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srI:
SrI UpakAra Sangraham - III (5)
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niryANa adikAram
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Section - 9: The Favours the Lord does to a MumukShu after he leaves his body
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[9.2 Favours being done after crossing the river, VirajA]
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In the previous sub-section, Swami Desikan described in detail the
favour the Lord does to the mukta after he crosses the Viraja river through the
eternal inmates of the nitya vibhooti. In this sub-section, Swami Desikan
refers to yet another favour the Lord does when the new comer arrives at the
MaNimaNtapam:
(ii) âthanmai peRutthit than thALiNaik keezh koLLuâ mathuvum;
Before the mukta-jIva enters the MaNimaNtapam, he has been provided
with a divine body just as the Lordâs, with four hands and two hands holding
the conch and the discus and adorning shining yellow garments and spreading
fragrance all around. This special body is given to him to show that he is no
more a bonded jIva who is caught in the cycle of births in the material world.
In fact, he used to eagerly long for attaining the Lordâs feet in His abode
as stated in these verses:
âanayAham vasheebhootah kAlamEtanna buddhavAn /
ucca-madhyama-neecAntAm tAmaham kathamAvasE //
apEtyAhamimAm hitva samshrayiShyE nirAmayam /
anEna sAmyam yAsyAmi nAnAyAhamacEtasA //
kShamam mama sahAnEna hyEkatvam nAnayA saha //â (MahAbhArata, SAnti Parva,
312-30,38-39)
(I do not know how long I have spent my time in vain with this prakruti being
subject to its sway. How can I remain associated with this prakruti, which
takes the excellent bodies of dEvas, the middle bodies of men and the mean
bodies which experience the pains of hell? I will depart from this prakruti and
attain the Lord Who is free from blemish. I will become one with Him and will
not be one with this non-sentient prakruti. It is only appropriate that I
should be one with Him and not with prakruti.)
âkreedhantam ramayA sArdham leelAbhoomiShu kEshavam /
mEghaSyAmam vishAlAkSham kadA drakShyAmi cakShuShA //â (Jitanta Stotram 2-21)
(When shall I see with my eyes Kesava Who is black as a cloud, Whose eyes are
broad and Who is playing with LakShmee in the gardens?)
âmEghashyAmam mahAbAhum sthirasattvam druDavrutam /
kadA drakShyAmahE rAmam jagatah shOkanAshanam //
druShTa Eva hi nah SokamapanEShyati rAghavah /
tamah sarvasya lOkasya samudyanniva bhAskarah //â (rAmAyaNa, 2-83-8,9)
(When shall we all see SrI RAma with His complexion black as a cloud and with
His long arms, -- RAma Who is firmly set in sattva, Who has taken a staunch
vow to protect those that seek His help and Who is bent on relieving the
sorrows of the world? Just as the rising sun dispels the darkness of the whole
world, SrI RAma will dispel all our sorrow the moment we see Him.)
As stated in these SlOkas, the Lord reveals to the mukta-jIva His
blissful form, so that he gets rid of all his sorrows, and enables him to
acquire his essential nature as stated by SrI nammAzhvAr: âthanmai peRutthit
than thALiNaik keezh koLLum appanâ, as quoted by Swami Desikan. We shall
study the verse in full:
âcanma canmAntharam kAththu adiyArkaLaik koNdupOy
thanmai peRutthith than thALiNaikkeezhk koLLum appanai
thonmai pithaRR vallAraip pithaRRumavar kaNdeer
nanmai peRuththu emmai nALLuyyak koLkinRa nambarE.â (Thiruvaimozhi, 3-7-7)
(The Lord also takes births during every birth of His devotees, protects them
and later takes them to Sri Vaikuntam, where He helps their svaroopa --
essential nature to manifest and keeps them eternally under His feet just like
the lines on the soles of His feet.)
In this verse, there is so much for us to understand going beyond the
words. That is the reason why SwAmi Desikan seems to have quoted merely one
line from this verse, instead of the verse in full.
We will be able to understand this better, if we raise questions on the
basis of the expressions of the AzhvAr included in the verse.
The first question is: Why should the Lord takes so many births just as we take
because of our poorva karmas?
The AzhvAr answers this question thus: âcanma canmAntharam kAththuâ -- in
order to save us. But, the question is: Why so many births?
Here, the answer is known to us. Every one has to be reborn to experience the
fruits of our karma, whether good or bad. This is the rule laid down by the
scripture which He Himself has handed down to us. But, He is so compassionate
that He does not leave us in distress just like that. By undergoing the results
of our karma, whether good or bad, we exhaust that much of our poorva karma.
There is a possibility during our life, of our turning virtuous even if it is
very minute. The Lord is waiting for that opportunity so that He can help us
move further on the virtuous path which will ultimately take us towards Him. In
case, we move forward according to His expectation, He can step in and help us
further. Such an opportunity can not be known in advance even for Him, as the
individual soul is free to take any step either for the better or for the
worse. As He doesnât want to lose that opportunity, He takes birth repeatedly
in this world on His own to be
in readiness to provide us a helping hand if such an occasion arises. If we
are lucky and turn towards the virtuous path with the sAtvika quality in us
increasing, the Lord helps us to move further on that virtuous path, so that
the sAttvika quality in us further increases to higher level.
It is just like a person who locates a gem in a dirty mud, takes it out
and start cleaning it so that it regains its original purity and shine. The
time taken for purifying it depends on the quantity of the dirt the gem has got
on it. In a similar position is the jIvAtma with his original shine is covered
to a great extent. That cover is our poorva karma. It has to be removed to
regain our essential nature. In the process, we undergo both miseries and
pleasures. Only by experiencing these in life after life, we can remove the
cover little by little to regain our original shine.
When the Lord finds that we have become pure after several generations,
He takes us to His abode, SrI VaikuNtam and restore our natural svaroopa which
is similar to His own and keeps us under His feet. He is our âappanâ,
Father.
The AzhvAr futher says:
âthan thALiNaik keezhc cErtthu avan ceyyum cEmatthaiâ (ThiruvAimozhi,
7-5-10)
(The Lord looks after our welfare by taking us to His feet and by preventing
our fall from there.)
Here, we recall the description of the mukta-jIvaâs approach to the
Couch on which is seated the Lord. The Couch is on AdiSEsha whose hood with its
numerous watchful heads as a protection for the Lord. How the Lord is seated on
SEsha is described in the SlOka:
âsavyam pAdam prasArya shritaduritaharam dakShiNam kuncayitvA
jAnunyAdhAya savyEtaramitarabhujam nAgabhOgE nidhAya /
pashcAdbAhudvayEna pratibhaTashamanE dhArayan shankhacakrE
dEveebhooShAdijuShTO janayatu jagatAm sharma vaikuNThanAthah //â
(Tirumantra DyAna shlOka)
(The Lord Who is known as VaikuNThanAtha, is seated on AdhiSEsha, with the
right leg folded; the right hand kept on the right-knee; left leg hanging down;
the left hand resting on the snake-bed; the other two hands holding the Discus
and Conch that remove the miseries of His devotees; and His Consorts SrI and
Bhoo on His both sides; graces the world.)
The mukta-jIva holds the Lordâs left feet hanging down from the Couch
and slowly climbs up to the Lordâs thigh. The Lord keeps him on His left
thigh and asks him âWho are thee?â and the mukta replies, âaham
brahmAsmiâ (I am Brahman). This means that the mukta-jIva has acquired the
essential nature with eight great qualities, just as the Brahman, Who is SrIman
nArAyaNa. The eight qualities are:
âapahatapApmA, vijarO vimrutyuh vishOkah vijighatsah apipAsah satyakAmah
satysankalpahâ (ChAndOgya UpniShad, 8-7-1)
(opposed to all sins, free from old age, without death, sorrow, hunger and
thirst, with true desires and with true will.)
The Lord takes him and accords him the sAyuja mOkSha, which is bliss, enjoyment
equal to His. Later, He places the mukta in the midst of the nitya sooris, His
eternal servants who enjoy eternal bliss and the new mukta will be of the same
class as they are.
The attainment of the supreme goal by the mukta-jIva is dealt with in
the VEdAntasootra, in the fourth part of the fourth Chapter, in particular, the
first two adhikaraNas: (1) sampadyAvirbhAva adhikaraNa and (2)
avibhAgEna-druShTatv adhikaranam. The first one is about the mukta-jIva who
manifests himself in his own nature after reaching Brahman and the second one
speaks about the mukta-jIva experiencing Brahman as inseparable from himself.
The second has received different interpretations. SrI BhaShyakAraâs
view is that the liberated self experiences Brahman which is the self of the
individual self without distinction as âI am Brahmanâ, as he has realized
his essential nature of having ParamAtman as his inner-self. For SrI RAmAnuja,
Brahman and jIva are two distinct real entities though they are integrally
related as substance and its attribute. The term âavibhAgaâ (inseparable)
in the sutra is interpreted by SrI RAmAnuja as non-distinct in the sense that
jIva is a prakAra or mode of Brahman is inseparable from Brahman. When the jIva
attains Brahman after he is liberated from bondage, he realizes that he is
integrally related to Brahman.
Non-realizing this inseparable relationship is the cause for our
bondage in the material world and the cycle of rebirths. Once by the grace of
the Lord, the jIva realizes this ultimate truth, his attains mOkSha, ever
enjoying the fully expanded attributive knowledge and the bliss, similar to the
Brahman, SrIman nArAyaNa.
This is the favour the Lord does to the jIva who turns towards Him. He
accords him to attain his essential nature in totality, says SwAmi Desikan in
this sub-section.
(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivasan
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