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srI:

SrI  UpakAra  Sangraham - III (9)
-- 
niryANa adikAram
-- 
 Section - 9: The Favours the Lord does to a MumukShu after he leaves his body
---- 
[9.2 Favours being done after crossing the river, VirajA]
----- 
        In the previous sub-section, SwAmi Desikan spoke about the favour done 
by the Lord to the mukta-jIva to experience the full and perfect bliss equal to 
His own in His abode. In this sub-section, SwAmi Desikan deals with the special 
services done by the mukta-jIva flowing from this experience of bliss:  
(vi)    ivvanubhava-parivAhamAk abhimata-roopankaLAna 
ashESha-shEShavrutti-vishEShankaLaiyu koLLumathuvum;         
The full and perfect enjoyment of the Lord overflows into service or kainkarya. 
SrI BhAshyakAra has explained it in his work, sharaNAgati Gadya, in several 
places.  In the beginning, while he surrenders at the feet of SrI, the Consort 
of the Lord, SrI rAmAnuja places his plea to Her for nitya kainkarya, eternal 
service, to the Lord:
 âpAramArthika bhagavaccaraNAravindayugala aikAntika Atyantika 
parabhakti-para-j~nAna-paramabhakti-kruta paripoorNa anavarata nitya 
vishadatama ananya-prayOjana anavadhika atishayapriya Bhagavad-anubhava-janita 
anavadhika atishaya preetikArita ashESha avasthOcita 
ashEShataika-ratiroopa-nitya kainkarya-prAptyapEkShaya pAramArthikee 
BhagavccaraNAravinda sharaNAgatih yathAvasthitA aviratA astu mE //â     
(sharaNAgati Gadyam-2)
(May my sincere and faithful surrender at the Lordâs lotus-feet be continuous 
and unending. This surrender is performed with the desire for the eternal 
service to Him, which is of the nature of bliss in rendering all forms of 
service appropriate to all states and situations with unlimited love, arising 
out of eternal and full enjoyment of the Lord, which is the result of 
parabhakti, para-j~nAna and parama-bhakti exclusively towards the lotus-feet of 
the Lord.)
        When he surrenders to the Lord, SrI ramAnuja makes the plea, 
 âbhagavad-anubhava-janita anavadhika atishaya-preeti-kArita 
ashESha--avsthita ucita ashEShataika-ratiroopa nitya-kinkarO bhavAni //â 
(sharaNAgati Gadyam)
(May I become the eternal servant of the Lord, finding my sole joy in 
fulfilling all His purposes at all states and situations without any exception, 
owing to the infinite and unequalled delight arising from such an experience.)  
   
The Lord also grants him the privilege of being His servant: 
âmadEkAnubhavah, maddAsyaika-priyah, ââ..madanubhavastvam tathAvidha 
madanubhava-janita anavadhikAtishaya preetikArita ashESha avasthOcita 
ashEShataika ratiroopa nitya kinkarO bhava //â (sharaNAgati Gadyam-17)
(With the sole and exclusive enjoyment of Me, with the sole and exclusive joy 
of serving Me ââ experiencing Me without any other end in view, you shall 
become My eternal servant finding your sole delight in rendering all forms of 
service without any exception and appropriate to all states and situations â 
delight which arises from the infinite and unsurpassed joy of such an 
experience of Me.)
        The Lord further tells SrI rAmAnuja:
 âshareerapAtasamyE tu kEvalam madeeyayaiva dayayA atiprbuddhah, â.. 
tadAneemEva ââtvam â madanubhava-janita anavadhika atishaya preetikArita 
ashESha avasthOcita ashEShshEShataika ratiroopa nitya kinkarO bhaviShyasi // mA 
tE bhoodatra samshayah //â (sharaNAgati Gadyam-20) 
(At the time of the body falling off from you and solely as a result of My 
compassion, â. at that very moment, you will become My eternal servant 
finding sole and exclusive joy in rendering all forms of service without 
exception suited to all states and situations. Have no doubt about this.)
        The Lord too delights when the jIva, both in his bonded state as well 
as in the liberated state, involves himself in service (in accordance with the 
scriptures while in the bonded state) not only to Himself but also to His 
servants, muktas and nitya-sooris (in the liberated state). This is what SrI 
ALavandAr longs: 
âbhavantamEvAnucaran nirantaram prashAnta-nishshESha-manOrathAntarah /
  kadAhamaikAntika-nityakinkarah praharShayiShyAmi snAtha-jeevitah //â 
(stOtra-ratnam-46)
(When shall I always be Thy servant, look upon Thee as my Master and in this 
way give Thee delight?) 
        The Lord is delighted when BhAgavatas are served by a jIva, who is also 
another BhAgavata. If we examine the pramANas, the Lord Who has the BhAgavata 
as his body, is the object of worship as is declared in the verse:
 âyE yajanti pittrun dEvAn brAhmaNAn sahutAshanAn /
sarvabhootAntarAtmAnam viShNumEva yajanti tE //â(MahAbhArata, shanti Parva, 
355-41)
(Those worship the pitrus, the gods, the BrAhmins and Agni â they in reality 
worship only ViShNu, Who is the Inner Self of all beings.)
The Lord himself has spoken of the BhAgavata as His very self:
 âudArAh sarva EvaitE  j~nAni tvAtmaiva mE matam /
  Asthitah sa hi yuktAtmA  mAmEvAnuttamAm  gatim //â (Gita, 7-18)
(All are indeed noble; but My conviction is that the man of wisdom is My Self. 
For, with dedicated self, he is devoted exclusively to Me as the highest goal.)
Hence, the Lord will be pleased at the service rendered directly to His own 
inner self and not as that done to His body. In addition to causing pleasure to 
the shEShi, the relationship of the jIva to the Lord as His shESha is also 
through the medium of the BhAgavatas. Therefore, the muktaâs service to the 
Lord may also be through the medium of the BhAgavata.  
Here, it would be worth while to recall a shlOka of Swami Desikan:
ânityam shriyA samEtasya bhaktErAtmavatah  sadA /
 saha sadvArakam  ca  syAt  shEShitvam  paramAtmanah //â 
(To the Supreme Being Who is always with LakShmee and Who looks upon His 
devotees as his very Self, the attitude of being a shEShi may be both by being 
a shEShi along with LakShmee and by being a shEShi through the medium of His 
devotees.) That is, those who look upon themselves as shEShas to His devotees 
are, through the medium of these devotees, shEShas to the Lord himself. He is 
just like a king who is independent and who takes pleasure in acting as he 
pleases, places the ornaments and garlands worn by himself round the necks of 
the servants and of his elephants and horses. 
        SrI ThiruppANazhvAr says:
 âadiyArkku ennaiyAtpaduttha vimalanâ (amalanAdi-pirAn-1) 
(The Lord Who is spotless and Who has made me the servant of His servants). So 
do SrI nArada say: 
 ânAradOhamanuprAptah tvaddarshana-kutoohalAt /
  prabhavO bhagavad-bhaktA mAdrushAm satatam dvija //â (ItihAsa Samuccayam, 
31-54)
(I, nAradA, have come here with an eager longing to see you. To men like me, Oh 
Brahmin, those who are bhaktas of the Lord are masters.) 
        SrI Thirumangai AzhvAr says:
 âmRRum Or deivam uLathenRu iruppArOdu
 uRRilEn uRRathum unnadiyaarkkadimaiâ  (Periya Thirumozhi, 8-10-3)
(I will not remain in the company of those who think that there is any other 
deity deserving adoration than Thee; also what I have accepted with delight is 
the duty of rendering service to Thy devotees.) 
        As stated in these passages, jIva is absolutely subject to the will of 
the Lord and the service of the shESha is due also to those who are the 
favourites of the Lord, our being a shESha to the Lord extends even to the 
BhAgavatas and should last as long as the self lasts. Our being shEShas to 
BhAgavatas arises from their being devotees to the Lord and pertains to our 
essential nature. It is also because of their qualities and knowledge 
(guNa-j~nAna), which cause a desire in us to serve them. The same sentiment was 
expressed by LakShmaNa:
 âahamasyAvarO bhrAtA guNairdAsyamupAgatah /â (rAmAyaNa, 4-4-12)
(I am His younger brother; I have become His servant by His qualities.) The 
point to be noted here is that this relationship of being a shESha is due both 
to our essential nature and to our admiration for their wisdom and character.  
These two aspects are indicated in the shlOka quoted above as uttered by SrI 
nArada, by the two phrases, (1) âbhaktas of the Lordâ and (2) âmen like 
meâ. 
        Thus SwAmi Desikan showed that the Lord does another favour to the 
mukta-jIva by helping him to do service to His eternal devotees and other 
muktas, as He delights Himself in such servitude of the mukta-jIva. It may be 
worth noticing here that, whenever a SrI vaiShnavite dies, it is traditionally 
described as âso and so has attained the AchAryan thiruvadiâ (the feet of 
AchArya), because it is the ultimate object and also because it pleases the 
Lord. The Lord is delighted by the service rendered by one to His devotees more 
than the service directly to Himself.  Moreover, the Lord Himself places the 
mukta-jIva, after he attains mOkSha, at the feet of the BhAgavata who has 
already attained His abode rather than taking him for His service. That is the 
farthest extent of our ultimate object of life (puruShArth-kAShTha).


(To continue)
dAsan
Anbil S.SrInivAsan
--------- 
       
         
  
  



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