ஸ்ரீ கேசவ ஐயங்காரின் “திருப்பாதுக மாலை” மலர்ப்பத்ததி யை இங்கிருந்து தரவிறக்கம் செய்து கொள்ளலாம்.

PADUKA SAHASRAM -- INTRODUCTION BY SRI. KESAVA AYYANGAR (continues)

God's command --cordial persuasion ;
Man's obedience -- willing submission

The nature of God's command and its transformation into the serving will of the soul is beautifully brought out in the Lord's Song. The Lord said to Arjuna :- "Thus have I declared unto thee the Science -- the secret of all secrets. Consider it all well and then do as you please." {Gita XVIII 16} That is the true command, and that is the truth about God's command -- a command in all the sweetness of cordial persuasion. That is the Song Divine. "Thy word I shall do" was the loving response of Arjuna to the persuasion. [Gita XVIII. 73.] The same sentiment has been expressed by Seneca when he says, " I follow Him (God) because my soul wills it and not because I must" [Epistles XCVI] The transformation of the world of God into the will and way of the soul is the essence of Vedantic ethics. It is the very essence of sweetness, the one "sweetness of unanimity" in the words of the present author. {Adhikaranasaravali 530: Cf: Rahasyathrayasara ch 22 & 32} It is the unanimity of the Lord's "foot" (pada) and His "foot-guard" (Paduka). That the fruition of knowledge is service to the "good foot" of the Lord is the declaration of the great moral philosopher Thiruvalluvar. (Kural 1, 2.) The "goodness" of the foot, according to the great commentator -- Parimelalagar, is the goodness of its redemption of man from his frustration in material bondage. That is the Lord's 'narpada' (good foot) of present author's Mummanikkovai.[Mummanikkovai 7 : Cf: Sarasara: Dvayadhikara: as to the "Foot" being the eternal abode of the liberated; As to the "Foot" being the means --upaya-- and the end--upeya Cf: in in particular Rahasyatrayasara ch 28;] It is in the eternal and immediate percipience of that "Foot" of the Lord that souls fulfil themselves. That is moksha (liberation) Moksha is the liberation of the spiritual energy of the soul from the bondage of matter and seldom and it is in that liberation that the soul is restored for ever to ots primal competency of serving the "foot" of God. To become His servant is to become His Paduka and the servant of His Paduka. The liberated can alone worthily worship and serve the "foot" of God; for it is the worship and service of sentience in the infinity of its liberation. If the liberated soul shines in the pristine essence of its luminous sentience, it is radiant in the supernal function of its luminiferous servience. Service is sentience in radiation and it is that service that illuminates and sustains the universe. It is lokasangraha, the true social service. That alone is true service in that it serves the purpose of universal illumination and sustenance. All service is purposive and that purpose is service. Service is the means, service is the end. The purpose of God is being served in the service of souls. Souls in their service obey the will of God and serve the purpose of God. As is God's purpose vever-ending, so is soul's service. It is the purpose of the infinite "foot" of God that is being eternally served in the infinite service of "Paduka". Souls in their service serve and subserve the purpose of God to the greater glory of God. There is no end to God's glory and therefore there is no end to soul's service. Hence the sadadarsana of souls. Service is the one universal gospel and Paduka stands for that gospel. God is the Lord of the liberated.. He is "to be served by the liberated" is the declaration of Vyasa. He is the "muktopasrpya" of his Sutra, and the "mukanam parama gati" of his Sahasranama. {For a full elucidation of the Vedantic truth that service to God is the essential characteristic (lakshana) of liberated souls and that souls in their full and final liberation from the impediment of matter gain their service and thereb gain their essence in eternal service to God. Vide Bhattar Parasara's Bhagavadgunadarpana in the Bhashya for the name "Muktanam parama gati'. Wherein the relevant Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Bharata, Vishnu Purana, Vishnu Tattva, etc., are set out and service to God shown as their key thought.} The "Upasarpana" (service) of Vyasa, is the "Padopasarpana" -- service to the foot of the Lord-- of Suka [Bhagavate 7.6.2: It is the "padasevana" in 7.5.23.ibid] Moksha is service in liberty. It is unimpeded service. Matter is the one impediment to service and it is from that impediment that muktas have been for ever liberated by God. The freedom of the liberated is the freedom from matter and in that freedom they are for ever wedded to the "foot" of God so that they may serve that "foot" in all spiritual energy in their freedom from matter and selfdom. That is moksha. It is the absolute liberation of the soul's spiritual energy from the bondage of matter for God's service without any break or lapse. Souls gain and fulfil themselves in that service and that service is bliss.

To be continued.....................................