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Oppiliappan List Archive: Message 00003 Jun 2005

 
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SrI:
 
Dear BhakthAs of the Matchless Lord of ThiruviNNagaram :
 
In the fourth Paasuram , Thirumangai Mannan declared :
" PeRRa MakkaL PeNDir yenRu ivar pinn udhavAthu yenRu
aRinthEn ; (athanAl) piRinthEn . Nee PaNittha aruL yennum oLL
vALL  uruvi eiympulankaL idar theera yeRinthEn " . After executing
that act , adiyEn arirved at Your ThiruvadivAram and joined Your
sacred feet in an inseperable manner as the Prama PrApyam .
 
Let us reflect further on " nee PaNittha aruL oLL VaaLL  koNDu
eiympulankaL idar ozhitthEn " . What is this powerful upadEsam ( PaNittha
aruL ) of the Lord to chase away the troubles caused by the Indhriyams ?
 
The powerful UpadEsam of the Lord , which serves as the unfailing
weapon in the fight against the Five cognitive Indhriyams is VAIRAAGYAM
born out of VIVEKAM . The five organs of knowledge ( Jna~nEndhriyams)
are the ear (srOthra) , skin (tvak) , eye (chakshus) , tongue (jihvA ) 
and nose ( ghrANa) . Through sense control ( indhriya nigraham) ,  
one develops VAIRAGYAM ; the renunciation of all these non-lasting
and ultimately grief-yielding pleasures results from Vairagyam .
 
The Replacement of  aj~nAnam by true Jn~Anam results . Raagam(Kaamam)
and dhvEsham ( hate) leave the mind . The saadhakan becomes a samadharsini 
( equipoised in attitude )  .  Once the  mind's concentration on the Self (Aathman)
is achieved and  the full control over the sense organs and the mind is accomplished ,
Jn~Ana nishtai follows . The Saadhakan becomes a sTitha praj~nan to follow
Jn~Ana yOgam or to perform SaraNAgathy at the sacred feet of  the Lord .  
 
Few githA slOkams form the 18th chapter blessed to us by the Lord are revelatory here
to understand Brahma Sthithi ( A state, where the mind is centered in Brahman ) :
 
ahankAram balam darpam kaamam krOdham parigraham
vimuchya nirmama: saanthO BrahmabhUyAya kalpathE ---18.53
 
(Meaning) : " Forsaking egoism , power , arrogance , desire ,  wrath
and sense of possession  , with no feeling of " mine" and being tranquil---
he becomes worthy for the state of pure Self and attains true bhakthi towards
the Lord ( Thereafter , the Saadhakan neither grieves nor desires . He attains
supreme devotion to the Lord ) .
 
bhaktyA Maam abhijAnAti yaavaan yascchaasmi tattvata:
tathO Maam tatthvathO jn~AthvA viSatE tadanantharam ---18.55
 
( Meaning ) : " Through devotion (Bhakti) he comes to know Me fully ---who I am
and what I am . Thus having known Me  in true form , he then enters in to Me
( attains Me as the Supreme goal of Bhakti yOgam ) . " The emphasis is on
the UpadEsam that single-minded devotion to the Lord will make it possible
to know the Lord fully and attain Him in the state of Moksha ( Jn~Atum dhrashtum
cha tatthvEna  pravEshtum cha paranthapa -- XI.54, GitOpanishad).
 
Through such a single minded devotion and phala thyAgam , one attains the eternal
and immutable abode says the Lord ( Madh prasAdhAd avApnOthi Sasvatham padham
avyayam ---XVIII.56) .
 
Lord ParthasArathy once again states the importance of MahA ViswAsam in Him :
 
Tamm yEva SaraNam gaccha sarvabhAvEna Bharatha 
tath-prasAdhAdth paramam Saanthim  sTAnam prApyasi Saasvatham --XVIII.62
 
At ThiruviNNagar , Thirumangai Mannan reflects on the two powerful slOkams 
of the Lord at the battle field and performs his SaraNAgathy with the utterance :
" tEnE NinnadainthEn ThiruviNNagar MeyavanE , seRinthEn NinnadikkE 
ThiruviNNagar MeyavanE " . The two gitA slOkams in this context are :
 
ManmanA bhava MadhbhakthO MadhyAji Maam namaskuru
Maam yEvaisyasi sathyam tE pratijAnE priyOsi mE ---XVIII. 65
 
sarvadharmAn partithyajya MaamEkam SaraNam vraja
aham thvaa sarvapApEbhyO mokshayishAmi maa Suchah---XVIII.66
 
(Meaning ) : Focus your mind on Me; bedevoted to Me; worship Me;
prostrate before Me ; you shall come to Me. I promise you truly , for you
are dear to Me .
 
Relinquishing all dharmAs , seek Me alone  for refuge . I shall release you
from all sins . Do not grieve .
 
Dr. Chari in his monograph on " The Philosophy of Bhagavad Gita " has
insightful comments on the Charama slOkam ( XVIII.66) : " The SaraNAgathy
or the surrendering of oneself to paramAthman seeking Him as the sole refuge
implies according to RaamAnuja , the relinquishment of the sense of ego as
the doer of deeds ( Karthruthva thyAga) and also the sesire for their fruits
( Phala ThyAga) . This is what is meant by " Sarva dharmAn partithyajya "
and not the total renunciation of all karmAs as Samkara intreprets. By observance
of SaraNAgathy in this mannner , all the sins of the past standing as obstacles
in the way of attaining ParamAthman will be removed by His grace . Thus ,
the SaraNAgathy advocated in GitA  serves as an aid (anga) to the Bhakthi
yOgA , which is the direct means to Moksha ".  
 
For a Bhaddha Jeevan( Souls in bondage ) , the Lord at Kuru kshEthram 
explained how the bondage is caused and how they can snap out of that
bondage to become Muktha Jeevans ( liberated Souls) and attain Him .
This is the UpadEsam on approaching Him thru Bhakthi yOgam .
 
The path of Bhakthi yOgam is not easy for many to follow . For the benefit
of those , who despair about their capabilities to practise Bhakthi yOgam
to reach Him , the pParama DhayALu , our Lord blessed us with the Charama
SlOkam to house His message of Prapatthi or SaraNAgathy to Him . In VisishtAdhvaitha
philosophy and practise , " the doctrine of SaraNAgathy is accorded an important
place. The total surrender of one's self to the Lord with the firm conviction that
He is the sole protector , the means and goal , is considered as an alternative
and direct means to Moksha  for persons , who are incapable of  observing
the rigorous Bhakti yOga ". Acharya RaamAnuja elaborated on the doctrine of
SaraNAgathy in his SaraNAgathy gadhyam and showed us the way to perform
Prapatthi at the sacred feet of the Lord following the path laid out by Thirumangai
AzhwAr and Swamy NammAzhwAr earlier .   
 
Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan
SriMath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam
    
     
 
 
 
  
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
 


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