Dear BhakthAs:
During the previous two days , we saluted the
aruLiccheyalkaLs
of Poygai and BhUthatthAzhwAr .
Let us enjoy today some passages
from PEyAzhwAr's
Third ThiruvandhAthi celebrating the anantha
KalyANa
GuNams of the Lord and his upadEsams about
how
to lose ourselves in Bhagavath
guNAnubhavam.
PEy AzhwAr was born in modern day Mylapore
in
the city of Chennai.He shares some thing common
with
PeriyAzhwAr. Both had the darsana soubhAgyam of
the Lord
with His
DEvi and weapons like Sudarsanam , Paanchajanyam
in an effortless manner. Direct MangaLAsAsanam
was performed
by these two AzhwArs.
It is important to recite all the three
ThiruvandhAthis of
the three Mudhal AzhwArs since they are
complimentary to
each other. PEy AzhwAr is considered to be the
AchAryan
for Thirumazhisai AzhwAr.
It has been pointed out that Poygai worshipped
the Lord as the Master of both the VibhUthis
(LeelA and Nithya VibhUdhis). BhUtham
linked
NaarAyaNa Naamam as the lakshaNam for the
Lord.
PEy is recognized as the one , who emphasized
the need for
the additon "SrImath Sabdham " before the
NaarAyaNa Naamam.
Let us now enjoy the dhivya vaak of PEy
AzhwAr
The Medicine for the illness of Narakam(
Hell)
******************************************************
In the third Paasuram of his Third
ThiruvandhAthi ,
AzhwAr describes the Lord staying at his heart
lotus
as the sure , curative medicine for the narakam
of SamsAric
sufferings ( "Varu narkam theerkkum marundhu" )
. AzhwAr
states that such a parama oushadham stays in
his heart
permanently.He does not need to invite
the Lord ahead of
time and remind Him like the other AzhwAr
(appOthaikkippOthE
solli vaitthen ). AzhwAr says that the Lord who
rests at
the Milky ocean ( Maakadal neeruLLAn ) with the cool garland of
TuLasi ( TaNN thuzhAi
mArbhan) at his heart without
ever
leaving (nithya vaasam) that abode
.
How to see that Lord residing in one's heart
?
****************************************************
In the 12th Paasuram , AzhwAr as a Parama yOgi
reveals
the way in which one can have the direct
visualization of
the Lord residing in the heart as antharyAmi
Brahman:
aRvennum thAL koLuvi iympulanum
tammil
seRivennum tiNN kathavam
semmi--maRayennum
nankOthi naguNarvAr kaNNbarE ,
nAdOrum
painkOthavaNNan padi
AzhwAr states here that Yogam is the only way
to have
the bliss of visualizing daily , the Lord
inside one's heart lotus .
His guNAdhisayams can be experienced by such
yOgis .
They use their manas as the firm door lock .
They shut
the doors of restless indhriyams and control
them to
stay in their assigned places. They meditate on
the Lord
without let as revealed by the Veda manthrams
to know
clearly the svaroopam and svabhAvam of the Lord
. Then they see
the ocean-hued , cool Lord inside their heart
lotus clearly .
Indhriya jayam and vairAgyam as well as
vivEkam are
declared as essentials in the effort to
visualize the Lord.
In the 22nd Paasuram , AzhwAr asks us to
develop a yearning
to see the Lord in the proper manner through
soulful aarAdhanam
done in the ways prescribed by the Saasthrams
of BhagavAn
( SemmayAha uLL uruhi sev-vanE meymmayE kaaNa
virumpu ).
This is the AzhwAr , who intervened with
Thirumazhisai AzhwAr's
pursuit of other dEvathAs and
the siddhAnthams related to them so that
Thirumazhisai can get away from them and
establish the Parathvam of
SrIman NaarAyaNan.
In the 25th Paasuram , PEy AzhwAr asks a
rhetorical question:
" nenjamE siRanthu thozhuthAl pazhuthu uNDO ?"
( Oh My mind !
If you were to attempt to see the Lord in this
special way , will there be
any deficency for You ?) The answer is ofcourse
not .
In the 27th paasuram of his ThiruvandhAthi ,
AzhwAr asks again
another rhetorical question :
aarE thuyar uzhandhAr thunbhuRRAr
aaNdayAr
kaarE malintha kadalai--nErE
kadainthAnai KaaraNanai neeraNai mEl,
paLLi
adainthAnai nALum adainthu
Who among those seeking the protection
of
the Lord , the cause of the universe , has
indeed been
caught up in the web of the ocean of sorrows (samsAram)
?
Where are those among them , who are exposed to
such sorrows ?
Where are those , who performed SaraNAgathy at
the sacred feet of
the Lord , who led the assembled dEvAs
and asurAs to churn the milky
ocean , that are undergoing such
sufferings ? The self-evident answer
is that there is no such person , who
experiences sorrows after
seeking the protection of our most
merciful Lord .
Our Lord is the soul and life of
ALL
*******************************************
In the 37th pAsuram , AzhwAr concedes that He
has been
won over by the Lord and he is the
unconditional sevant of
the Lord (SrIman NaarAyaNan) , who is
inside him as well
as in all the objects seen and experienced
outside ( ahatthAn
puRatthAn AvaRkku adimaippattEn ) . To
That Lord , I have
become the servant says the AzhwAr ."anthar
bahisccha
Tath Sarvam vyApya NaarAyaNa: sTitha: "
declares the Vedam.
He is the indweller of all as antharyAmi
Brahman and is
present in all objects that He created
.
In the next paasuram (39th) , AzhwAr asks the
question :
Would it be possible to define and describe the
Lord precisely ?
His answer is a big "No". Why so ? Because
there is no one
like Him any where in all the worlds and He is
unique and
incomparable in every way. This paasuram is a beautiful one with
the depth of VedAnthic doctrines unique to
VisishtAdhvaitham:
taanE Tanakkuvaman TannuruvE
yevvuruvum
tAnE tavavuruvam tArahayum --tAnE
yeri sudarum mAlvarayum yeNDisayum,
aNDat-
ThirucchudarAya viRai
(meaning ): All the objects will be
SarIram(body ) for Him
(Yev-vuruvum Tann uruvE). Those who did immense
penance
to reach the status of Brahma , Sivan , Indhran
are also SarIram
(prakAram ) for Him. Same for the stars in the
sky ( Taarakayum
TaanE ) . The Agni with its seven tongues , the
great mountains,
the eight directions , Chandran and the Sooryan
(the Moon & the Sun)
are all Him. He is the indweller of all of
them. This magnificent Lord
with out any match or superior can only be
compared to Himself.
One can not assoicate anyone or any hting with
Him
( Tanakku TaanE uvaman ).
Commentators cite the VishNu PurANa slOkam
(2.12.38)
to bring out this central doctrine(SaarIraka Saasthram):
"JyOthigumshi VishNu BhuvanAni VishNU
VanAni VishNU GirayO Disasccha
"
VishNUmayam Jagath is the summation
!
Lord under the AzhwAr's control
**************************************
In the 61st Paasuram , AzhwAr salutes the
ArchAvathAra EmperumAns
at ThiruvEnkatam , KsheerAbdhi , SrIvaikuntam ,
GatikAchalam
and THIRUVINNAGAR , WHERE HE STANDS AS THE
ETERNAL
YOUTH (as Nithya YuvA /ILam Kumaran at
Oppiliappan Koil).
AzhwAr points out that these were perhaps His
places of residences
(uhantha dhivya dEsams) for the Lord
before He elected to reside
inside his heart lotus
permanently.
The Importance of SaraNAgathy to the Lord with
MahA VisvAsam
******************************************************************************
In the 88th paasuram of MoonRAm ThiruvandhAthi
, AzhwAr
as a supreme AchAryan gives us his upadEsam
:
athu nanRu theethu yenRu iyappadaThE
Madhu ninRa taNDuzhAi mArvan--pothu ninRa
ponnam-kazhalE thozhumin, muzhu
vinaikaL
munnam kazhalum mudinthE
Oh People of this worlrd ! Do not develop
doubts through
Your own analysis of the Saasthrams to conclude
that this
act of mine is auspicious and that is not and
as a result
doubt about the Lord's power to offer
protection to you. Have
unconditional faith ( mahA visvAsam ) in the
Lord's grace and power
and perform
SaraNAgathy at His sacred feet. That Lord adorning
the cool and
honey laden TuLasi garland ( Madhu ninRa TaNN
ThuzhAi Maarbhan) on His chest and who is the same God for ALL
(DEvAs and humans) is the upEyam , the
goal of Your SaraNAgathy.
Please seek the protection of those golden feet
, which are most
enjoyable . Immediately after Your saraNAgathy
, Your PuNyams
and Paapams will lose their grip on you and will leave You .
Please give up all of your misgivings and
surrender at His sacred
feet. Have total faith in His vow to intervene
on behalf of any one ,
who seeks His rakshaNam .The time of Your
SaraNAgathy is
the marking moment , when all of your puNyams
and Paapams ,
the twin fetters that bound You will be
shattered and You will
be liberated forever to enjoy the fruits of
Prapatthi.
MahA Lkashmi is our refuge at all the three
stages of Prapatthi
*************************************************************************
PEy AzhwAr , who performed Upadesam for us on
the importance
of adding the auspicious "SrImath " Sabdham to
"NaarAyaNa "
sabdham sums up the MahA Lakshmi Tatthvam in
the concluding
(One hundredth ) Paasuram of MoonRAm
THiruvandhAthi:
Saarvu namakku yenRum ChakkaratthAn ,
Tanduzhait-
thArvAzh varai mArbhan tAnn muyangum,
kArArntha
vAnn amarum minn imaikkum vaNDAmarai
nedumkaNN
tEnamarum poo mEl Thiru
The key passage of this Paasuram is: " tEn
amarum poo mEl
THIRU NAMAKKU YENRUM SAARVU " ( That MahA
Lakshmi
is the unshakable resort/refuge for us in view
of Her powerful
and discerning ability to help us in every
stage of Prapatthi:
(1) PurushakAram ( intercession and pleading
with Her Lord )
(2) UpAYam ( Performance of Prapatthi
as the means for securing Moksham)
(3) UpEyam ( the goal and the bliss of
enjoyment of that prapatthi as
the fruit of the performed prapatthi
).
The whole doctrine of MahA Lakshmi
Tatthvam is housed in this
final Paasuram of PEy AzhwAr's andhAthi. That
MahA Lakshmi is our
" apAsrayam " ( the place of refuge/
puhalidam).MahA Lakshmi's
aakAra Thrayam (aakAra thraya sampannAm
aravindha lOchaneem)
is celebrated here by PEy AzhwAr , who started
this Prabhandham with
the joyOus announcement "
ThirukkaNDEn---yennAzhi vaNNan pAl inRu"
( Today is the most auspicious day. I am
blessed to see the Lord's
ThirumEni. I am blessed to see His divine
consort , MahA Lakshmi ) .
It is the core of the UpadEsam of PEy AzhwAr
for us to learn to visualize
the Lord always with MahA Lakshmi adorning His broad chest and remind
us that She has an indispensable role to
play at all the three stages of
prapatthi to Her Lord .
NamO NaarAyaNAya ,
Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan