Thirumaalai - Part 62

based on the vyakhyanam of Sri Periyavaccan Pillai
by Smt Sumithra Varadarajan

Paasuram- 40
"Thirumaru mArvA! Ninnai sindhaiyul thigazhavaiththu
maruviya manaththarAgil mAnilaththu vuyirgalellAm
veruvara kondru suttitu eetiya vinaiyarElum
aruvinai payanaduyyAr arangamAnagarulAnE!"

Thirumaru mArvA! Ninnai sindhaiyul thigazhavaiththu: We already saw that the paasurams from 39 to 43 are nothing but the explanation to the 38th paasuram. We also saw that the 38th paasuram gives the meaning of the manthra ratnam dvayam. But one thing, which has not been given clearly in the 38th paasuram, is given now in this paasuram by alwar. In the 38th paasuram there is no mention of the piratti as clearly stated in the dvayam. But here alwar says, thirumaru mArvA! Establishing the existence of piratti in the chest of emperuman. In this paasuram alwar proceeds further to talk about the Srivaishavas who has strongly kept the dvayArtham in their minds and have got it into their anushtAnam. Piratti stays in emperuman's chest, not even moving out a second ("agalagillEn eraiyum") similarly emperuman stays in the hearts of the Srivaishnavas who are always doing dvayAnusandhAnam.

maruviya manaththarAgil: If there is such a srivaishnava who always has emperuman in his heart, then,

mAnilaththu vuyirgalellAm veruvara kondru suttitu eetiya vinaiyarElum: Even if that person has done the most horrible sin of killing number of animals and birds, and frying them alive still he doesn't have to undergo the miseries due to those sins. For instance, some hunters, their ancestral job may be to hunt but still they may be a bhAgavatan by heart, in that case their job will not be considered as a sin.

There is one story in mahabharatha. One Brahmin learned all the Vedas and did a lot of tapas. To test his tapO palan he looked with a burning look at a bird and the bird was burnt to ashes. One day he came infront of a house asking for 'bikshA'. The lady of the house was involved in her pathi sEva and hence took a while to come out with biksha. The Brahmin got angry and looked at the lady, the same way he did earlier. Nothing happened to her but she replied, did you think me to be like that bird? The Brahmin was taken aback. He burnt the bird in a forest. How did this lady come to know of this? When asked she replied, I have no time to talk to you but there is one person called dharmavyAdhar, who can clear your doubt. So the Brahmin went to meet dharmavyAdhar. When asked who was dharmavyAdhar the people around showed him a small shop. It was actually a butcher's shop. Once again the Brahmin didn't know what was happening. The butcher finished his morning business and then met the Brahmin. He explained to the Brahmin that each one is destined to do his/her duty, which makes emperuman happy. The lady was involved with her stri dharmam and me with my ancestral job but still we consider it to be for the happiness of emperuman and hence even this duty of ours becomes a kainkaryam to him though I am doing a lowly job. The Brahmin then realized the truth that it is not what we do which is important but with what thought we do a job which is more important.

aruvinai payanaduyyAr arangamAnagarulAnE: Bhagavan in geetha says, "srAyAn svadharmO viguna: paradharmo svanishtithAthI svadharmE nidhanam srEya: paradharmO bhayAvaha:". So if one does his duty and even if it is a sin, he need not undergo the results. For instance, a police has to kill a criminal or a king may have to punish a criminal all these do not add to the sin of the police or the king. But even in the case of the criminal if he realizes his mistake and surrenders to emperuman uttering the dvayam whole-heartedly then in emperuman's court he is forgiven says alwar.

Say someone stamps our feet, we want to scold him very badly, due to the pain but then when we turn towards him he says a sorry can we scold him after that? We forgive him and say its ok. When we people, who are filled with ego, pride and anger, can forgive a person's mistake will not emperuman who is filled with krupai and kArunyam? But one may ask that according to the sastras all sinners have to undergo misery. The papams and punyams are redefined in the case of saranagathas. Those acts, which make emperuman angry, are papams and those, which make him happy, are punyams.

Say a boy breaks a very valuable item; his father beats him up for being so careless. The boy feels the pain and cries thereby he has got the punishment for his act. But say if the same father was in a very good mood that day, so he just scolded the boy and warning him not to do it again sent him away. The boy doesn't feel the pain but is happy to have escaped from his father's beating. Now, which determined the pain of the boy, the boy's act or the father's reaction? In both the cases the boy's act didn't vary but only the father's reaction changed. Similarly whatever we undergo depends on emperuman's reaction. Even if we do crores of blunders, but later realize the mistake and surrender to him, then he forgives all our mistakes and considers us equal to his other bhakthas.

This is due to your krupai and karunyam Oh! RanganAtha admires alwar.