Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
" Insure and Be Secure!"
One of the most difficult jobs in the world is selling insurance. If you ask
insurance agents, they would tell you how hard it is to convince anyone to
insure themselves, for, almost everyone believes themselves to be permanent
residents of this planet, refusing to acknowledge even to themselves that they
have to leave some day or the other. Sri Krishna might have proclaimed "JAtasya
hi dhruvO mrityu:" ( those who are born must indeed die someday), everyday we
might see people, some of them our relatives, friends or acquaintances, passing
away, never to be seen again, we might see crematoria or graveyards on our way
to work, standing as stark reminders of where our ultimate destination is--- we
might see all these signals of life's impermanance: however, the realisation,
that we too are subject to the inexorable laws of nature, somehow escapes us or
we just shut our eyes and minds to the possibility, ostrich-like.
And in our society, it is considered inauspicious to talk of death, though it
is something we encounter in some form or the other every day, be it the demise
of a relative, a friend, a mere beggar on the roadside or of just a cockroach
or a rodent. We rear back at the mere mention of the word, unwilling to face
the phenomenon even when it stares us in the face. The Yaksha Prasna of
Mahabharata narrates, inter alia, a question addressed by the Yaksha to
Dharmaputra-"Which is the most surprising thing in this world?". YudhishttirA's
reply is an eye-opener for every one of us. When a dead body is being carried
away for disposal, a passerby comments, "What a pity!", little realising that
he too is destined to go the same way, some day or the other, sooner or later.
This, says Yudhishttira, is the most astonishing thing in the world. This is
what makes the salesman's job so hard, for, he has to commence his spiel with a
reminder that we too are mortal and must pass off some day. He might talk
euphemistically of "the unthinkable" happening, but what he means, in precise
terms, is the end of life. Thus, in the process of selling insurance, he has
two difficult tasks-the first is to convince people that they are indeed
subject to mortality and destined to pass over like every body else, and,
secondly, to make them see the necessity to provide for such an eventuality.
It might interest us to know that Insurance is hardly a modern invention and
has been in vogue since long, perhaps not in the form we have come across, but
all the same incorporating the same concept. The difference between the current
day indemnities and the ancient ones is that the former provide only financial
compensation in the event of the risk materialising-they cannot provide any
other form of recompense. All types of insurance, be it medical insurance, life
insurance, vehicle insurance, property insurance or burglary assurance, are
aimed solely at providing monetary compensation in the event of loss.
There is a unique form of Insurance which our Acharyas have long held out to
us, which has any number of unique features which our modern day companies can
never hold a candle to. For an extremely negligible premium, this contract
offers us not only the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow, but the
rainbow itself. If you are interested in this priceless product, please read on.
Prapatti or Sharanagati is the name of this product, which offers us a
wonderful contract of assurance. There are any number of unique
charactreristics, which distinguish this Policy from others of its ilk-
1) The insurer is not some fly-by-night operator or someone of limited
financial strength, who may or may not be able to honour his obligation, but
the Supreme Lord Himself. There is thus no fear of contractual obligations not
being honoured at maturity.
2) Unlike the ordinary life policy which offers just monetary compensation but
cannot prevent death, this policy of Prapatti can indeed make us immortal. Even
if this body comprised of the five elements falls in course of time, this
policy enables our soul to realise and reaffirm its eternality in the service
of the Lord.
3) No Insurance policy, per se, can bring us happiness. Even if it were to
afford us some pleasure due to the moneys it brings along, this is at best
ephemeral and puerile. Prapatti, on the other hand, offers us unalloyed and
undying bliss, immeasurable and matchless.
4) When we subscribe to life insurance (especially a whole life policy), it
does nothing for us, the insured, and provides only for a lump sum payment to
our nominee. Thus, though we pay the premium life long, we ourselves derive no
benefit from it. The policy that the Sampradaya offers, however, ensures that
we ourselves benefit immensely, while conferring incidental profits on our near
and dear.
5) Insurance policies necessitate recurring payment of premia over long periods
of time. Prapatti, however, calls for an inexpensive, single-time payment, in
the form of Bharasamarpanam, which calls not for astronomical amounts of money,
but only for the correct attitude of mind.
6) Insurance is a contract of utmost good faith("uberima fidae"), requiring the
insured to disclose all pre-existing illnesses and all material developments in
the future too. Otherwise, claims under the policy may not be settled. In the
case of Prapatti, however, though an undertaking of good conduct is obtained at
the time of entering into the contract, even if the same is violated, the Lord
overlooks the transgression or levies some minor penalty, with the assured
benefits remaining unaffected.
7) When the eventuality occurs, the insurer has to be notified of the
occurrence and the benefits under the policy claimed by the nominee after a lot
of procedural hassles. No insurer keeps track of who dies when, nor does he
hasten to award the insurance moneys, unclaimed. In the case of Prapatti,
however, once the mortal coils are shed, the Lord Himself rushes in to carry
the soul with Him to the Promised Land ("aham smarAmi mat bhaktam, nayAmi
paramAm gatim"), with no other effort required on the part of the assured or
their dependants.
8) There are now any number of players in the mundane insurance industry, all
competing with one another for a share of the cake. In the case of eternal
benefits, however, the Lord remains the sole insurer, with absolutely none to
compete with Him, none capable of conferring the benefits that He can ("MOksham
icchEt JanArdanAt", "apavarga pradO Hari:" etc.).
9) Insurers are selective about the individuals they cover and do not extend
life cover to people suffering from chronic or major diseases, for fear of
having to settle early claims not commensurate with the premia received.
However, the Lord extends assurance to all and sundry, irrespective of whether
they are sick or healthy, rich or poor, exalted or underdog, good, bad or
ugly-He is game to accepting proposals from even the wilest of people, provided
they are made with sincerity-"Viditam bhuvanE VibhishaNO vA yadi vA Ravana iti
udIritam tE".
10) If you read the policy documents issued by mundane insurers, you will find
the fine print containing so many restrictive clauses and loopholes, enabling
the insurer to wriggle out of his commitment. On the other hand, once the Lord
approves a contract of Prapatti, He adheres to His part of the bargain, come
what may. His is an unconditional assurance, a categorical declaration of
intention to protect and deliver us from sin and stigma-"aham tvA sarva
pApEbhyO mOkshayishyAmi, mA sucha:"
11) An important difference between the two types of assurances, earthly and
eternal, is the mode of canvassing potential subscribers. While the former
relies on advertisement in the visual and print media, apart from engaging an
army of agents, canvassing for the latter type of insurance that the Lord
provides, is done purely through word of mouth, by the angelic brigade of
Azhwars and Acharyas, extolling the priceless policy and the Inimitable Insurer.
12) While insurance contracts are entered into only during the companies'
working hours and at specified places where they have offices, Prapatti is a
policy issued anytime, anywhere, to anyone. The Sun never sets in the Lord's
offices and their working hours are unlimited. He remains prepared for an
emergency call anytime, anywhere and from anyone,("PAtu praNata rakshAyAm
viLambam asahan iva") be it an embattled elephant fighting for its life or a
Pandava princess struggling to save her modesty from being outraged.
With all these going for it, is not the Lord's policy infinitely superior to
the indemnity offered by any other mundane assurer? All of us must have
definitely taken out life policies, to cover eventualities; but how many of us
have obtained the type of assurance only the Lord can provide? And for those
who are yet to join the Society of Surrendered Souls and secure their eternal
welfare, the Lord's doors are always open. All they have to do is to contact
their Acharya and through him, perform Prapatti at the Lord's lotus feet and be
blessed with a cast iron policy of assurance. For this, there are no hidden
charges, no marked-up prices or fake discounts, no promotional gimmicks nor any
"festival offers"-it is a simple contract, transparent to the core and with no
doubts as to its enforeceability.
What are you waiting for? Rush today to your Acharya, to Insure and Be Secure.
Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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