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srI:
SrI  upakAra  sangraham ? 73
--- 
adikAram ? 1
poorva upakAra paramparai
(The Foremost Series of Favours) 
---   
SECTION ? 5.1   
(The favours conferred by the Lord are countless)  
-----   
        After listing out the 27 major favours conferred by
the Lord leading the jIva towards the highest good,
SwAmi Desikan says, the actual number is limitless as
there are numerous favours in-between the major ones.
These favours cannot be counted even by the Lord:

?intha poorvOpakArangkaLai sarvEshvaran ceytha
kAlangkaLilE nAm aRiyamAttAmaiyAlum,
prathi-buddha-kAlatthil avaRRin avAntara-vishEShangkaL
eNNi mudiyavoNNAmaiyAlum, ?atthA nee ceithana adiyEn
aRiyEn? enRu irukkap prAptam. Aj~nAta-sukrutam
muthalAka kAla thattvamuLLathanaiyum iccEthanan ceyyum
anukoola vyApArangkaL ellAm ?yat kincit vartatE lOkE?,
?ninRanar kidanthanar thirinthanar?, ?ennAl adaippu
neekkoNNAthu iRaiyavanE! ennAl ceyaRpAlathen??, ?en
nAn ceykEn; yArE kaLaikaN?? ityAdikaLin-padiyE
eeshvara-adheenangkaLAy, anantangkLAy,
nadakkinRanavAkaiyAlE ivaRRukku eeshvara-bhuddhiyAlum
eNNillaiyAyiRE iruppathu.?

        The favours conferred so far by the Lord are
preliminary, says SwAmi Desikan:

 ?intha poorvOpakArangkaLai sarvEshvaran ceytha
kAlangkaLilE nAm aRiyamAttAmaiyAlum,?  -- 

        However, the jIva was not aware of the fact that the
Lord was helping him at every stage. He did not even
know why and when the Lord started doing these
favours. Truly he would not have known, as the Lord
took note of some unintentional good act done by this
jIva. It is called, ?aj~nAta- sukrutam?. This act of
the jIva, even though it was committed
unintentionally, moved the Lord?s heart which is full
of compassion, as He was waiting for at least one
among the countless jIvas to turn towards Him. The
Lord took note of this unintentional good act
seriously and started showing interest in this
particular jIva. As far as He is concerned, it looked
a very rare case deserving His compassion. So this
series of favours started in this way. Still there was
a long way to go for the Lord. He put all His
attention on this particular jIva in order to shape
him to fit for attaining His abode. He was in such a
desperate condition, one must admit. And the jIva too
is following the lead set by the Lord, but that too
without any intention, as indicated by SwAmi Desikan. 
        When the jIva realized that he had been helped by the
Lord, he could not count the number of favours he had
received from the Lord. He tells the Lord, ?I don?t
know how much You helped me, Oh Lord!? Thus quotes
SwAmi Desikan from ThiruvAimozhi of  SrI naMMAzhvAr: 

?prathi-buddha-kAlatthil avaRRin
avAntara-vishEShangkaL eNNi mudiyavoNNAmaiyAlum,
?atthA nee ceithana adiyEn aRiyEn? enRu irukkap
prAptam.

        Let us see the verse to which the quoted words
belong:

?otthAr mikkArai ilaiyAya mAmAyA
ottAy epporutkum uyirAy ennaip peRRa
atthAyAyt thanthaiyAy aRiyAthana aRivittha
atthA!  nee ceythana adiyEn aRiyEnE.?                 
(ThiruvAimozhi, 2-3-2)

(Oh Lord! You have neither an equal nor a superior!
You are endowed with wonderful qualities! You took
births like any ordinary person. You are the soul of
all. You did favours to me as my mother, as my father
and as my AchArya and taught me everything that was
unknown to me earlier. I do not know how much You
helped me.) 

        Here, it would be worthwhile to recall the discussion
that arose during the kAlakShEpam of SrIbhAshyakAra.
When this verse came up for consideration, a question
was raised as to who was the first guru for the Atma.
Some replied that AchArya was the first guru. Some
others said the person who had taken him to an AchArya
was the first guru. At the end, SriEmbAr said that the
Lord was the first guru as He, being the inner soul,
prompted the jIvatmA to agree to approach an AchArya.

        The same fact is reflected by SwAmI Desikan thus:

?Aj~nAta-sukrutam muthalAka kAla thattvamuLLathanaiyum
ic-cEthanan ceyyum anukoola vyApArangkaL ellAm, ?yat
kincit vartatE lOkE?, ?ninRanar kidanthanar
thrinthanar?, ?ennAl adaippu neekkoNNAthu iRaiyavanE!
ennAl ceyaRpAlathen??, ?en nAn ceykEn; yArE kaLaikaN??
ityAdikaLin-padiyE eeshvara-adheenangkaLAy
anantangkLAy nadakkinRana-vAkaiyAlE ivaRRukku
eeshvara-bhuddhiyAlm eNNillaiyAyiRE iruppathu.?

        The essence of this sentence can put as follows by
rearranging the words:

?Aj~nAta-sukrutam muthalAka kAla
thattvam-uLLathanaiyum iccEthanan ceyyum anukoola
vyApArangkaL ellAm, eeshvara-adheenangkaLAy,
anantangkLAy, nadakkinRana-vAkaiyAlE ivaRRukku
eeshvara-bhuddhiyAlm eNNillaiyAyiRE iruppathu.?

-- Right from the good act done unintentionally, all
the good actions of the jIva during his existence in
this world, have been numerous; and though they were
under the sway of the Lord, even He cannot count them.


        That is, even the Lord who was the cause for all
these favours done to the jIva cannot know how many
they are. 

        In support of this, SwAmi Desikan gives a number of
quotations. We shall see the first quote: ?yata kincit
vartatE lOkE? -- this is from a MahAbhArata sloka:

?yat kincit vartatE lOkE sarvam tanmad-vicEShtitam /
 anyO hyanyaccintayati svacchaNdam vidadhAmyaham //?
                                                      
                    (MahAbhArata, shAnti Parva 359-56)

(This is spoken by the Lord: ?All happenings in the
world are mine. Others think something else. I alone
act according to what I think.?)

        Now, there may be a query: The Lord?s role is just
prompting the jIvas to act, but the actual execution
of the acts desired by Him was done by the jIvas, is
it not? So, the jIvas are free to act or not, isn?t
it?
        The answer is ?No?, says SwAmi Desikan. He explains
that the jIvas? actions are also under His control.
Without His consent, no one can act. In support of
this, he gives the next quote:  ?ninRanar irunthinar
kidanthanar thirinthanar?. This quote is from a verse
in SrI naMMAzhvAr?s ThiruvAimozhi:

?ninRanar irunthanar kidanthanar thirinthanar
  ninRilar irunthilar kidanthilar thirinthilar
  enRumor-iyalvinar ena ninaivariyavar
 enRumor-iyalvodu ninRa venthidarE.?                  
(ThiruvAimozhi, 1-1-6)

        In this verse, the AzhvAr asserts that all activities
and inactions are also under His control. (Those who
stand, sit, lie down or move about here and there, as
well as they remain inactive - all are under His
control. All actions and inactions are subject to His
Will (sankalpa). It cannot be said that He is of a
particular nature, but at the same time He is
unchangeable and beyond all observed changes of the
world. So declare the scriptural authorities.)
        
SrI nammAzhvAr himself says, we are not at all fit to
determine Your nature. What else can we do? The next
quote is again from this AzhvAr?s verse only:
  
 ?ennAl adaippu neekkoNNAthu iRaiyavanE ennAl
ceyaRpAlathen??  -- Let us see the full verse: 

?ivaiyanRE nalla ivaiyanRE theeya
 ivaiyenRivai aRivanElum --- ivaiyellAm
 ennAl adaippu neekkoNNAthu iRaiyavanE! 
 ennAl ceyaRpAlathu en??                              
(Periya ThiruvanthAthi - 3)

(Even though I know that what is not good and what is
good, I am unfit to observe this in practice. Oh Lord,
You are the real controller. What is there for me to
do?)

        Even if one is sure of what is to be done and what is
not, that is, if he has discriminatory knowledge, he
cannot bring it into practice as he himself is under
the will of the Lord. Hence, everything is to be left
to Him. The only thing we can do is, to place
ourselves at His feet, that is, to adopt prapatti.
There is no alternative. This is expressed by the
AzhvAr himself in another verse, as quoted by SwAmi
Desikan, ?en nAn ceykEn; yArE kaLaikaN??. Let us see
the full verse:

?en nAn ceykEn? yArE kaLaikaN? Ennai en ceikinRAi?
unnAlallAl yAvarAlum onRum kuRai vENdEn!
kannAr mathiLcoozh kudanthaik kidanthAi!
adiyEnaruvANAL
cennAL ennAL? annAL unathAL piditthE celakkANE.?     
(ThiruvAimozhi, 5-8-3)

(Oh Lord reclining at Thirukkudanthai! I am not in a
fit position to resort to any means to attain You.
What can I do? Who can save me? Why do You compel me
to do impossible rites? Please listen. I do not need
any procedure or a person except You to attain You.
Hence, however long it may be, I will cling only to
Your feet as a refuge. I am firm in this.)

        Thus, whether we are aware or not, all our activities
are as per His will. We cannot keep a count of these
good activities which led us to near Him, since we
acted according to His Will. He also cannot keep an
account of them, because they are countless. With this
statement, SwAmi Desikan ends this Chapter. 
---

Thus Ends Chapter I of SrI UpakAra Sangraham of SrI
NigamAnta MahA Desikan
---
// SrImathE NigamAnta MahAdesikAya Namah //
// SrImathE Sri LakShmI Nrsimha Divya PadukA SEvaka 
SrI NArAyaNa Yatheendra MahAdEsikAya Namah //
--- 

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

 

          
 





      
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