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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00008 Sep 2004

 
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Dear Sri Vishnu,

I think we may getting lost in the words here. 

If you separate sEshatvam as servitude only and 
pAratantryam as complete dependence, then, were a 
situation to arise where, for His pleasure, He
wishes to reverse the sEsha sEshi bhAvam between
us and Him, then pAratantryam would dictate that 
we accept that. Hence the difference between 
Lakshmana who refused to give up direct service
to Rama and Bharata who accepted Rama's words.

If we take it that pAratantryam is the height
of sEshatvam, then you are right - we cannot 
say that pAratantrayam allows us to remove 
sEshatvam. Therefore, you could make the case
that Bharata did not give up service to Rama;
he was still performing service to Him by obeying
His words.

The point here though is that the jIvAtma cannot 
hold on to its nature of sEsha and feel that that
position cannot be changed. A paratantra accepts
even the destruction of his sEsha bhAvam if He so
desires. This is what sutra 92 states.

As examples, Manavala Mamunigal accepting the 
position of being an acharya to the Lord Himself 
- purely for His pleasure; and Nammazhvar allowing 
the Lord to even massage his feet - again for His
pleasure.

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan


--- Vishnu <vsmvishnu@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Dear Sriman Venkatesan,
> 
> I agree with Sriman Padmanabhan on this.
> 
> The mUlam quoted by Smt Sheela also does not have any
> mention of 
> SEshatvam specifically. 
> 
> SEsham means something which remains (for Him in our
> context) and 
> such nature is SEshatvam. Our AchAryas have derived this
> as 
> subservience, servitude etc., though the English words we
> choose may 
> not be the best fit. This derviation is due to the fact
> that nothing 
> can be superior or equal to Him. 
> 
> If we are SEshabhUtam for Him i.e. if we meaningfully
> remain for Him, 
> we should not question whatever He wishes including those
> acts that 
> are seemingly against our SEshatvam. Hence pAratantryam
> and SEshatvam 
> are inter-linked. Thus pAratantryam makes our SEshatvam
> complete or 
> perfect rather than destroying it or even tolerating its
> destruction.
> 
> This can be seen in "nivAsa SayyAsana..." SlOka of yAmuna
> where SEsha 
> serves Him as abode, bed, throne, footwear, pillow,
> umbrella etc. 
> Here it is important to note that all the objects
> mentioned are 
> non-sentient, indicating pAratantryam without any
> ahankAram. Thus 
> SEsha has complete SEshatvam. 
> 
> Then how do we interpret sUtra 92?
> 
> Dasan
> Vishnu
> 




                
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