SrI: SrImathE Yamuna munayE namah: Dearest all Today is Sri Alavandhar- Sri YamunAchArya Thirunakshathram [Birthday]. Hence adiyEn thought it is more apt to contemplate on this GLORIOUS Acharya lineage for which [as can be seen below] Swami Alavandhar is the Key? in his vailakshaNya kataksham on Ramanuja? [when Ramanuja was young and was walking with his former Guru Yadava prakasa]. Let us read end enjoy the qualities and greatness of our acharyas. Swamy Desikan describes the greatest qualities of AchArya in nyAsavimsati slOkA 1: 1.Sound philosophical jnAnam obtained (learnt) through the greatest lineage of his AchAryAs 2.Having an undisputed clear knowledge on sAsthrAs; 3.Free from any sins and attachments; 4.Complete knowledge of Vedas, its subsidiaries and ithihAsAs 5.Deep unshakable faith in Brahman (Almighty- unsurpassed unparalleled Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan) 6.possesses sAtvic guNA; 7.Always speaks truth 8.lives in accordance with the manner laid down in sAsthrAs; 9.free from jealousy, show etc.. 10. having control over sense organs 11.friendly and affectionate towards all; 12.Compassionate towards all; 13.helps the disciples who err, correct them and make them follow right track as laid down in sAsthrAs 14.wishes for everyone?s welfare at all times. Our Greatest AchArya parampara as mentioned earlier starts with Sriman Narayanan. The lineage is: Sriman Narayanan. Sri Mahalakshmi Sri VishvaksEnar (sEnai nAthan- commander in chief) Sri SaTakOpar (nammAzhwAr) Sri nAthamuni Sri puNdarIkAkshar (uyyakkoNdAr) Sri rAmamisrar (maNakkAl nambhi) Sri yAmunAchAryar (ALavandhAr) Sri mahApUrNar (Periya nambhi) Sri rAmAnujar (udayavar- EmperumAnAr- yathirAjar) This AchArya paramparA also is nicely recited by Swamy desikan in the following Tamil prabhandham. ennuyir thandhaLitthavaraich charaNampukku yAnadaivE avargurukkaL niraivaNangi pinaruLAl perumpudhUr vandha vaLLal periyanambhi ALavandhAr maNakkAl nambhi nanneRiyai avarkku uraittha uyyakkoNdAr nAthamuni saTakOpan sEnainAthan innamudhatth thirumagaL enRu ivarai munnittu emperumAn thiruvadigaL adaiginREnE. What an excellent sweet prabahndham! asmadhguru paramagurUn yathivarapUrNau sayAmunam rAmam padmAksha nAtha saTajith sEnEcha ramA ramApathIn vandhE. (Given below is an extract from a post written by Sri N Krishnamachari on nyAsa vimsati- thanks to Sri Krishnamachari for his permission)svAmi deSikan concludes the stotra with a gist of how he was led to prapatti, and how he lives his life as a prapanna after performing prapatti. This concluding Slokam is included as part of the nitya-anushandhAnam at the end of the nyAsa daSakam which is recited during the nitya bhagavad-ArAdhanam. samSArAvarta vega praSamana Subha-dr*k deSika prekshito'ham samtyakto'nyairupAyair-anucita cariteshvadya SAntAbhisabshih | niS-Sankhah tatvat-dr*shtyA niravadhika dayam prArthya samrakshakam tvAm nysya tat-pAda padme varada nija-bharam nir-bharo nir-bhayo'smi || "I chose a good AcArya who could instruct me on how to get out of the whirl of samsAra, and had his divya kaTAksha. Because of the AcArya's teachings, I obtained the knowledge that could help me analyze and understand the difficulty of bhakti yoga and the realization that prapatti is the only recourse open to me, which I could perform easily, and attain the desired moksham by performing it once and only once. I learnt the facts about prapatti and so had no doubt whatsoever about its efficacy. I sought refuge of peraruLALan with pirATTi as the sole refuge who could protect me. I surrendered all responsibility for my protection at the feet of peraruLALan and performed prapatti at His feet. Since I am now living the life of a prapanna, I feel completely relieved of all responsibility for my self from that point. Since all my acts from that point on have been directed to only kaimkaryam for bhagavAn, there is nothing more to fear about any accumulation of karma. So I continue to lead a life of nishkAmya kaimkaryam to bhagavAn while spending the rest of my life in this world, and deriving infinite happiness from it". The greatness of our Srivaishnavam is that we not only show respect and pay obeisance to our prakritam (present) AchArya, also to the entire lineage of AchAryas, right upto the Lord. The thaniyan (dedicatory verse) of our AchArya and thaose of his predecessors, are to be recited by every srivaishnava. It is not only in paying respect to the glory of these AchAryAs, also to show our gratitude for what GREAT service rendered by them to our srivaishnava sampradAyam, by way of disseminating through granthas and kAlakshEbams. Swamy Desikan describes this very movingly: yERRi manatthu yezhil jnAna viLakkai iruLanaitthum- mARRinavarkku oru kaimmARu mAyanum kANagillAn pORRiugappathum pundhiyiR koLvadhum, pongupugazh- sARRivaLarppathum saRRallavOmunnam peRRadhaRkkE. To the One who has lit the lamp of jnAnam (knowledge) (in us) and dispelled the darkness from our minds, there is nothing (no way ) even the Lord can do to repay (for what the AChArya has done). Praising such AchAryan and telling about his greatness to others, spreading his name, glories, continuously will be like an infinitesimal portion for what He has done. (saRRu - iota) Sri maNavALa mAmunigaL in his upadEsaratthinamAlai says "jnAnam anuttAnam ivai nanRAgavE udaiya nAna, guruvai adaindhakkAl - mAnilatthIr! thEnAr kamalatth thirumAmagaL kozhunan thAnE vaikuntham tharum." When one takes refuge at an AchAryan (Guru), who is the great personification of jnAnam and anshtAnam, oh folks! the Lord Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan will grant mOksham. He also stresses that if one wishes to get saved, place your mind (and yourself) at the feet of your AchAryan. (uyyaninaivuNdAgil u~ngurukkaL thampahatthE vaiyum.. anbuthannai.. ) Our Srivaishnava AchArya lineage- upto (our AchArya) asmadhAchAryan, it is of the highest order; blemishless; faultless; with absolutely no interruption (avicchinnam); continuous. Folly, mistake, falling in character, a black mark in their qualities, - no way! It is due to our limitless puNyam, grace of Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan, we have been blessed to have such Greatest AchArya paramparA. There can be no doubt at all on this in any of our minds. We should recite our AchAryan?s thaniyan everyday and also of PoorvAchAryAs. There can not be a better one than the dedicatory verses of (y)our AchAryas to grant you what you wish for. GuruparamparAdhyAnam, GuruparamparAsmaraNam, anusanthAnam, - when one does, there will be showering of sarva ma~ngaLam! There can be fullest blessing of Divya Dampathi on him. Swamy Desikan has said AchAryAdhiha dEvathAm samadhikAm anyAm na manyAmahE! Is there a God more than AchArya? We will never ever consider so.- says thUppul PiLLai. In every one of our Srivaishnava AchAryAs, Sriya: Pathi Sriman Narayanan has entered into and been blessing the Humanity. GuruparamparA smaraNam is the most important and essential one. It is the most necessary deed, which is nithya karma; naimittika karma, as well as kAmyam too. This can also be for prAyaschittham for one?s pApam. It grants everything that we wish for. Those who feel that they cannot recite Vedas, recite Divya prabandham, etc., at least should recite thaniyan, mediate on the Greatest AchArya paramparA. let us sEvicchufy our AchArya lineage. Let us pay our obeisance to the greatest Guru paramapara. Given below is an extract from Sri Nrusimhapriya of 1997 issues on Swamy Desikan's YathirAja sapthathi (first 12 verses)- translated to English by Sri U.Ve. V.N Vedanta Desikan SwAmy (from Tamil Commentary by Paramapadhavaasi Villivalam Sri U. Ve. Narayanacharya SwAmy) 1. I pay obeisance to the First and foremost AchArya, the Consort of MahAlakshmi. He is the Head of the Family, which the whole Universe constitutes. He is a singular AchAryA, who is Himself, the first reciter of Vedas, and also the author of Paancharaathra Saasthra. 2. I now pay obeisance to the Spouse of the Lord, MahAlakshmi, who is never ever separated from the Lord; who is incapable and also unaware of any punitive action / treatment whatsoever and who is the embodiment of gracious benediction, and who always exchanges plans with the Lord for the good of the Universe and beings. 3. I pay my respects to VishvaksEnar, the Consort of Soothravathi. He is the Commander-in-chief of the Lord. At the tip of His disciplining ward (whip) the whole universe stays put in proper place and is rightly led on. 4. We mediate on ShaTaari, (NammAzhwAr) whose garland of VakuLa flowers gets its fragrance exuded into the fluent flow of poetry - a work of literature at which the Vedas, having been tired of imparting codes of life, even ineffectively, can safely rest and relax now, since AzhwAr's works will suffice and do the same job more effectively! 5. I hold as my Naatha (master) the seer Naathamuni, in whose hands the essential crux of the Vedas acquired a clarity of understanding - to call it HasthAmalaka, as one would say with this Natha available for me, I can not be "anaatha" (forlorn). 6. I obey PuNdareekaakshar (UyyakkoNdaar), who ever stands on the mental contour described by Nathamuni, our master at all times, and who is of unalloyed Saathvika Character, even like avataars of the Lord. 7. We meditate on Raamamisrar (MaNakkaal Nambhi), who is forbearing, who is dangerous to unholy persons, who had forsaken taste for lust and anger, - who thus was the fourth Rama (i.e- unlike: (1) Parasuraama- who was not forbearing, (2) Ramabhadra -who was dangerous to PuNyajanas (euphemism for Raakshasaas), and (3) Balaraama, - who was used to drinking liquor.) 8. We shall bathe in the holy waters of Yamuna (Alavandhaar), who has severed all connections with mean passions and attachment, who stood steadfast in safeguarding the Saadhus, and in whom the things emphasised by Krishna were present perfectly. (A second meaning: We shall bathe in the holy waters of Yamuna river, form which poisonous snake had been removed, which is close to Brindhavanam, and in which Krishna was interested.) 9. I place myself at MahapoorNar (Periya Nambhi) whose extreme daya enslaves him to itself (daya) (he becoming an abject servant of Daya quality) who gave us the Great Ramanuja, thereby making the hope of the Prime creator realised. 10. May Sri Ramanuja-muni, accept my humble prostration - he whose works performed the service as the woman- attendant for the Veda- lady (who has captivated the Lord and is His consort), this Veda- lady holding the Lord under her spell, in a dependent manner- so to say. 11. I praise Yathiraja, who shines with a Yajna Upaveetham, on His chest and with the OordhavapuNram who is really the fruit of the Good deeds of all worlds, who has a thridaNda, in His hand, and finally has a tuft of hair on the Head. He is the saviour of the Vaishnavites, surrendered unto Him, guaranteeing for their salvation. 12. The Lord's five weapons (Chakkra, Sankhu, Gadha, Khadga, and Saarngha) have unitedly taken the incarnation of Sri Ramanuja. He is therefore harsh on the enemies (say of our religion). That AchArya is sure to protect us. After Sri Ramanuja, the most important disciples (descendents) of Ramanuja are: PiLLAn, VishNuchitthar, NadAdhUr ammAL, AppuLLAr and Swamy Vedanta Desika AND Sri embAr, Parasara bhattar, Numjeeyar, NampiLLai, Vadakku thiruveedhipiLLai, PeriyavAcchAnPillai, PillailOkAryar, SrIsailar (ThiruvAymozhipiLLai), Sri Manavala mamunigaL. Let us place our heads at the lotus feet of this most illustrious acharya parampara and pray to them for their continued benign glances on us for ?correcting? us at the right moments [thirutthi paNikoLLal] and grant us eternal service [kaimkarya ruchi] at their Feet. Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Regards Namo Narayana dAsan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Yahoo! 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