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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 .


 





 
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