The Concept of Grace in the Hymns of Nammāvār

It is often asserted that in Hindu bhakti cults human devotion more than divine grace is the basis of salvation. This paper tests the accuracy of that assertion as it relates to hymns of the medieval Śrī Vaisnava saint Nammāvār: in his Tiruvāymoli is “grace” spontaneous or is grace God's response to a person's character or deeds? Apparently contradictory answers are suggested by various hymns (which are translated in the full text of the paper). On the one hand, various actions or attitudes are recommended for obtaining God's grace and presence: saying the name of God in prayer or in ignorant exclamation, visiting “residences” of God, worshipping with sincerity and enlightenment, utterly surrendering to God (prapatti). On the other hand, God's grace is portrayed as spontaneous: God's very nature is grace; creation is a manifestation of grace; enlightenment is possible only through grace; God graciously makes himself accessible through forms known in later systematic teachings as avatāra (descent), arca (icon) and antaryāmī (inner controller). Even though God is accessible, he is not at human disposal: he remains incomprehensible, and he may absent himself. The latter is reflected in hymns in which the “maiden” pines for her absent lover. Such absence, however, is not a contradiction of the gracious presence of God; rather, it emphasizes the Joy and spontaneity of his presence. How are we to put together these two seemingly contradictory lines of Nammālvār's thought? While logical consistency may not be expected in a devotional and mystical poet, the conclusion is advanced that in Nammālvār's theology God's grace is essentially spontaneous, and that hymns which suggest that grace is responsive are to be accounted for in three ways. First, passages which speak of the amazing results of ritualistic or pietistic deeds are best explained in terms of vyāja (occasion), and thus actually emphasize the spontaneous more than the responsive character of grace. Second, passages which exalt certain residences of God should be viewed in the context of the pilgrimage tradition and thus be understood in a more doxological than hortatory sense; insofar as exhortation is present, It is exhortation to recognize the grace already available. Third, passages which exhort worshippers to be sincere or which advocate bhakti or prapatti as the way to salvation are the most difficult to harmonize with the assertion that grace is spontaneous, for they suggest that only if one is or does certain things will God's grace be available These kinds of passages, however, stand in contexts which heavily emphasize spontaneous grace and which either implicitly or explicitly reject the notion that grace is conditioned. Passages denying the conditioned character of grace are not balanced by others denying its spontaneous character, a fact which strongly argues for the priority of grace. When grace is not the primary focus of attention, statements may be made which could signify an understanding of grace as conditioned by ritual, bhakti, etc.; but when attention is directed to grace per se, the understanding is that grace is spontaneous and unconditioned

Art · Art history · Assertion · Character (mathematics) · Contradiction · Enlightenment · Epistemology · Literature · SAINT · Sincerity · Son of God · Theology · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology · Theology and Philosophy of Evil

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  Open Access•Cornel West•Religious Studies Review•1985

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