You are here: SriPedia - Ramanuja - Archives - Dec 2003

Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00078 Dec 2003

 
Dec 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

It is quite natural and logical to get a doubt on whom to worship to get a 
particular wish fulfilled, in a system called "hindhu dharmam", wherein we are 
a part, where there are 33 crores of dhEvaas. For, we know our capacities are 
limited, help of an external force named "dheiva sankalpam" is required to 
achieve any thing. 

Such a large flexibility is also a nuisance many a times, for who knows which 
dhEva will grant 
*       What type of boon 
*       At what time 
*       To which kind or way of worship 
*       What to offer in turn to please him - penance, praise, singing his /her 
glory, materials or ? 

That too with the speed at which we desire, and our "desire priorities 
changing" how to come to a decision to worship one or other god, in particular. 

This doubt of "whom to worship" existed even for people of olden times, whohad 
less number of desires, and lesser change of priorities, compared to ourselves 
of present days.  

That is why questions were raised by people to elders, whom they thought will 
be competent enough, to elicit an answer. See question -
maanavaa: subham praapnuyu: kam sthhuvantha: kam archantha: ?
meaning: praising whom or worshipping whom, will men attain the good?
 
the reply given to this question is - 
purusha: sathatha uththitha nithyam naama sahasrENa purushOththamam sthuva:
meaning: man has, always, to engage himself in praising the supreme lord ofmen 
or highest person without limitation by chanting the 1000 names of him.

Now the confusion is confounded - as to who is this purushOththama:. So, 
realising this first answer is not clear, another answer given was
purusha: nithyam ya: avyaya purusham [tham ]Eva bhakthyaa archaya:
meaning: man has, always, to adore him who is everlasting, and him alone. 

Perhaps, now even this is also not clear and gives rise to a doubt, 
*       who is that puruOththama:, 
*       who is that avyaya purusha:, 
*       who is that jagath prabhu: , the lord of the universe.  

Perhaps, if I leave this question and answer, as it is, you may or may not 
easily get a clue wherefrom this question and answer is taken. So I will 
rewrite that question and answer in the well-known form.
yudhishtira uvaacha:
sthhuvantha: kam kam archantha: praapnuyu: maanavaa: subham?

and bheeshma replied
jagath prabhum dhEvadhEvam anantham purushOththamam|
sthuvan naama sahasrENa purusha: sathatha uththitha 
tham Eva cha archayan nithyam bhakthyaa: purusham avyayam||

Perhaps the "lesser-known" may get a doubt who is this purushOththama and 
avyaya purusha. Sri vaishNavaas will not get this doubt for there is no one 
else who has a 1000 naamaas praising him. 

[If at all somebody else also have this 1000 naamaas praising him or her, as we 
see nowadays, then that 1000 naamaas collection/s is preceded by theirvery 
name]. 

So if a mention about "1000 naamaas" is made [or SAHASRA NAAMAAM as is 
generally named], and the 1000 naamaas goes without any specific name, it is 
"sree vishNu SAHASRA NAAMAM" ONLY [SVSN]. Now it is clear who is that 
purushOththama:, jagath prabhu, avyaya purusha: etc. 

Perhaps, then also, you may add, that, that very purushOththama sree krishNa, 
was standing in front of bheeshma and hearing that 1000 naamaas being recited 
by bheeshma lying in arrow bed. So bheeshma was under a sort of compulsion to 
do this "praise". 

"yE yadhaa maam prabhadhyanthE thaamsthathaiva bhajaami aham" says the verysame 
lord sri krishNa to arjuna in his bhagavath geethaa, standing in front of 
bheeshma. This assurance was much before bheeshmaa fell to that arrow bed and 
said this "1000 names". [meaning: whoever wants to praise or worship me in 
whatever form they prefer, I give the desired fruits to them, through that 
form]. 

But yet again another doubt comes to mind, whether he will give all the desires 
by responding positively. 

Just to dispel this kind of doubt only, there is a slOkam in same SVSN 
describing his character as "sthavya: , sthavapriya: , sthOthram, sthuthi: , 
sthOthaa " [re slOkam 73], meaning
sthavya: - one who is the object of all praise.
sthavapriya:- one who is invoked by the praise
sthOthram - he is the very hymn of praise, 
sthuthi: - he is that act of praise, 
sthOthaa - one who does the praise. Or the very praiser. 

So all these doubts stand removed by these assurances. Further lord also says 
such a person is to his liking - sa mE priya: [geethaa 12th chap - 14th 
slokam]. 

poigai aazhvaar after a long period after this bheeshmaa's praise, simply puts 
this across authoritatively - in same lines of "yE yadhaa maam"

thamar ugandhadhu evvuruvam avvuruvam thaanE
thamar ugandhadhu ep pEr maRRu appEr - thamar uganthu
evvaNNam sindhiththu imaiyaadhirupparE
avvaNNam aazhiyaanaam - 44th paasuram - mudhal thiruvandhaathi.

meaning: the devotee in whatever form he wants the lord to appear before him, 
in that form the lord appears. Similarly what name the devotee chooses the lord 
take that name. In whatever way the devotee thinks and concentrateson the lord, 
who bears the sudharsana chakra - the wheel, he transforms himself to that 
form. 

vaNNam here means many - colour, kind, type, nature, form etc. what colour - 
that colour, what kind that kind, what type that type, what nature that nature, 
what form that form etc. 

This word 'thamar' means a. uRavinar- relatives, b. bhakthaas. So, for thamar 
it is ok. If one is a new person and not a relative, then what happens? This 
doubt is emphatically replied in the very next paasuram, stating that it is the 
character of the lord to transform himself to suit his thamar's or other's 
taste to change him also into a thamar, 

aamE amararkku aRiya adhu niRka
naamE aRigiRpOm nan nenjE poo mEya
maadhavaththOn thaaL paNintha vaaLarakkan neeLmudiyan
paadhamaththaal eNNinaan paNbu - 45th paasuram - mudhal thirucvandhaathi

what is his character - paadhamaththaal eNNinaan paNbu naamE aRigiRpOm nan 
nenjE - Oh our mind, let us learn ourselves what is his character - now go back 
to previous paasuram - evvaNNam sindhiththu avvaNNam - in whatever waywe think 
that way.

Meaning of this paasuram in tamil as given by uththamoor swamy - 
dhEvadhaigaLukku emberumaan aRiyappadak koodum. aiyam illai. andha vishayam 
irukkattum. nalla manadhE, naabhik kamalaththil vasikkum mikka thavam udaiya 
brahmanin paadhaththil vanangi ninRa kaththiyaik kaiyil uLLa raavaNanin neeNda 
thalaigaLai paadhaththaal eNNik kaaNbiththa emberumaanin kalyaaNa guNaththai 
naam kooda aRiyavallOm. - P 70 of prabhandha rakshai 

So the doubt on his character goes. Clarity comes. Lord comes to a bhaktha in 
whatever form he wants. 

But that is not the main point for discussion to take up this paasuram. 
Incidentally that came up and hence dealt. The main point for this post is that 
very special anecdote of counting raavaNa's head by the lord while lying as a 
child in brahma's lap. For same is anecdote is reflected in 3rd and 4th 
thiruvandhaathi also as

aaintha arumaRaiyOn naanmugaththOn nanku urangil
vaaintha kuzhaviyaai vaaLarakkan Eintha
mudippOdhu moonRu Ezhu eNNinaan aarntha
adippOdhu nangatku araN - 77 - third thiruvandhaathi

koNdu kudangaal mEl vaiththa kuzhaviyaai
thaNdavarakkan thalai thaaLaal paNdu eNNi
pOm kumaran nirkum pozhil vEnkatamalaikkE
pOm kumaruLLeer purinthu. - 44 fourth thiruvandhaati

Has this counting of raavaNaa's head any reference in srimadh raamaayaNam? We 
will see in next post.

Dhaasan

Vasudevan m.g.





[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
ramanuja-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list