Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
Mahadesikaya nama:
The Famous Five--I
Writing an article, as far as I am concerned, is a
collective family endeavour. When I chose a subject, the entire family pitches
in with hints, ideas and whatnot. While my wife gives me possible tips from
Desika Stotrams, my son and daughter, who are voracious readers (alas! Only of
comics and pulp fiction, apart from an occasional classic or religious work,
when the mood strikes them) contribute matters from the loukika angle. My mother
serves as a reference point in case of doubts in certain areas. Even friends and
relatives occasionally phone in with tips. You would by now have realized that I
merely assemble the various items of information given to me, with plausible
connecting matter, making the whole into a passably readable composition, which
may not attract a shower of bouquets, but would hopefully not result in
brickbats.
When I began the current article, true to form, all
my family members and a friend enthusiastically threw in clues and tips,
which resulted in no less than 45 possible items for inclusion, even without my
looking up my usual manuals of reference. And the result is the jumbo-sized
article that follows. The point of my sharing with you this rather confidential
piece of information (about the process of composition of my articles) is to let
you know that in case you intend blaming me for any of its shortcomings, you
should apportion it fairly among my family members and not lay the entire thing
at my doorstep.
Coming to brass tacks, of the several numbers I
have dealt with so far, Number Five accounts for the greatest number of mentions
in the Scripture. Its significance spans the entire gamut of spiritual
literature, with hardly any work which doesn't include a reference to this
intriguing integer. Whether it is the Shruti, Itihaasaas, Puraanas, Divya
Prabandam or works of Poorvacharyas, 5 occupies a pride of place, with quintets
abounding in all these works. What follows is just a sample of such abundance.
The Five Elements
The moment we think of Five, what strikes us is the
Five Elements-Pancha bhootam-of which the entire mundane structure is composed.
These are
1. Aakaasam or Atmosphere
2. Air
3. Fire
4. Water
5. Earth.
At the time of Creation, were these five elements
brought into existence simultaneously, or did one owe its origin to another? The
Upanishad answers this question by telling us that it was the Atmosphere or
Aakaasam which the Paramaatma created first from Himself-"Aatmana: Aakaasa:
sambhoota:".
From Atmosphere emerged Air and from air, Fire. Out
of Fire came Water and from Water emerged Earth. This is the order in which
creation was effected. However, while considering this, we should not construe
that only Atmosphere was created by Emperuman and the rest of the elements were
the originating point for one another, with Air independently creating Fire and
so on. It is the Paramatma Himself, taking on the forms of air, fire, etc., who
is responsible for bringing forth the five elements.
Of these five elements, Earth is the most complete,
for it has five characteristics (sound, touch, form, smell and
taste)-
"Sabda: sparsascha roopamcha rasaschaapi
Dvijottama!
Ete gunaa: pancha Bhoome: sarvebhyo
gunavattaraa"
If we take the life breath, Air, it is also divided
into Pancha Praanaas:
1. Praanan
2. Apaanan
3. Vyaanan
4. Samaanan
5. Udaanan
You would find these names in the Parishechana
mantras, through which all food that we consume is first offered to these five
types of life breath residing in our body.
The Five Faculties
The second grouping of Five that occurs to us is
the Five Faculties or sensory organs- these again fall into two groupings of
five each.
The five Organs of Action or Karmendriyaas
are
1. Hands
2. Legs
3. Speech
4 and 5 the two excretory organs.
And the five Organs of Knowledge (Gnaanendriyas)
are
1. Eyes
2. Ears
3. Nose
4. Tongue and
5. Skin
The five Indriyaas, as they are called, are
responsible for five faculties, viz.,
1. Sight
2. Hearing
3. Smell
4. Speech and
5. Touch.
(And if we take the fingers on our hands and feet,
they are again Five)
It is these sensory organs which are responsible
for most of our troubles, leading us astray even when we ourselves want to tread
the path of virtue. The pack of sensory organs is extremely powerful ("Balavaan
indriya graama:") and is uncontrollable, except for the sage. And at times,
these senses overwhelm even the wisest of men ("Vidvaamsam api karshati"). These
sensory organs are compared to five wayward, untamed and untamable horses, which
drag the chariot in a direction of their own choice, irrespective of where the
charioteer wants to go. Sri Nammazhwar likens the senses to five wicked and
cruel men, who constantly torture the Jeevatma-"Avi tigaikka iyvar.paaviyeni nee
kaatti paduppaayo!". While it is indeed extremely difficult to gain control over
these indriyaas, one who succeeds is eulogized by all the world as a
"Jitendriya:"
Five Great Sacrifices
All of us perform any number of duties every day,
depending upon our age, occupation and stage in life. While official duties are
treated as paramount, personal ones occupy the next place in our scheme of
things. However, the Scripture prescribes five duties for us, performance of
which is obligatory and failure in which would result in accrual of sin. These
are known as the Pancha Mahaa Yagyaas-the five great sacrifices. The
Taaittireeya Aaranyakam glorifies these Yagyas thus-"Pancha vaa ete mahaa
yagyaa: satati prataayante, satati santishttante, Deva Yagya: Pitru Yagya:
Bhoota Yagya: Manushya Yagya: Brahma Yagya iti". We find explanations too in the
same Upanishad, as to what these five yagyaas are about.
1.. Deva Yagya: Performance of various
sacrifices comes under this head.
The Havis or sacrificial offering in the various yagyaas forms the staple diet of the Devas, and timely and consistent performance of yaagas keeps the celestials satisfied. 2.. Pitru Yagyam: Propitiating the
forefathers with the offer of "Swadhaa" constitutes Pitru
Yagyam.
3.. Bhoota Yagyam refers to feeding of lowly
creatures, which depend on us for their life and sustenance. Even the drawing of
"Kolam" at the doorstep of the house would constitute this Bhoota Yagyam, since
it is meant for ants and similar creatures to feed on the rice flour used for
the purpose. Even today, many families have the habit of feeding the crow prior
to partaking breakfast.
4.. Manushya Yagyam: Feeding of
guests-"atithis"-especially learned Brahmins, comes under this head-"Yat
braahmanebhyo annam dadaati tat manushya yagya:
santistthate".
5.. Brahma Yagyam: Daily recitation of
the portions of Vedas that one has learnt-termed as "Svaadhyaayam"-constitutes
Brahma Yagyam. One is supposed to recite at least one "Prasnam" or chapter from
the portions already learnt from the Guru. This not only bestows on us the
incalculable "punyam" that accrues out of Veda paaraayanam, but also,
incidentally, helps us retain in memory through repetition, the Veda bhaagam we
have learnt by rote.
In practice, while Brahma Yagyam remains what is
described above, Vaidikas observe the other four of these Maha Yagyaas as a
continuation of Vaisvadevam, offering portions of cooked rice to Devas, Pitru
Devatas, human beings and to crows and dogs, with the respective mantras meant
therefor.
That these five great sacrifices were very much in
vogue and practice, is known from Tirumangai Mannan's words in
Tiruvezhukoottrirukkai---"Mutthee, naanmarai, iyvagai velvi".
Five Vedas
Speaking of reciting Vedas, how many are the Vedas?
While "Four" would be the normal answer and while "Three" too might be
acceptable as an answer (as Atharva Veda is often considered to be but an
adjunct of the other three Vedas), the answer that would be eligible for full
marks is "Five". No, I am not talking through my hat, for, along with Rg, Yajur,
Saama and Atharva Vedas, Mahabharatam too is considered the Fifth
Vedam-"Bhaarata: panchamo Veda:". Due to its profound contents, vast coverage of
men and matters, clear enunciation of the path of Dharmam, categorical
definition of who is the Paramatma, etc., Mahabharata is considered no less than
Vedas and is counted on par with them.
There is another version put forth by the
Bhaagavata Purana, which considers not only Mahabharatam, but the entire body of
Itihaasaas and Puraanas to constitute the fifth Vedam-
"Rg Yaju: Saama Atharvaakhyaa Vedaa: chatvaara
uddhritaa:
Itihaasa Puraanam cha panchamo Veda
uchyate"
And even if one is unable to learn all the 82
Prasnas or chapters in the Yajur Vedam, one should, as a basic minimum
requirement, learn by rote at least the Pancha Sooktam and Pancha Shaanti
mantras. The Pancha Sooktas referred to here are the Purusha Sooktam with the
Narayana Anuvaakam, Vishnu Sooktam, Sri Sooktam, Bhoo and Neela Sooktam.
Pancha Paandavaas
The mention of Mahabharatam prompts a thought of
another group of five-of five princely sons of Emperor Paandu-the Pancha
Paandavas, viz., Dharmaputra, Arjuna, Bheema, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Krishna considered the Pandavas extremely close,
which can be gauged by His remarks to Duryodhana-"Mama praanaa hi Paandavaa:".
Of these five princes, whom do you think was the dearest to Sri Krishna's heart?
One would normally think that Dharmaputra, that paragon of virtue and
personification of righteousness would rank for the position of pride, by virtue
of his seniority and other qualifications. However, it is in favour of Arjuna
that Krishna casts His vote-"Vrishneenaam Vaasudevosmi Paandavaanaam
Dhananjaya:" This was because of Arjuna's boundless devotion for the Lord,
exhibited in various forms.
And the only woman whom we know with five husbands,
is Droupati. How did she end up with this rather dubious distinction? It is said
that while performing penance addressed to Shankara, Droupati, overwhelmed by
the deity's manifestation, uttered the prayer for a good husband, five times.
Treating the same as five individual requests, Shankara blessed her with five
husbands!-
"Pancha kritva: tvayaa ukta: patim deheeti aham
puna:
Deham anyam gataayaaste yathoktam tat
bhavishyati"
To the Pancha Paandavas were born five children
from Droupati.
The Five Forms of Paramaatma
Coming to the Lord Himself, we find that He has an
inalienable association with Number Five.
The Paramaatma is to be found in Five
Forms:
1. Param: This is the
Lord's primordial form, with which He shines at Sri Vaikunttam, regaling all the
celestials with His incomparable beauty, majesty and magnificence.
2. Vyooham: The Lord
divides Himself into four entities, for carrying out the various functions of
creation, protection, preservation and destruction. These four forms are
respectively known as Vaasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and
Aniruddha.
3. Vibhavam: Since only
those who have attained liberation can feast their eyes on the aforesaid forms
of the Lord, out of His infinite mercy, He descends often to this mundane world
of ours for the purpose of protecting the good and innocent, destroying the
wicked and for re-establishing Dharma on its foundations. These visits of the
Lord, known as Avataaras, are principally 32 in number, (including the famous
Dasaavataaras) though Aagamaas mention many more.
4. Antaryaami: The Lord
resides in all of us, shrinking His majestic form to the proportion of just a
thumb, to suit the cramped confines of our hearts. It is this Inner Dweller who
has the Jeevatma and our material body as His shareeram. He doesn't lose any of
His spelendour or magnificence due to this diminutive form He assumes for
residing within us. It is indeed a true measure of His love for us that He
chooses to dwell in us, in this body composed of blood, flesh and refuse-"Oona
kurambai idanul pukku" remarks Azhwar, marveling at the Lord's extreme
soulabhyam in leaving His splendorous residence at Sri Vaikunttam for residing
in our despicable body.
5. Arccha: The Para
Vaasudeva is capable of being seen only by the permanent residents of Paradise,
while the Vyooha Moorties too are visible only to sages. And while Vibhava
avataaras like those of Rama and Krishna benefited only their contemporaries,
the Antaryaami is visible only to Yogis.
Then what are we ordinary, sinning mortals to do?
Can we not see God at all while on this earth? It is to cater to beings like us
who were unfortunate enough not to have been born during the times of Rama and
Krishna, that the Lord assumes various forms at innumerable abodes on this
earth, sitting, standing or lying down as His devotees wish Him to, enabling
men, women and children to feast their eyes on His glorious form with very
little effort. "How is it that You made Yourself the subject matter of weak and
devotion-less eyes of mortals like me?" wonders Sri Koorattaazhwan-"nanu lochana
gocharo bhoo:"
Not only the Paancharaatra Aagamaas, but also the
Taittireeyopanishad speaks about this five-fold form of the Lord-"Sa vaa esha
Purusha: panchadhaa panchaatmaa".
If we take the Arcchaavataaram, the images of the
Lord at various Sannidhis are made out of five metals generally, cumulatively
known as "Iympon". These are Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper and Brass. The
boundlessly beautiful Utsava Moorties of Emeperumans at various temples may be
made of metal, but they transcend all the mundane properties of such elements
and acquire sanctity, once Praana Prathisttaa is performed. A word of caution
here-Swami Desikan tells us never to think of the Lord's images as being made of
mere metal-they are verily forms of the Lord which He acquires out of love and
affection for His children, devoid of all the base qualities of matter and full
of all the auspicious attributes unique to the Lord.
If we take the Lord's abodes, we find that He is
again fond of five. Dwaraka was the capital city of Sri Krishna, built by Him as
a labour of love. However, there are no less than five Dwarakas-Dakore Dwara,
Natha Dwara, Bhet Dwara (which is an island), Moola Dwara and Gangrouli Dwara.
Among the divya desams or temples sanctified by songs by Azhwars located in the
South India,, there is another quintet known as the Pancha Krishna
Kshetrams-Tirukkanna Mangai, Tirukkannankudi, Kapisthalam, Tirukkannapuram and
Tirukkoilur.
To be Continued
Srimate Sri LakshmiNrisimha divya paduka sevaka
SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
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