Sri: Dear Sri Madhavakkannan, Unfortunately, I am not able to be in Bangalore today. Adiyen had just sent letter in expression of my gratitude to Acharyan . I am expecting the Ashrama Volunteers to deliver this to Swamiji. Hopefully he receives it. I am not workty of writing such anubhavams, but nontheless I wanted to make up for my not being there. Dasan Haresh ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Haresh Balasubramaniam <haresh.balasubramaniam@xxxxxxxxx> Date: Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 1:55 PM Subject: Acharyan Thirunakshatram To: Venkatesan K <venkat.blore@xxxxxxxxx> sri: Dear Venkat, I have written a short essay today in light of our acharyan's birthday. Will you be able to hand it over to your father for taking over to Swamiji ? As my wife was not able to attend this week, we are both unable to be in Bangalore for the celebrations. Thanks in advance for your help. Adiyen. B.Haresh ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** Expression of Gratitude to my Acharya , Sri Rangapriya Maha Desika Om Ajnana timirandasya jnananjana shalakaya| Chakshur unmeelitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah || The above verse is taught to vedic students when they commence their studies of the ancient scriptures. The verse illustrates how one is immersed in the darkness known as ignorance , and his eyes are opened by the light of spiritual knowledge administered by the guru or acharya. In the spirit of this ancient prayer, I would like to take a few moments today on account of his birth day ( Thirunakshatra) to honor my acharya, HH Sri Rangapriya Mahadesika of Ashtanga Yoga Vijnana Mandiram of Bangalore. Like many a lost soul, I experimented with various spiritual practices and traditions for years. Little did I gain from those efforts , as each path led me to a dead end. In January 2004, I had the opportunity of meeting HH Swamiji for the first time. After, offering namaskaras, I lifted my head to look at the mahatma seated before us .His eyes were full of compassion , yet piercing. He had offered to answer any questions that were in my mind. By that time , all the questions had already vanished. I felt that at that moment, without a doubt that I have found the one who will free me from the darkness known as " ajnana " or ignorance. I fell at his feet and requested to undergo Pancha Samskara- the initiation rites of the Sri Vaishnavas. He agreed to perform my pancha samksara after my Dhivya Kshetra tour. After visits to Melkote, Thondanur and Sri Rangapatna, Swamiji formally initiated me into the Ramanuja Sampradaya . Thereafter with Swamiji's blessings , I visited Madhya Ranga and Satyagalam. It was in Satyagalam, I had the opportunity of performing the first Ashtakshara Mantra Japa under the Jnana Aswatha Tree . It was under this very tree , on the banks of the Kaveri that the great Acharya Vedanta Desika used to perform his anushtanams. By visiting Melkote and Satyagalam, Swamiji ensured that I received the blessings of both Acharya Ramanuja and Swami Desika. I returned to visit swamiji again, after my visit to Satyagalam. From then on, I did not look back . In 2005 , I moved to India from Singapore, on account of professional duties and have remained here since. I made it a point to visit Swamiji whenever time permitted. Over the years, I developed a somewhat intimate Guru-Sishya relationship with His Holiness. In my various interactions with Swamiji, I came to understand that his approach to spirituality did not lie in the theoretical reading of spiritual texts or blind recitation of the various Sanskrit and Tamil verses. Swamiji, having a strong foundation in the ancient system of Ashtanga Yoga, paid more attention to the experiential aspect of spiritual life. It was in one of our personal conversations where he pointed out â Puja, Stotra, Japa, Dhyana and Samadhi were the rungs of the spiritual ladder. He would often question my consistency in mantra japa in contrast to the other practices, (which I am embarrassed to say is not up to the mark). However he was also ( and still is) very encouraging of nitya aradhana (Puja) and Vishnu Sahasranama Parayanam (Stotra). Each of these practices involve engaging our senses totally in the service of God, the difference being in the intensity. The goal of all such spiritual activity is to establish an unwavering relationship with the Paramatman. Let us take a few moments today on his Thiru Nakshatra, or Birthday to thank Lord Srimannarayana and Goddess Mahalakshmi, for placing in our midst, such an Acharya who is full of compassion for the fallen souls. Let us all take a few minutes each day to reflect on our Acharya's glories, recite his Guru Mantra and make our best effort in following his teachings. Srimate Rangapriya Mahadesikaya Namah: Dasan Haresh Balasubramaniam ( Srimannarayana Dasan) Thai , Makham, Feb 10 2009, Mumbai ------------------------------------ Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan http://www.sadagopan.org Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Oppiliappan-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:Oppiliappan-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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