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Srimathe  Ramanujaya Namaha !
  Srimathe  Vedhantha Desikaya Namaha !! 
  Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha Divyapadukasevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri  Narayana 
Yatindra Mahadesikaya namaha !!!
   
  Dear Bhagavathas ! 
   
  The writer , humbly , submits this article  to the group , prepared , keeping 
in mind the modern youth , who , probably were not lucky enough to have an 
exposure to this subject so far.  The article was written based on the details 
collected during the various lectures and upanyasams attended and also reading 
some of the  books on this subject. While many may find it very elementary , it 
is expected that the addressed audience  would find it quite interesting and 
useful .
  May Sriyapathi bless us all. 
  Regards 
  yours- Ramanuja Dasan G.Sampath. 
   
  Saranagathi , the easiest way of salvation for this soul. 
   
  Vedas are the  starting point of all  the Indian philosophies .  
Srivaishnavism is as old as the Vedas . Our Jagathacharya ? Sri Ramanujar ? has 
based  the   ?Srivaishnava ? philosophy on the  Vedic principles. According to 
?Sri Vaishnava ? philosophy  ? Mokshaprapthi ? for doing the ? Kainkaryam ? to 
Sriman Narayanan , for His Satisfaction alone ,  is the ultimate goal in all 
our  lives .To attain that? Mokshaprapthi ? , the               ? Jeevathma ? 
can  take up different paths , as laid down in the vedic scripts , Upanishads , 
Ithihasas  and  Puranans .  The easiest among them is the path of Saranagathi. 
   
  In this mundane world every ? jeevathma ?  has to understand its permanent 
relationship with the ? Paramathma ?. It is called self realization or ? Aathma 
saakshathkaaram ?.  Srivaishnavism recognizes three realities - namely Chit  , 
the  Sensuous objects  , Achit  , the non Sensuous objects  and the  Eeshwara , 
the Supreme God  .The Lord has created this universe as one of His acts of 
leela, with the above  ?chits ?and ? achits ? and He also placed Himself as ? 
Antharyami ? in each and every creation of His . Both Chit and Achit are 
subordinate to Eeshwara.
   
  Thus , according to Srivaishnavism , every individual in this world is an 
inseparable combination of Soul (Chit) , Prakriti ( Achit) and Eeshwara  ( 
Antharyami ) . Every soul gets a body ( evolved out of prakriti ) in accordance 
with his Karmas. The soul                ( aathma ) and the  body are 
inseparable and interdependent ,  in an individual . So long as the soul is 
inside the body , the body continues to  function. Once the soul departs from 
the body , the physical body then  becomes dead or inactive .  Eshwara          
( Antaryami) , though resides in the body , it  does not take part in  any of 
the worldly activities of the body . However , the Lord as ?Antharyami ? tries 
to  help  the soul to cross the Samsara  ( cycle of births and deaths ) . Here 
again one?s past Karma  plays an important role in salvation . 
   
  Hindu Dharma sastram , while talking of Saranagathi describes it as under :
   
  ? Ananya Saadhye Swabhishte Mahaviswasa Poorvakam !
  Thatheka Upaayantram Cha Prarthana Saranagathihi !! ? 
   
  Also , ? Thvameva Upaaya Bhootho Me Bhava , Ithi Prarthanagathihi Saranagathi 
? . 
   
  Meaning , Sriman Narayanan alone would be the ? Upaayam ?as well as ?Saranyan 
? .  
   
  In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna tells  Arjuna  , in Chapter 18, verse 66 , 
as under : 
  Sarva Dharmaan Parityajya Maamekam  Saranam Vraja !
  Aham Thvaam Sarva Paapebhyo Mokshayishyaami  Maa Suchaha !!
   
  Meaning , ?  Abandon all forms of  Dharma to be done as a means to attain 
salvation , but surrender unto my feet alone . I shall deliver you from all 
sinful reactions and offer you ? Mokshaprapthi ? . Do not fear  ?. 
   
  By this Lord Krishna is asking  all the ? Mumukshoos ? , through Arjuna to do 
Saranagathi unto Him. Saranagathi is a term used to represent this  act of 
surrendering oneself  , through mind , to  the Holy  feet of Sriman Narayanan , 
for attaining salvation.  There are no restrictions prescribed for this act , 
except that it has six  ? Angams ? or attributes. The process is very simple 
with huge benefits. Any one irrespective of caste , creed , age or sex can 
follow this path . It can be done for oneself or for others including birds , 
plants, animals etc. There is no restriction on time or  place for doing this . 
   
  According to Swami desikan , it would be beneficial for the ? mumukshoo ?
  to do the Saranagathi to Lord Sriman Narayanan , through the ? Piratti ?   ( 
Thayar ) . The amount of sins committed by all of us , during the course of 
various births, are so innumerable and the accumulated ones are so large , it 
would be next to impossible for any one to perform ? Prayachitham ? , to wipe 
off those sins in a single birth . Lord Sriman Narayanan , being  a ? 
Nirankucha Swathanthrayan ?, no  one can question His decisions or actions . So 
, when a ? mumukshoo ? approaches the Lord , to forgive his sins and offer   ? 
mokshaprapthi ? , the possibilities of the Lord rejecting such a request are 
quite high. To avoid such a situation , if that individual approaches the Lord 
through ? Piratti ? , then She would consider the case sympathetically , being 
an embodiment of ?  DAYA ?  and would properly recommend the case to the Lord , 
to make the Saranagathi meaningful. This was one of the reasons ,  Swami 
Ramanujar did his Saranagathi to Lord Ranganatha , on the
 Panguni Uthiram day , when the Lord was in ?Serthi ? with Thayar Ranganayaki . 
   
  The six attributes of Saranagathi are :
   
  ? Aanukoolyasya Sankalpam ?- Decide  that we will  do only such acts that are 
favoured by Sriman Narayanan   .
  ? Praathikoolyasya Varjanam ?- Decide that we will  avoid all actions not 
favoured by Sriman Narayanan. 
  ? Rakshisyatheethi Viswasam ?- We will have full and implicit  faith in 
Sriman Narayanan that He will protect us from all sinful actions ,  without 
fail . 
  ? Gopthrithva  Varnam ? ? Requesting  Sriman  Narayanan to accept our  
Saranagathi  done to Him , through prayers . We should  confess to Sriman 
Narayanan , our   inability to do anything except this  surrendering  activity 
unto  His Holy  feet  and no where else to go for our salvation . 
  ? Kaarpanyam ? -  Expessing clearly that there is nothing  in our hands that 
we can offer  to Sriman Narayanan  ( ? Aakinchanathvam?) and expressing  one's 
total dependence on Sriman Narayanan for protection .
  ? Aathma Nivedanam ? -  Offering our ?Aathma ? , being His property ,  for 
His kainkaryam alone . 
   
  Generally Saranagathi to Sriman Narayanan  is done with the help of one?s  
Acharyan.  
   
  Firstly , the acharyan would perform the purification ceremony of the body , 
to make it a Srivaishnavite ,  through Pancha Samskaram . They are  :
   
  Embossing the impressions of conch ( Sankha ) and wheel ( Chakra ) on the 
left and right arms of the ?Saranagathan ?. Then he will teach us how to wear 
the twelve Srivaishnava marks  on the body,  reciting  the appropriate names of 
the Lord . He then will add ? Dasan ? to our names , indicating that  we become 
Sriman Narayanan?s recognized disciple.  Acharyan will then explain to us in 
detail , the three  Srivaishnava mantras with their invocatory slokas.   The 
three Srivaishnava mantras are                         ?  Thirumandiram ?  , ? 
Dvayam ? and   ? Charama  Slokam ? . This is an important Samskara and should 
be performed with full devotion .  Chanting these mantras with devotion 
everyday will  enable one to earn the blessings  of Sriman Narayanan.  Acharyan 
will then tell us how we  should perform  the daily ? Aaradhana ? to Sriman 
Narayanan  in our house itself.   With this our Saranagathi to Lord Sriman 
Narayanan becomes complete. 
   
  The greatness of Saranagathi can be seen very well in the various episodes in 
Ramayanam and  Mahabharatham. To cite some examples ,
   
  In Ramayanam ? Vibhishana , even though a Rakshasa by birth ,  becomes a      
           ? Sreemaan ? , ( ? Antharishagadha Srimaan ? ) the moment he decides 
to surrender to the Holy feet of  Sri Rama  , leaving all his belongings and 
family . He considered Sri Rama alone as the only relation in this world. 
   
  Sri Hanuman , met Sita Devi in Asokavanam as a Ramadhoothan. His tail was set 
on fire during his return journey. But , with the blessings of Sita Devi , he 
returned as a Sita Rama ? Dasan? . He was blessed with the ? Aalinganam?   ( 
the Holy embrace ) of Sri Rama.      
   
  Sabari was offered ? Moksham ? by Sri Rama , due to her immense devotion and 
implicit faith in the Lord  , coupled  with her obedience to her acharyan in 
performing  her duty. Swami Desikan says that Sri Rama was a ? Saakshi Bhoothan 
? to Sabari?s ? Mokshaprapthi ? . 
   
  The Elephant Gajendran got its ? Mokshaprapthi ? through total surrender to 
  Sriman  Narayanan. 
   
  Similarly Drupathi got her shame saved by her implicit faith in  Lord Krishna 
 and her total  surrender unto Him . 
   
  Prahlad , though born to an Asura , was saved by the Lord Lakshmi Narasimhan  
, due to his implicit faith and utter devotion to Sriman Narayanan. 
  All the above incidences go to prove that if we develop in us  that implicit 
faith in the Lord , accept that we do not have anything in our possession to 
offer to the Lord as new  and do total surrender through ? Piratti ? , then our 
Saranagathi to Lord Sriman Narayanan should enable us to achieve the goal in 
life.    
  Saranagathi in nothing but a process by which we transfer the responsibility 
of salvation of our soul to Sriman Narayanan. It is thus an act of transferring 
the ?Bharam ?of our soul to some one else . Hence it is also termed? Baranyasam 
?. 
  There is a common feeling among all of us that,  this act of Saranagathi or 
Baranyasam could be done  at the fag end of one?s life. It is a misnomer. 
Infact , Saranagathi should be done by every Srivaishnavite in his / her life 
as early as possible , to save this soul , as it is the property of the Lord . 
The basic fear for doing the Saranagathi early,   is probably ,  on account of 
certain disciplines to be observed strictly in life , after the act of 
Baranyasam.  But , if one really analyses those restrictions , one would be 
able to appreciate  , why such codes of discipline are attached to this act. 
  Firstly , once we do the Baranyasam , we are not supposed to do ? Ananya 
Devatha ? pooja. When one gets introduced in a proper way ,  to the Supreme 
Personality of  Godhead , through the acharyan , why we should bother about 
others for our salvation. So this is not a problem area. 
  Secondly , we should be watchful on our intakes. One cannot eat anywhere and  
 whatever is offered from any place . It is logical. Our acharyan , through the 
act of Pancha Samskaram , had taken pains to purify this body before the 
Baranyasam. Let us not forget , it is a sort of an act of  wedlock of this 
?Jeevathma ?  with the ? Paramathma ? , the ? Suddha Sathvam ? .  After such a 
purification how can we think of impurifying this soul by giving  inputs which 
can increase our Rajo and Thamo Gunas , instead of maintaining only the  Sathva 
Gunas. Hence,  if we analyze  all our intakes ,  to maintain this Sathva gunas 
,  we would be able to automatically observe the codes of discipline. If one is 
able to maintain the Sathva Guna in the body , one would be able to win all ,  
in this mundane world , by his / her disciplined actions.  Thus ,  it is  not 
that difficult to observe.  
  Thirdly , one should do his / her daily routines in ?Nimitha Karma ? and   ? 
Naimithika Karma ?  as prescribed in our philosophy, which again , could be 
done without fail , with a little bit of adjustment in our other routines. 
Human has  lots of potential and can take up immense loads without difficulty. 
It is only the determination to do certain actions without fail ,  that would 
be required. As such , this also is not a problem area . 
  When we are all prepared to do plenty of sacrifices to maintain  this  
temporary  body of ours  ,  can we not observe  some extra precautions to take 
care of this Soul in us , which is the property of our Creator , the Supreme 
Personality of Godhead . Since it is His property , it is the beholden duty of 
every Srivaishnavite  to save this soul by doing the Baranyasam without fail . 
  The writer is sure that this article would be of benefit to the young 
Srivaishnavites , who are the torch bearers of  the future generation.   
  Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu !   Adiyen- Ramanuja dasan- G.Sampath.         

                                
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