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srI:
SrI  upakAra  sangraham ? 58
--- 
adikAram ? 1
poorva upakAra paramparai
(The Foremost Series of Favours) 
---   
SECTION ? 5 (15)  
(27 Favours of the Lord leading to the means for
MOKSHAM)  
-----   

        In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan noted the
Lord?s favour in bringing the sAttvika  jIvas within
the glance of a sadAchArya. 
        SwAmi Desikan himself has defined the qualifications
such a sAttvika AchArya to be endowed with:

 ?siddham sat-sampradAyE  sthira dhiyam-anagham
shrOtriyam Brahma-niShTham
      sattvastham satyavAcam samaya niyatayA sAdhu
vruttyA samEtam /
  DambhAsooyAdi mukttam jita viShaya-gaNam
deergha-bandhum dayAlum
      skhAlityE  shAsitAram svapara hitaparam dEsikam
bhooShNureepsEt // ? 
                                                      
                                  (nyAsa-vimshati ? 1)
(One, who desires to obtain true spiritual wealth and
prosperity, must secure an AchArya with the following
qualifications: (1) One, who firmly attaches himself 
to and takes his stand on the worthy and proper
tradition; (2) who is possessed of steady and
unflinching intellect; (3) who is blemish-less in
though, word and deed; (4) who has mastered the Vedas;
(5) who is deeply attached to the Lord and who lives,
moves and has his being in Him; (6) who is firmly
established in virtuous qualities; (7) who ever speaks
the truth and truth only; (8) who possesses good
conduct as per the pure tenets; (9) who is totally
free from vanity; (10) who keeps under control the
senses prone to go after worldly pleasures; (11) who a
life long relation; (12) who is ever full of mercy and
compassion; (13) who never hesitates to point out
lapses from fair conduct; and  (14) always acts in a
manner that is conducive to the welfare of himself and
others.)
        SwAmi Desikan also points out how an AchArya should
be respected in the next verse of the same work:

?ajnAna dhvAnta rOdhAdagha pariharaNAdAtma 
sAmyAvahatvAt
       janma  pradhvamsi janma prada garimatayA divya
druShti prabhAvAt /
 niShpratyoohAnrushamsyAnniyata rasatayA nitya
shEShitva yOgAt
       AchAryah sadbhirapratyupkaraNa dhiyA dEvavat
syAdupAsyah //? (nyAsa-vimshati-2)

(The AchArya should be venerated and worshipped as if
He were the Lord himself. Because, both possess the
same qualities: (1) Dispelling the darkness of
ignorance; (2) wiping out sins; (3) bringing into
existence qualities like those in them i.e. AchArya
and the Lord; (4) the excellent trait of conferring a
new life which does away with the present life (for
ever); (5) the efficacy and power of divine glances;
(6) the flow of unobstructed compassion; (7) ever
sweet and (8) being eternal shEShi or SwAmi. The
disciple must know that the help done by the AchArya
cannot be compensated, as that of the Lord.   

Now, the lord Himself steps in as an AchArya and
confers upon us a remarkable favour. What is the
uniqueness about His being the AchArya? SwAmi Desikan
gives the answer:       

(15) ?birama-guruvAki vanthu? ennumpadi AchArya
moorthiyAna thAn nammudaiya dOshangkaLaik kaNdu nammai
upEkShiyAtE, nAm
dukkha-sAgara-duritha-paramparai-kaLilE
nOvupadukiRapadiyaik kaNdu, ?krupayA nihspruhO
vadEtha? enkiRapadiyE aRivillAtha namakku aruLi,
arjunan vizhayaththil sArathiyAi  ninRa  thannaip pOlE
namakkum ?neRiyellAm edutthuraikka? ninaikkumpadi
paNNinathuvum;

 ?birama-guruvAki vanthu? ennumpadi ? 
        
Normally any teacher or guru sits on a raised platform
and his disciples, sitting in front of him, politely
listen to his instructions. But the Lord is unique in
this respect also. He proves Himself as very different
one! Have we seen any teacher entering in our mind and
stay put there? Or have we seen any teacher becoming
the driver of our vehicle, whether it is a car or a
chariot? No. Not in our circle. Not even anywhere in
the world. We recall the national leader and poet,
BhArathiyAr sang a lyric under the title, ?KaNNan en
veettu vElaikkAran? , ?KrishNa, the servant of my
home?. There He taught us how humble He can come down.
In that also he remained a teacher.
        Hence, it is no surprise for PeriyAzhvAr to say this:

?EthangaLAyinvellAm iRangaviduviththu, ennuLLE
  peethakavAdaip pirAnAr pirama-kuruvaki vanthu
  pOthil kamala vannencham pukubthum en
chenniththidaril
  pAthavilacchinai vaiththAr paNdanRu pattinam kAppE.?

                                                      
                    (PeriyAzhvAr Thirumozhi, 5-2-8)

(The Lord adorning the bright yellow garments,
revealed Himself as an AchArya who teaches Vedic and
VedAnta scriptures, came near me, drove away the
doubtful, ignorant and wrong thoughts totally from me,
entered into my lotus heart and stamped on my head
with His Feet. This is not that old body. It is now a
safe city.)

        In this verse, PeriyAzhvAr who is also known as SrI
ViShNuchitta, tells us that instead of treating our
guru as the very Lord of lords, but treating him as an
ordinary person is an offence to elders. He calls the
Lord as ?PirAn?, one, Who has done great favours with
compassion. 
        Here, ?EthangkaL? means sins which were blocking the
flow of the divine grace. These are: omissions and
commissions, perverse notions ? such as thinking the
body as the soul, the egoism, ?I? and ?mine? etc. The
Lord drove away all these from his mind and took him
as His disciple by putting the mark of His Feet on the
head by which declaring the AzhvAr as His own
property. 
        
These points are mentioned by SwAmi Desikan in these
words:

 ?AchArya moorthiyAna thAn nammudaiya dOshangkaLaik
kaNdu nammai upEkShiyAtE,? 

--- As an AchArya, the Lord did not neglect us after
seeing our defects. 

        SwAmi Desikan further says:
 ?nAm dukkha-sAgara-duritha-paramparai-kaLilE
nOvupadukiRapadiyaik kaNdu? ? 

The Lord also saw our suffering in the continuous
series of miseries each of which was like an ocean.

 ?krupayA nihspruhO vadEtha? enkiRapadiyE aRivillAtha
namakku aruLi, ---  

As it has been said, ?with compassion and without the
desire for any self-benefits?, gracefully giving
instruction to us, who are ignorant, .. .. ? 
 
        Here, SwAmi Desikan quotes a passage from a sloka in
the ChANdilya Smriti. Let us see the verse in full:

?samvatsaram tadardham vA mAstrayam athApi vA /
  parOkShya vividhOpAyaih krupayA nihspruhO vadEt //?
(ChANdilya Smriti, 1-116)

(AchArya should give instructions to his disciple
after testing him in various ways for one year or six
months or three months, without expecting any
self-benefits, but only out of compassion.)

The AchArya should instruct us ?who are utterly
ignorant.?      

        Even though the disciple may be ?utterly ignorant?,
but he must be of virtuous qualities, as stated in
ViShNu Dharma:

 ?dvividhO bhootasargOyam daiva Asura Eva ca /
  viShNubhaktiparO daivO vipareetastathA Asurah //?       
  (ViShNu Dharma, 109-74)

(All beings are either of the two categories ? divine
and demonic. The divine beings are those who ever
remain full of devotion to the Lord. The opposite
category is called demonic.)

        It has also been stated:

 ?yadrucchayA upasannAnAm dEshAntara-nivAsinAm /
  iShTOpdEshah kartavyO nArAyaN-ratAtmanAm? //        
          (SAttvata Samhita, 21-45)

(If a person has come by chance from a distant land
with a mind filled with the love for the Lord, he
should be taught what he desires without any prolonged
tests.) 

        The AchArya would reveal the spiritual truths in such
a manner that is heard only by the disciple?s two ears
and only to a disciple who has no desires and is
content and is keenly desirous only of learning the
shAstras. 
        SwAmi Desikan himself has highlighted such AchAryas
and such instructions in a couple of Tamil verses, in
his work, ?SrImad rahasyatraya sAram?:

?pAttukkuriya pazhaiyavar moovaraip paNdorukAl
 mAttukkaruLtharu mAyan malinthu varuththuthalAl
 nAttukkiruKL ceka nAnmaRaiyanthi nadai viLangka
 veettikkidaikazhikkE veLikAttum ammeyviLakkE.?  

(Those lamps of spiritual wisdom, which lighted the
threshold of a certain house, in Tirukkovaloor, when,
the cow-herd KriShNa who granted His grace even to
cattle in an ancient age, came of His own accord and
squeezed Himself among those three ancient singers.
(This refers to the first three AzhvArs- Poygai,
Bhoota and PEy- AzhvArs.) ? Those lamps lighted there,
i.e., their songs, dispelled the darkness of the land
and revealed the path indicated in the Upanishads
which form the concluding part of the four Vedas.)

?maruLaRRa dEsikar vAnukappAl intha vaiyamellAm
  iruLaRRu iRaivan iNaiyadi pooNduya eNNuthalAl
  theruLuRRa chenthozhil chelvam perukic
chiRanthavarpAl
  aruLuRRa chinthaiyinAl azhiyA viLakkERRinarE.?

(Our great AchAryas, who were absolutely free from
ignorance and error, lighted the undying lamp out of
compassionate grace, in the minds of worthy disciples
who had grown rich in the true wealth of the
performance of ordained rites in a manner which would
accord with their knowledge. They did so because they
desired that the whole world should become free from
ignorance and adorn their heads with the Lord?s Feet
owing to their longing for Paramapadam.) 

        SwAmi Desikan further continues:

?arjunan vizhayaththil sArathiyAi  ninRa  thannaip
pOlE namakkum ?neRiyellAm edutthuraikka? ninaikkumpadi
paNNinathuvum;? ? 

        The Lord inspires the AchAryas to follow the example
set by Himself. Where He did so?  The Lord took upon
the role of the driver of Arjuna?s chariot during the
MahAbhArata war. He not only drove the chariot but
also guided the master of the chariot, i.e. Arjuna by
explaining all the tenets of scriptures, while on the
chariot itself. In the chariot, the seat of the driver
is at a lower level than the master of the chariot.
Actually, the driver?s head will be protruding just
above of the floor on which the master stands, in such
a position as the head is between the two feet of the
master. While fighting, the master gives instructions
about the direction to which the chariot has to be
driven by hitting the driver?s head by either the
right or the left foot. During the MahAbhAratha war,
both sides of SrI KriShNa?s head were oozing out blood
because of the frequent hits it received from Arjuna?s
booted feet.  Any one who can imagine how the Lord?s
head appeared with blood strains, will not remain
un-swooned. Such is the compassion of the Lord, to
perform the role of the driver of Arjuna?s chariot!
        However, our AchAryas need not undergo such a torture
as that under went by the Lord. But, He has shown the
way to explain all the spiritual tenets, so says SwAmi
 Desikan:

 ?thannaip pOlE namakkum ?neRiyellAm edutthuraikka?
ninaikkumpadi paNNinathuvum;?    
        Here, SwAmi Desikan quotes from a verse of SrI
nammAzhvAr: ?neRiyellAm edutthuraiththa?. This is from
the Thiruvaimozhi. Let us look at the full verse:

 ?aRivinAl kuRaivillA akalj~nAlaththavar aRiya
  neRiyellAm eduththuraiththa niRaij~nAnaththoru
moorthi
  kuRiyamANuruvAkik kodungkOlAl nilamkoNda
  kiRiyammAn kavarAtha kiLaroLiyAl kuRaivilamE.?      
                (ThiruvAimozhi, 4-8-6)

(The people of this world are not even aware that they
do not have the knowledge. In order to make them know,
the Lord explained the essence of all the principles
and the means of attaining the ultimate goal. He is
the incarnation of the Perfect Knowledge, Who,
appearing as a dwarf, robbed the demon king, MahAbali,
of the entire universe through deceit means. What is
the use of this beauty of my form, when that Lord has
not cared to enjoy it? )[The AzhvAr speaks as a
Lady-love.] 

        Here, the AzhvAr indicates the great service rendered
by the Lord, out of compassion by explaining to the
whole world all the means of salvation, such as the
karma-yOga, the jnAna-yoga, the bhakti-yoga and the
saraNAgati, keeping Arjuna as a pretext. As the
incarnation of SrI VAmana, the Lord took possession of
all the worlds from MahAbali by the measurement of His
feet; using this as a pretext, He put His Feet on the
heads of all the beings and blessed them. 
        SwAmi Desikan points out that the Lord did this
favour to us by setting Himself as an example for
AchAryas to follow Him and give instructions to all
for their salvation.     

[Books consulted:
1)      Nyaasa Vimsati ? Commentary by SrI D.Ramaswamy
Aiyengar, Advocate, Madras.
2)      Srimad Rahasyatrayasara ? Ed. By Sri Navaneetam
Sriramadesikachary Swami.
3)      Srimad Rahasyatrayasara ? Translation by
M.R.Rajagopala Ayyangar, formerly of the         
                                                  
Madras Educational Service)
4)      PeriyAzhvAr Thirumozhi ? Commentary by Sri Uttamur
Veeraraghavacharyar
5)      ThiruvAimozhi ? Commentary by Sri P. B.
Annangaracharya.
6)       -- do --            -- Commentary by Sri
V.N.Vedanta Desikan.      ]


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






      
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