the worship of Garudan

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Mani writes:

>I do not quite understand why we as Sri Vaishnavas would

>resort to worshipping Garuda (or even the Lord for that

>matter) for the sake of obtaining something. These are

>kaamyaartha, are they not, lower desires nowhere near

>the pursuit of jnaana, bhakti, and consequently moksha?

>

>For example, it is often stated that recitation of the

>Sudarshana Mantra can be used as means to ward off disease,

>that the Garuda Mantra wards off poisons and snakes, etc.

>Appeals to the fantastic mythology of Garuda and the

>popular tales concerning his obtaining of amRita are often

>told in this context. Aside from the fact that this

>tale has nothing to do with Bhagavan Garuda's wisdom or

>devotion, these ``recite the mantra and get results''

>stories smack of a very unenlightened and selfish form

>of religion, one that is not respected very much by

>Krishna himself (recall the classification of adhikaaris

>in the Gita).

 

In response Mr. Rangaswamy writes:

>It is not for the sake of obtaining anything that one worships Garuda,

>any other Nitya Suri or Lord Narayana. When one becomes a Prapanna, they give

>up all thoughts of their Yogakshemam, because they have the firm faith

>(Maha Vishvasam) that the all pervading Lord Narayana will take care of their

>spiritual as well as materialistic needs (Sarva Rakshakatvam). Take for

>instance the case of Dhruva. His worship of Lord Narayana granted him not

>only material benefit (of becoming an emperor) but also gave him the most

>exalted status of the pole-star. I never suggested in my post that one must

>worship Garuda for Kaamyartha.

>Since my posts seem to be objectionable to Sri Mani, this is my

>last post on the subject.....Therefore, I request Sri Mani to remove me

from the list.

 

I must, once again, express my concern at the argumentative nature of such

discussions. I do not think that Mani expressed any objection of any kind,

but merely raised a very valid question that has been the subject of much

conversation among all SriVaishnavas that lies at the heart of defining

SriVaishnava beliefs and prapatti. Personally, I tend to lean towards

Mani's view, and would like to think that I am striving to practice it. But,

my objective of being in this forum is not to preach my own limited

understanding, but to learn from others. So, I would like to take a more

objective approach on this issue.

 

In response to Mani's question, I think the answer can be found in one of

Mr. Rangaswamy's statements:

>When one becomes a Prapanna, they give

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

>up all thoughts of their Yogakshemam, because they have the firm faith

>(Maha Vishvasam) that the all pervading Lord Narayana will take care of their

>spiritual as well as materialistic needs (Sarva Rakshakatvam).

 

It may boil down to a question of semantics, but how can we be sure that all

SriVaishnavas are prapannas? As suggested by Mr. Sudarshan in his series on

Paramapada Sopanam, spiritual progress is a long slow psychological

experience leading to and culminating in prapatti. Adding to this, Sri

Tridandi Jeear is of the view that Prapatti is such a rare state of being,

that those who are fortunate enough to realize it are never aware of when it

happens or how it happens, or if in fact if it happened. Based on this, I

would contend that while the goal of our realizing Him as the Upaya and

Upeya is the highest state, it is something that most of us are only

striving towards, and are a long way from achieving. Consequently, in our

developing stages, even most devout SriVaishnavas will tend towards other

upayas as a means of securing some material or spiritual good.

 

I think that the Swami Desikan was aware and sensitive to this, and

consequently, developed stotras, mantras and rituals in a under the pretext

of securing some material good for the purposes of ultimately teaching

kainkarya to the Lord. This learning process would be conforming to

Manavalamamunigal's discussion on the steps towards prapatti as was

presented in a previous posting:

 

1. An agnostic/atheist first becomes aware of some small aspect of Sastra,

such as a mantra or a pooja, that can be utilized to procure some material

benefit.

 

2. By securing such a material benefit, the once atheist now becomes a

believer in Sastra, as both a means for obtaining material benefits as well

as a means of enjoying Swarga at the end of his/her present life.

 

3. The disciplined life associated with adhering to Sastra leads the now

aspirant to recognize the difference between the temporal material world and

the immortal self, leading he/she to pursue self-realization.

 

4. Self-realization leads to the recognition of the Sriman Narayana as the

Antarayami, causing the aspirant to strive towards Him through Bhakti Yoga.

 

5. The path of Bhakti Yoga leads the aspirant to recognize his/her

inability to reach the Lord through self effort, which results in the

realization that the Lord Himself is both the Way and the Goal. The

aspirant then ceases his/her self-motivated activities through Prapatti and

realizes his/her true nature as a Sesa of the Lord.

 

I sincerely seek forgiveness if any of the above has offended anyone.

 

Daasanu Daasan,

 

Mohan