AchArya Vandanam

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi Group :

 

Sriman Dileepan posted a moving article on

prakrutham Azhagiya Singar , who is celebrating

his 72 nd birth day in service to Sri Lakshmi Nrusimhan

today at Bombay .

 

I would like to add my tribute to Srimadh VEdamArgEdhyAthi

JnAna VairAgyAnushtAna ParipUrNa paramahamsa

parivrAjakAchArya Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha PaadhukhA

sevaka Sri AdhiVaNN SatakOpa Sri NaarAyaNa Yatheendhra

MahA Desikan .

 

Swami Desikan has pointed out that it is impossible

to pay back in any manner to The AchAryA , who lights

the lamp of knowledge in our minds and banishes

the nescience and vipareetha JnAnam that occupied

our mind before . The only service that we can do is

to praise His kalyANa guNAs and reflect on them

and to spread the message of the great help that he

gave us ( AchAryam prakAsayEth ) :

 

yERRi manatthu yezhil jnAna viLakkai iruL anaitthum

mARRinavarkku oru kaimmAru Maayanum kANahillAn

pORRi uhapathum punthiyil koLvathum pongu puhazh

sARRI vaLarpathum saRRallavO munnam peRRathaRkE

 

Swami Desikan states authoritatively that even the Lord

can not find a proper way to return the gratitude for the AchAryan

who lit the JnAna deepam in our minds and chased away

the darkness of ajnAnam . To demonstrate this principle of

the most exalted status of the AchAryan , The Lord Himself has

taken the role of a disciple at Thirukkurungudi as VaishNava Nambi

and learnt rahasyArthams from Acharya RaamAnujA ; Lord RanganathA

listened to the eedu pravachanam from MaNavALa maamuni

at Srirangam and blessed that AcharyA with the " Sri SailEsa

dayApathram " taniyan . Sri Sampath Rengarajan discusses in

a forthcoming article in saraNAgathi Journal other instances

where the Lord has taken the role of SishyA to celebrate the

AchAryA and to point ot us the greatnes of AchArya mahAthmyam .

 

Sathyaki Tantram gives us the same message , when it says :

" GurO: Gurutaram naasthi " ( There is nothing more sacred than

one's AchAryA ) . Upanishad asserts : " AchArya dEvO Bahva " .

Our reverence for the AchArya paramparai and particularly

to the present AchAryA , who rendered yeoman service by

the opening our spiritual eye is worthy of the most

serious celebration every day in general and particularly

on his avathAra day . Today is such a day for the sishyALs

of Ahobila Mutt (Sri Matam ) paramparai .

 

Swami Desiakn has started appropriately Sri NyAsa Tilakam

with the salutations to his AchAryAs and the prAchAryAs :

 

Gurubhyastadhgurubhyuasccha namOvAkamadheemahE I

vruNeemahE cha tathrAdhyou Dampathi JagathAm pathee II

 

( Meaning ) : We salute our AchAryA many times for instructing

us on the true meanings of sAsthrAs and for nourishing us with

the milk of true JnAnam . Afterwards , we salute their AchAryAs

and the AchArya paramparai ending with the Divya Dampathis .

We salute the Divya Dampathis as our prathamAchAryAs and

elect them as our means and fruits for our prapatthi .

 

In the second slOkam of Sri NyAsa Vimsathi , Sri NigamAntha

Mahaa Desikan gives us the reasons for worshipping the AchAryan

as equivalent to SarvEsvaran . He also states emphatically in

the spirit of Saathyaki Tanthram that no one can ever pay back

the debt of gratitude to one's AchAryA for their mahOpakAram .

It is for this reason that , Swami Desikan says that we have to

worship our AchAryAs as the Lord Himself ( AchArya : sadhbhi:

aprathyupakaraNa dhiyA dEvavath upasya: syAth ) .

 

In this slOkam of Sri NyAsa Vimsathi , Swami enlists the reasons

for worshipping one's AchArya as SaraNyan Himself . Swami adduces

the reasons for the saamyathvam (equivalence ) between the Lord

and the AchAryA in terms of the help they provide to us :

 

(1) The Lord destroys the ajnAnam of the chEthanAs ;

The Achaaryan through appropriate and precious instructions

removes the darkness of nescience residing in the minds of

the sishyAs (AjnAna dhvAntharodhAdh )

 

(2) The Lord banishes the sins of chEthanAs ; AchAryan also

removes the sins of even MahA Paapis through upadEsams

and frees them from the accumulated sins (Agha HaraNAdh )

 

(3) The Lord through the upAyam of Prapatthi leads the chEthanAs

to His abode and gives them the opportunity to enjoy the bliss

there in a manner equal to Himself ; AchAryA also makes his

disciples equal to him through initiation in to AnushtAnam

and instructions on JnAnam and GuNam (AthmasAmyAvahathvAth)

 

(4) The Lord blesses prapannAs with Moksham and

makes them muktha jeevans and thus gives them new life;

the AchAryan blesses the sishyAs with Tatthva JnAnam

and changes their birth from that of a human and gives them

JnAnap piRavi , which destroys the cycles of births and deaths

( Janma pradhvamsi janma pradha garimatayA )

 

(5) The Lord with His divine and benovolent glances

enhances the satthva guNam of the chEthanAs and makes

them ardent pursuers of MOksahm ; The AchAryan out

of his depth of compassion overlooks the dhurguNams of

any magnitude in those , who approach him and through

his good instructions lifts them up to reach the supreme

goal in life ( Divya dhrushti prabhAvaath )

 

(6) The Lord's dayA flows without interruption

independent of the lowliness of the aparAdhi ;

Similarly , the AchAryA's compassion flows in a

limitless manner towards his sishyAs ( Nish-

prathyUha aanrusamsyAth ) independent of their

pUrva samskArams .

 

(7) The Lord stays as Insatiable nectar always

( aparyApthAmrutha AarAvamudhan ) ; The AchAryan

also stays as the nectar in this piRavi , in Sri VaikuNtam

and in any place and any time ( niyatha rasathayA )

 

(8) The Lord stays in a state of relationship with

the chEthanAs in an indissoluble manner ( uRavu

Ozhikka OzhiyAthu ) ; AchArya also has a similar

realtionship with his sishyAs because of his supreme

role in opening the spiritual eye of the sishyA (nithya

sEshithva yOgaath ) .

 

Thus , Swami Desikan gives 8 reasons for us to

worship our AchAryA as the Lord Himself . Swami

is known for compling the logical statements

in the hundreds as ThArkika Simham ( satha

dhUshaNi , PradhAna Sathakam ) .

 

In prAdhana sathakam , he gives hundred examples

for our upliftment . Here Swami Desikan focuses on

the items that one , who is desirous of achieving Moksham

should know without doubt . These subcategories adding

upto hundred upadEsams are :(1) The PramANams that

relate to the Lord (2) the special meanings of the Three

rahasyAs (3) the svarUpam of saraNAgathi (4) the code of

conduct for PrapannAs -- the things to do and the things to

avoid (5) the ways to prevent apachArams from creeping in

(6) the ways to compensate for apachArams , if they happen

(7) The methods to engage in Bhagavadh-Bhaagavatha-

AchArya Kaimkaryams (8) Moksha Sukham . Here again ,

the 100 upadEsams are grouped in an octad fashion .

 

A clear understanding of the essence of PradhAna

sathakam will give all of us , what we need to carry

our heads high , while steeped in Kaimkarya Sree

and to qualify for the AchAryA's ( the Lord"s ) paramAnugraham .

 

In pradhAna Sathakam , Swami Desikan adopts the technique

of listing three items and then helps us to pick the supermacy

among the three he lists asthe most essential to know or perform .

 

In the section devoted to Bhagavadh-Bhagavatha - AchArya

Kaimkaryams ( items 64-69 ) , Swami Desikan celebrates

the importance of AchAryAs . I will summarize these five items

related to the uttama sthAnam of one's AchAryA and other items

associated with the significance of one's AchAryA below :

 

Item 64 : One should perform kaimkaryam to BhagavathAs .

The PramANams aver that there is no one superior to

one's AchAryA . Therefore , the kaimkaryam performed

for one's AchAryA in the role of a BhagavathA is far superior

to the kaimkaryams done to mere BhagavathAs .

 

Item 65: Kaimkaryam is of three kinds : The first is Bhagavdh

Kaimkaryam , the middle one is the Bhagavatha Kaimkaryam

and the last is AchArya Kaimkaryam . Among the three

kaimkaryams , AchArya kaimkaryam is the most superior .

If AchArya kaimkaryam mingles with Bhagavatha kaimkaryam ,

then it goes to the front .

 

Item 66: If the first ( Bhagavath ) , the middle ( Bhagavatha)

kaimkaryam joins with the last (AchArya ) kaimkaryam, it

rises to the top of all Kaimkaryams .

 

Item 67: The types of kaimkaryams prescribed for

BhagavAn , His BhagavathAs and one"s AchArya are

innumerable . It is not possible to do all the three kinds

of Kaimkaryam . Therefore , one has to follow the sAsthrEic

injunctions and select those kaimkaryams that are within

one's limits . The most important aspect of performing

kaimkaryam is to engage in kaimkaryams that suit

the intersts of the receiver of that kaimkaryam .

 

Item 68: When one performs these kaimkaryams ,

the performer has to have a pure heart free from ego .

The kaimkaryam has to be done with deep affection

and conviction and not in a superficial manner

or for impressing others .

 

Item 69 : The worldly wisdom is that the kaimkaryams

exceuted by a chEthanA is for gaining a result (palan ) .

When one performs kaimkaryam with this awareness ,

one gains mental satisfaction and a sense of fulfilment .

In reality , this joy born out of performing kaimkaryam

is embedded in the joy of the Lord . The vivEki , who

understands the significance of this truth will be very

dear to the Lord .

 

Item 83 : Among the apachArams to the Lord ,

His BhagavathAs and one's AchAryA , the worst

is the apachAram to the AchAryA . One can seek

remedies for the apachArams to the Lord and

His BhagavathAs , but the Lord does not forgive those ,

who committ AchAryApachAram .

 

Item 84: One of the worst apachArams to one's

AchAryaa is to forget the mahOpakAram that he did

to open one's spirtual eye and thus become ungrateful .

 

Item 87 : One accumulates sins through following

acts not prescribed by sAshtrAs . One has to perform

prAyascchittham to ward those sins . Failure to do so

would land us in the worst state. One's AcharyA out

of his infinite mercy intervenes and saves us from

running such a serious risk and puts us back on the

royal road to moksham .

 

Item 89 : One's parents , teachers belong to

the class of Gurus. Among them , the one , who

revealed the VedAntha saasthrAs to us is the

supreme Guru .

 

Item 90 : There may be many AchAryAs , who

taught us VedAntha SaasthrArthams . But , the one,

who instructed us in the thre rahasyAs for Moksham or

initiated Prapatthi is the supreme among this class of

VedAnthAchAryAs . He is VedAnthAchArya Varya:

 

Item 92: The kaimkaryam started with the permission

and blessing of the AchAryan in Bhagavadh SannidhAnam

is the supreme most kaimkaryam . It heads the list .

 

Item 97 : Among the approaches to develop superior

JnAnam is to offer our salutations to those , who have

enduring spiritual maturity and understanding of the

true knowledge taught by AchAryAs .

 

It is with these ennobling thoughts of Swami Desikan ,

I conclude my salutations to my AchAryan , AdivaNN

SatakOpa , Sri LakshmI Nrusimha PaadhukhA sevaka

Sri NaarAyaNa yatheendhra MahA Desikan on his

day of avathAram .

 

DasOham ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradaachAri Sadagopan