Managing Oneself
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha !
Srimathe Vedhantha Desikaya Namaha !!
Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha Divyapadukasevaka Srivan Satakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya namaha !!!
Dear Bhagavathas !
The writer , humbly , submits this article to the group , prepared , keeping
in mind , the present situation of the modern youth in the world , some of
whom , are probably not lucky enough so far , to have an exposure to these
subjects . The article was written based on the details collected during the
various lectures and upanyasams attended by the writer and also reading some
of the books on the subject. While many may find it very elementary , it is
hoped that , this article would be of use to some , within the appropriate
audience .
May Sriyapathi bless us all.
Regards
yours- Ramanuja Dasan G.Sampath.
Managing Oneself
When the whole world is talking of Managing an enterprise , managing other
human race, managing natural and material resources etc. talking about ?
managing oneself ? may appear a bit strange . But , if one analyses in depth ,
one would note that , it is an important aspect in every one?s life . If we
are able to achieve this effectively , instead of efficiently , then we all
would have managed all things in this universe around us , very satisfactorily
. All our current problems are attributable to not managing our selves
effectively.
On the day of ? Peria Alwar?s ? Thirunakshatram , falling on the 6th July (
Tamil month of Aani, Swathi Thirunakshatram ) , it would be a befitting
tribute to the Alwar , if we are able to do some introspection within and
work out a methodology of ? managing our own self?. For, Vishnu Chittar alias
Pattarpiran got his name changed to ?Peria Alwar?, by the will of Almighty ,
since he became the father in law of Sri Ranganathar of SriRangam through the
wedlock of his foster child Sri Andal ( an avatar of Bhoomadevi ) to Sri
Ranganathar . Also he did ?Mangalasasanam ? to Thirumal . When alwar was taken
in procession in the streets , on a decorated elephant , by the Pandian King
Vallabadevan , to celebrate the victory of Alwar in establishing the
supremacy of Sriman Narayanan as the only Paramathma and when Sriman Narayanan
Himself appeared in the sky , sitting on the Garuda along with His consorts ,
Perialwar did not want evil eyes to be cast on the
Paramathma. Hence he did this ?Mangalasasanam ?. Normally , only the elders
would do the blessings to the younger ones for their welfare and longevity .
But by doing this , Perialwar established a new tradition in the Srivaishnava
community. He did it out of his utter devotion and outflowing affection to
the Lord Sriman Narayanan , arising out of pure ? Gjnam ?about the Lord coupled
with true ? Bakthi ?. Manavala Maamunigal , in his ? Upadesa rathnamala ? ,
brings out this aspect very vividly. So also Swami Desikan , in his Vyakyanam
on ? Thirupallandu ? . In view of this ? Thirupallandu? , the mangalasasana
Divya prabandam gifted to us by Perialwar , is being compulsorily sung in all
temples and rituals in the Sriivaishnava Sampradayam , during the Thirumanjanam
time of the Lord .
In our Visistadvaitha philosophy , we strongly believe that every ?Jeevathma
?, who becomes eligible to attain ? Makshaprapthi ? is blessed with a ?
Saamyapatthi ? state , i.e , he acquires all the Thirukalyanagunas of the Lord
and enjoys the company of the Lord along with Him. This is what Sri Andal (
foster daughter of Perialwar ) prayed for , in her 28th verse in the ?
Thiruppavai ? and did total Saranagathi to ?Sri Krishna ? in the 29th verse.
She learnt these principles during her association with her father Perialwar
.
Perialwar did the ? Pushpa kainkaryam ? to the Lord Vatapathrasaayee in
Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu by maintaining an exclusive ? Nandavanam ? for
the Lord , a great enviable Kainkaryam one would like to do to the Almighty.
He concentrated on this activity , with full devotion to the Lord, instead of
concentrating on worldly material pleasures induced by ? Maya ? . Thus he
evoked true ? Bakthi ? in him about the Lord , developing ? Saathvik? Gunas? ,
a process of managing his mind and thus his Self.
It would be interesting to note the following statistics. As a child , we all
laugh on an average , about 400 times a day. During our adolescent period ,
we laugh 17times a day . When we grow up , we laugh only 2 to 3 times a day .
Still we all call laughter as the best medicine . In this modern times , we
do have special classes and courses to teach us how to laugh and keep
ourselves happy. This only shows to prove how much we all have lost our value
systems in life .
It is a known fact that, smile costs nothing. So The best way to find a
smile is , to give one away .It is a contagious one. There is a saying , when
one smiles , the world smiles with you. But when one weeps , the person weeps
alone. Keeping a smiling face mproves one?s personality a lot . For frowning ,
more number of body muscles have to work and strain themselves , where as for
smiling there are no such strains involved. Hence it would be better for every
one to keep a smiling countenance. Smile keeps one always in a happy state and
look positive. It exhibits confidence in oneself. Such a person is able to
interact with any one effectively. Smile with sincerity, with your eyes and
your face as well as your lips, and you'll naturally bring out the best in the
people around you. When you come across a smiling face , automatically people
around also becomes happy. Thus the happiness pervades and the place becomes an
enjoyable one to live . I am sure , no one
would like to be in a company where people are quite serious and frown at each
other most of the time . It only increases the blood pressure of all around.
Similarly if we go in detail , we would note that we have almost forgotten
to develop in ourselves , certain basic Saathvik attributes , viz . Empathy,
Compassion , Love , spirit of sacrifice, sincerity , dedication , self control
, building up character and integrity , developing proper attitude, providing
a proper leadership, Valuing other?s opinion, giving up ego centric desires ,
winning confidence of others , safe guarding our age old culture and religion
etc. All these would come in handy , once we start managing our inner self
effectively .
We all do our routine physical exercises to take care of our body and to lead
an active life, only to enjoy the materialistic pleasures , created by ? Maya
?, of this mundane world.We do not for a minute think of the ? Antharyami ? (
Paramathma ) inside us and do not take any actions to cleanse our inner mind
. We allow ourselves to be led and controlled by our Indriyas , only to enjoy
the fruits of life in this mundane world . We are allowing all the time , to
develop in us only ?Tamasic? and ?Rajasic? Gunas and never bother to develop
?Saathvik ? Gunas , which is the basic essential thing for the ?Antharyami ? to
become active within us. Let us not forget Sriman Narayanan is the only ?
Suddha sathvam? and if we have to attain ? Saamyapatthi? with the Lord , we
also should have only ?Saathvik ? Gunas within us. This can be achieved only by
Managing our inner self as was done by the Alwar.
Thus Spirituality in us and spiritual sadhana can help us to introspect
within us and realize our true self , to enable us to handle ourselves and
things around us in a better way. India is a pioneer in the knowledge of
Spirituality . Still we are all struggling in life . We have all inherited
the wrong things from the East and West under the pretext of modernization and
development . We have made our lives on this earth , more materialistic and
miserable compared to the times of our forefathers . We have lost all value
systems in life in the bargain.
So , we should take corrective steps , forthwith, by trying to look into our
selves and develop all the ?Saathvega ?gunas within us . Then we will be
able to manage our inner selves better like the Alwars and can hope to make
our Saranagathi to Lord Sriman Narayanan , a fruitful one.
Alwar Thivadigale saranam !
Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu !
Yours ,
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
G.Sampath.
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