SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavara munayE nama:
pravESam (Introduction)
In the second decad, AzhwAr had mercifully said that the engagement that he had towards emperumAn extended to his followers too and that it had taken to him to a stage where he could not sustain without them, just as thirumangai AzhwAr had mercifully said in periya thirumozhi 7-4-4 “pErALan pErOdhum periyOrai oru kAlum pirigilEn” (I can never separate from those great people who recite the divine names of emperumAn). This characteristic is typical of a prapannan (one who has surrendered to emperumAn) to have a natural trait of AnukUyla sankalpam (vowing to engage in activities which are pleasing to favourable ones (emperumAn and his followers),
Now, the subject dealt with by AzhwAr in the 3rd decad is prAthikUlya varjanam (avoiding the unfavourable ones; desisting from carrying out activities inimical to emperumAn) which is another trait of prapannan. Those who are engaged with bhagavath, bhAgavatha vishayam (matters relating to emperumAn and his followers) should not have any engagement with those who, due to the predominance of thamO guNam (ignorance and laziness), do not have this engagement with emperumAn and his followers. thirumangai AzhwAr, in his periya thirumozhi 11-6-7 has mercifully said “eNNAdha mANidaththai eNNAdhapOdhellAm iniyavARE” (it does me great good if I do not think of those people who do not think of emperumAn and his followers) and in periya thirumozhi 11-7-6 “mAnidar allar enRu en manaththE vaiththEn” (I decided in my mind that those who do not think of emperumAn and his followers are not humans at all). nammAzhwAr, in his thiruvAimozhi 8-5-8 mercifully says “piththar enRE piRar kURa” (followers of emperumAn, who keep reciting his divine names, are spoken of as being mad, by those who have no engagement with emperumAn). Thus, these AzhwArs too have said that this characteristic is a necessity for prapannars. For the AnukUlya sankalpam which was dealt with in the previous decad, it is sufficient for one to take a vow that (s)he will be servile to followers of emperumAn. Only if the followers consent, could this be transposed into action and one can carry out services to them.
In the meaning conveyed in this third decad that one should stay away from those who are not involved with emperumAn and his followers, it is not sufficient to take a vow. One should, in practice, necessarily reject them. While those, who do not have affection for emperumAn and his followers, also inhabit the same leelA vibhUthi (materialistic realm) possessed by emperumAn and are part of his wealth, is it proper to reject them? While SAsthras say that all the wealth of emperumAn in leelA vibhUthi is to be enjoyed just as one enjoys his auspicious qualities, it has been said in ahirbhudhnya samhithai 37-27 “prAthikUlyasya varjanam” (giving up those which are not favourable to emperumAn and by extension, his followers), people with knowledge should necessarily reject them. Is it not due to knowledge that we accept emperumAn and his followers and reject those who are not involved with them? Since these people have a predominance of thamO guNam, they are fit to be given up.
SrI prahlAdhAzhwAn (son of demon hiraNya kashyap) who saw the entire world to be fully pervaded by emperumAn who was his antharyAmi (indwelling soul), said, as in SrI vishNu purANam 1-19-85 “sarvagathvAdha nandhasya sa EvA’hamavasthitha: l maththa: sarvam aham sarvam mayi sarvam sanAthanE ll” (Since ananthan (emperumAn who is without an end) pervades everywhere, I am like himself. Everything originates from me, I am everything. Everything is within me, the sanAthanam (that which has been there since time immemorial)).
When hiraNyan tried to push him into the ocean to kill him, he sought emperumAn’s mercy to protect his father, hiraNyan, as said in SrI vishNu purANam 1-20-21 “mayi dhvEshAnubhandhO’bhUth samsthuthAvudhyathE thava l
mathpithus thathkrutham pApam dhEva thasya praNaSyathu ll” (Oh lord! (My father) Developed hatred towards me since I was engaging with you and worshipping you constantly. Let the sin, which he begets due to this, get removed). Later, when hiraNyan’s hatred towards emperumAn crossed all limits, did he not give him up and let narasingap perumAn to annihilate him!
In the same way, SrI vibhIshaNAzhwAn too made all efforts to persuade his elder brother, rAvaNan, to return sIthAp pirAtti to SrI rAma. Since rAvaNa was not willing to listen to his words, did he not leave rAvaNa and take refuge under SrI rAma, just like a person leaves a place which is burning, when all his efforts to put out the fire fail? Since the bad deeds of rAvaNa would turn out to be his nemesis, didn’t SrI vibhIshaNAzhwAn too leave him as otherwise, the unfavourable attitude of rAvaNa would have affected hm too? prAthikUlyam is the thought that the body is AthmA [and carrying out deeds to satisfy that body]. It is the act of engaging with SabdhAdhi vishayam (matters related to five senses such as sound, sight etc). It is that which does not know that there is AthmA and paramAthmA which are different from the physical body. Thus, there are several ways to define prAthikUlyam.
AzhwAr says in this decad that he does not have any involvement with those who have such prAthikUlyam.
We will take up the first pAsuram of this decad in the next article.
adiyEn krishNa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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