SNS11FieryLingam
By Sēṣādrinātha Sāsthrigaḷ
The Fiery Lingam
Published: August 26, 2019 at 8 PM Updated: August 26, 2019 at 8 PM Sakthi Vikatan
The grandeur of Vedas. Images: Maruthi
ஆதியும் அந்தமும் - 11 - மறை சொல்லும் மகிமைகள்
சேஷாத்ரிநாத சாஸ்திரிகள்
MARUTHI


1. In the bygone era, Achārya Puruṣas, Āzvārs, and Nāyaṉmārs appeared and established the Vedic Tattvas.
                                                                         

           
2. In this universe, a multitude of phenomena exists, that we cannot see with the eyes, hear with the ears, and perceive with the mind. Some expository Tattvas fall in the same category.
3. Upaniṣad says, “The mystique of Tattvas, unable to reach the speech and the mind of man, return to their source.
4. Only when we know the beginning, we can say, “This is the beginning.” Likewise, only when we know the end, we can say, “This is the end.” But we do not know either.
5. The present-day world is unlike what it was a hundred years ago. There is no possibility of the world remaining unchanged in one hundred years. We see a changed world today. It is likewise a thousand years before and a thousand years hence. We see what happens during our lifetime.
6. We are on the path that has no beginning and no end. Our journey in that eternal path is a blip in time. We do not see all the changes from the beginning to the end. God is the agential Sakthi. Who could have seen him? Could we tell God does not exist because we have not seen him?
7. The God-believers too, could not have seen God. A devotee says that God came to him, and he experienced him when his mind is ecstatic. He talks of his experiential nature and not of having seen him in person.
8. Later, the Āćārya Puruṣās, Āzvārs, and Nāyaṉmārs appeared on the earth and established the Hindu Vedic Tattvas. To facilitate understanding by the uninitiated in Vedic Tattvas, Mahaṛṣis presented to us Purāṉas and Itihāsas.
9. Let us continue to look at Purāṇas and Itihāsas and the buried treasure of Vedic Tattvas in them.
10. Puranas make mention of a multitude of Gods. To say that God created this universe and the Five Great Elements, he must protect what he created and must make them useful to humanity. For that reason, Purāṉa says that Bhagavan Mahāviṣṇu is there for that express purpose.
11. Puranas have such stories. In truth, the story is not their purpose. We should look at the Tattvas. The Tattvas, couched in the stories are in the Purāṉas. We should not stop at the stories as such but must have the Sakthi to internalize the great Tattvas, so they become part and parcel of our thought process (and get incorporated in our psyche.
12. However, do you know what in truth happens? We stop with the story. We fail to grasp and understand the basic Tattvas buried in the stories.
                                                                                       
13. Let me say this. People would worship a deity if told that worship of a deity will enhance their education. Here they worship the deity because they get an education as a personal gain and not because they want to know more of the deity. If they get a good education, they attribute the gain to the deity and go their way. They never (have an opportunity to) know the worth of a deity. Once they achieve what they needed, their thought of the deity stops there.
14. When we worship Bhagavan with no expectation (of rewards), we will know the limits of his grace as it pertains to us.
வித்தியாஸ்தானம் = Vittiyā-stāṉam: Vidyā + Stāṉam = Knowledge + Source. Vittiyā-stāṉam is the repository of universal knowledge. A new knowledge other than what is already in the repository will not appear (anew) today or tomorrow.
வித்தியாஸ்தானம்: vittiyā-stāṉam: வித்தியாஸ்தானம். vittiyā-stāṉam , n. 1. The sources of knowledge, eighteen in number, viz., the four vēdas, six vēdāṅgas, mīmāṃsā, nyāya, dharma-šāstra, purāṇa, four upavēdas; நான்கு வேதம், ஆறு வேதாங்கம், மீமாஞ்சை, நிய...
16. Theism, Atheism, Laukikam, Medicine, and others that appear in the expanse of the mind are already in this repository of knowledge. New thoughts and theories above and beyond the Vidyā-Stāṉam will never dawn on the mental horizon of the human mind. Our Dharmasāstras have gathered all knowledge and categorized them.
17. Who produced the Sound?
18. Bhagavan produced the Sound in Ākāśam. Eighteen Vidyas (knowledge forums) came in the form of Sound (later called smṛtis or the remembered).
19. Sound and Light are extant. The Light that remains hidden in the Sound is the worshipful Supreme Being, the Parāśakti (the Supreme Power). We can witness God in the Sound. Its name is ‘Nāda Braḥmam.’
20. Who knows wherefrom and how the Nāda Braḥmam emerged! It is not accessible to our human mind and our ears. Though the scientists have designed the Sound and Light instruments, no one can discover the primordial Sound and the contained hidden Light.
21. When we talk of the creation of this universe, a related story comes to the mind. Śivaperumāṉ is the Sakthi that created this world and the vast expanse of space. Vedam states it was a huge Sakthi. Two deities tried to find the ends of this Sakthi with unknown and unexplored beginning and end. Tirumāl took the form of a Boar to burrow deep into the earth to find the base of this Sakthi. Brahma took the form of a swan and flew up into the sky. Viṣṇu could not find the holy feet of Śivaperumāṉ.
22. Brahma continued to fly up in the sky. He flew many Yugas and could not find the head of Śivaperumāṉ. He realized the impossibility. That moment, a Screw-pine flower was on a descent. Brahma asked the flower, from where it was coming. The Screw-pine flower answered, “It has been 14,000 Caturyukams since I descended from the holy head of Śivaperumāṉ.” Astonishment seized him. Brahma realizing the impossibility of reaching the holy head of Śiva abandoned the endeavor and sought an (conspiratorial) agreement with the Screw-pine flower.
23. What are the consequences of the agreement, its origin, and the lesson for us?
- Continued.
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