Musings on #39 of Desikan's RG

[Guest guest]

srimathE lakshmi-nrsumha parabrahmaNe namaha

sri vedanta desika guravE namaha

 

Dear bhAgavatOttamA-s,

 

While on the subject of 'Jatayu' and the dignity of dying, we touched on

certain 'loukika' or contemporary incidents like Mother Teresa and the

marine-biologist of Futaisi Island near Abu Dhabi.

 

A few weeks ago Sri.Mani Varadarajan sent me a message where he kindly

enlightened me of an incident in Sri.RamanujA's times which also is

illustrative of the theme of "Dignity in Death". I reproduce below relevant

parts from his mail to me (I have not taken his permission but I hope he

won't mind) :

***********************************

Dear Sudarshan,

 

You may know that the Jatayu story plays a

significant part in our Emberumaanaar's life.

The story goes that Periya Nambi performed the

brahma-medha ritual on the passing of mAranEra nambi,

an untouchable disciple of Alavandar. The young

Ramanuja was quite surprised at this, as he found

this to be against the dictates of the smritis.

He asked Periya Nambi the reason for his behavior,

and the acharya replied, ``Rama performed the

brahma-medha for Jatayu. I am in no way better

than Rama, and Maranera NambigaL is in no way

inferior to Jatayu.''

 

Words such has these must have had a significant

impact on Ramanuja, as we can see from other

revoluationary aspects of his ministry.

****************************************

 

Dear 'bhagavatOttamA-s', reading the above incident I cannot help but

realize how universal and timeless in appeal to the human heart is the

"Jatayu-incident" that it affected the lives of people like Periya Nambi and

Swami Desikan of the 14th-century as deeply as it continues to affect those

of the 20-th century like Mother Teresa or the marine-biologist (who, by the

way, is a Muslim!) !!

 

It only shows that the 'values' of Sri Vaishnavism know no geographical,

time or cultural barriers.

 

Today I feel Mother Teresa deserves my reverence not because she is Mother

Teresa. Or because she is an example of true Christian charity. She deserves

my reverence because she too, in her own way, has all her long life followed

a code of "dharmA" that is essentially as Sri Vaishnavite as Peria Nambi's

.... a "dharmA" which Lord Rama himself demonstrated as one of the noblest in

the 'Jatayu' incident ... a "dharmA" which the Muslim marine-biologist of

Futaisi Island too observed .... a "dharmA" which grants "dignity of death"

.... a "dharmA" that is so movingly brought out in Verse#39 by Swami Desikan

in the "Raghu-veera Gadyam".

 

As you are all aware, there is a world-wide concern these days of the

diminishing forest-lands in all countries due to mass-deforestation.

"Environmentalists" say it is leading to "ozone-layer" depletion and the

onset of natural calamities like "global-warming". They say this will

ultimately affect human habitats too in a very cataclysmic way.

 

Now there is a lesson we must all learn from such 'environmentalists' who,

if you think deeply about it, are indeed and really, echoing a message which

Lord Rama Himself sent out many 'yugA-s' ago in the "Jatayu-episode" :

 

"....make sure you have sufficient forest-lands in this world; you need them

because they are rightful places where the animal kingdom can go and "die in

dignity". If you do not give animals that "basic dignity" you will be

committing "a-dharmA". And when you commit 'a-dharmA' you shall certainly

reap your own terrible tragedy as consequence... so beware... !!"

 

Dear 'bhAgavatOttamA-s', I have now completed talking about the theme of

"death and dignity of dying" in Swami Desikan's Verse#39 of the 'gadyam'.

 

I shall in the next few postings before the year-end try and quickly treat,

too, the theme of "dharmA" as embedded in the same stanza.

 

I promise you I will not impose on you all anymore of my 'loukika'

"ramblings" (which may have irked some of you) when I talk of 'dharmA'. I

shall strictly re-produce only what I have heard my most revered and beloved

'manaseega-guru' Sri.U.Ve.Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar say with regard to

this most wonderful subject from the "Raghuveera-gadyam" which haunts me

again and again like not many of even Swami Desikan's own other 'stotra-s'

have done :

 

vikrama yashOlAbha-vikrIthajIvitha-gridhr-rAja

dEhadidhakshA-lakshita bhakthajana dhAkshinya !

 

After 'dharmA', I shall conclude this series on my musings on the

"araNya-kAndam" of the Raghuveera-gadyam.

 

srimathE srivan satagopa sri narayana yathindra mahadesikaya namaha

 

sudarshan.