Kulapathi Swami NammazhwAr's Thirunkashathram : Pramathi Samvathsaram , VaikAsi VisAkam
From the Bhakti List Archives
• May 29, 1999
Dear BhakthAs :
Sri NaarAyaNanuvAkam reveals to us the supermacy
of Sriman NaarAyaNA with the declaration :
pathim visvasyaathmEsavaragum saasvathagum sivam Achyutham I
NaarAyanam mahAjn~Eyam visvAthmAnam parAyaNam II
(meaning) : Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Lord of ALL .
There is no one , who is equal or superior to Him .
He is His own Lord . He is of the form of eternal
auspiciousness . He never forsakes anyone , who sought
His feet as protection . He is the essence of all
that is to be known , all that is to be meditated upon
and He is the pulsating life behind all that
are sought as parama hitham and parama purushArtham .
In support of this declaration , Sri NaarAyaNAnuvAkam
goes on to assert that Sriman NaarAyaNan is the Para-
Brahmam , supreme tattvam (doctrine) , unparalleled
lustre (Param jyOthi) and the ParamAthmA .
That He is the SarvantharyAmi ParamAthmA is attested
further with the next manthram :
yaccha kinchijith jagath saravm dhrusyathE srUyathEpi vaa
antharbhaisccha tath sarvam vyApya NaarAyaNa; sthitha:
(meaning) : Whatever is seen by the eye or whatever
is the subject of SaasthrAs , every one of them
is occupied/pervaded inside and outside by
Sriman NaarAyaNan .
Such is the glory of our Lord saluted by the Sruthis .
Swami NammAzhwAr based his divya prabhandhams and
particularly ThiruvAimozhi on these Vedic truths
and qualified them to become known as Tamizh Vedam .
This unison of thought between Sanskritic VedAs and
the Tamizh maRai is known as Ubhaya VedAntha IykyakaNDyam .
On this VaikAsi VisAkam , PourNami day , the day
of Swami NammAzhwAr's birthday ,we will reflect on
selected excerpts from his Thiruvaimozhi paasurams ,
which establish and celebrate the Parathvam of
Sriman NaarAyaNan unambiguosly .After establishing
Sriman NaarAyaNan as the means and goal ,AzhwAr
performed saraNAgathi to Him and showed us
out of his infinite mercy as an AchAryan ,the way
to perform prapatthi and attain mOksha siddhi .
The first 32 paasurams of ThiruvAimozhi(TVM) have
been identified by AchArya RaamAnujA , Swami
Desikan and others as the essence of Brahma Soothrams
and the Upanishads .AchArya Hrudhaya soothrakArar
through his 65th soothram has declared that
Sri Bhagavath RaamAnujA intrepreted Brahma SoothrAs
in his Sri Bhaashyam completely in accordance
with the letter and spirit of Swami NammAzhwAr's
Sri Sookthis .
In his first decad , Swami NammAzhwAr celebrated
the Parathvam (Supermacy ) of the Lord.In the second decad ,
he blessed us with his upadEsam about the ways to
receive the Lord's paramAnugraham . In the third
decad , he shares his own anubhavams of the Lord ,
Sriman NaarAyaNan .
Through the first 32 paasurams of TVM , Swami NammAzhwAr
has explained to us clearly the Jagath KaaraNathvam of Sriman
NaarAyaNan , His distinction from the chEthanams (sentients )
and the achEthanams (insentients ), His saguNa Brahma svarUpam ,
His relation with the chethanams and achethanams (Sarira-
Saariri relation ), His infinite splendour and auspicious
qualities .
Here are some excerpts for the First 32 Paasurams of TVM:
1. uyarvaRa uyar nalam udayavan =He is the Lord , who possesses
anantha klayANa guNams that can not be surpassed (TVM 1.1.1)
2.inanilan =He has no equal or superior
poRiyuNarvavaiyilan = His full splendour can not be
comprehended by the human mind .(TVM:1.1.2)
3. aamavaiyAi ninRa avarE = all are but aspects of
His splendour ( sarvam kalvidham Brahmma ),(TVM:1.1.4).
4. avyavai thORum udanmisai uyiryena)---> He pervades every thing
yengum ParanthuLAn --TVM :1.1.7 ) in and out .He is the soul
of all things and beings.
5.Paraparan(TVM:1.1.8)= He is the parAth Paran , PurushOtthaman
6. In the second ThiruvAimozhi of the first patthu
(TVM Paasurams 12-22 ) , NammAzhwAr gives us exquisite
upadEsams .
7.Renounce all things except the Lord ;then surrender
your soul (aathama samarpaNam ) to the Lord ; He is
indeed the actual owner of that soul of yours .Banishing
all desires and performing prapatthi to Him , you will
secure Parama Padham without doubt ( TVM: 1.2.1)
8. Eradicate your ego and the sense of possessive
arrogance. banish form your heart the feeling of
svathanthram (independent existence ) without Him.
Then surrender unto Him to achieve mOksham .(TVM : 1.2.3)
9. He is the soul of all souls , but the dhOshams
of the souls do not taint Him . (TVM: 1.2.4)
10. Kaivalyam or AathmAnubhavam (soul realization )
is an obstcle to God realization. Hence abandon it
and with the correct attitude of total subservience
to the Lord , surrender your soul unto Him .(TVM:1.2.5)
11. He , the most merciful One , will shower His
mercy on One and all, once they become His thru
SaraNAgathi at His lotus feet.(TVM:1.2.6)
12.With the three faculties of Manas , Vaak and Kaayam
serve Him guided by the knowledge that you are His
sEsha bhUthan (dependent servant and He is the sarva Seshi
(Supreme Master).(TVM: 1.2.8 deals with sEshathva anushtAnam )
13. AshtAkshara MahAthmyam : TVM-1.2.10
Countless indeed are the radiant Jeevans . Their
attributes are beyond counting .Our Lord has all
these JeevAs and His anantha kayANa guNams as His
aspects (prakArAs ).All of these are subservient
to Him as sarva sEshi. His matchless name ,
NaarAyaNan denotes all these doctrines.
Throw yourself at His feet and cling to them
always. Those auspicious and powerful feet
are your sole protection .
Third Decade : Anubhavams of AzhwAr
************************************
14.Soulabhya Kaashtai : TVM-1.3.1
" YetthiRam uralinOdi iNainthirunthEnkia yeLivE "
The limits of soulabhyam demonsrtated by the Lord ,
who is SarvEsvaran, who let Himself tied up a
small knotted rope by His mother and behaved
as though He was frightened and helpless .Over
the thought of the Lord's being tied up , AzhwAr
went into a trance for six months .That is the depth
of his Bhagavath anubhavam of soulabhya Kaashtai .
15. nanRezhil NaaraNan --nanRena nalam seyvathu
avanidai nammudai naaLE ( TVM: 1.3.7 ;the 29th
TVM paasuram ): Remember the anantha kalyANa guNams
of Sriman NaarAyaNan and cultivate devotion and
practise service ( kaimkaryam ) to Him and make that
your primary goals of life.And start this immediately ,
since life is so short like the life of the bubble
on the surface of water .
In the continuing Paasurams of His ThiruvAimozhi ,
he appealed to us: "iRai sErmin , iRai uLLUha "
( Worship Sriman NaarAyaNan; Meditate on Him ).
He confessed to the Lord : " yaanum nee thAnE "
( All this prapancham and its beings and things
are You. What I am is You as Your sEsha bhUthan ).
He celebrated his blissful experience of Him :
"veevil inbham ; veevil seeran " ( Infinite indeed
is His matchless bliss; infinite indeed is the majesty
of His attributes ).
He reminded himself of his relationship to the Lord:
" adiyEnuLLAn udaluLLAn padiyE ithuvenRuraikkalAm
padiyanallan Paramparan " ( To the omnipotent ,
omniscient Sriman NaarAyaNan , I am His subservient ,
dependent servant (sEsahan )and a happy ,
contented one at that ).
AzhwAr thus shows us the way to Parama Padham ,
from where there is no return ( na punarAvrutthi)
and the bliss of Saayujyam at Sri Vaikuntam and the
parama PurushArtham of nithya kaimkaryam to
Sriman NaarAyaNan there .
May Swami NammAzhwAr bless us all on this
special day and accelerate our journey
to a clearer understanding of the Tattva-
Hitha -PurushArtham doctrines of VisishtAdvaitham
and life as PrapannAs here on His leelA vibhUthi
and at the end of our earthly journey bless us
to reach His supreme abode and the enjoyment
of the "anthamil pErinbham " there through
nithy kaimkaryam along with Him .
NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa , NaarAyaNa
Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan