SrI:
SrimatE Raamaanujaaya Namaha //
SrimatE Nigamaanta Mahaa Desikaaya Namaha //
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya/
SrIman! SrI Ranga Sriyam anupadravam anudhinam Samvardhaya//
KAvEri VardhathAm kAlE, kAlE varshathu vAsava: /
SrI RanganAthO jayathu Sri Ranga Sri cha VardhathAm//
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SRI RANGA SRI VOL.08 / ISSUE # 05 dated 3rd November 2006
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EDITORIAL
Dear Bhagavatas:
As Sri Anbil Ramaswamy Swami is leaving for Cleveland, I am sending
this on his behalf.. Swami is available at:
25807 Iris Court, Westlake, OH-44145
Phone # (440) 716- 0771 Cell # (770) 876- 9188
You may contact him.
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan Madhava Kannan
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INTHIS ISSUE:
1."THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS?? Part-3"
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 5":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
3."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ? 2- BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN SWAMI, SINGAPORE
CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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1. "THE MIGHTY AND THE ALMIGHTY ? A CLASH OF WILLS? ? Part-3"
BY ANBIL RAMASWAMY
(This is from his talk at Sri Hayagrivar Temple , Pondicherry on
31st May 2006)
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(Excerpts from Chapter 11of"Hinduism Rediscovered")
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UDASINA, ANUMANTA AND PRERITA
1. UDASINA (Indifferent)
God does not want to interfere with man's free will. In the first
stage, He adopts an attitude of Udaasina (indifference). No child
would relish an undue interference in its activities by its parents.
So also, God keeps himself away, even though he is all the time
watching how we behave, whether we play our part well or ill.
Imagine a silver screen on which is projected a battle scene. All
the fierce fighting, the bloodshed, slaughters, guns roaring and
spitting forth fire all are depicted on the screen so realistically
that we sometimes slip over the edge of our seats in sheer
involvement with the happenings on the screen. But, the screen
itself is unaffected, unperturbed and remains a constant and silent
witness to all the turmoil. It is not in the least involved except
for providing a base for the enactment of the entire battle scene.
So also, God is an Eye witness, but a silent one, of our own battles
of life.
To cite another analogy, just as a lamp which lights the room is a
silent witness to all the happenings in the room and does not get
involved, God is a silent witness to all the happenings in the world
and does not get involved.
2. ANUMANTHA (Permitting)
In the second stage, he adopts the attitude of `anumantha' (i.e.) he
permits or tolerates. Let us, for example, take the case of
discipline on the road. The roads have been laid and maintained, the
lanes demarcated, the driving rules of the road published for your
guidance, the driving license is issued after a strict oral and / or
a practical test. Road signs and warnings displayed at appropriate
places. To keep driving on the lanes, or keeping up the speed limits
prescribed cannot be construed as undue interference in your
freedom. Driving on the left side of the road (as in USA ) cannot be
called arbitrary denial of your freedom to drive as we like. All
these are meant to enforce a certain discipline for your safety
only.
The police does not interfere nor can in all cases of
transgressions. On the assumption that motorists are law abiding,
the law enforcing authorities may take an "Udaasina" or indifferent
attitude in the first instance. They may even allow you to exceed
the speed limits by say not more than 10 miles per hour over the
maximum prescribed. This can be likened to the 'Anumanta' or
permission aspect of God's attitude in the second stage.
Mr. ARTHUR ROBSON asks
"What would you do if you notice an un-hatched chicken trying to
peck its way out of its egg? To remove the egg shell would result in
premature exposure and the chicken would be so much the weaker. No;
let it peck its own way out of the shell, as the mother hen lets do,
while she chuckles encouragement. The same applies to a man trying
to break his way in his evolution to be left to work his way
unassisted - whether for good or for bad"
It is not known whether there are any rewards provided for a record
of safe driving - other than the reward of not losing your limb or
life in an accident! Maybe, the insurance company might charge you
less on your next premium!
3. PRERITA (Inducing)
But, if you exceed the limits and the cops catch you, they give a
warning, then a ticket and the penalty increases with every offense
repeated. These are only disincentives provided to discipline you.
This can be compared to the "Prerita" attitude of God. When you show
a genuine longing to tread the moral codes of conduct laid down in
the Saastric injunctions, God is pleased and provides encouragement
and incentives for you to progress on spiritual lines.
Lives of great souls like Meera, Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas and a myriad
Bhaktas bear ample testimony to the way God provided them with more
and more opportunities to become evolved and finally reach Godhead.
Contrarily, when someone shows an adamant tendency in disregarding
the codes of conduct and indulges in actions prohibited by ethical
and moral standards, the only way they would learn their lesson
would be by experiencing the consequences of their actions, if not
in this life itself - at least in future lives.
WHERE INSTRUCTION FAILS TO REFORM,
EXPERIENCE SUCCEEDS IN DISCIPLINING.
When one is too much wicked, too much egoistic and too much
obstinate - as for example in the case of Hitler and other
dictators, God encourages them to go on with their victories which
at last turn out to be 'pyrrhic' and they meet with their deserved
doom. God invests in human beings a free will and instructs them to
use it to behave like human beings on their own and only
when "Adharma" (evil) increases beyond limits, he intervenes to set
things right and put back humans on the right track.
That is why the unscrupulous, the fakes, the frauds and the con-men
seem to flourish where honest folk seem to flounder. They are
encouraged to go on indulging in their evil ways until ultimately
they meet with a disaster that would really devastate them. This
again provides them one more opportunity to introspect and correct
themselves or in the alternative suffer the consequences and perish.
Why do good people suffer? And why bad people prosper?
These are questions which are very frequently being asked. We do not
delve deep and see only one side of the picture. If you look at the
complete picture, you will understand that after all your life is
not all that unhappy and those of the bad guy all that full of
felicity. They or their heirs have to pay the price for their
misdemeanors sooner or later. For the fault of a Louis XIV a Louis
XVI was punished.
The ultimate punishment meted out to a bad person will be infinitely
greater than the passing clouds of suffering of an upright person.
If you are good and your well laid plans fail, it means that the
divine power that directs you is giving a warning signal that there
is some deficiency in your plan that is likely to land you in
trouble. And, when your plans succeed, it means the divine power has
bestowed its seal of approval for your plan to succeed.
The great poet KANNADASAN sang:
"If all that you desire come to pass, you will never realize that
there is a superior power guiding you. If you go on brooding over
what has happened to your detriment - there will be no peace of
mind"
Arthamulla Indu Matham (Bk.1, p.29) Vanathi Pathippagam, Madras ,
India , 1981.
"Ninaippadu ellaam nadanduvittal deivam edhum illai
Nadandadhaiye ninaindhu irundal amaidhi edum illai"
So, do your duty. As Winston Churchill put it -"Have faith in God,
but keep your powder dry" or as the Burmese (now Myanmar ) Prime
Minister, Aung San observed - "Hope for the best but be prepared for
the worst".
As for 'faith in God' - we do have it so long as we desire specific
good and we do pray for specific results. As we are all human, it is
natural for us to seek what we need. This is an acknowledgment of
our own incapacity to fulfill our needs all by ourselves and reveals
our humility and trust in God's capacity to fulfill them.
God dispenses his blessings only commensurate with our merits and if
our sincerity is really deep, absolute, unconditional and
unflinching like that of DRAUPADI or GAJENDRA, certainly He will
deem it an extenuating circumstance and even waive or overlook our
ineligibility stemming from our deficiencies.
But, if we approach prayer solely as a means for the satisfaction of
our every need on every occasion, then we would become disappointed.
This is because God knows what is ultimately good for us and however
he answers our prayers it would be for that ultimate good.
It is one thing to beg God for benefits; it is another to love for
its own sake. When you see beautiful natural scenery, you love it;
you enjoy it. You don't expect any pecuniary benefits out of it.
When you see the smile of an innocent baby, you forget everything
else and you are enraptured by its bewitching smiles and pranks. No
monetary expectations intervene. Your love of God should also be
like this. You should feel that you cannot live without loving God.
"With the development of the notion of Karma, the attainment of the
individual lOka was seen to depend not on the performance of the
sacrifice, but on individual moral responsibility. Thus, however
complex the system of lOkas may appear to be in Indian cosmology or
whether mythically presented for the edification of the masses or
philosophically analyzed for the sophisticated, the conclusion
reached seems to be that man makes his own lOka- either a heaven or
hell" HDH, p.164 7.Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, President of India, in
his "Hindu view of life" (p.53)
"The earth is a kind of 'soul school' where man has to graduate
himself to become qualified for salvation or become a 'drop out' to
be condemned to future lives on earth again and again until he works
his way up finally" (ibid)
Each individual is wholly responsible for his present condition and
will have exactly the future he is now creating. Most people are
unwilling to admit this. They prefer to locate the source of their
difficulties outside themselves. They want excuses, someone to blame
that they may be exonerated. This says Hinduism is simply immature.
Everyone gets exactly what he deserves.
As we have made our beds and so must we lie. Those who have made
their bed are like the proverbial caterpillar which while coming to
the end of a blade of grass draws itself together before leaping on
to the next; their souls leave their bodies and take to others in
the process of evolution.
"Every act, every thought is weighed in the invisible but universal
balance scales of justice. The Day of Judgment is not in some remote
future, but HERE AND NOW and none can escape it. Divine laws cannot
be evaded. They are not so much imposed from without as wrought into
our natures. Sin is not so much a defiance of God as a denial of
soul, not so much a violation of law as a betrayal of self. We carry
with us the whole of our past. It is no our ineffaceable record that
neither time can blur or death erase"
In the case of the Almighty, his actions do not bind him because he
has no desire for fruits of his actions. BG 4 / 14 "Na maam karmaani
limpanthi na mE karma phalE spruhah "
The judge who presides over the law of Karma is ALWAYS WITHIN the
individual NEVER WITHOUT and dispenses justice whereby virtue is
made to bring its own rewards and vice its own retribution.
Melanippe of Euripides puts it picturesquely thus: "Dream you that
man's misdeeds fly up to Heaven? And then, some hand inscribes the
record of them upon God's tablets? And, God reading them deals the
world justice? Not at all! The vault of Heaven could not find room
to write the crimes of earth nor God himself avail to punish them.
Justice is here on earth, if only you had the eyes to see! "
To Continue
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2."DRAMIDOPANISHAD TATPARYA RATNAVALI" ? PART- 5":
BY SRI N. KRISHNAMACHARIAR SWAMI OF CHICAGO
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SrI:
SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
tAtparya ratnAvaLi - Solkam 3 - Part 5 of avatArikA.
Slokam 3:
pA'ncAlI gAtra SobhA-hRta hRdaya vadhUvarga pum
bhhAvanItyA
pAyau padmA sahAye praNayini bhajatah preyasI
pAratantRyam |
bhaktih SR'ngAra vRttyA pariNamati muneh bhAva bandha
prathimnA
yogAt prAg uttarAvasthitir-iha viraho deSikAs-tatra
dUtAh ||
One of the very first things that svAmi deSikan emphasizes is the
nAyikA bhAvam that is assumed by nammAzhvAr in finding _expression
to his intense devotion and love towards emperumAn. His inability
to bear the separation from bhagavAn leads to his outpourings
through SR'ngAra bhAvam. In the case of nammAzhvAr, he assumes the
role of parA'nkuSa nAyaki, and expresses the agony of separation
from emperumAn through many of his pASuram-s. This is the topic of
this Slokam by svAmi deSikan.
The natural question can arise in people's minds as to how
nammAzhvAr, who is the personification of bhakti nishThA, can be
distracted by thoughts such as assuming the role of a female deeply
in love with bhagavAn, feeling the pangs of separation, and
indulging in activities such as sending the birds etc. as
messengers. To understand these, one has to have a feel for how a
bhakti yogi's mind acts, what the bhakti yogi goes through as part
of his/her meditation, and what the bhakti yogi's sole goal in life
is. This is what svAmi deSikan explains to us in this Slokam, and
thus explains AzhvAr's nAyikA bhAvam etc.
draupadi was not an ordinary mortal. She was born out of the homa
kuNDam. As such, she excelled in beauty that made her female
friends feel intensely attracted to her beauty, to the point that
they wished they could assume the forms of males so that they could
enjoy her beauty. svAmi deSikan gives this analogy to describe the
assumption of nAyikA bhAvam by the AzhvAr-s ? they feel intensely
attracted to emperumAn to the point that they want to enjoy Him by
assuming the role of His nAyikA-s or consorts. BhagavAn's tirumEni
is so beautiful that the AzhvAr-s are overwhelmed by it, to the
point of their feeling like embracing Him tightly. One upanyAsaka
praises this unique aspect of the devotional outpourings in the SrI
vaishNava sampradAyam, where the nAyikA bhAvam gives the intimacy to
AzhvAr-s where they can take liberty with Him to embrace Him, to
chide Him, to quarrel with Him, etc., and thus enjoy Him in many
different ways. Let us look at a more detailed meaning of the Sloka.
- pA'ncAlI gAtra SobhA-hRta hRdaya vadhU varga pum-
bhAvanItyA ? Just as the close friends of pA'cAlI who saw her beauty
as they were taking bath together, were attracted to her so much
that they started assuming the role of males in their minds
- patyA, praNayini padmA-sahAye preyasI pAratantRyam
bhajatah muneh ? SrI parA'nkuSa muni, whose devotion and dedication
to emperumAn who is the Lord of all and the loving Consort of padmA
(mahAlakshmi) developed into the level where he prayed for complete
subservience to bhagavAn
- bhAva bandha prathimnA ? and since his attachment to
bhagavAn grew to such an extent that
- bhaktih SR'ngAra vRttyA pariNamati ? his natural love to
emperumAn in the form of his natural devotion (bhakti) started
manifesting itself in the form of love towards him that resembled
the love that His Consort would have towards Him (SR'ngAra bhAvam ?
intense attraction).
- The yogAt prAg uttarAvasthitir-iha viraho deSikAs-tatra
dUtAh - In AzhvAr's pASuram-s, we see that sometimes he feels close
to emperumAn, and feels happy, and at other times, he feels the
intense separation from Him, and starts sending messengers in
different forms to bhagavAn, to inform Him of his longing for union
with Him. What does all this mean? In the fourth line of this
Slokam, svAmi deSikan explains that for one in bhakti yoga, the
times when the bhakta is immersed in deep and concentrated
meditation of Him, this is the time of association with Him
(samSlesham), and the intervening states when this concentration is
broken, it is a feeling of intense separation from Him (viSlesham).
They undergo the experience of intimate and full enjoyment of Him
during their periods of intense meditation, and when they are not in
meditation, they long for that same union with Him physically, and
since that does not materialize, it manifests itself in the form of
their intense feeling of separation, which turns into expressing
themselves in their nAyikA bhAvam. Since the AcArya-s show the path
that will result in the continued state of meditation on Him for
prolonged intervals without interruption, they are
called `messengers' or dUta-s in our tradition. This is what svAmi
deSikan points out in the fourth line ? yogAt prAg uttara avasthih
iha virahah; deSikAs-tatra dutAh.
Thus, in a nutshell, svAmi deSikan explains the concept of nAyikA
bhAvam that is so common and widely prevalent in our AzhvArs'
compositions, the cause of samSleshham (union with Him) and
viSlesham (separation from Him) that AzhvArs exhibit repeatedly, and
the role of the AcArya-s in our tradition, all in the four short
lines of this Slokam.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
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To Contimue
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3."MAAL UGANDHA AASIRIYAR ? LIFE AND WORKS OF AZHWARS
Part ? 2- BY SRI MADHAVA KANNAN SWAMI, SINGAPORE
CO-MODERATOR OF "SRI RANGA SRI"
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SrI:
SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya nama:
Dearest all
With the blessings of asmadhAchAryan His Holiness Srimad
PaRavakkOttai Andavan Sri Gopaladesika mahadesikan Swami, and the
grace of Divya dampathi and inspired by the encouraging words from
Bhagavatas, I have taken up these posts to narrate the most divine
and wonderful life history of our revered panniRu (12) AzhwArs who
ate, drank, breathed sriya: pathi and vishnu patni's glories.
AzhwArs sang verses soaked with Bhakti rasam and enjoyed immensely.
It is our fortune that we are blessed with this birth of being born
Sri vaishNavAs and we should grab this opportunity to taste the
nectar at least one millionth portion of what AzhwArs conveyed to us
and unearthed by Sriman Nathamuni. It is our pUrva janma punya and
those of our ancestors that we are blessed of this srivaishnava
janmam and there shall be no doubt about it among us. As Lord
KrishNa says in Gita, He will place the soul in an appropriate
conducive environment for the Development of the soul based on its
past actions; His mercy and dayA has put us in this fortunate birth.
With that little(!) note I would like to travel back into the
History when Great AzhwArs were born as incarnations of His various
amsangaL (Ayudhangal , Chakra, Sankhu etc) and sang verses in our
sundara thamzh which are equal to vEdAs if not better. They are
better than vEdAs because; It is a language which we can attempt to
understand and 2. It is a definite proof of "Having seen the God"
(thirukkandEn ponmEni kandEn....) whereas vEdAs are talking in wild
guessing about Him as " yato vAchO nivartantE aprA^pya manasA sa:-
Lord's glories are beyond comprehension. They were born of
different castes; but all their verses sang the same tune; as if
their voice was just one- Eka kaNtar [one neck] Their verses were
enriched with indescribable amount of devotion, love and bhakti for
our Lord. They were "mayarvaRa mathi nalam aruLap petravargaL". It
is the Lord who has again shown His dayA and extraordinary mercy on
us to guide us , to show us the correct path and to liberate us from
these samsAric afflictions, by ordering His paraphernalia as His
messengers and to be born as AzwArs to propagate His Glory. The
AzhwArs had come to rule us with their marvelous verses ? the sweet
pAsurams based on their experience with the Lord (ALa vandhavaRgaL).
The very fact that the Lord made AzhwArs appear in different
castes/jAthis, proves to us that to pray to our Lord there is no
difference/disparity or partiality with respect to caste/creed/sex
etc., Wherever and whatever you are born as; when we become a
Thondar (His and His bhaktALs servant), we are all one and equal-
His dAsa bhoothars; and servant of His servants.
Dr Sri S.M.S.Chari says in his book "Philosophy and the Theistic
mysticism of the AlwArs" that the essence of the twenty four divya
prabhandhams of the twelve AzhwArs as summarized by Dr.S.M.S.Chari
is as follows: " The most striking feature of the Reality as
portrayed prominently by the ALvArs is that the Supreme Being of
VedAnthA is a personal God in the name of Sriman NaarAyaNA , who
possesses not only infinite auspicious attributes but also a
spiritual body bedecked with weapons and ornaments ".
Swami Desikan pays his ultimate respects and tribute to AzhwArs in
every opportunity and mentions that the most difficult and
incomprehensible Upanishadic statements are clarified by a Azhwars'
srisooktis.
Seyya thamizh maalaigaL theLiyavOdhi theLiyAtha maRai nilangal
theligindrOmE?
Acharyas have unambiguously and very nicely explained in their
wonderful commentaries that Azhwars' divine works are the very
essence of the Vedas.
On the title : "mAl uganda aasiriyar"
[from Sri U Ve Ananthapadmanabhan Swami write up]
SwAmi DESikan, in a pAsuram in his chillarai Rahasyam amrutAswAdini
viz. "kAsiniyin maNi anaitthum ....." (27) says that Just like how,
all the Gems in the earth can't match the greatness of Kowstubha Gem
adorned by the Lord and how all the kshEtras in the earth can't
match the glories of PEraruLALan's (Lord VaradarAja's) KAnchi
kshEtra, the works < Smrutis, IthihAsa-purANas etc> of sinless and
clear/pure minded Maharishis can't match even a word of "mAl
Uganda aasiriar" (those who are most beloved to Lord SrIman nArAyaNa
and became the object of His abundant special mercy; They are the
likes of NammAzhwAr and other AzhwArs/AchAryas). SwAmi DESikan
adds "I am saying this <difference between the glories of the works
of Maharishis and the words of 'mAl uganda aasiriyar'> after knowing
the due differences present. Oh People of the World ! Become Joyful
by taking these things <the points put forth> as your Treasure ".
Thus "mAl uganda aasiriyar" refers to those AchAryas like
NammAzhwAr, BhAshyakArar and others, whose divine words and works
have no parallel. This is the verdict of the Sarvaj~nya and Sarva
Tantra Svatantra, VEdAntAchArya, KavitArkika Simha AchArya
SArvabhouma SrI NigamAnta MahAdESikan alias VEdAnta DESikan.
Let us begin with the first three Azhwars' lives in the next post
AzhwAr EmperumAnAr Desikan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam
Regards
Namo narayana
dAsan
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To Continue
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