My respects to Swami Ramanuja and Swami Manavala Mamunigal and Swami Pillai Lokacharyar. The following blog is inspired by Swami Pillai Lokacharyar's grantham - Artha Panchakam.
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From Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawkings all modern physicists have been confronted by common questions about evolution, existence and sustenance of human life on planet earth. Doctors of medical science often wonder what death is, and why it should be inevitable. Modern Science, despite its great advancements in many fields has been unable to answer some of these questions most satisfactorily.
There are some common questions most of us seek answers to:
Who am I? (My nature)
Who is God? (God's Nature)
What is/are my goal/s? (alternatively what is/are the purpose/s of human life on earth?)
How can I achieve this goal or life purpose?
What are my obstacles to achieving this goal or life purpose?
Answers to these 5 questions forms Artha Panchakam. Let us look at the answers given to us by Swami Pillai Lokarcharyar. (I will give the synopsis here, and discuss them in detail later)
1. Who am I?
As established in previous blogs, "I" refers to the Jeevatma that owns this physical human body. There are 5 types of Jeevatmas -
a. Nityar - Jeevatmas that live eternally in the Lord's kingdom serving Him. These include Adiseshan (Sesh nag), Garuda, Vishvaksenar, and others.
b. Muktar: Jeevatmas that have reached the Lord's kingdom having attained Moksha from cycles of birth and death
c. Baththar: Jeevatmas that are born on earth and continue to live through the cycles of birth and death (this includes those born as human beings, animals, plants etc.)
d. Kevalar: Jeevatmas stuck in "self-experience" of the Atma
e. Mumukshu: Jeevatmas presently born as Baththar but known to exhibit keen interest in achieving Moksha and graduating to the Lord's kingdom as soon as possible.
Who is God?
God exists in 5 forms/levels:
1. AS-HE-IS - (Called Para-Swaroopa) - as He exists in His World - Sri Vaikuntha.
2. Specialized forms He has taken in other worlds that we cannot see - starting from para-vasudeva form to the forms of Aniruddha, Pradyumna, and Sankarshana, and forms related His 12 names - Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Hrishikesha, Padmanabha, and Damodara. Out of these, Aniruddha is the form that controls Brahma, and Sankarshana controls Shiva when respectfully performing creation and destruction.
3. Vibhava Avatar - When He walks the Earth as Rama, Krishna, Nrisimha, and other avataars.
4. Antaryami - as the owner and controller of each Jeevatma He resides in each sentient being and insentient thing that exists in existence as known to us, and existence that we don't know (beyond our human comprehension)
5. Archa - as the Lord in the temples we have dedicated to HIM, and in Salagrama silas.
What is/are my goal/s? (alternatively what is/are the purpose/s of human life on earth?)
These are called "purushartha" - meaning - "what a purusha aspires for". There are 5 of them - dharma (Justice), artha (wealth, and material things), kama (desires), Aatma-anubhava (self-realization and enjoyment of the "self"), and Bhagavad-anubhava (enjoyment of bliss through the supreme Lord).
How can I achieve this goal or life purpose?
The highest goal of Bhagavad Anubhava. Therefore the focus here is on the means that will help us achieve that highest goal. There are 5 of them - Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Prapatti, and Acharya Abhimanam.
What are my obstacles to achieving this goal or life purpose?
Again 5 obstacles - obstacles to knowing "I", obstacles to knowing "God", obstacles to knowing "goals", obstacles to knowing "means", and obstacles to knowing "obstacles".
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From Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawkings all modern physicists have been confronted by common questions about evolution, existence and sustenance of human life on planet earth. Doctors of medical science often wonder what death is, and why it should be inevitable. Modern Science, despite its great advancements in many fields has been unable to answer some of these questions most satisfactorily.
There are some common questions most of us seek answers to:
Who am I? (My nature)
Who is God? (God's Nature)
What is/are my goal/s? (alternatively what is/are the purpose/s of human life on earth?)
How can I achieve this goal or life purpose?
What are my obstacles to achieving this goal or life purpose?
Answers to these 5 questions forms Artha Panchakam. Let us look at the answers given to us by Swami Pillai Lokarcharyar. (I will give the synopsis here, and discuss them in detail later)
1. Who am I?
As established in previous blogs, "I" refers to the Jeevatma that owns this physical human body. There are 5 types of Jeevatmas -
a. Nityar - Jeevatmas that live eternally in the Lord's kingdom serving Him. These include Adiseshan (Sesh nag), Garuda, Vishvaksenar, and others.
b. Muktar: Jeevatmas that have reached the Lord's kingdom having attained Moksha from cycles of birth and death
c. Baththar: Jeevatmas that are born on earth and continue to live through the cycles of birth and death (this includes those born as human beings, animals, plants etc.)
d. Kevalar: Jeevatmas stuck in "self-experience" of the Atma
e. Mumukshu: Jeevatmas presently born as Baththar but known to exhibit keen interest in achieving Moksha and graduating to the Lord's kingdom as soon as possible.
Who is God?
God exists in 5 forms/levels:
1. AS-HE-IS - (Called Para-Swaroopa) - as He exists in His World - Sri Vaikuntha.
2. Specialized forms He has taken in other worlds that we cannot see - starting from para-vasudeva form to the forms of Aniruddha, Pradyumna, and Sankarshana, and forms related His 12 names - Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Hrishikesha, Padmanabha, and Damodara. Out of these, Aniruddha is the form that controls Brahma, and Sankarshana controls Shiva when respectfully performing creation and destruction.
3. Vibhava Avatar - When He walks the Earth as Rama, Krishna, Nrisimha, and other avataars.
4. Antaryami - as the owner and controller of each Jeevatma He resides in each sentient being and insentient thing that exists in existence as known to us, and existence that we don't know (beyond our human comprehension)
5. Archa - as the Lord in the temples we have dedicated to HIM, and in Salagrama silas.
What is/are my goal/s? (alternatively what is/are the purpose/s of human life on earth?)
These are called "purushartha" - meaning - "what a purusha aspires for". There are 5 of them - dharma (Justice), artha (wealth, and material things), kama (desires), Aatma-anubhava (self-realization and enjoyment of the "self"), and Bhagavad-anubhava (enjoyment of bliss through the supreme Lord).
How can I achieve this goal or life purpose?
The highest goal of Bhagavad Anubhava. Therefore the focus here is on the means that will help us achieve that highest goal. There are 5 of them - Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Prapatti, and Acharya Abhimanam.
What are my obstacles to achieving this goal or life purpose?
Again 5 obstacles - obstacles to knowing "I", obstacles to knowing "God", obstacles to knowing "goals", obstacles to knowing "means", and obstacles to knowing "obstacles".
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