GITA 2.74

GITA 2.74

Sri Aravindalochanar temple

Sri Srinivasar Temple

We are in the Rettai Thiruppati Kshetram also known as

 Thirutholaivillimangalam.There are two temples with two 

Leading Deities. This place is situated on the Northern banks of Tambraparani River. Yesterday we were in the Sri 

Aravindalochanan  sannidhi. Today we are at Sri Devarpiran 

sannidhi.The former is on the North and the latter on the South. Once a sage came here from North and was meditating in this 

Kshetram. Daily he used to perform homam [holy fire] and in the end he used to offer 
 the Havirbaga [food for the gods, offered in the fire]. The Devas [gods] used to accept this, and since the Lord of this Kshetram was responsible, the Lord here is named Sri Devarpiran. Piran in Tamil means helping. Since He helped 

the Devas to get  their dues in the Homa, He got this name. The Moolavar is called Sri Srinivasan and  the Utsavar is Sri 

Devarpiran. The sage used to gather many lotus flowers and 

used  to make beautiful garlands and decorate the Lord here. 

Earlier only this Sri Devarpiran sannidhi existed. Once Sri 

Devarpiran, without the knowledge of the sage followed him to 

see how such handsome garlands are done.He saw the sage 

was gathering flowers in the garden near the river.While He was watching, the sage suddenly turned  back and saw Sri 

Devarpiran.He was enchanted by the Lotus like eyes of the Lord and prostrating before Him, requested Him to appear with the 

Lotus eyes always here. So, the Lord agreed and from that time another sannidhi got up for the Lord as Sri Aravindalochanan. 

Thus, this place got twin sannidhi. Already we saw that the Lord here is very close to Nammalwar. In the last pasuram of  

Thiruvaimozhi [6.5] he says

  sindhai yaalum sollaalum 

seygaiyinaalum*  thEva piraanaiyE,*

 thandhai thaayenRadaindha*  

vaNkurukooravar sadagOpan.





Nammalwar says that he reached Sri Devarpiran as his mind, words and body [organs] always regarded Him as father and mother. There is yet another interesting incidence connected with this Kshetram. In Srirangam, the Adyanothsavam is celebrated in Tamil month Margazhi [Dec-Jan]. It is of 20 days duration with Vaikunta Ekadasi as the eleventh day festival. On the 21st day is the final day when the Iyarpa of Nalayira Divya Prabhandam is recited. Though at present an icon of Nammalwar is available in Srirangam, some centuries back- before the time of Swami Ramanuja- the Nammalwar idol used to be brought from Alwar Thirunagari for the festival in Srirangam. After the festival ended the idol used to be returned to Alwar Thirunagari. Since it used to take considerable time for such transportation, by the time the idol of Nammalwar reached this place it would be the Tamil month Masi [Feb-March]. Therefore even now the Adyanothsavam for this place is on three days corresponding to the star constellations Swati, Visakam and Anusham, in month of Masi. After this Namalwar idol would reach Alwar Thirunagari. This is yet another example of the intimacy between the Lord here and Nammalwar. Though Alwar talks of beautiful fortress and buildings of the temple. Until a few years back this and other temples of Nava thiruppati were in shambles. But a person, not interested in publicity, out of pure devotion, repaired and rebuilt all these temples and today we witness a marvelous getup of the entire kshetram. We pray that this selfless and unassuming person’s such noble works should continue. Like Alwar, if we can devote our action, speech and thoughts in Him, we would have controlled our organs. In the last two slokas –62 and 63- we saw how by not devoting ourselves in Him, we tumble down and plunge to the bottom. Now we will see the 64thsloka:

raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu
visayan indriyais caran
atma-vasyair vidheyatma
prasadam adhigacchati

One who can control his senses by practicing the regulated principles of freedom can obtain the complete mercy of the Lord and thus become free from all attachment and aversion.

"But a person free from all attachment and aversion is able to control his senses and skips materialistic lures and controls mind resulting in pure mind by the mercy of the Lord."

What greatness one achieves by such devotion to the Lord? Here He explains how gradually the atman is climbing in steps to reach pinnacle. By thinking of Him, the rajo and tamo qualities in our mind are cleared and the mind is purified. Only satva quality would dominate in us. By doing Aradhana [Pooja] and consuming only that food offered to Him,rajo and tamo gunas get reduced and satva qualities flourish. The first step reached by devotion to God, is that we are relieved of raga and dvesha. By concentrating our thoughts in Him, by singing His names, by hearing His names, by performing Aradhana and by consuming only the food offered to Him, satva qualities thrive and the other two qualities fade. This will get rid of raga and dvesha. As told earlier, raga is the desire to acquire or expecting some pleasing incidence. Dvesha is hatred or enmity. Both these are housed in us. We do not like even good things rendered by those we hate, and accept bad things from our dear ones. This is because of rajo and tamo gunas. If we have uprightness in our mind then we will accept good things irrespective of who did that. With raga and dvesha removed, all are our dear ones and all actions are impartially looked into. This will result in the control of organs and they will not be after the pleasures arising from smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch. If organs are to be disciplined, we should be rid off likes and dislikes. By disciplining the organs, we stay away from the five sensual pleasures and their sources. After this atman, here it means mind, is in our control. Recapitulating, devoting ourselves to God and by proper food, rajo and tamo gunas are driven away and satva guna thrives. Raga and dvesha are destroyed. Organs are disciplined. Sensual and cheap pleasures are cast away. Mind gets controlled. Then we get prasadam. Prasadam means here serene and pure mind. This will take us near atman darshan. Contaminated mind is unable to properly perceive atman.

Devotionà Satva gunaà elimination of likes and dislikesà Control organsà Avoiding sensual appetite à Control mind à Mind purity à Atman Darshan. While 62nd and 63rdslokas explained how one plunges to degradation, 64th sloka details how the atman is uplifted. We can clear our doubts from Vedas, if we have that capacity to learn them. We can control our organs by deep meditation and yoga. These are possible for a few capable persons. But for ordinary people like us, devotion or bhakti is the recourse. Thondaradipodi Alwar says he gets all doubts cleared by seeing God, Lord Sri Ranganatha. By looking at His feet, he knew he was His attendant. By looking at His abhaya hastha, he realizes He would protect him. By looking at His Crown he recognized that He was his ruler. Therefore, it is necessary for us to dedicate ourselves to Him and serve Him. God’s image is made of satva guna only. So by looking at that image the satva guna in us grows. While in temple also, it is not correct to close the eyes while in front of God, but enjoy appreciating His beautiful image.

                                                              (continued)

GITA 2.73

GITA 2.73

Sri Aravindalochanar

Sri Devarpiran

The Kshetrams around Alwar Thirunagari are Nava Thirupati. These are spread on the both banks of river Thamrabarani. Three are on the south bank and six are on the northern bank. We are now at the Kshetram known as [I]rettai Thiruppati (Twin Kahetrams), also known as Thirutholaivillimangalam. This is on the northern bank of the river. As the name Rettai [twin] Thiruppati suggests, there are two temples and two presiding Deities. As part of the Nava Thiruppati, these are counted as two Kshetrams and we count nine temples. But in the 108 Divya Desam this is counted as a single Kshetram. In the two temples the Lords are Sri Aravindalochanan and Sri Devarpiran. We are in the sannidhi of Sri Aravindalochanan. The main Deity [Moolavar] is called Sri Aravindalochanan and Uthsavar is called Sri Senthamarai Kannan. In the 6.5 Thiruvaimozhi, Nammalwar has praised this Kshetram. Alwar in the Nayika Bhavam [imagining himself to be a girl] cries 'Aravindalochana!'. That is the intimacy Nammalwar had with this temple.

 From here we will see the slokas 62 and 63 together. Alwar and this Kshetram are closely connected. Alwar places his thoughts, words and deeds at the feet of the Lord here. Like this, if we could also direct our mind, speech and action in Him, our mind and organs will get disciplined and be under control. This we saw in the last sloka. Yesterday, we mentioned about the Vaikasi Visaka festival, when on the 5^th day all the Deities from the Nava Thiruppati reach Alwar Thirunagari. On the 6^th day morning all the Deities would take leave of Alwar and return to their temples. That time the Deities of Rettai Thiruppati would be on two palanquins and would be near Nammalwar to take leave. Each Deity of the various temples would come near the Alwar and after the hymns of that Kshetram, are sung by the Arayar, that Deity would leave for His temple, and Alwar would turn his attention on the next Deity in line. But in the case of Rettai Thiruppati there is a difference. After the hymns are sung and the Lords take leave, Alwar would wait till they disappear from his sight and then only he would attend to the next Deity on line. This is because his deeds, words and thoughts are always in Him only.

kuzhaiyum vaaLmugaththEzhaiyaith* tholai  villi mangalam kondupukku,*

izhaikoL sOthich chenNthaamaraik kaNpiraan* irundhamaikaattineer,*

mazhai peythaalokkum kaNNa neerinodu*  anRu thottummaiyaandhu,* ivaL

nuzhaiyum sindhaiyaL annaimeer!* thozhum  aththisaiyuRRu nOkkiyE. 

[She has got soft,tender, smooth beautiful face.She had so much love

for the Lord and you all showed this Divya dEsam; she is now trapped in His beauty of this Divya Desam sthalam. Oh Mother! Hence, you have already lost her. She is always on thoughts about Him only. She has lost herself in His beauty.He shines so brightly and beautifully much above the quantum of lustre of His ornaments (due to His own shining Body).From the day she saw His such Great shining Beauty, her tears are flowing down the cheeks like rains. She keeps looking at that

 direction where Devapiraan is there and is paying obeisance to Him, with her mind lost in Him and His guNAs completely.]

In this pasuram the last words are ‘atthisai utru nokkum’ meaning she [Alwar] would attentively look in the direction [of the Lord].  This illustrates the intimacy Alwar had for these Deities of Rettai

 Thiruppati. In his Nayika Bhavam, when the Alwar was a small girl, the parents wanted to prepare 

her horoscope and the Astrologer told that if the parents wanted the girl [Alwar] to be with them, then they should never expose her to the Lord of Tholaivillimangalam. She would become His. But the 

parents made her to worship the Lord and from that time onwards she is thinking of Him only [anNnaaL thotangi innaaL dhoRum,* irundhirundhu 'aravindha lOsana!'*  enREnRE nNaindhirangumE.        6.5.8]

 If we want to control our organs, therefore, we have to submit ourselves to Him. The beauty of the Lord here is charming and no wonder Alwar did not want 

anything else. More than others, His eyes are captivating. By placing our organs 

in This Beauty, we can easily control our organs. If we do not do this, then the consequences are frightening and dreadful. This is explained in the 62nd and 63rd 

slokas:

dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho ’bhijayate [62]

While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.

"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises uncontrollably."

krodhad bhavati sammohah
sammohat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso
buddhi-nasat pranasyati [63]

From anger, delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost, one falls down again into the material pool.

"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one falls down again into the birth cycle."

Sri Krishna describes the gradual deterioration, if one does not concentrate on Him and allow the mind and intellect to wander. If the atman does not direct the intellect on Him, then thinks only of the materialistic pleasures. The mind starts wandering on cheap and inferior matters. Next, this will induce a desire in them. It will slowly sprout. The desire sprouts in all the organs. This tiny spark of desire then grows into a flame, that is Kama or lust. This develops into a craving to appease that passion. When the sought desire is not fulfilled, krodha-anger and hatred, engulfs the mind. This will be on the desired objects and on those who are considered as impediments. Sri Krishna says that the krodha is not simply developing but becomes indiscriminate and uncontrollable anger. This anger is not restricted only on those preventing the desire to be achieved, but on all those related to them, their friends and supporters. This is not exaggerating, nor could happen only to ordinary persons. Sri Rama also was enslavened by this feeling, Valmiki says. When Sri Rama came to know that Sri Sita was abducted by Ravana, His anger knew no bounds. He declares that before dawn, if Sri Sita were not returned back, He would destroy Ravana, his relatives and others. Sri Rama was passionately in love with Sri Sita, and so this passion was converted to anger when She was missing. This grew in such a magnitude that He declared He would destroy Ravana and his relatives. In fact, not only those, Sri Rama says, He would destroy all gods, humans, etc. Because anger is very difficult to control. It is said that a person caught in anger, will not even hesitate to murder his teacher. Once anger steps in, the person would lose his balance and sense of discrimination as what should be done and what should not be done. That is, he would lose his rational behaviour and would be senseless. This leads to memory loss. That is we forget the purpose of trying to controlling the organs. This means loss of intellect or buddhi nAsam. That is the buddhi to have atman darshan is lost. This results in disappearance of atman swaroopam or the basic knowledge about atman. So, the person indulges in Kama and krodha and is destined for rebirths. To summarize:

Not concentrating on God à wandering of mind and pursuing inferior pleasuresà desire sproutsà Greed and passion à Kamaà turns to anger at impedimentsà loss of rational thinkingà forgetting the purpose to control organsà loss of buddhi to have atman darshanà Inability to come out of birth cycle.

So we should like Alwar did, devote all our mind and activities at the service of Sri Aravindalochanan and succeed in disciplining our organs.

                                                                                  (continued)

GITA 2.72

GITA 2.72

 Srinagaryam mahapuryam thambraparni uthare thate

 sri thinthruni mouladhamne satakopaya mangalam

 It is said that we prostrate to Satakopa under the tamarind [thinthruni] tree in Thirunagari [alwar thirunagari] Kshetram situated on the northern banks of river Thamraparani. This recording is being done in the month of Vaikasi [May-June] when the Visakam [Nammalwar’s birth star] festival is taking place. It is a ten-day festival. Today is the eighth day of the festival. Today Nammalwar is taken on procession from here to Appankoil nearby. Alwar was born in Appankoil but from there he crawled and came to this place and stayed below the tamarind tree. We see here a large mandapam called Alwar mangalasasana mandapam. During the festival on the fifth day, the Lords of all the [nearby] temples would assemble here. There are nine Kshetrams including Alwar Thirunagari, known as Nava Thirupati. The Lords of all these temples gather here. Each Lord arrives here on the fifth day morning and is welcomed by Alwar. Whole day They will be present in Alwar’s sannidhi. During that time All will have Thirumanjanam or holy bath. At about 11p.m. each Lord mounted on Garuda will grace the devotees. The doors of Alwar's sannidhi would then be opened and one by one all the Lords of all the temples would emerge out. Then Alwar would be seated on Hamsa [swan] vahanam [vehicle] and taken on procession.

  Madurakavi Alwar, disciple of Nammalwar and born in the nearby Thirukkolur, would grace the devotees seated on an ivory chair.

 All the eleven –nine Lords on Garuda, Alwar on Hamsa and Madurakavi- would be on procession whole night. Then All will return to this mandapam. Then on the sixth day morning, all Lords of all temples would be seated in palanquins and would take leave of Alwar to return to the respective temples. 

That time Arayar [temple hereditary persons authorized to sing and dance before the Lord] would recite those hymns sung by Alwar on each of the nine Lords of Nava Thirupati and dance.

 Then all the Lords would reach their respective temples. After bidding farewell to all the Lords, Nammalwar would return to his sannidhi. So the 5^th and 6^th days’ festival in this time, is a feast to the eyes. Thus God comes to the devotee’s place to grace and bless. We have pictured the streets of this place. What is the use of taking picture of mere roads? One may ask. But the superiority of this place is such that everything here is sacred. On the other side banks of the river, there lived a yogi or sage. By his side always one dog used to remain. Sage would be on meditation. The dog in the midday would swim across the river and reach this place. It would eat the remnants of food thrown by residents of this place and swimming back would return to the sage. This was happening daily. One day the dog after eating here started returning to the sage. But due to floods in the river the dog was carried away by the floods, and died. The soul or atman of the dog sprang up as a brilliant light. The sage saw this and was surprised that the dog’s soul could rise to Moksham just by consuming the leftovers of the residents of this place. So, it is not a disgrace to be born as a dog, if that could be in Alwar Thirunagari, and eat the leftovers of devotees here. So these streets are also important.

  Alwar also propagated the same message of Gita. We are to see the 61^st sloka of 2^nd Chapter. In 59^th sloka it was told that by visualizing atman the organs are controlled. In the 60^th sloka however, it was told that control of organs would enable atman darshan. Arjuna was confused and he did not know which one to precede which? He requested Sri Krishna to solve this riddle. Sri Krishna replies that unless organs are controlled the atman cannot be perceived; there is no doubt on this. But He would suggest an easier way to control the organs. Then he could perceive atman. We also desire to see and hear good things only. But the organs are not disciplined. This is because of the ever-remaining rajo and tamo qualities in our mind. Our mind has the mixture of satva, rajo and tamo qualities. When satva quality is prominent our organs are well disciplined. When the rajo and tamo qualities are exalted, our organs also seek cheap pleasures. So it is important to cultivate our habits to reduce rajo and tamo qualities. This is explained in 61^st sloka:

tani sarvani samyamya
yukta asita mat-parah
vase hi yasyendriyani
tasya prajna pratisthita

One who restrains his senses and fixes his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence.

" For one who restrains his senses, keeping them under a little control, and fixes his consciousness upon Me, his intellect gets firmly established."

Tasya-that, atma gyani’s, prajna- intellect, pratisthita- gets firmly founded or established. Tani sarvani- all the organs, samyamya- at least somewhat controlled, mat parah- direct them on Me and yukta asita- remain resolved. So instead of allowing the organs to wander as they like, direct them with a small effort, on Sri Krishna. Vedas say that all the best tastes are all inherited in Him, all the fragrance of the world are all lodged in Him, and He is the repository of all the auspicious things in this world. The things we see or hear continuously affect us. If a song is played frequently, we automatically start humming it. If that song is good then we inherit that goodness; but if it is a bad song then we go in that way. Since mind follows what is frequently seen or heard, we should try to see or hear superior sources. Superior entities will influence superior results in us. On the contrary if we go after inferior matters, the influence on us also will be inferior. Why do we go to temples and sacred Kshetrams? These are all embodiment of satva qualities. The Lord’s image is supposed to be suddha satva mayam. Our bodies are a mixture of the five elements. But the Lord’s image is aprakrutham or eternal. It consists of only satva quality. By constantly worshiping His image, our organs do not wander, and get disciplined. Even though we can worship God in our own houses, in temples we get the ambiance of sanctity and our minds will have more of satva quality and the rajo and tamo qualities will fade away. This is what Sri Krishna is telling. By directing the organs on Him we pacify the mind, and His supreme qualities will affect and influence our mind. So, he, whose organs have come under the influence of God, has his intellect properly founded. That is why nama snkeertan – singing His names- or listening to His stories or talking in praise of Him or going to temples and involving in sacred activities there, are all efforts to place our organs in His service. This will, with His blessings, enable us to control the organs. Disciplining organs will pave the way for atman darshan. We can also follow this simple and easier method.

                                                                 (continued)

GITA 2.71

GITA 2.71

We are in front of the gate of Navaratri mandapam. During Navaratri festival the Lord graces the devotees along with the Alwar. Navaratri festival is for Sri Thayar. Alwar has imagined himself as a girl [lover] and sent emissaries to the Lord. The Thiruvaimozhi has 100 decades of 10 songs each [each is called a Thiruvaimozhi]. Of the 100 Thiruvaimozhi, 27 are sung imagining himself as a woman. In some he imagines himself to be the lover and in some other he thinks of him as the beloved’s mother and in some others, he sings as the beloved’s girl friend. In the Margazhi adyanothsavam the Alwar is decorated as a lady and graces the devotees. His longing to get married to the Lord is one of the states of a true devotee. That is Bhakthi yoga and one has to master Gyana yoga to reach this stage. In the 59^th sloka we saw that if atman darshan is available then all the organs and mind get controlled and there will not be a trace of desire for inferior pleasures. Nirahara, that is starving, will prevent the organs from seeking such cheap pleasures, but mind will still remain uncontrolled. If we can see the param or atman, then even this mind also gets controlled. So Arjuna queries as to what should be done to see atman or have atman darshan. Here we should understand that atman couldn’t be seen with our eyes as we see materialistic objects. Here it means perceiving the atman. Its magnificence can be felt.

yatato hy api kaunteya
purushasya vipascitah
indriyani pramathini
haranti prasabham manah

The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them.

"The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them."

If organs could be controlled atman darshan will be achieved. As told in the last lecture, this is a peculiar situation. This is called anyonya asraya dosham or inter dependent fallacy. It is like asking location of A and in reply it is told it is by the side of B. And, where is B located, and reply is it is by the side of A. This will create confusion. Here also it appears like that. In the previous sloka, Sri Krishna told that if atman darshan is acquired, the organs get controlled. But here, He says that controlling organs could enable one to achieve atman darshan.

Vipaschita means one who can differentiate and understand or rational thinking. He is said to have viveka gyana. One who distinguishes that the body is perishable and atman is eternal. He tries to control organs and concentrates his mind on the atman. Purusha, here indicates atman. Yati is effort and api means even. So, even a person who tries to take efforts in Gyana yoga, is the meaning of first part. For him also the organs and mind will not get controlled. He says the organs have lot of strength. That is the strength of seeking pleasure or desire. This desire is in the mind and the organs exhibit this as strength. The organs compel mind and drag it in their way. This desire becomes ammunition for organs and so they are able to forcibly take in their direction. Like a hurricane uprooting large trees the desire in the organs uproot the mind. In Thiruvaimozhi [7.1.1] Alwar says that he has five tenants in his house. But they are all enemies. That is, in his body [house] the five organs are occupying as tenants and are forcing him in their way. In emma veetu thiran poem, he complains to God that He is partial and rescues an elephant Gajendra but not the Alwar. God told that it was an animal and was suffering for the past 1000 years seized by a crocodile, so He had to rescue. Alwar replies that then, it is all the more he deserves immediate rescue. Compared to the big elephant he is a weaker being. The elephant was suffering only for 1000 years while the Alwar has been suffering for thousands of births. One crocodile grabbed the elephant while five crocodiles, in the form of organs have seized the Alwar. So, organs are a great menace to all including the Nithyasuris who are doing intimate service to the Lord at Vaikuntam. We see persons doing very noble service to the Lord in temples. But they are not free from the power of organs. We are daily witnessing the fights for position and greed for money in such persons involved in sacred assignments also. This is the domination of organs in persons. The organs function very well in youth time. But that time only the mind is uncontrollable. When the person becomes old his mind is some what controlled, but now the organs do not function properly. Organs are so strong that they dictate even learned persons. So to control the organs it is necessary to have,atman darshan. Sri Krishna says controlling the organs is difficult even for viveka gyana persons. We should see the subtle difference Sri Krishna is making. He did not say control the organs to get atman darshan. But He says even for rational thinking people, controlling organs is difficult. It gives an impression that there is a negative thinking by Sri Krishna that controlling organs is not possible and so atman darshan is never possible. But actually, He drives home the great effort required to bring the organs in control. Also when we see the next, 61^st sloka ,then the real import of this sloka will be clear. It is said that once Nithyasuri Garuda was chasing a snake for food. The snake sought asylum in the Lord and so He prevented Garuda from capturing the snake. Garuda got angry and picked up quarrel with the Lord. So the anger arising out of mere hunger is not controlled even for such persons. But there is a way to control and Sri Krishna tells that in the next sloka.

                                                                          (continued)

GITA 2.70

GITA 2.70

ritum vitanahe krishna trishna tatva nibhotitam

shasra sakhan yobratsite dravidim brahmasamhitan

It is said that the Alwar appeared in this world to present Vedas in Tamil. That is why he is called Vedam Thamizh seida Maran. He is called Azhwar because he was immersed [Tamil Azhndu] in devotion to God. Sri Namperumal affectionately called him Nam [Our] Alwar. His poems are all soaked [in devotion] unlike the Sanskrit words in Vedas, which are dry. Vedas describe the greatness of God and it gives us the feeling that God is too great for us to reach. But in Alwars' works, God is described as great; at the same time He is simple and kind and available for the devotees with pure mind. God is great and simple, at the same time. In the ten avatars or incarnations, the Boar or Varaha avatar is considered to be easily approachable. We are in between the sannidhis of Sri Varaha Murthy, also known as Sri Gyanapiran, and Garuda. In his Thiruvirutham, Nammalwar praises Sri Varaha Perumal as Gyanapiran. He says all good things in life can be at the feet of Sri Gyanapiran. We have seen all the four stages of Gyana yogi: Yatamana samgya, Vyatireka samgya, Yekendriya samgya and VaseekAra samgya. In the 59^th sloka He tells how we can get rid of all desires and attachments.

visaya vinivartante
niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso ’py asya
param drishtva nivartate

The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.

"The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects remains. But, starving such engagements and by experiencing atman, he is fixed in consciousness."

If one wants to get rid of even the small traces of desires, Sri Krishna tells a method. Slokas 59,60 and 61 make one part. If we are able to visualize atman then all organs get disciplined, Sri Krishna says in 59^th sloka. By comprehending atman in its true form, all other organs are controlled. It is interesting to note what He says in the next 60^th sloka. Arjuna asks what he should do to ‘see’ atman. Sri Krishna replies that if Arjuna could control all organs, atman can be visualized. This normally will puzzle and confuse. One depending on other can never give a solution. But Sri Krishna removes the confusion in the 61^st sloka. So we will have to see all these three slokas as one. Dehi is atman. Niraharam means without food or starving. What is food for atman? When atman is in a body, enjoyment by various organs is all food for atman. Taste is food for tongue but please satman. Music is food for ears but pleases atman. So if we have to starve atman, it means we have to prevent various organs in their desires. Rasam here means trace of desire. We can prevent various organs their food like listening for ears, scent for nose, etc. But the small trace of such desire lingers on. How to get rid of this trace? By concentrating on the eternal and quintessence of happiness –atman, and a glimpse of it will drive away this small trace also. After getting atman darshan, the small trace of desires lingering in the mind also is got rid off. When atman is in a body, if all desirable objects like tasty food, good music, etc, are removed, it starves the organs and we do not indulge in such pleasures. But in the mind traces of these desires will be sticking. Many people have developed a custom of not eating or drinking certain type of food or drinks, but when such persons are in a company of friends who eat or drink such foods, there could be compulsions or curiosity to taste. By yielding to such temptation we may spoil our health. So it is better to avoid such events altogether and resist temptations. But even then mind will not get controlled. This can be suppressed only if we are able to have atman darshanam.

                                                                    (continued)

GITA 2.69

GITA 2.69

Yat gO sahasram apahanti tamAmsi pumsAm

  NarayanO vasati yatra sashankha chakra:

  Yan mandalam Shrutigatam praNamanti viprA:

  Tasmai namO VakuLabhooshaNa BhAskarAya

Nammalwar is called Satakopan and he wears a garland made of Vakula flowers. This place is Thirukkurugur or Alwar Thirunagari. It is also known as DhAntha Kshetram. There was a person living in Salagramam in North. He was not bright in learning and so people used to tease him as mandhan, meaning dim knowledge. In his next birth he was born as DhAnthan. A sage advised him to go to this place and worship Sri Adinatha Perumal and he would be blessed with vast knowledge. He lived in a place Appan koil on the North of this place. Again the same sage met him and advised him to stay in Thirukkurugur and worship Sri Adipiran. He came here; but he was teased here also. Those people suffered a lot and later they all realized the greatness on DhAnthan and this place also got a name DhAntha Kshetram. Alwar had a name Satakopan. Every child when in the womb of its mother possesses total knowledge or gyana. But as the delivery takes place, a gas satam surrounds the child and conceals the knowledge. This is mentioned by Sukhacharya in Srimad Bhagavatham and by Parasara in Sri Vishnu Puranam. But when Nammalwar was born, he was able to throw out that satam gas with kopam or anger and so he was called Satakopan and he possessed the full knowledge. Therefore, by worshiping Nammalwar and reciting his poems, we can also get knowledge about Paramatman. We will now see the fourth and most important state of Gyana yogi – vaseekara samgya. The first step Yatamana samgya in 58^th sloka was our efforts to withdraw from objects creating inferior desires. The second step Vyatireka samgya in 57^th sloka explained diversion of our organs from those objects and remain detached. The third step was Yekendriya samgya in 56^thsloka, where we were told to train our mind also, detached from pleasures and sorrow. Now we will see the fourth step of Vaseekara samgya in the 55^th sloka. Here we will be told that we have to get rid of all traces of all attachments and hatred, and ensure a sparkling pure mind.

prajahati yada kaman
sarvan partha mano-gatan
atmany evatmana tustah
sthita-prajnas tadocyate

The Blessed Lord said: O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of sense desire which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.

" O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness."

He is praised as sthita prajna then. When? When all desires in mind are expelled and atman is made the objective of the mind and remains happy. That is when mind is no longer becomes happy or otherwise with ordinary pleasures and sorrow, but becomes happy with atman only. This is a very difficult stage to attain. Normally the mind is happy with pleasures enjoyed through the organs. We listen to a good music or we see a beautiful figure and become happy. But atman is formless and does not make sound nor can be tasted nor smelt. Then how can one get happiness? We all know that all images or sounds or tastes or scent will fade away one day. But atman is eternal. It is a quintessence of gyana and ananda or happiness. So this has to be inculcated in our mind. Normally we take vegetables for nourishment; but when we are sick, same nourishment is given to the body by drips. So it is possible to experience all our happiness felt in life, by engaging the mind on atman. This happiness will be everlasting unlike the worldly pleasures. This can be understood from the story of Prahlada. He was tortured in many ways: by making serpents to bite, by making elephants to tramp over him, by throwing him tied to a stone in mid ocean, by surrounding him with fire, etc. All these were never even felt by Prahada. Because he had engaged his mind fully in Sri Krishna. By this he was detached from the worldly miseries and pleasures. This is Vaseekara samgya. All, including the mind, are under control. There will be no trace of any worldly miseries and pleasures. To achieve this level the gyana yogi had to understand that atman is superior, to practice Karma yoga and to remove all blemish in the mind and start Gyana yoga, and reach the ultimate stage in Gyana yoga. We can see Alwar also as an example. In the mannai irundu thuzhavi Thiruvaimozhi ten pasurams, he shows that happiness and sorrow are mixed in this world. We have to withdraw our mind from all these and understand atman, then understand the inner atman of our atman as Paramatman. Our mind should be trained to concentrate only on Him. Alwar squeezes the mud below and says this mud belongs to Sri Vamana [an incarnation of Sriman Narayana]. Though there was considerable time span between the Sri Vamana incarnation and Alwar’s time, he sees God in all. While ordinary person will think of how to purchase the land where this mud was scooped out or what plant could be cultivated to earn money, Alwar thinks entirely different. When he sees burning fire he runs to embrace it, as he sees the glowing figure of God. Because of this mentality the fire does not burn him. So, we have to inculcate this habit in our mind. We see in karate and kungfu sports, persons are trained to break bricks with hands without being hurt or in dipping the hands in fire without getting burnt. This is by practicing mind and organs to concentrate. Such practice can make us do anything. When mind is trained to see atman, he is admired as sthitaprajna. His intellect is set up firmly, when nothing can disturb his mind. He can remain isolated without being affected by worldly affairs. This does not mean he will remain in solitude and be of no use to the society. He can do all the good works for the society without being influenced by others. By training mind to engage in atman we can perform all our duties efficiently. This will be perfected, if the mind is further trained to engage in God, Who is the atman of all atman.

                                                                    (continued)

GITA 2.68

GITA 2.68

Nammalwar has sung hymns on this Kshetram. Principal Deity is Sri Adipiran or Sri Adinathan. Uthsava Murthy is Sri Polindu Ninra Piran. We are today in front of Nachiyar sannidhi. There are two main consorts Sri Adi Nayaki or Sri Adi Nachiyar and Sri Kurugai Nachiyar. When we worship the Lord, we can at the same time get the blessings of Sri Polindu Ninra Piran, Sri Sridevi, Sri Bhoodevi, Sri Neeladevi, Sri Adi Nachiyar and Sri Kurugai Nachiyar. This place got the name Thirukkurugai and it is an interesting story. Sri Narayana told Brahma to do penance on the banks of river Kurunai [Thambrabarani] and pointed to this place. The Lord appeared before him after many years of meditation and told him ‘ mama archanam kuru’ [‘do pooja to Me’]. So this place got the name from the word kuru and was called Thiru Kurugai. Also a chieftain Kurugan was administering this place and so this got this name. After Alwar’s birth, this place got the present name Alwar Thirunagari. Alwar says when Sri Adipiran is there why divert your attention on others? He advises us to cling to Sri Adipiran’s feet with steadfastness. In the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam, mostly hymns are composed in praise of the Main Deity or Moolavar. But there are exceptions and in this Kshetram, the Alwar has explicitly praised both the Moolavar and Uthsavar [4.10]. In Srimad Bhagavatham epic, Sukhacharya has indicated the appearance of great Sri Vishnu Bhakthas on the banks of rivers Thambrbarani, Kaveri and Palar at the beginning of Kali yug. 
In such a great Kshetram we will see the next samgya. We are seeing the various stages of Gyana yogi. The first step was the efforts. That Yatamana samgya was described like a tortoise withdrawing its feet and head into the shell from enemy attack, here the person withdraws the organs from contact with inferior desires. Next was Vyatireka samgya. Here the person assumes an impartial role of not joyful when desirable things occur nor brooding when sad things occur, and observe detached mindset. Why does Sri Krishna ask Arjuna to be neutral and neither feel happy nor sorrow? It is seen practically that by having a neutral mind the work is done more efficiently. By being emotionally attached to a work, it gets ruined. A surgeon takes an impartial view of the patient. In such situations emotion could spoil the work. We now go to 56^th sloka:

duhkhesv anudvigna-manah
sukhesu vigata-sprhah
vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah
sthita-dhir munir ucyate
One who is not disturbed in spite of the threefold miseries, who is not elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.

"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from expectation, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind."

Dhi is buddhi or intellect. Sthita dhi is well established knowledge. Person with such knowledge is praised by Sri Krishna as muni [munir ucyate]. Person capable of controlling mind and directing it at the atman is called muni. Just by sitting in forest in a particular posture does not make one a muni. Controlling and directing mind as one wants, is muni. All other organs can even be controlled, but it is too difficult to control mind. That is why this is called Yekendriya samgya. Yekendriya means the single organ i.e. mind as the leader of all organs. How to control mind? Sri Krishna tells the way. We should be having unperturbed mind at the cause of sorrow. Similarly we should have unexcited mind at the cause of joy. In addition we should have avoided raga, bhaya and krodha. Swami Ramanuja in his Gita Bhashyam has explained these very well. Raga is the expectation feeling, one has about a joyous thing to happen in the future. If a father is elated at the prospect of his son going to score very high marks in the results that are going to be published next day, it is raga. That is our interest in a joy that is going to happen. Sri Krishna says that one should abandon this raga, that is the feeling of an expectation. Not merely happiness or the cause for such happiness, but even the anticipation or prospect of that event have to be avoided. Next, bhaya -fear. It is the feeling one gets when there is a prospect of a happy thing not happening or an unhappy thing is happening. When we feel happy of a joyous event in future we get raga. But if that event is not likely to happen? Then the mind gets perturbed and that is bhaya. Bhaya is not the undesirable thing coming to us or the desirable one leaving us. Today what we feel about the prospect of an unwelcome guest tomorrow is bhaya. This bhaya will transform into sorrow when actually the unwanted guest knocks at our door and we see him. So bhaya becomes the cause for sorrow and Sri Krishna advises that bhaya also should be avoided. In the next day results, whether his son is going to score low marks, is fear today for the father. When the results confirm that low marks, the bhaya becomes sorrow. But on the contrary, if the results reveal very high marks, bhaya is converted to happiness. Krodha is anger. If one has raga and is expecting a happy event in future, and if some persons or things obstruct that event from happening then the feeling of krodha or anger is on those obstructing. So, raga transforms to happiness. Feeling of anger on the persons obstructing one from attaining that happiness, is krodha. So Arjuna is advised to abandon these three raga, bhaya and krodha and a person who achieves this is muni. To achieve this, mind has to be controlled. What if raga or bhaya is there? Let us see the example of student. When were his marks decided? Was it when he wrote the exam? Or, when the examiner saw his answer papers? Or, when the results were published? But actually his result was decided when he put in his efforts preparing for the exams. His efforts only will reflect in the exam. What he writes only will be evaluated. And, what the evaluation is there, will be published. But our expectation is on the publishing only. So a person who understands this and avoids these three qualities is praised as muni.

                                                             (continued)