SrI:
Dear BhakthAs :
Let me share with you
what I enjoy about this First Monograph
in the series of "The
Choice is Yours " . Yes , there are plans to
release over time
additional essays of SrimAn SadakOpan IyengAr
by Sri Sukti PrachariNi
Sabha with the support of Aasthika Community
around the world in
the future .
Sri Sadagopan IyengAr has
penned as I remember almost 300 esaays (so far)
of high caliber and
authenticity . It is all his AchArya Bhakthi and
Lord Hayagreevan's
anugraham that propels him to perform this kaimkaryam
of sharing the vast
amount of knowledge he has acquired over the years
on the fine points about
Sri VaishNava SampradhAyam from a Ubhaya
VedAnthic perspective
.
This first release , "
The Choice is Yours " has 55 Essays that appeared over
the past few months
in Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA , Internet Lists like
Oppiliappan , Malolan ,
Sri Ranga Sri et al .
At the outset , I wish to
state that I am proud of Sri Sadagopan
IyengAr's
command of
style and content in tackling this difficult task of handling
classic material ;
He has facile use of
the modern idiom to help youngsters and new comers to gain
the appreciation
of our
ancient sampradhAyam . I am equally proud of the Sri Sukthi
PracharaNi Sabha
for
taking this " massive " initiative , finding the fund and
the invaluable Editorial
help of Oppiliappan Koil the gifted Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan Swamy
,
a doyen of our
SampradhAyam .
You may have a question
as to why myself or anyone would like to invite
your attention to acquire
this book , which may be considered as a packaging
of
essays released earlier .
I would like this opportunity to bring to your and
Your family's as well as
your friend's attention why I believe that
the book has unusual
aspects of its own to warrant the acquisition
of
this book
for your
archival reading on our ancient SampradhAyam
starting with Sriman
Narayana and extending to present day AchAryAs ,
who strive hard to reach
out to aasthikAs . Here are my reasons
:
1) The author's Admirable skill in "
presenting our glorious tradition in the modern
idiom,
while adhering faithfully to the spirit
of the original works of ancient seers ".
These original and " timeless
works " that Sri Sadagopan IyengAr ihandled
by the author are the
VedAs , Upanishads ,
VishNu PurANam , Dhivya Prabhandham
and a host
of other sacred
literature . There is a central thread that runs through
all
the 55 essays chosen for
the just released volume . That is the mighty doctrine of
SaraNAgathi for Mukthi ( Prapatthi
Yogam ) after thorough analysis of
the various choices
.
2)He has clear scholarship and
command over his material ;
He has amazing proficiency both
in English , Tamil and Sanskrit
and most importantly in the
SampradhAya . His vocabulary is rich
and noteworthy . His power in phrase making is indeed a rare gift
.
3) Sri Sadagopan IyengAr is a
Master Story teller with a serious purpose .
In olden times , he would have been a
beloved PourANikar and KaalkshEpa
AdhikAri .
4) His devotion to his AchAryAs is
exemplary .
5) The proceeds from the sale of this
book is going towards Saathvic
Charities that would please the
ThiruvuLLam of AchAryAs . The Sri Sookthi
PrachariNi Sabha of Singapore has a
clear road map on diverting
the funds from the sale of the books to
nourish the roots of our
divine sampradhAyam . They have
completed one fourth of their
planned work and adiyEn prays for their
continued success in
such Kaimkaryams .
6) The internet postings did not have
any images to go with the Text .
The book has some of the most beautiful
choice of images to go
with the 55 essays housed in this
monograph . Examples are those of
AchAryAs , superb color plates of
archAvathAra Moorthys , special
graphics . The images chosen have been
beautifully integrated with
the text . This is truly a Multimedia Book
of trend setting quality .
The border of each page contains the
lovely image of Dharbham
( ThUppul ) , which appears to protect
the sacred content . ChakratthAzhwAn
provides additional raksha at the
beginning of each essay . The beautiful
picture of ParthasArathy PerumAL
and His family in the front inside cover and
Lord Oppiliappan and His family in the
backside of the cover are very beautiful .
The picture of VeNNai Thirudum KaNNan (
The Butter Thief ) alone on Page 47
will steal
any one's heart .
7) Each essay has an intriguing and
teasing title and the essay develops
the theme of the title into SiddhAntham
. Some illustrative examples among
the 55 essays are
:
(a) " Insure
and Be Secure " , where with adroitness , Sri Sadagopan
IyengAr
compares the offerings of the mundane ,
modern Insurance industry
with that of the ancient fail-proof
Insurance policy of SaraNAgathy .
This is a Master Piece
that must be read by every Sri VaishNava ..
(b) " Hari Potter
or Complexities of Creation " is such a profoundly
informative essay about " the nuts and
bolts of Creation " as the Master
Creator goes about His work of creation
.
(c) " How to see
the Lord " is a moving essay on how to visualize
,
absorb and enjoy the Archaa Moorthys as
revealed by the AchAryAs
and the AzhwArs
.
d)" Diamonds in the
Sky " is another of the essays, where
it is
a celebration of the 27
Nakshathrams - -"the distance
deciders of our
destinies "
starting from Krittikaa Nakshathram .
e) The essay in defense of AchArya
RaamAnujaa's use of prose
instead of poetry as the medium of
communication in His Sri Sookthis
is a memorable one .Using His
three Gadhyams as examples , Sri Sadagopan
IyengAr convinces us that " All
his (RaamAnujA's) works are standing
and eloquent testimony
to the fact that prose
can portray as well as ,
if not better than poetry ,
the kaleidoscopic
of moods and feelings
running the entire range from
exhuberance , joy ,
fulfilment and bliss ,
to gratitude , humility and
servitude , to
disappointment , intense longing ---
".
f) The essay entitled with the
innocuous & polite title of " Good Evening
"
goes on to make a case with appropriate
dhivya prabhandham passages
that " the evenings belong to the
Lord " .
g) The essay on " Divine Dishes " brings us back to the section of
BhOjyAsanam
in NithyArAdhanam in general and the 18
BhakshaNam offerings to the Lord
on Sri Jayanthi , His avathAra dinam
.
h) For narrational
excellence , "An Englishman's Prapatthi "
about the happenings
at MadhurAntham easily contends for the top spot with a convincing message
about the power of SaraNAgathy as
experienced by the English Collector
at MadhurAnthakam
.
i) The three connected essays with the
title of " The Last words " is
a treasure house
of information
.
adiyEn
can go on and on but
hopefully you have been persuaded
by now about the
richness, relevance and tastiness of the offerings
in the Monograph : " The Choice is Yours " and hope you
will acquire
a copy of this book for
serious reading and reference to your friends(Suhrudhs)
and relatives . Please
remember that the fnds raised from the distribution
of
this Book series will go
only to support other Sri VaishNava Kaimkaryams
dear to the hearts of our
AchAryAs .
NamO NaarAyaNAya
,
Oppiliappan Koil
VaradAchAri Sadagopan
P.S : Those in USA can
purchase this book in two to three weeks time
online from Ahobila Matam
North America web pages ( http://www.ahobilamutt.org
)
"or by sending
e-mail to Sriman R.Rajaji at Rrajaji@xxxxxxx
/
Please refer to my
earlier mail for information on other distribution
centers in India , Asia
and elsewhere or write to Sri Mukundan of
Sri Sookthi PracharaNi
SabhA at Singapore .
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