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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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As already emphasised, the one and only Paramatman is revealed as so
many different deities. If one person develops a great liking for a
certain
deity, another chooses to have a liking for some other. To make a man a
confirmed devotee of the form in which he likes to adore the Lord, the
Paramatman on occasion diminishes himself in his other forms.
Tirukandiyur is in Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu. In the temple here
Siva is
seen to be a lesser god than Visnu. He once plucked off one of Brahma's
heads, became thus the victim of a curse and was freed from it through
the grace of Visnu. In the same district is Tiruvizhimalai where it is
Visnu
who is seen to be a lesser god than Siva. Reciting the "Siva-
Sahasranama"(The One Thousand Names of Siva), Visnu offers lotuses at
the feet of Siva. When he is nearing the end of his worship he finds
that
he is short of one lotus. What does he do now? Visnu, the lotus-eyed,
digs
out one of his own eyes and offers it at the feet of Siva. The latter is
pleased and gives him the cakra or discus. Siva is called
here"Netrarpanesvara"(Siva to whom an eye has been offered); at
Tiruakandiyur Visnu is "Hara-sapa-vimocana"(one who freed Siva from a
curse). When we listen to the story of Tirukandiyur we learn that Visnu
is
a god of great compassion who frees his devotees from the most terrible
of curses. Similarly, from the Tiruvizhimalai story we realise that no
sacrifice is too great for a devotee- Visnu offers one of his own eyes
to
the god he worships, that is Siva. The question here is not who is the
greater of the two, Siva or Visnu.
In the old days we used to have the lanterns in our homes. There were
lanterns with glass on all the four sides- or three sides. Let us take
the
latter type. The wick inside the glass is lighted. The three sides made
of
glass are painted in three different colours [or only two sides are
painted]. The light burning inside will be seen to be a different colour
from each side. We may take these three sides to represent creation,
protection and dissolution, the three functions performed by the
Paramatman. It is the one Light that is responsible for all the three,
like
the wick burning inside the lamp with the three sides.
One side of the lantern, let us assume, is painted red. It symbolises
creation. If we remove red from the pure light of the spectrum, the
other
six colours also will be separated. This is what is meant by the one
becoming the many of creation. Brahma, the Creator, is said to be red in
colour. Another side of the lantern is painted blue. The first and last
colours of the spectrum are violet and red. The beggining is red (or
infrared) and the end violet (or ultraviolet). Mahavisnu, during the
very
act of sustaining all creation, demonstrates through jnana that this
world
is not the whole self-fulfilling truth but the disguise of the
Paramatman,
his sport. In the fire of jnana the cosmos is charred. This is the state
in
which an object, without being entirely disintegrated, retains its form
but
loses its colour: it is like a lump of charcoal. Such a entity as the
world still
exists, but its own quality, Maya, is burned out and is suffused with
Visnu-
"Sarvam Vishnumayam jagat". In Tamil Visnu is called"Kariyan,
Nilameniyan"(one who is like charcoal, one whose body is blue). Blue,
black and violet are more or less similar colours. The light coming from
the blue side of the lantern is Visnu.
The third side of the lamp is not painted. We saw that when all is burnt
in
jnana the residue is a lump of charcoal. But if this charcoal is burned
further the ultimate product is ash. It has no form and is just powder
or
dust. Now the colour also changes from black to white. White is the
colour close to pure light. All the colours are inherent in that light,
which
means all the cosmic functions and activities emanating from the
Paramatman are made extinct, are burned out. Now the Paramatman
alone remains. That is the ashes remain when everything is burnt outthat
is what lasts in the end. It is indeed Paramesvara otherwise called
Mahabhasma. Samhara, destruction, may seem a cruel function. But
what Siva does, though seemingly cruel, is truly an act of compassion
because he goes beyond destruction to unite us with the Truth. When
Visnu sportingly bestows jnana on us the cosmos seems like a lump of
charcoal.
"Sarvam Vishnumayam jagat, "we say. But now all the sport has ended
and we have come to the state of supreme jnana: there is neither
"sarvam"nor "jagat". Now it is all "Sivamayam". It is the one lamp that
is
the light of the Brahman. When it is seen through the red side of the
lantern it becomes Brahma; through the blue side it is Visnu; and
through
the unpainted side it is Siva.
Our great men have in the past sung of the One manifesting as three
("Oruvare muvuruvay"). There were great poets in our country who were
not interested in propagating any philosophy or any system of
thoughtthey
were men possessing a broad outlook and an open mind who
expressed their views freely. These poets have said that it is the same
entity that is manifested as the Trimurthi (Brahma, Visnu and Mahesvara)
and indeed as the 33 crore devatas. Bana says that the same Object
becomes three to perform three functions, "sarga-sthiti-nasa-hetave".
Kalidasa clearly states, "Ekaiva murtirbibhide tridha sa" (The
Paramatman
is One; it is this One that divides itself into three for the three
different
functions).
If we were divided into two schools, the one insisting that the Saiva
Puranas alone are authoritative among the Puranas and the other
claiming that only the Vaisnava Puranas are to be relied upon, we would
keep quarelling without ever being able to take a clear and
dispassionate
view of things. "The Truth is One. The wise speak of it by different
names". There is no greater authority for us than this Vedic
pronouncement. So all of us, without making any distinction between the
Saiva and Vaisnaiva systems, must listen to the stories of all deities
and
be rewarded with freedom from worldly existence.
Tiruvisanallur Ayyaval was a great man. His real name was Sridhara
Venkateswara. But out of respect people referred to him as
"Tiruvisanallur Ayyaval". He lived some three hundred years ago and was
the senior contemporary of Bhagavannama Bodhendra. Bodhendra
propagated devotion to Rama and Govinda, that is he taught people to
sing these names of the Lord. At the same time Ayyaval spread the glory
of Siva by singing his names. Neither of the two respected any
distinction
between Siva and Visnu. So the two of them jointly propagated the
"nama siddhanta" in the Tiruvisanallur. They had respect and affection
for
one another and established the doctrine that in the age of Kali
repeating
the names of the Lord [nama japa] is the sovereign remedy for all ills.
Whenever a bhajana is held obeisance is paid to these two (first
Bodhendra and then Ayyaval) before singing the praises of the deities.
During a sraddha ceremony Ayyaval fed an untouchable. The village
headman gave the ruling that he had to bathe in the Ganga in expiation.
Ayyaval made the sacred river rise in the well in the backyard of his
house. This story is well known. The incident took place on the new moon
of the month of Karttigai (November-December). Even today devotees in
large numbers bathe in the water of this well in the belief that it is
as
good as taking a dip in the holy Ganga.
Ayyaval gives his own account of how Sri Rama broke the bow of Siva.
"Svakara pratipadita svacapah, "this is how he put it. That is Rama
broke
his bow with his own hands. The story usually told is that the bow of
Siva
was cracked by Narayana and that later Narayana who descended to
earth as Rama broke it completely. Ayyaval does not like the idea of
Siva
being represented as inferior to Rama. He does not make any distinction
between Siva and Visnu and believes that Siva is Visnu and Visnu is Rama
(so Siva and Rama are the same). Logically, in his view, the bow of Siva
is
the bow of Rama. That is why he says Rama broke his own bow with his
hands. All such acts are needed for his sport, he declares. |
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