GITA 4.6
pU mannu mAdhu porundhiya mArban * pugazh malindha
pA mannu mARan * adi paNindhuyndhavan ** palkalaiyOr
thAm manna vandha irAmAnusan * charaNAravindham
nAm manni vAzha * nenjchE! solluvOm avan nAmangkaLE
In Ramanuja Nootrandhadi [part of 4000 Divya Prabandham], in this First verse , it is stated that the Lord has Sri Mahalakshmi on His chest. Nammalwar has sung about this Lord in his Thiruvaimozhi. Swami Ramanuja follows the footsteps of Nammalwar. Such is this relationship and today [20th September,2007] we are at the sannidhi of Nammalwar and Swami Ramanuja , in Srivilliputhur, near the Rajagopuram. Since answers for three questions are in the 6th sloka, we will see the second answer also in the same sloka. The Lord said that His greatness does not get diminished as He is born in this world. He is not born by karma nor dies because of karma. He commands every living being in this universe without exception. Alwar addresses Sri Koorma, the Tortoise, as Sri Kesava. Kesava means beautiful and curly hair on the head. While this may be alright to address Sri Rama or Sri Krishna, how can the Alwar address a Tortoise as Kesava? But we should remember that in every avatar He is Kesava only and none of His beauty is less in any avatar. Swami Koorathalvan says that He is having the six qualities - Gyana, Bala, Aiswarya, Veerya, Shakthi and Tejas- and so He is called Bhagavan. According to Vedas all these six qualities are in the Para Vasudeva form. Same Vedas say that in the next three forms viz. Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, two qualities are exhibited in each form. Does it mean that in these forms His qualities are reduced? Swami Koorathalwan says that He pretends to show reduced qualities for the sake of the devotees and His qualities all remain in tact in every form. Sri Rama lost His wife Sri Sita and asks for the route where She was captivated. At the same time, He was able to guide the vulture Jatayu to Vaikuntam! So He pretends and enacts a drama. Even before crossing the ocean to reach Ravana's Lanka, before even meeting Ravana, He crowns Vibheeshana as the King of Lanka on this side of the ocean! So, even if He wanted to show His greatness reduced, on many occasions it emerges spontaneously and shows the greatness in Him.
Now He answers whether His body is like ours. Our body is made of the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and space and they have the three gunas -satva, rajo and tamo. Sri Krishna tells that His body is not like ours. We call His body as Thirumeni. We also call His form as Divya Mangala Vigraham. Ours is with three qualities while His body is Suddha Satva mayam or only satva quality. That, when seen reduces our ignorance and increases our knowledge, can be said to be of satva quality. That is why when we see the Lord in Temples we get this feeling. So Sri Krishna says prakritim svam adhisthaya.Svam = suiting my greatness, prakitim= body, adhishtaya = I [ Sri Krishna] take, sambhavami = birth. When He decides to descend and be born, He takes a body to suit the situation without in anyway diminishing His greatness. Though as Sri Rama and as Sri Krishna, He is reported to have died, we can never find any reference as to what was done with the body after death. So when He departs to Vaikuntam, the Body He chose also goes to Vaikuntam. In our case when death occurs, the body is cast away and it has to be burnt or buried. He has a body or form but that is not like ours or what we see in ordinary living beings. Shastras say the Body of the Lord has a lightning radiance.
Now He answers whether His body is like ours. Our body is made of the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and space and they have the three gunas -satva, rajo and tamo. Sri Krishna tells that His body is not like ours. We call His body as Thirumeni. We also call His form as Divya Mangala Vigraham. Ours is with three qualities while His body is Suddha Satva mayam or only satva quality. That, when seen reduces our ignorance and increases our knowledge, can be said to be of satva quality. That is why when we see the Lord in Temples we get this feeling. So Sri Krishna says prakritim svam adhisthaya.Svam = suiting my greatness, prakitim= body, adhishtaya = I [ Sri Krishna] take, sambhavami = birth. When He decides to descend and be born, He takes a body to suit the situation without in anyway diminishing His greatness. Though as Sri Rama and as Sri Krishna, He is reported to have died, we can never find any reference as to what was done with the body after death. So when He departs to Vaikuntam, the Body He chose also goes to Vaikuntam. In our case when death occurs, the body is cast away and it has to be burnt or buried. He has a body or form but that is not like ours or what we see in ordinary living beings. Shastras say the Body of the Lord has a lightning radiance.
(continued)
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