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srI:
SrI  upakAra  sangraham ? 67
--- 
adikAram ? 1
poorva upakAra paramparai
(The Foremost Series of Favours) 
---   
SECTION ? 5 (22)  
(27 Favours of the Lord leading to the means for
MOKSHAM)  
-----   
                The message conveyed in the previous sub-section is
being continued by SwAmi Desikan further in this
sub-section:

(22)  ?dEvatA-teerta-tapasAm bhAratAt yasya nirNayah /
       na janyatE nAstiktA tasya meemAmsakairapi //?

enkiRapadiyE oruvrAlum nAstikyam
pukuravidavoNNAthapadi, ?AstikO dharmasheelashca?
ityAtikaLil conna shiShya-lakShaNa-poortiyai
uNdAkkinathuvum;

        We just saw how the Lord prevents the down-fall of
the disciple after receiving the spiritual knowledge
from his AchArya.  His duties towards his AchArya were
also described. Thus the characteristics of an ideal
disciple will be complete only when he stands firm in
his faith in the knowledge given by his AchArya. He
should be firm not only in his faith in the
scriptures, but also in executing the dhArmic rites as
enunciated in the scriptures as practiced by his
AchArya and the previous ones.  This is what stated as
 ?AstikO dharmasheelashca? ityAtikaLil conna
shiShya-lakShaNa-poortiyai uNdAkkinathuvum; -- The
firm faith in the scriptures and the firm practice of
the dhArmic activities prescribed make a disciple
perfect. 

        Even then, there is a possibility of the disciple
facing challenges from other faiths, particularly, the
poorva-meemAmsakas, who also follow Vedic scriptures.
One who studies the basics of their system is likely
to be carried away by them. But those who have gained
a definite knowledge about the existence of devatas,
holy rivers and religious austerities, will not be
turned non-believers even by the poorva-meemAmsakas.
This is what that is asserted by the slOka mentioned
above:  

 ?dEvatA-teerta-tapasAm bhAratAt yasya nirNayah /
  na janyatE nAstikatA tasya meemAmsakairapi //?

(The person who has gained a firm knowledge about the
gods, holy-places and austerities from Sri
MahAbhArata, cannot be shaken by meemAmsakas
(poorv-meemamsakas) to give up his belief. That is, he
will not be turned into a nAstika [non-believer].)

        He will continue to perform his duties as taught by
his AchArya and remain a real disciple. 
        
The Poorva-meemamsa System denies the existence of
devatas in the form of intelligent beings. It stresses
that the Vedas are the supreme authority and the
performing of karmas as outlined in the Vedas alone
give the benefits desired by a person and those
benefits are given by the yagnas performed and not the
devatas. The names mentioned in the mantras with which
one performs the rites are mere names only. Actually
no intelligent beings indicated by those names exist.
The benefits which are to be gained after one?s death
are conferred by a thing called ?apoorvam? which is
created by the performance of the karma by the person
concerned.  The highest goal one can attain by the
performance of the karma is heaven for a period for
which the particular karma was performed. After that
period is over, he will be born again in the world and
has to perform another karma for a similar or
different benefit. Since the poorva-meemAmsakas say
they believe in the existence of God too, but by
inference. 

        Even though the meemAmsakas established the existence
of Atma as a separate entity different from the
physical body through logic, those who follow the
Brahma meemAmsa can remain safe as this Atma-vicAram
can be got from the Vedanta portion of the Vedas, and
do the karmas as a bhagavad ArAdhanam. What
poorva-meemAmsakas preach is pravrutti dharma, which
promotes this worldly existence and activities, while
the real beneficial path is nivrutti dharma, which is
renunciation of the fruits of the karmas done by us.
MeemAmsa shAstra is of a total of 20 chapters, as
established by SrIbhAshyakAra in his ShrIbhAshyam, as
opposed to the stand of the poorva-meemAmsaka that
only the first 16 chapters are alone valid for study
as they deal with karmas and related subjects. If one
believes in their concept he is like a blind who falls
into an abandoned well. 

        In order to prevent this, SwAmi Desikan has left us
three works, namely, ?Paramata Bhangah?, ?shEShvara
MeemAnmsa? and ?MeemAmsa PAdukA?.  The truth has also
been brought out in his other grantas like
?Tattva-teekai?. 

        It would be useful to keep these two verses of SwAmi
Desikan?s ?Paramata Bhangam? in our mind, to avoid
being carried away by the arguments of people on the
line of poorva-meemAmsaka siddhAnta: 

?eeacanum maRRaNangkum  ilathenRu, ezhilnAn maRaiyil
  pEciya nalvinaiyAl, perumpAzhukku neer iRaikkum
  neesarai neethikaLAl nigamAnthatthin noolvzhiyE
  mAcilmanam kodutthum maRu mARRangkaL mARRuvamE.?

(MeemAmsakas do not accept Ishvara and other devatas
like Indra. They maintain that the fruits of the
rituals performed by persons for such purpose, are
given by a factor which they call ?apoorvam? arising
out of those rituals. For them, sound is the devata.
In their system, they do not accept the physical
existence of devatas, nor do they accept that such
devatas are pleased to receive the havish from the
rituals and later shower the fruits on the performer
of those rituals as a result. They are akin to those
who water the waste lands. We will condemn these
lower-graders with the help of logic based on the
Vedanta shAstras, with a spotless mind.) 

 ?kamaikadal pOl oruneerAm cootthiratthaik
        kavanthanaiyum irAkuvaiyum pOlak kaNdu
  ninaivudanE nilaittharumam ikanthu niRkum
       neecar nilai nilai-nAdA vaNNam eNNi
  vinaiparavu caiminiyAr vEdanoolai
       vEdAntha nooludanE virakAl kOttha
  munaiyudaiya muzhumathi nam munivar conna
      mozhivazhiyE vazhiyenRu muyanRittOmE.?

(Our siddhAnta considers both the former and latter
meemAmsas as a single scripture. It is just like,
though the ocean is only one, it used to be called
?this sea and that sea? by people for practical
purposes. Similarly, the single scripture is divided
in to two parts as poorva meemAmsa and
uttara-meemAmsa.  PoorvAchAryas like BhOdAyanar,
AlavandAr, SrIbhAshyakArar have established that both
meemAmsas are a single scripture with two parts, the
earlier part being about the karmas to be performed as
bhagavad-ArAdhana and the later part being about the
BhagavAn. We follow the path shown by these wise men
as the best for us.)                  

Therefore, one who has gained a superior knowledge by
the study of the uttara-meemAmsa and is adopting the
means to attain mOkSha will not be carried by these
petty attractions, like wealth in this world or
heaven.      

             It may appear that the previous
sub-section and this subsection speak about the same
matter. But it will not appear so if we look at them
closely. The previous sub-section dealt with the duty
of a disciple in having full faith in his AchArya who,
out of compassion, taught him the essence of the
spiritual scriptures, while this sub-section dealt
with the need for the disciple to have a firm faith in
the subject matter taught by the AchArya. This faith
should not be shaken by the superficially good-looking
arguments of the poorva-meemAmsakas who don?t believe
in the existence of the Lord. 

The creation of this firm belief is another favour
done by the Lord, points out SwAmi Desikan in this
sub-section.

        [Note: It may appear that this part is not relevant
to the present age. It is, however, emphasized that,
it is relevant considering the presence of people who
do not believe in the existence of God or in the Vedic
scriptures and they are being in influent position. It
is likely some of us may be influenced by their
propaganda. Hence, this sub-section is necessary.]   


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



      
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