<< Previous<\/a><\/p>\n avathArikai (Introduction):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In the previous chUrNais, bhagavadh rAmAnuja<\/a> had spoken about namaSSabdhArtham<\/em>\u00a0(meaning of the word nama: <\/em>as it occurs in dhvaya mahAmanthram<\/em>). The meaning of the word nama:<\/em> \u00a0is getting rid of enemies\/obstacles. SrI rAmAnuja<\/a> had prayed to bhagavAn<\/a> in the previous three chUrNais for getting rid of his enemies –\u00a0karma<\/em> (past deeds), agyAna<\/em> (ignorance) and dhEhasambhandham<\/em> (connection with physical body, in other words with prakruthi). Is it not enough if enemies are got rid of? asks periyavAchchAn piLLai and he further adds that what SrI rAmAnuja is desirous of is parama purushArtham<\/em> (the highest benefit that one can ask of bhagavAn), which is kainkaryam<\/em> (doing service to bhagavAn). A prerequisite for kainkaryam is to have parabhakthi, paragyAna and paramabhakthi<\/em> (we have seen in detail about these states of bhakthi in the 2nd chUrNai<\/a> itself) and for parabhakthi<\/em>, the prerequisite is bhakthirUpaApannagyAnam<\/em> (knowledge that would have the form of bhakthi; in simple terms, it means love for bhagavAn). SrI rAmAnuja prays for this\u00a0gyAnam<\/em> from bhagavAn in the 13th chUrNai, quoting what bhagavAn himself said in bhagavadh gIthA<\/a>, when he took the avathAram<\/em>\u00a0(incarnation) of SrI krishNa. In the 7th chapter, 17th to 19th SlOkas (verses) , SrI krishNa quotes on the supreme features and qualities of his bhakthas. SrI rAmAnuja repeats these three SlOkas here and requests bhagavAn to make him one such bhaktha and to grant him gyAnam<\/em>. Let us look at the chUrNai now:<\/p>\n thEshAm gyAnI nithyayuktha: Ekabhakthir viSishyathE<\/em> I udharAs sarva EvaithE gyAnI thvAthmaiva mE matham<\/em> I bahUnAm janmanAm anthE gyAnavAn mAm prapadhyathE<\/em> I thEshAm<\/em><\/strong> – among them (among the 4 types of bhakthas, as mentioned above) Explanatory Note:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n There are 4 types of bhakthas, says SrI krishNa in the 7th chapter of bhagavadh gIthai<\/a> – those who want all the riches that \u00a0they once had, but had lost subsequently; those who want to become wealthy, for the \u00a0first time; those who want only kaivalya mOksham<\/em> (an inferior mOksham wherein the jIvAthmA<\/a> enjoys itself, without extolling the virtues of bhagavAn<\/a> and doing kainkaryam to him) and those who want bhagavAn himself so that they could carry out kainkaryam<\/em> to him eternally. SrI krishNa calls the fourth among the above as gyAni<\/em>, the knowledgeable since he (the bhaktha) knows what is his swarUpam<\/em>\u00a0(basic nature) and what he should do. Let us now look at the meanings of these verses.<\/p>\n thEshAm gyAni<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0thEshAm<\/em> – among them (among the 4 types of bhakthas, as mentioned above); gyAni<\/em> – the knowledgeable. As previously mentioned, krishNa calls his bhaktha as gyAni as he knows where he stands and what he should do.<\/p>\n viSishyathE<\/strong>\u00a0– said to be the best among. The gyAni<\/em> stands out among the four types of bhakthas.<\/p>\n nithya yuktha: Ekabhakthi:<\/strong> – This is what makes the gyAni<\/em> special or best among the four.\u00a0nithya<\/em> – always; yuktha:<\/em> – joined; the gyAni<\/em>\u00a0desires to be with bhagavAn<\/a> himself permanently unlike the other types of bhakthas<\/em> who leave bhagavAn once they get whatever they had asked for.<\/p>\n Ekabhakthi:<\/em> – single point of devotion. The gyAni<\/em> does not ask for anything else from bhagavAn<\/a> unlike others who need various things. The other three types of bhakthas<\/em> are desirous of prayOjanAntharam<\/em> (other benefits) while bhagavAn himself is the prayOjanam<\/em> (benefit) for gyAni<\/em>. Hence he has only one bhakthi<\/em> (devotion) which is towards bhagavAn himself while the other 3 types of bhakthas<\/em> have devotion towards what they desire (purushArtham<\/em>) and bhagavAn<\/em> through whom they have to get the objects of their desire.<\/p>\n priyO hi gyAninOthyartham aham<\/strong> – priya:<\/em> – beloved; hi<\/em> – surely; gyAni<\/em>\u00a0– bhaktha; athyartham<\/em> – supreme; aham<\/em> – I. bhagavAn<\/a> says that gyAnis<\/em> (the knowledgeable bhakthas) treat bhagavAn as a supremely beloved person. It is \u00a0not possible to describe the love that gyAnis<\/em> have towards bhagavAn. It is so exalted.<\/p>\n sa cha mama priya:<\/strong> – sa<\/em> – he; cha<\/em> – also; mama<\/em> – to me; priya:<\/em> – beloved. bhagavAn<\/a> says that such a gyAni is also dear to him. But bhagavAn makes a difference here between the love of gyAni<\/em>\u00a0 towards him and his love towards gyAni<\/em>. \u00a0He says that if the gyAni’s love is like an ocean, his own love towards the gyAni is like a little pond. Why does bhagavAn belittle his love and magnify his bhaktha’s love? \u00a0The bhaktha lives in samsAram<\/em>\u00a0(materalistic realm) and is constantly troubled by his karma<\/em> (past deeds), janma<\/em> (repeated births), avidhyA<\/em>\u00a0(ignorance) etc. There are any number of hurdles or enemies for his bhaktha<\/em> to show his love, while there is no such hurdle for bhagavAn to show his love. bhagavAn is vipu<\/em> (huge) while the bhaktha is aNu (atom). It is like a 6 footer taking a step to cover 2 feet and a worm crawling for a whole day to cover the same 2 feet. The end distance covered is the same 2 feet, but there is a huge difference in the effort put in by the 6-footer and the worm. Moreover the bhaktha keeps wailing continuously imploring bhagavAn to take him away from samsAram<\/em>, making it difficult for even the omnipotent bhagavAN to sit in SrIvaikuNtam<\/em>. bhagavAn says that his bhaktha’<\/em>s love is so heavy that he is not able to sit in SrIvaikuNtam<\/em>.<\/p>\n udhArAs sarva EvaithE<\/strong> – udhAra:<\/em> – (most) generous; sarva<\/em> – all; EthE<\/em> – these; Eva<\/em> – only; krishNa says that all these people (all 4 types of bhakthas<\/em> as mentioned above) only are most generous. This may sound strange when in reality we ask bhagavAn<\/a> for various needs and he gives these to us and thus we are the seekers and he is the most generous. Why is SrI krishNa reversing the roles? He says that unless the bhakthas<\/em> ask him for favours, how can he give them (here the hidden meaning is “what if they ask some other dhEvathA”)? Thus to get a name for himself (as the giver) he needs people to beseech him and he calls them as most generous.<\/p>\n gyAnithu<\/strong> – gyAni<\/em> – knowledgeable (here the reference is to his bhaktha); thu<\/em> – but. 4 different types of bhakthas<\/em> may ask him for favours, but among them the gyAni<\/em> is….<\/p>\n Athmaiva<\/strong> – AthmA<\/a> – sentient being; Eva – only. SrI krishNa says that only the gyAni<\/em> is his AthmA; <\/em>bhagavAn<\/a> lives inside the gyANi <\/em>and the gyAni bears him from outside. In other words, the gyAni is the reason for the existence of bhagavAn. This sounds strange and completely reverse of what we all know of. But, bhagavAn says that this is …..<\/p>\n mE matham<\/strong> – mE<\/em> – my; matham<\/em> – opinion. bhagavAn<\/a> says that let anyone think whatever he wants on hearing this. But he is firm in his mind that he lives because of such gyAnis<\/em>.<\/p>\n Asthithas sahi yukthAthmA mAmEvAnuththamAm gathim<\/strong> –<\/p>\n anuththamAm gathim mAmEva<\/strong> – anuththamAm<\/em> – nothing higher than; gathim<\/em> – refuge; mAm<\/em> – me; Eva<\/em> – only. \u00a0Continuing from the previous part of the Sloka<\/em> (verse), SrI krishNa says that for such a gyAni<\/em>, there is no refuge higher than himself (bhagavAn<\/a>).<\/p>\n Asthithas sahi yukthAthmA<\/strong> – Asthitha:<\/em> – dwells on; sa<\/em> – he; hi<\/em> – surely; yukthAthmA<\/em> – intent upon. SrI krishNa says that such a gyAni<\/em> keeps dwelling on himself constantly to reach him as there is no refuge higher than himself to such a gyAni<\/em>.<\/p>\n bahunAm janmanAmanthE<\/strong> – ![\"Nammazhwar-krishna\"](\"https:\/\/divyaprabandham.koyil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Nammazhwar-krishna.jpg\")
<\/a>nammAzhwAr<\/a> (the foremost amongst gyAnis) and krishNa <\/a><\/p>\n
\npriyO hi gyAninOthyartham aham sa cha mama priya<\/em>: II<\/p>\n
\nAsthithas sa hi yukthAthmA mAmEvAnuththamAm gathim<\/em> II<\/p>\n
\nvAsudhEvas sarvamithi sa mahAthmA sudhurlabha<\/em>: II
\n\u00a0– ithi SlOka thrayOdhitha gyAninam mAm kurushva<\/em> II<\/p>\nWord-by-Word meaning<\/h3>\n
\ngyAni<\/em><\/strong> – the knowledgeable
\nviSishyathE<\/strong>\u00a0– said to be the best among
\nnithya<\/em><\/strong> – always
\nyuktha<\/strong>:<\/em> – joined
\nEkabhakthi<\/strong>:<\/em> – single point of devotion
\npriya<\/strong>:<\/em> – beloved
\nhi<\/em><\/strong> – surely
\ngyAni<\/em><\/strong> – bhaktha
\nathyartham<\/em><\/strong> – supreme
\naham<\/em><\/strong> – I
\nsa<\/em><\/strong> – he
\ncha<\/em><\/strong> – also
\nmama<\/em><\/strong> – to me
\npriya<\/strong>:<\/em> – beloved
\nudhAra<\/strong>:<\/em> – (most) generous
\nsarva<\/em><\/strong> – all
\nEthE<\/em><\/strong> – these
\nEva<\/em><\/strong> – only
\ngyAni<\/em><\/strong> – knowledgeable
\nthu<\/em><\/strong> – but
\nAthmA<\/a><\/strong> – sentient being
\nEva<\/strong> – only
\nmE<\/em><\/strong> – my
\nmatham<\/em><\/strong> – opinion
\nanuththamAm<\/em><\/strong> – nothing higher than
\ngathim<\/em><\/strong> – refuge
\nmAm<\/em><\/strong> – me
\nEva<\/em><\/strong> – only
\nAsthitha<\/strong>:<\/em> \u2013 dwells on
\nsa<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 he
\nhi<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 surely
\nyukthAthmA<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 intent upon
\nbahunAm<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 many
\njanmanAm<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 births
\nanthE<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 end
\ngyAnavAn<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 has knowledge
\nmAm<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 me
\nvAsudhEva<\/strong>:<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 only\u00a0vAsudhEvan<\/em>
\nsarvam<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 everything
\nithi<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 so
\nprapadhyathE<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 take refuge
\nsa<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 he
\nmahAthmA<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 \u00a0eminent
\nsu<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 very
\ndhurlabha<\/strong>:<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 difficult to obtain or find
\nithi<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 like this
\nSlOkam<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 verse
\nthrayam<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 three
\nudhitha<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 told
\ngyAnina<\/strong>:<\/em> \u2013 knowledgeable-like
\nmAm<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 me
\nkurushva<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 make<\/p>\n