DEIVATHIN KURAL # 140 (Vol # 6) Dated 12 Mar 2013

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 140 (Vol # 6) Dated 12 Mar 2013

(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 page No 955 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)

587.  If you have an objection to the fact that our ÃchãryãL seems to have copied or borrowed ideas from Lalitha Sahasranãma in writing the Soundarya Lahari, I would look at it as his greatness and humbleness only and not as plagiarism!  Had he filched the ideas from some unworthy source, it could be considered as 'taskaram – तस्करं'.  But he has used a source well known to all 'Sri Vidya' Upãsakãs and rather famous as an original.  To lift from such a source can only be considered as an expression of his genuine respect for the source material.  Evidently he feels that you cannot improve on perfection!

588.  To prove the high reach and originality of imagination, we need no more proof than his descriptions in Soundarya Lahari. In his write ups about Siva, such as 'Keshãdi Pãdãnta and Padãdi Keshãnta VarNana Stotras' and 'VishNu Pãdãdi Keshãnta Stotra'; he has virtually outpoured with a cloud-burst of original ideas, as only he is capable of!  So, if he had wished so, he could have come out with a lot of original ideas in his descriptions of the Beauty of AmbãL.  But instead if he has made use of Lalitha Sahasranãma, it is only indicative of his genuine love for that original and wished others also to adore and admire it equally!

589.  Thus from the humane angle we can interpret and understand this interpolation of ideas from Lalitha Sahasranãma into Soundarya Lahari reasonably.  Or, considering the Avatara of our ÃchãryãL, we can comprehend the logic in a further higher plane.  Who is our ÃchãryãL?  He is a combined Avatara of Easwara and AmbãL, isn't it?  So, our ÃchãryãL is not a different entity from AmbãL or Easwara.  Who has authored the Lalitha Sahasranãma, but Vasinyãdi Vãk Devatas, isn't it?  The power of their ability and authority are evolving from AmbãL only.  So even if you consider it from the Copy Rights angle, it is all hers only.  She is said to have told the Vasinyãdi Vãk Devatas to 'Sing her praise for the sake of universal wellbeing'!  Not only so ordered them, but also enabled them by her visual power of Katãksha.  (This has reference to Poorva Bhãgam Slokas 28 to 31 and the 38th of Lalitha Sahasranãma.)  So, it is all her power and right in the absolute sense.  Then she herself takes Avatara as our ÃchãryãL, authors, composes and writes the Soundarya Lahari.  Thus there is no plagiarism whatsoever in lifting any of the words or ideas from Lalitha Sahasranãma and using them in the Soundarya Lahari! 

590.  If you have a garden in which you have different varieties of mango trees say.  Now if you take one small plant of mango and make a cut in its branch, and attach the branch of another variety of mango, it is known as grafting and there is no illegal activity there.  So also, please note that towards the end, our ÃchãryãL tells AmbãL, 'It is all in your words – twadeeyãbhi: vãkbhi: – तवदीयाबिः वाक्भिः'.  In the Gita Sri Krishna Paramãtma has borrowed phrases, sentences and ideas from the Upanishads quite fluently.  In fact, Bhagawat Gita is considered as the essence of the Upanishads! In the olden times the Sruti Mantras were only in his breath.  Later he himself had caused them to coruscate in the intuition of Rishis and Munis.  So in all liberty, he made use of them at various place in the Gita.  Similar is the case here too.

591.  In the next sloka (Sloka No 21), he talks about how the one who has attained to KuNdalini Yoga Siddhi, is completely immersed in the bliss of Brhmãnanda.  This flood of happiness he calls the 'ãhlãda Lahari – आह्लाद लहरि'. Amongst the many billows of Ãnanda / Soundarya Lahari, this is one more as आह्लाद लहरि'.  The wave of beauty of AmbãL has combined with ÃchãryãL's waves of experience, poetical expression and grace; that there is mention of many such waves in the stotra.  It is here that he says that the devotee of AmbãL is one who is watching this – 'परम आह्लाद लहरीं' with a mind in which all the dirt and delusions have been got rid of – 'mrudita mala mayena manasa – मृदित मल मायेन मनसा'. 

ஒரு ஸ்லேடை ஸ்லோகம்: 'தாஸோஹ'த்திலிருந்து 'ஸோஹ'த்திற்கு!

A Sloka of Pun: 'I am You' From 'I am Yours'!     

592.  Next sloka (No. 22) is very juicy with double meanings galore.  I have already told you as to how, even the Ãnanda Lahari portion contains some gems of poems which excel in devotion and literary nuances, isn't it?  For that statement, this is an excellent example.  In this sloka, the poet lifts the reader in a jiffy from the duality of devotion to a sort of a state of Adwaitam in which Bhakti, Shakti and Gnãna are uniquely incorporated!  I hope you heard me right.  I did not say, 'from the duality of devotion to oneness of Adwaita Gnãnam'.  But that the poet is lifting us to the highest state of a mix of Bhakti, Shakti and Gnãnam.  The logic of my statement will be clear only when we go gradually trying to understand the word to word meaning and purport of the sloka.

593.  "भवानि त्वं दासे मयि वितर धॄष्टिं सकरुणाम्

          "bhavani tvam dãse mayi vitara dhrushtim sakaruNãm

इति स्तोतुं वाञ्छन् कथयति भवानि त्वमिति य: |  

Iti stotum vãnchan kathayati bhavani tvam iti ya: |

     तदैव त्वं तस्मै दिशसि निजसयुज्यपदवीं

          tadeiva tvam tasmai dishasi nijasãyujyapadaveem.

          मुकुन्द ब्रह्मेन्द्र स्पुटमकुट नीराजितपदाम् ||"

                   mukund brhmendra sputa makuta neerãjita padãm ||"

594.  (As the following explanation is quite clear in itself, separate word to word meaning has not been given.)  "Bhavani – Amma Bhavani!"  Siva has a name as Bhava, the being.  His power is Bhavani.  His eight special names are Bhava, Sarva, Easãna, Pasupati, Rudra, Ugra, Bhima and Mahat.  His wife is Bhavani.  'Tvam' – You; 'dãse mayi' – with me who is your slave; 'sakaruNãm' – with kindness; 'drushtim vitara' – direct your sight.  Put together it means, "My Mother, please direct your Graceful sight on me who is your slave!"  "iti ya:" – If someone prays to her thus, (it does not matter whether he deserves or not), let him be whatever type of person; 'stotum vãnchan' wishing to so say the prayer, 'bhavani tvam dase mayi vitara drushtim sakaruNãm' – If he just happens to say the first two words, 'bhavani tvam'; 'katayati' – says that much; 'tadeiva' immediately at once.  What happens at once?  'Tadeiva tvam dishasi nija sayujya padaveem' – at once; before he could even say the complete sentence of his intended prayer – 'tadeiva'; 'tvam' – at once you; 'tasmai dishasi' – give him; 'nija sãyujya padaveem' – you make him you – give him the highest status or position in becoming – Your Self! 

595.  The first three lines put together thus means – That devotee, whosoever he may be, just with the intention of saying, "Bhavani, please direct your eyes towards me who is your slave", just utters the first two words 'Bhavani tvam' and pronto, you grant him the inalienable oneness with you!  When a Sãdhak aspires for total Aikyam with the objective or Lakshya, to become indivisibly one with the objective is Adwaita Sãyujyam.  Here the Sãyujya Padavi is slightly different as explained in the fourth line of the sloka, that is – 'mukund brhmendra sputa makuta neerãjita padãm'!  'Mukunda' means Vishnu, 'Brhmendra' means Brhma and Indra.  'Sputa Makuta' means shining crowns of theirs.  You grant your feet as the final destination to that devotee, which is worshipped with awe and admiration by the crowns on the heads of Vishnu, Brhma and Indra.  Nirãjana is the last of the devotional procedures in a Pooja, when burning camphor is waved in front with total obeisance to the object of devotion.

596.  What is the act of Nirãjana to do with the crowns of Brhma, Vishnu and Indra?   They with their crowned heads do Namaskãra to AmbãL with all love, respect and reverence.  The gem stones on their crowns are then coruscating with brilliance as they fall in her feet.  It looks as though they are doing the Nirãjana ritual!  As the devotee has become one with AmbãL, he also seems to be deservedly getting the same treatment!  When you go by the path of Gnãna and attain the Sãyujya Padavi, there would be no idol, no feet and no Brhma, VishNu and Indra or their crowns.  Here it is the SaguNa Murthy and very much in the world of duality of activity.  The Adwaitic Sãyujyam is to merge in the Nishprapancha and NirguNa Tatvam and not what is being spoken about here.

597.  When Parabrhmam itself is the Parãsakti as the cause of all creation and she is the Queen Empress of that world and is managing the world affairs through Brhma, Vishnu, Indra and such other Devata-s, all those Devata-s come to fall in her feet.  In that stage the Jiva merges in her absolutely, without retaining any separateness.  It is this Sãyujyam that has been spoken about here.  The surprising thing here is that, even in Adwaita Sãstrãs such a stage is not unmentioned.  This Sãyujyam is not the objective of Adwaita Sãstrãs, true.  Without any reference to Shakti, without any thing to be done, absolute peace of NirguNa is the objective there.  In Adwaita Sãstrãs there will be no mention of Shakti and the Parabrhmam will be referred only as Easwara.  But there too, if Easwara does something, how can he be denied?  Who can even think of controlling him?  So, even with the Adwaita Sãdhak, he plays around.  That is why, in the Upanishads, in some places talking about such a Sãdhak in whom there should be no self-will and no desire or aspirations; it is said that he 'gets whatever he desires for and whatever he wishes happens'!  (This has reference to Chandokya Upanishad VIII 2 and 12.6.)

598.  What does that mean?  It means that he does get some 'Aishwarya' – that is qualities of Easwara and some powers of Shakti.  Though he is going on the path of Gnãna, SaguNa Parãsakti may say, 'Enjoy some play with me and then go to your Shãnta Samãdhi!'  In such a stage though bereft of all desire, self-will and intensions, he may be playing an active role for some time in this world of work and transactions, even after he is stabilised in such a Samãdhi.  Such a person, who is made to play such roles, will not just end up as a powerfully rich man only, without any divine experience.  He with divine experience, with clear awareness that he is not the doer but only an instrument in the hands of Parãsakti, with utter devotion; will be playing his appointed role.  Further higher, without any separate powers or will or intensions; knowing fully well that it is all hers, her power, her will and her Leela; he will be happily participating and playing his role.  At such times the highest level of devotion will co-exist with Adwaitic oneness and Gnãna!  Further at the base will be the awareness of the NirguNa Brhmam that is the basis of this SaguNa Parãsakti also with absolute peace as a continuous experience.  That is the Sãntam of the Gnãna Marga.

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva