FW: Digest bhakti.v002.n522

[Guest guest]

I had tried sending this on Sunday, but it appears that it did not

make it to the bhakti list. So I am re-sending it. I hope this is

not a repetition.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan

 

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Krishnamachari, N (Krish)

Sunday, April 12, 1998 8:20 AM

'bhakti-errors'

RE: Digest bhakti.v002.n522

 

 

SrI deSika stotrams - 5. dayA Satakam - Part 2.

 

 

The Power of SaraNAgati:

 

In Slokam 63, svAmi deSikan captures the power of SaraNAgati simply by

saying that it makes the Lord just forget everything about His

ISvaratvam, sarva~jnatvam, and Seshitvam, when it comes to those who

have sought His protection. He becomes the charioteer or the

messenger for His devotee and thus His ISvratvam is compromised. He

turns a blind eye to their aparAdhams and it appears as though He does

not have knowledge of their mistakes, and thus His sarva~jnatvam is

compromised. And He just becomes the slave of His dayA or compassion,

and thus His Seshitvam or Lordship is compromised. If one were to

think that this is a deficiency in Him, quite the contrary. This is

the nature of His compassion to His devotees - the power of

SaraNAgati. Even if some minor violations are committed by us

unknowingly after prapatti is done, His dayA is such that the only

consequence we suffer is some minor punishment in order to correct us,

and we are sure to be crowned with mokhsha (nr*pati suta nItim na

jahati - just as the son of a king may be punished for minor offenses

by the king, but will certainly be crowned in the end - Slokam 62).

 

In Slokam 70, it is pointed out that as long as we offer ourselves,

even with our enormous sins, to Him under the cloak of prapatti or

bharanyAsam, His dayA will welcome us with open arms and offer us

moksham. Such is the greatness of SaraNAgati. If a prapanna

sincerely surrenders himself to Him, then even if he commits any

offenses knowingly, His dayA will ensure that the prapanna will be

saved from yama and will be guided to moksha in this birth itself by

either being made to do the necessary prAyaScitta or by being given

some minor punishment that will remove the effect of this karma's

effect in this birth itself (Slokam 77).

 

Kshetra mahimA:

 

The very Hills where Lord SrInivAsa chose to locate Himself are

sacred. In

the very first Sloka, svAmi deSikan describes the tiruvenkata malai as

the sweet personification of His dayA which has flown out and

solidified in the form of the hills. Immediately one is reminded of

AzhvAr's saying "emperumAn tirumalai mEl EdEnum AvEnE".

 

In Slokam 31, he expresses his longing to live in the corridors of

this puNya kshetra (vr*sha giri katakeshu vAsam AsAdayeyam) while he

is still young and while his indriya-s are in healthy shape. In his

vyAkhyAnam, SrI A. V. gopAlAcArya svAmi gives the following nammAzhvAr

pASuram which conveys an identical thought -

 

"kiLaroLi iLamai keduvadan munnam

vaLaroli mAyOn maruviya kOil

vaLariLam pozhil Suzh mAlirum Solai

taLarvilarAgil Sarvadu SadirE"

 

In Slokam 37, it is pointed out that living even the vicinity of the

puNya kshetra is sufficient for His dayA to be showered on us at the

time of our final moments (karaNa vilaya kAle ...). This choice of

living in such a kshetra does not even have to be with the realization

or desire that we are close to Him, but can be on any pretext such as

for livelihood etc.

 

In Slokam 48, again we note that any one who has even accidentally

gone to the vicinity of the vr*sha giri (daivAt vr*sha giri taTam

prApte) will be blessed in his final moments by the Lord's dayA, and

will involuntarily chant His nAma in the final breath. This

involuntary call will then impel Lord venkateSa to appear before this

dying devotee, and will result in the protection in the form of

moksham.

 

The importance of the kshetra-s where the Lord has chosen to be

svayam-vyakta is seen also in the other stotra-s of SrI deSika. In

fact in one Slokam in abhIti stavam, he stresses the mahimA of a

kshetra by saying that a place where a bhAgavata has single-mindedly

devoted himself to the Lord's service, is already a puNya kshetra

which is fit for the Lord to locate Himself (Slokam 8 of abhIti

stavam).

 

svAmi deSikan lists the antaryAmi, arcA, vyuha, vibhava, and para

forms of the Lord in that order in Slokam 73, and then after the para

form in SrIvaikunTham, he mentions the Lord's presence in vr*sha-giri,

suggesting that the abode of Lord SrInivAsa is at or above the level

of SrIviakunTham because of its ease of access to the likes of us

(vividha vibhava vyUhAvAsAh param ca padam vibhoh vrIsha-giri mukheshu

.....).

 

The Role of AcArya in SaraNAgati:

 

In Slokam 2, even as he starts, svAmi deSikan brings out the

importance of AcArya-s in SaraNAgati. He compares the AcArya-s to the

bathing ghats or stepping stones to this great overflowing lake in the

form of His dayA (SrInivAsa dayA ambhodhim SItaLAm guru santatim).

Without these steps leading into the waters, it is not possible to

get into these overflowing waters. Every AcArya is thus a step into

this reservoir of water. Or the AcArya-s are like the canals that are

overflowing from this great reservoir that is His dayA. So the

AcArya-s are in the same position as bhagavAn because they are His

off-shoots.

 

In Slokam 38, he compares our AcArya-s who know the path for moksha

(gati vidbhih deSikakih) to the boatmen who take us across the ocean

of samsAra (bhava jaladhi gatAnAm) with the help of His dayA. It is

His dayA which is most important of all in order for us to get this

bhAgyam, as is mentioned in the very next Slokam. It is His dayA

which takes us towards moksha which should be our only goal, and away

from the cheaper pleasures in life such as wealth, status, sons, etc.,

which also can be obtained by following vedic rites.

 

In Slokam 50, svAmi deSikan points out that even the greatest of

sinners such as kshtra bandhu could attain moksham by the guidance of

an AcArya, because in our tradition they are the embodiment of His

dayA or Mercy. In other words, He appears in the form of our AcArya

and gives us the instruction to lead us in the right path so that even

those who are otherwise undeserving of His grace can realize Him.

 

In Slokam 60, SrI deSika again points out that the responsibility for

guiding the devotees in the path of SaraNAgati has been invested by

Him in the AcArya - budheshu vitata Atma dhure.

 

Lord venkateSa the paramAtmA:

 

In Slokam 40, SrI deSikan points out that Lord venkateSa is the

paramAtmA who alone can give moksha and whose dayA is so easily

available to those who totally surrender to Him. Seeking other

devatA-s or other means for impermanent pleasures is like one who has

the Ganges next to him but looks for the non-existent illusion of a

water source during the extreme hot season when he suffers from

extreme thirst. Other devatA-s such as Indra, Siva, and Brahma are

enjoying their positions because of His dayA (Slokam 66).

 

A SaraNAgatan has mahA viSvAsam in SrIman nArAyaNa and does not

resort to worship of other gods (bahushu jalASayeshu bahumAnam apohya

- Slokam 58) for less permanent pleasures. He is like a cAtaka bird

which won't drink the water from any source other than the rain water

that falls straight from the clouds. SvAmi deSikan refers to this

similarity of the single-minded devotion of a SaraNAgatan to the

behavior of a cAtaka bird again in Slokam 80 - nibhr*ta garutah

sthirASaya cAtakAh nidhyAyanti). For those who do not resort to other

gods but who have surrendered to Lord SrInivAsa, even if knowingly

some sins are committed, the devotee will be guided to do some

parihAra so that the path to moksha will not be obstructed in any way

(Slokam 77).

 

AzhvArs in dayA Satakam:

 

There are several instances where the influence of the great AzhvArs'

works are reflected in the stotram. An example is Slokam 31 which has

been covered in detail under the kshetra mahimA. SrI sevA

SrInivAsAcArya svAmi has given several instances of similarities

between the prabandhams and dayA Satakam in his vyAkhyAna. In this

section, only some direct references to the AzhvArs and their works is

covered.

 

In Slokam 3, svAmi deSikan refers to the sUkti-s (divya prabandham)

of AzhvArs, and refers to AzhvArs as kamalAvAsa kAruNya ekAntinah -

those who had only one goal in mind - the dayA of Lord SrInivAsa. The

sUkit-s are described as trivedI - the gist of the three veda-s viz.

r*g, yajus, and sAma. Perhaps the most important attribute of the

prabandham is described through the words "sarva yogyatAm", unlike

veda-s which have constraint on svara (exact way of chanting), varNa

(caste restrictions), etc., in addition to the limitations of the

knowledge of the language of the veda-s, which is more limited than

the language of the prabandham.

 

In Slokam 42, svAmi deSikan refers to "those whose only desire was to

be born as a movable or immovable object in the forests of venkata

giri". The identical thought expressed by kulasekhara AzhvAr in

PerumAL tirumozhi - nAngAm tirumozhi - UnEru Selvattu... comes to

mind right away. The 9th pASuram in this summarizes our AzhvAr's

thoughts - "emperumAn pon malai mEl EdEnum AvEnE.

 

To be continued in Part 3 ......

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan