ds-3

-NAPS Rao on Dvaita List

dwAdash stOtra - 3

The third sthothra is directed to the devotees and his dsciples who are exhorted to follow the injunctions of the scriptures with understanding and devotion to attain God's grace. In the brief length of 9 simple looking shlokas, Acharya Madhva has condensed the Dos and Donts of life in a heart touching and convincing manner. The rejection of Kaamyakarma (worldly desires) leading to renunciation, performance of one's prescribed duties without desiring the fruits there of (Nishkaama karma), recitation of God's sacred name and prayers etc are the means to Moksha. But the means themselves are powerless without His grace. The concept of Jaganmithyaathva (unreality of the world) is baseless. All these propositions of Thathvavaada have been covered in this sthothra, leading to the conclusion most cherished of Srimadaachaarya – Vishnu Sarvotthamathva.

kuru bhuMkShwa ca karma nijaM niyataM haripAda vinamradhiyA satatam |

harirEva parO harirEva guru harirEva jagatpitRumAtRugatiH || 1 ||

Hari is the Supreme Being, Hari is the father and mother, Hari is the teacher and Hari alone is the final support for the souls. Therefore, do your prescribed duties always with reverence to the feet of the Lord. Accept the fruits there of also with the same submission to His will.

SOME IMMEDIATE COMMENTS ARE NECESSARY HERE :

The Father is the creator as he brings the souls into being as embodied beings. He is also the mother as He maintains their existence in the world. He is the Gathi or final destination for the souls after their sojourn in the world. He is the source of all knowledge as without Him, none of the Indriyas will exist (including the mind). Thus in the four words, Pithru, Maathru, Guru and Gathih, Acharya Madhva has condensed the extremely close relationship between the soul and God. The word Kuru brings the injunction of the Geetha in mind, aptly summed up by Arjuna at the end of 18 chapters - "Nashto mohaha smruthirlabdhaa thvathprasaadaath mayaachyutha, sthithosmi gathasandehah karishye vachanam thava". God wants us always to perform our duties with detachment with the one and only reason that they are His desire and by doing so, we will please Him. The word Bunkshva is also very significant - as it sums up the Bhagavatha attitude to life - Accept gracefully without demur God's dispensation. It is that which made Bhima accept all the offences against His person and His family by evil ones led by Duryodhana - Acharya Madhva says in Yamaka Bharatha –

"Kshaathram dharmam svavathaa guruvruthyai keshavaajnayaa cha mam svavathaa, sarvam sehe manasaa bhimenaishaikamaaninaa hemanasaa"

Bhima accepted all the ill treatment of His enemies as required by Kashathra Dharma (his code of conduct as a kshathriya), the desire of Lord Krishna and to follow the directions of his elders like Dharmaraja. This he did when he could have reversed the entire process by applying his superhuman abilities, for which there was none to oppose.

na tatO&styaparaM jagatIDyatamaM paramAtparataH puruShOttamataH |

tadalaM bahulOkaviciMtanayA pravaNaM kuru mAnasamIshapadE || 2 ||

There is no one else in the world of living and inert matter who is more appropriate for being prayed to. He is superior to the superior beings like Brahma, Rudra etc. He is also the greatest Purusha or entity ever. Therefore, stop your thinking about worldly affairs and immerse your mind in contemplation of His lotus feet.

yatatO&pi harEH pada saMsmaraNE sakalaM hyaGamAshu layaM vrajati |

smaratastu vimukti padaM paramaH sphuTamEShyati tatkimapAkriyatE || 3 ||

For those who try to remember the lotus feet of the Lord, all sins are destroyed quickly. For those who remember Him constantly and meditate upon Him, attainment of Mukthi is assured (Sphutam). Therefore, why should any person of sense not do it ?

shruNutAmalasatyavacaH paramaM shapathEritamuccrita bAhu yugam |

na harEH paramO na harEH sadRushaH paramaH sa tu sarvacidAtmagaNAt || 4 ||

Acharya Madhva says - I take a solemn oath with both my arms raised high. There is none superior to Hari, there is not even one similar to Hari. He is the greatest amongst all chethanas.

yadi nAma parO na bhavEtsa(ta) hariH kathamasya vashE jagadEtadabhUt |

yadi nAma na tasya vashE sakalaM kathamEva tu nityasuKaM na bhavEt || 5 ||

If Hari was not supreme, how did this world continue in His control. If the world is not in His control, why has it not attained eternal bliss.

The Yukthi (logical argument) here is that any entity which is independent will never be miserable as it will always choose happiness. As it is an universal experience that all souls are not eternally happy, they are dependent. The other logical statement is that the world needs a Chethana to control it and run it in an orderly fashion and He is the Supreme Being.

na ca karmavimAmalakAlaguNa prabhRutIshamacittanutaddhiyataH |

cidacittanusarvamasau tu hariryamayEditi vaidikamastivacaH || 6 ||

Entities like Karma, Avidya, Doshas, Time, the three Gunas etc can not attain lordship of this world as it is well known that they are Jada (Acethana or incapable of knowledge). Shruthi proclaims that Hari controls the entire world of Chethana and Jada entities. This is an extension of the previous Yukthi that the world is controlled by Hari only and not by any of the other entities offered as alternatives by other schools. The logical statement and its implications are profound and need to be examined in depth.

vyavahArabhidApi gurOrjagatAM na tu cittagatA sa hi cOdya param |

bahavaH puruShAH puruShapravarO harirityavadatswaya mEva hariH || 7 ||

The supreme teacher of all the worlds has Himself taught in reply to a question that the theory of Vyavaharabheda (worldly difference which is unreal) will give way to Identity between the soul and the Supreme Being in Moksha is invalid. He has said that the souls are infinite in number and Hari is Supreme in comparison to all of them.

caturAnanapUrvavimuktagaNA harimEtyatu pUrvadEva sadA |

niyatOccha vinIvatayaiva nijAM sthitimApuriti smaparaM vacanam || 8 ||

The groups of souls in creation headed by Chathurmukha Brahma will attain Hari in Mukthi and will have eternal differences amongst themselves as before (in Samsaara). This is well established by valid shruthi texts.

AnaMdatIrthasannAmnA pUrNapraj~jAbhidAyujA |

kRutaM haryaShTakaM bhaktyApaThataH prIyatE hariH || 9 ||

This sthothra with 8 shlokas composed by Poornaprajna also called Aanandatirtha (for having composed Shasthras leading to Moksha) when recited with devotion will secure the grace of the Lord hari.

NOTES

In the first shloka, Acharya Madhva has concisely stated the basics of life as per Thathvavada. Not for us is running away from life or abstain from all action in the hope that the accumalated sins will slowly get used up. Else where, in Krishnaamruthamahaarnava Acharya Madhva has stated that any person who has passed Fourteen years will do at least enough Karmas for taking 10 more lives. Thus there is just no possibility for refraining from Karma and trying to get out of Samsaara as some schools try to preach. The answer as to how one should get out of the Karma trap is given in Geetha – Nishkaaama karma. One should perform all prescribed duties - as stated by Sri Purandara Dasaru - "Eesabeku iddu jaisa beku, hesigeya samsaaradalli aashe lesha maadadhaange ..". The underlying thought should always be - God who is the only independent entity is actually performing all the acts and that I am only doing it at His behest as an act of worship to Him. The fruits of the actions are entirely for God to give and I will be content with what ever I am given. My only purpose is to please God and obtain His grace leading to my redemption. For obtaining this mental state, it is essential to understand from the Shasthras that Hari is like Father, Mother, Teacher and goal for all the souls.

With this Anusandhana (mental understanding) you will immediately understand that there is no use thinking, plotting and worrying about how to achieve worldly goals. The life given to us with al its precious gifts of sensory organs, Mind, Intellect etc is not to be wasted away, in pursuing superficial and worthless targets. The most important goal of the soul - release from bondage - will only be attained by understanding, thinking, meditating and worshipping God. Acharya Madhva says in Krishnaamruthamahaarnava :

"Archithah samsmruthah dhyathah kirthithah kathithah shruthah

yo dadaathyamruthathvam hi sa maam rakshathu keshavah"

Keshava who is worshipped with prescribed rituals, who is remembered always, contemplated upon, who is extolled, who is described in groups of devotees, and who is prayed to, will give Moksha. These are all the actions which one should do as far as possible.

While Nishkaama karma may take care of future Karma bondage, the enormous load of past Karmas would still have to be gone through. The next shloka tells us how - remembering God's names (as in Vishnu Sahasranama) with understanding their meanings and with greater knowledge (Jnana) and worship, attempting meditation. Acharya Madhva has assured that even imperfect attempts to do so will be rewarded by the Almighty. Let me again quote Sri Purandara Vittala _ "Kaliyugadali harinaamava nenedare kulakotigalu uddharisuvuvo"

In the next set of shlokas Acharya Madhva tells us of His convictions - Hari is the Supreme Being and there is not even one similar to Him, let alone one who can equal or be better than Him. While the basis for this conviction in his case would be Prathyaksha (with his intimate association with the incarnations of the Lord) and Shasthras, for the rest of us, it has to be Shasthras only. But Acharya Madhva gives us a set of Yukthis (logical propositions) to convince our enquiring mind ;

1.The world of Chethanas is not blissful, but suffers from misery and sorrow, though no one would want it. This is an observation which is the primary basis (Hethu) for the future logical derivation.

2. The misery must be due to dependence on others both for our happiness and sorrow. Thus, the souls must have another master.

3. The only independent entity which is the inner controller and which pervades all according to Shasthras is the Supreme Being. Thus He is the person who decides whether we should be miserable or blissful.

4. Alternative explanations for the misery of the world that it is caused by Pradhaana (inert Prakruthi), Kaala (time), Karma (results of past actions) etc are all invalid, as what we are looking for is a Chethana, who is controlling the world. The Jada entities have no will of their own and work as per the desire of the Abhimaani devathaas. These are themselves under the control of the Supreme being. Thus there is no other alternative except to take recourse to praying to the true person who is responsible both for our bondage and for our future release.

The Yukthis should not be considered as adequate to "prove" the existence of the creator, His control over all else etc. Else where, Acharya Madhva has himself held that Anumana Pramaana (unsupported by Prathyaksha or Agama) can not prove anything. But, the Yukthi convinces us that the interpretation of the Shasthras as per Thathvavaada is correct and stands the test of reason also. In the next shloka, Acharya Madhva destroys the argument of Advaitha which aims at the heart of these propositions. The Advaitha argument is like this :

The differences which we observe in the world between souls and souls and God is Vyavahaarika, apparently exist in this world only, though they are strictly unreal, as they will be sublated by true Brahma Jnana, when the realisation of the absolute, Nirdharmaka, Akhanda, Nirvikaara Brahman would be there. Thus Misery, Happiness, suffering, Samsaara, Mukthi, Supreme Being etc are all creations of Avidya and unreal. Thus there will be no need for the methods advocated by Thathvavaada for Mukthi, as what is really needed is Shuddha Brahma Jnana. Acharya Madhva says that Vedavyasa has not accepted this theory and specifically rejected it in the answer given to a question in Mahabharatha :

The question and answer run like this -

Q. by Jnamejaya : "Bahavah purushaa brahman uthaaho yeka yeva

thu

Kohyathra purushah shreshtah tham bhakthan vakthumarhasi

A. Naithadicchanthi purushamekam kurukulodhvaha bahunam purushanam hi yathaikaayonirucchyathe thathaa tham purusham vishvam akhyaasyami etc.

The answer clearly rules out Advaitha and supports Thathvavada.

In the last but one shloka, Acharya Madhva states the principle that the Thaarathamya or gradation persists even after Mukthi. The recitation of this sthothra with full appreciation of its profund meaning will lead to God's grace. It is for this reason, this sthothra is usually recited daily by the devout. There is a wealth of meaning behind each word and phrase in this sthothra, but due to my limitations and space constraints, I am concluding at this stage.

NAPSRao