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        SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH. 

     tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Part 16 - In Response to Feedback 
                     on tiruvAimozhi 1.1.

One of the feedbacks I received was:
"As we enjoy the kalyANa guNa-s of tiruvuRai mArban emperumAn, we 
should also contemplate on what this means to our jIva-svarUpam, i.e. 
our guNa-s, as the jIva-s are but His Body.  In other words, as jIva-
s, our guNa-s should resonate with each and every kalyANa guNa of 
SrIman nArAyaNa, which He possesses only for our benefit  (He 
possesses infinitely more kalyANa guNa-s than what are revealed to us 
and what we are capable of perceiving)".  As the jitante stotram 
echoes, 

        "na tE rUpam na cAkArO nAyudhAni na cAspadam  |
        tathA'pi purushAkArO bhaktAnAm tvam prakASase ||" (jitantE 1-
5)
"Neither Your divya Atma svarUpam, nor Your divya ma'ngaLa vigraham, 
nor for that matter Your weapons, or Your own SrI vaikunTham, are for 
Your benefit (they are all for Your devotees' benefit, and thus You 
are not independent, but You are the possession of Your devotees).  
Even so, You shine as the Supreme Being".

In my humble opinion, AzhvAr's 1000 Divine Collects transcribing 
vedic extollation of bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s in tamizh are 
a vade mecum (a constant companion, a handbook) so that we would 
study and learn them, and realize what is expected of us jIva-s in 
relation to bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s and, more importantly, 
live our decreed mortal life with a jIva-svarUpam that is 
commensurate with and worthy of His and our AcArya's Causeless 
Mercy.  Lord kRshNa instructs us in the gItA:

        tad-viddhi praNipAtena paripraSnena sevayA  |
        upadekshyanti te j~nAnam j~naninas tattva-darSinah  ||  (4.34)

"Know this (knowledge concerning the self) by prostration, by 
inquiry, and by service.  The wise, who have realized the truth, will 
instruct you in knowledge".

Through tivuvAimozhi, AzhvAr is instructing us, and we should benefit 
from it by learning it with humility, meditation, contemplation and 
service.

It is SrI vaishNava svarUpam to indulge ourselves in activities that 
are ever-pleasing to Him, and to desist from any activity that is 
averse to Him - AnukUlya sa'nkaplam, and prAtikUlya varjanam, which 
are two a'nga-s or aspects of prapatti or surrendering ourselves 
unconditionally to Him.  Thus, for instance, in SrI vaishNava 
sampradAyam, singing about makhA lakshmi when praising Him, and 
thinking of Him as "SrIman nArAyaNa', `tiru uRai mArban', etc., will 
delight His heart, as sung by nammAzhvAr himself:   "agalagillEn 
iRaiyum enRu alarmEl ma'ngai uRai mArba!"

The feedback I receivdd was that I should not just stop with 
describing the kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn, but proceed to the next 
step of actively realizing what this means as far as my guNa-s and 
conduct are concerned, and reflect these im my postings.  I am well 
aware that I do not have the training or knowledge to make this next 
step in an august forum like this.  All that I have posted in the 
past several years is a repetition of what the learned pUrvAcArya-s 
have already said, even though I may have misunderstood and 
misrepresented even some or all of them.  In writing the current 
postings on tAtparya ratnAvaLi, I am already faced with having to 
stretch my siRumati (my infinitesimally small knowledge) to explore 
the explanations for svAmi deSikan's choice of bhagavAn's kalyANa 
guNa-s, since the available vyAkhyAna-s are not detailed enough for 
my siRumati's comprehension.

Still, the current posting is the attempt to respond to the feedback 
that was given in a spirit of helping me to reflect further on 
AzhvAr's message.   I am thus reflecting on the guNa-s expected of 
the jIva that resonate with bhagavAn's kalyANa guNa-s as ideintifed 
in each pASuram of nammAzhvAr, trusting that His and my AcAryA's 
Causeless  Mercy will steer me through this effort, using me as a 
tool . Everyone is invited to add to this anubhavam.  I may end up 
repeating the same thought again and again for each guNa of bhagavAn -
 that we the jIva-s should be constantly aware that we are part of 
His body, that we exist solely to serve Him, that He is our only Lord 
and Master, that we are eternally His servants and should serve Him 
thus, and that we should surrender to Him unconditionally with mahA 
viSvAsam and the other a'nga-s pf prapatti.  I would like to add that 
our sampradAyam enjoins that our AcArya is pratyaksha bhagavAn for 
us, non-different from bhagavAn Himself, and we should  reflect the 
prapanna-s' guNa-s in relation to him.  svAmi deSikan makes this 
point very clear to us in his SrI nyAsa vimSati ? Slokam 2, which has 
been commented on in an earlier posting a few years back.

We will start with the guNa of sevyatvam at the Satakam level.  The 
guNa chosen by svAmi deSikan for the first Satakam (group of 100 
pASuram-s) is sevyatvam ? BhagavAn is One Who is worthy of being 
worshiped.  Another term used to describe this guNa is upAyatvam ? He 
being the means to attain the end (see the write-up for Slokam 6).   
We will also see that He is also One Who alone is worthy of worship, 
to the exclusion of all other deities (the subject of Sataka-s 5 to 
10).  The guNa that we the jIva-s should possess, to be in synch with 
this guNa of our Lord and Master, is to worship Him alone as the 
Deity to be worshiped ? the concept of avoiding anya-devatA worship 
for any benefit of any kind, at all costs.  This is usually one of 
two main do's and don't-s that our AcArya-s generally tell us at the 
time of our bhara samarpaNam or SaraNAgati ? desist from anya devatA 
worship (the other being that we should at all costs be careful not 
to commit bhAgavata apacAram).    

The guNa at the daSakam level for tiruvAimozhi 1.1, is paratvam ? the 
Lord's supremacy over all the cetana-s and acetana-s.  For our part, 
we should fully realize our Sesharvam or servitude to Him as our Atma 
svarUpam ? inherent and natural state for us, and we should indulge 
only in actions that will please Him (AnukUlya sa'nkalpam), and 
desist from all actions that will displease Him (prAtikUlya 
varjanam).   These are two of the a,nga-s of prapatti. 

We will next proceed to meditate on the guNa-s of bhagavAn that are 
identified as the primary guNa-s sung in each pASuram of tiruvAimozhi 
1.1, , and contemplate on how the jIva resonates withis guNa of 
emperumAn.  
 
-       pASuram 1.1.1 ? bhagavAn's guNa:  He Who possesses infinite 
kalyANa guNa-s.  We as sentient beings should constantly meditate on 
His kalyANa guNa-s, and should surrender to Him unconditionally.  
SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDAvan points out in his SrImad rAmAyaNa 
upanyAsam, that His guNa of sauSIlyam ? His ability to move with the 
lowliest beings at thjeir level, is one guNa that stands out above 
all the other kalyANa guNa-s.  We should keep this in mind and 
surrender to Him unconditionally with the five a'nga-s of prapatti 
identified in svAmi deSikan's nyAsa daSakam, and be eternally 
relieved of the bondage of samsAra.

-       pASuram 1.1.2- BhagavAn is One who is full of Infinite 
Bliss.  The question we should ask in our mind is "What leads to this 
state of infinite bliss?".  This is a state where there is no desire, 
no anger, no attachment, no selfishness, etc.  Bliss arises out of 
lack of involvement in any activity for our own selfish purposes, and 
dedicating everything we do to Him and Him alone.

-       pASuram 1.1.3 ? He is the Lord and Master of all things in 
the leelA vibhUti ? His splendor of being manifested in everything in 
all the Universes, which  are all subject to His sport of repeated 
cycles of creation and destruction.  What is the jIva to learn from 
this realization that we are the subjects of this leelA vibhUti ? 
that we have been given a body so that we can expend our karma-s and 
attain Him at the end of expiation of our karma-s?  It is to realize 
once and for all that we belong to Him in SrI vaikunTham where we do 
not have to be born and re-born by being subject to the effects of 
karma.  This happens when we surrender to Him unconditionally and 
attain Him by following the path of prapatti with its five a'nga-s or 
aspects as outlined in svAmi deSikan's nyAsa daSakam as mentioned 
earlier.  

-        pASuram 1.1.4 extols that our svarUpam is bhagavad adhInam.  
The desired svarUpam of the jIva-s is to be the eternal Sesha-s or 
servants of bhagavAn.  We should pray to our AcAryan to guide us and 
shower his blessings on us such that we are constantly mindful of our 
subservience to Him, and perform kai'nkaryam in this world until we 
pass on to the stage where we will perform kai'nkaryam to Him 
eternally in SrI vaikunTham along with the other released and 
eternally free souls.

-       In pASuram 1.1.5, we see bhagavAn's guNa that all the anya 
devatA-s and their powers are bhagavad adhInam ? subservient to Him 
and under His total control.  The corresponding guNa in us is for us 
to realize that the Supreme Deity is none other than SrIman nArAyaNa, 
to worship Him alone, and to desist from anya devatA worship in any 
form.  It should be kept in mind that this does not mean that we in 
any way induge in any action that shows disrespect to the anya-devatA-
s, since they are His adhIna-s and devotees.  For example, rudra is 
considered one of the greatest devotees of Lord vishNu by our AcArya-
s.

-       pASuram 1.1.6 points out that all our actions, and inactions, 
are His adhInam, or under His total control.  In SrI bhAshyam, we 
find that the jIva has initial momentary control in making the 
decision to perform any action, or to desist from it, since bhagavAn 
has given us this control, thus making us responsible for our karma-s 
(sUtra 2.3.41 ? kRta prayatnApekshastu vihita 
pratishiddhAvaiyarthyAdibhyah). Once we make this momentary decision 
without His involvement, then He takes over and gives us the power to 
perform this action ? good or bad, and then we acquire the karma 
associated with that action, since we chose it in the first 
instance.  We the jIva-s for our part, should develop this freedom of 
choice that He has given us, such that we only involve ourselves in 
activities that are pleasing to Him (AnukUlya sa'nkalpam), and desist 
from activities that are displeasing to Him (prAtikUlya varjanam), 
which are two of the a'nga-s of prapatti.  

-       pASuram 1.1.7 notes that everything in all the Universes form 
His body, and He is the the Owner and we are the parts of His 
SarIram.  This is similar to our own body-soul relationship, where 
our body exists solely for the purpose of serving the needs of our 
soul.  Similarly, we are all part of His body, and our role is to 
solely serve Him and Him alone.  Whatever we do should be dedicated 
to His service, and not for our own selfish purposes.  This is along 
the lines of the AnukUlya sa'nkalpam that was referred to in the 
previous paragraph.

-       pASuram 1.1.8 points out that He is the Lord of all the other 
gods such as brahmA, rudra etc., and that they derive their powers 
because He has bestowed these powers on them based on their good 
karma-s.  Our role as jIva-s is to realize that He is the One and 
only Supreme Soul worthy of being worshiped, and desist from anya 
devatA worship, and surrender to Him with mahA viSvAsam ? total faith 
that He will protect us (another a'ngam of prapatti).  SvAmi deSikan 
has put it nicely thus:  "tvayi rakshati rakshakaih kim anyaih  |  
tvayi cArakshati rakshakaih kim anyaih  || "  - When He wishes to 
protect us, no one else can prevent it;  If He doesn't want to 
protect us, no one else can protect us.  

-       pASuram 1.1.9 notes that bhagavAn is known as sat (has as His 
possession all things that are in sthUla form after creation) as well 
as a-sat (has as His possession all the things without a physical 
form and name at the time of pralaya).  But there is never a time 
when He Himself does not exist ? He always exists, and always has as 
His belongings everything that exists in any form or without a form.  
Our pUrvAcArya-s have interpreted this pASuram as a repudiation of 
the SUnyavAdi-s who argue that everything originated from nothing, 
and everything goes back to nothing, and thus refute the existence of 
ISvara.  One subtle point about bhagavAn's guNa that should be 
realized from this is that even as He destroys everything during 
pralaya, He preserves them all in His stomach without their suffering 
the slightest damage, and gives them again another chance during the 
next cycle of creation by giving them bodies with sense-organs etc., 
so that they can exhaust their karma-s at least in the next birth and 
reach Him eternally.  It is His Infinite Mercy that He owns 
everything in their sUkshma form at the time of pralaya and gives a 
body again to everything.  We should meditate on this Infinite Mercy 
of bhagavAn, lead our lives in such a way that we use this body and 
the indirya-s for the purpose for which it has been given, dedicate 
all our actions and their effects to Him alone, and be guided by oyr 
AcArya-s so that we do not face the fearful samsAra again at the end 
of this life.  
-       
-       pASuram 1.1.10 stresses that emperumAn is present in all the 
sentient        and non-sentient things in all the worlds at all 
times without any exception, as the Controller of all things.  The 
realization that He is our Controller and our Lord, and that we are 
His eternal servants, should result in the longing to perform 
kai'nkaryam to Him in everything we do.  The fulfillment of this 
desire to perform eternal kai'nkaryam to Him is the ultimate goal of 
the jIva ? moksham.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued).






 
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