gyAna sAram
4th pAsuram
thamizh:
“மற்றொன்றை எண்ணாதே மாதவனுக்கு ஆட்செயலே
உற்றது இது என்று உளம் தெளிந்து – பெற்ற
பெரும் பேற்றின் மேலுளதோ பேர் என்று இருப்பார்
அரும் பேறு வானத்தவர்க்கு”
English:
Phrasal Meaning:
eNNAdhe – (One who)does not pay attention to / does not consider
matrondrai – benefits like wealth, etc., (and such earthly desires)
(matRu – other(s) and ondru = one(s))
endruuLamtheLindhu – and gets clear thought
endruiruppaar – and lives with the determined mind that
AtcheyalE – to serve
mAdhavanukku – mAdhavan (implies pirAtti)
idhuutradhu – is the apt thing (utradhu)
perumEluladho – and that there is no better benefit than
petraperumpetrin – having gotten that great benefit (of serving Him)
arumperu – (such people would be considered as) the most
precious and rareadiyAr
vAnaththavarkku – by the nithyasUris.
Preface:
Short meanings of the earlier three pAsurams: In the first pAsuram (Unaudal), the significance of saraNAgathi that is referred in the first line of dwayamahAmanthram, was explained. The reason one performssaraNAgathi is because of his incessant sufferings from the wrath of this worldly ties. That the state of such suffering would arise based on parabhakthi is explained in the 2ndpAsuram (naragumsuvarkkamum). The third pAsuram explained about the state of “paramabhakthi”,which is the state of losing one’s life if separated from emperumAn (AnaiiDarkaDindha). (gajEndra). Now, in this fourth pAsuram, swAmiaruLALaperumALemperumAnAr expounds on the greatness of thosewho have understood the greatness of ultimate goal that is service (to Him, PirAtti, and Their Devotees) as specified insecond line of dwayamahAmanthram, and sowho completely shred off their ties with the ways of other benefits, and who have firmly decided to involve themselves in the kainkaryams that are according to the subservient nature of the soul.
Explanation:
matrondraieNNAdhE: That is, kainkaryam is doing things that brings happiness to perumAL’s heart. This is one’s ultimate objective. There is nothing greater than this. Not paying any attention toother things that are other than such a kainkaryamis the meaning of this phrase. Those other things are: indulgence in these worldly things, heaven and such similar things out there, kaivalyam that is enjoying just the jIvAthmA are the three that are not related to doing kainkaryam. The nature of AthmA is when not in this body would bein the state of bliss. Some say that this is mOksham. But since it would not help in doing bhagavath (and bhAgavatha) kainkaryams, it is referred by swAmiaruLALaperumALemperumAnAr as ‘matrondru’ (other things). SwAmi did not want to even utter the names of all these obstacles for kainkaryam and so he dismissed these by saying “matru”. On top of it, he does not use the term “virumbAdhE” (without having a desire for other things), but he uses the word “eNNadhE” (without (even) thinking about those other things).This is because such a person would not even think about those other things let alone not desire them. So since the person does not consider it as worthy, he does not even think about it. Those who do not know the sweetness of doing service to perumAL and His devotees (bhagavath / bhAgavathakainkaryam) are those who are always immersed in the other aforementioned benefits and happiness. People who know the true value of kainkaryam will treat all the other stuff as if drinking the salt water and treat it very much inferior, if not as a non-existent entity in their lives.
mADhavanukkuATcheyalE: Serving them both is what one has to attain as the top level of their goal. (Serving including pirAttiis conveyed by this name “mAdhavan”). This is being referred in ‘srImathE’ that is the first word of the second line of DwayaMahamanthram.In Thirumanthram(OmnamOnArAyaNAya), in the third part “NArAyanAaya”, it is implicit that the kainkaryam that one does is for both perumAL and pirAtti. What was said implicitly in thirumanthram, is explained well inDwayam. This fact is being spelled by swAmipiLLailOkAchAryar in his mumukshupadi“InguthirumanthrathilsonnaprApyathaivisathamAgaanusandhikiradhu (mumukshupadi, dwayaprakaraNam, chUrnikai 168)”. Thus, in both thirumanthram and dvayamahAmanthram, the key point is that kainkaryam is the only objective for any jIvAthmA. Swami nammAzhvArtoo said “ozhivilkAlamellAmuDanAimanni” in his thiruvAimozhi (3,3,1).
utradhuidhuvendru: This phrase means “That this is what is the ultimate destination/goal”. azhvArhimself said “neeLkudakkUthanukkuATcheyvadhE”. “utradhu” is about what is the most appropriate (for a jIvAthma). That means other things are not appropriate for the definition of sEshathvam of a jIvAthma. So they were concluded as not fit for the Athma. So, through the words ‘mAdhavanukku’ and ‘ATcheyalE’ we understand the meaning as concluded by vEdhantha that AthmA is subservient to both pirAtti and perumAn, and doing kainkaryams to the divine couple is the ultimate objective and benefit. Swami periyAzhvAr sings “thirumAlEnAnumunakkupazhavadiyEn” (Thirupallandu,11) saying that this jIvAthmA is a servant to both pirAtti and perumAL. Thus, a jIvAthmA is a servant to both pirAtti and perumAL as evinced by “adimaiseyvArthirumalukkE” and “sendrAlkudaiyAm, irundhAlsingAsanamAm, nindrAlmaravadiyAm, neeLkadaluL,endrumpuNaiyAm, maNiviLakkAm, pUmpattAmpulgumaNaiyAm”. By this since it talked about AthmA’s definition/nature and the related kainkaryam, it talked about AthmA’s greatness (of being able to serve).
uLamtheLindhu: “theLindhu” is to get rid of any doubts and be clear about something. Here, Swami says that one should be clear that the ultimate destination iskainkaryam as shown above. (One should) remove the thoughts of (doing kainkaryams for) “me” and “for myself” (yaan,enadhu) which would lead to wishing for other unwanted things. Kainkaryams should be done for His happiness. Swami nammAzhvAr says “thanakkEAga enaikkoLLumeedhE” in his thiruvAimozhi and AndALsays “unakkEnAmATcheyvOm”. Thus kainkaryam is to be done with the clarity in mind that only that (kainkaryam) is the ultimate destination. With this it refers to “namaha” in the second part of dwayamahAmanthram (srImathEnArAyaNAyanamaha) to mean that this jIvAthmA will do eternal service for the DIVINE couple’s enjoyment only, and not for the jIvAthmA’s personal satisfaction. When the DIVINE couple becomes happy, seeing the happiness on THEIR face, a jIvAthmAwould derive happiness.
petraperumpEtrinmEluLadhOpERendruiruppAr: It is about those people who if they get the opportunity to do kainkaryams, then they would understand that there cannot be anything greater than this ultimate opportunity of doing kainkaryams. Paramapadham is an eternal place, never changes, and is of pure sathvaguNam, the celestial abode of srimannArAyaNA. It is the source of knowledge and happiness. Hence, one can do kainkaryam here without any interruptions. So such gyAnis wish for this kind of uninterrupted kainkaryam. So it is no wonder they say that there is nothing greater than this kainkaryam. It implies that they are steadfast in getting such a great level of kainkaryam.
arumpEruvAnaththavarkku: The aforementioned group of people are by nature those that consider themselves as servants of emperumAn. They are always deeply involved in bhagavath kainkaryams. They consider bhagavAn as the ultimate happiness. Such people are rare to find in this world. When they go to Paramapadham, the nithyasUris and others there would celebrate these people as a rare find. Swami aruLALaperumALemperumAnAr says that even to those nithyasUris, who enjoy the ArAvamudhan forever, the enjoyment of such a group of adiyArs is considered a hard-earned kainkaryam compared even to the serviceof emperumAn.