DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 7) Dated 23 Dec 2013

DEIVATHIN KURAL # 83 (Vol # 7) Dated 23 Dec 2013

(These e-mails are translations of talks given by PeriyavãL 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 page No 629 of Volume 7 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 continually)

Sleeper, Dancer and Singers

Two Kings: Two Roles for the King of the Universe

1.             Day before yesterday was Vaikunda Ekãdasi, come and gone.  Another two days later, early morning on the day after tomorrow even before the sunrise Thiruvãdirai Abhishekam would be over.  One is a day for the observation of total fasting and the other is the day for eating KaLi with seven varieties of vegetables in the Koottu!  As the famous saying goes, 'thiruvãdirai oru vãi kaLi, thinnãdavar naragak kuLi' – 'திருவாதிரை ஒரு வாய் களி தின்னாதவர் நரகக் குளி', that if you do not eat it even a mouthful, you will end up in the deep bottom of Hell! They threaten you and thereby force us to eat that delectable dish anyhow.  To rhyme with the word 'kaLi' – 'களி', they make what should have been a 'kuzhi' – 'குழி', into a 'kuLi' – 'குளி'.  One is a sleeper's fast and the other is celebration of a dancer.  But both are similarly Kings, one is a Rangaraja and the other Nataraja.

2.            If there is a king there has to be a King's Court known as Raja Sabha or Raja Sadas isn't it?  In that matter too they are both very similar.  The word Rangam means a Sabha or rather a Sabhai.  In Chidambaram the sanctum-sanctorum aka Sannidy is called a Sabhai.  The inner enclosure is Chit-Sabhai and the outer area where the devotees assemble is called the Kanaka-Sabhai.  Whatever it is, Rangam and Sabhai are synonyms.  Further similarity is that both the Kings are facing the Southerly direction.  Another parallel is that both these kings are not conducting any official business as kings do in their court, such as planning a battle or governance of the state or any politics.  It is all very surprising isn't it?

3.            These two kings do everything in this world and universe,   from creation, conduct, sustenance, governance, change, recycle to escape from involvement to attaining of Moksham, as a play or an act of entertainment in fun, wearing two different disguises.  One enacts his part as a dancer, his act known as 'koottu' – 'கூத்து' runs his government – the one who is going to make us eat that vegetable-goulash known with the same spelling in English but different pronunciation in Tamil as 'ezhu karik koottu' – 'ஏழு கறிக் கூட்டு'.  Yes, his Sabhai is not a place where punishments are given but is a Dance Arena.  The one who made us starve in fasting day before yesterday, what is his Sabhai?  His is a greater surprise.  It is his bed-room.  If there it is all dancing in the other Sabha, here it is all deep sleep.  You have to eat well for all that exertion of dancing isn't it?  Here to go with the sleep, it is total fasting. 

World Governance in Deep Sleep

4.            It is alright to assemble everybody in the King's Court and conduct dancing.  But, how is it alright to assemble the court and go to sleep, like some of our MPs do in the Parliament?  To sleep, you need silence and seclusion, isn't it?  That is what is amazing in the surprise!  The one who does this is known as Mãyan, Maha Mãyan the Magician par excellence.  Whatever he does, instead of being normal magic tricks, they are all abnormal magic tricks.  There is no gainsaying asking as to why and how they do all this!  So what the KaLi-man does by dancing this fasting sleeper does the governance of the Universe in his sleep of Mãyã. 

5.            I said 'KaLikkoottu' – 'களிக்கூத்து'.  Malayãlam language evolved from Tamil only.  Even today it has more of ancient Tamil words and phrases in that language.  In that language dance is KaLi.  They have a dance form known as 'KathakaLi' which is world famous, which means that a story is conveyed through the medium of dance.  It has another name as 'Ãtta Katha' in which first there is dancing and then narration of the story.  Let it be. 

6.            This sleeper is called the 'Mãyakkãran or Mãyon' – 'மாயக்காரன் or மாயோன்' in ancient Tamil literature.   Those who do not wish to connect to the Sanskrit root word will say that this has nothing to do with Magic or Mãyã.  He is dark complexioned and so he is called Mãyon.  But I feel that also takes us to magic only.  Black is dark and that is suitable for sleep.  To manage world governance in sleep itself contains a certain amount of magic, isn't it?  So we can say that the magic of Mãyã goes hand in hand with it, isn't it?  But, how is all this done in his sleep?  Let me give you an explanation as to how it can be done.  Only when you sleep, you can see a dream, what do you say?  So the whole universe is a dream in God's sleep.  As a dream of Mãyã in God's mind, He manages all this without any problem.  From the movement of the biggest galaxies to the orbits of the electrons in the infinitesimal atom, the whole thing is unreal and only a virtual dream and not a reality of wakefulness!  His magic is the thought in his dreams as the basic truth and that is the explanation.  That He demonstrates for all to see in his Rangam or Arena, drama stage and also bed-room.

Pãndurangan

7.            Another meaning of Rangam is colour or VarNam.  Like we have Sri Ranga Nathan as a rather famous name for Maha Vishnu in the South, the main VaishNava deity in Maharashtra is Pãnduranga and there this word 'Ranga' means colour and PãNdu means white.  Pãndavãs' father's name was that white-man's name only because he possibly had that disease known as Leukaemia.  The name Arjuna also means very white.  Krishna is black and Arjuna is white.  This black man and that white man were, so very close as friends and also as Guru and Sishya.  When that black Sri Krishna by his penchant for magic was absolutely white, he was PãNdu Ranga.

8.            In our side even before sunrise every day, they make decorative designs on the ground in front of the house as a sign of welcome.  They first sweep the area of dirt and discarded items.  Then sprinkle some water with some cow-dung to ensure that dust on the ground settles, also as a measure of hygiene.  Then the design is made on the ground so swept clean, with some rice powder, may be with some colours added.  The rice powder also serves as food for the ants and birds.  These designs of flowers, arches and creepers so made are known as 'kolam' in the Tamil language and Rangoli in Hindi and Rangavalli in Sanskrit.  It is Rangavalli that has morphed into Rangoli.  This also happens to be the name of Thãyãr or AmbãL in temples, like in Kumbakonam she is KomaLavalli, in ThiruvallikkeNi she is Vedavalli and in Sri Rangam as Ranga's consort, she is Rangavalli.

9.            How did the dark blue Vishnu aka Sri Krishna became the white Pãnduranga was never made clear despite reading their Sthala PurãNa or whatever. Some research scholars claim that the old name of that place was Bandãrke.  Still nobody can say as to how that word can morph into Pãnduranga through translation into Sanskrit or any other language.  To me it looks as though they are putting 2 and 2 together and neither making 22 by putting them side by side nor adding them up as 4!  Though I could not locate any story behind it, I do see a very striking message as to how black can be white and vice versa.  Through Mahã Mãyã I can see that he is giving us Mahã Gnãnam of Adwaitam too, that black and white is not different, but one and the same.  The general public's night time is day for the Gnãni and the night of Gnãni is other people's day time, is Sri Krishna's own statement in Bhagawat Gita (2.69).  In the darkness of ignorance people are looking at the world as day time.  For the Gnãni who has become aware of his own reality as one with Paramãtma, the world has become unseen.  In that state of Anubhuti Gnãni is happily experiencing the reality of Paramãtma in all fairness.  So fair is black and black is fair in the love of God!  What is seen as dark in the ignorance of Mãyã, in Gnãna becomes Pãnduranga in pure white. 

Unity in Diversity

10.              Here in our part of the South India that Dancer and Sleeper are demonstrating the same truth of Unity in Diversity.  When the whole universe is reduced to a dot with all life forms have been quietened to a stage of absolute peace, it is said to be Satyam Shivam Shãntam as said in MãNdookya Upanishad.  All the worlds have been rendered 'Upasamanam', to total peace of Sivam as Adwaitam.  Just now as we have seen the stages of Sleep, Wakefulness and Dream, crossing all those stages, it is said to be 'Tureeyam', as the Upanishad says.  What did we see here?  It is that Sivam in complete and total dynamic dance.  As an opposite of Sivam, the Mãyãvi Vishnu is said to be directing and participating in all the Mãyã dramatics generally.  But, that Vishnu here is in Yoga Nidra in absolute peace as, 'shãntãkãram bhujaga sayanam' – 'शान्ताकारं भुजग शयनं', sleeping.

11.          No divergence and no differences.  We are not opposites and we are not two even!  We are side by side, seemingly two, but one.  That is why in temple Sannidy, the devotees stand on either side.  We only need the side-long glance of God known as 'Katãksham', which is cool ambrosia that is prayed for and not face to face.  That is done only by enemies.  We are not enemies and do not fight with each other.  We are on the same side.  There is no side but, we are one.  Mutually one in the other, inalienably one!  That is what was said by 'Poigai Ãzhvãr' – 'iruvar angatthãl thirivare(lu)m oruvan oruvan angatthu uLan' – 'இருவர் அங்கத்தால் திரிவரே(லு)ம் ஒருவன் ஒருவன் அங்கத்து உளன்'.  Though they seem to be two different entities, inwardly 'andarangaththil' – 'அந்தரங்கத்தில்', they are one.  So they are saying without speaking, indirectly pointing at the Truth of it all!

12.          What I said by bifurcating the words as 'iruvar angatthãl' can be combined as 'iruvarangatthãl' – 'இருவரங்கத்தால்' or as 'iru arangaththãl' – 'இரு அரங்கத்தால்', in two different bodies or in two different places, one in Sri Rangam in the place of that name and the other in Chit Sabhai in Chidambaram; 'thirivarelum' – though seemingly different in two different places, one is in the other and the other is in one.  So the end part of the statement can be re-paraphrased as 'oruvanoruvanangatthuLan' – 'ஒருவநோருவனங்கத்துஉளன்'.  (KTSV adds: - I am afraid that it is impossible to translate that into English any further, without spoiling the pun and fun!)    

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva