DEIVATHIN KURAL # 154 (Vol # 6) Dated 10 Apr 2013

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 154 (Vol # 6) Dated 10 Apr 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 second paragraph on page No 1055 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)

 733.           Within Sãktam I told you about a branch known as 'Koulam', isn't it?  Within Koulam we have two divisions as 'Uttara Koulam' and the other as the 'DakshiNa Koulam' naturally!  In the 'Uttara Koulam' there is elucidation with comments for 'Siva Yuvati'.  Siva Yuvati does not mean only just a woman who happens to be Siva's wife!  It means a female form with the complete principle of Siva within or in other words, Siva in female form.  There is a phrase which is a mantra and a name of her – as 'swãdhina vallabaha'!  It means that she has total freedom and or that she has her husband under her control.  If we stretch the meaning further, it would mean that he is within her – 'न हि परम्' – 'nothing else other than her'!  These variations in expression will reinforce and strengthen our memories, abilities of recording and deciphering the meaning! 

734.            Thoughts and memory happens in the mind.  That mind itself is she only – 'मनस्त्वं' – that is how, saying so, he has started the poem!  For all meaningless habits and traditions (that PeriyavãL calls the 'anartha parampara') the source or origin is the mind isn't it?  Now if you start training your mind to think of the mind itself as AmbãL, Then you become the King! The King who could win over the 'आत्म साम्राज्यं' of the Empire of our Inner Realm and get your own Coronation conducted!  No need to make it 'inward looking' – 'antar mukha samãrãdhyã' – 'अन्तर मुख समाराध्या'; as against the difficulty of the mind's penchant for looking out, 'bahir mukha sudurlabhã' – 'बहिर मुख सुदुर्लभा', as Lalitha Sahasranãma says.  Even when the mind is looking out, there is no need to do away with the mind for its penchant tendency for prevarications, because, looking at any of the 'pancha bhootas' we are going to be reminded of AmbãL only as 'व्योमस्त्वं' meaning 'You are the Sky'; or 'मरुदसि' meaning 'You are the wind'; or 'मरुत सारथिरसि' – 'You are the wind driven Fire' and everything else is also yourself only and there is nothing other than you at all anywhere – 'त्वयि परिणतायां न हि परम्'!  Thus if we have the mind to see the whole world and everything in it as manifestations of AmbãL and keep enjoying such vision, we will also start experiencing the 'Chidãnandam' even in the drama of this worldly life!  This limited awareness will merge in that omniscience!  These minor pleasures of life will abide in the cosmic bliss!  We will also cease to be our immaterial selves but of the Chidãnanda Swaroopa and becoming the 'Siva Yuvathi' and blending into the 'Sat' of the Siva, become the very form of 'Sat-Chit-Ãnanda' Ghanam!  What more is there to become or to be attained!

735.            You may remember, that I told you sometime back that in the Museum of the Baroda Samsthan or Principality there is a Palm-Leaf-Manuscript of Soundarya Lahari in which for each sloka there is a picture drawn and that there is a copy of it available in Philadelphia Art Museum.  Out of them, three pages have been photographed by the Sanskrit Professor of Pennsylvania University, and sent to Madras University asking for some clarifications!  Amongst them there is also a pictorial depiction of this sloka starting with the phrase 'मनस्त्वं' meaning that 'you are the mind', which you will agree is not so readily represented pictorially!

இரு ஸ்லோகங்களின் ஸாரம்

The Essence of the Two Slokas

736.            Whatever I have said so far and whatever I have missed out from telling you; let me give you the essence of the two slokas, starting with the phrases, 'Sareeram Tvam' and 'Mana: Tvam'!  It is AmbãL who is the body of Easwara.  This body or Sareeram is not only the gross or Sthula Sareera, but also is inclusive of the very subtle 'Mana:' or mind!  So, one sloka starts with calling her to be the gross body, while the other starts with calling her to be the very subtle mind.  We can construe this to be our own mind too or as the Super Mind that imagined all the five basic elements by which everything in this world are formed!  It is called the 'Maha Manas' or simply the 'Mahat'!  From that 'Mahat' the subtle Ãkãsa emerges.  Further becoming more and more gross, Air, Fire, Water and Earth are added and the poet says, 'They are all you only!  There is nothing other than you' the poet says, ''त्वयि परिणतायां न हि परम्'!  Though it is said that for the life of 'Sambu' you are the body, the oneness without the differentiation of 'body & life', you are that oneness!  You only manifested as the universe too as the body of Viswam – 'tvam eva swãtmãnam pariNamyitum viswavapusha' – 'त्वमेव स्वात्मानम्परिणमयितुम् विश्व वपुषा'!       

737.            Here, though there is a slight indication of Ramãnuja ÃchãryãL's duality of life and the body; since it finishes in 'Chidãnandakãram', everything becomes a matter of Adwaitam.  In 'Sat-Chit-Anandam' however much one may try to make it as though, 'Sat', 'Chit' and 'Ãnandam' are separate; the three put together are one only!  Say, there is a sweet dish; it has a shape, figure or form; it has a special smell and a unique taste.  Can you separate its characteristics from each other?  The root awareness that is also happily existing cannot be separated from its being, isn't it?  So this B-A-B that is Being-Awareness-Bliss is all aspects of that Oneness only and not of separate entities! 'Sat ' is the basis, to be aware of its bliss.  To demonstrate this, a show is made as though it is made of Shakti and Sivam – 'सिव युवति भावेन' and so this is only an assumed posture.  In fact Siva and Sivã are one – the body of the universe and the life of it are one; that AmbãL and Easwara are one and the same!  Despite all the various explanations and examples the subject matter remains one and the same – Adwaitam!

சக்ரங்களில் சிவ-சக்தி

Siva & Shakti in the Chakras

738.            After the sloka starting with the phrase 'मनस्त्वं', the poet has described as to how this husband-wife pair is present in the various KuNdalini Chakras, as the five different basic elements from that mind till Prithvi.  In each Chakra they have different names, work and qualities as delineated by the poet.  The common quality is one of extreme compassion for all living forms.  In the AmbãL's Ãgnã Chakra, Siva is seen as 'tapana shashi kotidhyutidharam' – 'तपन शशी कोटि ध्युतिधरं' – 'that is, shining with brilliance of ten-million Suns and Moons, they lift the devotee to the highest pinnacle of release and freedom beyond the Sun, Moon and Agni!  In another (in the sloka No 37) in the Vishuddhi Chakra as the 'Suddha Sphatika sankaasam', they are showering the cool light of the moon that erases the inner darkness of the devotee!  There the devotees are said to eat the rays of the Moon like the bird Chakor, which is solely dependent on the rays of the Moon as its only diet!  In the Anãhata Chakra (sloka No 38), Swami and AmbãL are in the form of a pair of Swans known in Sanskrit as Hamsa.  This word 'Hamsa' also has the esoteric meaning of 'हं +स: = हंस:' and 'स: + अहं = सोऽहं' indicating the principle of realization of oneness of, 'I am he and He is me'!

739.  So, the realised Gnãnis are referred to as 'Hamsa' or 'Parama Hamsa' (like Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa), in which we should add on as Sanyãsi, Gnaani, Adwaita Siddha and such.  Their place is the 'Anãhata Chakra' where the PraNava arises from as the root sound.  So the place of this Hamsa couple's conversation is the centre where the 'Ashta Dasa Vidya' Sthãnam says the poet.  (The 18 Vidya Sthãna includes, Four Vedas, its six divisions, sub-parts four, plus four Upa-Vedas; thus total up to 18.  This includes all the parts of Sanãtana Dharma.)  Let the Swans – Hamsa birds keep talking to each other.  But they need a pond or lake, isn't it?  High up in the Himalayas there is 'Mãnasarovar' lake where these Hamsa birds would be gambolling around.  For these birds the place is again 'Mãnasa' the minds of great Mahatmas!  The Hamsa birds would be drinking the honey in the lotus flowers in that lake.  These Hamsa Swans are drinking the nectar of 'Brhma Ãnanda' from the Mãnasa Lake of the Gnãnis.  From a mixture of milk and water, the Hamsa is said to have the unique power to filter out the water and drink only the milk!  So also they would set aside all our errors and take our truly sincere actions as pure milk! 

740.            Though this husband and wife couple behave very similarly most of the time, in one of the Chakras (Swadhishtãna Chakra), AmbãL reveals that the father can never match the mother in kindness and compassion!  In that Chakra meant as the location of Agni, he opens his third eye and does Samhãra whereas AmbãL by her 'दयार्द्रा दृष्टि' sight of extreme kindness, cools us all saving us from the heat-effects!  When we are about to ask the question if he can ever equal her in kindness, the poet by using the word 'Samaya'; demonstrates that however much they may seemingly differ, they are equal!  Then in the very next MaNi Pooraka Chakra, (sloka No 40) to reconstruct the world that has been digested and absorbed, the Swami comes as the cumulonimbus that can pour down tonnes of water to quaff the Pralaya Agni while AmbãL accompanies as the lightning!   

741.            Thus starting from Ãgnã Chakra, having talked about Siva-Shakti in five of the Chakras, the 'Ãnanda Lahari' portion of the 'Soundarya Lahar' finishes with Moola-Ãdhãra Chakra.  Normally, it is the custom to start any enterprise or venture with the Principle of Moola- Ãdhãra Chakra – Maha Ganapathy!  If the ending point also happens to be the starting point, that is Adwaitam!  Here it is the ending of Ãnanda Lahari and the start of that portion of Soundarya Lahari which is said to have been solely authored by our ÃchãryãL!  Let me quote the sloka No 41! 

ஜனக-ஜனனி  Father-Mother

जनक-जननि

742.            तवाधारे मूले सह समयया लास्यपरया

                   tavãdhãre moole sahasamayayã lãsyaparayã  

          नवात्मानं मन्ये नवरस महातान्डव नटनम् |

                   navãtmãnam manye navarasa mahãtãNdava natanam |

          उभाभ्यामेताभ्यामुदयविधिमुद्धिस्य दयया

                   ubhãbhyãm etãbhyãm udayavidhimuddhisya dayayã

          सनाथाभ्यां जज्ञे जनकजननीमज्ज्गदिदम् ||   

                   sanãtãbhyãm jagnye janaka jananeemajjagadidam ||

The order in which the poem has to be paraphrased so that it may be correctly understood is as follows:- तवाधारे मूले लास्यपरया समयया सह नवरस महातान्डव नटनम् नवात्मानं मन्ये उदयविधिम उद्धिस्य सनाथाभ्यां एताभ्यां उभाभ्यां इदं जगत जनक जननीमत जज्ञे || 

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva