Uncomprehend Grace

*BT Song 1195*

Why did You come into my life when I never sought You? Why did You grant me so much grace when I cannot comprehend it? Why did You give me this life (as a single person or as a sannyasi) full of paradox—both a burden and a blessing? When my reason asks these questions, the only response comes from the commentary which Pillan wrote:

The commentator seeking a reason often has to conclude that there is no reason for the Lord’s gracious action. He paraphrases 8.7.8 [of Tiruvaymoli] as follows:

“If it is asked, what is the reason for Him to come with so much affection and grandeur and graciously enter me, [the answer is,] without there being any reason, He simply did it.”1

When God’s action is conceived as utterly gracious, the reason for God’s compassionate entry into a much sullied world and equally sullied soul turns out to be paradoxically, “no reason.” There is no reason in human worthiness for such a gift, and there is no human act of moral rectitude or ascetic purification that would make such a Divine act “reasonable.” Thus, the commentator only echoes the poet in concluding, “Without there being any reason, He simply did it” (pp. 157-58).

Dissolving the paradox, Carman concludes his paper by saying:

“Pillan follows Ramanuja quite closely, I submit, but the very variation of his paraphrases of different verses reveals the paradox of Divine grace and human action more clearly than the verses themselves. Pillan believes that Nammalvar sees the problem and approaches it from different angles, but however the question of the reason for God’s saving action is asked, the answer comes back, “For no reason at all!” (p.160).”

…For Pillan himself, the question as to how God holds together His strict moral governance and His overflowing compassion has a note of the philosopher’s (theologian’s) perplexity but far more of the bhakta’s (worshipper’s) amazement at a Lord who showers His grace on the unworthy “for no reason at all” (p. 161).²

After reading this, I wrote this song as the answer to my own questions of ‘whys.’

Notes

Here is an English translation of Nammalvar’s Thiruvaimozhi 8.7.8 by scholars, as they provide a deeper understanding of the original Tamil:

Thiruvaimozhi 8.7.8:**

Oh heart, you who roam in search of our great Lord

Who resides in the grand city of Srirangam along with the noble devas,

Say, which is stronger, my strength or yours?

If we see Him and understand that He is the medicine,

Will we not know that He is the one who removes all our diseases,

Even if we are devoid of form or beauty?

He, the great Lord, has come to us.—accessed from Chatgbt on 8-7-2024

Nammalvar’s Thiruvaimozhi 8.7.8 in Tamil:

“`

அரங்கமா நகருளான் அமரரேறோடு

திருந்து சேர்த்து எங்கள் பெருமான் தன்னை

விரும்பி நாடித் திரியும்என் நெஞ்சமே

வலிவோ யானும் நின் வலிவோ சொல்லாய்

உரிந்து நோக்கி அவனைத் தானுணர்கில்

மருந்தென்று அறிவோமோ உருவேறு இலமாம்

பொருந்தும் நோய் தீர்க்கும் பெருமான் வந்தானே

“`

The Six Thousand on Nammalvar’s Tiruvaymoli by Tirukuruhai Piran Pillan (ca 1100-1150), the cousin and disciple of Ramanujacharya, stated: HE SIMPLY DID IT. John B. Carman discloses ‘Dissolving One Paradox and Discovering Another’ in Keith E. Yandell and John J. Paul, eds. Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India (2000) Reprint New York, Routledge, pp. 149-161.@

@This paper draws on the book that Dr. Vasudha Narayanan and I have written, entitled The Tamil Veda: Pillan’s Interpretation of the Tiruvaymoli, Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press [1989].