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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:



The Endless Entity



All things we see in this world have an end. This is a universal law, 
applicable to all beings and things. What is created, be it man or material, 
surely has an end too, says the Gitacharya-"JAtasya hi dhruvO mrityu:" We may 
say that this or that building stands proud, "defying the test of time", but in 
reality, nothing can defy the test of Time. You may build with stone or any 
other material considered invincible, and may employ the latest construction 
techniques. The fact remains that all edifices are susceptible to dilapidation, 
decay and destruction. The same applies to human life too, as we see with our 
very own eyes day after day. While the length of our sojourn in this world may 
differ, none can stay on indefinitely and go we must, some day or other, sooner 
or later.



Finiteness can be of three types- Limitation by Time, Limitation by Place and 
Limitation by Object.



We have seen above how all beings, sentient and non-sentient, are limited by 
Time- that is, they are present at one point of time and not later, when their 
lives come to an end. If a person were alive in the last century, he would not 
be in the current one. And it is a fair deduction that those who inhabit the 
earth now would not be around in the 22nd century.



Limitation by place indicates the inability of a person to be present at more 
than one place at a time. If I am present at Coimbatore, ipso facto, I am not 
at Chennai, at the same time. We refer here to physical presence and not mental 
attendance, for all of us are aware how our minds have no frontiers and can 
take us from place to place, country to country, in no time at all. We may thus 
be present physically at one place and mentally at another (which happens all 
the time in our class rooms and KalakshEpa ghOshtis), but it is impossible for 
us to be physically present at more than one place at a time.



The third type of Limitation, that by Object, means that as Jeevatmas, we 
occupy one body only at a particular point of time and are not present anywhere 
else, during our lifetime. Our spiritual presence is limited to the body we 
currently use, and there is no way we can enter or inhabit another piece of 
matter. The soul may discard one body and assume another, much in the fashion 
of a man casting off a torn shirt in favour of a new one, but it cannot occupy 
two abodes simultaneously. Thus all earthly beings are limited by matter.



The three limitations described above appear axiomatic, in no need of any 
elaboration, as there is no question of its being otherwise. It would be 
contrary to all laws of nature, if it were otherwise. We have not known anyone 
transcend these constraints imposed by Time, Place and Object.



However, there IS somebody who is not subject to these curbs and who admits to 
no such fetters on His freedom. He is a free bird, who cannot be caged by such 
a trivial constraint as Time, being the Cosmic Timekeeper, who cannot be 
subjected to restrictions of place or country, nor is constricted by Visa 
formalities, and has no restriction regarding inhabiting a single shareeram at 
a time. It is none other than the Lord, who refuses to be subjected to any 
restraint whatsoever. The TaittirIyOpanishad testifies to this by extolling Him 
as "ananta" ("Satyam, GnAnam, anantam Brahma").



When the Shruti calls Him "ananta"(The Endless), it attributes to Him 
endlessness in respect of Time, Place and Object-without KAla paricchEdam, DEsa 
paricchEdam and Vasthu paricchEdam.



If we take up KAla paricchEdam first, we find that He has been around all the 
time. In fact, He was there when nothing else was there ("SadEva Somya idam 
agra Aseet"). He is the oldest inhabitant of all Creation and has been there as 
Creator, Protector and Destroyer, watching with amusement and pity, countless 
billions being born, live their lives in the erratic fashion common to all 
humanity, and pass away when their time was up, only to be recreated. He has 
been witness too to some of them making heroic efforts to throw off their 
shackles and attain emancipation, to be welcomed by Him to His own abode with 
open arms. As He is not created, He is not susceptible to an end too, and is 
forever. He is the Lord of the past, present and the future ("Bhoota bhavya 
bhavannAtha:") and is without a beginning and end ("Adi Madhya anta rahitha:", 
"anAdi"). He was there when Brahma, the creator and Rudra the destroyer, were 
yet to be born ("EkO ha vai Narayana aseet, na Brahma na IsAna:"). He is 
"ajAyamAna:", the one without birth and "nitya:", the ever present. Though 
these attributes of "ajatvam" and "nityatvam" are shared by the individual soul 
too, the Jeevatma is unaware of its own permanence and believes itself to be 
finite. Hence we may say that it is only the Lord who is infinite and knows it 
too.



As far as Limitation by Place goes, the Lord simply cannot be constrained to a 
single place or more, because He is omnipresent. "VisatIti Vishnu:"-the Lord 
pervades everywhere and is present everywhere "Sa bhoomim visvatO vritthvA" 
adds the Purusha Sukta. He is thus present at all places at all times, 
demonstrating His DEsa paricchEda rAhityam. He is a "Vibhu", with all-pervading 
attributes.

"sarvagatO Vishnu:" says the Vishnu Purana, attesting to His omnipresence. Not 
only He but His Consort too is omnipresent, according to the same Purana-"Yata 
sarvagatO VishNu: tataivEyam dvijOtthama!".

To a layman, it is clear that this should be so. If the Lord is omnipresent and 
Piratti is always with Him without a second's separation ("nityA Eva Esha 
JaganmAtA VishnO: SrI anapayinI"-Shri Vishnu Purana again), then Piratti too 
must be a "Vibhu". If this were not so, there would be some places where only 
the Lord would be present and not SrI, which runs counter to their 
inseparability. Thus, both the Lord and Piratti are unlimited by place too, 
apart from both being timeless. While the Jeevatma shares the attribute of 
timelessness, it is however limited by place.



We are left then with Limitation by Object. Here too, the Lord scores, for He 
is present in all objects and beings, sentient and non-sentient, past, present 
and future. He resides in all beings as their inner dweller or antaryAmi, 
guiding them through the jungle of samsara. He pervades all things live and 
otherwise and fills them with His presence. "antar bahischa tat sarvam vyApya 
Narayana: stittha:" says the Narayana anuvAka, attesting to His presence in all 
that exists. "udal misai uyir ena karandu engum paranduLan" paraphrases Sri 
Nammazhwar. He enters all beings and objects and directs them from inside-
anta: pravishta: ShAstA janAnAm sarvAtmA" says the Aranyakam. And when He 
resides in the Atma of every being as the antaryAmI, He does so with His 
Consort, for, as shown above, She is inseparable from Him always, whatever form 
He assumes.



All these demonstrate beyond doubt that the Lord is indeed infinite, beyond any 
limitations of time, place or object. He is the unique soul, the Paramatma, who 
can be everywhere at the same time and at all times and in every object, 
irrespective of size or shape.



However, when we look really closely at the matter, the Lord is not so free as 
He would have us believe. Like others, He too is indeed subject to fetters. 
These may not relate to time, place or object, but they are fetters 
nonetheless. Love, untainted by expectations and unalloyed Devotion, are two 
bonds He has been known to be susceptible to. He has proved Himself to be 
vulnerable to being immobilised by the bonds of Bhakti. This is the person who 
permitted Himself to be tied-up hand and foot to the grindstone by an irate 
cowherdess, with a flimsy rope ("KaNNinuN siru thAmbinAl kattuNNa paNNiya 
perumAyan"). This is indeed paradoxical-the Lord of all the Universe, who 
destroys the bondage of all those who think of Him, the all-powerful Emperuman 
who annihilates asurAs without effort, the Supreme Being without a beginning 
and an end, bigger than the biggest and subtler than the most subtle- it is 
this Lord who was tied up by a mere GOpa sthree. What made this possible was 
the boundless maternal affection showered on Him by the cowherdess. Watching 
with amusement her strenuous efforts to bind Him with an inadequate rope, He 
took pity on her when her endeavours proved tiring and impossible (It is no 
easy job to truss up the Parabrahmam) and let Himself be immobilised ("kattuNNa 
paNNiya") at last. The synthetic sorrow on His bewitching countenance, the 
beginnings of a sob that emanated from His beautiful throat, the look of abject 
vulnerability that His eyes displayed-all these appear to be the height of 
Soulabhyam to Sri Nammazhwar, who marvels, "etthiram uralinOdu iNaindu irundu 
Engiya eLivE".



Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

Dasan, sadagopan











[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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