SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
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KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.06 / ISSUE # 12 dated 03/06/05
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. DESIKAMRUTAM ? SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SARAM
(SRI SADAGOPAN IYENGAR SWAMI
SRIKARYAM SWAMI OF SDDS & SRS (FROM COIMBATORE)
2. ?TRIMURTI? - IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI- PART 8
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
3. FROM MAHBHARATA
?YAKSHA PRASNAM? PRASNAM #
(M.K.RAMASWAMY IYENGAR ReTIRED SENIOR OFFICER, GOVT> OF INDIA)
=================================================
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1. DESIKAMRUTAM ? SRIMAD RAHASYA TRAYA SARAM
(SRI SADAGOPAN IYENGAR SWAMI
SRIKARYAM SWAMI OF SDDS & SRS (FROM COIMBATORE)
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The Three Tenets?11
Thus far, we have seen a detailed exposition of the Gadya phrase,
?Svaadheena trividha chetana achetana svaroopa stithi pravritti bhedam?,
outlining as to how the existence, activity and essential nature, of all the
three types of sentient beings and non-sentient objects, are subject to the
will of Emperuman. Swami Desikan takes up next an enthralling description of
the nature and attributes of the Paramatma, whose all-encompassing glory was
revealed, as aforesaid.
Because He is Truth, Wisdom, Limitless, Blissful and ever-pure, Isvara?s
essential nature is defined to be Satyam, Gnaanam, Anantam, Aanandam and
Amalam. This is borne out by the Upanishadic text, ?Satyam, Gnaanam, Anantam
Brahma?.
Azhwars too highlight these attributes of the Lord thus??Nandaa Vilakke!
Alattharkku ariyaai!?
Each word of this line is significant, with ?Nandaa? denoting immutable
Truth,
?Vilakke? signifying Wisdom that eliminates darkness and ignorance,
?Alattharkku ariyaai? portraying the infiniteness or Anantatvam of the Lord.
Sri Nammazhwar pays a further tribute with ?Unar muzhu nalam?, telling us that
Emperuman is the repository of endless wisdom and bliss.
At the fag end of Tiruvaimozi too, Azhwar is unable to refrain from
cataloguing the Lord?s attributes, with
?soozhndu adanil periya sudar gnaana inbameyo!?.
Physically and by attributes, He is the biggest (?periya?) and greatest. He
is the embodiment of glowing wisdom??Sudar gnaanam?. He is limitless bliss
personified??inbameyo?.
Sri Tiruppanazhwar is so taken up with the unblemished purity of the Lord,
that he recounts it ahead of all other divine virtues and begins his prabandam
with ?Amalan, Adi Piraan?. ?Amalan engo? says Sri Nammazhwar too, placing
Emperuman?s Blemish-less-ness on a high pedestal.
Thus, Satyatvam, Gnaanatvam, Anantatvam, Aanandatvam and Amalatvam
(respectivelyTruth, Wisdom, Infiniteness, Bliss and Purity) are the defining
attributes of the Lord. Other characteristics, (whether they are other
auspicious traits or His enchanting form), are characteristics brought to
light by the aforesaid five defining attributes.
Of the subsidiary attributes thus highlighted, six are associated with His
status as the Supreme Being, the exalted Parabrahmam. These are Gnaanam,
Balam (Strength), Ishvaryam (Bountifulness), Veeryam (Valour), Shakti
(indefatigable energy) and Tejas (Splendour).
These attributes contribute to the Supremacy of the Lord in various
respects?
* His Wisdom enables Him to know everything?
?Yo vetti yugapat sarvam, pratyakshena sadaa svata:?, as Sri Nathamuni says.
* Balam refers to the unflinching capability, the undying fount of strength,
of bearing the two worlds, the ones below and Sri Vaikunttam above, with His
mere will.
* Ishvaryam indicates His over-lordship of the entire Cosmos and of
Paramapadam.
* His remaining unchanged and immutable, despite blossoming into the
entire world and its beings, at the time of Creation, is referred to as
?Veeryam?.
* Making the impossible happen, like making the day dark or the night
awash with light, is Shakti.
* And it is His Splendour or Tejas, which annihilates opponents, without His
having to lift even His little finger. It is to the destructive potential of
this Tejas that Sita Piratti refers, when She says that She could very well
reduce Ravana to a heap of ashes??na tvaa kurmi Dasagreeva! Bhasma
bhasmaarha Tejasa?.
There might be any number of auspicious attributes the Lord sports, but the
aforesaid six are the principal ones, contributing to His pre-eminence as
the Parabrahmam.
What is the use of a Supreme Being, who is inaccessible? He would at best be
a brilliant Sun in the distant sky, whom you can ogle at but not relate to in
any fashion. The glory of the Lord is such, that despite being the Lord of all,
He lowers Himself to our level, to move with us as one amongst us. These
traits--of Souseelyam and the Kindness and overwhelming Love (Vaatsalyam) that
He exhibits towards all beings, disregarding their innumerable
shortcomings--are the ones that make Him accessible to all, irrespective of
caste, creed, colour or social or economic status.
All the auspicious qualities enumerated above are at all times associated
with the Lord?s essential nature or Svaroopam. However, we find some scriptural
texts, associating specific traits with specific Vyooha moorthies. If this
be so, can we say that all traits, at all times, are related to the Isvara
Svaroopam? Yes, we can, says Swami Desikan.
These texts just mean that the Lord reveals these specific qualities to
those who worship Him in any of these manifestations. It does not negate the
presence of the other traits in Him, inany of His forms.
The Upanishads prescribe 32 Brahma Vidyas or paths to
Paradise, in each of which a particular aspect or auspicious attribute of
Emperuman is given prominence and meditated upon. Similarly, in
Paancharaatra texts too, specific traits are ascribed to each form of the Lord,
whether it is Vyooha Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha or Sankarshana.
We know that the forms of the Lord are five-fold ? Param, Vyooham, Vibhavam,
Arccha and Antaryaami. Of these, if we take the Lord at Sri Vaikunttam, (the
Para Vasudeva roopam), He is meditated upon as possessing all the six
principal qualities enumerated above, viz., Gnaanam, Balam, Ishvaryam, Veeryam,
Shakti and Tejas.
As far as the Vyooha Moorties are concerned, some mention them as four
(Vyooha Vasudeva, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Sankarshana), while some say they
are just three (on account of there being no essential difference in
characteristics between the Para Vasudeva and the Vyooha Vasudeva). Sri
Koorattazhwan, in Sri Varadaraja Stavam, tells us that the Lord?s Vyooha forms
are indeed three, with each displaying two traits each, of the total six that
adorn the Supreme Being.
The respective traits and functions of the Vyooha Moorties are catalogued by
Sri Bhattar, in Sri Rangaraja Stavam?Uttara Shatakam. The Para Vasudeva of Sri
Vaikunttam is credited with all the six principal attributes enumerated
above and is engaged in affording infinite bliss to all emancipated souls.
Sankarshana displays inimitable Strength and Wisdom. His functions are
destruction of the universe at appropriate times and the authorship of
Shastras as guiding lamps for humanity. Pradyumna is endowed with Ishvaryam and
Veeryam and His activities are Creation and ensuring prevalence of Dharma.
Shakti and Tejas are the preserve of Aniruddha, who looks after Protection and
Preservation of all created beings and propagates the eternal truth.
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2. ?TRIMURTI?- IN NAMMAZHWAR?S TIRUVOIMOZHI- PART 8
(SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO)
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2.2.9: (13)
kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa perumAn
SErkkai Seidu tan undi uLLE
vAitta tiSai-mugan indiran vAnavar
AkkinAn deiva ulagugaLE.
This pASuram states that kaNNan pirAn has, as His inherent nature, the
function of protection. Traditionally, it is believed that brahmA is the
creator, vishNu is the Protector, and rudra is the destroyer. In this
pASuram, AzhvAr clarifies that a) bhagavAn is the true Creator, Protector,
and Destroyer all in one, and b) bhagvAn performs the functions of creation
and destruction only as a prelude to protection, or a means to protection of
the jIva-s as His aim, and so He is by nature One Who is dedicated to
protection of the jIva-s in all His acts.
AzhvAr points out how bhagavAn is responsible for all three major functions,
namely, protection, destruction and creation. Since it is well accepted
that bhagavAn is responsible for the function of protection, AzhvAr does not
address this specifically. But he deals with the functions of destruction
and creation in this pASuram, and points out that bhagavAn is responsible
for these functions as well, and that He undertakes these other functions
also only for the purpose of the ultimate protection of the jIva-s, and thus
all His functions are directed towards protection, and so He is ?kAkkum
iyalvinan?.
We all know that bhagavAn is credited with the greatest of all samhaAra-s -
the total destruction of everything at the time of pralaya. Thus, it is
clear that He is responsible for samhAram in its ultimate limit. What some
of us have not realized is that this is really protection in truth, because
He protects all the jIva-s in His stomach at the time of pralaya. It is a
prelude to the next cycle of creation that is in the welfare of the jIva-s,
by giving them another opportunity to attain Him by giving them another body
and all the comforts to enjoy in His next cycle of creation.
Now, if we look at the day-to-day instances of the ?death? of creatures,
again the traditional view is that rudra or Siva is responsible for this
?destruction? on a smaller scale than the pralaya. In truth, again it is
bhagavAn who is responsible for this act of ?destruction? as well, since He
is the One Who created rudra and then gave Him the power and responsibility
for this function of ?destruction?. In other words, rudra performs his
function of destruction at this level, because bhagavAn is acting through
rudra by being His antaryAmi. And the ?death? that is considered
destruction by some, is really an act of protection by bhagavAn, since He is
causing this ?destruction? so that the jIva will discard the old and
worn-out body, and get another body that is new and fresh, and will get yet
another opportunity to perform kainkaryam to Him and attain Him in this new
birth. This level of destruction is also undertaken by Him, only as a means
of the ultimate protection of the jIva.
A similar situation is true with respect to creation. BhagavAn is the One
who creates brahmA first from the brahmANDam that emanates from His navel,
and then gives him the power to create all other things, and thus He is the
true Creator through brahmA also. Thus, it is kaNNan who is responsible for
the creation, protection, and destruction, and no one else. In the four
short lines of this pASuram, nammAzhvAr has packed a lot of deep concepts,
which will be discussed in more detail below.
kAkkum iyalvinan ? It is bhagavAn?s nature to protect the jIva-s. This is
what He considers more important than the functions of samhAram and
creation. These other two functions are done only to facilitate the
protection of the jIva-s, so that ultimately the jIva-s will attain moksham,
and join Him in SrI vaikunTham for ever.
kaNNa perumAn ? kaNNan who is sarveSvaran. The term ?perumAn? is used along
with ?kaNNan? to clarify that bhagavAn takes different incarnations such as
kaNNan, but in all these incarnations, He is full of all His Supreme
qualities without any diminution.
kAkkum iyalvinan kaNNa perumAn ? The Supreme Deity (perumAn) takes
incarnations for the primary purpose of protection, because this is His very
nature (kAkkum iyalvinan). Note Lord kRshNa?s declaration ? paritrANAya
sAdhUnAm, vinASAya ca dushkRtAm ? For the protection of the good, and the
destruction of the evil. Protection is mentioned first, and destruction
only follows as the next function in importance. Like removing the weeds
so that the intended grains can grow, destruction of the evil is only for
the protection of the good.
SErkkai Seidu - ?SErttuk koLLudal? - By making everything merge into Him at
the time of pralaya.
kAkkum iyalvinan ? SErkkai Seidu ?. AkkinAn:
- The first set of words ? kAkkum iyalvinan, refers to the function
of protection, which is His nature.
- Serkkai Seidu ? The second set of words refers to the function
of destruction. This is subservient to the function of protection. It is
for the purpose of protecting the jIva-s from being destroyed during the
pralaya, that He saves everything in His stomach at the time of pralaya,
even ensuring that they do not bump into each other and suffer any damage.
- AkkinAn ? The third function in this sequence, namely creation,
is dependent on the previous step, that of samhAram, which again was meant
for protection.
In order of importance, protection is the most important. By saying ?kAkkum
iyalvinan AkkinAn?, AzhvAr emphasizes that the main purpose is protection,
and creation is only a means of protection ? giving a body to the jIva-s so
that they can expend their karma-s and attain Him. By saying ?SErkkai Seidu
AkkinAn?, AzhvAr clarifies that Serikkai Seidal or destruction is again a
prelude to ?Akkal? or creation.
undi uLLE ? in His navel.
vAitta tiSai mugan, indiran, vAnavar AkkinAn ? He created brahmA, indra, and
all the other deva-s, out of the jIva-s that had accumulated enough good
deeds to deserve these positions (vAitta).
daiva ulagugaLE AkkinAn - He also created the divine worlds for brahmA,
indra, etc. to live and rule. Note that even the worlds in which the likes
of brahmA and indra live, are all created by bhagavAn, and thus, He is the
Creator of everything, including everything that existed before these
deva-s, and everything after these deva-s, in addition to the deva-s
themselves.
All the beings originated in the brahmANDam, which appeared out of the navel
of Lord vishNu. At the time that the brahmANDa gets destroyed, Siva also
gets destroyed, since he is one of the beings in the brahmANDa. It is
bhagavAn SrIman nArAyaNa who starts the function of creation all over, and
He maintains and controls the cycle of creation, protection and destruction.
Thus, in this pASuram, AzhvAr declares that all the three functions ?
Protection, destruction and creation, are performed by bhagavAn, and He is
the same One who takes Divine incarnations in the forms of kRshNa, rAma,
varAha, matsya, etc.
People can rationally ask: ?Protection and destruction are opposites of
each other, and conflicting when the same Deity ? Lord vishNu, is declared
to be responsible for both. In addition, Lord vishNu is primarily associated
with the function of protection. So how do we explain this pASuram, which
declares that He is the One who is responsible for all the three functions.
AzhvAr clarifies that bhagavAn is ?kAkkum iyalvinan?, and the other
functions, those of destruction and creation, are undertaken because they
are aids to the function of protection of the jIva. He protects the jIva-s
at the time of pralaya by merging them with Him in His stomach ? which we
call ?samhAram? or destruction. He protects the jIva when the body the jIva
has becomes old, by giving them a new body ? which we call the function of
creation. Neither brahmA nor rudra are concerned about the protection of
the jIva ? they just do their assigned functions. Only bhagavAn has the
sole objective of protecting the jIva-s in all His actions.
To recaptitulate, among the concepts conveyed in this pASuram are: 1. The
incarnations such as kaNNan, rAman, etc., are all those of emperumAn; He
retains all His kalyANa guNa-s in full in these incarnations; 2. It is
bhagavAn?s inherent and essential Nature to protect the jIva-s, and whatever
He does is for the protection of the jIva-s; 3. He is the One who is
responsible for the functions of creation and destruction in addition to
protection, and the first two are undertaken by Him for the purpose of
protection as the principal goal; 4. He is the One who created the likes of
brahmA, Siva. etc.,and the worlds which they rule over, and thus, He is the
One and Only Supreme Deity.
svAmi deSikan captures the gist of this pASuram as ?rakshNAya avatIrNam? ?
BhagavAn takes incarnations solely for the purpose of protection. The
destruction of rAvaNa, hiraNyakaSipu etc., really result in their attaining
moksham ? the ultimate protection, even though we only see them as ?killing
of rAvaNa or hiraNyakaSipu?.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2.10: (14)
kaLvA! emmaiyum Ezhulagum nin
uLLE tORRiya iRaiva! enRu
veL ERan nAn-mugan indiran vAnavar
puL Urdi kazhal paNindu EttuvarE.
Through this pASuram, nammAzhvAr is appealing to those who still consider
rudra, brahmA etc., as supreme deities, and advising them that they should
at least follow the lead of brahmA, rudra, etc., who themselves worship the
Lotus Feet of the One Who has garuDa as His vehicle, and praise Him as their
Creator.
iRaiva!- Our Lord and Master!
emmaiyum Ezh ulagum nin uLLE tORRiya ? You Who created us and everything
else in all the seven worlds in You.
- nin uLLE ? Inside You. This signifies that He is the upAdAna
kAraNa, and there was no other Material Cause other than Him.
- tORRiya ? He who thus created. This signifies that He is the
nimitta kAraNa also (analogous to the pot maker ? see write-up for pASuram
1.5.4).
enRu ? so declaring
veL Eran, nAnmugan, indiran, vAnavar ? Siva - who has the while bull as his
vAhana or vehicle, brahmA - the four-faced one, indra the king of all
deva-s, and all the other deva-s
puL Urdi kazhal paNindu EttuvarE ? They all worship the Lotus Feet of the
One who has garuDa as His vehicle or vAhana (Lord vishNu).
kaLva! - We have not so far covered the first word of this pASuram ?
?kaLvA!? Rudra, brahmA, and all the deva-s worship Him by calling to Him as
?iRaiva? ? The Lord and Master of all. In addition, or even before that,
they call Him ?kaLva!?: This term means ?One who steals?, or ?One Who hides
the facts?, or ?One Who pretends to be someone different from what he is?.
In the current context, the reference is to His hiding His svAtantRyam or
absolute independence in His incarnations, and instead, making it appear
that He is dependent on others. When the deva-s point out to rAma that He
is none other the Supreme Deity, He insists that He is just another human,
the son of daSartha (AtmAnam mAnusham manye). In other words, during His
incarnations, on the one hand, He has all the kalyANa guNa-s as the Supreme
deity in full and intact, but He does not reveal them externally, and
instead, behaves consistent with whatever form He has chosen to take in that
incarnation.
The simplest examples of this are His kRshNa incarnation and rAma
incarnation. In His kRshNa incarnation, He takes ?birth? in a yAdava
family, and gets beaten up by yaSodA, gets tied to a mortar, and cries as if
He is totally helpless. In His rAma incarnation, He gets driven to the
forest because of the actions of a hunch-backed woman. And all along, He
has all the powers of the Supreme Deity, even though He does not reveal it
to most around him. The short-sighted duryodhana tries to make Him fall
into a pit so that He could tie Him up and ?arrest? Him.
Interestingly, it is not these instances of bhagavAn hiding His parattvam
from the ordinary folks around Him during His incarnations that rudra and
brahmA are referring to here. Instead, they are referring to bhagavAn hiding
His parattvam from themselves, and their falling for it most of the time.
In His incarnations, bhagavAn makes them believe that He is not the Supreme
Deity. They get tricked to the point that they start believing that they
indeed are the supreme deities. When gajendra called out ?AdimUlamE!? ?
?Hey My Supreme Lord! Come and protect me?, all these deities tried to go
and help, each one thinking that he was the supreme deity that was called to
help. This transient loss of understanding on their part is because, in His
incarnations, bhagavAn goes to rudra, brahmA, indra etc., and stands before
them and asks them for ?boons?, just as an ordinary human being.
An example is the ?kailAsa yAtra? undertaken by Lord kRshNa to seek rudra?s
?blessing for a child for rukmiNi?. He goes in front of Siva, and with
folded hands, stands before Siva and chants ?namo ghanTAya karNAya namaH;
kaTa kaTAya ca?, and asks for a boon that ?rukmiNi be blessed with a child?.
A by-stander brAhmin watches this, and noting that the stotram did not sound
normal or natural, and indeed totally awkward and artificial, remarks that
kRshNa?s tongue is not used to praising anyone else, and so it is throbbing
incoherently like a fish out of water. While His tongue is thus not used to
singing the praise of the other deities, the story with the other deities is
just the opposite, as revealed in tiruma?ngai AzhvAr?s pASuram ? nAt
tazhumba nAnmuganum ISanumAi muRaiyAl Etta ? The tongues of brahmA and rudra
are developing scars because of their repeated chanting of the praise of
Lord narasimha (periya tirumozhi 1.7.8).
When bhagavAn hides His Supremacy thus, and goes and stands in front of
these other deities and prays, sometimes the other deities start thinking
that they indeed are the Supreme deities, and become unaware that they are
His Sesha-s and that He is their Master. Thus, they lose their Seshattvam ?
in other words, He has temporarily stolen their positions as His Sesha-s, or
sub-servients to Him, and this is what rudra and brahmA mean by addressing
Him as ?kaLvA!?
svAmi deSikan captures the rasam in this pASuram through the words ?rudrAdi
stutya leelam? ? He who has among His leelA-s, the leelA of praising the
likes of rudra as supreme.
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3. FROM MAHBHARATA
?YAKSHA PRASNAM? PRASNAM # 121
(M.K.RAMASWAMY IYENGAR, RETD. SENIOR OFFICER OF GOVT. OF INDIA)
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PRASNAM 121
YAKSHA:
?KAH PANTHAAH??
?WHICH IS THE TRUE PATH??
YUDHISHTIRA:
? TARKO APRATISHTAH SRUTAYO VIBHINNAH
NAIKO RISHIH YASYA MATAM PRAMAANAM /
DHARMASYA TATTVAM NIHITAM GUHAAYAAM
MAHAAJANO YENA GATAH SA PANTHAAH?
?Logic does not contain the final word and for everything. The vEdic truths
are capable of being interpreted differently. There is no one sage whose
teaching may be said to contain the ultimate substance. Dharma is highly
subtle. In such a bewildering context, there is nothing better than for a
man than to follow the path traversed by noble souls?
NOTES:
YudhishTira evidently believes that the value of logic has been over rated.
It is not difficult to see why he believes so.
Logic, like the surgeon?s scalpel parts the surface and makes probing
easier. Selectively dissecting or vivisecting, it neatly lays bare the inner
core. Thus, through logic, it is possible to reach up to the foundations of
a concept, to know what holds that concept together and also, through
understanding gained, to devalue it here and there.
So, it is said:
Agjnaana jnaana hEtutvaa vachanam saadu manyatE /
anapaahatamEvEdam nEdam saastrama apparthakam //
(Santi Parva Ch. 141.21)
Some people hold logic to be valuable because it helps the unknown to be
better known. But, it is all a mistake. The same logic is used to water down
religious texts or hold them as not worthwhile. YudhishTira, therefore,
holds logic to be unreliable indicator of true path.
What about the Vedas?
They contain the quintessence of knowledge. Yet, the language is cryptic.
The words have an apparent simplicity and a cadence; but, they are mystic.
It is knotted, yet it is virile. The vEDic utterances sometimes seem
contradictory or baffling. As Aurobindo would say ? The secret of the vEda,
even when it has been unveiled remains still a secret!? Such a veiled truth
cannot serve as a signpost.
What about the Sages?
If we turn to the sages, the situation hardly becomes better. Every vEdic
seer has left profound teachings. It is not easy to see them all strung
together in a growing and evolving harmony similar to the strings or beads
in a musical instrument. At the same time, it is perilous to discard any
teaching as superfluous without the attendant risk of the quest for perfect
knowledge and consciousness tending to get curtailed and severely limited
and, therefore, becoming infirm. Therefore, no single vEdic seer may be said
to have propounded that whole truth to render the teachings of other seers
redundant.
If the hope filed face is raised to Dharma, one fares no better. Dharma is
very subtle, lives in the minutest particle and seems cached in a secret
recess. If identifying is difficult, understanding it or interpreting it is
even more difficult.
When Draupadi was dragged to the hall where the dice game was being played
as if she was an object or a thing, she summoned her wits and courage and
looked steadily at all the elders in that hall. Then, she pointedly asked
the question whether YudhishTira had offered her as the wager after staking
and losing himself. None replied. There was an embarrassing and a stifling
silence. Then, Bheeshma cleared his throat and told in a small vice and in a
gentle manner:
?Na dharma soukshmyaat subhagE vivEktum saknOmi tE prasnam imam yathaavat?
?Oh! Honorable lady! Dharma is subtle. It is not easy to interpret it.
Therefore, I am unable to reply to your question this way or that?
If logic has a limitation, vEdas are inscrutable, the sayings of vEdic seers
are complex and Dharma is of magnitude but not easily understood or applied,
what alternative is there except to strengthen one?s faith and tread the
path trodden by the ancestors?
Actually, this step commends itself on its own merit as well and is not a
solution emerging through a process of elimination.
The path taken by our ancestors, if it was good enough for them that they
chose it would be good enough for us. It will be safe. It will be secure. It
will be familiar too.
Further, our ancestors who have caused our existence are like celestials to
us. We shall be invoking protection and securing purification by following
their footsteps.
Our ancestors must have led a life of great piety and devotion. There is a
great probability that they continued their earthly existence after
surrendering themselves to the Supreme. Even the dust on their feet has
magical and divine powers.
When Sri Rama and Sri Sita were residing in the ChitrakooTa forests, Sri
Rama invited Sita for a holy bath in the river, Mandaakini. He said:
?Vidhoota kalmashaih siddhaih tapOdama samanvitah
Nitya vikshObhita jalam?
(VR II. 95.13)
?Pious souls who have controlled the senses, whose mind is always in poise
and to whom penance is a way of life bathe in this river. The river has
collected the sediment of purifying dust by washing the feet of such
spiritual masters?
Sri Rama also said that life in the forest is indeed a blessing in disguise.
?Many of my ancestors had adopted for the way of life in the forest because
it conferred profound blessings for a rich life in this and in the next
world?
idamEva amrutam praahuh raajni raajarishayah pare/
vanavaasam bhavaarthaaya prEtya mE prapitaamahaah //
Sri Rama was making it clear that he was not considering himself in exile
and feeling sad and deprived on that count. On the contrary, he was toeing
the line of many of his ancestors who were King-Saints and who had
deliberately retired to lead a life in the forest.
Dharmavyaada, the enlightened soul, but butcher by profession, told Kousika,
the Brahmin who sought instructions from him about righteousness- that he
was not ashamed or prone to look down on his profession because it was the
profession of his ancestors too.
?Puraa kritam iti jnaatvaa jeevaami yEtEna karmaNaa?
?I am making a living out of this profession taking comfort from the fact
that this was the profession of my ancestors too?
In other words, the true path need not be the one sanctioned by the vEdas or
selected by the vEdic seers or indicated by the Saastras. That which has
been adopted by our noble precursors is without doubt, the true path.
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To Continue
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