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 "maRRai nam kaamangaL maatru": 'vEdanta-sAra mantra'
-----------------------------------------------------

This series of essays -- it began on 16th January this
year! -- ends today with this posting to the
Tiruvenkatam Group list! 

My sincere apologies for the rather leisurely and
sporadic manner in which this long series of postings
has progressed from beginning to end. It dealt with a
profoundly Vedantic theme: "kaama" as 'purushArtha'.
The theme apparently simple is actually so vast and
formidable. It simply overwhelms anyone venturing to
do it justice through an essay elucidating it. 

The theme of "kaama" has many splendorous variations.
They are to be found in several parts of the vast body
of Vedantic scripture, lore and literature. To truly
understand it all -- its infinite variety, its
overtones and undertones, its echoes and resonances
--one truly has to cover a lot of ground. This long
series of mine attempted to do it to the best of my
meagre knowledge and ability. 

I had to persevere with this series right to its very
end amidst countless ordinary but pressing concerns
and distractions of the day-to-day ('loukeeka') world
in which we all live and flounder. They intrude into
and interrupt what might have otherwise been, if only
God had willed it so, a life of constant
"bhagavath-chintana" --- a pre-occupation with
thoughts sacred and matters  divine... a life, so to
say, entirely given to 'saatvIka kaama'. Alas, such a
blessing is not upon me... 
                 
               ***************

Amongst common men, imitation is said to be a form of
flattery. In the community of the spiritually minded
too, imitation is not an uncommon form of expressing
one's deep veneration for godly or saintly persons.
(Those who worship Lord Rama, for example, strive to
imitate in their lives the examples of conduct in the
Ramayana. Again, it is not uncommon for 'sishyAs' in
the "vaideeka" fold to always want to imitate their
respective 'AchArya' in word and deed. Why, even in
the Christian tradition, the true Christian ethic is
said to strive to imitate Jesus of Nazareth --- that
is why, John Bunyan, for example, was inspired to
write his famous work of Christian piety, "The
Imitation of Christ").

In the phrase "maRRai nam kaamangaL maatru", appearing
at the very end of the immortal and classic Tamil work
of religious devotion, the "TiruppAvai", AndAl summed
up in a single marvellous expression everything she
had intended to convey in 28 preceding stanzas. And
imitating her -- imitating the very same style of the
"pirAtti" (Lady) of SriVilliputtur out of my sense of
unbounded veneration for her -- I too intend this last
and 30th posting ("muppathUm thappAmE") in this series
to be a concluding summary of all the 29 postings that
went before.

                *************

The Vedanta ?mArga-s? of ?gnyAna?, ?karma? and
?bhakti? yoga (known collectively as "hita" in
Vedantic terminology) are essentially all about one
thing only: they point Man towards the highest
?purushArtha? -- the everlasting joy of union with
God.  

The attainment of this "purushArtha" lies in the
conquest of earthly ?kaama? --- that Force latent in
the fuel of Life called Desire which in turn drives
all human action. That "fire of Desire", called
"kaama", can never really be quelled or put out
completely. However, it can and must be tamed. It can
and must be made to serve Man's true and highest ends
in life. This cardinal truth is revealed in the 3rd
chapter of the Bhagavath-Gita:

          evaM buddheH paraM buddhvaa
            sa.nstabhyaatmaanamaatmanaa . 
          jahi shatruM mahaabaaho 
            kaamaruupaM duraasadam.h .. 3\.43..

"Thus, knowing one's own soul to be transcendent and
beyond the pale of material senses, mind and
intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady
the mind with the aid of spiritual intelligence and
deliberation. And thus ? by spiritual strength ?
conquer this insatiable enemy known as "kaama",
Desire".

               *****************
   
The taming of "kaama" involves changing its basic
character rooted in "primitiveness" into one that is
"culturally or ethically higher". 

Such change or conditioning ("kaamangaLai maatruthal")
is accomplished by exercising human Will. Exercising
the Will means making right, deliberate choices in
life. 

If we willed ourselves in life (it is arduous,
life-long struggle to do so) to make only the right
choices and resolutions, and to abjure the wrong or
useless ones, it would bring about a change in the
whole texture and complexion of our Desires. 

It is our desires that define our persona. When our
desires are transformed, our inner persona too stands
transformed. With persona transformed, the true Self
within us can, at last, begin to discover its true
indentity: as a source of inexhaustible Love and Joy
(ref: Sage YagnyavAlkya's story from the
BrihadAranyaka Upanishad in posting #13). 

What is then discoveed is pure Joy and Pleasure -- the
Vedantic ideal (of "purushArtha") known as "Kaama". It
is the Supreme Pleasure-Principle which is verily
Godhead: that which the Vedas have celebrated as the
"brahmAnanda" -- an "Ananda" that simply defies
description or comprehension through ordinary sensory
experience. Such "brahmAnandam" is within the grasp of
all men. It is their birthright. 

Such ?change in desires?, such transformation of
persona, is exactly what is signified in the
TiruppAvai in the Tamil expression ?maRRai nam
kaamangaL maaRRu?.  

All the above themes and sub-themes were dealt with in
Postings # 1 through # 12.

                **************** 
            
How to actually bring about such transformation in
Desire, in our persona and life is a question of great
Vedantic importance.

According to Vedanta, ?change? in ?kaama? can be
effected in one or more of 3 different ways. They are:

(1) CHANGE IN THE DIRECTION OF DESIRES brought about
by deliberate exercise of the human Will --- a Will
grown ripe and enlightened through
Self-knowledge ("gnyAna"). This is called
?gnyAna-yOga?. The best illustration of this "yOga" in
practice is in the dramatic example (we saw in posting
#15 in this series) of Nachiketas in the "Katha
Upanishad".

(2) REDUCTION IN THE QUANTITY OF DESIRES through
?kArma-yOga?. This is essentially the idea of
?unification of desires? explained in posting #16
through #21. To amplify this, again, the dramatic 
example of Tondaradipodi Azhwar's early life was
narrated in this series. 

(3) IMPROVEMENT IN THE QUALITY OF DESIRES through
practice of ?bhakthi-yOga?. This is called
?sublimation of desires? and it is, in fact, the
central theme of the whole of the TiruppAvai. It lies
at the very core of the expression ?maRRai nam
kaamangaL maaRRu?. And this was illustrated (even at
the risk of offending the orthodox SriVaishnavite's
sensitivities) through the story of a Saivite
Nayanmar, Sri Poosalar of Tiruninravoor (postings #22
through #29) whose extraordinary tale of "bhakti" is
one of the most glorious in the annals of Vedantic
hagiology.

                  ***********

This series now concludes with an observation that
should probably provide unusual food for thought to
all lovers of the TiruppAvai who recognize the work to
be what is really is: "upanishad saaram", essentially
a work of Vedantic thought more than anything else.

The way the TiruppAvai deals with the theme of "kaama"
actually imitates the way of the ageless Vedic
'sruti'. The conceptual template of the TiruppAvai as
it goes about expounding the subject of "kaama" in 30
magnificent stanzas appears to have been inspired by
the same one found in the famous Vedic passage -- the
"chamakka prashna".

It will be recalled that Posting # 9 in this series
briefly referred to the "chamaka prashna" as an
exhaustive "wish-list" of human Desires ("kaama"). The
?chamakam? occurs in the 4th ?kAnda?, 7th
?prapAthaka? of the Yajur Veda. It has 11 ?anuvAkAs?
or passages. The passage rings throughout its course
with the conjunctive word ?cha?, ?cha, ?cha? meaning
?and?, ?and?, ?and?. Hence the name ?chamakam? given
to the ?prashna?. The ?chamakam? contains the verb
?kalpataam? which in Sanskrit means ?may it be granted
to me?. The whole of the passage thus reads: ?May this
and that and (?cha?) this and that and (?cha?)..... be
granted to me (kalpataam?), O Almighty!?

Between the verb ?kalpataam? and the conjunctive ?cha?
is contained a lengthy recital of several things of
the world that one perhaps may best describe (using
the modern expression) as the ?good things of life? or
"goodies". The whole of the ?chamakam? thus is a
prayer for 347 earthly "goodies" -- some of the most
valuable and desirable things in life Man might
petition God. 

The "chamakkam" inventory includes grain, food,
health-care, wealth, progeny, fame, friends,
neighbors, obedient subordinates, kith-and-kin that
harbor no secret jealousy... and so on and so forth...
These get invoked, one after the other in a cascading
series, as it were, with the magical sound of the
sweet refrain: ?cha ? cha? may? kalpataam??.

               ***************** 

It is very significant to note that the 3rd ?anuvAka?
of the ?chamakam? ?- a very popular piece indeed that
is very often chanted on occasions wherever the Vedic
faithful congregate in worship even today?-- the 3rd
?anuvAka? is actually called ?kaama-? or
?priya-anuvAkam?. It begins as:

?sham cha may, mayas cha may, priyam cha may, anu
kaamas cha may, kaamas cha may, sowmana-sas cha may,
bhadhram cha may, srEyas cha may???

(meaning):?May God grant me these things: the
Happiness of this world, the Happiness of the other
world, objects dear and pleasing, objects alluring,
all things desired for in the other world, the
happiness of having well-disposed relations, welfare
and prosperity in this world ??.?(unquote)

>From the above passage we should be able to understand
beyond a shadow of doubt that the ?kaamaanuvAka" of
the ?chamakam? is an explicit prayer to the Almighty
to grant the human heart the fulfillment of its
?kaam-ic? urges i.e. to grant it all the natural and
normal desires to be unabashedly or unreservedly
sought in the world. 

                *************

Now, if one turns to the TiruppAvai and studies the 30
verses therein from a purely Vedantic standpoint, one
will not fail to notice that it too deals with a
recurrent and underlying sub-theme: "Prayer for human
desires to be fulfilled". The Tamil phrase of AndAl is
"vEnduvana kEttiyEl" and it is an eloquent epigram for
this particular theme. 

Further, in Stanza 3, there is an eloquent prayer for
all forms of earthly prosperity to be blessed upon the
world to ensure human well-being --- "teenginri
nAdellAm tingaLL mUmmAri peyydhu" (copious rains),
"cennel oodu kayaLugaLa" (rich crops), "perUm
passukkal" (productive livestock), "neengAdha selvam"
(undiminshing wealth") etc. 

Again in Stanza 9 we find the following beautiful
lines echoing more of the same sentiment:

"thoomaNi maadaththu sutrum viLakkeriyath*
thoopam kamazhath thuyilaNaimEl kaN vaLarum*"

These are marvellous lines of Tamil poetry suggestive
of wholesome domestic bliss in in all human dwellings
--- the "dream-homes" that all men aspire for in life
(please refer Posting # 23 in this series).

In Stanza 11 there is the phrase "sutraththu
thOzhimaar ellaarum vandhu" suggestive of another
aspect of Man's wellbeing -- his basic urge or desire
for human fratenity and communion i.e. the longing for
the cozy feeling of companionship amongst friends,
good neighbours etc.

Then in the 19th stanza there is the richly evocative
phrase: "metthenRa pancha sayanam" -- which by itself
is an extraordinarily suggestive "catch-all" phrase
alluding to all manner of homely comfort and luxury
the human heart craves for.

The 26th and 27th stanzas of the TiruppAvai are
full-throated petitions indeed (similar to the
"chamakka prashna") for many of the world's "goodies"
--- which the poetess AndAl symbolizes through a
series of poetic imagery: "kOla viLakku", "kodiya
vidhaanam", "choodagam", "thOL vaLai", "thOdu",
"sevippoo", "paadagam", "aadai","paaRchORu", "neyy"
etc.

Thus, as one reads through the text of both the
TiruppAvai and the Vedic "chamakka prashna", one
cannot fail to notice that they both indeed do offer
up prayers to God seeking fulfillment and the objects
of the best or most ideal of human desires ( i.e.
"kaama" as "purushArtha").

               ***************

Both the "chamakkam" and the TiruppAvai -- all-time
classics of Vedantic profundity -- seek however to
show Man the way to not only fulfill "kaama" but to
transcend it as well. Both contain within themselves
the germ of an implicit answer to the most fundamental
philosophical question of life: 

"Fulfillment of Desire ("kaama") towards what end? For
mere selfish or evanescent pleasure of Man?" (AndAl,
in fact, poses the same question in famously poetic
lines: "yaam vandha kaariyam aaraayndhu!")

"No", say both the "chamakkam" and the TiruppAvai
quite emphatically.

Our earthly urges and desires, according to the
"chamakkam" are meant to be fulfilled for a very
specific purpose. The purpose is spelt out in
unequivocal terms in the 10th "anuvAka":

".... aayur yagnyEna kalpataam, praaNO yagnyEna
kalpattam, apaanO yagnyEna kalpataam, vyAnO yagnyEna
kalpataam, chakshur yagnyEna kalpataam, srOtram
yagnyEna kalpataam, manO yagnyEna kalpataam, vaak
yagnyEna kalpataam, aatmaa yagnyEna kalpataam, yagnyO
yagnyEna kalpataam!..."
 
meaning: "(May all the objects of my fulfilled
desires, may all the good things I've been blessed
with), May the longevity of my lifetime, may the the
vital airs in me, may my blessed eye-sight, my sense
of hearing, my Mind and powers of Speech, May my very
in-dwelling Soul .... May all these prove fit and
efficacious in my hands for the purpose of the many
sacrifices I shall perform in life! May such
sacrifices complete my lifetime to perfection! May all
these verily become utterly dedicated to the ultimate
sacrifice of mine --- "yagnyO yagnyEna kalpataam"!"

Man must seek fufillment of "kaama", of Desire,
principally to aid in the realization of one great
purpose in life: "yagnya" -- i.e. self-sacrifice,
called variously in Vedantic parlance as "aatma
samarpaNa", "aatma nivEdanam" etc. It is the ultimate
true end in life ('summum bonum') that Man must always
keep at the back of his mind while going about life
seeking satisfaction of earthly urges and desire. 

              *****************

The TiruppAvai too, in many a stanza, affirms the same
Vedantic truth. The 'aaypaadi' girls of AndAl's
pastoral poem go about talking of the sacrificial
"vratam" or vow which they wish to perform during the
holy month of "maargazhi" (dec-jan). Hence they go
about petitioning the Almighty for all manner of
earthly things as described above. 

For instance, here are some oft-quoted lines of the
TiruppAvai which speak of Sacrifice as the main
purpose for which earthly desires should be fulfilled:

1. "vaazha ulaginil peydhidaay  naangaLum*
     maargazhi neeraada magizhndhElOr embaavaay"

2. "neyyuNNOm paaluNNOm naatkaalE neeraadi*
     maiyittu ezhudhOm malarittu naam mudiyOm*
   seyyaadhana seyyOm theekkuRaLaich chenROdhOm*
     aiyamum pichchaiyum aandhanaiyum kai kaatti*

3. "dhEvaadhi dhEvanaich chenRu naam sEviththaal*
     
              ***************

If Sacrifice ("yagnya") is the ultimate goal of
desire-fulfillment -- in other words, if "kaama" is to
be offered as Sacrific unto "yagnya" -- the next
philosophical question that naturally arises is: To
what purpose "yagnya"? To what ultimate end
self-sacrifice?

The "chamakkam" and the TiruppAvai closely following
suit, both answer the question in one and the same
breath and in an emphatic manner:

The end of "yagnya" is verily the Lord Almighty
Himself: Holy Communion with and Eternal Servitude to
Him!

In the final soul-stirring 11th 'anuvAka', with a
magnificent flourish of poetry at the end, the
?chamaka prashna? of the Veda lifts ups its hands to
the skies and prays for nothing less than ?Him who is
immanent in this infinite like space and time; Who is
born after the last of things and who exists at their
end; Who is immanent in the earth and who is
?adhipathi?, the Lord and Ruler, the Immortal:

    ?vyAshniyas cha aanthyaayanas cha aanthyaayas cha
bhowvanas cha bhuvanas cha adhipathis cha?!?

The TiruppAvai too in the penultimate stanza similarly
defines the climax or consummation of the sacrifice
("vrata") of the 'aaypaadi' girls as "parai" : that
exalted and blessed state of existence in the presence
of the Almighty where they could sing everlastingly
His Glory:

"un_dhannaip-paadip paRai kondu yaam peRum sammaanam*"
  
                  and

"vandhu unnai sEviththu* oon-potraamarai adiyE pOtrum
poruL kELaay*"

                   ***************

The long Vedantic journey of life upon which Man
embarks thus, begins with a fundamental inquiry into
the nature of "purushArtha" (Goal in life); it then 
travels through the pathways of "hita"; it progresses
then beyond the milestones of "gnyAna", "karma" and
"bhakti" yoga; eventually it approaches "yagnya" or
"atma-nivEdana"; and then it finally culminates in the
realization that the Almighty Himself and  everlasting
bondage to Him is indeed and in reality the only true
Desire, the only true "kaama" that Man should aspire
to satiate.

This Vedantic journey is a long and arduous one. It is
a journey that one can aptly characterize in the
proverbial terms of "one thousand miles"! 

And the very first step of this great journey of Man
is what indeed ANdAl in the TiruppAvai had in mind
when she described it in a single, beautiful and
unforgettable phrase: "mattrai nam kaamangaL
maatru...." ... "Change my Desire, O Lord!"

          "andaal tiruvadigaLE sharaNam"
            
                   (CONCLUDED)   

dAsan,
Sudarshan   






Sudarshan Madabushi
Chief Financial Officer & Vice-President
KGL Ports International
Plot A-21, Kuwait Free Trade Zone.
PO BOx 24565, Safat 13106,
Kuwait.
Ph: (965)- 4827804/5 Ext 212
Fax:       4827806
mob:       7063337
email:  mksudarshan2002@xxxxxxxxxxx


                
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