Thirupavai Pasuram 21

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/01/thirupavai-pasuram-20.html

Ramar Thirukudanthai

‘Ladies I am on your side now,’ said Nappinnai Piratti as she opened the doors. ‘I will represent you and lead you along the right path to attain Lord Krishna. To start with don’t call Him as “Krishna” or as the “Supreme Being”. Eulogize Him as the son of Nanda Gopan.’

‘Why is it better to call Him as the son of Nanda Gopan?’

‘After the Ramayana war when Sita Piratti entered the fire, Lord Agni returned with Sita Piratti and asked lord Rama to accept her. All the celestials gathered in the court. Kubera the King of Yakshas, Yama the lord of death together with the deceased ancestors, Indra the lord of celestials, Varuna the lord of waters, the illustrious Lord Shiva with three eyes and a bull on his banner, Brahma the creator of all the worlds and the best among the knowers of sacred knowledge approached Lord Rama. Lord Brahma as the foremost among all the jeevatmas represented all the Celestial Beings and addressed the Lord. Lord Brahma said that, ‘Lord Rama you are the maker of the entire cosmos, the foremost among those endowed with knowledge. You are the most capable person. You are the foremost among the troop of gods. You are the Vasu, named Ritadhama (one whose abode is Truth or the Divine Law) among the Vasus (a class of gods, eight in number), You are the self-constituted ruler, the first creator of all the worlds, you are the lord of all beings, You are the eighth Rudra among (eleven) Rudras and the fifth Sadhya called as Viryavan among the Sadhyas (a particular class of celestials belonging to Gana Devata).

The twin Aswini devathas are your ears. The sun and the moon constitute your eyes.  O the destroyer of the adversaries, You are seen (to exist) at the beginning and at the end of creation. You are the Supreme Being and yet you ignore Sita Piratti just like a common man."

 As soon as Lord Rama listened to Lord Brahma’s words , He replied that, ‘”aatmaanam maanuSham manye raamam dasharathaatmajam. saH aham yasya tat yashcha aham  bhagavaan braviitu me”  if you must eulogize me, eulogize me as the son of Dasaratha!’

Ladies, why do you think the Lord said so?’ asked Piratti.

‘Was it because He forgot that He is Perumal?’

‘How can Perumal suffer from forgetfulness?’ asked Nappinnai Piratti, ‘don’t forget that He as Lord Rama granted Moksham to Jatayu. He couldn’t have done this if He had forgotten His true nature. Sage Vishwamithra also saw Him reclined on Adisesha in the forest!’

‘Then why did He make such a statement?’

‘He asked Lord Brahma to praise Him as the son of Dasaratha as these words glorify Him for coming down to earth for the sake of saving the Celestial Beings! Lord Rama said that , ‘I have come down to earth as the son of Dasaratha for your sake hence start eulogizing me by calling me as the son of Dasaratha! If you have understood that I have incarnated for your sake, you would have praised me as the “son of Dasaratha”. I keep incarnating to uplift everyone to moksham. If I never incarnated, you will never know me. You see me now because I have come down as Rama. As my swaroopam is spread everywhere and I have countless number of divine qualities you are unable to see me unless I incarnate. Every incarnation I take increases my glories while every birth you take decreases your glory. Therefore start praising me for incarnating as the son of Dasaratha for your benefit!’

Now do you understand why we should praise Lord Krishna as the son of Nanda Gopan?’

‘Yes we understand now,’ answered the girls, ‘we see Him as Krishna because He has incarnated as Nanda Gopan’s son Krishna in order to interact with us and uplift us to moksham!’

Piratti represented the girls and addressed Lord Krishna, ‘Oh son of Nanda Gopalan, your father Nanda Gopalan is a very rich man. He owns countless number of cows just like you have countless number of divine qualities and like us having countless number of flaws. Each of your father’s cows showers milk without even being milked. As soon as a vessel is placed under their udder, they rain milk to fill the vessel. Why haven’t you learnt to shower your compassionate grace on us like your father’s cows? You should shower your grace on us without us having to plead for it but instead you make us wait outside your door crying to have your grace fall on us!’

Nappinnai Piratti’s next few words provide us with the instruction to approach Perumal. She said, ‘Like your enemies who fall at your feet seeking your pardon, we have fallen at your feet! We are similar to your enemies because we were overcome by false ego. We have now realized that our wish will be fulfilled only if it is per your sankalpam. We wandered everywhere seeking refuge until we realized that you are the only refuge. We realize your glory and supremacy therefore please accept us! We have abandoned our ahamkaram and mamakaram and have finally realized that we depend on you. We are not independent as we are supported by you at all times.’

Alternate Meaning:

This pasuram describes a sadacharyan. A sadacharyan has many well trained disciples. Swami Ramanujar had 74 disciples who became the 74 simhasapadhis and Swami was always followed everywhere by 700 Sanyasis. A sadacharyan clears doubts immediately. If a disciple asked one doubt, a sadacharyan clears that doubt while also clearing many such doubts that the disciple hasn’t asked yet. A sadacharyan instructs a disciple without expecting any sambhavanai from the disciple. A sadacharyan is dedicated to uplift us.

Thus this pasuram also shows us how to approach a sadacharyan for instruction after we have abandoned our false ego.

Continued On:http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/01/thirupavai-pasuram-22.html