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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00021 Nov 2002

 
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Sri Parthasarathi thunai
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha
Sri Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

SrisailEsa dayA pAthram deebhakthyAdhi gunArnavam
Yateendra pravanam vandhE ramyajAmataram munim

Surely all divya desams are equal and have their own specialities. 
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But why do we see that all alwars and acharyas consider srirangam to be special 
always?
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That is because Srirangam is the headquarters for all Srivaishnavas. Whilewe 
talk about a company we mention only the headquarters even though that company 
may have a number of branches. For Srivaishnavas, Srirangam is theheadquarters 
and all other divya desams, its branches. The work of any company is done in 
all branches but the final approval for the completion of the project comes 
from the head quarters. All branches are equally essential for the work to be 
completed without any problem but the headquarters plays a major role. 
Similarly all divya desams have their equal importance but srirangam binds them 
all. That is why all our acharyas though born in different places had to go to 
srirangam when it came to establishing our sampradayam.

It is said by our poorvAcharyas that each srivaishnava, wherever he may 
be,every morning has to atleast walk a few steps in the direction of Srirangam. 
The thaniyan to mukunda mala says, ?gushyathE yasya nagarE rangayAthrAdhinE 
dhinE l thamaham sirasA vandhE rAjAnam kulasEkaram ll? Each day kulasekara 
alwar woke up with the thought that he should leave to Srirangam that day. Each 
Srivaishnava should wake up in the similar way each morning thinking to attain 
the divine kainkaryam of emperuman that day. All Srivaishnavas cannot live in 
Srirangam. It is like having all the employees of a company in the headquarters 
itself then the work in all the branches will stop and hence will affect the 
company?s progress drastically. So emperuman appoints different people to 
different divyadesams and makes them stay with the abhimAnam towards that 
divyadesam and perumal.  

Sri Ramanuja had great love for kAnchi deva perumal but still he was 
transferred to Srirangam due to ranganatha?s wish. Swamy desikan refuses even 
Sriranga vAsam considering living in kAnchi as happiest for him. He says Ido 
not possess any other wealth other than that which exists on top of 
thehastigiri, in his vairAkhya panchakam. Periya thirumalai nambi 
considereddoing kainkaryam to thirumalai appan as his prime duty. Even today 
there are so many jeeyers who live in different divya desams and continue with 
their kainkaryams to emperuman like HH Sri Vanamamali ramanuja Jeeyer swamy, HH 
Sri Thiruvenkata Jeeyer swamy and others.

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Ok. The other divyadesams are branches of Srirangam, the headquarters. But what 
about we people, who live in US and other places. Are we not srivaishnavas and 
how is that perumal has not blessed us with divya desa vAsam?
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Though we all may be physically present in many parts of the world each 
Srivaishnava starts his day only with the thought of the punya bhoomi and our 
alwars and acharyas. While doing sandhya vandhanam no Srivaishnava forgetsto 
recite the following:
?Sriranga mangala nidhim karunAnivAsam 
Sri VenkadAdhri shikarAlaya kAlamEgam
Sri hasti saila sikarOjvala pArijAtham
Srisam namAmi sirasA yethu saila deepam?

During the sattrumurai each day each srivaishnava recites, ?adiyArgal vAzha 
aranganagar vAzha saTakOPan than thamizh nool vAzha kadal soozhintha mannulagam 
vAzha manavAla mAmuniyE ennumoru nootrandu erum?

So wherever we may be our thoughts always linger around the divyadesams andthe 
divine beauty of our emperumans. We pray for the welfare of all. If 
SriVaishnavas have to live long then their headquarters, Srirangam has to live 
with glory. If Srirangam has to live the divine work, ThiruvAimozhi ofSri 
saTakOpar (nammAzhvar) has to live. Only if Srivaishnavism and Srirangam along 
with the divine works of all alwars and acharyas live then the whole world 
(kadal soozhintha mannulagum) engulfed by the ocean on all sides will live with 
might and glory. For all these to live Sri Manavala mAmunigal, the last acharya 
in the guruparamparai and the acharya of the lord ranganatha who brought the 
glory of Srirangam back from its ruined state after the muslim invasion should 
live for many many more years in all our minds. That is why each srivaishnavas 
says pallandu to mAmunigal (yateendra pravanar) day in and day out.

So it is not important where we live physically but our mental status is 
absolutely important. Unfortunately if a person in Srirangam doesn?t understand 
its importance and doesn?t cherish the living over there, doing kainkaryam to 
perumal then he is to be considered the lowest of the lowest. Since though 
being given the opportunity to attain the greatest happiness inthis world if he 
doesn?t enjoy the same then there is no use in his living at all. But even when 
we live very very far away from the divine lands of emperuman still if each day 
we think of perumal and his divyadesams and lament for not being blessed with 
his kainkaryams in the divyadesams sung by the alwars then that is even more 
precious than a divya desa vAsam because we mentally live over there.  

ThirupAnalwar never entered the temple and had darshan of ranganatha but was 
deeply involved in his devotion mentally so perumal sent a Brahmin (loka 
saranga muni) to fetch him and accepted thiruppAnan under his divine feet. So 
similarly if we remain in his thoughts always then perumal will surely call us 
to his divine feet for kainkaryam.

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There is one legend in the life of Sri pillai perumal iyyangar to illustrate 
the greatness of mental devotion lets see in the next posting and then continue 
with the meaning of mAmunigal?s divine paasuram.

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(To be continued)

Alwar EmperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharanam

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasyai
Sumithra Varadarajan

 

 

 



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