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Sri GuNa rathna KOsam : Part XX---> SlOkam 11

From the Bhakti List Archives

Sadagopan • Sat Dec 02 2000 - 07:39:11 PST 


Srimathyai RanganAyakyai Nama:

Dear BhakthAs : In the eleventh slOkam , Bhattar
describes the fools , who go around with noisy 
protests and quarrels in the world . Bhattar describes
five categories of such people , who have fallen into
this miserable state because of their misfortune in 
not being the object of Sri RanganAyaki's krupA katAksham.

The eleventh slOkam containing these thoughts is:

aahurvEdAnamAnam kathichana kathichArAjakam visvamEthadh-
  rAjanvath kEchidhIsam guNinamapi guNaistham dharidhrANamanyE
BhikshAvanyE surAjambhavamithi chajaDAsthE talAtalyakArshu:
  yE tE Sriranga harmyAngaNa kanakalathE! na kshaNam lakshyamAsan

Meaning by Dr.V.N .Vedanatha Desikan :
***************************************

Oh Goddess ! Veritable creeper of Gold! Queen of
the palace of Sree Ranga VimAnam! Those dunces , 
who were out of bounds to Your grace would commit
the crime of destroying/denying the authoritative 
stature to the VedAs . A few others would say there 
is no God. Others , who admitted a God , denied 
however , auspicious qualities to that deity .
Some others conferred Godhead on a mendicant ,
Bhikshu, namely , SivA .All these warring groups 
indulge only in mutual beating and create 
a huge furore.

(Oh RanganAyaki !) They all behaved in this manner 
only because Your Grace was not avilable to them."

AdiyEn's observations 
*********************

Here , Bhattar alludes to the unfortunate people
who have developed strident and conflicting views
regarding " the world manifestation and the status 
of MahA Lakshmi ". Bhattar points out that these 
deluded people do not acknowledge or perceive 
the truisms embedded in the text of great authority
such as Vedham and as a result have failed to be
the objects of Sri RanganAyakI's grace .

These unfotunate ones are grouped by Bhattar into
five categories of disbelievers and distorters of
the eternal Truth proclaimed by the Vedhams:

1) Those who deny the Vedhams as PramANams altogether:
   Jainism , Buddhism  and Materialism (ChArvAkAs ).
   They belong to the Naasthika systems . All the three 
   deny the concepts of soul and God as held by 
   the followers of the VedhAs.They are opponents of 
   Aasthika darsanams, which affirm the VedhAs as 
   unassailable PramANams( Instruments of valid knowledge).

   The materialists deny the existence of any thing , which
   are beyond the reach of the eyes. The Jains adopting 
   "anekAntavAdha " believe that nothing can have a particular 
   trait. They replace VedhAs with the authors of Jain texts. 

   The Buddhists come under the twin groups of HeenayAna 
   (lower path) and the MahAyAna ( the great path) . HeenayAna
   is subdivided into VaibhAsikAs and SautrAntrikas . Former
   maintain that the world is real , but has only a momentary
   existence. The latter (SautrAntrikas ) arrive at the world's
   existence only through inference . The MahAyAna group is
   again subdivided into two: The YogAchAra School and 
   Nihilism School . The former holds the world to exist
   only in the form of knowledge. The latter (Nihilism) 
   denies altogether the total existence of the world 
   and accepts SoonyA (Void) as the reality.

   All the three Naasthika darsanams are called as Vedha-
   Baahya darsanams , since they reject VedhAs.

(2) The second category accepts VedhAs , but gives 
    incorrect meanings to VedhAs .These are known as 
    SaankyAs. This NirIsvara Saankya darsanam rejects
    Isvara tatthvam and hence the Saankya darsana followers
    are known as "arAjakars"( Those who believe that 
    there is no king/Isvaran). They accept 25 Tatthvams:
    (1) Moola Prakruthi or primordial entity (2)mahath or
    great principle (3) ahankAra or the cosmic egoism 
    (4) manas or mind (5-9)Jn~AnEndhriyams or organs of
    knowledge (10-14) karmEndhriyam or organs of action 
    (15-19) Pancha tanmAtrAs or five subtle elements 
    (20-24) Five gross elements and (25) Purusha or Jeevan.
    There , they stop by excluding Isvaran.There is no 26th 
    Tatthvam that VisihtAdhvaithin accepts as a cardinal
    principle.

(3) The third category consists of VaisEshikAs , who accept
    the authority of VedAs , but emphasize inference (anumAna)
    and Verbal comprehension (sabdhA).This line of thinking was 
    founded by KaNAda and is also known as Asath-karya Vaadham .
    This group tries to prove the existence of God by inference.
    They recognize our Lord to the limit of  nimittha kaaraNam 
    but do not extend Him to UpAdhAna KaaraNam ( material cause ). 
    ParAsara Bhattar in His masterly work ,Tatthva RatnAkara  has
    criticized soundly the deficiencies of this school of thought
    to uphold the supermacy of VisishtAdvaitham.

(4) The fourth group accepts Vedam (sabdha PramANam ) but makes
    the Lord of limitless KalyANa guNams (SaguNa Brahmam)
    as bereft of those auspicious attributes .They make Him 
    "GuNa Daridhran". These are the MaayA Vaadhis.

(5) The fifth group is constitute by Saivars , who see in
    a mendicant Isvarathvam . This Bikshu is a karmAdhinan
    and states clearly that He is the daasan of Sriman NaarAyaNan
    in Manthra Raaja Padha Sthothram and elsewhere.

All of these five groups quarrel with one another and 
are either non-believers in Vedham as PramANam or misintrepret
the Vedhic passages to their own advantage in an unsatisfying
and inconclusive manner . All these viparIthams happen because
of their failure to become the objects of the grace of 
Sri RanganAyaki, the golden creeper blessing us as the Queen 
of the palace at Srirangam. 

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil V.SatakOpan  

    


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