SrI:
SrImatE rAmAunjAya nama:
SrImath varavara munayE nama:
From the onset of the eighth pAsuram, AndAL wakes up her fellow bhAgavathOththamai, whom she addresses by the name “kOdhukalamudaiya pAvAy!”. Such title originates from the sAnskrit words “kouthu kalam”, meaning giving happiness/joy. This girl was unique as in she represented the gOpikai whom emperumAn deeply loved beyond measure. She was the apple of His eye who gave Him extreme joy. Hence, accepting her to be their puruShakAram, AndAL and her friends approached her thirumALigai to wake her up. Conventionally, we always hear about the jeevAtmAs showing their love for their Lord, the paramAtmA. However, is the corollary true? Does the paramAtmA ever celebrate and treasure the jeevAtmA? The thiruppAvai, none but vEdam anaiththukkum viththu, expounds this beautiful tattvArtham. Below are glimpses of the thiruppAvai vyAkyAnam that explain this by pointing to three pramANas.
SrI gIthai- gyAnI tu Atmaiva mE matam
The 4 classes of pious beings-
In SrI gIthai, emperumAn says:
“chatur vidhA bhajantE mam, janA: sukritinOrjuna
ArtO jigyAsur arthArthI, gyAnI cha bharatharShabha”
SrI kannan describes that there are 4 types of adhikArIs who surrender unto Him- Arta:,ArthArthi, jigyAsu and gyAnI (per artha kramam)-
- Arta: - one who desires to regain his lost material wealth (aishvaryam)
-arthArthi- one who desires for new/additional wealth and pleasure
-jigyAsu- one who desires to enjoy his own AtmA (kaivalyam)
-gyAnI- one who desires only emperumAn
swAmi empperumAnAr, in his gItA bhAShyam, explains that the fourth, the gyAnI, is one who has attained self-realization (Atma svarUpam arindhavan) and has understood the true spirit of unconditional surrender unto his master, emperumAn(i.e. shEShatvam). In his bhAShyam, swAmi raises the question as to why emperumAn calls the lower ranks of men - the aishvaryArthIs and kaivalyArthIs- as sukrithIgaL (janA: sukritina: arjuna). While these individuals approach emperumAn, they do so for seeking pleasures that are inferior (kaivalyam) and short-term (aishvaryam). Why should such people be termed as sukrithigaL when in all fair respects only the gyAni must be termed so? emperumAn’s samAdhanAm for this is that though these people ask for lowly benedictions, they still come to Him and do not approach other dEvathAs, thus understanding that He is the supreme. However, since they forget emperumAn soon after being satisfied with their desired results, emperumAn states that it is only the gyAnI that He wholeheartedly loves owing to his desire for unconditional devotion and kainkaryam to Him.
Asking the right question- whose love is greater?
Further, emperumAn says: “udArA: sarva evaitE, gyAnI tu Atmaiva mE matam”- just as how the jeevAtmA sustains the body and the paramAtmA (as antaryAmi) sustains the jeevAtmA, kannan says that it is the gyAnIs who sustain him i.e. the gyAnIs constitute His AtmA. While this might be contrary to our typical understanding of shAstra sidhdhAntham that the paramAtmA resides as antaryAmi in the jeevAtmA, our AchAryAs go on to say that ‘gyAnI tu Atmaiva mE matam’ is kriShna sidhdhAntham!
To the phrase, “priyO hi gyAninOthyartham, aham sa cha mama priya:”, periyavAchchAn piLLai beautifully explains this in his vyAkhyAnam for the sharaNAgathi gadhyam, echoing the gItA bhAShya artham. kannan says “aham sa cha mama priya:”- “I am very dear to him and he is very dear to me”. When the question was raised as to whether emperumAn loves the gyAnI or the gyAnI loves emperumAn, periyavAchchAn piLLai condemns it saying that the question must be rightly asked. It is not who loves the other but whose love for the other is greater. periyavAchchAn piLLai explains that the love that emperumAn has for us exceeds what we have for Him by leaps and bounds. The two are compared to an ocean (kadal) and the small puddle of water that is formed in the impression created by a horse’s foot on the banks of a river. The Lord’s love and compassion are certainly greater given His magnificence and manifestation in all places when compared to the minute jeevAtmA.
thiruvAimozhi: AzhwAr’s anubhavam of emperumAn’s immense love
அம்மான் ஆழிப்பிரான் * அவன் எவ்விடத்தான்? யான் ஆர்? * எம்மா பாவியர்க்கும் * விதிவாய்க்கின்று வாய்க்கும் கண்டீர் **
கைம்மா துன்பொழித்தாய்! என்று * கைதலை பூசலிட்டே * மெய்ம்மாலாய் ஒழிந்தேன் * எம்பிரானும் என் மேலானே
“ammAn AzhippirAn avan evvidaththAn? yAn Ar? emmA pAviyarkkum...
kaimmA thunbozhiththAy! enRu kaithalai pUsalittE ...” (thiruvAimozhi 5-1-7)
nammAzhwAr describes emperumAn as ‘ammAn’- the Lord of all beings, ‘AzhippirAn’- the Lord of the nithyasUrIs and ‘avan evvidaththAn’ – the one who resides in the transcendental abode of paramapadham. Here, ‘kaimmA’ refers to gajEndrAzhwAn, who was not superior in the aspects of knowledge (gyAnam), kulam (birth) and anuShTAnam (vrdhdham). His calling for emperumAn is attributed only to his pUrva vAsanAs and did not have much to do with his birth as an elephant. Further, “kaithalai pUsalittE” is elaborated in the vyAkhyAnam as- gajEndrAzhwAn first called out for emperumAn, next he helplessly raised his hands up in the sky in pain and further kept his hands as is above his head. emprumAn, looking at this, thinking gajEndra had gone mad in ecstatic love for Him, came running to shower His mercy on the elephant in trouble. When describing how emperumAn’s love was immeasurable for merely an elephant’s so-called calling and gestures for help, nammAzhwAr is impliedly remindful of how much love emperumAn has for him!
SrI rAmAyana: The transcendental affection between the divine brothers
SrI lakshmaNa’s love and dedication:
At the banks of the gangA, when sumanthran was taking leave for his return to ayOdhyA, he asked SrI sItA pirAttiyAr, rAmA and lakshmaNA whether they had any message to be conveyed to dasharatha. To this, SrI rAmA requested that bharatha be requested to take good care of His parents. sIthai remained silent and lakshmaNa told sumanthrA to convey his words for sure whether or not he conveyed SrI rAma’s words. SrI lakshmaNa said, “Go tell my father that he is dead for me. From now, my dear brother, SrI rAma, is everything for me- he is my bandhu, he is my father…”. Such was SrI lakshmaNa’s dedication for SrI rAma.
SrI rAma’s love and dedication:
Later, in the AraNya kAnda, at panchavaTi, SrI rAma requests that a parna shAlai (straw-cottage) be made for Him at a place where there is access to water and other resources. The shelter was built by SrI lakshmaNa from the available resources in the forest and when it was time for grhapravEsham in the place, SrI rAma says,
“bhAvagyena krithagyEna dharmagyEna cha lakshmaNa |
tvayA putrEna dharmAtmA na samvrtta: pitA mama||” (AraNya kAndam)
- Here, “bhAvagyEna” denotes that the shelter was built with attention to detail per the brief mandates of SrI rAma such as the inclusion of a place to entertain the riShIs, a place for the daily yAgams, etc. However, not only did lakshmaNa follow these basic guidelines but he went further to take extreme care to also accommodate for reserving personal space for SrI rAma and seethai pirAttiyAr to rest.
- Next, “krithagyEna” denotes that SrI lakshmaNa took to such kainkaryam with immense gratitude to rAma. SrI rAma, being born after years of penance, was raised with great luxury, warmth and care by his parents. SrI lakshmaNa had provided the same comfort to SrI rAma during the 16 years of exile just as how dasharatha took care of SrI rAma at the kingdom.
-“dharmagyEna” refers to the fact that SrI lakshmaNa did the kainkaryam with shEShathvam. Not thinking for himself for even a minute, SrI lakshmaNa dedicated everything to SrI rAma. He did not even care to make a place for himself in the shelter that he built.
Thus, seeing the divine dedication of lakshmaNA, SrI rAma glorifies lakshmaNa saying, “it is not that the father does not exist for me, it is only for you that your father does not exist.” rAma expresses that dasharatha had left behind lakshmaNa, who was none but a doting father to SrI rAma.
A similar utterance was heard from SrI rAma, when bharatha conveyed the news of his father’s death at kishkindha. SrI rAma responded, “sItE mritastE shvashura: pithrA hInO asi lakshmaNa”- he told sIthA that her father-in-law passed away and told lakshmaNa that his father was dead. For SrI rAma, this news did not much as he regarded lakshmaNa, his supreme servitor, to have reinstated his father.
This was the greatness of SrI rAma, whose love and dedication to lakshmaNa went way beyond that of lakshmaNa’s. This is termed as ‘athyantha priyam’.
lakshmANa is to be considered the representation of a jeevAthmA and SrI rAma- that of paramAthmA. SrI lakshmaNA considered his brother to be both his upAyam and upEyam, the tattvArtham being that emperumAn dearly treasures such a devotee.
TRANSLATED from the works of Mūāyirappadi (swAmi Periyavāchchān Piļļai, Ārāyirappadi (swAmi Azhagiya Manavāļā Perumāļ Nāyanār) and the kAlakshEpams of revered vidvAns of our sampradAya.
AndAL thiruvadiklaey sharanam | emperumAnAr thiruvadikaley sharanam
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