GarudA "episode "

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi group :

 

I am gratified by the many illuminating discussions

that provide a prspective on the prayers for KaamyArthAs .

Especially touching was the appeal of Srimathi parimaLA

Rangarajan for "Kshama".

 

In this pluralistic society, where the diversity of the workforce

and how to deal with it for peace in the work place

has been recognized as a major issue at workplace , the need

for a compassionate understanding of the different points of view

of our members spanning many backgrounds and sampradhAyams

becomes absolutely important .

 

It is in this context , the postings on the subject of what one asks the Lord

or not from Srimans Mohan Sagar , Kousik , Dileepan , Vijayaraghavan ,

Triplicane , SarangapANi , Rengarajan , Rangaswamy , Mani and

others I fail to recall are most welcome .

 

Sri Sampath Rangarajan's observation that we worship Garuda BhagavAn as

one of the supreme BhagavathAs dear to the Lord is sufficent for me.

The Lord has stated many times about his receiving the salutations

from all but the BhagavathAs at the level of His paadha Kamalam

and those of BhagavathAs at the level of His Siras . He welcomes the

celebration of His Bhagavathas even more than adulations of Him .

The ten verses of Thirumangai on Thiruccherai SaranAtha PerumAL

( Periya Thirmozhi 7.5) are very pertinent to our discussions on

BhagavathAs and Nitya Suris like GarudA . It is in this context

Swami Desikan offered his salutations , recited the manthrAs

and received the Lord's blessings at Thiruvaheendrapuram .

 

I appreciate deeply the energy and efforts of Sri Rangaswamy

and Sriman Sudarshan to share the anubhavam of Swami Desikan an

AachArya very dear to me . Sri Mani asked

some genuine questions that crossed his mind. Lots of

responses have helped to gain a perspective. The conclusion

is that there si nothing wrong in accumulating wealth(arthA ) and

using it for the servicce of Lord and to have some enjoyment (kama )

of life's blessings . One can quote chapter and verse from the VedAs

or other sources on this matter . NandhAma sarada: satham can

be understood in this way also.

 

On PurANAs and Ithihaasaas , Let us also remember that not all

are gifted to understand or appreciate the mind -boggling

statements of Brahma Sutram et al . For the simple , but devout

people , there are moral tales that need to be part of their

approach to understand the right from the wrong .PowrANikAs

dealt with the stories of PurANAs and IthihAsAs often at temple

setting to kindle and grow Bhakthi . This is no different than the creation

of Cathedrals such as Chartres in France and having fantastic

stained glass pieces enshrining the stories of the Bible

for the then largely illiterate populations of Europe.

My paternal grand mother , who observed Ekaadasi Vratham

all her days could not read or write . My maternal grand mother

could not either read or write. Even today , many in India and

elsewhere are illiterate and depend on stories and pictures to

absorb the differences between right and wrong and lead

lives , which do not follow the pursuits of of great intellects

splitting the hair . Their devotion and "simple faith " move one .

Infact , too much education can be a hindrance .We have

to unlearn many things we learned or jettison the

excess baggage as Sri Sudarshan mentinoed in his series

on " PrapadhyE " .

 

One can get carried away on this subject . I just wanted to say that

I will miss very much Sriman Rangaswamy 's devout contributions on

the most "favorite" achArya of mine , Swami Desikan and I would miss

the genuinely sincere questions of Sri MaNi , if he does not ask them .

I am hopeful that Sri Rangaswamy will

continue to be a member of this special group and participate

in the enlightening discussions fully . We just have to avoid

manasthApams and cultivate a language amongst us that is sensitive

to the feelings of fellow members , while being true to

our convictions . Difficult task , but can be done with the blessings

of our AchAryAs and the Divya Dampathis ! Let us continue to

strive to place our discussions in this perspective !

 

V.Sadagopan