Vol 01.009 6 December, 1997
In this Issue:
1. Note from the Publisher
2. Acharya Vamsa Vriksham - Part 9 - Anbil Ramaswamy
3. Adiakkalap patthu of Swami Desikan : Part 1 - V. Sadagopan
4. Saranagathi - Part 7 - Sampath Rengarajan
Dear BhagavathAs, I will try my best to publish this journal in time in the absence of Sri Anbil and until he returns to resumehis responsibility. In the meantime I request all the recipients to send us a feed back on the journal. adiyEn Sampath Rengarajan
The following is Sri Anbil's message: (repeated for our recipients from India to benefit from this trip of Sri Anbil and communicate with him in India.)
Dear Bhagavatas,
VACATION
I am leaving for India on 27th November 97 for a 2 month vacation and hope to be back by first week of February 1998. I propse to attend the Tirunakshatram of our Jeeyar at Bombay on 8th December 97. I will be meeting with other Yathivaras and Acharyas there to discuss several matters. If you have any questions or doubts for clarification, you may send an e. mail to the following address. I will get authoritative replies for them. nutech@ix.netcom.comARRANGEMENTS
During my absence, Sri V. Sadagopan will be in overall charge as the Acting President and Editor-in-Chief of Saranagathi Journal. Also, Sri Sampath Rengarajan in addition to being the Co- Editor, will be the Publisher of the journal in my place.NON-RELEASE OF ISSUE ON 15th NOVEMBER 97
Due to administrative and technical problems, the issue due on Saturday,15th November could not be released. Every attempt will be made to have the releases on Saturdays.TECHNICAL PROBLEMS AND YOUR FEEDBACK
It is noticed that quite a few of the mails sent bounce. Some of them is due to typographical errors in the addresses (e.g ) undescore instead of hyphen and vice versa etc. We are fixing these . But, some others bounce even when the addresses are correctly typed. Some of them flash the message that they will be delivered say after 4 or 5 days. In the absence of a feedback, there is no way for us to find out if such mails have in fact, been delivered subsequently. Those who have missed one or more issues, for whatever reason, are requested to send an e. mail to srengara@ford.com calling for the missing issues. We will be happy to provide you the same so that you can have a continuous collection of the issues without break.WISHING YOU ALL A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
The New year 1998 would have ushered in while I am away. I take this opportunity to wish you all a very very happy New year and wish you a fruitful Satsangam in the days ahead.CONTACT ADDRESS IN INDIA
My contact address in India will be:
Anbil Ramaswamy
C/O Smt. Mythili Krishnaswami
22 Prithvipakkam, Ambattur,
Chennai, 600 053
Tamil Nadu, INDIADasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
Publisher.
2. ACHARYA VAMSA VRIKSHAM Part - 9
PERIOD F: BETWEEN YAMUNA MUNI AND RAMANUJA MUNI PERIYA NAMBI
(MAHA POORNAR , SRI POORNAR) - (MARGAZHI-KETTAI)
(Anbil Ramaswamy)He was born as the Amsam of Kumudakshar, one of the Nityasuris in Paramapada (PPM).His date of birth is placed in 998 AD Hevilambi year, Margazhi month and in the constellation of Kettai on a Wednesday (PPM and MKS).
Not much is known about him except that he was the direct disciple of Alavandaar and that it was he who did Pancha Samskaram to and destined to become the Acharya of Sri Ramanuja..
At the same time, the Lord of Kanchi bade Tirukkachchi Nambi to send Ramanuja to Periya Nambi at Srirangam to learn Vedanta Arthas. In deference to this, Ramanuja set forth towards Srirangam. Both Ramanuja and Periya Nambi met with each other at Madurantakam- midway between Kanchi and Srirangam. Having recounted their mutual experiences , Periya Nambi performed the Panchasamskaram to Ramanuja there itself. According to PPM, he wrote a Granta called Tirup Pathithak Kovai..
Swami Desika in Sloka 9 of his Yathiraja Saptadhi pays his respects to Mahapoorna thus:-
Dayaanignam Yatheendrasya Desikam Poornam Aasraye |
(Explanation) When there was a danger from other faiths to Visishtadvaita Siddhanta, Lord Tiruvarangan commanded Periya Nambi " Whatever you have learned from Alavandar, you pass on to Ramanuja who is in Kanchi and through him arrange for the growth of the Siddahantam". Periya Nambi immediately set out to Kanchi to carry out the command of the Lord of Srirangam. GLE reports that earlier, he hesitated to do this but later on relented and performed it saying that it was by the command of his own Acharya that he was performing the Pancha Samskaram.
Yena Viswasrujo Vishnoh Pooryatha Manorathah ||Both returned to Kanchipuram where Periya Nambi did Upadesam to Ramanuja of all that he had learned at the feet of Alavandar. Thus, Periya Nambi fulfilled the wishes of Periya Perumal and by initiating Ramanuja paved the way for the redemption of our Siddhanta once again.
I take refuge at the feet of this all- round master (Desikam Poornam) who fulfilled the wishes of Lord Vishnu (Vishnoh Pooryatha Manorathah)
Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy
3. The Scope of PramANa Paddhathi
(V.Sadagopan)The first of the ten chapters of Prapanna- PaarijAtham is PramANa Paddhathi . There are 17 slOkAs in this chapter , which refer to the ancient and unimpeachable sources of Prapatthi from passages found in Sruthis , Smruthis , PurANAs , AagamAs and the IthihAsAs . The purpose of this effort by our AchAryA is to establish the Vedic authority of Prapatthi as a doctrine and practice handed down to us from the prathama AchArya( Sriman naarAyaNA ) down to the current AchAryA .
SlOkam 1:prapatthis thaitthireeyANAm vEdhE taavath vidheeyathE |
(Meaning ) : The first and the foremost authoritative statement on Prapatthi is found at the end of Thaitthireeya Upanishad (Sruthi ) . There it says that Prapatthi has to be performed under its name nyAsam starting with the vEdha mantram commencing with the word " Vasuranya : " . This manthram describes for the first time prapatthi under its name of nyAsam and prescribes as well its modus operandi .
nyAsAkhyA saprayOgAsou vasuranyEthi manthratha ||( comments ) : We are starting here at the very beginning by looking for authoritative and ancient references to prapatthi or nyAsam in Sruthis . The roots of Prapatthi in ancient vEdhams are recognized from the many vEdha mantrams one comes across in Rg Vedhic rks and KrishNa Yajur Vedhic mantrams . Upanishads such as Taittireeya NaarAyana and SvEthasvatAra upanishads have authoritative references to Prapatthi .. A passage from Katavalli sruthi is another oft-quoted authority for the doctrine of Prapatthi's origin from Sruthis .
By choosing the word nyAsam , the Vedhic manthram reminds us that this doctrine refers to a pledge , a pledge of one's Self (Jeevan) to the Lord .
Dr.S.M. Srinivasachari has connected the numerous passages of Rg vEdham to the basic principles of Prapatthi or SaraNAgathi . These rks refer to " an individual pleading his (or her ) inability to achieve a desired object " or goal such as freedom from the cycles of birth and death . He or she seeks prayerfully divine intervention for success in such efforts (Gopthruva VaraNam ).
One of the oft-quoted rk ( Rg vEdham I.189.1) starts with " AgnE naya supathArAyE---" . This manthram is found again in IsAvAsyOpanishad and Swami Desikan has commented on this rk in his Bhaashyam on the above upanishad . The manthram has the following meaning : " Oh , Agni ! lead us along the auspicious path to remove all the obstacles coming in our way ; we shall offer unto Thee salutations with the expression of NAMA: "(--tE nama- ukthim vidhEma) . Swami Desikan has connected the name Agni here to the AntharyAmi Brahman and the word " NAMA : " to the act of the SELF seeking the refuge in Lord and laying itself at His sacred feet (Athma nivEdhanam ) .
Another Rg rk found in the 7th khAndham ( VIII.66.13) invokes reverentially the Supreme Brahman as the only one to shower us with favour (Maha VisvAsam ) and that the jeevans are totally dependent on that supreme Brahman . It says : " O Resplendent Self ! We are verily Yours , therefore , We , the worshippers ( prapannAs ) , entirely depend on You . There is none but only You to show us favor , O Bounteous divine power , invoked by ALL "(nahi tvadhanya: purUhutha kascchana magavannasthi marDithA)
The whole VIII.66 section of Rg vEdham is a celebration of the Supreme Brahman " as full of might and the revealer of wealth " , as " the powerful Lord , purifier and master of all forces" . The third rk salutes the Lord as the one , " who opens the closed gates of wisdom and destroys the devil of dark evil forces " . In the fifth rk refers to the prayerful devotion of the Jeevan to the Lord this way : " Oh resplendent Self , praised by all, we hasten to bring to You our devotion and appreciation , which You have been expecting to receive from Your sincere devotees since ancient times (vayam tattha Indra sam BHARAMASI yajnamuktham thuram vacha:).
The subsequent rk ( Rg VIII.66.7 ) eloquently states the mood of the Jeevan's prayerful devotion in a state of helplessness to the Supreme Brahman this way : " Today , Yesterday , and ALL the days , let the resolute will power (supreme Brahman ) accept our tribute to His full satisfaction . We offer Him our reverence . Let Him now hasten here on hearing our admiration ( tasma u adhya samanA sutham BHARA nUnam bhUshatha sruthE ) .
In the 14th rk , the jeevan prays to the Supreme Lord to deliver it from its dire (spirtual ) poverty , hunger (for His presence ) and calumny ( arising from accumulation of sins due to doing things prohibited by sAsthrAs and abandoning karmAs that should be performed ) . The jeevan continues its prayer for protection with His wondrous might and thought . The jeevan declares with conviction : " O mightiest ! only You know the right way " .
In the VIII.19.5 rk , we come across the explicit statement the person( Jeevan ) , " who offers prayer with the expression of NAMA : ( implying self-surrender ) is to be regarded as one , who has performed a good sacrifice (sOdhvarah:) almost equivalent to the formal sacrifice done in the consecrated fire by offering the faggots (samiths) along with the recitation of the manthrAs " ( ya samidhA ya aahUthee yO vEdhEna dhadhAsa marthO AgnayE I yO namasA svadhvara : II ) .
The above rk and the others of the VIII th canto of Rg vEdham leads onto the climatic statement embedded in the famous rk quoted above ( VIII. 66. 13 ) , which unequivocally states that none other than the Supreme Being is capable of protecting the Jeevan from " the ocean of bondage ( Maha VisvAsam ) ".
In a subsequent Canto ( X.63. 9 and 10 ) , the rks compare the Lord to a non-leaky boat that alone can safely take the jeevan across the turbulent ocean of SamsAram ( dhaiveem naavam svaritrAm anAgasam asravantheemA ruhEmA svasthayE ) . The Lord is invoked here as " vessel divine , well-protecting , spacious , shining and unmenaced , full of comforts , seamless , goodly constructed , fitted with fine oars , flawless and unsinkable (never-leaking ) " .
In the previous rk the jeevan offered a moving prayer to the Lord in the unmistakable spirit of a true PrapannA this way : " In our conflicts or struggles of our life , we invoke our Lord (who is known by so many attributive names as ) the resplendent one , the deliverer from sins , the virtuous , the Divine , the Creator , the Adorable , the Friendly , the Venerable , the Glorious one . We invoke You - for the acquisition of (spiritual) food and luxury and for our (spiritual) well-being " .
These are the Vedhic PramANams for nyAsam to establish its ancient roots .
V.Sadagopan
4. SaraNAgathi - Lord HIMself incarnates as acharyAL - part 8 (Kadagakudi Sampath Rengarajan)
Some of the commonly asked questions are repeated. Is it possible that simply because one asked for mOksham through an achAryAL the Lord will give mOksham. i.e., why achAryAL is considered a mediator for obtaining the thiru aruL of the Lord known as saraNagathi. Who are the acharyALs ? Are there any instances that the Lord fulfilled achAryAL's requests (that are meant for benefiting the bAgwathALs) ?.
In Srivaishnava sampradhAYam achArya sthAnam and achArya paramparai is the most important. When Lord Krishna was present in dwArakA, madura kavi azhwAr still awaited the avathAram of our thamizh vedam thantha nammAzwar. When Sri Ramanuja ascended to Srivaikundam he meditated on the thiruvadikaL of Sri Periya nambi. When Swami Desikan ascended to Sri vaikundam he meditated on the thiruvadikaL of Sri AppuLAr. There are scores of other poorvAchAryAL from whom this niyamanam can be learnt. It is even the thiru uLLam of our poorvAchAryALs to mediate upon the thiruvadi of their achAryAL even though Sri Ramanuja himself is the thiru avathAram of adiseshan and Swami Desikan the thiru avathAram of or temple bell (maNi) of thiru vEngada mudaiyAn. In each and every achAryAL there is an amsam of perumal known as sudhdha saththvam that is embodied. It depends on the thoNdars to realize this and worship our acharyALs as perumal using their thaniyans all the time. It is wrongful to think that achAryAs are mere baddha jivAtmAs and such is the mOksha virOdha swaroopam that the prapanna must definitely know. (mOksha virOdha swaroopam - Swami Desikan in sillarai rahasyangAL). The Lord paramAtmAn saranyAn HIMself incarnates as achAryAL who is full of compassion and bless us by removing our anNyAnam. (thakavAl mikka dEsikarAy 26 - amirtha swAthini ie., Lord HIMself incarnates as achAryAn). An incident from vaibavam can validate these words of Swami Desikan.
It is learnt from the achArya vaibavam that after several years of Swami Desikan's vaibavam in this boolOgam, Sri SrinivAsachArya swamin incarnated. He went to ahObilam as per the swapna niyamanam of Lord azhagiya singar and AmmAL, he met with a yathi (sanyAsi). YathisArvabowmar initiated him into sannyAsramam and gave him his kAshAyam (kAvi udai) and sangu chakram (for performing samAsrayEnam) and initiated him with the prEksha manthram (for performing thiru arAdhanm of Lakshmi nrusimhan and baraNyAsam for the bAghawadhALs) and the Thri DhaNdam (the staff) from Sri bAshyakArar sannidhi there. He also named him that as Sri sadagopa jeer. Sri sadagOpa jeer (later on he became AthivaN sadagOpa jeer due to the grace of lord AthinAthan). YathisArvabowmar identified HIMself later that it was HIM who appeared in the dream and wanted our jeer to come to Sri Ahobilam.
Swami Desikan also delivered that (nal viNaiyil padinthAr thALil paniviththu - amirtha ranchani 30) such Lord also makes us surrender at the holy feet of such achAryAL and protects us by paving the way for mOksham. There are so many references available in Swami Desika Prabhandham (SDP) on the importance of achAryAL and Lord's mercy to show us and take us to the sathAchAryan (sath achAryAn).
Thirumangai on his last pasuram prayed to thirukaNNamangai Sri Baktha vatsala perumAL (Sri Krishnan of one of the earlier chathur yugam) Though it is an apachAram to describe the materials of which the perumAL archcha vigrahams are made, one can describe the beauty of them so that those who have not gone there can enjoy the beauty of this lord while reading itself. This lord is so tall (ie.. brahmAndamAna thiru uruvam; approximately 18 feet; and I have not seen anyother lord who is so tall in ninRa kOlam among the 108 DDs than Sri Bakthavatsala perumAL; In thiru ooragam and thiruk koViloor Sri uLagaLantha perumAL's moolvar is also very gigantic but these postures of the Lord are considered "nadantha koLam") and the kalyAna guNam of gambeeram can be seen from this lord by the mere darshan.
"kaNNa ! nin thanakkum kuRippAkil kaRkalAm kaviyin poruL thAnE"
i.e. Oh kannA, if you may desire (kurippu here means desire) you may also learn this kavi's or poet's (ie., his thirumangai's poems) poem. It is said that even among the normal 21 births in a yugam each and every thought of the AthamA becomes a birth. It is said that Our Lord immediately fulfilled thirumangai's wishes (these wishes of thirumangai are on behalf of us that the Lord HIMself must write the vyAkyAnams for these thamizh vedams) by becoming HIMself as the shishyAL and student as periya vAcchAn pillai (rOhini nakshathiram as similar to Lord Krishna and Sri Periya vAcchAn pillai had a thirunAmam in his bAlyam as Krishan) and thirumangai incarnated once again in the same thiru nakshathiram ie., kArthigai krithigai as Sri Nampillai and was the achAryAL for Sri periya vaachchAn pillai. Sri Nampillai had the same name as thirumangai i.e., "kalikanRi". There are several insights from these two achAryALs thiru avathArAm and thirumangai's pAsuram that are understood. However the most relevant insight for current context is such that the Lord HIMself considered the achAryA sthAnam so important that HE HIMself became a sishyAL. And HE obtained the thiru aruL of the achAryAL. And HE learnt from achAryALs aruLichcheyaL and became the vyAkyAna chakravarthy Periya vAcchAn pillai with the blessings of Sri Nampillai. And HE served the thamizh vedam and Srivaishnava thoNdars who read and understand thamizh vedam through these vyAkyAnams even this day.One another important insight from achArya vaibavam is that when Sri MaNavALa mAmunigaL completed the delivering of year long vyAkyAnam for thiruvaay mozhi in thiru arangam, it is said that Lord Arangan HIMself appeared as a small boy and sang the thaniyan "srisaila thayApAththiram" in praise of the achAryAL.
Thus it is understood from all of the above quotes that achAryAL is thiru aruL is the thiravukOl for thiru vAsAL (keys for the thershold for Srivaikundam) for bhakthALs and their thiruvadis are the thirauppatham and their thaniyans are the manthirams ie., vehicle that takes the bakthALs to the Destiny mOksham (for Srivaishnava sampradhAyam).
Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana Yathindhra Mahadesikaya nama:
Azhgiya Singar thiruvadigaLE saraNam
Sri AdivaNNsadagOpan thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Swami Desikan thiruvadikaLE saraNam
Sri Boomi Devi thAyAr samEtha Sri Oppiliappan thiruvadikaLE
saraNamKadagakudi Sampath Rengarajan