GITA 6.34

GITA 6.34

Sri Padmasani Thayar

lakshmyA saha hrishikEsah dEvyA kAruNya rUpayA

rakshaka sarva sidDHAnte vEdAntEpi jIyatE

 By this sloka we understand the greatness of Sri MahaLakshmi. The Lord, has Sri MahaLakshmi always with Him to protect anyone. Sri MahaLakshmi, as Sri Padmasani Thayar, is gracing as the Queen with Sri Adi Jagannatha Perumal, removing all the sorrows of the devotees and inducing devotion in them to surrender unto the Lord, and blesses along with the Lord. She has the mind so soft like the lotus flower. Her hue is like that of a lotus. She is seated on a lotus flower. Holding lotus flowers in the upper arms, She gracefully views the devotees with her lotus like eyes. She tells us not to worry and assures the grace of the Lord by Her recommendation. The lotus like right lower arm in abhaya hastha assuages our fear and the left lower lotus like arm points us Her lotus like feet. Sri Rama built the Sethu to cross the ocean. At that time, the Kings of this locality were asked by Sri Rama to maintain the temples here and so this Kshetram has been well maintained and administered by the Kings from a very long time. From circa 1600, for the past 400 years or so, Sethupathi Kings and Queens have been administering this Kshetram. They have donated many ornaments, performed many services and constructed many buildings in this Kshetram. Sethupathi means Sri Rama. The Kings and Queens are addressed as Sethupathi Raja or Sethupathi Rani, depending on whether the ruler is King or Queen. Presently Brahmasri Rajeswari Nachiar is the present Sethupathi Rani. Only when Sri Lakshmi is by the side of the Lord, He graces the devotees. We may now have a doubt in Vibheeshana saranagathi. When Vibheeshana came to surrender, Sri Rama accepted him. Normally, anyone surrendering is accepted by Sri Rama only when Sri Sita is by His side. But in this episode, She was in Lanka. If Vibheeshana had directly approached Sri Rama and got accepted, then what was the role of Sri Sita? Similar doubt would arise when Sugreeva was accepted as friend by Sri Rama. There also Sri Sita was not present. This doubt arises not only for those who study Srimad Ramayana, but even Sri Sita was having this doubt. When Anjaneya reaches Lanka as messenger of Sri Rama and meets Sri Sits, She asks how the friendship between humans and monkeys came about? The actual question is not about the friendship as such, but how this got concluded without Her presence. Anjaneya replied that the friendship was blessed by Her. How? When Sugreeva and others were hiding in Risyamuka hills, in fear of Vali, they saw Ravana carrying Sri Sita in the sky and She threw some of Her ornaments as a bundle at the monkeys. This way they all got Her divine blessings and so the friendship was blessed. Similarly Vibheeshana came here. He did not approach directly Sri Rama. Sri Sita is the incarnation of Sri Padmasani Thayar of this Kshetram. She went first to Lanka. Vibheeshana had Her Divine blessings and without that he could not have come to Sri Rama. He pleaded with Ravana to release Sri Sita and give Her back to Sri Rama. t She heard of Vibheeshana's role in Ravana's assembly and there by he obtained Her good wishes and so his surrender was accepted by Sri Rama]. Today's [11th February 2008] is from the sannidhi of Sri Thayar. The 33rd sloka is Arjuna's query. Concentration and repeated practice alone will make yoga successful. The sloka:

arjuna uvaca
yo ’yam yogas tvaya proktah
samyena madhusudana
etasyaham na pasyami
cancalatvat sthitim sthiram

"Arjuna said: O Madhusudana, the system of yoga which You have summarized appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and unsteady."

Madhsudana = O! The Great, Who killed the demons Madhu and Kaitapa. Here Swami Vedanta Desika in his Tatparya Chandrika says that leave alone the slaying of Madhu and Kaitapa, first destroy the demons rajo and tamo qualities in us to cultivate satva quality. Samyena yoga tvaya prokta = viewing all equally as yoga was preached by You [Sri Krishna] [in the last four slokas], etasya = its [yoga's], sthiram sthtim = stable character, na pasyami = [I, Arjuna] do not see, cancalatvat = [mind] is always wavering [unsteady]. Because mind is never stable, the yoga preached by Sri Krishna can not be practiced by Arjuna. It appears to be impossible for Arjuna. To succeed, first sama darshan has to be achieved. One has to view Paramatma nad jeevatman as equal and view all Atman as equal. But in this world differences only are perceptible. We see all as different as humans, animals, trees and insects. We are habituated to see variants only. To view oneness of all Atman we need to practice yoga. We have to do meditation shutting our sense organs from all outside matters. We have to see Atman without the body. If we can do that we will realize that all Atman are equal. But the impediment is mind, and it is highly unstable. So, Arjuna feels that there are not any who could control mind and realize Atman swaroopam. OK, at least is it possible to see equality with Paramatman? This is still more difficult. In Atman mukta swaroopam alone one could realize that the knowledge of Atman and Paramatman is same as also the eight characteristics. So in both, Arjuna finds persons qualifying are rare. This, he is going to further explain in the next sloka. But with grace of the Divya Dampathi, Sri Padmasani Thayar and Sri Adi Jagannatha Perumal, even this seemingly impossible can be achieved.

                                                                                                        (continued)