Even in Rama avatar, people are still trying to see if there are any faults that can be found. Bhagavan notwithstanding all his greatness, lived as a complete human with the usual faults just like anyone else in the rama avatar. But in Krishna avatar, as said "tam-adbhutam bAlakam-ambujekShaNaM caturbhujam" - bhagavan showed that he is a indeed the GOD HIMSELF and was born with 4 hands. Right from the time of birth in the krishna avatar, we can see the greatness of the bhagavan showing. As Vasudeva and Devaki were watching from within the confines of their prison, they could see the bhagavan with "shanku chakra gada dharana neela megha shyamala divya peethambaradarana" - an amazing spectacle the bhagavan blessed them with.
The mace in his hand was a small one, just like the churner we use for the buttermilk. In the other hand a chakram, just like the wheel the children will usually get to buy from a village fair. Similarly a small conch resembling a sweet performed at homes. A very small lotus flower. A small gopalan is the darshan that the bhagavan gave to Vasudeva and Devaki. One of the amazing things as soon as Krishna was born is that all these guards who were very attentively guarding the prison all these days were now completely immersed in sleep. The doors started to open by themselves. The chains holding Vasudeva and Devaki now break open and fall to the floor. The newly born child now speaks. After speaking, it become a normal child. To help Vasudeva carry the child there is a basket and to protect the child the serpent "adisEsha" is covering as an umbrella would cover. Whilst crossing the river Yamuna, the force of this river is being controlled automatically. When reaching the home of Yasodha, she is strangely still unconscious not knowing what child has been born of her. After switching the children, while Vasudeva is crossing back with Yasodha's child, the river Yamuna is allowing him to cross easily making a path for him. Only after the other child has been safely brought back to the prison, the handcuffs automatically lock themselves, the gates lock and the gaurds wake up again. The child cries and Kamsa comes in.
The mace in his hand was a small one, just like the churner we use for the buttermilk. In the other hand a chakram, just like the wheel the children will usually get to buy from a village fair. Similarly a small conch resembling a sweet performed at homes. A very small lotus flower. A small gopalan is the darshan that the bhagavan gave to Vasudeva and Devaki. One of the amazing things as soon as Krishna was born is that all these guards who were very attentively guarding the prison all these days were now completely immersed in sleep. The doors started to open by themselves. The chains holding Vasudeva and Devaki now break open and fall to the floor. The newly born child now speaks. After speaking, it become a normal child. To help Vasudeva carry the child there is a basket and to protect the child the serpent "adisEsha" is covering as an umbrella would cover. Whilst crossing the river Yamuna, the force of this river is being controlled automatically. When reaching the home of Yasodha, she is strangely still unconscious not knowing what child has been born of her. After switching the children, while Vasudeva is crossing back with Yasodha's child, the river Yamuna is allowing him to cross easily making a path for him. Only after the other child has been safely brought back to the prison, the handcuffs automatically lock themselves, the gates lock and the gaurds wake up again. The child cries and Kamsa comes in.
Thus we see the amazing mahimai of the bhagavan right from birth itself in the krishna avatar. When a child is born, on the 10th day all of the relatives would come to visit and put "kAppu" (bangles) for the child, the aunts would come but for krishna it was the rakshasi called poothana who came instead. Assuming that she would feed breast milk to the little child krishna, she instead feed him poison, but the bhagavan killed her. Normally they would buy walking trolley, wooden toys, battery operated toys for little children, whereas here the asuran sakatAsura came and with just his tiny legs, the child krishna kicked him and killed him. Then another asura called trinAvartan tries to lift krishna away into the sky, like this akAsura, bakAsura, tEnukAsura and so on qs we see that the bhagavan destroyed all these forms of asuras and rakshasas. Even as a little child, bhagavan Sri Krishna lifted the huge Govardhana hill just with his little finger. When performing the rAsam, Lord krishna assumed independant forms equal to the number of Gopis present. If a thing disappears and appears again and again, then it is called antardhAnam or AvirbhAvam just like Sri krishna who disappeared and reappeared again. A thing that is eternal has no quality of destruction, only disappearance and reappearance. Thus in the rAsam the bhagavan is visible here, there and everywhere. He dances upon the kAlia. Being a small child he killed the elephant called Kuvalayapida. So many such leelas of the bhagavan we see in the krishna avatar. In the Mahabharata war, Lord Krishna was a charioteer for Arjuna and propounded the Gita.
Unlike the rama avatar bhagavan was saying he was just a human, every now and then the bhagavan showed his greatness in performing so many feats in the krishna avatar. Even when his viswaroopam was shown to Arjuna, Arjuna himself was stunned for a while thinking whether it is a mesmerism or a hypnotism, he pondered as to "why he had been a friend of mine, a charioteer and I have been talking to him putting my hand across his shoulder, shared the bed and had food from the same plate yet now he looks different". Arjuna wondered how one who has been like himself and shared the same things can suddenly assume a form of this powerful all enveloping viswaroopam. Arjuna initially felt it is an indrajalam only and not as the prabhavam of the bhagavan. Why because for the human, if anything is shown, the faith or belief will never come easily.
He may yet believe one whom he should not believe in, but will never believe the one he should beleive in fact. That is the great maya that is enveloping the human. Which mahatma he has to believe in, he will never get that easily. But will very easily believe in a person who should not be believed. Bhagavan saw and got fed up, no matter how many avatars he took form in, there has been no use. He gave the Vedas, the Sastras, performed all avatars, rama avatar, krishna avatar, he gave the gita and now the Lord Ranganathar is keeping his hands behind his head and lying down and thinking. What needs to be done in order to make the devotees to come back to him. This is the constant thought that the bhagavan has on his mind always. Wishing all the lifeforms in the world to come to HIM is the only eternal thought that is always in the mind of the bhagavan. The ideas that the bhagavan uses to make the lifeforms may change but the thought is constant for the bhagavan as to what should be done to get the devotees to come to HIS lotus feet and protection. A mother has 5 children always around her legs calling out to her all the time, but the 6th child is adamantly being away, yet the mother always will worry about this 6th child notwithstanding the fact that the other 5 who are always with her.
She will keep thinking always about him as to "why he is not coming to me, why is he not wanting me and when will he come". The bhagavan thinks likewise how to bring all the people to his lotus feet and make them attain him. This thought is constantly in the mind of the bhagavan. Bhagavan, after all his avatArs, sent the azhwArs to the earth. azhwArs were people with deep experience. When azhwArs meet samsAris, they will think deeply about many things before speaking with them. Whether such and such thing can be said or not, whether it is really required for them, can they understand and what would be the use of telling those who will not understand. In case they told people who would not understand and if they retort with something contrary about the bhagavan, this would make the azhwArs unhappy, so they would keep silent. Whether the people know that they need to have a samskAram to appreciate all this or not is something the azhwArs would ponder about. But if they keep thinking along these lines, how can they preach the bhakthi.
"sonnaal virOdhamithu aagilum solluvEn kENminO" - Even at the start, they say this "sonnaal virOdhamithu", so what "aagilum solluvEn kENminO" - meaning that is how everyone is. Why because, bhagavan when propounding the Gita to Arjuna, was himself shy of directly asking Arjuna to perform surrender (saranAgathi) to him. Bhagavan was worrying if Arjuna might straight away think he was only talking about his own greatness. So he started telling jNana yOga, dhyAna yOga, karma yOga, bhakthi yOga, sanyAsa yOga and various things first and in the end, says "Arjuna! If you are not able to do any of these things, then simply perform surrender unto me". For, the bhagavan himself would hesitate to think what his devotees may feel when he says this or that is really true. To understand this, think of the parents who have a grown up child, they do have some fear when speaking with them. Earlier when he/she was a small child, now being a grown up they would worry what he/she will think when speaking. So parents themselves have this fear and the careful manner of speaking. Why cant the bhagavan think likewise? Therefore the azhwArs being deep with experience, "sonnaal virOdhamithu aagilum solluvEn kENminO".
I told yesterday that there should be a guru equal to that of Hanumar. At the time of Vibheeshana saranAgathi in the Srimad Ramayana, having understood both the minds of Vibheeshana as well as Sri Rama, our Hanumar speaks. That is why a Guru should be equal to that of Hanumar. But that is not the only aspect, Guru will have 2 things and only then they can be in the Acharya position. There is a difference between a bhaktha and an Acharya. A bhaktha will cry, twitch about day and night for the bhagavan and the experience will come to him, however in the ways of the world he will be a zero. He will not know anything. He cannot even go near these things. He cannot deal with the people having rajasa and tamasa qualities easily. He cannot do even a small thing, all the time he will be crying, thinking with his hair standing on end all the time about the bhagavan. Can one be like this? Yes, we can forget the bhagavan and think about the world, whereas the bhaktha can forget the world and think only of the bhagavan. Do we think about the bhagavan? Always cinema, songs, gossip, talk, paper and likewise the mind keep strolling along. Whilst going about so, the thought of the bhagavan comes time and again but does not stay constantly. But for the bhakthas the thought of the bhagavan is always there. If meeting such a person having deep bhakthi, is itself enough. But even then, they cannot mix well and move with samsAris. When they meet someone, they cannot get along well with he/she and be able to thus slowly turn he/she over to the path of bhakthi. An Archaryan must have both bhakthi as well as the capability to bring over the samsAris to the path of bhakthi. If one possesses both these qualities then he is an Acharyan and an avatAra purushan. What does Hanumar do? If you take the story of Sabari, what did she do? All the time she was telling rama nama. Then Sri Rama came, and Sabari explained that Matanga maharishi performed his dhyAna and tapas here and showed these places to Sri Rama. "He has blessed me here and shows the place. When you are here Sri Rama, I would like to go to Vaikuntam" and away she went. Sharabhandar sat at a certain place and kept on meditating. This is what we all see usually. If we see all the places "Maharanyam tApasastrasya mandalam", where so many many ashrams are there wherein the tapasvis are residing and performing tapas all the time but in terms of worldly things they are in fact doing nothing.
But if you see Hanumar, when Sugriva who is a samsAri is sitting alone, Hanumar is also with him and is giving him company. When Sri Rama and Lakshmana are coming near, Sugriva is shivering thinking they may have been sent by Vaali. However Hanumar is saying that he will go and talk to them, indeed talks to them, sets up their friendship with Sugriva and does good to him also. Then Hanumar goes in search of Sita and comes to Sri Rama with the glad news of having found Sita. Then Hanumar crosses the sea to reach Lanka, goes to the sabha of Ravana, brings Sanjeevini mountain, consoles Bharata and all this Hanumar is doing. But amisdst all this great feats, even for a fraction of a second, he is not without chanting the rama nama. Who is a bhaktha like Hanumar being a jNani, yOgeeswarar, brahmachari, virakthan as well as with so much humility and with all these always actively performing his duties. So if one becomes an Acharyan or a Guru, he needs to have both the qualities. If one says he will perform dhyAnam all by himself, will not speak to anyone or deal with anyone, then he just need to leave to the forest. Otherwise one will always keep gossiping. That is also not correct and good. One must be having two qualities, one, as well as performing his tapasya with nishtai, he needs to speak not with bhakthas alone but with the samsAris as well. Mixing well with the good and bad of the world and also moving about with the samsAris and inculcating bhakthi in them, get them the blessings and kripa of the bhagavan and take them to the lotus feet of the bhagavan. One who has this intelligence and performs this effectively, he indeed is the avatAra purusha. Therefore in the Sundarakandam, Hanumar who goes in search of Sita is termed as the "Guru". Even though 1000s of vanaras started for the search, it is indeed to Hanumar was the signet ring given by Sri Rama. So even if there are 1000s of Gurus in the world, it is only the Guru sent by the bhagavan HIMSELF is verily the Guru. When we meet someone, we usually ask, "sir please show your identity card" and they show the identity card. In case of Hanumar, what is the proof that he has been sent by Sri Rama? It is the ring given by Sri Rama. It is not just any ring, it is "RamanAmangitham". So how would one find out if the mahatma has been sent by the bhagavan HIMSELF? If the mahatma has done the upadEsha of the mahamantra to you and has shown that it is the only path, then he is verily the Guru sent by the bhagavan HIMSELF. Why because, for this yugam this is the only dharmam. In this yugam, if one does not tell nor show the path which will lead to the correct destination, what is the use of telling then? In "Kalir dOshanithe rajan" and "Kalau namasankeerthanam" has been clearly said, therefore in this world one should perform namakeerthanam and by doing so, one will attain peace and happiness, mahans who shows this way are indeed sent by the bhagavan HIMSELF. That is indeed the "RamanAmangitham". Those with the Guru or Acharya position should know two things, one to move well with the samsAris and not only that be able to balance that with the bhagavath anubham as well.
Subham
Radhe Radhe
Read more translations of the other episodes at: http://aranganinarumai.blogspot.com/
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