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)