/aum namO nArAyaNAya ||
/namaskArams to all members.
The wonderful series on /tirup/pAvai has just concluded. There were questions
and answers from time to time on the importance and uniquness of /tirup/pAvai
among the works of the /AZvArs.
The book under review answers some of the questions; and it goes beyond. It is
an important research work and I thought that it will be useful to write a
review and give the book wider coverage. This is my humble attempt. I am
fascinated by the book.
The book is of importance to all worshippers of /SrIman nArAyaNan in whatever
form, and to all worshippers of /civaH in whatever from. Moreover it is of
value to social workers, educators, and others. The review is in three parts to
make it readable as an e-mail posting. 1. /tirup/pAvai as the seed of the
/vEdAHs. 2. Structure of /vaishNava worship as expounded in /tirup/pAvai 3.
Applications to social problems, and problems in education and family life.
The importance of the book to those who worship /civaH may not become clear
until the much later. Please bear with me.
/vantanam.
Visu
BOOK REVIEW
Book: /saGkat/tamiZ mAlai in (/tamiZ) by
PrapannA Tirumati Kotai Venkatapathy
192 pages + 18 pages of Introduction
Price: In India Rs. 100; in the U.S. $10.00.
Author &Publisher: prapannA Tirumati kOtai vEGkaTapati
Adddress: Tirumati Kotai Venkatapathy
India: M 106/8, 29th Cross Street
Besant Nagar
Chennai 600 090
Ph. 4464516
E-mail: kothaiv@xxxxxxx
Also available with (/aZhagiya singar maTam (/ahObila /maTam)
Address: Smt. Vishnu Venkatapathy
U.S.A. 5206 Quail Ridge Drive
Plainsboro, NJ 08536
E-mail: vishnupriya_vp@xxxxxxxxxxx
The title of the book under review is taken from the concluding /pAcuram No.
30 of /ANTAL’s /tirup/pAvai. This book is a research monograph by the /prapannA
authoress rooted in first-hand experiences of /SrI ANTAL’s /tirup/pAvai
traditions. The /prapannA authoress has embellished her painstaking research on
the ever-lasting work of /SrI ANTAL with observations and comments from the
rich traditions the authoress has been brought up in. This is a fascinating and
pioneering work with important applications.
This work was partially supported by the T.T.D. under their scheme “Aid to
Publishing Religious Books”. But the T.T.D. takes no responsibility for the
actual publishing and distribution.
The book introduces /SrI/vaishNavism (/viShisT/advaitam) through the medium of
the thirty /pAcurams of /tirup/pAvai. It answers many questions on the
philosophy and practice of /SrI/vaishnavism. The /prapannA authoress shows the
connection between the /pAcurams and the philosophical system and thereby also
establishes why /tirup/pAvai is a seed to all the /vEdAHs, both of /samskrut
and /tamiZ (/drAvida vEdam).
Philosophy like mathematics and science is easily understood, when motivated
by examples. That is, you first put out a well-known example, and then derive
ideas from the model and end up showing that the system is just a formalization
of the model in its abstract form. The concrete example is used to expound the
abstract system. Students catch on to the ideas and get excited. Then they go
on to break new grounds.
In philosophy, this is not common, even though it is so in mathematics and
science. An /AcAriyar can do it in all of these branches and that is what
happens in instruction. This book is a pioneer in teaching philosophy in the
concrete-to-abstract way in a book.
One difficulty may be that it is difficult to find concrete models of
philosophy. Usually parables are used to explain an abstract philosophy or
theology. A single set of parables to explain all or even most of the elements
is indeed a rarity. The parables come in bits and pieces.
The availability of a single model that explains the elements of a
philosophical system then is equivalent to the system. For one can derive the
system from the model and the model from the system.
The prapannA authoress shows that /SrI ANTAL’s tirup/pAvai is one such model
that is equivalent to the /SrI/vaishNava system at least for practical
purposes. A purist may argue otherwise; hence the use of the word “practical”
or “essence”.
The /vaishNavA AcAryaH SrI vEdap/pirAn bhaTTar must have seen the equivalence,
and must have derived the /vEdAHs from /tirup/pAvai. For, it was he, who first
christened /tirup/pAvai as /vEdam/aNaittukkum vitt/Akum: A seed for all the
/vEdAHs (p.30).
The prapannA authoress devotes several chapters (/iyalkaL) and several
/pAcurams to expounding the argument behind the assertion. In this review, I
will show how the prapannA authoress establishes the “equivalence” of
/tirup/pAvai with the /rahasya/tryam of /SrI vaishNavism (pp.30-33). The
/rahasya/tryam is the essence of the /vEdAhs as expounded in the /vEdAHs and
the /brahma/suTraH. It offers the /jIv/AtmaH three securities: /tiru/mantiram,
/dvyam, and /carama slOkam.
/tiru/mantiram is the /mantiram /Om namO/nArAyaNAya. It is also called the
/ashT/Azara mantraH, as it consists of eight syllables. In a first-principle,
we define three concepts: /param/AtmaH, /jivAtmaH, and the relationship between
the two. The three concepts together are presented as a mantiram: /Om
namO/nArAyaNAya. The /mantiram offers security (protection) to the /jiv/AtmaH,
when the latter recognizes that Lord /nArAyaNaH is the Supreme Being, Who can
do anything for it. It will be technically incorrect to say that the
/param/AtmaH offer security. For, the security was always there, is always
there, and will always be there. When the /jiv/AtmaH recognizes the
relationship, then the /jiv/AtmaH realizes the nature of the security., and
comes to its true life, so to speak. It is best to term the relationship a
bond, an inalienable bond between the two /AtmaHs. It is not a relationship
that can be liquidated. That is why it was, it is, and it will be.
In the /tiru/mantiram (p.31), the /praNavaH /aum is a triple of three letters:
The letter /a, the letter u/ and the letter ma. The first two letters define
the pair (/param/AtmaH, /jiv/AtmaH) and the bond between the two as from
creation. The letter /ma represents creation, as the first act of creation is
the creation of the sound /aum. The expression /nArAyanAya qualifies the
original pair as (/nara, /nArAyaNaH), and the word /namaH confirms the
inalienable bond and the fact that the pair is an ordered pair. That is, the
two /AtmAHs cannot be identified; they are two distinguishable elements of an
inalienable pair. /nAryaNaH is the Supreme Being, and is not equivalent to
/naraH by any trick or function. The /advaitaH part of the concept is the fact
that the two cannot be thought of as two distinct elements in isolation. One
cannot think of one without thinking of the other. The inalienable nature of
the bond comes with each element. That is the three together form a single
concept which cannot be dismantled and then put together. The /atvaita
concept is qualified Or learned in this way as a triple that cannot be
dismantled. Hence the name: /viSishT/advaitaH. In modern parlance, one would
say that the pair (nara, nARAyaNaH) is only sold as a set. No amount of money,
tricks, negotiations etc. will induce the Greatest Salesman of the World to
break the pair and sell one or both parts individually! The meaning of the
relationship for the /jiv/AtmaH is the Bliss of well being (/Atma/zEmam) in
being with the Lord here on Earth and the hereafter. There is nothing that the
Lord cannot do for the /jIv/AtmaH, and these perceptions and recognitions make
up the first security of /rahasya/tryam.
The prapannA authoress, after a very brief introduction as above, sets forth
how /SrI ANTAL addresses /tiru/mantiram in /tirup/pAvai (pp.31, 67, 149): In
/pAcuram 1 /SrI ANTAL presents the /tirumantiram right away as the desired
output aimed not just by her as one /jIv/AtmaH, but by all Fellow Worshippers.
The line /nArAyaNanE namakkE paRai taruvAn at once defines the param/AtmAH and
the /jivAtmAH as an inalienable pair, and the word /paRai defines the security
structured in the relationship. The prapannA authoress argues that the use of
the two /EkArams in the words /nArAyananE and /namakkE shows the inalienable
bond between the two entities and that only the para/mAtmAH has the power to
give the secured item. He is the /upEyam (/pRapyam) ---- a goal to be obtained,
the ultimate goal, whether one likes it or not. On p.149, in her commentary of
/pAcuram 28, the prapannA authoress confirms the indissoluble bond between the
/param/AtmaH and the /jivAtmaH: /un tannOtu uRavEl namakku iGku oZikka oZiyAtu:
About our relationship with You, when one tries to dissolve it, it does not
dissolve. The same /pAcuram also establishes why the Lord is Suprme: He is
/kuRai onRum illAta kOvintA: A Possessor of all Wealth, He has no needs, no
defects.
For later purposes, the reader should note that in the first /pAcuram /SrI
ANTAL does not conceive of the /jIvAtmA as just a single entity, but as a group
or as an association of Fellow /jIv/AtmAHs. The use of plural in /namakkE in
/pAcuram 1 (p.67) and /namakku in /pAcuram (p/149) is significant, as we will
see.
The recognition of the /jiv/AtmaH must include the Lord’s Better Half: Goddess
/SrI/tEvi or /pirATTI. The /param/AtmaH is the bestower of “salvation” of the
/jivAtmaH. /pirATTI is the facilitator. This is the second security of
/rahasya/tryam, called /dvayam. /dvayam is the principle that the Lord’s
Consort is an inseparable “duo” of the Lord with her own Powers and /guNAHs.
The Lord’s Consort as /SrI dEvi bestows the means to salvation in the hereafter
and facilitates it. This process of facilitation necessarily involves enjoyment
and experiences of the /jiv/Atmah in the “here” and in the “now”. Thus the
“here” and the “hereafter” give the scope and domain of action for the /dvayam
principle. This is the /upAyam or means to obtain the goal of /upEyam. Thus
/dvayam as a “duo” comes with /upEyam and /upAyam: An end and a means. The
principle of /dvayam is brought in /tirup/pAvai in /pAcuram 18, where the
little girls give a wake-up call to /SrI nappinnai (p.31). /pAcurams 19 and 20
reinforce the /dvayam concept since the request to win the Lord’s favor is
addressed to /SrI nappinai in her role as a facilitator. (pp.119, 121). The
dramatic nature in which /pirATTi joins the group (/gOshTi) and demonstrates
the manner of facilitation is portrayed in /pAcuram 21 (p.125). The dvyam
principle is a means (/upAyam), whereas the /tirumantiram is the /upEyam. As
compassion incarnate, /pirATTi’s facilitatoon role is the second security.
Specific examples are given from /sItA pirATTi’s role in /aSOka vanam (p.116).
There is also a stunning event described in the life of /bhagavat SrI
rAmAnujar, while he was singing /pAcuram 18 (/undu mada/kaLiRRan . . . ) on p.
175.
The first two securities of /rahasya/tryam secure for the /jIv/AtmaH an
/upEyam and an /upAyam ---- an end and a means to obtain that end while living
as a /jIv/AtmaH. The third security sets out the dynamics of performance or of
action by the /jIv/AtmaH.
Known as the /carama slokAHs, the third security propounds the dynamics of the
process bestowed and facilitated as in the foregoing. That is, /upAyam and
upEyam have been revealed and conceived in for action. It requires the first
action to break the inertia (/tamas). There are three /slokAHs propounded for
the dynamical journey of the /jivAtmaHs. Each /slOkaH calls for total
self-surrender (SaraNa/gati).
The three securities (/rahasya/tryam) together secure for the conscious
/jivAtmAH, who is conscious of the principles cited above a sure output
(/upEyam), a definite process, and a definite means to go on the journey
(/upAyam), and a functional dynamics of traveling. The input, of course, has to
be from the /jivAtmAH. If the /jivAtmAh sits there doing “nothing”, there is
no security for that /AtmAH. “Take the first step; I will roll you thereafter”
is the message of the Lord.
The book systematically focuses on the /carama slOkAs of /SrI vaishNava
sam/pratAyam. The theme of /prapatti or SaraNA/gati rolls as in a groove along
the research findings, and commentaries to the /taniyans and the 30 (thirty)
/pAcurams.
One famous /carama sLokam is /slOkaH no. 18.66 of the /gItA. Its importance is
that in a single slOkam of two lines, Lord /krushNaH summarizes in His
characteristic reassuring Style the whole of the /gItA and thereby the essence
of the meaning of life. It is a /mantraH. The Lord exhorts all people to become
His devotees by the simple means of self-surrender or /SaraNA/gati. Thus
surrendering one’s all ---- actions and fruits of actions ---, one becomes a
servant of God. The servant, the actions of the servant, and the good and bad
results of the actions all belong to God. Like any servant, the devotee must
execute the tasks entrusted to him or her with diligence, care, and love. It is
not the duty of the servant to worry about the outcome. His or her job is to
obey the Master.
The Lord characteristically does not in so many terms explain how to surrender
to Him. He does give a number of examples, the Sun (/vivasvAn) being the
foremost of the models; but the Lord stops short of giving a general formula
for surrender. That task, according to the /prapannA authoress, is completed by
/srI ANTAL in /tirup/pAvai. On reading the book, one, will but agree with her.
Since the /gItA is a core /upa/nishat, it follows that /tirup/pAvai is
/vEtam/anaittiRkkum vittu ---- a seed to acquiring the knowledge propounded in
the /vEdAHs. We will see in the next posting why this is so in detail as this
theme is one of the main themes of this research monograph (/iyal 1). A summary
is given on p.32, /iyal 5, and an extensive exposition is given on pp.48-55 in
/iyal 6. Herein below, I will satisfy the reader with a single excerpt.
On p.54, /tirumati kOtai translates the /carama slOkam as follows:
/sarva dharmAn pari/tuajya mAm/Ekam Saranam vraja |
/aham tvAm sarva/pApEbhyO mOzayishyAmi mA SucaH ||
The lord says: You leave behind all your statutes and laws (Dos and Don’ts)
expounded so far, and bury yourself in me alone holding onto me as an arrow
that is shot into. I will annul (undo) all your sins and bestow on you total
liberation; do not be grieved.
The song from /tirup/pAvai that is cited in support of this nutshell of the
/gItA is the famous /cARRU/muRai /pAcuram 29 that begins with /ciRRaJ ciru/kAlE
. . . . Here is the beautiful excerpt on the /gItA connection of /pAcuram 29:
We want to do personal service to You, Who is Lord /nArAyaNa, and to You only.
In our personal service to You, which we undertake to please You and be pleased
by the blossoming Smile in your Face, should there appear a shortcoming that is
tainted with our personal desires, You Yourself, please Purify them and Bless
us Yourself with our Right of Personal Service to You.
The second /carama slOkaH is /SrI/rAma carama slOkaH, where Lord /SrI rAmaH
assures that a /jivAtmaH which surrenders (/SaraNa/gati) to Him even once
(p.37). The third one is the /slOkaH called /SrI varAka carama slOkam (p.39)
given by the Lord during the incarnation as /SrI varAkap peerumAL.
Now comes the first breakthrough in the conceptualization of the dynamics of
the process. T association of fellows --- /SrI ANTAL’s gOSTi does not seek
salvation in the “hereafter” so much as the Blessing of Personal Service to Him
“here’ on Earth. That is, the new /upEyam is not “salvation”, but Personal
Service of waiting on the Lord. The seekers seek not the security of
“salvation” but the “guarantee” of Personal Service! In /pAcuram 1, they want
the Lord and only the Lord to declare that they are His Own! As His Own, they
will be entitled to wait on Him. They seek nothing else, and nothing short of
this. In /pAcuram 29 they explicit what this /paRai means and they go beyond
and want this Blessing not only now in this birth, but also in the next
seven-times-seven births!
According to /prapannA tirumati kOtai, /SrI ANTAL has performed the magic by a
simple claim on the word /paRai: She has identified the fruit (end) and the
dynamics of production of the fruit through a single word. All she has to make
sure is that human weakness does not interfere with the scheme. This the
fellows do promptly by asking the Lord that He remove any tendency on the part
of members to seek personal pleasures and goals, while serving Him. “All we
want is the Blessing of Personal Service untainted by personal agenda.” /SrI
ANTAL conludes /pAcuram 29 with the request: /maRRai nam kAmaGkaL mARRElOr
empAvAy.
/Pacuram 1 and /pAcuram 29 taken together lead to an improvement over the
three /carama slOkaHs. The desire for “salvation’ is replaced by the desire for
personal service now and in the next so many births. And /SrI ANTAL stands in
proof that she has achieved what she asked for: She is very much present on our
Earth as the Lord’s Consort in /Sri vaishNavA temples (p.186). And she is
present in this way not for seven generations, but for all times to come!
It follows that Service to the Lord is also Service to /SrI ANTAL in this
/kali/yukam age of afflictions) and vice versa (pp.175-186). Forget about the
“hereafter”; leave it to the Lord Himself. If He wants to send us back, let us
thank Him and ask Him only to make sure that we serve Him with a singular mind.
Let us serve the Lord and /SrI ANTAL here and now. What else can be simpler?
(pp.186-190).
According to /prapannA tirumati kOtai this message and the new dynamics are
the themes of /tirup/pAvai. The argument above gives an inkling of her
reasoning, whereby she establishes that /tirup/pAvai is not only equivalent to
/rahasya/tryam, but it represents an improvement over it. This is one reason
why /tirup/pAvai was christened /vEdam/anaittukkum vittAkum
by /Sri vEdap/pirAn bhaTTar.
We will see in the next posting that there is more to it.
/vantanam
/nalan/tarum collai nAn kaNTu/koNTEn, nArAyaNA ennum nAmam.
Visu
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