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         SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.

      tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Submission 19 : Slokam 12 - part 3 
                       (tiruvAimozhi 1.2).


·       pASuram 1.2.7 starting with "aDa'ngu ezhil sampattu".  svAmi 
deSikan describes the guNa that stands out in this pASuram as "Subha 
vibhavatayA" ? Because all His belongings are auspiciously disposed 
to our reaching Him.  (vibhava ? wealth, Subha ? auspicious).  

In the previous pASuram we saw that bhagavAn is a suhRt (well-wisher, 
friend) for everyone without bias.  But He has as His wealth, both 
the nitya vibhUti and the leelA vibhUti.   In His nitya vibhUti He 
has the nitya sUri-s who are far above us in realization.  Some of us 
might feel hesitant to approach Him, feeling that these nitya sUri-s 
may laugh at us because of lowly status.  BhagavAn also has as His 
possession the devatA-s in His leelA vibhUti, and they are known to 
create obstacles to our approaching Him as evidenced by the Sruti.  
bRhadAraNya upanishad (1.4.10) says:  tasmAt eshAm tan-na priyam 
yadetan-manushyA vidyuh ? The gods do not like us to know Brahman.  
This is because the deva-s consider that we are all like animals that 
should toil for them alone, and if we worship bhagavAn and stop 
worshipping them, it causes pain to them.  This is also declared in 
the bRhadAraNyaka Upanishad ?  yathApaSurevam sa devAnAm |  yathA ha 
vai bahavah paSavo bhu~njyuh |  evamekaikah purusho devAn bhunakti | 
ekasminneva paSavAdIyamAne'priyam bhavati " .   But we should 
remember that the nitya sUri-s in His nitya vibhUti and the gods in 
His leelA vibhUti are both His belongings, and are subject to His 
will.  They will have no choice except being auspicious to us if He 
wills so, as declared in the same mantra in bEhadAraNya Upanishad ? 
tasya ha devASca na abhUtyA ISate.  If we surrender to Him with the 
realization that we are also part of His vibhUti just as these deva-s 
etc. are, and if we realize that it is our birthright to perform 
eternal kai'nkaryam to Him, nothing can interfere with that.   And 
His wealth is available for all of us to enjoy, as we are all His 
children, just as a father's wealth is there for the son to enjoy.  
This is the message conveyed by the phrase "Subha vibhavan".  

AzhvAr's instruction to us in this pASuram is that we should clearly 
realize that all that exists is under His control, and we should 
therefore surrender to Him with mahAviSvAsam without the slightest 
doubt ? ISan aDa'ngu ezhil ahdu enRu uL aDa'nguka.  


.ig
Subha vibhavatayA ? kaTTaDa'nga nanRAna sampattai uDaittAgaiyAlum 
(V); kaTTaDa'nga nanRAna sambbandattai uDaiyavan (A); SiRanda iraNDu 
vibhUtikaLai uDaiyavan (PBA);  vibhava ? wealth, sampat.
..

·       pASuram 1.2.8 starting with "uLLam, urai, Seyal".  Whatever 
we need for worshipping Him is available to us all, without our 
having to look for something new ? our thoughts, words, and actions.  
SvAmi deSikan reflects this through the guNa "mAnasAdi arcya 
bhAvAt".  To meditate on Him, to sing His praise though our words, 
and to prostrate to Him ? these are means that are available to 
everyone equally.  One does not have to undertake any effort 
whatsoever to acquire these three; He has given these to all, and 
this again illustrates that He is sarva saman, or equally accessible 
to all without any distinction.  These three instruments ? thought, 
word and deed, are given to us for the sole purpose of devoting them 
to His kai'nkaryam.  AzhvAr's message to us that we should realize 
this simple truth, turn these three from the pursuit of worldly 
interests, and devote them to His worship instead.   AzhvAr 
explicitly tells us to think ? uLLi, as to why we have been the mind, 
the body and the ability to speak, and realize that these are all 
given to us for His kai'nkaryam.  Once we have realized this, the 
next step is `keDuttu ? diverting them from the external 
materialistic distractions and turning them inwards, and iRai uLLil 
oDu'ngu ? get them immersed in thoughts about Him.

AzhvAr describes the activities of his own "uLLam, urai, Seyal"  in 
pASuram 8.10.4 ? 

        po'ngEzh pugazhgaL vAyavAi pulan koL vaDivu en manattAi
        a'ngEi malargaL kaiyavAi vazhi paTTODa aruLilE? (tiruvAi. 
8.10.4)

"Being immersed in eternal kai'nkaryam to the Lord, my mouth will 
utter the infinite kalyANa guNa-s of emperumAn.  His captivating 
tirumEni's beauty that would madden my senses will remain in my mind, 
and my hands will offer flowers at His Lotus Feet" ? note uLLam, 
urai, Seyal ? manasAdi arcya bhAvAt.

BhUtattAzhvAr echoes the same thoughts in his 2nd tiruvantAdi pASuram 
21. 

        tAm uLarE; tam uLLam uL uLadE; tAmarayin 
        pU uLadE;  Ettum pozhudu uNDE ? vAman
        tiru maruvu tAn maruvu SenniyarE SevvE 
        aru narakam SErvadu aridu.  (2nd tiruvanTAdi ? 21).

"We have been given this body and the indriya-s for His worship; We 
have been given our minds to think of Him;  He has created the lotus 
flowers that we can offer to Him;  There is plenty of time to worship 
Him;  We have the head so that we can bow to Him.  When we have been 
given everything needed to worship Him, there is no narakam for us" 
(if only we use all these for His worship!).

poigai AzhvAr conveys the same message in his 1st tiruvantAdi pASuram 
95 ? 

nA, vAyil uNDE;  namo nAraNA enRu 
OvAdu uraikkum urai uNDE; - mUvAda
mAk-kadikkaN Sellum vagai uNDE; en oruvar 
tIk-kadikkaN Sellum tiRam?

"We have been given a tongue inside our mouth for praising Him;  We 
have benn given the ashTAkshara mantra that we can repeat 
continuously without interruption;  we have been the easy path to SrI 
vaikuNTham from which we never have to return;  When we have all 
this, why is it that some people insist on following only the path to 
narakam?"

.ig
po'ngEzh pugazhgaL vAyavAi ? A true devotee `s words will only 
consist of the praise of bhagavAn's infinite kalyANa guNa-s.  

mAnasAdyarcya bhAvAt ? mano vAk kAya'ngaLAlE bhajikkap paDubhavan 
AgaiyAlum (V); mano vAk kAya'ngaLAlE ArAdhikkap paDubhavan (A)
..

·       pASuram 1.2.9 starting with "oDu'nga avan kaN".  svAmi 
deSikan describes the key guNa sung in this pASram as "sa'nkoca 
unmocakatvAt" (oDu'ngalum ellAm viDum) ? because He frees us from all 
the limitations to His kai'nkaryam.  "avan kaN oDu'nga, ellA 
oDu'ngalum viDum" - Once we turn the three instruments (namely uLLam, 
urai and Seyal) towards Him, He removes all the enemies to bhagavat 
kai'nkaryam that we encounter, such as our sins, our ignorance 
(avidyA), etc.  avidyA or ignorance is the lack of realization that 
we are eternally subservient to Him,  tae lack of realization of our 
role as a jIva - to be performing eternal kai'nkaryam to Him, and the 
lack of realization that He is the only goal to be attained, and that 
He alone is the means to attain Him.  Meditaing on His kalyANa guNa-s 
will automatically lead to the intense desire to perform kai'nkaryam 
to Him.  lakshmaNa declares: aham asya avarah guNaih dAsyam upAgatah ?
 It is my sa'nkalpam to perform kai'nkaryam to rAma because of His 
kalyANa guNa-s.  

.ig
It does not suffice to just be content with the feeling that mokshama 
is guaranteed.  SrImad tirukkuDanthai ANDavan gives several examples 
of the state in which our mind should be, once we have successfully 
started devoting our uLLam, uRai, and Seyal towards Him.  
..

All the obstacles to attaining Him ? such as avidyA, karma, etc. are 
not natural attributes of the self; if we resort to Him by turning 
the karaNa-s towards Him, these obstacles disappear automatically.  

If we devote our thought, word and deed in His kai'nkaryam, then once 
the body falls, moksham is guaranteed ? Akkai viDum pozhudu eN ? once 
we get control of our karaNa-s, we should eagerly look forward to the 
time that our body falls, so that we attain Him.  

Again, all that is needed from us is the control of the three karaNa-
s of thought, word and deed, and diversion of these towards Him.  He 
takes care of the rest in attaining Him.  This is available to 
everyone who has controlled the three karaNa-s and turned them 
towards Him, and so He is sarva yogyan.

.ig
sa'nkoconmocakatvAt ? avidyAdikaLilE uNDAna j~nAna sa'nkoca'ttai 
viDuvikkaiyAlum (V); avidyai mudalAna sa'nkocattaik kai viDukirRavan 
(A)
..

-       pASuram 1.2.10 starting with "eN perukkanalattu".  svAmi 
deSikan captures the essence of this pASuram through the words "jagad 
avanan" ? (nAraNan tiN kazhal SEr) - The Protector of everything in 
all the Universes.  An alternate pATham is "jagad ayanan", a direct 
reference to nArAyaNan, the name that has the word "ayana" embedded 
in it.  ayanam means `abode'.  Since He is the final resting place 
for all the beings, the nArAyaNa nAma uniquely applies only to 
emperumAn.  AzhvAr's instruction to us in this pASuram is -  "vaN 
pagazh nAraNan tiN kazhal SErE" ? "Resort to the divine Feet of Lord 
SrIman nArAyaNa who is endowed with infinite kalyANa guNa-s, and 
whose divine Feet will never ever forsake anyone who surrenders to 
them".  

There are several interpretations for the nArAyaNa nAmam.  The one 
that AzhvAr specifically picks in this pASuram is 
-       He who is the Lord of the countless jIva-s who by nature are 
j~nAna Ananda svarUpa-s" ? eN perukku an-nalattu eRu ila oNporUL;
-        Has infinite kalyANa guNa-s Iru ila vaNpugazh nAraNan
-       Has the auspicious and never-failing Lotus Feet to those who 
surrender to Him
As the Lord and owner of all the jIva-s, He is the Protector of all ? 
jagad avanan, the guNa described by svAmi deSikan.  His infinite 
kalANa guNa-s are there solely for the protection of the jIva-s - na 
tE rUpam na cAkArO nAudhAni na cAspadam tatA'pi purushAkArO bhaktanAm 
tvam prakASasE" - (jitantE - 1-5) - His AtmasvarUpa, His ma'ngala 
vigraha, His divine weapons, His dwelling SrIvaikunTham, none of 
these are for His benefit; they are all for the benefit of His 
devotees, and He Himself belongs to His devotees.   His Lotus Feet 
never fail anyone who seeks their protection ? "sakRdeva prapannAya 
tavAsmIti ca yAcate | abhayam sarva bhUtebhyo dadAnyetad vratam mama 
||   AzhvAr himself declares that it is bhagavAn's nature to protect ?
 kAkkum iyalbinan kaNNa perumAn" (tiruvAimozhi 2.2.9).  All these are 
captured by svAmi deSikan in the phrase "jagad avanan".
SrI ve'nkaTeSAcArya uses the version "jagad ayanatayA", and gives the 
explanation ? "Sine He is the AdhAra or Support for all the worlds, 
the antaryAmi in everything, and the sole means to attain Him".  He 
is sarva ArAdhyan because of these attributes or guNa-s.

Thus, AzhvAr is instructing us through the 10 guNa-s sung in the 10 
pASuram-s of tiruvAimozhi 1.2 that bhagavAn as `sarva yogyan' -  as 
described by svAmi deSikan in the last line of Slokam 12 of tAtparya 
ratnAvali - "upAdiSat sarva-yogyam".

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

(To be continued)





 
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