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Vol 03.004 
7 May 2000

In this Issue:
1.  Editorial
2.  AdhvaithA & VisishtAdhvaithA on "Tat Tvam Asi" - Part 1 - M S Hari
3.  The MahA BhArathA - Structure & Story - N.S.Anantha RangAchAr
4.  PradhAna Sathakam - Part 15/15 - V. Sadagopan
5.  What is in this week?  List of festivals and events, this week

1.Editorial

 We place in your hands the fourth issue of Volume 3, which  houses three articles.

Sri  M.S.Hari's article touches on one of the four MahA VAkyams of the Four vEdhAs, "Tath Thvam  asi".  This  MahA  VAkhyam  is  from ChAndhOgya   Upanishid,  which  belongs  to  SAma  vEdham.  It  is important for us as Sri VaishNavites to know the interpretation of these MahA VAkyams  according  to the Bhagavath RAmAnuja darsanam. We are hoping that we will have to opportunity to cover the  other three MahA VAkyams in future issues : (1)  Praj~nAm  BrahmA  :  AitrEya  Upanishad,  Rig vEdham (2) aham BrahmAsmi:  BrihadhAraNya  Upanishad,  Sukla  Yajur   vEdham   and TaittirIya  Upanishad of KrishNa Yajur vEdham (3) ayamAthma BrahmA : MAndUkya Upanishad, Atharva vEdham.

The second article  is  by  Dr.N.S.AnatharangAchAr  Swamy  on  the structure  and  content of MahA Bharatham. This ithihAsam contains the most sacred Bhagavath GitA and Sri VishNu SahasranAmAm besides many passages on Dharma SAsthram. An IthihAsam like MahA BhAratham is used to explain the intricate Vedic  manthrams  and  hence  Its PrAmANyam   is   Svathasiddham  as  indicated  by  the  author  of YathIndhra Matha DhIpikA:"VedhOpabruhmaNa rUpEthihAsa purANAyOrapi pramANyam svathasiddham"

Therefore it is important for us to have an  uderstanding  of  the structure and content of MahA BhAratham. The third article  is  by adiyEn;  with  this  final  posting  on PradhAna Sathakam,  adiyEn bows at the sacred feet of Swamy Desikan for  blessing   us   with this most important rahasya grantham. The brilliance  and  clarity of Swamy Desikan is  clearly  evident  here and helps  us  all  to understand what is PradhAnam among  various options  in  terms  of conduct as a Prapannan.

It is very important for the Editor and Publisher to know how well we are serving your information needs. Hence, please take the time to  write  to   us   (sgopan@computer.net,   srengara@hotmail.com, saranagathi@egroups.com) on your comments and suggestions. Looking forward to hearing from you,

adiyEn,
Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan, Editor
http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati/


2. AdhvaithA & VisishtAdhvaithA on "Tat Tvam Asi" - Part 1
M S Hari

Introduction:  From  the  time immemorial, man's curiosity to find out the cause  of  the  universe  seems  to  be  of  undiminishing interest.  Various  parts  of the world have come out with various schools of thoughts of philosophy and  practice.  Few  claim  that their  philosophy  is  "pure  philosophy"  staying  away  from any religion/theology while others  claim  that  their  philosophy  is "philosophy  of  a religion/theology". Beliefs and prejudices have had a hand on many such outcomes. History attempts  to  trace  the political  and  social circumstances for these while science tries to rationalize them. India is also not an exemption from the  list of  countries  that  have  given  to  the  world  their schools of thoughts. In fact India is recognized  to  have  produced  certain philosophies  for  which  the  date  of  origin  is not traceable. India's culture and heritage are still regarded very ancient.  The vEdhA  of  India  has  been  a strong base for numerous schools of philosophical thoughts. The ancient tradition of India holds  that the  vEdhA  is  not  authored by any one and therefore is the only dependable ultimate authority of knowledge. The vEdhA  is  further held as that which has no date of origin or end and is supposed to be  infinite.  The  analysis  of  a  statement  in  the vEdhA with reference  to  the  interpretation  given  by   two   schools   of philosophical thoughts based on vEdhA namely the AdhvaithA and the VisishtAdhvaithA  are presented in this part. By this analysis, we hope to bring out the essential concepts of both the  schools  and validate   arguments   and  counter-arguments  with  reference  to VisishtAdhvaithA versus AdhvaithA.

"Tat Tvam Asi" - "That Thou art!":
The vEdhanta is otherwise called as  Upanishad.  "vEdhanta"  means the  end  of  vEdha.  "Upanishad"  is  the term given to denote it because it is supposed to be close to the Brahman who is the  only cause of the universe and enlightens us by explaining the reality, forms,  characteristics,  and  supreme lordship of Brahman. Of the many  Upanishads  available,  a  famous   one   named   "ChandOkya Upanishad"  has this maxim "Tat Tvam Asi" meaning "That Thou art". This verse/maxim occurs in a portion of the  Upanishad  called  as "Sath  Vidya".  Before going into the interpretations given by the two schools of philosophy, let us look at the context  where  this maxim  occurs  in  the  Upanishad.  UddAlaka Aruni had a son named Swetaketu. It seems that the boy Swetaketu did not concentrate his mind on the study of vEdha. Therefore his father did not want  him to grow into an "AbhAsa Brahmana" - "he who is a Brahmana by birth but has failed to study and respect the vEdha". Out of compassion, he asked his son Swetaketu to undertake the study of vEdhA under a scholar.

Swetaketu then went away from his house to study the vEdha under a  scholar for several  years  as  prescribed.  He  returned  to  his father's  house  after completing his study. Swetaketu was full of pride. He  lacked  humility.  He  thought  that  he  has  finished studying  everything. On seeing this nature of the son, his father called him and thoughtfully asked a question - "O my son! Have you studied  that  thing  (Adesa)  knowing  which  everything  becomes known?" Swetaketu was shocked and replied "Father!  Your  question seems  to  be  illogical.  Neither  I  know such a thing nor I was taught about such a thing. If you know please teach me  that!"  On hearing  this  reply  for the son, the father calmly told him with several examples - "Son! Have you not seen the mud in front of the potter's house! It becomes a pot in the hands of  the  potter.  If the  mud is known, the all things made of mud are known! Similarly if you know gold, things made of gold like ornaments are known. If you know iron, all things made of iron are known!  Like  this,  if you  know  an  entity  called  "Brahman"  then  everything (entire universe) is known!"

Then his father proceeded with the long  Sath  Vidya  explanation, explaining the Brahman. He said (Sath Eva Sowmya Edamagre Asit) in the  beginning,  which  is  before  creation  of the universe, the "Sath" alone existed. It wished to become  many  -  which  is  the manifold  universe.  It  created three divinities and entered into them. From it, the entire universe composed of  all  sentient  and insentient  entities  was created. Sath then entered into all such things created by  him  from  him  and  became  the  universe.  He continued  and  concluded  (Atma Tat Tvam Asi Swetaketo) - "O Son! Sath is the Atma (Soul). You are That!". Thus  ends  the  teaching present  in  the  Sath  Vidya  of Chandokya Upanishad. This is the context in the Upanishad wherein the maxim verse  that  is  to  be discussed occurs.
 
 


3. The MahA BhArathA - Structure and Story
Sri Anantha RangAchAr

Srimath RAmAyaNA and MahA BharathA are two great epics (ithihAsAs) that  are  like two resplendent pillars of our dharmA and culture. Of these two, MahA BharathA  is  a  mighty  monumental  work  that enshrines  the  essence of DharmA in all its aspects. All the four purushArthAs  are  expounded  elaborately  in  this  great   work. "Whatever is here may be found elsewhere, but whatever is not here is  not to be found anywhere". This praise is not an exaggeration, but a statement of fact.

The theme of MahA BhArathA: The  MahA  BharathA  presents  in  one place  the internal as well as external nature of our culture, the aspirations of humanity and the achievements and goals of life  in an   inimitable  way.  It  contains  the  wisdom  of  the  VedhAs, VedhAngAs, and all SAsthrAs and one can easily  get  to  know  the quintessence of all of the above through a study of this epic.

The  loftiness  of MahA BhArahtA: This has been the source text to all poets that flourished further in Bharatha desam. MahA BhArathA has been assigned a lofty place, which is equal to the vEdhAs  and is called the panchama (fifth) vEdhA because its subject matter in the ultimate analysis is the same as that of the vEdhAs.

The  date  of  MahA  BhArathA:  MahA  BhArathA  has  been  studied intensively by various scholars.  From  those  studies,  Professor Sukthankar  has  published  what  is  considered  as  one  of  the authentic  version  of  the epic based on the careful study of the many rescensions of MahA BhArathA. His work is considered by  some as  a  significant  landmark  in the study of this epic. It is the opinion of some scholars that the present day MahA BhAratham  went through  three stages known as "JayA, BharathA and MahA BhArathA". It has been pointed out that a number of stories were added to the original poem during the successive centuries (from 400 B.C to 400 A.D)leading upto its final form consisting of  one  lakh  slOkams. Tradition  recognizes  the whole work as one integrated piece. The three stages of the evolution of MahA BhArathA: The  core  of  the MahA  BhArathA ideals with the defeat in the battle of KauravAs at the hands of the PAndavAs. Later on,  the  entire  story  of  "the BharathA  race"  came  to  be  associated  with  this  in  all its elaboration. The epic was called "JayA" because it  describes  the story  of  the  victory  of the PAndavAs over the KauravAs. It was called "BharathA" since it dealt with the lives of the  people  of the  BharathA race. It was called MahA BharathA or IthihAsA, since it recorded the chronicles of the monarchs of those  times.  First stage  was  the  JayA  stage.  This  consisted  of 8800 slOkAs and related to the main theme of the work, namely,  the  feud  between KauravAs   and   the   PANdavAs.   This  portion  contains  poetic descriptions relevant to such a narration.

The second stage Of "BharathA" evolved with the  addition  of  the greatness  of  the  personages involved in the family war. At this stage, the epic had 24,000 sOkams. It contained the description of the glory of personages like BhIshmA, DhrONA, the stories relating to the birth of the KauravAs and the PANdavAs, their education and upbringinging, the virtues of the royal class,  the  troubles  and travails  of  the  PANdavAs  during  their  period  of  exile  and particularly  the  one  year  of  living incognito in the court of VirAtA, the efforts made to prevent the great war, the teaching of KrishNA to ArjunA, the description of  the  war  that  lasted  for eighteen days and the final victory gained by the PANdavAs. All of these  topics  relating  directly  to  the main theme were perhaps added on in  the  second  stage  known  as  BharathA  with  24,000 slOkams.  During the third and final stage, a number of upAkhyAnAs (other stories and anecdotes) were added on to this great work  to make  it,  "MahA BhArathA". The size swelled upto 100,000 slOkams. In this form, MahA BhArathA became an  encyclopedia  of  Knowledge and   wisdom  of  humanity.  The  VishNu  SahasranAmam,  AnugIthA, Bhishma-sthavam, GajEndhra Moksham et  al  were  added.  Long  and elaborate stories of DushyanthA and SakunthalA, SAvithri-SatyavAn, YayAthi,  RAmA,  MathsyOpAkhyAnA, Shibi chakravarthy, the story of NaLa-Dhamayanthi have been added as major upAkhyAnams and the bulk of these constitutes nearly one fourth of this great work.

In  the  northern  rescension  of  MahA BhAratham, there are 82136 stanzas  and  the  southern  rescension  has  96586  stanzas.  The description of the war is another significant feature of this work and this comprises one  fifth  of  MahA  BhAratham.  Finally,  the teaching  about  DharmA  occupies the most prominent place in this ithihAsam. The ShAnthi parvam is totally devoted to  the  teaching on  DharmA. The teachings about Bhagavadh GitA, RAja dharmA, Apath dharmA, Moksha dharmA, the dhArmic teachings housed in AnusAsAsana parvA constiture together one third of MahA BhAratham. In addition to the 18 parvAs of MahA Bharatham, there is another  parvA  known as  Hari  vamsam,  which is considered a "khila or anubhandA or an addition to the main text". This has a lot of focus on DharmA  and contains 317 cantos and more than 16,000 stanzas.

The structure of MahA BhAratham (MB): There are 18 parvAs  in  MB. These  are  :  (1)  Adhi  parvA (2) SabhA parvA (3) Vana parvA (4) VirAt parvA (5) UdhyOga parvA (6) Bhishma parvA (7) DhrONa parvA (8) Karna parvA (9) Shalya parvA (10) Soupthika parvA  (11)  Sthree parvA  (12)  ShAnthi  parvA  (13) AnusAsana parvA (14) AsvamEdhika parvA   (15)   AsramavAsi   parvA   (16)   Mousala   parvA    (17) MahAprasthAnika parvA and (18) SvargArOhaNa parvA. It is not clear when  this kind of division into parvAs took place. The parvAs are of different length and there is  no  uniformity  regarding  their size.  The  shortest  is MahAprasthAnika parvA containing only 120 stanzas, whereas the longest is ShAnthi parvA. The combination  of ShAnthi  parvA  and  AnushAsana  parvA  yields 21,000 stanzas. The themes of Individual Chapters of  MB:  The  Adhi  parvA  gives  an elaborate  description  of  the  lunar  race  and the birth of the PaNDavAs. The SabhA parvA deals with the game  of  dice  to  which YudhishtirA was invited. The Vana parvA deals with the experiences of  the PaNDavAs in the forest and the VirAta parvA narrates their stay in VirAta nagaram in cognito. In UdhyOga parvA, Lord  KrishNA goes to HasthinApuri as a messenger of peace. BhIshma parvA houses Srimadh  Bhagavath  GitA,  the  commencement of the war, BhIshmA's participation in it  and  the  defeat  of  BhIshmA.  DhrONa  parvA narrates  the  death of Abhimanyu and the death of DhrONA himself. KarNa parvA is devoted to the war that was waged by KarNA and  his death.  Shalya  parvA deals with the role played by ShalyA and the death of  DuryOdhanA.  Souptika  parva  dscribes  the  slaying  by AsvatthAman of the children of PANDavAs, while they were sleeping. Sthree  parvA  is full of lamentataions of the bereaved women. The teaching of the DharmA to  YudhishtrA  by  BhIshmAchAryAl  is  the subject  matter  of ShAnthi parvA. Anushasasana parvA has accounts of  the  stories  relating  to  morals  and   righteousness.   The performance  of  AsvamEdha  YAgam is described in AsvamEdha parvA. The AsramavAsi parvA narrates how DhritarashtrA retires  into  the woods  for  performance of penance and Mausala parvA narrates the destruction of the YAdhavAs. MahAprasthAnika parvA  describes  how the  PANDavAs set out on their final journey through the HimAlAyAs and the SvargArOhaNa parvA describes how they ascended to heaven.

The  tradition of authorship: According to tradition Sage VyAsA is the author of MahA BhAratham. He is the son of ParAsarA, who  gave us  VishNu  purAnam  and Sathyavathi. He was a contemproary to the events that happened in MahA BhAratham. The traditional salutation to VyAsA is: "I bow down  to  VyAsA,  the  son  of  ParAsarA,  the grandson  of Sakthi, the great grandson of VasishTA, the father of Sukha Brahmam of pure mind and who is full of the power of Tapas." The Message of MahA BhAratham: Its message to humanity is in three directions:  (1)  The  empirical  (2)  The  Moral  and   (3)   The Metaphysical.  At  the  empirical,  worldly level, it gives a real picture of the terrible war between the great heroes of the  times that  was  devastating. At the moral level, it points out that the war is an eternal one that is forever fought between the good  and the  evil  forces,  between dharmA and adharmA, between the Asuric and daivA ( satthvA) forces and assesses  the  ethics  of  such  a conflict.  At  the  metaphysical  level,  it  points  out that the embodied  one  has  to  strive  incessantly  to  go  beyond  these dualities of life destroying the darkness  of  delusion  with  the sword  of knowledge under the guidance of the internal controller, our Supreme Lord, KrishNA.


4. PradhAna sadhakam - Part 15/15
Translated by Sri V. Sadagopan
(Original  in Tamil by Oppiliappan SAnnithi Vangipuram  navaneetham Sri U.V.SrirAmadEsikAcchAr,  "RahasyArttha vivaraNam  -   Sillarai RahasyangaL - part 3, in tamil)

The Mukhya amsangaL of kaimkaryam upakaraNams
(74) There are many "instruments" for  Bhagavath  Kaimkaryam.  The mind  (manas)-  vAk  (speech)  and  seyal (body and action)are the three dominant ones for such a kaimkaryam. When the  mind,  speech and  the  limbs are unified to perform Bhagavath Kaimkaryam with a pure heart, then it is pradhAnam among kaimkaryams.

(75)When the mind, vAk and the limbs  are  united  in  purpose  to serve  the  Lord, then the external sAmagriyais like TuLasi, water and  flowers,  whatever  is  available  without   difficulty,   is appropriate for Bhagavath kaimkaryam.

(76) The kshEthram fit for living to perform Bhagavath- kaimkaryam is  where  the  bhAgavathAs of the Lord reside. This should be the place of residence. This is pradhAnam. During times  of  emergency and  danger,  any  place  is  fit however for residence to perform kaimkaryam for BhagavAn.

(77) The four kinds of kshEthrams, where BhagavAn  is  present  in the  archA  form  are: (1) Svyam vyaktham, where He has manifested out of  His  own  sankalpam  (2)  Saiddham,  where  siddhars  have performed  prathishtai  (3)Arsham,  where  the  Vedhic  sages have initiated the prathishtai  (consecration)  (4)  VaishNavam,  where paramEkAnthis/Bhagavathars  have performed prathishtai of the Lord in the sAstraic way.

(78) When any one of the above four  kshEthrams  are  inaccessible for   residence,  then  the  pradhAnam  is  Sri  Vaikuntam,  where BhagavathAs reside permanently.

(79) Prior to performing Bhagavath kaimkaryam,  one  has  to  take bath  in  pure  water  and  make  themselves  fit  for  initiating Bhagavath kaimkaryam. Based on one's physical condition, different snAna  vidhis  are prescribed. These are: (1) VAruNa snAnam, where one immerses fully in water and takes the bath (2) The  second  is manthra  snAnam,  when  one  is ill and is unable to dip in water.  Here, one recites prescribed manthrAs and splashes the consecrated water on top of one's head (3)  When  one  can  not  even  perform manthra  SnAnam,  then  mAnasa  snAnam  is  recommended. Here, one contemplates on the subhAsrayam of the archA  mUrthy  without  any doubt  about  the  power  of  mAnasa snAnam qualifying one for the performance of bhagavath kaimkaryam. For people performing  mAnasa snAnam,  our  Lord,  Sriman  NArAyaNan stands in place of the holy waters. He is the Supreme One seated in our  heart  lotus  as  the PuNya  theertham.  When  one  is  immersed in such a roopa dhyAnam associated with MAnasa snAnam,  this  type  of  snAnam  is  indeed pradhAnam.

(80)   The   chEthanan  (sentient  being)  can  perform  bhagavath kaimkaryam in whatever state he or she is as  long  as  the  three instruments-manas,  vAk and limbs - are unified in purpose and are pure.  This  is  the  pradhAna  nilai  for  performing   Bhagavath kaimkaryam as revealed to us by sage SANDilyA.

DhOshAs and their elimination
(81)  There  are  insufficiencies  associated with the three tools that man has: Manas-VAk and Limbs. SAsthrAs have focused on  these insufficiencies. The limbs and the body constituting them have the defect  of causing harm to others in a physical sense. VAk has the defect of uttering untruth. Manas has the defect  of  longing  for things  that  are  not appropriate for sAdhanai. These defects are our enemies. We must banish these defects. The chief  among  these defects  is  the  ever-increasing  desire  to  possess things that produce no long term happiness. When some one stands in the way of fulfilling these desires, anger raises its ugly head.  When  anger takes  over,  the  sins  follow  immediately.  Therefore  the most important item to control is desire. That is pradhAnam.

(82)The relief from all these imperfections and protection against the encroachment of such dhOshams can be  realized  by  sathsangam with  BhAgavathAs  rich  in  satthva guNam. Those noble souls will correct the offending one through their sadhupadEsams and dayA.

ApachArams and their ParihArams
(83) What  are  the  reasons  for  the  dhOshams  (apachArams)  to aggregate  in a chEthanan? They arise from transgressions of codes established by sAsthrAs for serving BhagavAn, His BhAgavathAs  and AchAryALs.  BhagavathApachAram is worse than apachAram to BhagavAn and the worse than BhAgavatha apachAram is AchArya apachAram.  One can   perform   prAyacchittham   for   Bhagavath   and  BhAgavatha apachArams, but not for  AchArya  apachAram.  Our  Lord  will  not tolerate  AchArya apachAram. Such AchArya apachArams will push the chethanan to the deepest chambers of  narakam.  Therefore  AchArya ApachAram is prahdAnam to avoid.

(84)The   worst   of  the  AchArya  apachAram  is  to  forget  the mahOpakAram that He performed and to have ill  will  towards  that AchAryan.

(85)There  are  a  few  upAyams  to  persuade even one, who is not inclined to forgive one's apachArams.  Among  these  upAyams,  the supreme  one  is  the mudhrai (gesture) with folded hands known as anjali mudhrai. This anjali mudhrai will yield  fruits  only  when the  one  that  has committed the apachAram has genuine regret and remembers with gratitude the help offered earlier.

(86) If one committs apachArams to  BhAgavathAs,  there  are  some redresses to overcome those apachArams. The dominant among them is to   approach   the  BhagavathAs  themselves  and  to  seek  their forgivance.

(87) One committs heinous sins and apachArams. To  overcome  them, he  has to do prAyacchittham as a means of redress. If he does not do so, he will end up badly. To prevent this disaster, one has  to have  the  mercy  of  the AchAryAs. Through his dayA, the AchAryan corrects the sinner and brings him back to the righteous path.

(88) There are many ways to remove the sorrows of those  suffering from  the cruel afflictions of SamsAram. Sri RAmachandran stood on the shores of the ocean and declared  in  front  of  the  army  of monkeys  and  VibhishaNan  that  he  has  taken  the  vow  to save unfailingly any one, who sought His refuge. That vow taken by  our Lord  is  pradhAnam  for  consoling  those,  who seek redress from samsAric illness. When one thinks of that vow, the  sufferings  of samsAram  are  banished  and  one lives in a state of freedom from worries.

AchAryan-PrAchAryan : The PrahdAnams
(89) The parents and teachers belong to the guru vargham  (class). Among  them,  the  AchAryan,  who  initiates  one  into  vEdhAntha SAsthram is pradhAnam.

(90)  There  may  be  more  than  one  AchAryan,  who instructed a disciple in vEdhAntha SAsthrams. Among  them,  the  AchAryan,  who instructed  the  sishyan  on  Thirumanthiram,  Dhvayam and Charama slOkam (the three rahasyams and their meanings) and  prepared  the sishyan thus for Prapatthi is pradhAnam.

(91)  When one's AchAryan and His AchAryan (PrAchAryan) are at one place, it is pradhAnam to offer the salutation to PrAchAryan. That will please the heart of the AchAryan.

The Importance of Kaimkaryam blessed by the AchAryan
(92) It is  pradhAnam  to  get  the  niyamanam  (command)  of  the AchAryan   to   perform   the   kaimkaryams   approved   for   the ParamAchAryan, EmperumAn.

The prahAna apachAram in BhagavAn's sannidhi
(93)In the sannidhi of our Lord, showing reverence to the One, who considers  our  Lord as Para dEvathai (Supreme Lord) is pradhAnam. Recognizing others, who do not accept our Lord as the DEvAthidEvan should be rejected.

EkAnthis and their Kaimkaryams
(94) Even among those, who revere our Lord as Para  dEvathai,  the one who is pradhAnam amidst them is that one, who seeks mOksham as the sole fruit and does not seek any other boon from Sarvesvaran.

(95)  Those  who  peformed  prapatthi  for attaining mOksha siddhi perform kaimkaryam for our Lord until their last  moment  on  this earth.  The  greatness  of  the  kaimkaryams done by the prapannan without seeking anything in return becomes equal then in glory  to that performed by the muktha jeevans in Sri vaikunTam.

(96)  The karmAs done anticipating some rewards are known as KAmya karmAs. The One, who performed prapatthi seeking only  Moksham  as his  goal should not engage in the performance of kAmya karmAs. It is befitting for him to do karmAs, which are consistent  with  his svarUpam.   The  kAmya-karmAs  permitted  for  the  mumukshu  are: Kaimkaryams to celebrate the Vaibhavam of  the  Lord,  kaimkarymas for  the  well  being  of  the  BhAgavathAs  serving  their  Lord, kaimkaryams  for  the  growth  of  one's  own  bhakthi and tatthva jn~Anam and kaimkaryams for the removal of sins that stand in  the way of attaining the desired goal of mOksham.One should never pray to  the  devathAntharams for fulfilment of desired objectives. The Mumukshu can however pray to the Lord or to the  nithyasUris  dear to Him such as ThiruananthAzhwAn or Garudan (Periya Thiruvadi).

The Importance of kaimkaryam to those rich in Jn~Anam
(97) PradhAnam is the kaimkaryam to those rich in Jn~Anam and such kaimkaryams enhance our own jn~Anam.

(98)  There  will  always be obstacles to the bliss resulting from the enjoymnet of our Lord. The  mind  will  become  agitated  over these  obstacles.  There  are  many  remedies  to  overcome  these disturbing  obstacles that stand in the way of paripUrNa anubhavam of our Lord. The chief remedy is to grow our  Jn~Anam.  That  will lead  to the growth of satthva guNam. The awakening of the satthva guNam from the growth of Jn~Anam is thus the pradhAnam  among  the cures  to  eliminate  the  obstacles  in  enjoying our Lord to the fullest extent.

The chief among sukhams for Humnans
(99) The humans derive happiness from the interplay of  the  three guNams:  satthvam,  rajas  and  tamas.  The  prahdAnam  among such sukhams is the one attained, when the outter  and  inner  indriyAs are  controlled and when Satthva guNam dominates in the background by reining in the external and internal indhriyAs.

(100) Among all the sukhams of the  chEthanan,  pradhAnam  is  the sukham  attained by the one blessed with Moksha siddhi through the successful practise of Bhakthi or Prapatthi yOgam. These prapannAs spent their post-prapatthi days on this earth in contemplation  of the  Lord  in archai or darsanam of Him at His temples or sevai to Him. There are however some obstacles to such pursuits that  arise form the thought that he(the prapnnan) is independently conducting all  these  acts  in his post-prapatthi days. He should not forget that it is the Lord that has blessed him with this AnandhAnubhavam and  that  he  is  not  a  svathantran,  when  it  comes  to  such uninterrupted enjoyment of the Lord and service  to  BhAgavathALs. That   type   of  kaimkaryam  infused  with  sAthvika  thyAgam  is consistent with  the  "Aya"  root  positioned  over  the  NArAyaNa sabdham.  That  type  of  kaimkaryam  is  devoid  of  thoughts  of svathanthram.  only  such  kaimkarymas are blemishless and last in value forever. The sukham arising  from  such  niravadhya,  nithya kaimkaryams has no match in the bliss created. This sukham enjoyed by the mukthan is the greatest of all Anandhams.

(101)  The  sukham arising from such nithya, niravadhya kaimkaryam enjoyed by the mukthan is equal to the sukham enjoyed by our  Lord Himself. It is indeed PerumAL, who blesses the mukthan to have the svathanthram  to engage in such kaimkaryams. Our Lord is Mukundhan or Moksha dhAyakan. He is  the  antharyAmi  Brahmam  and  has  the chethanams  and  achethanams as His body. Thus, we (Swamy Desikan) has established the supermacy (PrAdhAnyam) of Sriman NArAyanan. PradhAna sathakam sampUrNam SrimathE NigmAntha MahA DesikAya nama


5. What is in this week?
 May 9  - Sri mudhali yAndAn thiru  nakshatthiram,  Sri perumputhur
                 kandap podi ursavam, navAlpAkkam vasantha ursava Arambam
May 10 - Sri Vasanth ursavam Arambam in Srirangam, Sri perumputhur
                 thoppa ursavam Arambam
May 11 - Sri  eLaya  valli  AcchAn  thiru  nakashatthiram, pacchai
                 varNan, pazha varNan ursavan ArAmbam
May 12 - kOil Sri rAma navami
May 13 - Sri perum puthur thoppa ursavam ends
May 14 - ekAdasi  vratham,  Sri  Vishnu puNya kAlam, thiru  kaNNa
                 puram garuda sEvai
May 15 - kAnchipuram dwajOrOhaNam
May 17 - Sri nrusimha jayanthi, pournami
May 18 - Sri  nammAzhwAr  thiru   nakshathram,   garuda sEvai in
                 kAnchi, ekA vasantham sARRu murai in Srirangam
May 19 - Sri  bhattar thiru nakshatthiram, Sri perum  puthur Sri
                 Adi kEsavan jyEshtAbishEkam
May 20 - thiru  arangap perumAL  Araiyar   thiru   nakshatthiram
                 Sri Ahobila muth 35th jeer,  Sri  Ranganatha yAtheendra
                 mAhA dEsikan thiru nakshatthiram
May 22 - Kanchi Sri Ratha uthsavam
May 24 - srvaNa vrtham, kAnchi theertha vAri
May 25 - Sri  Ahobila  muth 27th jeer Sri VeerarAgava yatheendra
                 maha dEsikan thiru nakshatthiram
May 29 - ekAdasi vratham
May 31 - Sri  Ahobila  muth  39th jeer Sri parAngusa  yatheendra
                 maha  dEsikan  thiru  nakshatthiram,  agni nakshatthira
                 nivruthi