Dear Sriman Kidambi:
You have requested comments on the
distinction
between Kula Dhaivam and Ishta Dhaivam
.
As You have put it so well , the performance of
SaraNAgathy
at the feet of the SaraNya Dampathis is the
ultimate goal of
life for a Sri VaishNavan and to live out a life of
service to one's
AchAryan , BHagavathAs and the dhivya
dampathys.
In this coveted journey , Sriman NaarAyaNa
serves as the supporting
staff ( OonRu kOl) and one feels empowered to
embark and conclude
this precious journey with the anugraham of
one's AchAryan .
We meditate on our Kula Dhaivam , Ishta Dhaivam ,
which are
one or other forms of Sriman NaarAyaNan for a Sri
VaishNavan.
Ishta Dhaivam , KUla Dhaivam provide a personal
bond and develop
a close relationship with Sriman NaarAyaNan
as the dearest Friend , Father , Mother
or other dear relative . This unique and special
bond helps us
to progress speedily towards our journey
to perform SaraNAgathy
at the sacred feet of the dhivya dampathis
.
Ishta Dhaivam
******************
Some devotees have Lord KrishNa or Lord Raama or
Lord
Lakshmi Narasimhan as their ishta dhaivams .
The leelAs of these
Vibhava avathArams appeal to them and they got
drawn to them like
a piece of iron before a powerful magnet . They see
that Ishta dhaivam
in all archaa Murhtys and divine forms . They
become KrishNa prEmis
or Raama DaasAs or Nrusimha UpAsakAs . Their whole
inhalations
and exhalations are pervaded by the bliss of
association with their
Ishta Dhaivam. Two classic examples are the
experiences of Saint
ThyagarAja and Sri LeelA Sukhar , the author of Sri
KrishNa
KarNAmrutham . Saint ThyAgarAja composed the
Aarabhi Krithi
" SaadhinchanE " to celebrate the mischeivous
pranks of Baala
GopAlan and half way thru that effort was so
overwhelmed with
the powerful waves of thought about his ishta
dhaivam that he ended
up deflecting his Aarabhi kruthi ( Pancha Rathnam)
towards Lord Raamaa.
In the case of LeelA Sukhar , He had a vision of
Lord Raamaa and
responded to the Lord by requesting Him to put
aside the bow of
KOdhaNdam and appear before him with the flute and
peacock feather
associated with KrishNa , his ishta dhaivam .
He asked Raama to reappear
in KrisNa roopam to enable him to meditate
appropriately . Such is
the power of Ishta Dhaivam !
Kula
Dhaivam
*******************
Kula Dhivam is the deity worshipped traditionally
by the members of
the Family for many generations. For me it
will alwaysd be Lord
Oppiliappan . I was born in this dhivya dEsam of
Oppiliappan and
thru my parents and grandparents have been blessed
to think of
Lord Oppiliappan and His divine consort , BhUmi
Devi always.
Even while I stand before other ArchAvathAra
Moorthys in
celebrated dhivya dEsams , the thoughts of Lord
Oppiliappan
will dominate due to this habit of reflecting on
Him like an automaton.
All important events in one's life are performed at
the sannidhi
of one's Kula dhaivam .
There are cases when one's Kula Dhaivam and Ishta
dhaivam
fuse into One and the Same Dhaivam .
Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |