DEIVATHIN KURAL # 112 (Vol # 7) Dated 26 Feb 2014

 DEIVATHIN KURAL # 112 (Vol # 7) Dated 26 Feb 2014

(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 852 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)

14.          Instead of this Anugraha at the bottom line of worldly involvement, there is an Anugraha at the highest level of human evolution to rise above the material, sensual and mental indulgences and prevarications.  That is the sanctioning of Moksham after enabling the individual to get across the ocean of Samsara and become one with the One!  There can be no greater benevolence than retrieve us from the irrecoverable quicksand of involvement and raise us to the ambrosia of eternal oneness with divinity!  It is here that God's kindness and love becomes supreme in our understanding of the real meaning of Anugraha!  In the five jobs of Pancha Kritya, it is this fifth action of God's Anugraha reaches the peak of performance, like a musician reaching the spike of next higher level of the octave; this Saiva Murthy is known as 'Sadasiva'.

This 'Sada' Prefix is only for Siva

15.          I started my talk about that 'Sadasiva' as the sloka commences with 'sadasiva samãrambãm' – 'सदाशिव समारम्बं', talking about the Guru Parampara.  In doing so I started telling you as to how you need not feel bad about the prefix 'Mahã' not being applicable to Siva, like in Mahã Vishnu, because the prefix 'Sada' is also something special.  The prefix 'Sada' having a quality of uniqueness, that is not available to the prefix 'Mahã'. This adjective 'Mahã' is applicable to many others in addition to Vishnu.  The consort of Mahã Vishnu, so lovingly called as the 'Thãyãr' meaning the 'Mother' by the Vaishnavites, is called Mahã Lakshmi.  Durga Devi or Chandikai AmbãL also has a Mahã Lakshmi Roopa known as Mahã-Lakshmi-Durga who killed the Mahishasura.  Then we have Mahã KãLi and Mahã Saraswathi.  Then there is Mahã Ganapathy and Mahã Sãsta, colloquially referred to as 'mãsãttãn'.  SubrahmaNya Swami also has a name as 'Mahã Sena'.  Though there is no Mahã Siva, we do have Mahãdeva and Mahãlingam as I told you.   But 'Sada' as a prefix is uniquely applicable only to Siva as 'Sadasiva'.  Is it applicable to any other Deity?  Do we have 'Sadaraman' or 'Sadavishnu'?

16.          The name of 'Rama' joins up with a whole lot of other names, adjectives, prefixes and suffixes, such as GaNapathyraman, Rama SubrahmaNya, Sivaraman, Vedaraman, Kewalram, Anandram, Santaram.  There is also one Ramalakshmi and 'ayaram' and 'gayaram' of people who are ever changing their loyalties in politics!  Despite all that, there is no 'Sadaraman'!  This 'Sada' is not added as either a prefix or suffix with any of the male or female deities except Siva as Sadasiva.   Just to keep saying 'Siva, Siva', as a single name without a prefix or suffix, seems to be somewhat odd to me.  Normally that name is never chanted like that.  In Tamil they add Perumãn and say, 'Siva Perumãn' and in Sanskrit he is referred to as Easwara and Parameswarã and rarely as just Siva!  That is how I refer to him also.  But today somehow, I wish to keep saying his name as 'Sadasiva' and am repeatedly taking the double syllabled pair of names. 

Research on Arya – Dravida Divide

17.          A peculiar observation is that, Maha Vishnu is not referred to by his Sanskrit name of Vishnu but by the Tamil epithet as 'PerumãL' which only means 'Big Man' or the acronym for a Very Important Person as 'V. I. P'.  So, this 'PerumãL' is phrase coined in the Tamil Language by Vishnavites.  The so called 'researchers' of western origin known as 'Indologists', come out with their research finding that Siva is a Dravidian God and Vishnu is an Aryan God!  But the so called Dravidian God is known by the more apparent Sanskrit name of Easwara and the Aryan God is known by the typical Tamil name as 'PerumãL'.  Even the uneducated common man referring to the respective temples of Vishnu and Sivan as 'preuma kovilu' and 'Easwaran Kovilu'!  More than all this, there is one more matter clearly bringing out as to how these researchers are in the habit of putting 2 and 2 together and arriving at something other than 4 invariably!

18.          Aryans are said to be fair coloured, love the red colour as worshippers of the Fire God Agni, whereas the Dravidians are supposed to be black complexioned, and fond of the black colour and the dark blueness of the ocean that surrounds them from the East, South and the West.  As per this justification the Dravidian God should be Black or at the most Blue coloured and the Arya Swami should be fair / red coloured.  But the facts in reality are the exact opposites.  Rama, Krishna and all Vishnu Avataras are all dark blue coloured and the Dravidian God Siva it is who is fair and white all the time applying the white ashes all over his body.  Siva is very fair complexioned, more gone on the reddish hue, as the Thevãram poets repeatedly say, 'pavaLam pol meni, sivanenum naamam tanakkeyudaiya semmeni yemmãn' – 'பவளம் போல் மேனி, சிவனென்னும் நாமம் தனக்கேயுடைய செம்மேனி எம்மான்' as we see repeatedly described in Thevãram songs.  The 'PavaLam' here means the Coral which is deep red in colour.  That same Dravidian Swami is described as the very manifestation of Fire as for example, 'sentazhal uruvar polum' – 'செந்தழல் உருவர்போலும்'.  But this God of the Aryans is dark like the waters of the ocean where he has taken refuge and is dark like the rain bearing clouds that or the form of the primordial being just before apocalypse, 'oozhi mudalvan uruvam pol mei karuththu' – 'ஊழி முதல்வன் உருவம்போல் மெய் கருத்து', as ÃNdãL sings.  He who did 'Krishna Avatara', his name 'Krishna' means the 'Black Man' only.  He is the 'Karuppu ANNa Swami' – 'கருப்பண்ண சாமி', meaning the 'dark elder brother', in the earlier Avatara, as he was the elder of four brothers Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Satrughna.  In Krishna Avatara he himself was the younger brother, to Balarama who was the incarnation of Lakshmana as the elder brother.  Both Lakshmana and Balarama were very fair complexioned as the Avatara of Sesha the thousand headed snake.  Both Rama and Krishna were dark, bluish black coloured.  Making much about their 'so-called' research, what was till then a close knit group of people in the whole of the Indian sub-continent, the Britishers, in their search for ways and means of finding suitable causes for their policy of 'Divide and Rule', managed to deeply instil doubts and cleavages as the 'Aryan and Dravidian Divide'!

19.          About the name of 'Siva' also we find such research with their special 'axes to grind'.  It is rather pathetic that many of the common folk of this country have taken such motivated research as the authority.  The finding of that research is that the name 'Siva' has evolved from the common name for red colour as 'Sivappu' – 'சிவப்பு'.  But starting from very old books in Tamil, the word 'Siva' has always been used as a Proper Noun and never as a Common Noun.  Starting from Rig Veda, which these researchers themselves accept as the 'First Ever' book by any human being, the word 'Sivam' has come to mean, 'Sowkyam, Shãntam and Mangalam' – 'सौख्यं, शान्तं व मङ्गलं', meaning 'pleasureful, peaceful and salubrious'!  In MãNdookya Upanishad we see that the word 'Sivam' means the inexplicable and indescribable state of peacefulness of Adwaita Satyam in which we cannot talk about its quality or characteristics whatsoever!

20.          In the famous Sanskrit Dictionary known as Amara Kosam, the meaning for the word, 'Sivam' – 'शिवं' is given as fabulous, pleasing, awesome, super, stupendous and self-satisfying!  When we think about it deeply, you will note for all those very pleasant superlative words, the under current is the 'unconditional Love', not as a trade-off or quid-pro-quo but simply natural love without any expectation of even recognition, let alone any returns or interest, that gives holistic sacredness to relationships.  That 'Anbu' – 'அன்பு', is what is capable of imparting a wholesome goodness.  That is why the famous aphorism is 'anbe sivam' – 'அன்பே சிவம்'.  This is a statement by a great man of intrinsic experience who exactly knew what he was talking, namely 'Thiru Moolar' – 'திரு மூலர்'!  Nowhere in Tamil is it said that, to be kind and loving, is to be Sivam or to give love and happiness is the same as giving Sivam.  That is, whatever that word is related to like the ideas of Origin or Ãdi, and the feelings of santosham, sowkyam and Mangalam as in the /Sanskrit Language from the Vedas, is not to be found in the Tamil books of yore.  Still the 'so called Researchers' of Indian origins, and the Theory of Aryans invading Dravidian India, claim that the Siva of Dravidians have been borrowed by the Aryans!

21.          I have to tell you something more about it.  They say that originally there was a fierce and cruel Devata known as Rudra, who was accepted and prayed to in the Veda Mantras by the Aryans.  Then they came to know of Siva as the very embodiment of classic benevolence with plenitude of pleasant qualities and over time made both these two opposites in to one, is the judgement of the Researchers!  We do not know as to why and how they should have made the fierce and the pleasant Gods in to one!  OK all that be alright, let it be.  What is the proof, very clearly available in the words of the Vedas?  In 'Rudram' it is said, "Our prayers and Namaskãrãs to your anger", to start with.  Later it is said, "You have a pleasant side or aspect to you, isn't it?  Please bless us in that form.  Please set aside your fierceness and all your weapons.  Please use them against despicable characters or Rãkshasãs and dangerous predatory animals."  Such statements have been misinterpreted as though there were two different Swamis of which, one was fierce and wild while the other was pleasant and civil; one prayed to by Aryans and the other by Dravidians and that both have been combined to make a Syncretic deity, as per the findings of the 'so called Researchers, known as Indologists!'

22.            The 'Rudram' I quoted now comes in Yajur Vedam in which for the same God two aspects of fierceness and pleasantness have been attributed to.  This has been interpreted by the Indologists to mean that at the time if Rig Veda, the Aryans were worshipping a fierce and cruel God, which we have all taken as the 'Veda Vãkku' without questioning.  We do not do any research and analysis of our own ancient scripts, while accepting their words and their interpretation, implicitly!  We do not have real trust, faith in the words of our own Veda nor the gumption to try and do our own research of what is said in our Vedas.  When they say that at the time of Rig Veda only the 'Ugra Rudra', that is, the fierce variety of Rudra was known, is entirely wrong.  In Rig Veda, there are, five Suktam-s or portions about Rudra, known as 'Pancha-Rudram'.  Without much effort we can understand them and disprove the Indologists' deductions.  It is enough if we look at the meaning of the first Suktam.  Its fist Rik is enough to prove this point.  (Refer to the First Mandalam, Suktam No 43 of Rik Veda.)

23.          At the very beginning Rudra is said to be in-dweller of our hearts. So the form of Rudra also is like that of Sivam as it says, 'hrute' – 'हृते'.  The very first mantra also calls him as 'prachetas', meaning 'one having the highest of knowledge'.  Then after saying that he is the in-dweller of our hearts and having the highest knowledge, it says that he is 'meedushtama' meaning a superlative benefactor and philanthropist!  Then it talks about his being very strong and powerful. When you say some one is very strong it does not mean that he is a crude fighter!  How can we ever say or accept anybody saying the Rudra is cruel and fierce. Thus throughout that Suktam, Rudra is described as doing many Anugraha-s, curing diseases as the 'Vaidya Nãtha' and protector of conduct of Yagas and Yagnyas and never as being 'CRUEL'!   

(To be continued.)

Sambhomahadeva