Episode 04 - Nexus with Vedhas - Selection 4.
SELECTION 4
We are at the very concluding verse of Thiruvaimozhi:
சூழ்ந்து அகன்றுஆழ்ந்துயர்ந்த முடிவில் பெரும் பாழேயோ
சூழ்ந்ததனில் பெரிய பரநல் மலர்ச்சோதீயோ
சூழ்ந்ததனில் பெரிய சுடர்ஞான இன்பமேயோ!
சூழ்ந்ததனில் பெரிய என் அவாஅறச் சூழ்ந்தாயே
A simple, gross, translation: (A sampradaya vyakyanam would be largely incomprehensible for the uninitiated.
Surrounding everywhere (சூழ்ந்து), expanding everywhere (அகன்று0, deep beyond all depths, pervading everything (ஆழ்ந்து) and rising beyond everything (உயர்ந்த), are you an endless, limitless, infinite (முடிவில்) emptiness – just space (பெரும் பாழேயோ)? In the midst of that all-encompassing, all pervading, all-consuming presence of Yours, (சூழ்ந்ததனில்) aren’t you an even greater, supreme and auspicious, floral effulgence (பெரிய பரநல் மலர்ச்சோதீயோ)? Aren’t You the limitless bliss, lighting, with your effulgence, all darkness and conferring knowledge (பெரிய சுடர்ஞான இன்பமேயோ)? And You, pervasive and permeating as you are (சூழ்ந்ததனில்), engulfed me wholly (சூழ்ந்தாயே), to the complete extinction of all my overwhelming (பெரிய) mortal attachments and desires (என் அவாஅற).
The Azhwar is perceiving the Supreme Being in His Swaroopa – One which cannot be comprehended (adequately) through any form that a mortal mind could come up with. His state is transcendental – far beyond the mind. He is evidently in the divine realms.
There are three proclamations the Azhwar makes in this one verse –
1. that He is much greater and much more pervasive than everything conceivable – a limitless emptiness, as it were முடிவில் பெரும் பாழேயோ. ‘Emptiness’ to connote that The Supreme Being cannot be conceived with a mortal mind with its limitless, endless, all-pervasive, presence.
Sri Purusha Sukta tries to give a dimensional understanding of this Supreme Being:
padosya vishva bhutani
tripadasya mritam divi
So much is His greatness. However, the Purusha is greater than this. All the beings form only a quarter (part of) Him. The three-quarter part of Him, which is limitless, endless and eternal, is established in the spiritual realm.
The term ‘பாழ்’ connotes space without perceivable content – material objects. As the Purusha Suktham acclaims, the perceivable universe is but a fraction of Him – the Brahman. The rest of Him is ‘amritam divi’ – is infinitely, endlessly pervading.
Upanishads equate this பாழ் = akasa space (not the ‘ether’ which is confined to this material universe but way larger than that, way beyond that) is Brahman:
Brahma Sutra – 1.1.22
“Akasastallingat”
Here Akasa refers to the Highest Brahman and not to the elemental ether, because the characteristics of Brahman, namely the origin of the entire creation from it and its return to it at dissolution are mentioned. These marks may also refer to Akasa as the scriptures say "from the Akasa sprang air, from air fire, and so on and they return to the Akasa at the end of a cycle". But the sentence "All these beings take their origin from the Akasa only" clearly indicates the highest Brahman, as all Vedanta-texts agree in proclaiming definitely that all beings take their origin from the Highest Brahman.
Chandogya Upanishad I. ix. 1
asya lokasya kā gatirityākāśa iti hovāca sarvāṇi ha vā imāni bhūtānyākāśādeva samutpadyanta ākāśaṃ pratyastaṃ yantyākāśo hyevaibhyo jyāyānakāśaḥ parāyaṇam || 1.9.1 ||
- Śilaka Śālāvatya asked Pravāhaṇa, ‘What is the end of this earth?’ Pravāhaṇa said: ‘Space, for everything that exists arises from space and also goes back into space. Space is superior to everything. Space is the highest goal’.
Space is described here as the source of everything. It is the source as well as the end of everything. In short, it is Paramātman, the Cosmic Self. Because space is the biggest thing visible, it can rightly claim to be the symbol of the Paramātman. All the other elements (air, fire, water, and earth) come from space and go back to space. But the scriptures also say that the Cosmic Self is the source and the end of the elements—indeed, of everything.
- He is a brilliant divine effulgence: ‘Jyoti’ or divine effulgence as Brahman: மலர்ச்சோதீயோ … சுடர்ஞான இன்பமேயோ
MICROCOSMIC REPRESENTATION OF THE DIVINE EFFULGENCE (IN THE HEART)
Sri Narayana Suktam visualizes the Paramatma established in every heart – amidst an effulgent flame:
tasyāḥ śikhāyā madhye paramātmā vyavasthitaḥ,
In the middle of that Flame, the Supreme Being dwells. (Earlier, the Suktam describes the ‘heart’ – padmakOsa pradeekasa hridayam caapyathOmukham…and the effulgent .. tasya madhye vahniśikhā aṇīyordhvā vyavasthitaḥ.- In the centre of That (Flame) abides the Tongue of Fire as the topmost among all things
Chandogya Upanishad 8.1.1
atha yadidamasminbrahmapure daharaṃ puṇḍarīkaṃ veśma daharo'sminnantarākāśastasminyadantastadanveṣṭavyaṃ tadvāva vijijñāsitavyamiti ||
Om. This body is the city of Brahman. Within it is an abode in the shape of a lotus [i.e., the heart], and within that there is a small space. One must search within this space and earnestly desire to know what is there.
yāvānvā ayamākāśastāvāneṣo'ntarhṛdaya akāśa ubhe asmindyāvāpṛthivī antareva samāhite ubhāvagniśca vāyuśca sūryācandramasāvubhau vidyunnakṣatrāṇi yaccāsyehāsti yacca nāsti sarvaṃ tadasminsamāhitamiti || 8.1.3 ||
[The teacher replies:] ‘The space in the heart is as big as the space outside. Heaven and earth are both within it, so also fire and air, the sun and the moon, lightning and the stars. Everything exists within that space in the embodied self—whatever it has or does not have’.
sa brūyātnāsya jarayaitajjīryati na vadhenāsya hanyata etatsatyaṃ brahmapuramasmikāmāḥ samāhitāḥ eṣa ātmāpahatapāpmā vijaro vimṛtyurviśoko vijighatso'pipāsaḥ satyakāmaḥ satyasaṃkalpo yathā hyeveha prajā anvāviśanti yathānuśāsanam yaṃ yamantamabhikāmā bhavanti yaṃ janapadaṃ yaṃ kṣetrabhāgaṃ taṃ tamevopajīvanti || 8.
‘The body may decay due to old age, but the space within [i.e., brahmapura] never decays. Nor does it perish with the death of the body. This is the real abode of Brahman. All our desires are concentrated in it. It is the Self—free from all sins as well as from old age, death, bereavement, hunger, and thirst. It is the cause of love of Truth and the cause of dedication to Truth.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad V.6.1
manomayo'yaṃ puruṣo bhāḥsatyastasminnantarhṛdaye, yathā vrīhirvā yavo vā; sa eṣa sarvasya sarvasyeśānaḥ, sarvasyādhipatiḥ, sarvamidaṃ praśāsti yadidaṃ kiñca || 1 ||
iti ṣaṣṭhaṃ brāhmaṇam ||
'This Supreme Puruṣha who is conceived by the mind, meditated upon by the mind and embodied as the Universal Mind on one side and the individual mind on the other side, is radiance is essence.' Bhāḥ means lustre, light, luminosity, and the characteristic of this Puruṣha, or Satya, or truth.
MACROCOSMIC REPRESENTATION OF THE DIVINE EFFULGENCE – BEYOND ALL.
Chandogya Upanishad III.13.7
atha yadataḥ paro divo jyotirdīpyate viśvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣu sarvataḥ pṛṣṭheṣvanuttameṣūttameṣu lokeṣvidaṃ vāva tadyadidamasminnantaḥ puruṣe jyotiḥ ||
Then, higher than this heaven, above the world, higher than everything, in the highest world, higher than which nothing exists—the light that shines there is the same light that is in a human being.
This light associated with the highest domain (atha: parO dhivO JyOthi:) is Supreme Brahman
standing as Supreme light (Param JyOthi).
Nammazhwar sings in adoration of the ‘effulgent divine flame’ as that Paramatma Himself, in several verses – here are some:
சோதி ஆகி,எல் லாஉல கும்தொழும்
ஆதி மூர்த்திஎன் றால்அளவு ஆகுமோ,
வேதி யர்முழு வேதத்து அமுதத்தைத்
தீதுஇல் சீர்த்திரு வேங்கடத் தானையே?
பரஞ்சோதி! நீ பரமாய் நின் இகழ்ந்து பின், மற்று ஓர்
பரம் சோதி இன்மையின் படி ஓவி நிகழ்கின்ற,
பரஞ்சோதி நின்னுள்ளே படர் உலகம் படைத்த, எம்
பரஞ்சோதி கோவிந்தா!* பண்பு உரைக்கமாட்டேனே. .. naalaayiram 3015
- The third important message from the concluding verse of Nammaazhwar is - என் அவாஅறச் சூழ்ந்தாயே – “You ‘enveloped’ me obliterating all the vestiges of my (mortal) desires. (Commentators would note that even that divine desire to reach the Supreme Being has been erased in Azhwar’s thoughts as he has been personally blessed by the Lord of that state.)
அவா – desire, attachment – is extensively discussed in the Gita about the biggest – the only – block or hindrance between an entity and his/her identifying himself/herself with the Supreme Being – setting ‘moksha’ as the goal – mumushatvam. Chapter 2, Verses 62 and 63, important among them.
The ‘phala shruti’ following this concluding verse of Thiruvaimozhi asserts - அவாவற்று வீடுபெற்ற குருகூர் சடகோபன்.
“Attachment” is the principal adversary for spiritual emancipation – is the message.
We left a question unanswered in the previous post (Selection 3) – the Azhwar asserts- வைகுந்தம் புகுவது* மண்ணவர் விதியே. – This is an overwhelming proclamation. The Azhwar says: no one is excepted. Every human has as his or her DESTINY the seemingly unattainable ‘moksha’ – Sri Vaikuntam.
Swami Desikan, in his celebrated grantham “Parama Padha SOpaanam” describes how the soul of a Prapanna and that of a Non-Prapanna take different routes and different destinations. (A ‘Prapanna’ is etymologically defined as one of these: Arriving at, reaching or going to. Resorting to, betaking oneself to; Taking refuge with, seeking protection with, suppliant. In the context here, ‘prapanna’ denotes one who believes – without a shred of doubt – that Bhagavan is his only refuge and seeks his Feet as the only Purushartha – or life purpose.)
தெருளார் பிரம புரத்து இறை சேர்ந்து இடர் தீர்ந்தவர் தாம்
மருளார் பிரம புரச் சிறை தீர்ந்த பின் வந்து எதிர் கொண்டு
அருளால் அமரர் நடத்த விம்மாயை கடந்ததன் பின்
சுருளார் பவன நரகச் சுழல் ஆற்றின் சுழற்சியிலே –14-
விழி யல்லால் வேல் இல்லை விண்ணின் மாதர்
மேனி யல்லால் வில்லில்லை மீனவற்கு
மொழி யல்லால் அமுதில்லை என்று முன் நாள்
முத்தி வழி முனிந்து அடைந்த மோகம் தீர்ந்து ஓங்கு
கழி யல்லால் கடல் இல்லை என்பார் போலக்
காரியமே காரணம் என்று உரைப்பார் காட்டும்
வழி எல்லா வழி எல்லாம் கடந்தோம் மற்றும்
வான் ஏறும் வழி கண்டோம் மகிழ்ந்திட்டோமே - 15.
வான் ஏறும் வழி கண்டோம் = We discovered the path to Moksha – Sri Vaikuntam. What is that path? Swami Desikan prescribes it – step by stern step no step to be overstepped or understepped – properly in that order. Nine of them. Vivekam, Nirvedam, Virakti, Bheeti, Prasadhana, Uthkramana, Archiradhi, Divya Desa Prapti and Prapti. Dwelling on these should wait for another day.
A person who has performed Prapatti (surrender, taking refuge) will not consciously commit any sins. But, due to 'Prarabda karma', some may swerve: He may still be home to vestiges of Ahankara (‘I’) and desires (kama). Like a mother stopping a child from getting his/her fingers burnt, He prevents him/her from that precipice. By all means, the Lord would rid the Prapanna of any failings or foibles he might have contracted due to the interaction of his 'Prarabda karma' and eventually make him fit and qualified for Moksha - all before the Prapanna actually arrives at the point of departure from this life. The Lord takes on Himself this arduous responsibility.
For the Prapanna who has not swerved from the resolute mind fixed on ‘moksha’, the delay in securing Moksha is only so long as he desires it. The Lord is anxious to bring him into the company of Nityasuris ( Never born) and is actually sorry for the delay desired by the Prapanna. He, therefore, produces an eagerness in the mind of the Prapanna to attain the goal. He creates a suitable atmosphere for the Prapanna to leave his worldly life and decides on the appropriate time and pretext for the event.
In the case of a Prapanna , all his Sanchita karmas are destroyed on performing Prapatti, like the bales of cotton that are burnt by a spark of fire. – As Andal said - தீயினில் தூசாகும் 'Prarabda karma' alone remains (that which the Prapanna has to go through during his lifetime). At the time of his death, the balance, be it of Punya or Paapa, is extinguished. Why extinguish Punya too? Punya is also bondage - golden fetters and imply continuing birth for it to play out. The soul yearns for freedom from all shackles.
(In the ‘Sarama Sloka’ of the Gita, Sri Bhagavan promises – ‘aham tvam Sarva paapeshyu mokshayasiyami – maa suca’. That is the rare privilege of a ‘prapannan’. Here, ‘Sarva Paapeshyu’ does not mean only demerits – papaas. It includes all of his remaining karma including punyas. For, if paapaas are fetters of iron, punyas are also fetters – of gold maybe, but fetters still, propelling the jiva to further birth.)
Whether the funeral rites are performed or not by their heirs, the Brahmagnanis (who have done Prapatti) reach only the bright and shiny path – Archiradhi Marga aka Devayana marga - and are led by a superhuman (the Upanishad calls them ‘Amaanava’ – not human) force to Brahman. Those who have gone through this path never, never return to this mundane world.
A soul that had performed meritorious deeds has to enjoy the fruits thereof. So, such a soul accompanied by the senses and elements reaches the moon through the Dhumadhi marga and reach heaven or Svarga (not to be mixed with Moksha, which is ultimate liberation). There the soul assumes a subtle body to enjoy the fruits. When the good deeds get spent in such enjoyment, it is reborn in this world along with the balance of Karma :
What happens to those souls that have neither made ‘prabatti’ nor have performed meritorious deeds earning them a handsome collection of ‘punya’? What is their lot?
What do the ‘srutis’ say?
Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.5
atha yatraitadasmāccharīrādutkrāmatyathaitaireva raśmibhirūrdhvamākramate sa omiti vā hodvā mīyate sa yāvatkṣipyenmanastāvadādityaṃ gacchatyetadvai khalu lokadvāraṃ viduṣāṃ prapadanaṃ nirodho'viduṣām
Then when a person leaves the body, he goes upward with the help of these rays. If he dies while meditating on Om, his going up is assured; otherwise not. In the amount of time it takes his mind to move from one thought to another he can reach the realm of the sun. The sun is the gateway to Brahmaloka. Those who known the meaning of Om and think of it at the time of death enter Brahmaloka, but those who are ignorant of it have no chance of that entry.
Chandogya Upanishad 5.10.8
athaitayoḥ pathorna katareṇacana tānīmāni kṣudrāṇyasakṛdāvartīni bhūtāni bhavanti jāyasva mriyasvetyetattṛtīyaṃsthānaṃ tenāsau loko na sampūryate tasmājjugupseta tadeṣa ślokaḥ |
But those who do not follow either of these two paths are born among small animals and insects again and again. [This can be said about those who are born in] this third state: ‘Be born and die.’ This is why the other world does not get filled up. Therefore one should despise this state.
The ‘sruti’ vaakyas seem to condemn this third category to perpetual cycles of birth and death – not just as humans but in lower species as well.
Then, how does Nammazhwar assert - வைகுந்தம் புகுவது* மண்ணவர் விதியே – It is the DESTINY OF EVERY HUMAN TO ATTAIN ‘MOKSHA’ OR ‘SRIVAIKUNTAM’?
Sri Krishna offers that promise to all of humanity in the Bhagavad Gita:
api chet su-durāchāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ Chapter 9, verse 30
Even if the vilest sinners worship Me with exclusive devotion, they are to be considered righteous because they have made the proper resolve.
kṣhipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śhaśhvach-chhāntiṁ nigachchhati
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśhyati .. Chapter 9, verse 31
Quickly they become virtuous, and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that no devotee of Mine is ever lost. –
We find Sri Bhagavan adds a ‘booster dose’ to his promise – asking Arjuna to go ahead and proclaim it boldly.
Visishtadvaita offers that promise as well – the path of ‘prabatti’.