darsan of Pãrvati & Parameswarã.  ÃchãryãL was an Avatãra of this very couple.  Sri Rama met another Avatãra of Vishnu by name Parasurama and fought with him!  Sri Krishna during his sojourn on earth had yet another Avatãra of Vishnu, as his brother Balarama.   Here our ÃchãryãL as an Avatãra of Pãrvati & Parameswarã had their darsan.  At that time Easwara gave him five idols of Shiv-Ling and a palm-leaf manuscript known as 'சுவடி' read as 'suvadi' in Tamil.  In that palm-leaf manuscript there were 100 Slokas about AmbãL Pãrvati that was a composition of Parameswarã himself!  There is another version as per which as Lalitha Sahasranãmam is said to have been the work of 'Vasinyãdi Vãkdevatãs', these 100 slokas are also the compositions of the same Vãkdevatãs.  But, it is more appealing to think of Siva himself composing them as a devotee of AmbãL Pãrvati. 

29.    The five idols of Shiv-Ling are meant to emblematize Siva himself.  They are meant to symbolize the formless form of Siva without eyes, ears, and other limbs.  'அரு' ('aru') in Tamil is without form and 'உரு' ('uru') is with form.  There is a third variety known as 'அருஉரு' to mean the 'formless form'!  The Shiv-Lings are that. The slokas are the Mantra Swaroopa of AmbãL, which is again an esoteric and symbolic description of the 'formless form' of hers.  So, as the Shiv-Lings were given by Siva, it seems more appropriate if the Stotras written about her were handed over to our ÃchãryãL by AmbãL herself.  Anyhow the giver, receiver and the stuff that was handed over were all one and same thing and so, there is a clear mixing of the principles of Adwaitam and Dwaitam.

30.    One of these five Lingams known as Yoga Lingam is kept for daily pooja in the Sankara Mata of Kaamakoti Peetam at Kanchipuram. Out of the balance four, Mukti Lingam is in Kedarinath; Vara Lingam is in Neelakanta Kshetram in Nepal; Moksha Lingam is at Chidambaram and Bhoga Lingam is at the Sankara Mata, Sarada Peetam, at Sringeri.  These were all installed by Sankara ÃchãryãL at various times later.  Having received the five Lingams and the Palm-Leaf manuscript of 100 slokas, our ÃchãryãL set out from Kailās to spread the worship of Pãrvati & Parameswarã in the world.  At the outer gates of Kailās, there was Nandikeswara who happened to notice the Palm-Leaf Manuscript in the hands of our ÃchãryãL.  There is a proverb in Tamil to the effect that, "சுவாமி வரம் கொடுத்தாலும் பூசாரி வரம் கொடுக்கவில்லை", meaning that 'Even though God granted the boon, the priest did not'!  He snatched at the Palm-Leaf Manuscript in the hands of our ÃchãryãL.  Our ÃchãryãL somehow managed to extricate himself and get out.

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva