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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00030 Aug 2003

 
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Sri:
Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:
Srimad Vara Vara Munaye nama:

|| sri bhagavad yAmuna muni bhiranu grhItham sthOthra rathnam ||

namO acinthya adhbhutha akliShta j~nAna vairAgya rAshayE |
nAThAya munayE agADha bhagavadh bhakthi sinDhavE || - SR 1

Literal meaning:
----------------

acinthya - beyond comprehension; adhbhutha - marvellous,excellent, 
wonderful; akliShta - easily acquired(innate) by God's grace; j~nAna -
embodiment of knowledge; vairAgya - embodiment of renunciation;
rAshayE - divine love; munayE - who meditates on bhagavAn; agADha
bhagavadh bhakthi sinDhavE - deep ocean of divine love; nAThAya -
to saint nAThamuni; nama: - offering obeisance.

avathArikai:
------------

A poet eulogizes a person by referring to his wealth(aishwaryam) and 
other material extravaganzas in his poetry. What is the wealth of a 
sri vaiShNavite? Bhakthi etc. So,srI yAmunAcArya praises SV by 
mentioning his j~nAna,vairAgya,bhakti as his wealth or property.

poikai AzhvAr mentions this in his mudhal thiruvandhAdhi(MT).43
(NDP.2124) "DhanamAya thAnE kai kUdum"

Detailed meaning:
-----------------

"obeisance to Saint nAThamuni,whose devotion is like an 
ocean,whose depth cannot be measured,who is an unfathomable ocean of 
divine love,who is the embodiment of knowledge and renunciation,which 
are marvellous and have been so easily acquired but beyond our 
comprehension".

sri yAmunAcArya is offering obeisance to his grandfather srI 
nAThamuni. In the introduction, we saw that it was nAThamuni who 
weaned away srI yAmunA to the spiritual path. This first shlOka 
explains "what sort of a person is srI nAThamuni?". His 
knowledge,renunciation nad devotion are not like those of others. 
they are all "acinthya"- beyond one's comprehension. they are 
marvellous(adhbhutha). They are "akliShta" easily acquired or innate. 
Sages like vyAsa,parAshara and others also had knowledge and 
vairAgya. But they were acquired through severe penance. In the case 
of srI nAThamuni(like "mayarvaRa mathi nalam aruLap peRRa AzhvArs" by 
the nirhEthuka krpa of emperumAn/bhagavAn),they were conferred by the 
Lord Himself and therefore acquired with ease.

srI nAThamuni is like a deep ocean of divine love(agADha 
bhagavadh bhakthi sinDhavE). It is not possible to measure the depth
of the ocean. It is not possible to agitate or disturb the ocean. The 
devotion(rAshayE) of srI nAThamuni is of the same nature. We can 
infer two different meanings from this shlOka. One may say that he 
was an ocean as far as devotion to the Lord is concerned or one can 
say that he had within him,the ocean called divine love. We notice 
that devotion(divine love) is mentioned separately so as to emphasize 
that devotion is the product of j~nAna and vairAgya. 

This has been explained by the Lord in Chapter 12,Bhagavad 
Gita(BG). The Lord had explained the path of knowledge and devotion 
to the manifest and to the unmanifest. Arjuna has a doubt. He asks 
the Lord,"those devotees,who, ever integrated,who meditate on you,and 
those who meditate on the Imperishable and the Unmanifest - which of 
these have greater knowledge of Yoga? - BG 12.1". The Lord 
replies "those, who,ever integrated wth Me and possessed of supreme 
faith and worship Me,focussing their minds on Me - I consider these 
devotees the highest among the yOgins - BG 12.2".

sri yAmunAcAriar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam
AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam
NC Nappinnai




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