NOTE: Readers having difficulty in reading the text may need to change their encoding to UTF-8. ------------- srI: SrI sAra sAram â I (24) -- I â ThirumantrAdhikAram -- The Significance of the âmâ in PraNava (continued) --- We just saw that the pure jIvAtma is atomic in size; is of the form of j~nAna; and has j~nAna as the attribute, that is he is capable of knowing objects. This is known as dharmabhoota j~nAnam. This fact that jIvAtma has this attributive knowledge is based on a Brahma-sootra. The sootra is; âj~nOta Evaâ (Brahma Sootra, 2-3-19) â (The jIvAtmA is a knower, that is, he possesses the attributive knowledge and this is from the Sruti itself.) Though the jIvAtmA is generally of the essential nature of knowledge, yet, this nature is said to be also pleasing and agreeable, that is, full of bliss. According to pramANas, his attributive knowledge has no restriction or limit. This should be understood to be in the state of mukti (liberated state), in which this attributive knowledge is all-pervasive and not limited by conditions (upAdhi) and without any restriction or limit. But, in the state of bondage, that is, in samsAra, it is very much constrained in the human form and it is almost zero in the case of jIvas in non-sentient objects. The seeker after salvation, that is, mumukshu, should meditate on the jIvAtmA as absolutely pure and blissful only as the SEsha to the Supreme Lord. This is indicated in the following Brahma Sootra: âvytirEkastadbhAvabhAvitvAt na tu upalabdhivatâ (Brahma Sootra, 3-3-52) (No, only in the state (of jIvAtamA) that differs from the state of samsAra (should be meditated upon), for that is the state which will ensue in mOksha as in the contemplation of Brahman as He is.) SwAmi Desikan explains this further now: â âdAsabhootAh svatah sarvEâ, âAtmadAsyam harEha svAmyamâ, âsvatvamAtmani samjAtamâ, âdAsOham vAsudEvasyaâ, âdAsatvAt vAsudEvasyaâ ityAdikaLiRpadiyE thannai Sriyah-pathikku ananyArha-SEshabhootan-enRaRiyavE thannudaiya guNa-vigrahAdikaLilum ic-SEshatvam kaimutika nyAyatthAlE siddhikkiRathu. ithu upalakshaNamAkavumAm. ingu âakArArthO vishNuhâ enkiRa SlOkatthaip padippathu.â The fact of the jIvAtmA being the SEsha of the Supreme Lord is established through the pramANas from which SwAmi Desikan has given the above quotes.. We study them in detail: The first quote: âdAsabhootAh svatah sarvEâ, -- This is from the Eswara Samhita- MantrarAjapada StOtram-12: âdAsabhootAha svatah-sarvE hyAtmAnah paramAtmanah / atOhamapi tE dAsa iti matvA namAmyaham //â (All the souls are indeed the servants by nature of the Supreme Lord. That is the reason why, I bow before You thinking that I am also Your servant.) â This is uttered by Siva. The second quote: âAtmadAsyam harEh svAmyamâ is from SrI VishNu Tatva. The full SlOka is as follows: âsvOjjeevanEcchA yadi tE svasattAyAm spruhA yadi / AtmadAsyam harEh svAmyam svabhAvam ca sadA smara //â (SrI VishNu Tattvam) [If you desire to attain the highest state and to adopt the means for it, always remember that Hari is your Master and that you are His servant and that this relationship is natural (and not created by anyone).] Here, it is implied that the jIvAtmA should remain engaged in the service of the Lord and his devotees which is the highest state to attain. And this thought should be there always in his mind. The third quote: âsvatvamAtmani samjAtamâ â is from an unknown source. The full verse is: âsvatvamAtmani samjAtam svAmitvam brahmANi sthitam , ubhayOrEva sambandhO na arObhimatO mama //â (source is unknown) (The jIvAtmA is the property of the Supreme Lord. He is the Master of the jIva. This relationship between the two is the most desirable and none else.) That is, one must long for the memory of the Lord-jIva relationship as the Master and the servant to remain for ever, as this is the only relationship is not only true but the most pleasant one too. No other relationship with any one else is not only unreal but not pleasant too. These relationships are only transitory so long as one remains in this material world. The fourth quote is: âdAsOham vAsudEvasyaâ is from the itihAsa samucchayam, 31-56. The full verse is: âdAsOham vAsudEvasya dEvadEvasya cakriNah / Sankhacakra-gadApANEh trailOkyasyaika cakshushah //â (itihAsa samucchayam â 31-56) (I am the servant of SrI VAsudEva, the God of all gods, Who is holding the conch, the discus, the mace and the bow; and Who is like the eyes of the three worlds.) This pramANa is quoted by Swami Desikan to emphasize that, once the jIvAtma firmly believes that he belongs only to the Lord and none else, the Lord keeps Himself ready with all the weapons to protect His dAsan, the jIva. The fifth quote, âdAsatvAt vAsudEvasyaâ the source of which is not known, means, âAs I am the servant of VAsudEvaâ.. The source of this is also not known. SwAmi Desikan futher says: âityAdikaLiRpadiyE thannai Sriyah-pathikku ananyArhaSEshabhootan-enRaRiyavEâ -- According to these pramANas, one should know that he is the servant only to the Supreme Lord and to none else. Once this firm knowledge comes to one, then what happens? SwAmi Desikan reveals: âthannudaiya guNa-vigrahAdikaLilum ic-SEshatvam kaimutika nyAyatthAlE siddhikkiRathu.â â This Seshatva, being the servant of the Supreme Lord, will automatically be reflected in his character as well as in his appearance. This results by the principle of âkaimutika nyAyaâ. When a greater thing is known, will not the lesser great thing be known? That will be obvious. Here, the knowledge of SEshatvam is the greatest one. When it is known firmly to a person, will it not reflect in his behaviour and appearance? There is no need to mention it separately as it is obvious. SwAmi Desikan futher says: âithu upalakshaNamAkavumAm.â â It is also a distinctive mark. A person with such a firm knowledge of he being the servant of the Supreme Lord, will be a marked person. His appearance and his style of conduct will bear the stamp of his status of being the Lordâs servant. SwAmi Desikan recommends: âingu âakArArthO vishNuhâ enkiRa SlOkatthaip padippathu.â â Here one should study the SlOka beginning with âakArArthO vishNuhâ which is from SrI ParAsara Bhattarâs work, SrI ashThaSlOkee. The full SlOka is as follows: âakArArthO vishNuh jagad-udaya-rakshA-pralaykrut makArArthO jeevah tadupakaraNam vaishNavam-idam / ukArah ananyArham niyam-ayati sambandham-anayOh trayeesArah trayAtmA praNava imam artham samadiSat //â (ashThaSlOkee-1) (The syllable âaâ in the praNava is VishNu Who creates, sustains and destroys the world; the letter âmâ in the praNava means the jIva, who exists for the fulfillment of the purposes of VishNu; the âuâ in the praNava indicates that this relationship between the two can exist only between them (and not others). So the praNava, which consists of the three syllables and is the essence of three Vedas, reveals this meaning.) (To continue) dAsan Anbil S.SrInivAsan ---------- Messenger blocked? Want to chat? Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php ------------------------------------ Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan http://www.sadagopan.org Yahoo! 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