SrI: SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama: Dearest all, Why do we exist? What is the purpose of life: what is the essence of saasthrAs? Essence of All SAstra-s, as nicely mentioned by SrImath Azhagiya Singar... 1. Only SrIman-nArAyaNa & none other than SrIman-nArAyaNa, is the Supreme Reality. 2. Only SrIman-nArAyaNa & none other than SrIman-nArAyaNa, is the only Means to reaching the only Supreme Reality, SrIman-nArAyaNa. 3. Serving SrIman nArAyaNa is the only Supreme Goal. That's all there is to know! The Supreme Goal is to serve Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayana at all times, in any condition, wherever the Divine Couple is. It does not matter whether it is in Sri Vaikuntham or not. As Swami Sri Vedanta Desika' says in Sri Varadaraja Panchasat: vaikuNTha-vAse'pi na me'bhilAsa: I have no desire to even stay in Vaikuntha. The goal is then nitya-kainkaryam alone. It just so happens that while embodied, there are continuous obstacles to performing divine service. Since there are no such obstacles in Parama-Padam, the state of liberation, we ask for moksha. But this is only to sub-serve the true goal of nitya-kainkaryam. Sri Mani Varadarajan few years ago wrote as to why and what this service.. [I like reading it again and again? would like to share with you..] Quote Why would an all merciful Lord would create a bunch of beings only to serve Him? This is a good question, but the premise on which it is based is a mistaken one. First of all, we have not been *created* by the Lord. We are ever existent, just as he is. There was no creation of the individual, nor can there be any destruction. So there is no question of God creating us to simply serve him. It is realizing our inherent nature that dictates what our purpose in life is. What is this nature, and what is this purpose? Suresvara, one of the chief disciples of Sankaracharya, writes that all creatures naturally seek to avoid pain and increase their own happiness. These are the incontrovertible facts of existence. Unfortunately, most worldly happiness is fleeting, because we try to seek it from subsidiary things instead of going to the source of all happiness itself. The Upanishads teach us that the source and essence of all happiness is Brahman, i.e., God. Nothing in and of itself causes happiness or sadness apart from Brahman; He, on the other hand, is the very embodiment of Bliss. Since by nature we all desire happiness, why look any further than Brahman? This is what our sampradaaya teaches. Serving the Lord fits in as we realize our essential nature as Jeevathmas- as seshaas [servants] of Brahman, mere instruments in his hands. The service (bhavagat-kainkarya) results from a feeling of overwhelming love and a recognition of God's presence in all things everywhere, including the individual's very self. Our acharyas have said that we regain our lost knowledge and bliss, potentially infinite but forgotten due to ignorance from time immemorial. This issue can be summarized as, ``Do we love and serve the Lord because he asks us to, or because we want something in return?'' NO -- we do it because it is our inherent nature to do so. Recognition of this nature leads to the highest bliss. Unquote.. Serving anyone whom we love is a pleasure? We see this in every day today life of ours. The great so called Mahakavi kaalidaasa was carrying huge pots of water for a daasi [prostitute] with whom he was in deep love and when someone asked him as to why he was serving her when he was a great poet? he responded that it was his pleasure to serve her as he was in deep love with her. Serving someone whom we adore, love is a great pleasure and it gives us immense happiness. As Jeevathmas, our inherent nature is to serve the Lord? Remember Sareera Athma bhAvam of our VisishtAdvaita Srivaishnava sampradaya.. we [as Jeevathmas] and the matter are His sareera and He ? the Lord is our Sareeri? or AthmA? that means- we are His properties. Hence the body limbs have to serve the AthmA? and when it gives us pleasure also, is there any doubt as to why we should NOT? There are three illusions? that we must avoid.. 1. dhEhAthma bhramam.. [considering that this body of ours is the AthmA]- that would bind us and let us go and run after carnal desires; sensual pursuits, worldly pleasure, materialistic pursuits, etc? etc.. so, the soul is different from body and hence the inherent nature of souls needs to be recognized and learnt. We have already learnt. 2. swathathra bhramam- [considering that this athma of ours- though is different from the body, is independent.. and we can take our own efforts and we ourselves are Brahman.. we can take control of our actions.. etc? ] this would let us assume that we are swathanthran? [remember Bhattar?s tvam mE.. aham mE.. ? given below for those who do not know] 3. dEvathAnthara bhramam- [after knowing that the jeevathma is different from body, and after realizing that the jeevathma is NOT independent, but is a sesha [servant] and belongs to other Supreme Brahman and ParamAthmA? the question is: who is that? That illusion that someone else ? some demi god is the ParamAthmA; some other one is the one that can remove all our paapams and can grant salvation; get rid of our suffering ? is the bhramam ?illusion ? that we, as Srivaishnavas, should avoid Let us discuss the third one in subsequent post as it is VERY IMPORTANT. We need to be fully convinced of this; then only we can develop the Complete, unflinching faith on the ParamAthmA. If you know that the doctor would cure your diseases or not, you would not try and gamble on the unknown doctor. If the Medical Council, the nurses, Other patients have declared that here is the ONLY Doctor who can remove your diseases and cure you; would give you medicine [as He only has the medicine and He only knows the dosage] to get your all sufferings removed, would you not believe? Would you still run after the unknown doctor as claimed by tabloids and bit notices and not believe in Medical Council declarations? Tomorrow- let us see who this Doctor is. asmadhAchAra paryanthAm vandhE Guru paramparaam. AchAryan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo narayana Dasan ****** tvam mE aham mE- meanings: [from Sri Sadagopan Swami?s translation] tvam mE aham mE kuthastath tadhapi kutha idham vEdamUla pramANAth yEthaccha aNAdhisiddhAth anubhava vibhavAth tarhi sAkrOsa yEva I kvAkrOsa: kasya GithAdheeshu mama vidhitha: kOathra sAkshee sudhee syAth hantha tvath pakshapAthee sa ithi nrukalahE mrugyamadhyasThavath tvam II (This passage is from the Thirumanjanak Kattiyam of ParAsara Bhattar for Sri RanganAthA . This is the first of the stray verses of his Kattiyam sung in front of Sri RangarAjA during His hirumanjanam even today . This is in the form of a captivating di alog between a stubborn chethanam and its Master, the Lord Himself .) The Lord of Srirangam notices the "impunity and stubbornness " of the Jeevan , which considers itself to be a svathanthra purushan . The Lord in wet clothes from His just begun Thirumanjanam reminds the argumentative Jeevan that it is not independent and it is His property as attested by VedAs , GitA and men of wisdom . The Jeevan disagrees with the Lord wearing a TuLasi garland on His wet body . ParAsara Bhattar reminds us that the situation of the Lord proving His claim over His Lordship over the protesting and deluded Jeevan is like practice of DivyA [kind of taking a vow or oath] referred to in smr*ithi texts . Divya practice relates to taking an oath to give testimony . To prove the ancient sesha-Seshi relationship between the Jeevan and the Lord , Parasara Bhattar constructed this wonderful, imaginary dialogue : Lord : tvam mE ( You are Mine ; I own You ). Jeevan : aham mE ( No, I belong to myself; I am independent) Lord : Kuthas tath? (No, How could that be possible ?) Jeeavn :Tadhapi kutha: ? ( How about Your own claim ? ) Lord: idham vEda moola pramANAth ( My claim is based on the authority of the VedAs ) Jeevan : yEthacchAnaAdhi siddhAth anubhava vibhavAth ( My position however is based on my own experience , which is " beginning-less in nature"). Lord : Tarhi SaakrOsa yEva( But that position of yours has already been repudiated ) Jeevan : KaakrOsa: kasya ? ( where and by whom was this repudiated ? ) Lord: GitAdheeshu mama vidhitha: ( By Me , of course ! I repudiated it clearly in GitA ) Jeevan: kOathra Saakshi: ? ( Pray , who is the witness for Your repudiation in GitA ? ) Lord: Sudhee: syAth ( A man of wisdom and clear mind) Jeevan :Hantha, tvath pakshapaadheesa ( Well , well! Then Your wise man is partial to You ). The Lord's above conversation with the deluded soul reminding of its eternal sesha relationship (servitude) to the Lord is to be remembered by us during the Thirumanjanam . He is attesting to that sacred truth with wet cloth and Tulasi garland . ____________________________________________________________________________________ Any questions? Get answers on any topic at www.Answers.yahoo.com. Try it now. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:SriRangaSri-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:SriRangaSri-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: SriRangaSri-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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