religion

superior to god

The seventh pasuram in the Thiruppavai may be taken to be about the Kesava sabdham. ‘Ka’ means Brahma and ‘Isa’ is a reference to Siva. The two came from the Lord’s Thirumeni. Hence the name Kesava that Lord Narayana bears. Also indicated in this pasuram is the desire of Acharyas that their disciples give discourses for the benefit of those who seek knowledge. Sometimes there may be many Acharyas in a place. Then they discuss the sastras.
The word ‘thayir’ in Tamil, meaning curd, is used to show the role of the Acharyas, . The Thirumanthiram is the curd mentioned here. The ‘mathu,’ that is the churning staff, is the intellect. The butter that results from this churning is Kainkarya to Narayana. Swami Desika says the Acharyas use the churning staff of gnana to churn the curd that is the Ashtakshara, to come up with the butter of service to God. And what is the purpose of a Jiva, but uninterrupted service to the Lord and His Consort?
And how do the Acharyas explain what the sastras say, to their disciples? They explain the meaning of the Ashtakshara mantra, the Dhvaya mantra and the Charama sloka, separately, and then together, in such a way that each substantiates and clarifies the other.
We need the guidance of our Acharyas, who initiate us into God love. And since they show us the way out of our ignorance and lead us to moksha and hence Bhagavat kainkaryam, they are to be revered even more than the Lord. That the kindness of our Acharyas is a reason to rejoice, is brought by Madhurakavi Azhvar in his Kanni Nun Siruthambu, where he talks, not about the greatness of the Lord, but of Nammazhvar, his preceptor.
What Acharyas teach us is sacred because what they say is what God Himself has said. It is the infinite mercy of the Acharyas that they take the pains and the trouble to explain the sastras to us. The sastras have existed for eons, and yet we did not pay heed to them. It is the Acharyas who bring us close to God and, therefore, they are superior to Kesava, who is invoked in the ‘Keesu Keesu’ pasuram of Andal. She Herself shows us this.
courtesy--the hindu