SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Introduction
viLANjOlaip piLLai was asked “You told in many ways that those who lack love towards their AchAryan, will fall down very low and have no scope for liberation. Now tell us if there is liberation for those who have great love towards their AchAryan”. He mercifully concludes the prabandham saying that as those who have seen the truth, as confirmed in pramEya sAram 9 “thALiNaiyai vaiththa avarai – nIdhiyAl vandhippArkku uNdu izhiyA vAn” (For those whose head is decorated with AchAryan’s divine feet, and who worship such AchAryan with utmost respect, SrIvaikuNtam is certainly attainable), liberation is confirmed for the Sishya who remains in this manner.
pAsuram
thIngEdhum illAth thEsigan than sindhaikkup
pAngAga nErE parivudaiyOr OngArath
thErin mElERich chezhungadhirin UdupOych
chEruvarE andhAmandhAn
Word-by-word meanings
thIngu Edhum illA – Not having the evil qualities such as not having love towards one’s AchAryan etc
dhEsigan than – one’s AchAryan’s
sindhaikku – for the divine heart
pAngAga – to be favourable
nErE – directly (rendering small kainkaryams)
parivudaiyOr – those who have love
OngAram – praNavam
thErin mEl – climbing on the chariot
sezhum kadhirin Udu – through the sUrya maNdalam (solar galaxy)
pOy – travelling in the archirAdhi gathi (path starting with light)
andhAmam – beautiful SrIvaikuNtam
sEruvar – will reach and get to perform nithya kainkaryam (eternal service)
Simple Explanation
Those who directly love one’s AchAryan, and who are not having the evil qualities such as not having love towards their AchAryan and remain favourable for AchAryan’s divine heart, will climb on the chariot named praNavam, travelling in the archirAdhi gathi (path starting with light) through the sUrya maNdalam, will reach the beautiful SrIvaikuNtam and get to perform nithya kainkaryam (eternal service).
vyAkyAnam (Commentary)
thIngu Edhum illAth thEsigan than sindhaikku – As said in gyAna sAram 26 “thappil guru aruLAl” (With the mercy of the faultless AchAryan), upadhESa raththina mAlai 3 “thAzhvAdhumil kuravar” (AchAryas who have no faults), “kAmakrOdha vivarjitham” (being free from lust and anger) and “anagham” (faultless), one should be free from faults; they should not be (having the following results) lacking love towards one’s AchAryan, considering some glories for self, expecting return favour while imparting knowledge to disciple, considering a SrIvaishNava to be lowly based on the village or the clan they belong to, engaging in other means, having taste towards other benefits, having shortcomings in knowledge and conduct, shortcomings in AthmaguNams (noble qualities); being free from these defects, as said in “thath samprApthau prabhavathi thathAdhESika:” (such AchAryan who is very capable of reaching the divine feet of vishNu) and SrIvaravaramuni Sathakam 17 “thath samprApthau varavaramunirdhESika:” (SrI maNavaLa mAmunigaL is a visionary in reaching the divine feet of vishNu which is the truth), unlike the self who is new to SrIvaikuNtam, AchAryan can bring the Sishya to SrIvaikuNtam, as if it his natural habitat; not having any unfavourable thoughts towards such AchAryan; not having faults such as engaging in other means etc.
thIngu Edhum illAmai – Not having faults such as lacking love towards one’s AchAryan etc. It is not that these faults once existed and got removed; the absence of such faults is self-evident.
dhEsigan than – The importance of AchAryan being the one who liberates the disciple himself.
sindhaikkup pAngAga nErE parivu udaiyOr – To be favourable towards the divine heart of one’s AchAryan who is a great benefactor, as said in “thadhyAth bhakthitha AdharAth” (with love and affections towards such person), “AchAryasya sthira prathyupakaraNadhiyA dhEvavath syAdhupAsya” (with the firm intellect to return the favour to the AchAryan), in the form of direct kinchithkAram (small services), one should care for the enjoyable divine form of the AchAryan and have boundless love towards him as said in upadhEsa raththina mAlai 65 “thEsArum sichchan avan sIr vadivai Asaiyudan nOkkumavan” (The glorious disciple should lovingly care for his AchAryan’s divine form).
pAngAga – It appears that the true nature of Sishya is to do what is dear to his AchAryan since the act which causes anger in AchAryan should be given up.
nErE – Just as one cannot arrange someone to carry out one’s sandhyAvandhanam and a king cannot arrange someone to wipe off the sweat of his queen, the services which are to be rendered by the Sishya cannot be assigned to someone else.
parivu udaiyOr – As said in “yasmAth thadhupadhEshtAsau thasmAth gurutharOguru:” (Due to instructing thirumanthram, he is the topmost guru), “archanIyaScha vandhyaScha kIrthanIyaScha sarvadhA | dhyAyEjjapEnnamEth bhakthyA bhajEdhapi archyEth sadhA || upAya upEya bhAvEna thamEvaSaraNam vrajEth | ithi sarvEshu vEdhEshu sarva SAsthrEshu sammaptham ||” (AchAryan is to be worshipped, prayed to and praised. Hence he is to be meditated upon, his names are to be chanted, he should be lovingly worshipped and served and he should be venerated. He should be considered as the means and end. This is agreeable in all SAsthrams) etc, one should consider one’s AchAryan as everything with all faculties, through all ways and at all times, and should have love towards the AchAryan and this is identified as the purpose of Sishya’s knowledge as said in sthOthra rathnam 5 “sarvam yadhEva” (everything is nammazhwAr’s divine feet).
parivu udaiyOr – This is difficult to attain as said in “nidhi udaiyOr” (one who has wealth). This is what is required for the attainment of goal as said in SrIbhAgavatham 11.2.29 “thathrApi dhurlabham manyE vaikuNta priya dharSanam” (It is even more difficult to see one who has bhakthi towards bhagavAn).
When asked “What is the result attained by such a person who is loving towards the AchAryan?”
OngArath thErin mEl ERi … – viLAnjOlaip piLLai is saying that he has the great city of SrIvaikuNtam in his hand’s reach.
OngArath thErin mEl ERi – Such Sishya who has boundless love towards his AchAryan will while remaining in this world,
- live in a distinguished manner as said in thiruvAimozhi 4.3.11 “vaiyam manni vIRRirundhu viNNum ALvar maNNUdE” (will firmly remain for a long time in this world in a distinguished manner and will rule over this world and paramapadham too)
- live matching the true nature of the self
- manage paramapadham by a small chit from him
- have the wealth of engaging in ubhaya vEdhAntha kAlakshEpam (discourses on thamizh and samskritha vEdhAntham)
- have the wealth of thadhIyArAdhanam (serving devotees)
- have the wealth of performing mangaLASAsanam in dhivyadhESams which are very dear to emperumAn
- have the wealth of performing kainkaryam in such dhivyadhESams
- remain for a wholesome 120 years like emperumAnAr
- acquire paramabhakthi (ultimate stage of devotion) at the time around the end of this body, which makes one forcefully attain the ultimate destination
- acquire the great urge to reach the assembly of devotees and be one among them as explained in thiruvAimozhi 10.9.11 “andhamil pErinbaththu adiyarOdu” (With the devotees in the abode of endless great joy)
- be blessed by the antharyAmi emperumAn (who is residing inside the heart), start from the hrudhaya kamalam (the lotus of heart), travel through the main nerve known as sushumnA, breaking open the top portion of the skull, climb the chariot of praNava which is driven by the mind as said in “OmkAra ratham Aruhya” (climbing the chariot known as praNavam)
sezhum kadhirin Udu pOy – Subsequently as said in “archishamEvAbhi sambhavanthi archishOha:, anha ApUryamaNa paksham, ApUryamANapakshAth shaduthangmAsAn, mAsEbhyassamvathsaram, savAyum Agachchathi” (Explained subsequently in the commentary), first the AthmA reaches archis, then ahas, Suklapaksha controller, uththarAyaNa controller, samvathsara controller, and vAyu. With their honourable reception and guidance as said in “sa Adhithyam Agachchathi” (He arrived in the sUrya maNdalam), “praviSya cha sahasrAmSum” (Entering the sUrya maNdalam which has thousand rays) and siRiya thirumadal “thErAr niRai kadhirOn maNdalaththaik kINdu pukku” (Tearing into and entering the galaxy of sun who is fully filling his chariot), tearing into Sun’s galaxy which has his dense rays, reaching him, being welcomed by him.
sEruvarE andhAmandhAn – Subsequently, as said in chAndhOgya upanishath “AdhithyAchchandhramasam, chandhramasO vidhyutham, sa varuNa lOkam, sa indhra lOkam, sa prajApathi lOkam, sa Agachchathi virajAm nadhIm, tham panchaSathAnyani apsarasAm prathidhAvanthi tham brahmAlankArENa” (Explained subsequently in the commentary) – reaching the worlds of moon who has nectar, amAnavan who is counted along with the AthivAhikas (those who carry to higher worlds), varuNa who strengthens everything, indhra who is the protector of the three worlds, prajApathi who greatly praises in all ways, accepting the reception given by them and crossing over their worlds, crossing over the oval shaped universe which is the abode of sport for ISvaran, and its seven layers of covering where each higher layer is incrementally ten times larger than its previous layer, and the mUla prakruthi (primordial matter) which is as said in thiruvAimozhi 10.10.10 “mudivil perum pAzh” (The huge, endless mUla prakruthi); in this manner, travelling in the joyful path which eliminates all the previous sufferings, quickly just as the divine feet of emperumAn which are the means, scaled the worlds quickly; bathing well in virajA which is a nectar river; having the traces of vAsanA (impressions) of samsAra which is as said in thiruviruththam 100 “vansERRu aLLalaiyum” (pressing like a strong quagmire) by the bathing in virajA river; first being touched by amAnava who is mercifully present with Sanka, chakra and gadhA, acquiring divnie form with auspicious qualities such as lavANya (complete beauty), saundharya (part-by-part beauty) etc, filled with Sudhdha sathva (pure goodness) quality, which is used to enjoy bhagavAn, as said in Arththi prabandham 24 “oLik koNda sOdhi” (Radiance with shine) and acquiring self-realisation; being approached by nithyasUris who are always favourable towards bhagavAn and enjoying him, seeing the dhivyadhESam (paramapadham) which is having wealth, nature which cannot be measured even by such nithyasUris, to the full satisfaction of the eyes, joining the palms and saluting them; hearing the sound of musical instruments played close to amAnava; walking through the joyful group of nithyasUris and mukthAthmAs, who are running, falling, praising, glorifying, showering flowers, spreading carpets, washing feet etc and enjoying them, being welcomed by them and decorated by them; reaching the great city of SrIvaikuNtam which is desirable in all manners as said in chAndhOgya upanishath “sabrahmalOkamapi sampadhyathE” (the liberated AthmA reaches brahma lOkam) and in thiruvAimozhi 2.5.1 “andhAmam” (the beautiful paramapadham), thiruvAimozhi 6.8.1 “ponnulagu” (the golden abode), and which became refreshed on the newly liberated AthmA’s arrival, being beautiful and the abode of enjoyment for SrIvaikuNtanAtha, which is singularly conducted by the sceptre in his hand and which is exclusively present to serve in all manners at his divine feet; he will remain fully drenched there forever as said in thiruvAimozhi 8.10.5 “suzhi pattOdum sudarch chOdhi veLLaththu inbuRRirundhu” (being joyful in paramapadham which has whirling and continuously running radiance) and in SrIvaikuNta gadhyam “amrutha sAgarAnthar nimagna” (being drowned in the ocean of nectar).
sEruvarE – No need to doubt this principle. viLAnjOlaip piLLai is saying that this is certain. It is said in “na samSayOsthi” (there is no doubt).
andhAmam thAn – This is the predominance of nithya vibhUthi over leelA vibhUthi.
Thus, with this pAsuram, the special meanings which were explained in the charama prakaraNam (final section) of SrIvachana bhUshaNam, in sUthram 433 “AchArya sambandham mOkshaththukkE hEthuvAy irukkum” (relationship with AchAryan is meant only for liberation) etc, was mercifully revealed by viLAnjOlaip piLLai.
Conclusion
Thus, with this prabandham, viLAnjOlaip piLLai mercifully explained the following aspects:
- the one who imparts knowledge about artha panchakam is the AchAryan
- those who lack love towards such AchAryan are self-destructive
- though they have special knowledge, they will become eternally bound
- these people who lack gratitude towards the imparting of such knowledge are very cruel
- seeking for greatness for self is a fault for AchAryan
- periya perumAL himself should mercifully eliminate the underlying cause for such defect in self
- one who has such love towards AchAryan, will travel through archirAdhi gathi, reach paramapadham, acquire the wealth of liberation, being crowned in the kainkarya sAmrAjyam (the kingdom of service) and will remain there eternally.
With this, the series come to an end.
AzhwAr thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
emperumAnAr thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
piLLai lOkAchAryar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
viLAnjOlaip piLLai thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
piLLai lOkam jIyar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam
adiyen sarathy ramanuja dasan
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