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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00097 Sep 2005

 
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Dear Smt. Saranathan,
                                  Your knowledge is amazing indeed, (pls do not take in the wrong way,) it is indeed heartening to see knowledgable sthrees like yourself in our sampradayam. May I ask about your background? How did you get to accumulate knowlege? And who is your AchAryan??
 
Regarding this mail, I shall go through it in depth till it strikes by mandha buddhi.
 
Dasan,
Kidambi Soundararajan.

saranathan <jayasree_saranathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

We often come across in prabhandham, words such as ViNNavar, Vanavar and Amarar used interchangeably. Imayavar and ViNNulAr are other terms used less often. But we can see a qualifying reference or context-orientedness at places where these terms are used, enabling us to deduce what the aazhwar intends to convey. It  is like how the same name brahma is used to denote both the all pervading Brahman and the four-faced brahma, with some prefix or contextual reference as in the sloka ?gurur brahma, gurur Vishnu:?saakshaath para-brahma..?

 

We can also see the same trend in Prabhandam verses. The aazhwar makes some qualifying remarks regarding whether he refers to devas or nithya sooris, in that particular context. The only verse(s) which I am able to recollect where all these terms are used to denote them to be in Vaikuntham is in ?Soozh visumbhu? 10. The vanavar, iamayavar, vinnavar and munivar wait at the threshold of Vaikuntahm to receive the aazhwar. In other places, contextual reference makes them different from nithya sooris.

 

First of all a clear distinction is made about who are qualified to be amarar or nithya sooris. As per Thiruvoimozhi 10-5-8,9&10, amarar are those who are not tainted by ?vinaigaL?.  The aazhwar refers to nithya sooris, when he says ?amara-th-thozhuvaarkku amaraa vinaigalE? In contrast, the Vinnavar are those who are in ViNNulagam and at many places in Prabhandam, Vinnavar are referred to in the context of or in contrast to MaNnavar, the  earthly beings. This ViNNulagam is part of the 3 world, Mooulagam. This mooulagam is part of created universe which has a beginning and an end within the total life span of 100 years of the four-faced Brahma deva. Therefore  the ViNnavar can not be amarar of amaraa vinaigaL  who accompany the Lord at Vaikuntham.

 

In 10-2-6, a direct contrast is being made between amarar (nithya sooris) and Vanavar (devas of lokas like Indra loka). By telling  ?amararai-th-thirigindrar? we find  the amarar as Liberated souls like sage Bhrugu whose condition as expressed in 3rd chapter of Taittriyan Upanishad is similar to ?thiriyum amarar? or ?wandering Liberated soul?

In the next line aazhwar talks about the ?viNNOr? (paNi seivar ViNNOr), thereby differentiating them from amarar. ViNNOr have some specific duties to perform whereas nithya sooris have no such designated duties, making them liberal  literally.

 

This duty-binding nature is what makes them subject to ups and downs and be endowed with faculties to carry out the duties. That is how they come to be aggrieved when asuras trouble them. In Thiruvoimozhi 7-8-6, it is said ?vaanavar tham thuyar theera..? bhagavan came down to earth to humble Bali. Similar instances can be quoted from Prabhandam to show that Vinnavar or vanavar or ViNNulAr  do undergo troubles, to wipe out which Bhagavan takes some steps. Thus the ViNNulAr refers to vaanavar coming within the framework of created worlds.

 

Another source that can be cited is the Acharya Hrudhayam-description of Thiruvoimozhi (4th prakaraN). The 7th patthu in which this verse appears is generally about aazhwar?s  ?aakhrOsham? as to why Bhagavan has given  these indriyas that give trouble to him (jivas) Even ViNNulAr have not escaped the spell of the indriyas is what is made out in the first 10 of 7th patthu.

 

Connecting this to BG, the individual soul upon attaining Brahman , gets the ?annadhithvaath, nirgunathvaath? nature (13-31) (or vice versa or this state happening simulatneous)  making it to have no need to do  work (na karOthi) . The sequence of jiva?s journey in attaining Brahmanhood from verses 13-21 to 32 in BG  is of souls who enjoy Bhagavan. They are not those who suffer anything on any account, nor are they endowed with gunas and senses of prakruthi ?born. They have transcended the gunas ? they are nir-gunaath.  This means that if some entity is described to be suffering from or endowed with prakruthi-born attribute, then that entity can not be said to have attained brahmanhood, which in other words mean not having got a place in Vaikuntham. Therefore it can be conclusively said that ViNNulAr are not nithya sooris. They are VaanOr or viNNAvar of created universe.

 

I stand to be corrected.

 

Pranams.

Jayasree saranathan


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