GITA 9.25

GITA 9.25

UTSAVAR SRI RAJAGOPALAN

In Tirukkavalambadi, Lord Sri Rajagopalan [Utsavar] is gracing with just two arms. Left arm is resting on the shoulder of Sri Sathyabhama and right arm is holding a whip. On His right is Sri Rukmini. There is no separate sannidhi for Sri Thayar, this is because, as Thirumangai Alwar says, on His chest is seated Sri Madavaral Mangai [மடவரல்  மங்கை  Periya Tirumozhi 4.6.5]. The Lord is standing with a cow and a calf. Cow or calf does not know karma yoga or gyana yoga or bhakti yoga. But still the Lord is protecting them; and so, we can also seek His protection. This is what Alwar says and addresses the Lord as God and prays for protection. Nammalwar says that if the Lord does not protect, there is none to protect(Tiruvaimozhi 5.8.8). He is the only Protector. Did He not protect all the cows and calves, for seven days in Gokulam, by lifting the hill as an umbrella, when rains lashed?

 After viewing the Lord with all Consorts, our eyes should not crave for anything else and that is what the Lord said in sloka 22 [ananyas chinta...]. But there are people who worship so many other deities; He is the inner soul [antharatman] in them; so, why can't He grant them Moksham? Why stop with what they prayed for from the other gods, only? The Lord replied Arjuna, that though it was true that when they worshipped the other gods, He was the Ultimate entity worshipped. This is emphasised in Upanishads also. When a yagna is performed and a god is worshipped, the result of it is attained because the Lord in those gods reigns in them. But the persons performing the yagna should realise this. Even in our daily routines, we can see that unless we aspire to something, we can not attain them; and not just because that something was available. Colleges offer degrees, but one should strive for that and then only that degree will be conferred on one. Our worship also should be with that gyana or knowledge that the Lord is the antharatman in the god we are worshiping. Without this gyana, they are destined to get only what was prayed for. This was told in sloka 23. He told that they were performing worship not as per Vedas, He is the Ultimate, where all worships reach. 

In sloka 24 for today [10th July 2008], the Lord explains this further. Any worship of any god would reach the Lord. Any yagna performed ultimately delights the Lord. How these are all targeted at Him is explained:

aham hi sarva-yajnanam
bhokta ca prabhur eva ca
na tu mam abhijananti
tattvenatas cyavanti te

"I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognise My true transcendental nature fall down."

Aham hi = I [ Sri Krishna] am alone, sarva yajnanam = of all the yagnas', bhokta = beneficiary, ca = and, prabhur eva = only giver of benefits in return. Tu = but, mam = My [ Sri Krishna's], tattvena = true nature is, na abhijananti = not understood [by them in this way]. Te = they, cyavanti = slip away [from not getting superior benefits and reach only inferior results]. The Lord says that He is the beneficiary of all karmas and yagnas we do. That is He is the inner soul in every other god we may worship, and ultimately receives the worship and offerings. Prabhu means the person who gives the result of the pooja or yagna performed. When someone does Jyotish homa and prays Indra for sanctioning Swarga, it is the Lord who actually gives and not Indra. But this is not understood by people, who think that it is these gods who grant them those benefits. They do not know the real stature of the Lord. They should have realised that more than anything else, it is the Lord, Who is the Inner Soul in all and Who alone is pleased with their karma and Who alone is going to grant them anything; but they have never understood this. Therefore, they slip away from superior benefits like reaching Vaikuntam; and are granted only the transient and inferior benefits, they sought. One important point we should note. Dasaratha did not have children and so he decided to perform Putrakameshti Yaga. He invited sage Risyasrunga to do the yagna. The person who gets the yagna performed is called yajamana. Yajamana himself may perform the actual karma also. But here Dasaratha was the yajamana and sage Risyasrunga was the actual performer of the karma. But the derived benefits are to go to Dasaratha and not to the sage. So, the beneficiary is different from the person doing the karma. Similarly, the yagna also was done in favour of some god. Finally, a person emerged from the holy fire and offered a vessel containing payasam [porridge like] to Dasaratha. The Lord, later on, was born as the Son of Dasaratha. The Lord, in this sloka, says that He represents everything in a yagna: the yajamana, actual performer, the holy fire, the god prayed for, the payasam, etc. He is the Inner Soul of all. Because of Him, all have their capacity or power. He performs yagna; He is worshipped, and He is the giver of results. If this knowledge is there, then one would directly approach Him. When one approaches Him, one would pray for the supreme gift of Moksham and be free from the miseries of birth and death. Worshiping Surya, Sriman Narayan grants good health. Worshiping Vayu, Sriman Narayana grants wealth. Here we may have another doubt. Suppose by worshiping Sriman Narayana for Moksham, will other gods be able to grant? No. When the Lord is worshipped, He alone grants and no other gods are involved. This is implied by the words 'aham hi'. Worshiping the Lord is also both easy and pleasant. Even for a simple folding of hands, the Lord is so pleased that He wants to shower benefits in return. He feels like a debtor and does not rest till Moksham is granted. This truth is not understood by them and so slip away from getting Vaikuntam. We will take leave of this Kshetram now.

                                                                                                        (continued)

GITA 9.24

GITA 9.24

TEMPLE WITH SWAYABU VIMANAM

Tirunangur and the surrounding 11 Kshetrams of Chola region are regarded special. We are in Tirukkavalambadi. After visiting the Pushkarini, we enter the temple and have a surprising pradhikshanam [going around in clockwise]. As we go around we notice beautiful gardens with plants and trees. We have a view of the vimanam -swayambu vimanam. Like the Lord, Who appeared on His own [Swayambu], vimanam also appeared on its own. Why did the Lord appear here and from where? Once the Lord Sri Gopala Krishnan, arrived here along with His consorts Sri Rukmini and Sri Sathyabhama, from Dwaraka.

SRI DWARAKANATH

 It is told that the Lord in all these 11 Kshetrams arrived here from various other Kshetrams. This is connected with the story of lord Shiva. Shiva married the daughter of Daksha. Daksha performed a grand yagna; but since lord Shiva was not invited properly, he did not attend that. The daughter of Daksha, however, came to the yagna and questioned her father for his behaviour. Not getting a proper response, she grew angry and destroyed all in that yagna and finished her life also. Lord Shiva became angry on this and performed Rudra Thandavam [ருத்ர தாண்டவம்] - dancing in anger. the whole world trembled in this dance. The place where lord Shiva danced is Tirunangur. At the prayer of all devas, Lord Sriman Narayana, decided to pacify the anger of lord Shiva, by appearing before him. As lord Shiva was dancing, some of his hair fell on the ground and for every hair, one more lord Shiva appeared and danced. Like this 11 Rudras were dancing. To pacify all of them the Lord appeared in 11 forms. That is why there are 11 Vishnu Kshetrams in this region. Near each of these Sri Vishnu temples, we can notice as many lord Shiva temples also. Such an intimacy was there between them. For this the Lord arrived from various other Kshetrams like: to Tirukavalambadi, the Lord arrived from Dwaraka; Lord Srinivasa of Tirumala arrived at Tiruvellakkulam; from Tiruvidavendhai [திருவிடவெந்தை] Sri Kalyana Perumal arrived at Tiruthevanarthogai. Thirumangai Alwar mentions Sri Dwarakanatha in his pasuram on this Kshetram (Periya Tirumozhi, 4.6.8). Once Sri Satyabhama desired to have the Parijatham [பாரிஜாதம்] flower in Indra's garden Nandanam and told Sri Krishna to get some. When Sri Krishna requested Indra, he refused and angered by this, Sri Krishna destroyed the entire garden, and carried away the tree to Dwaraka. Thus in this Kshetram, the Lord appears with Sri Rukmini and Sri Sathyabhama.

SRI GOPALAKRISHNA WITH SRI RUKMINI AND SRI SATYABHAMA

 Let us now see the sloka 23:

ye ’py anya-devata-bhakta
yajante shraddhayanvitah
te ’pi mam eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-purvakam

"Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way."

Arjuna got a doubt. Jyotish Homa is performed to seek Swarga and Indra is worshipped. To get rain, Varuna is worshipped. Vayu is worshipped to get wealth. Surya is worshipped to get health. These are all specified and many are performing these worships. Are these persons worshiping these gods? The Lord told that all these gods are the body to the Lord or Parabrahmam. They are like organs and these worships for these gods ultimately, reach the Lord only. It is like for example, caring for the feet of a person, ultimately pleases the soul or atman of that person. So, whichever god is worshipped, ultimately the inner soul of them and the commander of all of them, should only be pleased. Here, Arjuna gets the doubt that since, even if Indra is worshipped, ultimately Lord Sri Krishna is only pleased; so, why not grant that person Moksham straight away? Why that person should be granted only Swarga? In reply to this, the Lord speaks out in this sloka. The Lord expects them to have the conscience while worshiping other gods, that those worships were directed to the Lord Sri Krishna. But unfortunately, these persons feel that the result of their prayers has been awarded by these gods themselves. They are ignorant that their worships ultimately reach the Lord Sri Krishna alone. This gyana, that the Lord is the inner soul of all these gods, is necessary to obtain greater benefits. This is evident from Upanishads or Vedanta, the latter part of Vedas. But these persons understand only the Karma Kanda of Vedas [as told in sloka 20] and are ignorant that the Lord only, ultimately, grants all benefits. We should, therefore, when worshiping other gods, realise that the Lord resides in these gods and our worships reach Him only, ultimately. This is what Sri Krishna expects. Of course, when this gyana dawns in us, we will straight away worship the Lord and get the benefits. Ye api = even these persons, who are different from those devotees, who think only Sri Krishna is all for them, anya devata bhakta = devotees of other gods, yajante = worship, shraddhayanvita = sincerely. These persons are very earnest in performing poojas for other gods. But they do it without the gyana that ultimately it is the Lord inside these gods, Who is worshipped and Who is granting the desired results. Te api = even those persons, yajanty = worship, mam evam = only Me [Sri Krishna], avidhi poorvakam = without understanding the Vedas correctly. That is they are ignorant that all worships done for any god, ultimately reaches the Lord, Sri Krishna. Because of this the Lord also grants them only the desired results and not the eternal Moksham. 

                                                                                                          (continued)

GITA 9.23

GITA 9.23

When Sri Krishna's name is mentioned, are we reminded of Gita or Mahabharata war? Both will not come to our mind, but the pranks of Sri Bala Krishna will immediately appear in our mind screen. He will be imagined with butter, in the company of Gopikas, herding the cows and calves and running about in Brindavan. He is the One, Who has stolen our hearts. Gita was preached by an Older Sri Krishna. Whatever we understand in Gita, we experience with the very young Sri Bala Krishna. We are visiting the Kshetrams in Tirunangur region. Of the Eleven Kshetrams here, in one, the Lord is gracing as Sri Rajagopala, as Sri Gopala Krishna, with a whip in one hand, pole in another hand and along with cow and calf. Tirumangai Alwar has praised the Lord as Sri Krishna and we are in Tiru Kavalambadi [திருக் காவளம் பாடி].

TIRUKKAVALAMBADI

 Behind the temple is Thadamalar poigai [தட மலர் பொய்கை], pushkarini of the temple.

THADAMALAR POIGAI

 Thirumangai Alwar mentions this name in his pasuram (Periya Tirumozhi 4.6.1). Once elephant Gajendra, roamed all over the earth to get a flower suitable for the Lord. It found a pond full of beautiful flowers and chanting His  divine names, the elephant eagerly got into the pond to pluck flowers. But a crocodile seized the elephant's leg by its teeth and elephant loudly cried for help. The Lord hurriedly arrived on the banks of the pond and removed the misery of the elephant [நாகத்தின் நடுக்கம் தீர்த்தாய் nagam in Tamil is elephant]. In many pasurams, the Alwar mentions kalai kan [களை கண்], which means the Lord is the Protector or Saviour. Alwar prays that just as He saved the elephant, He should save him also. In Tamil, ka [கா] means garden or grove, valam[வளம்] means beautiful or fertile, padi means place. So this place is famous for beautiful gardens. What does a Protector or Saviour do? He will get what is desired by us and remove what is disliked. In Vaishnava commentaries, this is called ishta prapti [इष्ट प्राप्ति] and anishta nivrutti[अनिष्ट निवृत्थी]. This is common to all - wanting to possess desired ones and keep away disliked ones. The Lord facilitates this and it is the substance of today's [8th July 2008] lecture.
 Till sloka 21, the Lord mentioned the transient and inferior nature of seeking swarga, etc., and cautioned that such persons will have to return back to samsaram. In sloka 22, He is going to tell the greatness of devotees seeking Him alone and explains how He helps them. We can see how this sloka fits the Lord of Thirukkavalambadi:

ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham

"But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."

Aham = I, Sri Krishna, tesham = their, yoga - kshemam = yoga and kshemam, vahamy = do. One of our important organisation [Life Insurance Corporation of India -LIC] has the words 'yogakshemam vahamyaham' in their logo. Ye jana = those devotees, those who think of Sri Krishna as all for them, ananya = not [desiring] anything else [other than the Lord], mam = Me [Sri Krishna], cintayanto = thinking, paryupasate = meditate on His auspicious qualities, on His Divine beauty, on the good things the Lord has done to them. Such people, nitya = always, abhiyuktanam = desiring to be with the Lord. So, those devotees, who never think of anything else, but meditating only on Him, His auspicious qualities, His divine beauty and His actions, always desire to be with the Lord. For such people, the Lord gives yoga and kshemam. When we meet persons we do enquire whether their yoga-kshemam are all OK? It means whether health is alright and whether all are happy. But, here this ordinary meaning is not applicable. Yogam denotes unexpected arrival or possession, and kshemam means possessions are all in tact. Yoga- kshemam is unexpected possession of desired, and retention of possessed. When we enquire yoga kshemam of others, we should mean whether the unexpected Bhakti has been acquired and whether the acqired Bhakti is continued without any reduction. Diseases, quarrels, births and deaths are never permanent and will fade one day. But Bhakti in Him should be acquired and preserved forever. Unexpected possession of the Lord and possessed Lord never leaves. Sri Krishna says here that to such devotees, the Lord offers Himself and never departs from them. We should, therefore, be away from all others and concentrate only on Him. Think only of Sri Krishna. We should clear our mind of all others and in the empty mind we should install Sri Krishna and think only of Him. Tondaradipodi Alwar, in the pasuram 'pacchaimaamalai [பச்சை மா மலை போல் மேனி]' says he did not want even Vaikuntam but should always be worshiping Sri Ranganatha. Tiruppanalwar, in his pasuram, says,' enamudhinai kanda kangal matronrinai kanave [என் அமுதினைக் கண்ட கண்கள் மற்றொன்றினை காணாவே]' - after seeing the Lord Sri Ranganatha, his eyes do not want to see anything else. In the end, when Sri Rama was readying to go to Vaikuntam, He took along with Him all; but Hanuman stayed away. When the Lord enquired whether Hanuman was not interested in Vaikuntam, Hanuman said that after seeing Sri Rama, he did not want to see anyother, including Sri Vaikunta Natha! Hanuman said he would remain in this World itself and meditate only on Sri Rama. For all these devotees the Lord offered Himself and remains with them forever. In this Kshetram also as Sri Rajagopala, He offered Himself to all the Gopikas and remained in their minds even after the Lord physically left their place.

                                                                                           (continued)

GITA 9.22

GITA 9.22

GUIDE MAP OF TIRUNANGUR REGION

We are in Thirutevanarthogai [திருத் தேவனார் தொகை], one of the Chola region Divyadesam. The Lord here is Sri Deivanayagan [ஸ்ரீ தெய்வநாயகன்]. The Consort of Moolavar is Sri Deivanayaki Thayar [ஸ்ரீ தெய்வநாயகி தாயார்]. Today's [7th July 2008] lecture is from the separate sannidhi of Sri Madhavanayaki Thayar [ஸ்ரீ மாதவ நாயகி தாயார்].

MOOLAVAR SRI DEIVANAYAKA

SRI THAYAR SANNIDHI

MOOLAVAR SRI DEIVANAYAKI

 Utsavar is called Sri Madhavanayaka and His Consort is Sri Madhavanayaki.  The Lord is in standing pose, while the Thayar is in sitting pose. 

UTSAVAR SRI MADHAVANAYAKA PERUMAL

SRI MADHAVANAYAKI THAYAR

The Lord graces with Four arms, the Upper arms holding discus and conch and the Lower right arm is in Abhaya mudra and lower left arm is holding the mace. Madhava implies it is related to Sri Thayar. 'Ma' means Sri Maha Lakshmi Thayar, and 'dhava' means Leader. So, Madhava means the Husband of Sri Thayar. This is different from carrying Sri Thayar on His Chest, when He is called Sri Sridhara. Sri Thayar here is called Sri Madhavanayaki; that is Wife of Madhava, Who is Husband of Sri Mahalakshmi. Thus it proves that both are interdependent in this Divine Couple. In the Milk ocean churning episode, the Lord churned the ocean with thousands of His hands. Swami Koorathalwan says that in that process, many things came out of the ocean, but Sri Thayar emerging out of the ocean, straight away went and garlanded the Lord and at that time the Lord became Sri Madhava. Worshiping Her and with Her recommendation, we should seek refuge at the Feet of the Lord; and this will be to the liking of Sri Krishna.
 Therefore, Sri Krishna ridicules those who seek Swarga lok, and show more interest in the Poorva bhaga [earlier part] of Vedas, also known as Karma Kanda, which prescribe the procedures and objectives of various yagnas, like Jyothish homa, etc., and leave out Vedanta or Upanishads in the latter part of Vedas, also known as Gyana Kanda. These persons are not true devotees of the Lord and will never reach Him. Arjuna wanted to know what was wrong in seeking those results? In reply, sloka 21 was told by Sri Krishna:

te tam bhuktva svarga-lokam visalam

ksine punye martya-lokam vishanti

evam trayi-dharmam anuprapanna

gatagatam kama-kama labhante

"When they have thus enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are exhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death."

Normally, slokas in Gita have 16 syllables [aksharam] per line and 32 in one sloka. This is called anushtup chandas [metre]. But these, 20 and 22nd slokas, have excess syllables. Here, each line has 22 syllables and 44 per sloka. Te =they, tam =such, bhuktava = pleasure is experienced, visalam = vast, svarga loke = heavens. Here, 'they' implies those who perform Jyotish homa, etc., and seek heaven. Heaven is a very large place with all pleasures and enjoying dances of beautiful apsaras women like Rambha, Menaka, Oorvasi, etc, Unlike the pleasures and sorrows alternating in this world, there, in heaven, happiness alone is there. Even if pleasure spots are available here, we are not equipped with that type of stamina or strength to continuously enjoy. But in Swarga lok, the person going there is provided with a heavenly body to enjoy continuously. Can they remain in Swarga lok forever? No. Ksine punye = all punya get reduced [as the pleasures of Swarga lok are enjoyed and as time passes], martya lokam = the world of mortals or human beings, vishanti = return. By doing punya, the person reaches Swarga lok or heaven and enjoys; but as time passes, the punya stock gets expended and gets reduced. Once reduced to a low level, he has to necessarily be born in this world of mortals. It is, therefore, told that even a person in Swarga would be in constant fear of returning back to samsaram. Can anyone enjoy with full satisfaction, if this constant fear is there? In fact, he would be facing Naraka lok [hell] experience in Swarga. And, he might think that instead of this, remaining in the world of mortals would have been better. Why then seek heaven? We should note the word 'ksine' -reducing. It is not completely exhausted, but when a particular low level reached, they are reborn in this earth. Evam = thus, anuprapanna = following, trayi dharmam = three Vedas. In the last sloka, the Lord told that these persons concentrate on the three Vedas' meanings. Such persons, labhante = attain, kama kama = desired places and desired pleasures. Are these permanent? Ghata aghatam = they go [to heaven to enjoy] and return [to suffer in this samsaram]. He with a short sight enjoys this temporary happiness, only to come back again and grope in this samsaram. By concentrating only on the superficial meanings of the three Vedas, these persons get what they want to enjoy in heaven; but they never realise the inferior and transient nature of this happiness. They little realise that Sri Krishna is the everlasting happiness and Vaikuntam is the place from where there is no return to samsaram. Upanishads emphasise this. We now take leave of this Kshetram.

                                                                                                  (continued)

GITA 9.21

GITA 9.21

vaazhiparakaalan vaazhikaliganRi* 


vaazhikuRaiyaloor vaazhvEnNdhan*


vaazhiyarO maayOnai vaazvaliyaal manNdhirangkoL*


mangkaiyarkOn thooyOn sudarmaanavEl.

This hymn is in praise of Tirumangai Alwar. Long live Parakalan (Tirumangai Alwar)! Long live Kaliyan, who composed 6 collections to end the evil effects of Kali yug! This Alwar had sung in praise of many Divya Desams and we are now in those Kshetrams surrounding Seerkazhi and Tirunangoor. We are now studying 9th Chapter of Gita. In this, Lord Sri Krishna told about the greatness of Bhaktas (Devotees) in slokas 13, 14 and 15. Before that, He mentioned how other non-devotees, like fools, disrespected Him. We should know that He is Sri Deiva Nayaka (Leader of gods) and His Consort is Sri Deiva Nayaki. Without realising this, some of us go to others to seek blessings. We should know that all the gods are not capable of granting any benefits on their own. The reign of these gods is limited by a tenure. Then, how can they grant anything anytime?  When we perform a Yagna, the god invoked should be always present to grant the results of that deed. Because the results take a long time to yield desired results. In case, if the tenure of the god invoked is terminated before the results fructify, we may never realise the benefits. Therefore, we should know that only Sri Deiva Nayaka could grant us what we desire, as He is ever present. This truth should dawn on us. Without this knowledge, we may seek the blessings of inferior gods and be happy with inferior results, in a limited time. Sri Krishna, therefore, is advising that our prayers should be to the Lord, in these slokas. Who is that Lord Sri Deiva Nayaka? He is same as Sri Krishna. To worship Lord Sri Deiva Nayaka, we have arrived at this Kshetram, Tiruth Thevanaar Thogai(திருத் தேவனார்த் தொகை).

TIRUTHTHEVANAAR THOGAI

   We are at the entrance of Sri Deiva Nayaka sannidhi.

MAIN SANNIDHI ENTRANCE

  Why this name for this Kshetram? Since the group (thogai தொகை in Tamil) of gods assembled here to pray the Lord, this place got this name. This is evident from Tirumangai Alwar pasuram indhiranum imaiyavarum...(இந்திரனும் இமையவரும்..)(Periya Tirumozhi 4.1.4),  which is inscribed in stone in this temple. The Alwar says that Indra, all Devas, Brahma, Chandra, etc., all assembled here to worship the Lord. 

Today (4th July, 2008), we will see sloka 20 of Chapter 9. 

trai-vidya mam soma-pah puta-papa
yajnair istva svar-gatim prarthayante
te punyam asadya surendra-lokam
asnanti divyan divi deva-bhogan

"Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights." 

Trai-vidya: = those, performing as mentioned in the poorva bhaga (earlier part) of the Three Vedas, soma-pah = (yagna to be performed invoking Indra) to obtain and drink soma-rasa, puta-papa = nullifying papa (to attain swarga), yajnair = by those sacrifices, istva = desired, svargatim = attain Swarga,  prathayante = by praying to, mam = Me (Sri Krishna). By this first part of this sloka we can understand that there are people who think attaining Swarga is the ultimate desire. Who are thy? Those who have studied and practised only the earlier part of the Three Vedas. Vedas have Two parts- purva bhaga or early part and Vedanta or uttara bhaga or latter part. The early part describes the methods to attain Swarga, to attain Chandra loka or begetting children, etc. While Vedanta or the latter part describes Brahman and ways to attain Brahman or Vaikuntam. By learning Vedanta or Upanishads, we will realise that when we reach Vaikuntam, there is no rebirth. This was told in sloka 13 that the devotee worships Him not for inferior benefits, but worship Him as the Cause for all living beings. In this sloka, He talks about those who want to reach Swarga, thinking that is the most desirable destination. They want to crush soma lata (a creeper) and offer the juice to Indra, who is very fond of it and then they drink it to reach heaven. The sacrifice destroys not all papa, but only those to enable them to reach heaven! Sri Krishna also says that to reach heaven or become another Indra, they worship the Lord through these sacrifices. Arjuna is puzzled. He has doubt as to why they should worship the Lord in these sacrifices when the god invoked is Indra or to become another Indra, should they not pray to Indra. That is answered by the Lord saying that even when they pray Indra, the benefits are granted by the Lord, as He is commanding Indra and other gods from their inner soul or antaratman. Also, Indra can not sanction Indra position. It is like in a company if an applicant wants to become General Manager, he can not be appointed not by another General Manager, but by a higher authority like Vice President or a Director. And, to become a Director, another Director can not sanction, but, perhaps, by a Managing Director!

In the next part of the sloka, He further elaborates. Te = they, surendra-lokam = heaven, asatya = to attain, punyam = happiness superior to worldly happiness (but not the ultimate happiness), asnanti = enjoy, similar to what, divyam = superior, deva-bhogan = Devas enjoy, divi = in those places. From this, we may wrongly infer that Sri Krishna is recommending heavenly pleasures. But it is not so. He is recommending only the everlasting happiness in Vaikuntam. But even to get these inferior happinesses in Swarga, one worships the Lord only, though the invocation may be to Indra, as He is the antaratman to Indra. If one realises this, that itself should strike to him that if the Lord is the One Who grants all these even inferior desires, why to worship these gods. Instead, one could get all these by directly worshipping the Lord! The Lord grants them such inferior happiness also. But He pities them for not praying Him to seek the everlasting happiness in Vaikuntam or Himself! We will see this temple more in the next lectures. 
                                                                                            (continued) 

GITA 9.20

GITA 9.20

TIRUVALI SRI LAKSHMI NARASIMHA

We are in Tiruvaali, one of the Chola region Divyadesam. Including this, Sri Narasimha is gracing in Five Kshetrams. With the Five great elements or Pancha bhootha, as His body, the Lord is gracing the devotees. In this Kshetram, He is representing Water. Why it is so? In this Kshetram only the Lord is Sri Lakshmi Narasimha. Sri Lakshmi is merciful and at our plight, She melts like water. Alwar had a very deep love for the Lord here. He sends bees as emissaries to tell the Lord of Tiruvaali, famous for yagnas, of 'her' [Alwar in the disguise of a woman] plight. Thus, the Lord had stolen Alwar's mind. Alwar, in this female disguise, was sleeping with 'her' mother; when a well built handsome Male comes. In the words of the mother, Alwar says: whether this Male was a thief or not, she did not know. But the Lord had come to take away 'her'. Because Alwar was the property of the Lord. So, how anyone could say taking one's own property as stealing? The Lord called 'her' to come with Him, and 'she' also immediately followed Him, ignoring 'her' mother. The mother laments this event next day to her neighbour. She says that she was not aware where the couple had gone, to Tiruvaali or to Lanka. Alwar implies that 'she' was in great love with the Lord of Tiruvaali, and the Lord also reciprocated. Hence, in their madness of love, they could have gone anywhere.

 From this, we understand that we are all His property and we have no authority to question why He takes people with Him. Bhakti, maturing into madness will be irrational. All the thirty pasurams of Tirumangai Alwar reflect this great Bhakti. We will now see 19th sloka:

tapamy aham aham varsam
nigrhnamy utsrijami ca
amritam caiva mrityus ca
sad asac caham arjuna

"O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withhold and send forth the rain. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. All in all times, past, present and future, are in Me."

The Lord lists some more items and declares He represents them also. By taking these as His bodies, the Lord does related actions. He talks of rain here, and aptly the Lord Sri Narasimha is representing water, in this Kshetram. Aham = I, Sri Krishna,  tapamy = burn or produce heat. We know heat is produced by the Sun or fire or a lamp. So the Lord implies that He is the motive force in all these to produce heat or light. He is the antaratman in the Sun or fire or lamp and commands them in their jobs. Even the heat in our body is because of Him. Aham = I, Sri Krishna,  nigranhamy = suck [ by evaporation] water from various sources like ocean or lakes, etc., by the Sun's heat, utsrijami = and as cloud produce, varsam =rain. He produces warmth and heat in this Universe and produces rain by collecting water from various sources, thereby cooling the Universe. Why should He do both? Why heat and then cool? If we ponder over this, we will find that we are never happy with only heat or cold, but we aspire for coolness when it is hot and vice-versa. Thus the Lord is responsible for everything, we need. It is worth remembering the Fourth pasuram of Tiruppavai -aazhi mazhaik kanna..[ஆழி மழைக் கண்ணா]. Amrutham = life saving, ca = and, mrithyu = death. Here, amruth denotes various lifesaving devices and not the nectar obtained by churning the milky ocean. Lifesaving may appear as a medicine or herb or Sri Rama mantra, anything which saves a life from departing a body. Similarly, He is also all those which make a soul to depart a body. If we think of this, we can understand the life cycle. As an example, rats are there and to prevent their growth excessively, snakes are there. To arrest their growth, mongooses are there; and so on. Arjuna = Arjuna, aham = I, Sri Krishna. am, sad = all those existing in the present, and asad = all those different from present; that is, both past and future. So, all that are existing now are His body; and all those which existed or which will be existing, are His body. He is the soul of all in the present, past and future; He is the soul of life-saving and death-causing items; and, He is the soul of warmth, cold, rain, heat producing and clouds. By these Four slokas, the Lord exhausts everything we can perceive in this Universe and says that He, as One, is the Soul of all these and commands them to do their jobs. This knowledge makes one mature in Bhakti. We will now take leave of this Kshetram.

                                                                                                         (continued)