NOTE: Readers having difficulty in reading the text may need to change their encoding to UTF-8. ------------------- srI: SrI sAra sAram â I (55) -- I â ThirumantrAdhikAram -- The Significance of ânArAyaNanAyaâ --- After stressing the point that one cannot do service for the pleasure of his master doing away with his own benefit, SwAmi DeSikan says he should not seek his own benefit at the cost of his masterâs pleasure: ââthanakkEyAka venaikkoLLumeethEâ enkiRapaDiyE pradhAnamAn cEshi-prayOjanatthai ozhiya sva-prayOjanatthai apEkshikkavum kooDAthu.â --- SwAmi DeSikan reveals the fact that between self-benefit and the pleasure of oneâs master, the latter is of prime importance. The jIva should not seek self-benefit excluding the pleasure of the Master, which should be given the prominence. To prove his point, SwAmi DeSikan quotes from a verse of SrI nammAzhvArâs TiruvAimozhi. Here is the full verse: âenakkEyATcey ekkAlatthumenRu, en manakkE vanthiDaiveeDinRi mannith thanakkE yAka venaik koLLumeethE enakkE kaNNanai yAnkoL ciRappE.â (ThiruvAimozhi, 2-9-4) Meaning: âenakkEyATcey ekkAlatthumenRu,â â Saying, âYou shall serve Me all timesâ âen manakkE vanthuâ â entering in to my mind; âiDaiveeDinRi manniâ â stay put continuously without even a small break; âthanakkE yAka enaik koLLum eethEâ -- this very acceptance of me as Yours; âenakkEâ â befitting the nature of my Atma; âkaNNanai yAnkoL ciRappEâ â the best benefit that I desire from the Lord. This verse is considered by our poorvAchAriars as the crown of this group of ten verses. The Lord could ask the AzhvAr, âServeâ ; or âServe Meâ; or âServe Me aloneâ; but the AzhvAr will not be satisfied. Hence, the AzhvAr says âThe Lord asks him to serve Him for everâ; he insists that the Lord should not only enter into his mind but should stay put there for ever, that too, uninterruptedly. He says that will only befit his Atma svaroopa. Because, the AzhvAr says, it is the greatest favour he seeks from the Lord. Here, one is attracted by the discussion that took place between AchArya EmbAr and SrI PiLLaithirunaRaiyoor araiyar, one of the disciples present in the audience. Araiyar asks his AchArya, âWhy should the AzhvAr who is blessed with wisdom and bhakti plead with the Lord to take him as a servant exclusively of Him. Should he not leave it to the Lordâs will?â AchArya EmbAr replies, âWhat you say is true. But the desire to attain that benefit makes the AzhvAr plead with the Lord. For example, Goddess Sri, Who is staying on the Lordâs chest for ever without any interruption, can continue as She is. But, She is repeatedly uttering, âI will stay put without leaving Him even for a moment. Why? That is because she relishes her residence there. The AzhvArâs feelings are similar.â The fact that emerges is that since a human is a sentient being. He will not act with out benefit for himself. It is, therefore, impossible for any one to consciously render service to the Lord keeping His pleasure alone in mind and not even a bit of self-interest. At the same time, he should also not aspire only self-promotion without giving due importance to the Lordâs pleasure. SwAmi DeSikan, therefore, points out: âAkaiyAl, guNavath-svAmiyinuDaiya pravrutthi pOlE nipuNa-dAsanuDaiya pravrutthiyum iruvar prayOjanatthaiyum viDAthE niRkum.â â In the world, any good-natured employer acts in such a way as to benefit both himself as well as his employees. Similarly, an efficient employeeâs actions will be beneficial to both. The actions of both will be beneficial to both. It is, therefore, the duty of an intelligent servant to render service mainly for the benefit of his master. In the same way here too, the good service rendered by the jIva will please the Lord, which in turn will please the jIva. SwAmi DeSikan cites a popular example to stress the importance of rendering service for the Lordâs pleasure: âsvAmi ukappukku SEshamAkath thanakku varum prayOjanam pathi-sannidhiyil pathivrathA-alankAram pOlE mikavum ucitham.â â A devoted wife adorns herself with jewels and beautiful dress in order to please her husband. The husband too is happy to see his wife beautifully adorned. Seeing his happiness, she also is pleased. In the same way, the jIva who is Sesha of the Lord Who is Seshi, does service keeping the Lord in his mind and in process he too attains happiness. SwAmi DeSikan says that the same applies in the post-saraNAgati life also: âithu ingu ivanukku uttara-kruthyatthil kainkarya rastthilum thulyam.â â The jIva who has performed prapatti, will consider the service he does during the rest of his life in this world is for the pleasure of the Lord and will himself be happy to see the Lord is satisfied with his service. (To continue) dAsan anbil S.SrInivAsan ------------- Share files, take polls, and make new friends - all under one roof. Go to http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/ ------------------------------------ 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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