DEIVATHIN KURAL # 84 (Vol # 7) Dated 25 Dec 2013
DEIVATHIN KURAL # 84 (Vol # 7) Dated 25 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 the last paragraph on page No 636
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)
Arangam inside
Sleeper: Universal Dance of Elements
13. Everything else is alright, but one question remains. It is alright and appropriate for a person
named Sabhapathy to be dancing in the Sabha.
How about this sleeper who has made not just a name for himself but many
such names as, Rangasãyi, Seshasãyi, Pannagasãyi, Bhujagendrasãyi and
Kshirãbdisãyi – to come to a public place as a Rangam, just spread out his
bedding and go to sleep? His action does
not seem to be in order, isn't it? What
is your answer for that?
14. He has not
come to any public place and spread out his snake-y mattress and gone to
sleep. That Sabha or Arangam are spaces
in his own mind that spreads out as a dream of all gross, subtle and causal
worlds. He has not come to an arena or
stage in our world, but we, this world and this arena and stage; are in him. It is this world that is dancing. The whole universe of all the seen and unseen
worlds from the micro to the macro level are all dancing, spinning around
themselves and around each other, without revealing as to which is the inner
and which is the outer and what is the centre!
That the Earth is rotating around itself is one dance and orbiting
around the Sun is another dance, being done simultaneously – like the Gopika
women do around themselves and around Sri Krishna in Rãs Leela. All
the planets in the Solar System are doing this rotating around their own axis
and around the Sun. Then Astrophysicists
tell us, that similarly other star families and galaxies, the whole Milky-Way
and many such systems are all moving, spinning, twisting, circling doing
circumambulations around we do not know what.
We do not know as to which is the centre and as to where the world is
heading to and whether the universe is expanding or contracting!
15. What has been described is the Universal
form and sized – 'Vishwãkãra' macro dance
and on the other side, at the farthest end of the spectrum, is the dance of the
micro world at the atomic and sub-atomic levels. It is the movement of electrons around the
nuclei and the adjustments within the atom!
Then if you take the living beings, especially the human being, there is
the blood circulation system, digestive system, breathing system, nervous
system and internal secretions of glands.
All of them involve the cyclic processes of input – process – output and
feed-back with internal and external circumambulations and dances galore! Then if you take all our minds and now take
stock of the dance of our feelings, imaginations, apprehensions, fears, doubts,
distrust, anger, desires and disappointments; we will be astounded beyond
belief, words and expressions! All this
happens in his dreams in his mind. The
arena or stage for all these happenings is also in his mind only.
16. We, being only
characters in his dream, can never hope to know him or comprehend him the
dreamer. It is not a form that can be
seen. Gnãnis know him only as an
intrinsic experience – Anubhava. Out of
his immense kindness, to make us realise that, "What is believed to be
true out of delusion by us all, is in fact only a dream scene", that Reality
of Existence, takes a gross form for our understanding by becoming a part of
his dream, having assembled an audience in the Sabha on a stage in the arena
and gives us a physical demonstration of his being in deep sleep!
Both Sabhas are Silent Indivisible Vastness
Only
17. The constantly
changing Jagat is not real at all, but only a scene of delusion as it is a pure
and unadulterated lie. Appar calls it in
Tamil as 'poimmãyai' – 'பொய்ம்மாயை', meaning 'false depiction by Mãyã. It is this message given by the dancer in
the 'Chit Sabhai' in Chidambaram too. That
the Jagat sprouted in his mind-borne Chit Sabhai, he makes us understand it to
be a creation of his movement, shake and dance, in extreme benevolence. Gopala Krishna Bharathiyar in intense
gratitude says 'krupãnidhi ivaraippola kidaikkumo' – 'கிருபாநிதி
இவரைப்போல கிடைக்குமோ' meaning 'can you
ever get such a fund of bounteousness as him? With such grace, benevolence and kindness he
executes this dance of happiness known as 'Ãnanda Natanam or Thãndavam' that is appreciated by all visiting foreigners as
tourists, saying that there is no other statue in the world to match this one!
18. Seven
billion was the total number of people in this world in the middle of 2012 that
is climbing by 2% every year. All the minds
of every individual of seven billion with his divine will and mind subside in
that outer Siva as seen and the inner Sathyam, Shivam and Shãntam, put together is the Gnãna Ãkãsa, which
is the only basis and the purest Truth.
Without any shake or movement, by being absolutely static, it is the substratum
as well as the super dome – Chid Ambaram – the Gnãna Ãkãsa, showing it to be
the stage for his dance. The same silent
and indivisible vastness is shown as his Nidra by the Sleeper. So, all told as the unforgettable principle
that we have to understand is that, these two though apparently seem to be two
different entities demonstrating two different aspects of dynamic action and
complete inactivity of inertia, they are both intrinsically one and the same
with the same message, in two different modes.
Dream and Play or Leela
19. What is not
true will be seen as a play or dream. We
expect something true to happen. When
that does not come true, we say that, "It was all a dream". The Sleeper in Sri Rangam is demonstrating
this dream in sleep as 'Poimmãyam'.
Games are all untrue only. As
children we play with dolls. Small wooden
and metal pieces are presumed to be kitchen utensils and for a short period of
time children assume themselves to be elders, as uncle, auntie or grand-father
and grand-mother, cooking food and serving imaginary food of drinks and dishes,
even asking others about the taste and if they want more of it, is all play
acting, isn't it? So also grown-ups
dividing themselves to be two teams of eleven persons on either side, drawing
some lines on the ground, kicking some balls from either side, across some
imaginary goal line, making such a fuss about it, spending enormous amounts of
money for tickets, paying astronomical salaries for the players and further
fortunes in gambling! So are other games
of infinite varieties. Can anyone tell
me as to, why is it so very important for life, that some stupid ball should be
kicked across some stupid goal line? Why
should people break their heads in pushing chess players on that board of 64
black and white squires? What answer can
be given, if you ask similar questions about this or so many other games that
are mush-rooming every day that gets people glued to their smart phones, I-pads
and what not!
20. "I just
told you for the fun and play of it.
Oh! Did you take it
seriously?" When we ask such
questions, evidently we know that we are taking game and play as not true,
isn't it? But even games in fun do
become deadly serious! We know that play
is all in fun and is not to be taken seriously.
But for some reasons such things do become too true, as it happens in
fiction, dramas, cinemas and reality-plays!
So the dream as well as games and play are equally unreal as part of Mãyã
from which we have to wake up. So our
reality of existence has merged with Mãyã inalienably and irrevocably. In it, this sleeper from Sri Rangam is depicting
the dream and the Chidambaram dancer is demonstrating the play!
21. If our very
existence is only a play, then all the things we take very seriously also are
some play or make-believe only, isn't it?
Assuming poses and imaginary expressions, steps of so many metres,
turning, twisting, slanting; imagining other characters, plucking flowers from
imaginary plants, playing, gaming, assuming it to be real, making others to
follow your imaginations and assumptions; it is all play only isn't it? They say, Bharatha Nãtyam as a fine-art,
starting from mundane beginnings, through Abhinaya is said to slowly take you
from here, in which world and all this is real; to there, where at the highest
level you are suddenly faced with the reality of this world's falsity! So, dream has become real and our life in
this world is a play and play is a game and sometimes suddenly it becomes too
seriously real and the lines or limits vanish.
(For a few minutes PeriyavãL is smiling to himself mulling over the way
it happens and how his speech has proceeded so far.) Did the play suddenly become real or did
reality suddenly become a play?
22. Similar play
of divinity is this creation of this whole world and universe in which nothing
is what it seems to be, from the start till the end. Starting from arrival in this world or its
creation till the end stage of his absorption of all unto himself, are the
three major chapters or areas of activities as, Creation or 'Srushti', Maintenance or 'Stiti', and Assimilation and
Reabsorption or 'Samhãra'; are the three major jobs of God as generally known
to all and sundry. All these three
further enable continued hiding of reality from our eyes; happenings on this
side of the screen, reality being still remaining hidden from our eyes and understanding. That hiding from our eyes and comprehension
is known as Screening or 'Tirodãnam', is the fourth job of God. The fifth job is to remove the screen and
allow and accommodate us metaphorically in the space of Gnãna Ãkãsa is the
fifth job of divine Grace or Anugraha.
The most peaceful Shãntam-Sivam demonstrates this as a dynamic dance;
while that Mãyãvi demonstrates the same in all peace of Shãntam-Sleep; thereby
they are both proving the adage, 'unity in diversity'!
Oneness of Identity of Siva and Vishnu
23. When there is the violent storm
brewing, there is a calm or still-centre in it.
Inside an atom also around a still-centre the electrons are moving at
the speed of light. Similarly that
dynamic dancer is indicating the non-moving still centre as Gnãna Ãkãsa and the
sleeper is indicating as the Mauna Nidra.
What the Saivites call the Kovil is the dancer's Chidambaram and for
Vaishnavites the Kovil is the sleeper's Sri Rangam. In both places are the synonym of Stage or
Theatre as Sabha in one and the Rangam in the other, as a special name for the
Sannidy of their respective Gods. This
shows that our ancient past masters were well aware of their oneness.
24. For both Saivites
and Vaishnavãs, the most important day occurs in Dhanur Mãsam known as
'Margazhi' – 'மார்கழி'
in Tamil or 'Mrugaseersham' – 'मृगशीर्षं' in Sanskrit. Both of them have
the 'Thiruvempãvai' and 'Thiruppãvai'
respectively, meant to be sung during this month mainly. Because of its message of cancelling out the
Siva-Vishnu differences and indicating their oneness is the greatness of this
month in the whole year. That is why Sri
Krishna has said in Bhagawat Gita that he is this month particularly amongst
all the months of the year, 'Masãnãm Mrugasèrsha: aham' – 'मासानां मृगसीर्ष: अहं'.
(To be continued.)
Sambhomahadeva
Labels: posted by Lt Col KTSV Sarma
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