"prapadyE"-2

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srimathE lakshmi-nrsumha para-brahmaNE namaha

sri vedanta desika guravE namaha

 

Dear "bhAgavatOttamA-s",

 

The salutary word "prapadyE" is roughly translated into English as : "to

take refuge/shelter".

 

We observed in the last post that the above translation is a gross

approximation of the Sanskrit original, especially when considered in the

context of the SriVaishnava doctrine of "prappati". This is because the

expression "to take refuge or shelter" essentially conveys "passivity"

whereas "prapadyE" is a "dynamic" concept.

 

Let me explain "passivity" and "dynamism" in a simple way we can all understand.

 

When we say "take refuge or shelter" there are some images that come

immediately to our minds, isn't it ? For instance, it brings to mind, say,

someone who is caught outdoors in a thundershower and hence runs for cover

and "takes shelter" under a way-side tree or tin-roof.

 

Or, to take another instance, it brings to mind the image of a fugitive

eluding something or someone and who seeks and obtains protective sanctuary

somewhere, someplace.

 

Now, look closely and you will find that in either of the two examples, the

expression -- "to take refuge or shelter"-- does convey a distinct flavour

of "passivity" that is INHERENT IN THE VERY ACT of seeking "protective

sanctuary".

 

By "passivity" is meant that once "sanctuary" is obtained no "further action

or deed" is required of he/she who takes such refuge or shelter. In our

example, the person who scurries for cover in a downpour, by the VERY ACT

and in the VERY MOMENT of huddling under a tree-branch, obtains the

"shelter" he seeks, doesn't he ? Therefter he/she merely has to remain --

immobile and "passive" -- under the tree to continue receiving and enjoying

the "protection" from the downpour.

 

In the SriVaishnava doctrine of "prappati" (surrender), too, it is the same

subtle but specific shade of meaning -- viz. "passivity", as explained above

-- that is attributed to the act of "seeking shelter or refuge from the

Lord". The belief in "prapatti", as we know, is strongly rooted in the

recognition that he/she who has performed "prappati" -- implicit in the

exclamation "prapadyE !" -- can rest happily and, indeed, must remain

"passive" thereafter to continue receiving the "guarantee" of protection

from the Lord.

 

In Verse#18 of a hymn called "nyAsa-vimshati" Swami Desikan pointedly hints

at this "passivity" :

 

"tvam mE gOpAyithAs~yAstvayi nihitha-bharOsmyEva-mithyar-pithAthmA;

yasmai sa nyastabhAraha sakrdatha thu sadA na prayasyEth thadhartham."

 

Now, you might, perhaps, choose to call such "passivity" by another name

viz."steadfastness", but then there is an element of "impassivity" in

"steadfastness" too, isn't there !?

 

So if we grant all the above for a moment, then the question to next ask of

ourselves is : don't both expressions -- "prapadyE" and its English

equivalent, "to take refuge/shelter" -- at first glance, seem to connote the

same degree and nature of "passivity" ? If so, why should the English

translation be held to be "approximate" ? On the contrary, isn't it rather

perfect ?

 

On closer examination, however, we find the "passivity" connoted by the

English term is not quite the same as the one suggested by the Sanskrit term

"prapadyE".

 

"prapadyE", in the specific milieu of SriVaishnava doctrine, hints at a

"dynamic" rather than a "static" act of "taking refuge".

 

We would be wrong in understanding the "passivity" of "prapadyE" as akin to

that of our good friend who takes "shelter" under a tree-branch from

thunder-showers; and thereafter merrily sits doing nothing except watch the

raindrops dancing around him and listen to their soft, pitter-patter sounds !!

 

We MUST, instead, probe and understand the word "prapadyE" at a deeper

doctrinal level !

 

To begin doing that we must first know that the refuge-seeker ("prapanna")

who utters "prapadyE" is a person altogether different from our friend under

the tree-branch !

 

How ?

 

A "prapanna" is "different" in that it is not merely cessation of a state of

discomfiture -- or relief from a condition of personal travail -- that

he/she seeks. (If that were the case then the commonplace English

translation "seek refuge/shelter" would suffice indeed). The "refuge" sought

by a 'prapanna' is not merely one that provides "RELIEF from an EXTERNAL

state or condition"; instead, it is one that "TRANSFORMS" the "INTERNAL

condition or state" of the refuge-seeker himself !!

 

To repeat, it is not merely for cessation of personal travails that one

seeks such "refuge" through the exclamation, "prapadyE !"; much more

importantly, refuge is sought for transformation of the "personal condition"

itself !

 

If you are a student of the modern discipline called "Organization &

Management" you might be able to appreciate the above distinction by the

following analogy:

 

When we exclaim "prapadyE!" what we may be said to seek is a "PARADIGM-SHIFT"!

 

By translating it into "taking refuge or shelter", however, all that we

might be conveying is little more than : "we seek PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING" !!

 

If you do not care for "management mumbo-jumbo", dear "bhAgavatOttamA-s",

and prefer plain English to distinguish between the "static" and "dynamic"

profiles of "prapadyE", please see if imagining the following helps you

grasp the essence of what I am trying to say :

 

If a political defector from the erstwhile USSR sought "refuge or shelter"

in the USA, you might say he is simply seeking "political asylum".

 

If the same defector, in the very ACT and MOMENT of seeking "asylum", also

became entitled, under some special covenant of the United States

Constitution, to hold the Office of the President of the United States

itself, how would it be called ?!

 

"Dynamic refuge-seeking", perhaps ?!!

 

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

 

I will now leave you, dear "bhAgavatOttamA-s" to reflect on all the above

fine distinctions of "prapadyE" before proceeding in the next post of mine

to a "literary appreciation" of the delightful ways the word has been used

by Swami Desikan in the 5 "stOtrA-s" named earlier viz.

 

(A) Daya Satakam (B) AshtabhUjAshtakam ©Sri StUthi (D)Bhu StUthi

(E)GodastUthi.

 

srimathe srivan satagopa sri narayana yathindra mahadesikaya namaha

 

sudarshan