Premika Bhavanam, Chennai

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Sri Swamigal has been rendering ‘Upanyãsam’ (discourses), in Tamizh, in Premika Bhavanam. This is being brought to you here.

There may appear to be variations in the ‘tense’ of the language. This is due to the fact that great effort has been taken to maintain the original style of the ‘Upanyãsam’. Therefore, we request you to keep this in mind while reading the translated ‘words’ of Sri Swamigal.

Sri Swamigal,

" Tooya peruneer yamunai thuraivanai’- Don’t we speak of Ganga being the greatest of all rivers? It is said that there is no river as glorious as the Ganga. In ‘Tirumãlai’ it is sung,
‘Gangaiyil punidhamãya Cauviri naduvu pãttu
pongu neer parrandu pãyum poompozhil arangam thannil’ - claiming the greatness of Cauvery over the Ganga. Here, however, instead of praising the Yamuna on such lines it is sung as, ‘Tooya peruneer yamunai thuraivani’ - Which is very pure? Well! Cloths worn by the Mahãtmãs may be dirty. Suppose we are blessed to receive a ‘vastra’ (cloth) of a Mahãtma. We should not look at it as a ‘dirty’ vastra but keep it in puja and worship it. Is there purity other than a Mahãtmã’s touch? The cloth had been worn by a Mahãtma. Purity is not just ‘sthula’ (physical). It is the ‘hrudaya’ (heart) that has to be pure. A person may take bath twice a day, wear a tuft on his head, wear the dhoti in the traditional style, wear the ‘thirumann’ in his forehead, etc. But, if his heart is a storehouse of lust, anger, fear and hatred will Bhagavãn care to turn to his side? No, never! There are innumerable Mahãns who do not even bathe. They seem to be very dirty. They do not bathe properly, eat or sleep well but Bhagavãn bestows His blessings on them. Why? Because their hearts are pure. Their minds are pure. All the outer signs of wearing a tuft on the head, ‘thiurmann’ on the forehead, bathing twice a day are only towards achieving internal purity without which all these become a waste. This is the reason that Mahãns like Shirdi Sai Baba, Yogiramsuratkumar did not follow any ‘achãra-anushttãnãs’. Bhagavãn’s blessing was total in their case because their hearts were pure. A person may seem externally ‘clean’ but anger, lust, jealousy, hatred, etc. is stored in his heart. Bhagavãn will never turn His glance to him. So, while we speak of the purity of Yamuna the question arises in what way is She pure? Is the Yamuna water so pure? While speaking on the glory of the Ganga, it is seen that the Ganga who was brought down through great effort by Bhagiratha was received by Lord Siva on His head. The Ganga rises from the big toe of the Lotus Feet of Lord Vishnu. The Ganga, which comes from the big toe of Lord Vishnu is received by none less than Lord Siva - ‘Vaishnavãnãm yata Shambuh’ (Lord Siva who is a great devotee of Lord Vishnu). This is the reason that Lord Siva receives the water falling from the Lotus Feet of Lord Vishnu on his head. What is the glory of Yamuna? Ganga is touched only by the big toe of the Lord whereas Krishna has conducted innumerable sports in these waters of Yamuna day in and day out.

Krishna bathes in the Yamuna in the morning and in the evening, performs ‘rãsa kreeda’, or jumps into the water with the excuse of performing ‘nonbu’ with the Gopis. Since Krishna was born not in a Brahmin but a cowherd family he followed no rule or regulation. As a Brahmin He would have had to follow strict rules while bathing in the river. But here being a cowherd He would jump in and out of Yamuna at any time he chose to; he would take the water in his mouth, gurgle and then spit it out. Since, the Yamuna was repeatedly bathing the Lord wholly with her waters, Ãndãl sings, ‘Tooya peruneer yamunai thuraivanai. The Ganga is touched only by the big toe of the Lord, whereas the Yamuna enjoys the whole body of the Lord. Not only touched by the whole body of the Lord but also by the gopis who are none other than Mahalakshmi (Goddess of wealth). Here, every household has a laksmi (‘grihe grihe lakshmi’). Radha Devi, Rukmini have all bathed here. Many Bhãgavats take a dip here for the very reason that Krishna has bathed here. Ganga is ‘Jnãna nadhi’ (the river of knowledge) but Yamuna has become ‘Prema nadhi’ (the river of Love)! Thus, ‘Tooya peruneer yamunai thuraivanai.’

Click here for Thiruppãvai (5) in Tamil

Now, why the term ‘thuraivanai’ has been used here? (‘thurai’ means bank). All the Lilas of Lord Krishna had taken place on the banks of this Yamuna. Every evening Krishna would gather all his friends and play ‘kabadi’ here on the banks of the Yamuna. There are two teams in this game in which one has to touch a member of the opponent team. Krishna would at times try to touch an opponent with His leg and so lift His leg while attempting it. What happens when the Lord lifts His leg for this purpose? Drums are played and flowers are dropped on Him in worship! The Lord wonders, “Why are these Devas offering flowers and playing drums while I am involved in a game of ‘kabadi’?” The Devas explain, “Oh! Lord! The moment You lifted Your leg we thought that there was going to be another Trivikrama-avatãr to measure the Universe!” The Lord thought, “These Devas do not seem to leave me free!” So, the Lord switches to the game of ‘tãndu-kudirai’ (horse jump). Today when we say, ‘Krishnam vande Jagatgurum’ (obeisance to Krishna, the Guru of the Universe) it covers even such games! He has shown us how to play even games such as these! It is on the banks of the Yamuna that Krishna destroyed the asura Kesi, performed ‘rãsa’; the Kãlindi nadhi is also a part of this Yamuna. So, ‘Yamuna theera vihari’. The Lord has not conducted such countless wonderful divine plays (‘lootti’) anywhere else as much as He had on the banks of the Yamuna. There is no history of the Lord having played on the banks of the Ganges. Therefore, ‘tooya peruneer yamunai thuraivanai’. So, He is referred to as the Lord of the banks of such highly blessed Yamuna (‘thurai’- bank; ‘thuraivanai’ refers to the Lord).

‘Ãyar kulathhinil thonrum annivillakkai’ - The ‘kula’ (the family/caste) in which a true Mahãtma is born becomes holy/pure (‘pavithram’). The ‘kula’ earns glory because of this. How should we conduct ourselves? Our behaviour should be such as to enhance the glory of the ‘kula’ or the ‘sthãna’ (status) we occupy. In the world one can become a father or a mother by begetting a child. One may become a guru by the mere fact of having some disciples. One can become anything in the world. To uphold the status of the post is to the credit of only a few. Some boys feel sorry that they are not like their father while there are those who grieve that they are not like their mother who has sacrificed much for them. There are some who feel sorry that they are not like their brothers in greatness; some feel sorry that they are not like their Guru; and a few others feel so about the ruler of their kingdom. It is easy to earn a ‘sthãna’ but to behave as beholding the post is very difficult. It is very difficult to earn the respective ‘gunas’ (merits). So, here since Krishna was born in the ‘ãyar kula’ (cowherd family) Mahãns sing, ‘thãye yashoda undan ãyar kulathhuditha mãyan gopalakrishnan seyyum jãlathhai kelãi.’ (oh! Mother Yashoda! Listen to the Lilas of the trickster (‘mãyan’ - one with magical powers) Gopala Krishna born in your ‘kula’). Ãyar kulathhinil’ - Everyone from Nachhiãr downwards speaks and sings the ‘kula’ in which the Lord was born. They speak highly about that ‘Kula’. ‘ãyar kulathhinil thonrum annivillakkai’ - the Lord is like the lamp, an ornament to that ‘kula’. He is like the gem born in this ‘Kula’.

‘Thãyaik kudalvillakkam seida damodaranai’ - ‘Makkal aruvarai kallidai modhi’ - Six of Devaki’s children were struck against the stone of the wall and killed by Kamsa. Therefore, Devaki’s womb was blistered by bearing and losing six children. She was deeply pained at heart as one by one all her six children were killed in her very presence. So, the Lord occupied the womb of Devaki as if to bring coolness to both her heart and the womb and to help her forget all her past griefs. Hence, ‘thãyaik kudal vilakkam seida’.

‘Damodaranai’ - Damodaran refers to the Lila of Yashoda tying up child Krishna to a mortar (‘ural’). Krishna goes about drinking up curd, milk and ghee stored in the pots. Once, Yashoda was feeding Krishna. She had to leave him a while to save the milk on the oven from boiling over. The annoyed Krishna broke down all the pots in the house with a curd churner! Yashoda lost her cool with the naughty Krishna. With the intention of tying him up with a rope she picked up a rope. But Krishna was not to be caught so easily. Poor hefty Yashoda had to run behind him all over! The totally tired and perspiring Yashoda could run no more and sat down. At once Krishna came up to her as if giving himself up to be tied down by the rope. Here, Swamy Sridhara explains that this only goes to show what Bhagavãn has to say, ‘If you try to catch me I will not come; you can get me only if I Will it!’ Yashoda tied Krishna to a mortar and the child sat down quietly! Does this mean that the child did not know to untie the knot? No, it was not so. It was only with due respect, love for and sympathy to the mother that child Krishna sat bound! But can this child Krishna ever sit quietly even for a moment? No! The next moment he moved on all fours dragging the mortar along! Close by were the two trees that were in reality Nalagubera and Manigriva (the two sons of Kubera) cursed to this form by Sage Narada! Krishna hit the mortar against these two trees and they fell to the ground with a thud. And with the curse lifted off them, the two stand in front of the Lord offering the prayer, ‘Nama parama kalyãna nama parama mangalãya Vãsudevãya Sãnthãya yadhunãm pathaye namah!’

Witnessing Yashoda tie up Krishna to a mortar all the sages, beginning with Sukãchãriya, cry out, “That Brahman, which is beyond the realm of the intellect (vãk, manas, buddhi), which the Upanishads and the Mahãns are searching for has been, in a split of a second, tied down by Yashoda!” This sloka is very dear to Maha Periyava. Periyava never missed saying this sloka in His Upanyãsas. The Mahãns marvel how Yashoda tied the all-prevailing Bhagavãn to a mortar! The Swamy goes on to elucidate - the Vaishnavas have the tradition of ‘samãcharana’ wherein the Shankha, Chakra are embossed on to the body. So this was such a ‘samãcharana’ for the Lord. That is, the rope tied to His waist left a mark on the soft skin! Periavãchãnpillai puts forth very interestingly, “The Lord has had another ‘samãcharana’. The first ‘samãcharana’ was this performed by Yashoda. Brigu Muni went to Kailasa and later to Brahma loka in search of a calm and collected God but returned with disappointment. He then went to Tirupathi and kicked the Perumal who stands there with the ‘Thãyãr’ (Goddess Mahalalkshmi) in his breast. What did the Lord ask? “Is your leg aching? (!)” Even today there is a mark in the very place that the Lord was kicked. So, the Swamy refers to this as another ‘Samãcharana’, similar to the one done by Shanka and Chakra.

Sri Ramanuja once expressed his grief that there was none to maintain a garden and offer flowers to the Lord in Tirupathi. At once his disciple Anathãzhvãr offered to perform this service. He went up the hill taking his wife along with him. She was at this time in the advanced stage of pregnancy. He built a garden there and offered flowers to the Lord. The pregnant wife helped him in watering the plants, digging the soil, etc. Unable to bear the trouble taken by the couple for His sake, the Lord takes the form of a young Brahmin boy and offers to lend a helping hand. But Anathãzhvar refuses the help. The couple tells the young boy, “We will not give up this service to anyone for any reason whatsoever. This is a service to be rendered by us only.” The young boy tries to pull the shovel out of Anathãzhvãr’s hands. The angry Anathãzhvar hits the boy with the shovel, which cuts him on the chin. At the same moment the idol in the temple begins to bleed. The Lord advises the flabbergasted priests that the soil from the garden of Anathãzhvãr would cure the wound. On applying the soil to the wound the bleeding stops immediately! Even today ‘pachha kalpoora’ (menthol crystals) is applied on the Lord. The Swamy refers to this as another ‘samãcharana’! Therefore, there have been three ‘samãcharanãs’ for the Lord - one was the shovel hit by Anathãzhavãr, another was the kick by Brigu Muni and yet another was of course mother Yashoda’s rope knot mark (Damodara).

Nammãzhvãr fell in a swoon while singing on this aspect of the Lord. Madhurakaviazhvãr is standing aside witnessing this. For six months Nammãzhavãr did not get out of this dhyãna. He was so deeply stuck with the thought that Yashoda had tied down the glorious Brahman, the Vaikuntapathi, who could not be seen by anyone, with a little rope! The Mahãns were so deeply involved with the Lilas of the Lord.

Parãsarabhattar comes to pay obeisance to the Lord. Special ‘Thirumanjanams’ are performed for Lord Ranganatha. Under Sri Ramanuja ‘padathi’ (tradition) the Lord had no milk or curd abhisheka but ‘pachha kalpoora’ and other natural perfumes used to be mixed together and applied to Lord Ranganatha. Warm water was used for abhishek The water’s temperature was tested thoroughly so that it was neither too hot nor too cold. A turban used to be tied to the head of the Lord. Ten ‘kalasãs’ of water used to be poured on the body and one on the head. Since pouring all the ‘kalasãs’ of water on the head would make breathing difficult for the Lord only one was poured! And even the one poured on the head would not fall on the face since a turban was tied to the head. This is the way the Lord was taken care of and enjoyed in Srirangam. Nobody is permitted to see while removing the ‘vastra’ of the Perumal. But one day Parasarabhattar sneaks a look behind the screen. The others by his side question him, “You know the rules and regulations of the place. Does it befit you to behave so?” But Parasarabhãtar explains, “I am trying to see the mark of the rope tied by Yashoda!” and exclaimed, “Ah! Damodaranai kanden!” (I have found Damodara!) Therefore, ‘thãyai kudal villakkam seidha damodarani’.

‘Tooyomãi vandunãm thoomalar thoovithozhudu’ - What does it mean to ‘come purely’? External purity is obtained through cleaning the body (a bath). But internal purity comes of a pure mind, i.e. the deep yearning to see Bhagavãn. While going to the temple the deep yearning experienced for the darshan of Bhagavãn is purity. ‘Thoomalar’ - from the worldly aspect this refers to flowers. But in reality it refers to the flowers of celibacy (‘brahmacharya’), Truthfulness (‘sathya’), forgiveness (‘kshama’), compassion (‘daya’), peace (‘shanti’), love (‘prema’). We should perform our worship with these flowers.

‘vãyinãl pãdi’ (sing) - perform Nãma Sankeertan. ‘manathinãl sindikka’ - Sri Sankara says, ‘Bhaja Govindam’. How does He explain the word ‘Bhaja’? While the tongue sings the Name of the Lord and the mind thinks of Him (the heart feels Him), the hands move in ‘anukaranã’ (‘abhinaya’). If the mind is set in the song, say, while we sing ‘Govardana Giridhari’ the mind should picture the Lord holding the Govardana mountain on His little finger and our hands will automatically go up. This is called ‘bhaja’. So, to perform bhajan means even while singing the Lord we should think of the Lord and the hands should enact the scene. ‘Bhaja Govindam’ - Sing Lord Govinda in this way. It is said,
‘Vishnor gãnancha, nrityancha, natanancha,viseshatah
Brahman! Brãhmanajãtiinãm kartavyam nityakarmavat’.

‘Vãyinãl pãdi, manathinãl sindikka’ - Sing the Lord incessantly and while you sing the Lord let not the mind slip away to other things. Let us think only of Him, the Lord. Let us picture in our minds the Lilas of the Lord that we sing. What happens when we do this?
‘Poya pizhaiyum pugutharuvãn ninranavum
theeyinil thoosãgum! Cheppelo rembãvãi’ Poya Pizhai is ‘prarabda’ (fate), pugutharuvãn is ‘ãkãmya’, ninranavum is ‘sanchita’. Ãndãl speaks of the three kinds of karmas. The founders of the three philosophies of Advaita, Dwaita and Visishtadwaita, viz. Adi Sankara, Madhwãchãrya and Sri Ramanuja, respectively, have said that ‘prarabda’ cannot be altered by anyone. If Bhagavãn cannot alter ‘prarabda’ it will mean that ‘prarabda’ is greater than Bhagavãn. It will go to mean that there is something that cannot be carried out even by Bhagavãn. So, here it does not mean that Bhagavãn cannot alter the ‘prarabda’ but it only means that the Lord will not alter, the ‘prarabda’. He does not break the rules of the ‘prarabda’ set by Him. However, at times He does break the ‘prarabda’ out of sheer compassion. This is only to show that He possesses the power to break the rule that He Himself has created. Otherwise in the ordinary course the Lord does not break the ‘prarabda’.

‘poya pizhaiyum pugutharuvãn’ - the sins committed by us in past ‘janmãs’ (birth). ‘ninranavaum’ - future sins, rather, the karmas which include both merits (‘punya’) and demerits (‘pãpã’). ‘Prarabda’ is good and bad merits earned by us from our past births. ‘Ãkãmya’ are those done by us in this birth. ‘Sanchita’ are future good and bad merits. All these three types of karmas will be burnt away in the fire ( ‘theeyinil thoosãgum’). The good and bad merits of those who perform Nãma Sankeertan with deep devotion for Bhagavãn in their hearts will be burnt away just as the cotton thrown into a fire gets destroyed.

‘Poya pizhaiyum’ - In Viveka Choodãmani, Sri Sankara says, “Jnãnis (like Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa) suffer from cancer. They also face disrespect. This is because ‘prarabda’ does not spare even the Jnãnis. A man shoots an arrow aimed at what he thinks is an elephant drinking water. Only after the arrow had left the bowstring does he realize that it was a cow and not an elephant that was drinking water. Now, the arrow cannot be retrieved. The arrow shot out is like the written down karmas. But a Jnãni remains unaffected by karma ‘phalãs’(fruits). Did not Bhagavãn Rama come down to the earth and suffer untold miseries? Whether you would become a Jnãni or see Bhagavãn is not due to ‘prarabda’ but is ‘swãntantarya’. So, here, through the words ‘poya pizhaiyum’ Ãndãl sings the ‘prarabda’.

‘Pugutharuvan ninranavum’ - She speaks of erasing out all our ‘ãkãmyãs’ and ‘sanchitãs’. It can be explained thus - the arrow shot out is ‘prarabda’. Being ready to shoot out the arrow is ‘ãkamaya’. The arrow yet not drawn out (‘ambãra thuni’) is ‘sanchita’. How to escape all these three? One who enjoys the grace of the Guru will win over all the three. The reason is that ‘prarabda’ is our enemy. Fire and cotton cannot be placed together as they are adversaries. In spite of this if the cotton is dipped in oil and lit up it burns slowly as a lamp. It does not get burnt out quickly. But once the oil is dried out the cotton wick burns out quickly. Here the oil is akin to the grace of the Guru. As long as Guru’s grace is enjoyed the cotton burns slowly. When the grace of the Guru is no more then the cotton burns out quickly. What is the grace of the Guru? Let us take an ocean. One who goes to the ocean with a small vessel brings that much water as can be filled in it. One who carries a big pot gets a pot full of water. Similarly, the grace of the Mahãn or Bhagavãn is directly proportionate to the faith of the person who goes to Him. Grace (‘anugraha’) depends on our faith in the Guru/Mahãn. They cannot be blamed for blessing one person with more Grace and another with less Grace. It depends on our shraddha, vishwas; as is our faith so is their ‘anugraha’.

‘Poya pizhaiyum pugutharuvan’ - While enquiring if Bhagavãn has ever changed the ‘prarabda’, the Swamy takes up the incident of Lord Krishna retrieving the dead son of His Teacher Sãndeepani.

Krishna tells his friend Kuchela, “In this world both the rich and the poor suffer. None enjoys peace. Everyone suffers some sorrow or the other. Each, the rich and the poor, envies the other. Both yearn for shanti. How does one earn shanti? Krishna tells Kuchela, “Henceforth the world will refer to you to indicate poverty and me for the wealth as I am Dwarakadeesa. But both of us enjoy shanti. The reason for this is ‘Gurohu anugrahenaiva puman puranah prasantaiye’. This is because our Guru Sandeepani blessed us when we prostrated before him at the time of taking leave of him after the completion of our studies. This is the reason for our enjoying peace.

Bhagavãn at the end of His studies at the Gurukula enquires of Guru Sãndeepani, “What can I offer you as Guru dakshina?” Sãndeepani says, “My son who went to bathe in the Yamuna never returned.” Immediately Bhagavãn approached and demanded of the ocean to return His Master’s son. The ocean explained, “An Asura, by name Panchagana, lives here. It is he who has taken away the boy. I know nothing about it”. Bhagavãn demands Panchagana to be brought. But the Asura says that the child has been taken away to Yama loka. Yama, when approached, tells Bhagavãn, “I have brought the child as per his ‘prarabda’.” But, Bhagavãn orders, “Return the child. This is my order.” And Bhagavãn brings the son of his Master back. So, ‘poya pizhaiyum’.

Sãndeepani, mighty pleased with his student blesses Krishna. It is then that Bhagavãn requests the Master, “I might have erred unintentionally during my stay here for studies. If at any time my behaviour was acceptable and pleasing to you, then please bless me that whatever I have learnt here stays with me.” Who places such a request before the Master? One who mastered the 64 arts in just 64 days and the 14 Shastras in just 14 days requests this of Sãndeepani. And Sandeepani blesses him out of deep joy.

Sãndeepani speaks about the miracle performed by his student to his wife. But the wife says, “This is nothing to marvel at, for I have seen many such wonders. When I used to ask him to milk the cow the vessel used to go to the teats of the cow on its own, the cow would milk on its own and the milk filled vessel return to him on its won. Krishna would then give it to me as if he had milked the cow!” The awe-struck Sandeepani declared, “You are indeed greater than Krishna because how could you have remained so composed after witnessing such wonders? Could you not have spoken at least a few of them to me?(!)”

Nãchhiãr’s words are the Truth/’pramana’- ‘nãn pesum vãrthai ellãm Narayanan than vãrthai’ - these are not my words but Bhagavãn speaks from within. Therefore, one should pray to the Lord sincerely from deep within one’s heart. The ‘prarabda’, ‘ãkãmya’ and ‘sanchita’ of all those who bathe and sing Nãma Sankeertan in the early hours of Mãrgazhi will be definitely destroyed without any iota of doubt and they would attain the Lotus Feet of the Lord. "

"GOPIKÃ JEEVANASMARANAM
GOVINDA! GOVINDA!"

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NOTE: Any discrepancy/lapse in the translated version of the Upanyasam is the sole responsibility of the person/s who translated the work from Tamizh into English.

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