BG 7.11

THAYAR AND NAMBI

In the 7th Chapter, Sri Krishna tells that He represents all, and all are His belongings. In the sloka 8, He said He is the taste in water, radiation of the Sun and the Moon, Pranavam [omkaram] in Vedas, etc. So, He says that He represents all the desired objects in this Universe and He is the desired quality in all. But our requirements are many and varied, like we want house for dwelling, food for eating, family for enjoyment, etc. Sri Krishna says He is all these desired objects. How this is possible? How can we drink Him? How can we eat Him? Here only the Lord reveals an important truth to us. We drink water to quench our thirst. If water did not have that power to quench our thirst, then we will never go after water. This applies to other needs of us. If chillies do not have the spicy taste, we will never use them. We use sugar for its sweetness. So every article in the Universe has a characteristic and we seek them for those qualities. Sri Krishna tells that He is the sweetness in sugar or spicy taste in chili, etc. He represents all articles and He is the unique characteristic in each of them. Therefore, He becomes our requirement, like breathing air necessary for us. Alwar says Kannan [Sri Krishna] is food for eating, water for drinking and betel leaves for enjoyment. He is water and the taste in water. He is wind and its breezy nature. He is fire and its warmth or heat. We will see 9th sloka, now:

punyo gandhah prithivyam ca
tejas casmi vibhavasau
jivanam sarva-bhutesu
tapas casmi tapasvisu

"I am the original fragrance of the earth, and I am the heat in fire. I am the life of all that lives, and I am the penances of all ascetics."

Prithivyam = in Earth, punyo gandha = fragrance [agreeable smell]. Earth's characteristic is scent and Sri Krishna is that scent. We should note that He says He is the fragrance of earth, and not any smell including bad ones. Why? Actually, He represents all including bad small and those dirty matter which give out that smell. But here, He is telling Arjuna that all seek many for some unique qualities. Today's [21st March 2008] lecture is under the Vakula tree, the Sthala tree. Nammalwar is called Vakulabharanan, because he was wearing vakula flowers garland. These flowers have a fragrance and so people seek those flowers. But when we are near a garbage dump, we close our nostrils and avoid them. Sri Krishna replies to the query, why anyone should desire to have the Lord? He is the desired qualities in all articles we seek. Therefore, He can not tell here that He represents bad smell also, which we avoid. But it is reiterated that Sri Krishna represents all including garbage and He is the qualities in all, including the bad smell of garbage dump. Both Ravana and Vibheeshana are His bodies. So also Hiranyakasipu and Prahlada. In this context He is telling only the desired qualities and so He talks of desirable smell of Earth. Vibhavasau = in Fire, tejas = heat or thermal power, sarva-bhutesu = in all living beings, jeevanam = respiration to sustain life. Starting from Brahma to an insignificant grass, He is the respiration to sustain life. Respiration is needed for life and He is that.
We can see the Wedding pose of the Lord and Thayar. Sage Medhavi gave his daughter in marriage to the Lord. In a pasuram [6.4.1] Thirumangai Alwar says He [Sri Naraiyurninra Nambi] is sky, mountain, Vedas and Yagna. Just like a calf goes in search of mother cow, Alwar says he is searching for Him everywhere. Without Him, Alwar says he can not live and He is his breath. All people scoff at him for his acts and call him insane. But he will not let Him go from his mind and the Lord is Alwar's jeevanam. Tapasvisu = in ascetics [ like Rishis], tapascasmi = the meditating power or thapas in them. We respect such persons for the meditating power in them. [At the fag end of the lecture there was a power breakdown and so last few words of today's lecture could not be listened to].