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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




 
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