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srI:

SrI  sAra  sAram â I (8)
-- 
I â ThirumantrAdhikAram 
-- 
The Eminence of Thirumantra (continued) 
--- 

        SwAmi Desikan has just shown how the AzhvArs hold the esteemed 
Thirumantra, with sample statements from their verses. He now assures us that, 
it also makes our birth an excellent one:
 âanukoola-pratikoola sAdhAraNa-mAna janmam PolanRikkE âpiRanthapin 
maRanthilEnâ enkiRa SrEshTha janmam AchAryan upadEciththa thirumantramadiyAka 
varukiRathu.â  --- 
        At present our life is full of miseries interspersed with some 
favourable moments. Swami Desikan assures us it will be no more like this:
âanukoola-pratikoola sAdhAraNa-mAna janmam PolanRikkEâ --- 
        How is it possible? We have heard from the scriptures that so long as 
we continue in this whirlpool of the prakruti, we can not escape the misery and 
the cycle of births and re-births. In a way it also lies in our hands to get 
out of this situation, says Swami Desikan:
âSrEshTha janmam AchAryan upadEciththa thirumantramadiyAka varukiRathuâ --  
A better life comes through the Thirumantra which is also known as the 
ashTAksharam.  This mantra is taught to us by the compassionate AchArayas. 
Our part of action is only to approach them and place ourselves under their 
care. After learning this gem of mantras, we have to continuously utter in the 
way as advised by SrI Thirumazhisai AzhvAr in his verse which we considered 
just before. 
        One may think whether there is any instance in the past to assure us.  
The same AzhvAr comes to assure us through this verse in his Thirucchantha 
Viruttham, says SwAmi Desikan through a quote:
âpiRanthapin maRanthilEnâ  -- I have not forgotten it after my birth.
Let us consider the significance through the study of this verse in full:
âninRathu enthai oorakatthu irunthathu enthai pAdakatthu
   anRu vehkaNaik kidanthathu ennilAtha munnelAm
   anRu nAn piRanthilEn   piRanthapin maRanthilEn
   ninRathum irunthathum kidanthathum en nenjuLE.â  (Thirucchantha 
Viruttham-64)
        The AzhvAr beautifully narrates the manner in which the Lord entered 
into him and stayed put in his mind; and from that moment onwards, the AzhvAr 
says, he started truly living and there is no end to it. Let us go through the 
steps the Lord took to capture the AzhvAr:
1)      The Lord first failed in His attempts to catch hold of a place in the 
AzhvArâs mind. Even though really He is present everywhere including the 
AzhvArâs mind and body, yet it was known only to Him and the AzhvAr had no 
idea. 
2)      So, the Lord works out a scheme to get the AzhvArâs attention. 
3)      First, He took a position in a place called, Oorakam, where He was 
standing waiting for the AzhvAr. Though the Azhvar came there and saw Him, he 
went away without paying any particular deep attention. But, he used to 
remember this at times. 
4)      Next, the Lord felt inconvenient in continuously standing as though 
pain in the legs.  So, He decided to sit and wait for the AzhvAr.
5)      As the AzhvAr used to roam about, the Lord chose another place called, 
PAdakam, where He sat down and looked for the AzhvAr. His expectation proved 
correct when the AzhvAr went there. This time when the AzhvAr saw the Lord in 
the sitting pose, he didnât pay much attention. However, he could find some 
resemblance to the face he saw in Ooragam. This made some impression in the 
AzhvArâs mind. But, he didnât give any importance and so went away. Thus 
the Lordâs wait in the sitting pose was not fully successful and He felt 
tired of sitting continuously for a long time. So, He decided to take some rest 
by lying down. 
6)      The Lord chose the place called, VehkA, for resting on a bed and he 
continued to look for the arrival of the AzhvAr there.
7)      One day (AzhvAr says âthat dayâ), the AzhvAr came there and saw the 
Lord in the reclining posture. As he saw the same face here also, the AzhvAr 
started thinking about the similarity and came to the conclusion that the same 
person, who was standing in Ooragam and sitting in PAdagam, is now lying on a 
bed here in VehkA.
8)      This remembrance made a strong impression in the mind of the AzhvAr. He 
came to the discovery that the Lord has stabilized Himself in his mind and this 
remembrance started like a small stream and slowly took a shape of a big river. 
The AzhvAr too started enjoying the Lord within his mind. 
9)      That was the starting point for the AzhvAr and soon he realized the 
true nature of his Atma, which is an indwelling place for the Lord. There also 
the Lord was taking different postures, like standing, sitting and lying as the 
Lord did in the three places where the Azhvar had seen Him.   
10)     That became a permanent feature and the Azhvar could not forget Him 
even for a moment, because of the compassion of the Lord. 
The AzhvAr links the first realization of the Lordâs presence in his mind to 
his real birth. Before that he was like an acEtana (a material object without 
consciousness). Now, when he continues to keep his mind on the beautiful figure 
of the Lord, he could not come out of that thought. That is, he is in deep 
meditation.
Here, the AzhvArâs state of mind is similar to the one of Sri NammAzhvAr, as 
he states in these words: 
âappanai enRu maRappan? ennAkiyE
  thapputhalinRith  thanaik kavi than colliâ (Thiruvaimozhi, 7-9-4) 
(Will I ever forget Him? He became me to get verses sung about Himself without 
any mistakes?)
        Only then, the AzhvAr felt that he is really born as his 
dharma-bhoota-j~nAna (attributive knowledge) expanded.  This birth is the best 
one and thereafter there is no memory loss. 
        Till the time he did not have the knowledge about the Lordâs presence 
in him, he had not been born. In spite of taking several births earlier, he 
remained ignorant and so he was not really living.  The same point is conveyed 
by the Scripture:
 âasannEva sa bhavati / asad brhamEti vEd cEt / asti brahmEti cEdvEda / 
santamEnam tatO vidhuh //â (Taittiriyopanishad, Anandavalli-6)
(If one knows that Brhman is not, he himself becomes non-existent. If any one 
knows that Brahman does exist, then they think that he is existing on account 
of that.)
        The Lord has spoken about it in the Gita:
 âsarvasya cAham hrudi sannivishTO mattah smrutir-j~nAnam-apOhanam ca /
  vEdaiSca sarvairahamEva vEdyO vEdAnta-krud-vEdavidEva cAham //â 
(Bhagavadgita, 15-11)
(I am well established in the hearts of all. From Me come memory, knowledge and 
their loss also. I alone am to be known from all the Vedas. I bring into being 
the results of the rituals of the Vedas, and I alone am the knower of the 
VEdas.)
As stated by the Lord, it is only due to His grace the jIva gets the knowledge 
and not by his efforts.  Hence, there is no chance of forgetting that 
knowledge. When the interest in the Lord appears in oneâs mind, he gets his 
existence and when it does not, he is non-existent. 
âninRathum irunthathum kidanthathum en nenjuLEâ  ---  
(He stood, sat and lying in my heart.)
By this expression, therefore, the AzhvAr conveys that as a deep love for Him 
develops in oneâs mind, the Lord establishes Himself in his heart and takes 
the postures He took in those kshEtras, namely, Ooragam, PAdakam and VehkhA and 
makes my birth as the best. 
This is the gift of our AchAryas who imparted the ashTAkashara mantra to us, 
says SwAmi Desikan. 


(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivasan
------ 
    



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