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Thirumaalai-20

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Varadarajan Sourirajan • June 25, 2002 


Sri Parthasarathi thunai,

Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

 

“ Mattrondrum vEinda Maname Madhilarangar

  Kattrinum meitha kazhalinai keezh- uttra

  Thirumaalai paadum seer Thondaradipodi Emperumaanai

  Eppozhudum peesu”

 

“ Srimat Krishna samahvaya Namo yaamuna soonave 

  yetkadAkshai kalakshyAnAm sulabha: Sridara: sadaa”

 

Pranams,

 
Paasuram-7
 

“pulayara mAgi nindra puththodu samanamellAm

  kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?

  thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!

  SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”.

 

In this paasuram, alwar condemns some philosophies(Buddhism, Jainism etc), which do not accept the sastra pramAnams and give their own conclusions.  These philosophies were highly accepted by masses in alwarÂ’s time, though now they have been abandoned by many due to the illogical preachings in them.  Actually there are three types of pramAnAs, namely pratyaksham, anumAnam and sabhdam(Vedas).  Many things cannot be seen and understood (pratyaksham) so we assume things(anumAnam) but then all assumptions are not always correct so we try to understand using standard theories given by great scholars.  These theories in philosophy are called as sastras which were given by abhiyukthargal(Apthargal).  Abhiyukthargal are the rishis who showed us the right path just for our benefit.  Vedas were not written by any person (apourusheyam).  The rishis who had great knowledge, compared to all of us, got the Vedas by their meditation and gave it to us.  They do not gain anything by this but they have done this solely for ou

 

Sri PVP in his vyakhyAnam first gives a jist of what a bhowdan and a samanan preaches.  One says that there is only inner self and there is no outer space.  The inner self(Atma) assumes the other outer appearances.  Another says that only outer space is true and rest false.  Another says that both are true.  Then comes the fourth bhowdan who says all are only illusions.  The world started from shoonyam(zero) and will end with the same.  Hearing to all these different philosophy now came the jains who said, some say asti(present-mimansakan) and some say nAsti(not present-bhowdan) but the actual is it can be either asti or nAsti or astinAsti.  The samana matham never came to a conclusion it says it can be this or that and accepts both.  They have seven different approaches called the saptha kAdhai. These people spoil the whole masses.  They preach to people that only when they leave their family and friends and run to forest they will attain mahA nirvAnam.  The jains preach ahimsa to an extent no human can fol

 

kalaiarak kattra mAndar kAnbarO kEtparO tham?:  Will the scholars who are well versed in sastras, and devoid of any confusion about the basics of our philosophy ever listen to the illogical propagations of the cheap philosophies like buddism and Jainism?  The person who is preaching the other philosophies can be great vairakhya purushas or great mahans but then a person who has obtained knowledge through shrutis and smritis can never listen to them or even stand seeing them preach it to others.  Our scholars even if they are paid for It will not prefer to go through the preachings of the other illogical philosophies, which teach against the Vedas and bhagavan.  

 

 thalaiaruppundum sAkEn sattiyam kAnmin aiya!:  Till now alwar explained the philosophical difference between the vaishnava matham and the other Buddhist and jains and he said since the others do not accept the sastra pramAnas they are not valid.  But seeing that people never listen to his words now he wants to prove it by a challenge.  He says to the other philosophers, “Now Iam ready, you chop of my head but I will not die since my god will come and protect me.  But then if I chop yours who will come to help you since you don’t believe in the existence of god itself”.  Now we may feel why alwar is so confident that emperuman will come to his rescue.  Sri PVP now brings to our memory the various instances when emperuman came running to the rescue of his bhakthas and hence alwar confirms and says sattiyam kAnmin.

Everyone including the devatas were afraid of hiranyan and hence never talked against him.  But then the small boy prahalada challenged his own father.   When his father asked if emperuman was there in the pillar showed by him, prahalada without hesitation replied “engum vulam kannan”(emperuman is present in all places) “Thoonilum erruppAn thurumbilum erruppAn”.  When hiranyan kicked the pillar then to make prahlAdA’s words true(sathyam vijathum nijabrithya bhAshitham) Sri Narasimhan appeared immediately from the pillar(“angu appozhudhe thondriya en singa pirAn perumai”).  Similarly alwar believes that emperuman will surely come to his rescue also.   Only the mahAvishvasam that emperuman will surely save us is necessary if that is there is will surely come.  He came running to the call of even an elephant(gajendrazhvan).  In bhAgavatam there is another story.  Bharata yogeeshwaran was a great jnani.  Once some tribal people dragged him to a kali temple to give nara bali.  He considered everything to be vAsud

 

In our guru paramparai there is one more Ithihyam.  One shisya of Sri Ramanujar called dhanur dAsar used to go in front of Namperumal with a sword in hand during each purappadu.  Being a bhAgavatan why does he go in front with a sword?  When people asked him he replied, “that is because of the fear that some harm will come to Namperumal”.  So the people thought that he is carrying it to protect namperumal from the people who are coming to harm him but then dAsar continued saying, “No, I cannot save namperumal but if a case comes when there is going to be a harm to namperumal I will kill my self”.  But since namperumal is having a great love to dAsar he will never put him into danger and hence will protect himself.  So emperuman  cares more for his bhakthas than for himself.  So emperuman doesn’t care if people talk ill of him but then since alwar has made the challenge he will surely save alwar and maintain the vaishnava philosophy.

 

  SilaiyinAl ellangai settra dEvanE dEvanAvAn”:  Now alwar has proved that the other philosophies are not valid and only his perumal will come to rescue in any crisis.  Who is that perumal?  The one who took avatAram as rAma and won over lanka with his bow and arrow is the only god.  Alwar says, dEvanE dEvanAvAn there may be number of devatas but the superior god is none other than chakravarthi thirumagan.  The other devatas are part of his body.

 

 

AzhwAr emberumAnAr jeeyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai

Sumithra Varadarajan

 



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