gyAna sAram 35 – enRum anaithuyiRkum

gyAna sAram

Previous pAsuram

                                                                         35^th pAsuram

Synopsis:

In the last two pAsurams, svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr explained the foolish acts of people who disregard their own AchAryan and indulge in their own pursuits to reach perumAL who is there in unseen, distance place, with the hopes of having HIM as the refuge. pAsurams 33 and 34 (paRRU guruvai and etta irundha) dealt with this with specific analogies to it. In this pAsuram, svAmi aruLALa perumAL emberumAnAr explains the fact that to such a person who does not have any affection to his AchAryan, even perumAL would not do anything helpful, rather would punish him for his foolish acts.

 thamizh:

  “என்றும் அனைத்து உயிர்க்கும் ஈரஞ்செய் நாரணனும்
   அன்றும் தன்னாரியன்பால் அன்பு ஒழியில்- நின்ற
  புனல் பிரிந்த பங்கயத்தைப் பொங்கு சுடர் வெய்யோன் 
  அனல் உமிழ்ந்து தான் உலர்த்தியற்று.”

 English:

“enRum anaithuyiRkum Iram sei nAraNanum
anRum than Ariyan pAl anbozhiyil ninRa
punal pirindha  pangayathai pongu sudar veiyOn
anal umizhndhu thAn ularthiyaRu”

 Verbatim Meanings:

Pangayathai	A lotus flower, if it
pirindha	gets separated from
ninRa punal	its dwelling water, which is its’ very sustenance, then
veiyOn	the sun with
pongu sudar	its scorching bright rays
thAn	the very same sun that once helped the lotus to bloom, would now
anal umizhndhu	spit balls of fire
ularthiyaRu	and destroy the life of lotus. Similarly the ONE who is
enRum	always
Iram sei	the one who shows infinite compassion forever
anaithuyiRkum	towards all lives
nAraNanum	and who is also known as sriman nArAyaNan
than Ariyan pAl	if HE sees that a person has no attachement / affection towards his AchAryan,
anbozhiyil	and lose all bhakti towards the AchAryan
anRum	then HE (sriman nArAyaNan) will get angry and destroy the person.

 Explanation:

 enRum: The phrase means “always” / “forever” that includes past, present and future.

anaithuyiRkum: all souls (jIvAthmAs)

 Iram sei nAraNanum: nArAyaNan is ever compassionate to all souls at all times. The word “nAraNanum” signifies the inseparable nature of existence between the soul (jIvAthmA) and perumAL. The word “nAram” would include all jIvAthmAs that can encompass both living and non-living beings. The word “ayanam” in nArAyaNan would mean that HE (nArAyaNan) stands as the life of all jIvAthmAs. Without HIM, there is no question of existence of anything. HE is the sustaining force as well as driving force behind everything. This meaning is one of the important meanings conveyed in the word “nArAyaNan” that is to be split as “nAra” and “ayana”. This point was told in “undhanOdu uravEl namakku ingu ozhikka ozhiyAdhu” by sri AndAl in thirupAvai pAsuram #28. svAmi thirumazhisai azhwar also described this in his pAsuram “nAn unnai anRi ilEn kandAi nAraNanE!!! nI ennai anRI ilai”. Hence, we can see that it is HE (nArAyaNan) who is inside both conscientious and non-conscientious entities and HE is the one who stands as the driving force behind them. So, because HE pervades in every little thing, HE sees the innumerable mistakes that they comitt yet still HE treats them as blessing rather than a blemish. This quality is known as vAsthsalyam which can be inferred by the etymological evaluation of the name “nArAyaNan”. So, it is HE who does shower on HIS infinite mercy and compassion to all living and non-living things at all times/forever.

 anRum: The verb “anRudhal” would mean to get angry. In this context, it would mean that sriman nArAyaNan would get angry. The act of HIM getting angry is itself a punishment whereas the act of HIM being pleased is a blessing. The same word can be seen in periya thirumozhi pAsuram prhase “anRiya vANan” which carries the same meaning as this one. The second half of the pAsuram goes ahead and explains on what circumstances would such an ever compassionate sriman nArAyaNan gets angry.

 than Ariyan pAl anbozhiyil: The circumstance that is being referred in the previous paragraph is when a person has no bhakti at all towards his AchAryan. As explained in the last two pAsurams (“etta irundha guruvai” and “paRRU guruvai”), if a person dismisses his AchAryan as just another human being and disregards him as a mortal with the thought that he is not the supreme god, then that is an act of utmost foolishness. Continuing on the same thought, if a person were to disregard and dismiss his AchAryan as a human and have no bhakti towards him, then even sriman nArAyaNan HIMSELF gets angry at such a person. This point is being explained through an exceptional analogy that is dealt subsequently.

 ninRa punal pirindha  pangayathai: The analogy given is of a beautiful lotus flower that dwells on water such a pond or a lake etc. If such a lotus were to be seen outside the water, then the ensuing events happening to it are described.

 pongu sudar veiyOn: Sun, as we know is something that is flaming hot, bright and dazzles with brightness. As kulasEkharAzhvAr puts it “sengamalam andharam sEr vengadhirOrkku allAl”, a lotus flower would not blossom to anyone apart from the sun. If one were to create an artificial light in order to make the lotus blossom, he would fail miserably as the lotus would not blossom to any light except the natural sun light. When the lotus is inside the water, the sun would keep on helping in its blossom.

 anal umizhndhu thAn ularthiyaRu: If the sun were to emit balls of fire, it would take the life out of the lotus that is outside water. Hence we can see that the very same sun which was super instrumental in blossoming a lotus when it was in water, can wreak havoc to the same lotus when it is out of water. Similarly, when a person has AchArya bhakti, love and affection, perumAL sriman nArAyaNan graces / blesses him. However, if the same person were to disregard his AchAryan as “nobody” and has no bhakti towards him, HE destroy the person with anger. At this context, we should understand what is meant by “grace” and “destruction”. A blessing would mean that sriman nArAyaNan would make prosper the knowledge of the person who has AchArya bhakti. HE would make sure that his knowledge grows in the right direction. On the contrary, punishment / destruction in this context would be to quell the knowledge of the person and make him ignorant. So, if a person disrespects his AchAryan who advised him about “manthram”, even the most compassionate sriman nArAyaNan would get angry and agitated. This is similar to sun, that used to blossom a lotus in water, destroying a lotus when the latter is out of water. sriman nArAyaNan HIMSELF, who is responsible for a person to understand the crucial and life  philosophy, would destroy a person if his AchArya bhakti derogates. HE would eclipse the good knowledge of the person which would pave way for eternal doom. This means to say that the person would still have knowledge but that knowledge would not be radiant but latent. As thiruvaLLUvar says “uLareninum illArOdoppar”, it behooves us to not disrespect our AchAryan. This concept is what is being explained in the srivachanabhUshana choornikai “thAmaraiyai alartha kadava Adithyan thAne, nIraip pirindhAl aththai ularthumApOlE, svarUpa vikAsathai paNNUm Ishwaran thAne AchArya sambandham kulaindhAl aththai vAdap paNNum (srivachanabhushanam chUrnikai #439)