BG5.23

Today's lecture is from the entrance gate of temple of Sri Nambirajan at Thirukkurungudi. On the right side of the Gopuram, Sri Trivikramavataram is sculpted, because the Lord inside, Sri Ninra Nambi is considered as Sri Trivikrama. The temple elephant here is called Kurungudivalli. Purana says that in this place the Lord appeared and rescued elephant Gajendra. This Kshetram has the inherent feature of all the Five stages of Paramatma Swaroopam. The Vimanam is Pancha Kedhaka vimanam and the Pushkarani is Karandumadu Poigai and Thirupparkadal. Shastras state that the Lord is in Five stages. One, in Vaikuntam as Sri Para Vasudeva in the seated position. Second, the reclining Lord in Thirupparkadal[Milk Ocean] as Sri Vyuha Vasudeva. Third in the Vibhava form, where He took Avatars like Sri Rama and Sri Krishna. Fourth, He resides n every atman as Antaryami. Finally, in the Fifth stage He resides as Archa form in Various temples like Srirangam, Thirumala and Thirukkurungudi. All these Five stages can be worshiped here. In the temple there are three idols of the Lord as Sri Ninra Nambi, Sri Irundha Nambi and Sri Kidantha Nambi. Sri Irundha Nambi depicts Sri Para Vasudeva, the First stage. Sri Kidantha Nambi represents Sri Vyuha Vasudeva, the Second stage. Sri Ninra Nambi in this temple reflects Archavatara as He is considered as Sri Vamana. In the spot Thirupparkadal here, the Lord is the Archa Murthy, Fourth stage. The Lord on top of the hill here is called Sri Malaimel Nambi. He is also called Sri Hrushikesa. Hrushikam in Sanskrit means all our organs. So, the Lord has conquered all those external and internal organs of the body. Therefore, He is regarded as Antharyami. If our mind can be concentrated on the Lord, then all other desires will get subdued. We normally keep a lumber room in our house where we store all the unwanted materials and usually, it is also not kept clean. Our mind is like that lumber room and we have kept in memory all unwanted things. We will remember an abuse by someone ten years back with full details. Whereas, we will not remember the name of the Lord in a temple we visited an year back. Mind, thus remembers bad things easily. If we can install in our mind the Lord and His deeds, then automatically all undesirable memories will vanish. Slokas 20, 21 and 22 are all linked. In the sloka 20 He told that we should not have likes and dislikes and avoid the delight and sorrow, as a consequence. By this the person abandons the attachment to external matters and thereby, avoids all the consequential happiness and sorrow. This was told in the 21st sloka. Now, the 22nd sloka:

ye hi samsparsha-ja bhoga
duhkha-yonaya eva te
ady-antavantah kaunteya
na tesu ramate budhah

"An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them."

Why does Sri Krishna wants one to cut off the attachments to external matters? It is because they have lots of defects in them. Ye hi = those [the external objects], bhoga = pleasures [the delight arising out of listening, touching, tasting, smelling and viewing], samsparsha ja= by substantial contact. When we view an object, the eyes make contact with that object. Such a contact gives a person pleasure by viewing. Similarly, other sensual pleasures. Dukha yonaya = [these pleasures have] inherent miseries, [ because], adyantavanta = they all have beginning and end. By this it is to be inferred that those which have no beginning and end, like atman and the Lord are all always happy. So, budha = learned ones or a gyani, na tesu ramate = will not desire for them. By this it does not mean that Gyani never eats or works for living. But he is not affected by the delight or sorrow associated with them. Eating does not make him to dance with joy nor starving makes him brood. He knows that eating or sleeping and all such activities are natural for upkeep of the body. Those actions are not the objective of life. While, atman darshan is his objective. Swami Vedanta Desika, in his Tatparya Chandrika, examines the defects Sri Krishna mentioned. He lists five defects in the materialistic pleasures we are all after. They are Arjava dosha, rakshana dosha, kshaya dosha, bhoga dosha and chinta dosha. First the difficulties one has to encounter in acquiring these materialistic pleasure. If we want to enjoy living in a good house, we have to struggle to acquire that. We may have to work extra hours to raise funds and we may have to sacrifice our health and sleep, to ensure that we have more money to purchase what we want. But to enjoy atman or Paramatman, we do not even have to go out. Raksha dosha is the eforts and hardships to maintain and protect what we have acquired. Fear of thieves and tax burden will make many sleepless. Such a fear is not there for atman anubhava. Kshaya dosha is the defect arising out of the reduction in the material and the happiness arising out of them. If one thinks drinking Kheer or Payasam is happy, it gets reduced as consumed or distributed to others. We can worship the Lord and be happy and this will not get reduced if more people worship. Even the happiness in heaven is having this defect and after all it is a tenure and once the time is over we have to get out of heaven. That is why the Lord is called Sri Aravamudan, meaning the pleasure by worshiping never reduces. Bhoga dosha, is the greed that develops. Just as fire requires more and more of fuel to burn, these pleasures will demand more and so more hardship and fear. Last is chinta dosha and one has to be constantly thinking about the object, how to avoid competition and ensure continuous happiness, and like that. So, all these defects are inherent in every material and the so called happiness arising out of them. Therefore, no Gyani will ever go after these worldly pleasures.