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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00086 Jan 2003

 
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srImathE rAmAnujAya namah

dear bhAgavathAs,

recently, there has been some discussion about ANdAL's approaching
kAmadEva (termed as "worshipping" in some of the discussions), and
how it fits in our sampradAyam.

The following is a very *rough* paraphrashing of the introduction 
(urai avathArikai) for the nAchchiyAr thirumozhi vyAkhyAnam by
srI prathivAdi bhayankaram ANNangarAchArya svAmi. 

--
In thiruppAvai, ANdAL establishes the object to be achieved 
through "ERRaikkum EzhEzh piRAvikkum unthannOdu uRROmE AvOm,
unakkE nAm AtcheivOM" - we will be for ever Your belongings,
and we will do service *only* to You. Even though ANdAL has
developed such an affection/longing for the Lord, kaNNapirAn
did not take her (mingle with her - "kalavi seidhu niRka-k-k
kANAmayaalE). Because of that, ANdAL becomes disoriented
, without the ability to think clearly/skillfully - 
{very very rough translation of yuktha ayuktha nirUpaNam 
paNNa mAttAdhapadi kalangi}. Like those who are seperated from their
loved ones, who perform the ritual of madal Urdhal for
being united with their loved ones again {like thirumangai
AzhvAr in siriya/periya thirumadals), ANDAL falls at the
feet of kAmadEva, whose nature is to join those who are
separated!

Now a question arises. ANDAL is the daughther of the head of
all sAthvikAs - periyAzhvAR. Such a person should follow the
dictum of "marandhum puram thozhaa mAndhar" {one who does
not worship anyone other than the Lord, even forgetfully}.
Is this appropriate? If such a question arises, then the
answer is that it is appropriate in this case. {porundhum!}.
How? ANDAL approaching kAmadEva here is a result of her
infinite longing/affection {prAvaNyam} for the object
of affection {prApya vasthu - in this case, the Lord}, and NOT
because of her independent thinking that kAmadEva is
the all-superior person {dEvathAndharathin idaththu
svathanthiramaagap parathva budhdhi paNNuvadhanaal anRU}.
This kind of behaviour (or trait) is not one that is
detrimental (or one that brings bad name) to the person
who is immersed in extreme love (prEma paravasar-ku).

Even then, a question may arise "Isn't this a trait 
because of disorientation? Should we not discard all
things done because of agjnAna?". The answer to that
is as follows. The traits that are developed as a result
of disorientation caused by the non-achievement of the
desired objects, the desire for which is caused by
extreme bhakti, which is caused because of knowledge
is something to be praised!. The agjnAna that is to
be discarded is the one that arises because of the
karmavAsanAs. 

Another question arises. The Lord is One such that HE
does not tolerate any effort (pravritti) on the part
of the chEtana to reach Him. Would not this extreme
effort (athi-pravritti) of ANdAL come in the way of
the doings of the Lord? If that is the question, the
answer is as follows. This extreme effort of ANDAL is
to be considered as the fruits of the efforts of the 
Lord Himself! {emperumAN paNNiNa krushiyin payan 
enna-k karudha-th thakkadhaam}. Isn't HE the one
who is the cause of the birth of this knowledge,
and the cause for the growth of this knowledge {in
ANDAL}? So, our pUrvAchAryAs have determined that
these traits (those caused due to bhakti-pAravasyam}
are strengths {upAyabalam}. Even again, all these
confusion/running helter-skelter by ANDAL {due
to a desire to reach the object *immediately*} are
considered by the Lord as "Oh! This soul is doing
all these things out of Love for ME!", and are 
things that make Him happy {avan mugam malarugai-kku uRuppu}.
Performing madal, nOnbu etc. , and all such 
doings then can be considered as things similar
to those that bring happiness to Him. 

So, the approaching of kAmadEva by nAchchiAr is
*not* against the svarUpa of the jIVa.

Just as ANDAL did, are there others who approached 
dEVatAntarAs as a result of extreme bhakti? If
that is the question, then here is an instance.
In rAmAyaNA, the people of ayOdhyA knew of noone
but the Lord rAma. Even they approached all the
dEVathAs *for the welfare of the Lord* {sarvAn
dEVAn namasyanthi rAmasyArththE!}.

---
The following are *adiyEn's* comments:
1. ANDAL is in such a state of mind where she is
about to try *anything* to join the Lord. {In 
tamizh, the proverb "eththai thinnAl piththam
theLiyum", comes to the mind}.
2. In that state, given the common belief that
there is this person called kAmadEva, whose
nature is to join one with his/her lover,
ANDAL approaches him in the hope that he will
join her with the LOrd.
3. In the Azhi mazhai-k kaNNA pAsuram, our elders
have taught us that the key meaning is that
the *duty* of all the dEvathAs (agni, indra,
varuNA etc..) is to help the Lord's devotees
reach Him!. This was taught to us by the same
ANDAL. One can also make the argument that
ANDAL is approaching kAmadEva as his duty is
to join her with the Lord.

The key seems to be her approaching kAmadEva
and requesting him to help her get the Lord.
i.e. this, obviously is not *worship* in the
traditional sense, but more of doing something
so that this person (who, in common belief, has
the ability to unite her with the Lord) will
help her towards the Goal.


AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam.

adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,
varadhan






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