InjunctionofAcharyas1-20
By Periyava
Translation from Tamil: V. Krishnaraj
http://www.kamakoti.org/tamil/part1kural20.htm
ஆசார்யர்களின் ஆக்ஞை : தெய்வத்தின் குரல் (முதல் பகுதி)
InjunctionOfAcharyas: Deivathin Kural1-20

The important injunction of Srī Ādhisaṅkara Bhagavatpātharkaḷ to his followers in the Pīdam is that we should do meditation of Īśvara. We should encourage others do the same. What is the purpose of Īśvara Dhyāṉam? That Īśvara made us what we are. Our goal is to discover that our true Svarūpam (one’s own form) is that of Īśvara. How are we to discover what we are? You plead ignorance. It is enough to meditate on Īśvara, endowed with a plethora of Kalyāṇa Guṇās (auspicious qualities). He and we are one. He grants us the Ours-His true suvarūpam. When we and He become one, the plethora of Guṇās dissolve to become Nirguṇam (Attributeless state).
We send children to school. If they do not behave themselves, we blame the teacher as useless. Likewise, if you do not behave well, I the designated Guru of you all am useless.
The misbehavior of a person is attributable to the other person responsible for the former’s proper behavior. The burden of bad behavior of an individual falls on the monitor of good behavior. The sins of the subjects gravitate to the king. The wife’s sins rub off on the husband. Siṣya’s (disciple) sins are inherited by his Guru. These are the opinions of treatise on Justice. Jagatguru has a plenty of followers. Just imagine the load of sins coming to his repository of sins.
The sins are expunged with Bhagavat Dhyāṉam. Bhagavatpāthāḷ enjoined us (Periyava) to encourage Dhyāṉam among the people. If the people do not do Dhyāṉam, do it for them. I am doing my duty to the best I can. I try to do the Dhyāṉam for all of you. If you do it as much as possible, the burden on me to that extent is mitigated.
Dhyāṉam purifies the mind, helps bear the brunt of past sins and desist from accruing new sins. If a strong Saṅkaṛpam (determination) exists, time should be provided for meditation. If time spent on unnecessary wrangles, newspaper discussions…can be curtailed, you use the saved time for salutary Dhyāṉam. Dhyāṉam is the foremost goal of our lives. Come what may, prosperity, poverty, hardship, happiness. health, disease…, do your Dhyāṉam for long and often.
Besides the personal practice of Dhyāṉam, we should urge others in our ambit to do the same. We should not get angry for failure to follow advice. Use love and gentle persuasion in encouraging others to do Dhyāṉam. Even stony hearts melt to the force of love.
I have done my duty to carry out the injunction of Saṅkara. That grace and gain came because of you. You had the grace to hear the injunction of the Āćārya. My duty in this endeavour earned me benefits. You listened to my advice to follow the path for the loftiness of the soul. You and I gained mutually.
Take this advice to your heart, mind and soul and make a complete gain. When life ends, you feel, “Appādā (Sense of relief), I obtained the fruit of this birth. Now I can go home fearless.” Let Parameśvaraṉ grant you anugraham (favor) to follow the path of virtue to gain liberation with freedom from fear, determination, and satisfaction.
With the errant mind, we committed many sins. If we performed Īśvara Dhyāṉam since childhood, there would have been much expunging of sins (Palliation). We are accruing more sins now. The number of days we performed meditation at the lotus feet of Īśvara, for that many days we could experience the fruits (Karma) of our birth. That is the fruit of having taken this birth.
One should ask oneself how long one performs Dhyāṉam every day. We engage in many activities every day. We would have done a little of Īśvara Dhyāṉam. If the precious but waster time —spent on idle talk and worthless acts… —was spent in Īśvara Dhyāṉam, we could have avoided carrying and fearing the bag of sins. Now the bag of sins is getting bigger and heavier. We are here on earth. One day, despite individual qualities, we all must exit. Thus far, this world has turned out to be a place for accumulation of dirt or impurity. Despite this disadvantage, let us make this place most fit for the washing of the impurities. Body, mind, Sastra, Kṣētra, water…are the conveniences of this world.
We perpetrated sins by mind, thought, speech, and deeds with organs, hands, and feet. We should expunge all those sins by doing meritorious acts with mind, thought, speech, and deeds by organs. If we can declare before departure from the world we resolved all the sins and don’t have the suitcase of sins with us, we joyously fly away like a wisp of cotton. We can go back where our journey began. We remain there in changeless joy and bliss. There is a saying in Kannada language about Āćāryas making the sinners into Paramātma. The Āćāryas declared the impure Ātmā is none other than paramātmā and laid steps to ascend to the state of paramātmā. These steps begin in Karma, take us via the path of Bakthi and end in Jnana.