SrI: SrImathE Gopaladesika Mahadesikaya nama: Dearest all, Let us enjoy and understand the glories of Prapatti [Saranagati] here and the saasthric and vedic references to the same. References: Sri SMS Chari book on Vaishnavism Sri Anand Karalapakkam article on bhakti and Prapatti Dr Sri VN Vedanta Desikan's compilation of Commentaries on Swamy Desikan's nyAsa thrayee. Sri V Satakopan Swami's article. sAstrAs declare that Bhakti yogam and prapatti are the only two means (sAdhya upAyAs) by which the baddha jIvAtmAs can attain moksham, while the Divya Dampathi are the Siddha upAyam. SaasthrAs are equal to thousand mothers. They always prescribe do's and don'ts for us for our betterment. Sriman NArAyaNA Himself categorically declares: bhaktyA paramayA vA-pi prapattyA vA mahAmathe prApyoham na anyathA prApyO mama kainkarya lipsubhih: [Ahirbudnya SamhithA] NArAyaNA here clarifies that bhakti yogam and prapatti are the only means & by no other means will He grant moksham. So, all other processes like Bhagavad kalyAna guna Sravanam, nAma sankeertanam, living at a Divya desam, bathing in pushkarinIs & sacred rivers etc should culminate in either "bhakti" or "prapatti" for one to obtain moksham. So, it is not that a highly devoted person would be deprived of moksham by Sriman nArAyaNA. Such a devotee would be guided by Sriman nArAyaNA to end up with either "bhakti yogam" or "prapatti" and thus its just a matter of time may be within that life time or in the next few births, that he/she would obtain moksham. Thus, PerumAL will not grant moksham for someone who hasn't completed either bhakti yogam Or Prapatti, since they are not fit enough to obtain moksham. His wish as to who is fit enough for moksham has already been indicated in the sAstrAs and asserted by His own divine words. This also doesn't contradict His nirAnkusa svAtantrayam (unfettered independence), because it is His own wish. It is to be noted that, no one can question such a wish of His to grant moksham to only those who complete either bhakti Or prapatti, since He is NirAnkusa swatantra. He is independent and the master of everyone. It is He who grants mOksha not the performance of a ritual. It is He who prescribes that a mere simple performance of Prapatti would please Him and He would then grant the jeevathma mOksha. It is not the act that assures us of moksha; It is the Lord?s pleasure that arises out of our act [which is mandated by Him in saasthrAs and is performed at His saanishi by our most merciful acharya on our behalf] that yields us the fruit of eternal kaimkarya Anandham and enjoyment of His abode in the same level as He and Nithyasuris enjoy. There is no fancy of ours with regard to the nature of Prapatti. The modus operandi of Prapatti is well defined in sAstrAs. Anything that violates these conditions will not be taken as Prapatti by SrIman nArAyaNa. Otherwise, the sAstrAs will become meaningless. Also, sAstrAs are not "our fancy" and it is applicable universally to everyone. In fact, vEdAs are not sectarian as everyone is wrongly thinking of. A great AchAryA , who was called by the Lord as His own mother , NadAthur AmmAL in his most scholarly work has established the Sruthi/smruthi pramANam for Prapatthi elegantly . In his seventh verse, he points out that the section starting with "VasuraNya" in Taittiriya Upanishad deals with the ways to observe NyAsam or Prapatthi . Professor Prasad can elaborate on this manthram . AmmAL says : prapatthis TaittireeyANAm vEdhE taavath vidheeyathE I nyAsAkyA saprayOgAsou (hi) VasuraNyEthi manthratha: II Dr.S.M.S. Chari has eloquently defended the ancient nature and the antiquity of the Prapatthi doctrine as a separate yOgA sanctioned by the vEdhAs ( p.262, VishNavism : Its Philosophy, Theology and Religious Discipline ) . He quotes the appropriate texts from Rg Vedam, Taittireeya Upanishad and SvEthasvathAra Upanishads. He says: The term prapatthi is derived from the root-words ,pra-pad; pad means to move and pra implies in the best manner. In the context of an Upaaya or means , the term implies self-surrender to the Lord as the sole refuge ... There are numerous statements in the Rg VedA referring to the basic principle of SaraNAgathi , viz ., the individual pleading his inability to achieve a desired object seeks with a fervent prayer the help of a divine power . The famous Rk addressed to Agni , which is reiterated in IsavasyOpanishad states: O Agni , lead us along the auspicious path to prosperity , O God , who knows the means of attainment , remove all the obstacles coming in our way ; we shall offer unto Thee salutations with the expression of Namah : " According to Swami Desikan , Agni in this Rk (AgnE naya supathArAyE ---) refers to the Supreme Being resident as the antharAthmA in Agni and the Nama: signifies the act of self-surrender to the Lord . The Rg Vedha manthram ( VIII.19.5 ) states , a person who offers prayer witht he expression of nama: ( implying self-surrender ) is to be regarded as one , who has performed a good yaagam . Ahirbudhnya SamhithA holds this intrepretation of self- surrender for this manthram . The two passages from SvEthasvathAra and Taittireeya NaarAyaNa upanishads in support of Prapatthi are : " yO BrahmaNAm vidadhAthi purvam -- ( I as an aspirant of Moksha seek refuge in the effulgent God , who creates BrahmA first and who verily delivers to him the VedhAs --) " tsmaannyaasaeshAm tapasAm athirikthamaahuh --" ( Extolling NyAsa an denjoining that the Self is to be surrendered to Brahman with the PraNava manthrA ) . Katavalli Sruthi cited by VaishNavite AchAryAs refers to Dhvaya manthram ennunciating the essence of SaraNAgathi . We do not even to go to PurANAs , SamhithAs or PaancharAthrAs to establish the antiquity of the prionciple of SaraNAgathi . Few verses from sAstrAs regarding the nature of Prapatti : all the following are quoted in SwAmi dESikan's utmost outstanding SrImad Rahasya Traya sAram) 1. Ahirbudhnya Samhita (37-18) : " Anukoolyasya saNkalpaha prAtikoolyasya varjanam rakshishyatIti viSvAsO gOptrutva varaNam tathA aatma nikshEpa kArpaNyE ShadvidhA SaraNAgatihi " This specifies the angi (prapatti) with its five angAs. Thus, any general act can't be considered as Prapatti. 2. Lakshmi Tantra (17-74): nikshEpAparapargrAyO nyAsaha pancAnga samyutaha | sanyAsaha tyAga ityuktaha SaraNAgatirityapi || nyAsa i.e. self-surrender / prapatti has five angAs and is also called as sannyAsa, tyAga and SaraNAgati. NyAsa vidya in Upanishads are explained in the upabrahmanas like pAncarAtra. 3. Lakshmi Tantra (17-72) : "aprArthitO na gOpayEt" No protection would be given, when it is not sought i.e. a prayer is essential. If one seeks moksham, a prayer regarding it towards SrIman nArAyaNa is essential. This is called as the "goptruta varaNam", an angA of prapatti. The very word "purushArtham" means, "that which is prayered for/sought after by a Purusha (person)"( purushanAl prArthikkap paduvadu). 4. Lakshmi Tantra (17-78): " sarvaj~nOpi hi viSvESaha sadA kAruNikOpi san | samsAratantravAhitvAt rakshApEkshAm pratIkshatE || " The Lord who controlls everything, though omniscient and always compassionate, expects a prayer for protection, since He has to look after the process of samsAra. note: The above pramAnams out rightly rejects the theory that PerumAL on His own will grant moksham, without any prayer from the side of a jIvAtma. In other words, PerumAL doesn't grant moksham due to His "nirhEtuka krupa" (Causeless mercy i.e. without any pretext from the side of jIvAtma). If it is so, then He is partial in picking up some jIvAtma arbitrarily and would be considered also cruel, biased and partial to others. Also, it is PerumAL who makes a mumukshu perform such a prayer, due to that jIvAtma's appropriate sukrudams. But, the prayer alone is not the sAdhyOpAyam i.e. Prapatti. Prayer is only an anga (accessory) called "goptrutva varaNam". 5. Lakshmi Tantra (17-91,92) : "apAyasamplavE sadyaha prAyaScittam samAcarEt prAyaScitiriyam sAtra yat punaha SaraNam vrajEt upAyAnAmupAyatvasvIkArEpyEtadEva hi ... " If there is an offence, the atonement is that is to be done is only the performance of prapatti again for the specific reason, which is other than moksham). If after performing prapatti for the sake of moksha, a man should perform karma yOga and the like (jn~Ana yOga, bhakti yOga), with the thought that these are upAyAs i.e. means to moksha, it would also constitute an offense. In order that this offense might disappear, prapatti alone should be performed again. It is to be noted that, one who performs prapatti should never resort to any other upAya i.e. Means of attaining PerumAL. 6. Ahirbudhnya Samhita (37.36) : "tEshAm tu tapasAm nyAsamatiriktam tapaha Srutam " Of all the austerities (tapas) prescribed for the attainment of moksham, the austerity called nyAsa (prapatti) is the highest. 7. Lakshmi Tantra (17.62) : satkarmaniratAhA SuddhAhA sAnkyayOgavidastathA | nArhanti SaraNasthasya kalAm kOtitamImapi " note : satkarmaniratAhA : One who is in Karma yOga nishta. sAn~khyavidaha : One who is in jn~Ana yOga nishta. yOgavidaha : One who is a bhakti yOga nishta. Those who with their thoughts fixed only on moksha, are absorbed in the performance of karma yOga, and those again, who follow jn~Ana yOga and bhakti yOga, do not deserve to be placed on a par with even one-ten millionth of the man who has performed prapatti. 8. SrI Vishnutattvam (quoted by SwAmi dESIkan in the CharamaslOkAdhikAram of SrImad Rahasya traya sAram) : samtyajya vidhinA niyam ShadvidhAm SaraNAgatim | aachAryAnuj~nayA kuryAt SAstradrushtEna vartmanA || Giving up all object of desire and the karmAs by which they can be secured, SaraNAgati with its five angAs should be performed with the permission of the aachArya, in accordance with the rules prescribed in the sAstrAs and with renunciation of the fruits of all actions . So, the sanction of aachArya is extremly important. Further, SwAmi dESIkan in SrImad Rahasyatraya sAram, firmly establishes through sAstrAs and logic that, atleast the following are _not Prapatti_ ( from the above quoted verses also one can get a good picture about Prapatti): a. Knowledge of the relationship between the sEsha (jIvAtmas) and sEshi (SrIman nArAyaNa) is not by itself the Prapatti. b. Mere knowledge that SrIman nArAyaNa is the siddhOpAya, the one who mercifully grants moksham, is not Prapatti. c. Non-resistance to PerumAL's grace is not Prapatti by itself. d. Prapatti is not an attribute of an adhikAri. e. Prapatti is not mere faith in the saving grace of SrIman nArAyaNa. f. Prayer for moksham is not prapatti by itself. g. Refraining from one's own activity (to attain moksham) is not prapatti by itself. SrI Satakopar [Nammaazhwaar], Sriman Nathamuni, Sri YamunAchArya, Sri Ramanujacharya have all advocated and have performed their Prapatti. It is the genius of SwAmi dESikan in assimilating all the pramAnams regarding Prapatti and systematizing this esoteric doctrine with brilliant analysis and excellent logic. It has to be kept in mind that, an interpretation about Prapatti should not violate any of the saasthric injunctions / pramAnams. Also, it is to be noted that, the likes of Dasaratha and PAndavAs who were extremely close with PerumAL Himself, were not granted moksham by Him, because they didn't fulfill His criterion of completing a sAdhyOpAyam. PerumAL could have considered any one of their thousands of acts as a pretext to grant moksham. Nevertheless, He didn't! >From the existing pramAnams, SwAmi dESikan has firmly established the nature of prapatti. Hence, based on the saasthric injunctions and proofs/ pramAnams : a. First of all, AchArya Sambandham is important. b. Also, if one performs Prapatti on his own as svanishta prapatti, he should be someone like NammAzhwAr, Nathamuni, Alavandhar and Bhagavad RAmAnuja, with great knowledge on sAtrAs (esp. Prapatti sAstrA), apart from devotion etc. c. ananya gatitvam [having no other refuge except Him] is a pre-requisite for Prapatti and thus, one can't worship anya dEvatAs (i.e. demi-gods like Brahma, Sivan and others shouldn't be worshipped. When Siva himself is not to be considered as he can not grant moksham, why to talk of his sons? If one chooses to worship them also, prapatti will not be accepted by PerumAL in the first place. Since this is the case for worshipping dEvatAs who are mentioned in vEdAs, it is obvious that those who worship any dEvata not mentioned in vEdAs as Supreme God, based on one's own concept of God, won't be granted moksham by SrIman nArAyaNa (since it is anya dEvata worship). d. No further Endeavour for moksham has to be done after prapatti, which is a one time act. One is not at all a prapannan if one does such endeavours. One is completely wrong if he/she thinks that they by themselves performed prapatti (i.e. doership ego is still there). One cannot say "I performed prapatti to perumAL", since this defies kartrutva tyAgam. Actually, it is by the mercy of the Divya Dampati that one is made to perform prapatti. So, one with proper understanding of prapatti will say either "Divya Dampati by their mercy has made adiyEn to perform SaraNAgathi and granted moksham" OR "AchAryA out of his great compassion made an akinchanan like adiyEn obtain moksham" etc. This is the essence of kartrutva tyAgam. The performance of prapatti is for the pleasure of Divya Dampati. The fruit of prapatti is the eternal kainkaryam to the Divya Dampati, which is done for their pleasure. Though a mumukshu sincerely wishes to be in accordance with his (jIvAtmA's) svaroopam by performing the kainkaryam eternally to the Divya Dampati at Sri VaikuNTham, its upto the Divya Dampati to grant it out of their own pleasure and a mumukshu while performing prapatti should not have ego in this aspect also. This is the essence of mamatA tyAgam and phala tyAgam. Of course, Sriman NArAyaNA's vratam (vow) is to grant moksham to those who perform prapatti unto Him and the Divya Dampati will be very happy to grant moksham to such a mumukshu. The most important thing to understand while performing prapatti is that, "Prapatti" (SAdhyaupAyam) as an act by itself is not the reason for one's moksham. Rather, it is the mercy of Sriman NArAyaNA (Siddha upAyam) which is responsible for one's moksham. Prapatti is a SAdhya upAyA which needs to be done by a baddha jIvAtmA. This becomes a vyAjA for Sriman nArAyaNA, the Siddha upAyA, to grant moksham. In front of Siddha upAyA, SAdhya upAyA is "nothing" & can't even be compared. However, SAdhya upAyA needs to be performed since that?s the way Sriman nArAyaNA has ordered (in Sruti & Smruti) to have a vyAjA (excuse) for Him and thereby grant moksham by being impartial. Similarly, Bhakti YogA is also a SAdhyaupAyam. Ofcourse, the performance of sAdhyaupAyam is also due to Sriman NArAyaNA's mercy. Since the mumukshu has proper karmA due to various pious deeds and (most importantly) divine blessings of bhAgavathA(s) and SadAchAryA(s), Sriman NArAyaNA out of His mercy makes him/her perform the sAdhya upAyam prapatti and grants moksham using it as a vyAjA. So, if someone asks the reason for ones moksham, without any hesitation, it is the siddha upAyam Sriman nArAyanA. The Divya Dampati is both the upAyA (means) & the upEyA (end). Will Acharyan accept us, immediately for this? - The verse in Saathvatha samhithai that comes to adiyEn's mind in the context is : yadhrucchayA upasannAnAm dEsAnthara nivAsinAm ishtOpadesa: karthavyO NAARAAYANA rathAthmanAm Swamy Deikan refers to this verse in His Magnum opus , Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram (RTS) in the AchArya- KruthyAdhikAram chapter .The meaning of this verse is: "If those living in faraway places arrive at the SadAchAryan's blessed feet with a mind filled with Sriman NaarayaNan (and AchArya Bhakthi) even by accident, then the SadAchAryan should bless them with their upadEsams for upliftment (SaraNAgathi) without long term testing of their arhathai (suitability )" . Reflecting always on the words of Swamy Desikan in NigamanAdhikAram of RTS that He gave us as guideline, adiyEn vows to spend the rest of my life in service to adiyEn's AchAryan, BhaagavathAs and the Dhivya Dampathis : "--sEsha aayushi api SESHA-DAMPATHI dayA dheekshAm udhIkshAmahE " (Meaning): In the remaining time of adiyEn's life , adiyEn remains awaiting the Sankalpam of the Sarva Seshi Dampathis ( and performing Bhagavath-Bhaagavatha Kaimkaryam ). Thre is nothing more to be done .The rest of the days are to be spent in the clear manner recommended to us by Thirumazhisai AzhwAr, who ascended Parama Padham from Sri KomaLavalli SamEtha Sri AarAvamudhan's Thirukkudanthai . In one of His Naanmukan ThiruvanthAdhi, this blessed AzhwAr having His brindhAvanam at Thirukkudanthai states : " -vennAhatthunnai --theritthuzhuthi vaasitthum kEttum vaNangiyum vazhipattum poositthum pOkkinEn pOthu " AdiyEn spent my time without wasting it by reading the Sri Sookthis celebrating the anantha kalyANa guNams of our Lord , listening to the reading of those glories by others and by worshipping Him always through AarAdhanam to Him ". One of the most insightful paasuram of Swamy Desikan at the end of the AchArya KruthyAdhikAram chapter celebrates the greatness and compassion of the SadAchAryan,who provide ujjevanam ( upliftment to life at Sri Vaikuntam and nithya kaimkaryam there to the Dhivya Dampathis by giving His hand to pull us out of the deep darkness of samsAram that shrouds us in from anAdhi kaalam ). That paasuram is as follows : " maruL aRRa Desikar vaan uhappAl intha vyammellAm iruL aRRu Iraivan iNayadi pooNduya yeNNUthalAl theruLaRRa senthozhirc chelavam peruhi siRanthavar paal aruLuRRa sinthayinAl AZHIYAA VILAKKU YERRINARE " (MEANING): The most compassionate and ajn~yanam- free AchAryAs desirous of ascending paramapadham , reflected upon the POTENTIAL soubhAgyam to the chEthanams longing for freedom from their ajn~yanam so that they can hold firmly the holy feet of their supreme Lord as THE UpAyam for their ujjIvanam . With their mind full of compassion for the suffering jeevans , they lit the unquenchable sampradhAya lamp (nanthA ViLakku) of kainkarya Sampath through their upadEsams. Now that adiyEn's AchAryAn's anukampA has permitted the realization of the SvarUpa, Bhara and Phala samarpaNams, adiyEn enjoys the state of Nirbharam and nirbhayam. Rest of my prayers are those given to us by Swamy Desikan in His illustrious NyAsa dasakam: "nithyam niraparAdhEshu kaimkaryEshu niyunkshva maam " (Oh Lord VaradarAjA ! (please command me to be engaged always in blemishless kaimkaryams to Your BhagavathAs). Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo Narayana dasan ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited 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! 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