SrI: SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah: Dearest Srivaishnavas, Lord asks: The mother without even anticipating the infant?s cries, takes the baby and feeds the same. I am not like that. I am the mother for all and hence can not grant you just like that and will be blamed for being partial. Alavandhar says: When a mother has two or three children, she feeds the crying little one(helpless) first and I am like that crying- and performing Saranagathi. So give me first. Prapatti (Saranagathi) is bhooyishtaam thE nama ukthim vidhEma- with a small step or effort of Self surrender, it grants the biggest. However, in addition to asking by words, it would be greater if folded hand performing Anjali (folded palms) as the token of my reverence and affection. Let me do that? This does not mean that the Saranagathi performed in 22nd verse is now null and void. This is only a supplement to declare his mahaaviswAsam and unconditional faith on Him. tvat anghrim uddisya kadApi kEnachit yathA tathApi sakrit krita anjali: tadaivam mushNAti asubhAni asEshata: subhAni pushNAti na jAtu heeyatE [28] To Your Lotus Feet- [Or contemplation on Your Lotus Feet]- whoever- whenever- however or whatever time or manner- once- if he or she has performed the Anjali [paying obeisance with two folded palms], at that moment itself, the act removes all his sorrows and miseries and does him or her good and well-being with all auspiciousness [mangaLam] and it grows further and further. In addition, that Anjali stands firm resplendently (meaning: wondering what else can we grant to the person who is doing?as this is not even adequate for the performance of Anjali- the Lord is so merciful ] Each word of this verse is pregnant with meaning. [given below is an extract from sri Sadagopan Iyengar article posted few years ago on this anjlai ? quoting this sthothra- thanks to him for granting permission] "Tvat anghrim uddisya"-This gesture is meaningful only if addressed to the Lord. Anjali to all and sundry human beings or to lesser deities would not bring us any lasting benefit. "kadApi"-There is no time specification for anjali. Unlike sandhyavandanam which can be performed only at the confluence of the three sandhIs, unlike Mantra japam which requires purity of body and soul, unlike yAgAs and yagyAs which too are time-specific, this gesture of folded palms can be adopted any time, with absolutely no restriction. Night or day, summer or winter, full moon or new moon, makes no difference for joining our palms in supplication to the Lord. We can do it the moment we develop the urge. "kEnachit"-Performing sacrifices is the prerogative of the traivarNikAs. BrahmachArIs alone can perform SamidAdAnam. Only males of the aforesaid group can imbibe and propagate the Vedas. Unlike all these restriction-bound deeds which are subject to constraints of VarNa, Ashrama etc., anjali falls within the domain of everyone, irrespective of cast, creed, colour, age or sex. "yathA tathA vApi"-Most of the karmAs which earn us merit have to be performed in a particular fashion. Doing them otherwise would not only deny us of the intended fruit, but would also prove counter-productive. We thus hear of TvashtA begetting a son who would be killed by Indra, while his actual prayer was for an offspring who would end Indra's life, all because Tvashta erred in the intonation of a Veda mantra. We hear of Brahmins turning into BrahmarAkshasAs due to shortcomings in the performance of sacrifices. Unlike all these rule-bound deeds, an anjali can be executed in any fashion. "Sakrit krita:"-While most of the meritorious deeds require repetitive performance, a single performance of anjali destroys all inauspiciousness and builds up all that is good for us. ommAcchI, kai kooppu" is what our parents told us to do, in our childhood. And it is what their parents told them to, when they in turn were children. Thus, as a tradition, we have been taught to fold our palms in supplication, when standing before the Lord. What exactly does this gesture, which has been in vogue from time immemorial and is being passed on from one generation to another, actually mean? Is it based on some scriptural authority or is it just an empty mannerism which, rightly or wrongly like so many others of its ilk, has somehow survived the test of time? Scripture refers to this gesture of supplication with folded palms, as "anjali". And references to this anjali are numerous and adulatory, be it in Srimad Ramayana, Sri Mahabharata, Puranas or Acharya sreesooktis. The greatness and glory of this simple gesture are so vast that Swami Desikan thought it fit to author a separate work on the same, titled "anjali Vaibhavam". Sri Alavandar has enshrined the significance of this gesture in his Stotra Ratnam, while other Acharyas too are not lacking in glorifying the greatness of anjali. If we look into the etymological structure of this word, we find it to be extremely significant-"am jalayati iti anjali:"-this tells us that the apparently simple folding of palms is so potent that it completely floors the Lord and melts Him down, making Him abandon all idea of awarding commensurate penalty for our innumerable misdeeds. "am" in the aforesaid sentence refers to the Lord, who is represented by the letter "A" ("akArArtthO VishNu:"). Sage BharadvAja tells us that this anjali is the best of all gestures and secures for us the favours of the Lord , with all expedition-"anjali: paramA mudrA, kshipram dEva prasAdinI". There are any number of good deeds which earn us merit and ultimately afford us liberation from this mundane morass-cleaning up the Lord's temple, adorning it with floral designs, fashioning garlands for Emperuman out of fragrant blooms, lighting up the Lord's abode with lamps lit with ghee, gingerly oil etc., circumambulation of His sannidhi, prostrating before Him in such a way that all eight parts of the body touch the ground ("sAshtAnga praNAmam"), constant contemplation on esoteric formulations incorporating His hallowed names (Mantra japam), engaging in melodious exposition of His praises and so on. If the ultimate aim of all these endeavours is to please the Lord, then one need not resort to all these at all, and could confine himself to a mere anjali, which is more powerful than all the aforesaid in earning us the Lord's pleasure. Whatever merits the other kainkaryams listed above might earn us in course of time, a single gesture of folded palms secures for us in a trice, says Sri Bharadvaja-"Kshipram dEva prasAdinI". Why is this simple gesture touted to be such an effective instrument in accomplishing such exalted goals? Because it signifies the surrender of one's soul, the absolutely priceless offering which is relished by Emperuman. If we consider the "anjali" mudrA, the palms folded together resemble a lotus bud, which is also the shape of our heart (Hridaya Kamalam)-"Padma kOsa prateekAsam hridayam chApi adhO mukham" says the Narayana anuvAkam. Just as the lotus is the best of flowers one can offer the Lord, our heart and the soul resident therein, are indubitably the most valuable of tributes that we can submit at His feet. It is thus that the anjali pleases Emperuman no end, signifying, as it does, the ultimate offering that can be submitted by anyone. And a tip here about the folded palm, learnt from elders-the palms should not be pressed flat together, but held loosely together with the tips of the fingers touching one another, so that the joined palms resemble a lotus. A further beauty of the anjali mudrA is that while it represents a gesture of surrender to the arcchA murtthi we stand before at the Sannidhi, it simultaneously envisages obeisance to the Inner Dweller, the antaryAmi, who is forever resident in our hearts and souls. The position of the palms in this mudrA is such that it is in line with our chest, inside which is situated our heart, in which is enshrined the Lord, in His form as the "HArda" or the Inner Dweller. We might adorn the Lord at temples with any number of the most brilliant of gems and jewels made of the most precious of metals, but the ornament the Lord likes the most is our "anjali", the simple gesture of folded palms with an accompanying attitude of self-surrender, says Sri Nammazhwar- "dEsamAna aNikalanum en kai kooppu seigayE". Just as a diamond's brilliance is enhanced by a glittering gold setting, so too the efficacy of the anjali is heightened by certain accompaniments, says Sri KulasekharAzhwar. The palms folded in obeisance should be accompanied by a head bowed in devotion, hairs standing erect with the intensity of Bhagavath anubhavam, a voice made extremely shaky with emotion, eyes full of tears occasioned by depth of feeling for the Paramatma and so on, all of which cumulatively take us to unimaginable heights of sublime spiritual experience. It is those who have all these external signs of devotion, whose constant company we should crave for, says Azhwar. Here is the beautiful sloka from Sri Mukunda MAlA- "baddhEna anjalinA natEna shirasA gAtraischa rOmOdgamai: kanttEna svara gadgadEna nayanEna utkeerNa bAshpAmbunA nityam tvat charaNAravinda yugaLa dhyAna amruta AsvAdinAm asmAkam SaraseeruhAksha! satatam sampadyatAm jeevitam". Swami Desikan in one of his chillarai Rahasyam named Anjali Vaibhavam describes the power of Anjali as " Praarthanaa poorvaka bharanyaasam of the Akinchanan " (the saraNaagathi done with the folded hands as a first step for the helpless to seek the Lord's succour and protection. Swami Desikan goes on to describe Anjali mudrai as Phala visesha vyanjaka mudrai "(the gesture that symbolizes special fruits to be obtained from the Lord ). Swami quotes the slokam of VishNu DharmOtthamam which states unambiguously that the anjali made in front of the Lord quickly helps one to receive the Lord's immediate attention and lets one become the object of his Daya.. Alavandhar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo Narayana dAsan __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Messenger - Communicate in real time. Download now. http://messenger.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/VkWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SriRangaSri/ <*> 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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