Eleventh Lecture on Ramayana.

BY RT. Hon V S Srinivasa Sastri.

K. RAMANUJACHARI Thirty lectures on the Ramayana ...

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... under the auspices of the Madras Sanskrit Academy between 5.4-1944 .and 8-11-1944. The lectures have been published in book form in 1949 and more than five ... "The Ramayana is our great national epic" and Sri V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, ... Sri Sastriar in his introductory lecture has indicated in the following passages the ...

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Preparing for the grace.(A)

Two powers in their conjunction bring about the great consummation aimed at. The personal effort and the Divine grace. one prepares the field so the other fructifies and fulfils it. but personal effort is not absolute in its effectivity, cause it is limited, relative and conditional. It does not by itself lead you to the final and supreme realisation. it may take you to the threshold of Grace which follows up the work and brings it to its goal. Indeed it has also been said that personal effort itself is operative when inspired and impelled by the Grace. quoting from the Gita.
By your effort and tapasya you are capable of withdrawing yourself from the magic world of the senses, get detached from the sense objects. but the secret attachment, the taste, the subtle interest for them goes only when the Supreme is visioned.
Raso'pyasa param drstva nivartate.
The Upanishad also says the highest is visible only when of its own accord it unveils itself.
Yamevaisa urnute tena labhyah.
The actual function or role of personal effort is that of a guide, to give the preliminary experiences initiate into the basic mysteries in order to prepare the vessel that is to house the Supreme.
Remember however that the Supreme is not amenable to your control the grace goes wherever it chooses to go. it also does not weigh or examine the amount of your preparation, it has its own manner of choosing. But the preparation that your personal effort effectuates is helpful for the working of the Grace, not for the initial descent but to hold maintain and establish it adhar. 
Only a little of the God light can stay. 
So how does one make the God light stay forever.
Here then is the special utility of the personal effort, the service it can render so to say, personal effort with the ego sense there to find out and note the barriers and pitfalls, the faults and the fissures in the human system. The work is to overcome remedy and correct as far as possible. Initially the human receptacle is impure and obscure, resistant and recalcitrant. the personal will and endeavour has to be called in to labour, to level and smoothen the field, breath air into and bring light. to make a strong base strong and capacious to receive and hold the descent. the temple has to be made clean and pure and inviting so that when the deity arrives he will find it a happy place for a permanent dwelling. Personal effort has a high value it means collaboration goodwill and readiness to fall inline with the Divine plan. it signifies the assent of the lower consciousness to the level of the higher one a conscious cooperation for the Lord has declared.
"I will pursue thee across the century;
Though shalt be hunted through the world by love,
Naked of ignorance protecting veil..............
Nowhere shalt thy escape my loving eyes."
so the whole nature in all its parts and functions is to be corrected re oriented gradually tempered and stream lined polarised so that it is made one pointed, supple and obedient and responsive. Personal effort is thus a training in collaboration. from inertia and indifference, unwillingness and even positive hostility to rise into cooperation and comradeship. that is the discipline that personal effort gives to the mortal being, from cooperation and collaboration to union and identity with the supreme goal effort merging into a spontaneous execution of the Divine Will the personal melting into the impersonal person that is the consummation brought about by Grace. That it is the process of fixing upon earth the fleeting Godhead.

Discipline.

Obedience is the beginning and very basis of discipline. In ancient times Knowledge or learning was not considered as a bundle of information to be acquired and collected by the pupil. it is not a mass of dead material that is laid before the learner to possess and store. it has been and will always be something living that the Teacher passes from his consciousness to that of the Pupils. For this to happen freely from the master to the pupil a passive receptive mentality and absolute obedience is an indispensable condition.
Discipline is another term for Tapasya. The pupil has to rise to a higher level of consciousness.
Ultimately,discipline is the obedience of a learner to an ever expanding and ever ascending law of consciousness and being, until the law of the supreme status is realised which is the law of the divine living. It is the utter submission or total obedience to the Divine himself, identifying with the divine in being and nature where law and person are one and the same.(M)

The mystery of the five elements.

The subtlest and the top most in the scale is space, as we descend each succeeding element becomes more and more concrete than the preceding one. Thus air is denser than space, fire denser than air water denser than fire and earth the densest. This hierarchy can be seen as a pyramid of qualities. eg. space possesses the quality of sound or vibration giving out waves that originate sound. next comes air it has the quality of touch, as it gives a sensation of touch, you can touch it and it touches you recognising its existence. in addition it takes on the quality of sound too as we go down we can see it becomes more and more concrete. next fire has the quality of possessing a form, it has visibility and it also possesses the quality of touch and sound too. next comes water it has the quality of taste. and also qualities of the other three form touch sound too.next the earth has smell and all the other qualities in addition. of taste, form, touch, sound too.
The five senses open to the five elements, each sense linked to its own element, presenting a particular aspect of the material universe. ether to ear, air to skin, touch to eye, liquid water to taste, and smell to earth. earth the dense aroma of God's material world.
The five elements correlates to the five senses of man. they represent the fundamental principles underlying or characterizing the nature of matter.
The five elements are not meremy substances or states and qualities of substance, they re also forces and energies, material forces and energies. starting from the most patent and gross going up to more and more subtle energies. first mechanical energy, chemical energy, electrical energy gravitational energy and finally the field energy. this can be compared to the earth, water, fire, air and space. we can thus see a parallelism between ancient and modern knowledge. the curious echo of modern science corresponds what the great seers had done thousands of years ago. The parallelism means similarity but also difference. The manner of approach to the reality, the way of expressing it is different in the east and in the west. The ancients express a truth or a fact symbolically, the moderns express it in a straightforward matter of fact way. The ancients used symbols for they wanted a multiple way of expression, a symbol embodying a movement refers at the same time to many forms of the same movement on different levels, along different lines in diverse applications. It can be compared to multiple meanings of a verbal root in Sanskrit. The scientific terms on the other hand are very specific; they connote only one thing at a time. Each term with its specific sense is unilateral in its movement.
Further the five need not be restricted to the domain of matter alone as being its divisions and levels and functions. they can be extended to understand the whole existence symbolise the different levels of cosmic being and consciousness. at the lowest rug in the ladder is the earth  representing matter and material existence. water next represents life and the vital movement, then fire represents the heart centre from where wells up all impulse and drive for progression. it holds so to say the evolutionary urge, the divine agni, the flame the inner heart, the radiant energy and aspiration. the fourth status or level of creation is the mind represented by air. (Marut). Finally the Vyom or space representing all that is beyond the mind. The INFINITE Existence and Consciousness. The five thus give the chart, as it were of nature's constitution, they mark also the steps of her evolutionary journey through unfolding time.

The Mystery of the five senses.

The senses are the doors opening out on the external world for the consciousness to act and range abroad. That is the usual outward movement which is generally so much condemned by spiritual seekers. The doors and windows of the senses, whatever they are, all openings should be closed, shut up, hermetically sealed. One should then return within away from them, if one is to come into contact with the true consciousness, the true reality. Even the Gita says, the conscious being is seated in tranquility within, closing all the nine gates of the city, himself doing nothing nor causing anything to be done.
Well, that is one way of procedure in dealing with the senses. When you consider that the senses always pull you out, they always entice you to run after the sweet perishable goods of the world, invite you to the enjoyment of pleasure and pain, to all dualities of a life of ignorance normally lived upon earth, then indeed the senses become terribly suspect. But this need not be so. The senses instead of being tempters leading you out into the ignorance may verily be inspirers calling you, guiding you inward. Instead of opening out on the world of maya they may open out on the world of light and truth. The clue is in the Kena Upanishad.
With the eye of the eye one must see, with the hearing of the inner ear one must hear, and one must know by the mind of the mind. Instead of opening these windows outward they must be opened inwards. it is then that they will become instruments of real knowledge, receptacles or transmitters of the truth and reality. instead of being merely illusory knowledge or maya as termed generally.
it is habitually said when speaking of spiritual realisation, that one sees the truth, one has to see the truth: to know the truth, to know the reality is taken to mean to see the truth, to see the reality, but what does this signify? it signifies that what one sees is the light, the light that emanates from truth, the form that the truth takes, the radiant substance that is the truth. This now we can conclude is the special character of this organ, the organ of sight the eye.
One sees the physical light, of course, but one sees also the supraphysical light. this is as per the Upanishad the eye of the eye.
now what we have seen about the eye can be said of other sense organs as well. for example the inner ear is able to take by the process of regression to the very source of all sound and utterance, from where springs the anahata vak, the undictated voice, the nada brahman, the original sound seed, the primary vibration so to say. so the ear gives that hearing which reveals to you the special aspect of the divine; the vibratory rhythm of the being, that matrix of all utterance, of all speech that mark the material expression of consciousness. the third sense of smell, no it is not a despicable organ it is as important as the other two above. this is the gateway to the perfumed atmosphere of the reality. example the truth is colourful, beautiful, shapely, radiant to the eye; to the nostils it is exhilarating perfume, it distills all around a divine scent that sanctifies, elevates the whole being. now for the tongue the truth is sweetness, the delicious nectar of the gods; for the truth is also soma, the supreme rasa, amrta immortality itself.
in the nostrils quivered celestial fragrances,
on the tongue lingered the honey of paradise.
Finally now the sense of Touch, though last it is psychologically and chronologically it is the foremost the most primary and primitive of the senses. actually the eye comes last here in the course of the sensory evolution. Touch is the most generalised, the least specific but the most sensitive of the organs. touch gives a direct perception. it means contact, it means identification, it means becoming and being. (difficult to understand but none the less what is sat up there if there is an up there here it is Annam.
now there is a sixth sense too The MIND. this is the chief instrument of knowledge. it is in and through the mind that man has knowledge. it is here that the other five senses distil their perception allowing a coordinated picture of the sense experiences.
Now to attain, to realise, to possess the truth means first of all to know the truth, for knowing is the function of the mind. It is said however, that the mind knows only the outward form of things, its knowledge is the knowledge of an outside world, elements of which are supplied by the senses, It is the Knowledge of the ignorance. The TRUE KNOWLEDGE IS NOT attained by the mind or through the mind. For the True Knowledge, it is declared the mind is to be expunged altogether or silenced at least. One must get away, one must withdraw from that play of activity and be far from it. For TRUE KNOWLEDGE COMES THROUGH REVELATIONS, IT DESCENDS FROM ABOVE. it does not enter by the level side door and it comes only when the mind is not there. Like the other senses the mind too can be turned inwards and made a receptive organ. when it is the mind of the mind so to say, there begins to appear the true knowledge. the physical mind remains no more ignorant it becomes transparent and luminous, it is able to bring its own gift, it can serve with its own contribution to the real knowledge. for it is the mind that gives form and shape a local habitation and a name to the higher truth, to the real light, to the true knowledge.it is the surupa chanted by the vedic rishis that the purified mind models for the Gods to inhabit. it is that which the poets and prophets always aspire for in their creative quest.
These senses do maintain their identity, each its own, even when they together are all of them part and parcel of the Supreme Universal Consciousness. but they do become supple and malleable, they interwine, mix together, even one doing another's work. eg a blind man sees through one of his other organs, the sense of hearing can bring to you the vision of colour, the smell can reveal the taste etc.

Ronza gontam, gintang and zyther.

The making of the harp might have originated in the twang of the hunting or martial bow.
To quote Ravana when he enters into the final battle with Rama he proclaims "Rama does not know of my skills in war. I shall play the veena of my bow with the plectrum of my arrow; and the hearts of my enemies will tremble and they will flee in disarray."
Well the terms tuntune, Kokkara, gargara, ruga braiya, Kirikittaka, scokti vadya, dagga, dhimmas, tippani. will you get their meaning by google ing them. try.
You will find that the beginning of music and musical instruments are found in tools and activities entirely unmusical.
a little more advanced is the Pancha vadya. The Pancha vadya or the Panchamaha sabda was also an insignia of authority.
When a mahamandaleswara feudal lord lost a war, he had to surrender his pancha vadya ensemble of trumpets, gongs, drums and oboes to the victor.
The drum is not usually restricted to music it has been used and still is to convey messages the pitch and intensity of their sounds and their patterns are messages conveyed through long distances. the African talking drums are famous.
Now the Lebang gumani of Tripura is a curious combination of bamboo clappers to which are attached miniature tuntunes and is played with claps and twangs of a weird quality, along with other instruments. On hearing the sound insects attacking the crops in fields gather round the musicians and are caught.
The kakali was used by thieves which had a low tone. when strummed gently if the householder did not wake up it was sign of all clear for the thief.      Taking a jump now.
In the 19th century Mahillon divided instruments into four broad categories;
Autophones / idiophones which require no returning once they are made eg. bells, rods, rings, gongs
Membranophones or drums.
Chordophones or strings.
Aerophones or wind instruments.

The classification prevalent today throughout the world was formulated in India atleast 2000 years ago. the very first reference is in the Natya shastra of Bharata (hari) who is said to have lived around 200 AD. he also classified into four classes. 
Ghana solid idiophones.
avanaddha covered eg drums.
sushira hollow wind instruments.
tata stretched or string instruments 
today we have sixteen kinds of ghana, eleven of avanaddha, twelve of sushira and fifteen of tala. electronic instruments not included.
delving into the history and types of instruments opens a whole new world of its own.

Kesan Kesi.

ONCE UPON A TIME Brahma wanted to have the darshan of Vishnu in Kanchana Sringam. He therefore performed a yaga at a place known as Mahendra giri close to Thiruvattar. Somehow he failed to associate his divine consort and inform Goddesses Saraswati of this yaga. the Goddesses was annoyed of this slight and to show her annoyance and the procedure to be followed she undertook a decission to vengence and as she is the goddesses of learning it is said that the rendering and reciting of the mantras and the procedure of performance were hampered with wrong actions. As the yaga was not performed with ordained rites and correct pronounciation, two evil spirits one male and one female emerged out of the homa kunda sacrificial fires. they were Kesan and Kesi. As they emerged out of the homa kunda they automatically became immortal, they out of arrogance and pride started troubling the rishis and the devas, destroying all things. Brahma with the devas approached Vishnu. Lord Vishnu promised to set right the situation.
The Lord took the form of Kesava and set out to destroy the asuras. a fierce fight was fought for seven days. Due to immortality Kesan could not be killed. he lifted Kesan and threw him down the Mahendragiri. The Lord in Senbaga vanam blew his Panchajanya conch and assumed his varata roopa Kesan was frightened he tripped and fell, immediately Adisesha jumped on Kesan and coiled himself tightly round him immobilising him the Lord put a lid on so to say by lying down on Adisesha. The Lord got the name Kesi madana nathan. Kesan was trying his best to free himself he started pushing his long arms trough the wound coils. Lord Kesava installed Sivalingas on the outstretched palms. this accounts for the 12 Siva temples in and around Tiruvattar. they are.
Tirumalai (Soolapani)
Thireeparappu (Jatadhara)
Thikkurichi (Mahadeva)
Thirunandikkara (Nandikesvara)
Ponmani (Thimbilesvara)
Pannippakkam (Kirata murthi)
Kalkulam (Nilakanta swami)
Melaankodu (Kaala Kaalar)
Thiruvidaicode (Jadai appar)
Thiruvithamcode (Parithipani)
Thiruppaniyode (Bakthavatchala)
Thirunattalam (Ardhanareesvara)
On Mahasivratri day the pilgrims after visiting the 12  Sivalayas also worship at Tiruvattar to complete the cycle of worship to receive the lords blessings.
Kesi joined with Kodhai and became a river the two rivers joined at a place Moovaatru mukham the Lord cursed them saying they will not have Punaragam (Meaning please if any one knows) they then sought Sapa vimochana. the Lord took a dip at the confluence of the two rivers and blessed them this is recreated even today with a utsavam at this same place during the months of March - April.