Sriman Anbil Swamy's note on the Pittsburgh Meeting

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri VenkatEsa BhakthAs :

 

I appreciate very much the gracious comments of

Sri Anbil Swamy . In my earlier note and also in

person and on the dais , I have thanked most sincerely

every one , who contributed to the success of

the recent Bhagavath Kaimkaryam at Pittsburgh .

 

As all of you appreciate , I am just a coordinator of this program

and the individual contributions of speakers from all parts

of the country and the gracious support by Sriman Narender

Reddy and the Temple Officials from start to finish are

the CENTRAL elements in the success of this Yaj~nam .

 

The devoted services of Sriman Rengarajan to help

a disorganized individual like myself have been

pivotal in chasing the myriad details of the two days .

I have thanked him in person many times and I will go on record

now and join with Sri Anbil Swamy in recognizing his

special and much apprciated efforts as Kainkarya Thilakam .

 

I have mentioned on the dais that our efforts are like

creating a Nava rathna KIreetam for the Lord , where

every particpant's valued contribution at every level

is like the enmeshing of a rathnams to join the assembly.

This is very much similar to the Navarathna kIreetam

samarpaNam by King Thondaimaan of Yore . Sri VenkatEsA

according to other legend accepted with more joy the mud flowers

offered by a potter than the pushpams by a king . Our devotional

samarpaNam at His lotus feet belongs in the category of

the bhakthi-laden offering . Every one of you through

your partcipation , presentation , services contributed

equally to bring this ratha yathrA to a successful conclusion .

THANK YOU ONE AND ALL MOST SINCERELY .

 

I will conclude this posting with the prayer of Adi Sankara

the VishNu bhakthA in his First SlOkam of

ShatpadhI sthOthram .

 

avinayam apanaya VishNO dhamaya mana:

samaya vishaya rasa thrushNam I

bhUthadhayAm visthAraya

tAraya samsAra Saagaratha : II

 

Here The great AchAryA prays for five boons from

MahA VishNu . The first prayer is for removing

AhankAram ( Avinayam apanaya ).This is the primary cause

for all unhappiness for the humans that plague us all

at one time or other . Human beings are incapable of

fully banishing it .That raises its head often . Only

the Lord can remove this aha and puRa iruL ( inner

and outter darkness referred to by Sri RengarAjan

in his discourse on the Mudal AzhwArs ). Through the

sambhOdhanam ( invocation ) VishNu , who is sarvAntharyAmi and

is pervasively present in the heart cavity , AchAryA

suggests that He alone as the enveloper of the space

of mind and heart can successfully remove Avinayam .

 

The second prayer is : damaya Mana: ( Control your mind ).

Why ? ManO nigraham is the ankusam for ahankAra nivrutthi

( banishing of ego ).

 

The third prayer is for the destruction of desire for

material things ( vishaya rasa thrushNA ). ManO nigraham can

only come about , when the burning desire for the material

pleasures and possessions is quelled(quenched ) .

 

In the first half of this slOkam , the venerated

Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha BhakthA , who composed the

Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha KarAvalampana sthOthram

and VishNu bhujangam prayed to the Supreme One

to remove ahankAram and Aasura sampath and the granting

of Dhaiva Sampath leading to Moksham .

 

In the second half of this sthOthram , Adi SankarA

prays for the boon of bhUtha dayA . Compassion for

sarva Janthus , the bipeds and the quadrapeds and

all living entities as the creations of the Lord .

He asks the Lord to expand ( visthAraya ) the bhUtha

dayA .This is the fourth prayer .

 

The final prayer is "taaraya samsAra sAgaratha : " .

Please get me across this fierce ocean of SamsAram

is the heart of the prayer .This is the culmination

of ahankara nivrutthi, manO nigraham , vishaya rasa

vairAgyam and bhUtha dayA leading to mukthi or mOksham .

 

By using the word , Saagara : (ocean ) , the venerable

AchAryA visualizes our state to a log or splinter

that is ceaselessly tossed about with the low and

high tides experiencing our puNyams and paapams

and being tossed about in different births and

going thru appropriate sukhams and dukkhams .

He wants rest from all these ceaseless tossing about at

the holy feet of the Lord in His parama padham .

 

Isvara KrupA is essential for the travel across

samsAra sAgaram . Even scholars get dragged by

their five strong senses towards the vishaya ruchi and

the consequent lapse of manO nigraham

( balavAn indriya grAma: vidvAmsaapi karshathi ) .

It has ben pointed out that it is easier to drink

all the waters of the Ocean ,to pull Meru mountain

out of its roots and to eat fire than controlling the mind

from its ahankAra-mamakArams . Only the Bhagavath

and Bhaagavatha kaimkaryams and the Lord's dayA/

anukampA /krupA of the kind saluted by our dear

Sri Vijaya Raaghavan in his talk at Pittsburgh

and the experiencing of NirvEdam discussed

by Sri Anbil Swamy could help us to overcome

this obstacle of Vishama: chittha nigraham .

 

In this context , it is my personal conviction that

Bhagaavth Kaimkaryam and Bhagavatha Kaimkaryam means

more to me than titles , which are manifestations of

spontaneous burst of affection that fellow bhakthAs have

for any effort I make in the joyous journey to understand

the beauty of our Kula dhanams . That is all !This is not a

statement arising out of false modesty , while I

thank Sri Nadadur Maadhavan for his spontaneous

sentiment .

 

What we did in unison at Pittsburgh is Govindha

naama sankeerthanam revealed to us by our AchAryAs:

 

rgvEdam maa yajusthAtha maa Saama pata kinchana

GovindhEthi HarErnAma gaayasva nithyasa :

 

Meaning : There is no need to recite Rg, Yajur or Saama

Vedam . But You must sing the Govindha naamam

of the Lord always . This was covered by Sriman Raaghavan"s

presentation on ANDAL Paasurams at Pittsburgh .

 

The intensity of desire to be anything on the Lord's

saptha giris covered by Sri Murali Rangaswami is

another manifestation of the desire to be part of

this yajnam of Govinda Naama sankeerthanam practised

by Sri Madhurai Sundar .

 

The deep nirvEdam and NaiichAnusanthAnam

experienced by Thirumangai AzhwAr was

brought before our our mind's eye beautifully by Sriman Varadhan

and the need for MahA Viswasam in the Lord was saluted by

Srimaan Venkat culminating in the profound SaraNAgathi as

aakinchanyan by NammAzhwAr elaborated so lovingly

by Sri NadAdur Madhavan will happen surely .You can

approach and experience the Lord as a Mother ( YasOdhA )

as pictured by Sriman SrikrishNan in his presentation

on the tender paasurams of PeriyAzhwAr or as a supplicant

for His mercy as Sri Vijaya Raghavan did in covering

DayA sathakam of the kavithArkika Simham or through

rigorous logic developed by AchArya RaamAnujA

in his Sri BhAshyam and VedArtha Sangraham in

the spirit of Sri Krishna Kalale's dizzyingly

delightful presentation .The easier route for most

of us is thru enjoying the spirit of AdhyAthma sankerthanam

of AnnAmAchArya as demonstrated by Srimathi Mythili Krishnan

and the tanmayathvam of Purandara dAsA and Kanaka DasA's

daasyam and SaraNAgathi to Govindhan as described to us

with feeling by Sri M.G.Prasad .

 

This Govindha Naama Sankeerthanam and the power of it is

revealed to us by another slOkam :

 

Achyutha kalpavrukshasccha anantha: kaamadhugh bhavEth

chinthAmaNisthu GovindhO naamatrayam udhAhrutham

 

( Meaning ) : The name Achyutha stands for the boon-giving

Kapa Vruksham ; Anantha , the limitless stands for

KaamadhEnu; Govindha stands for ChinthAmaNi rathnam .

This is the significance of these three naamAs .

That is why Sage VyAsA says : AchyuthAnantha Govindha --.

 

That is why in this kali yugam , we go to the hills

of Pittsburgh and Saptha Giri following the foot steps of

our AchAryAs and offer our kaimkaryam to kaliyuga Varadhan ,

Sri VenkataramaNa Govindhan :

 

kalim sabhAjanthyAryA : guNaj~nA SAARADARSINA:

yathra sankeerthanEnaiva sarvasvArtthO hi labhyathE

 

( Meaing ) : Those great ones , who truly understand

the purport of kali salute the Kali Purushan specially .

It is because of their correct understanding that in

Kali yugam , all the sowbhAgyams come to us just from the

mere sankeerthanam of Govindha naamam .

 

Another AchAryA asserts that there are no other rites

neeeded by the Janthus :

 

RaamEthi varNa dvayamAdharENa sadhA smaran mukthim upaithi Janthu:

kalou yugE kalmasha maanasAnAm anyathra dharmE kalu naadhikAra:

 

(Meaning ) : The Janthu that endearingly recites the taaraka

naamam containing the two aksharams , Raa and ma attains

mukthi surely . In this fierce Kali , for those full

of blemishes in their hearts , there is no other prescription

to attain Moksham , other than Govindha nAma Sankeerthanam .

 

I conclude this posting with the final slOkam

of the shatpathI sthOthram of Adi SankarA , where

Adi Sankara performs his saraNAgathi at Sriman NaarAyaNA's

lotus feet :

 

NaarAyaNa KaruNAmaya SaraNam karavANi taavakou CharaNou

Ithi ShatpathI madhIyE vadhana sarOjE sadhA vasathu

 

Here , the AchAryA prays to the KaruNAmaya NaarAyaNan

and performs his saraNAgathi at his sacred feet .

 

The Lord described by the six tAhtparya Linghams

such as Upakramam , UpasamhAram et al and His

paramAthma SvarUpam is understood as Shatpadh

or the One with six legs like the honey bee .

AchArya prays for that Shatpadh to reside forever

on the lotus of his face ( Vadhana sarOjE vasathu )(i-e).,

He prays for this sthOthram to reside forever on

his lips to grant him the five boons ( Removal

of avinayam, Mana damanam , vishaya rasa vairAgyam,

bhUtha dayA and safe journey across the ocean of

SamsAram on the safe boat of the Lord ).

 

May we seek these five boons and rededicate our

Kaimkaryam at the Lotus feet of the Lord of

Sapthagiri , Sri PadmAvathi samEtha Sri VenaktEsan .

 

asmath gurubhyO nama :

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Sadagopan,

 

I would like to know the references for some of the "nama samkirthanam"

related verses you have quoted. I need them since I am looking into

HareKrishna movement's views seriously.

 

thanks

 

Adiyen Krishna

 

 

At 11:20 AM 5/29/98 -0400, Sadagopan wrote:

>Dear Sri VenkatEsa BhakthAs :

>

>I appreciate very much the gracious comments of

>Sri Anbil Swamy . In my earlier note and also in

>person and on the dais , I have thanked most sincerely

>every one , who contributed to the success of

>the recent Bhagavath Kaimkaryam at Pittsburgh .

>

>As all of you appreciate , I am just a coordinator of this program

>and the individual contributions of speakers from all parts

>of the country and the gracious support by Sriman Narender

>Reddy and the Temple Officials from start to finish are

>the CENTRAL elements in the success of this Yaj~nam .

>

>The devoted services of Sriman Rengarajan to help

>a disorganized individual like myself have been

>pivotal in chasing the myriad details of the two days .

>I have thanked him in person many times and I will go on record

>now and join with Sri Anbil Swamy in recognizing his

>special and much apprciated efforts as Kainkarya Thilakam .

>

>I have mentioned on the dais that our efforts are like

>creating a Nava rathna KIreetam for the Lord , where

>every particpant's valued contribution at every level

>is like the enmeshing of a rathnams to join the assembly.

>This is very much similar to the Navarathna kIreetam

>samarpaNam by King Thondaimaan of Yore . Sri VenkatEsA

>according to other legend accepted with more joy the mud flowers

>offered by a potter than the pushpams by a king . Our devotional

>samarpaNam at His lotus feet belongs in the category of

>the bhakthi-laden offering . Every one of you through

>your partcipation , presentation , services contributed

>equally to bring this ratha yathrA to a successful conclusion .

>THANK YOU ONE AND ALL MOST SINCERELY .

>

>I will conclude this posting with the prayer of Adi Sankara

>the VishNu bhakthA in his First SlOkam of

>ShatpadhI sthOthram .

>

>avinayam apanaya VishNO dhamaya mana:

>samaya vishaya rasa thrushNam I

>bhUthadhayAm visthAraya

>tAraya samsAra Saagaratha : II

>

>Here The great AchAryA prays for five boons from

>MahA VishNu . The first prayer is for removing

>AhankAram ( Avinayam apanaya ).This is the primary cause

>for all unhappiness for the humans that plague us all

>at one time or other . Human beings are incapable of

>fully banishing it .That raises its head often . Only

>the Lord can remove this aha and puRa iruL ( inner

>and outter darkness referred to by Sri RengarAjan

>in his discourse on the Mudal AzhwArs ). Through the

>sambhOdhanam ( invocation ) VishNu , who is sarvAntharyAmi and

>is pervasively present in the heart cavity , AchAryA

>suggests that He alone as the enveloper of the space

>of mind and heart can successfully remove Avinayam .

>

>The second prayer is : damaya Mana: ( Control your mind ).

>Why ? ManO nigraham is the ankusam for ahankAra nivrutthi

>( banishing of ego ).

>

>The third prayer is for the destruction of desire for

>material things ( vishaya rasa thrushNA ). ManO nigraham can

>only come about , when the burning desire for the material

>pleasures and possessions is quelled(quenched ) .

>

>In the first half of this slOkam , the venerated

>Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha BhakthA , who composed the

>Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha KarAvalampana sthOthram

>and VishNu bhujangam prayed to the Supreme One

>to remove ahankAram and Aasura sampath and the granting

>of Dhaiva Sampath leading to Moksham .

>

>In the second half of this sthOthram , Adi SankarA

>prays for the boon of bhUtha dayA . Compassion for

>sarva Janthus , the bipeds and the quadrapeds and

>all living entities as the creations of the Lord .

>He asks the Lord to expand ( visthAraya ) the bhUtha

>dayA .This is the fourth prayer .

>

>The final prayer is "taaraya samsAra sAgaratha : " .

>Please get me across this fierce ocean of SamsAram

>is the heart of the prayer .This is the culmination

>of ahankara nivrutthi, manO nigraham , vishaya rasa

>vairAgyam and bhUtha dayA leading to mukthi or mOksham .

>

>By using the word , Saagara : (ocean ) , the venerable

>AchAryA visualizes our state to a log or splinter

>that is ceaselessly tossed about with the low and

>high tides experiencing our puNyams and paapams

>and being tossed about in different births and

>going thru appropriate sukhams and dukkhams .

>He wants rest from all these ceaseless tossing about at

>the holy feet of the Lord in His parama padham .

>

>Isvara KrupA is essential for the travel across

>samsAra sAgaram . Even scholars get dragged by

>their five strong senses towards the vishaya ruchi and

>the consequent lapse of manO nigraham

>( balavAn indriya grAma: vidvAmsaapi karshathi ) .

>It has ben pointed out that it is easier to drink

>all the waters of the Ocean ,to pull Meru mountain

>out of its roots and to eat fire than controlling the mind

>from its ahankAra-mamakArams . Only the Bhagavath

>and Bhaagavatha kaimkaryams and the Lord's dayA/

>anukampA /krupA of the kind saluted by our dear

>Sri Vijaya Raaghavan in his talk at Pittsburgh

>and the experiencing of NirvEdam discussed

>by Sri Anbil Swamy could help us to overcome

>this obstacle of Vishama: chittha nigraham .

>

>In this context , it is my personal conviction that

>Bhagaavth Kaimkaryam and Bhagavatha Kaimkaryam means

>more to me than titles , which are manifestations of

>spontaneous burst of affection that fellow bhakthAs have

>for any effort I make in the joyous journey to understand

>the beauty of our Kula dhanams . That is all !This is not a

>statement arising out of false modesty , while I

>thank Sri Nadadur Maadhavan for his spontaneous

>sentiment .

>

>What we did in unison at Pittsburgh is Govindha

>naama sankeerthanam revealed to us by our AchAryAs:

>

>rgvEdam maa yajusthAtha maa Saama pata kinchana

>GovindhEthi HarErnAma gaayasva nithyasa :

>

>Meaning : There is no need to recite Rg, Yajur or Saama

>Vedam . But You must sing the Govindha naamam

>of the Lord always . This was covered by Sriman Raaghavan"s

>presentation on ANDAL Paasurams at Pittsburgh .

>

>The intensity of desire to be anything on the Lord's

>saptha giris covered by Sri Murali Rangaswami is

>another manifestation of the desire to be part of

>this yajnam of Govinda Naama sankeerthanam practised

>by Sri Madhurai Sundar .

>

>The deep nirvEdam and NaiichAnusanthAnam

>experienced by Thirumangai AzhwAr was

>brought before our our mind's eye beautifully by Sriman Varadhan

>and the need for MahA Viswasam in the Lord was saluted by

>Srimaan Venkat culminating in the profound SaraNAgathi as

>aakinchanyan by NammAzhwAr elaborated so lovingly

>by Sri NadAdur Madhavan will happen surely .You can

>approach and experience the Lord as a Mother ( YasOdhA )

>as pictured by Sriman SrikrishNan in his presentation

>on the tender paasurams of PeriyAzhwAr or as a supplicant

>for His mercy as Sri Vijaya Raghavan did in covering

>DayA sathakam of the kavithArkika Simham or through

>rigorous logic developed by AchArya RaamAnujA

>in his Sri BhAshyam and VedArtha Sangraham in

>the spirit of Sri Krishna Kalale's dizzyingly

>delightful presentation .The easier route for most

>of us is thru enjoying the spirit of AdhyAthma sankerthanam

>of AnnAmAchArya as demonstrated by Srimathi Mythili Krishnan

>and the tanmayathvam of Purandara dAsA and Kanaka DasA's

>daasyam and SaraNAgathi to Govindhan as described to us

>with feeling by Sri M.G.Prasad .

>

>This Govindha Naama Sankeerthanam and the power of it is

>revealed to us by another slOkam :

>

>Achyutha kalpavrukshasccha anantha: kaamadhugh bhavEth

>chinthAmaNisthu GovindhO naamatrayam udhAhrutham

>

>( Meaning ) : The name Achyutha stands for the boon-giving

>Kapa Vruksham ; Anantha , the limitless stands for

>KaamadhEnu; Govindha stands for ChinthAmaNi rathnam .

>This is the significance of these three naamAs .

>That is why Sage VyAsA says : AchyuthAnantha Govindha --.

>

>That is why in this kali yugam , we go to the hills

>of Pittsburgh and Saptha Giri following the foot steps of

>our AchAryAs and offer our kaimkaryam to kaliyuga Varadhan ,

>Sri VenkataramaNa Govindhan :

>

>kalim sabhAjanthyAryA : guNaj~nA SAARADARSINA:

>yathra sankeerthanEnaiva sarvasvArtthO hi labhyathE

>

>( Meaing ) : Those great ones , who truly understand

>the purport of kali salute the Kali Purushan specially .

>It is because of their correct understanding that in

>Kali yugam , all the sowbhAgyams come to us just from the

>mere sankeerthanam of Govindha naamam .

>

>Another AchAryA asserts that there are no other rites

>neeeded by the Janthus :

>

>RaamEthi varNa dvayamAdharENa sadhA smaran mukthim upaithi Janthu:

>kalou yugE kalmasha maanasAnAm anyathra dharmE kalu naadhikAra:

>

>(Meaning ) : The Janthu that endearingly recites the taaraka

>naamam containing the two aksharams , Raa and ma attains

>mukthi surely . In this fierce Kali , for those full

>of blemishes in their hearts , there is no other prescription

>to attain Moksham , other than Govindha nAma Sankeerthanam .

>

>I conclude this posting with the final slOkam

>of the shatpathI sthOthram of Adi SankarA , where

>Adi Sankara performs his saraNAgathi at Sriman NaarAyaNA's

>lotus feet :

>

>NaarAyaNa KaruNAmaya SaraNam karavANi taavakou CharaNou

>Ithi ShatpathI madhIyE vadhana sarOjE sadhA vasathu

>

>Here , the AchAryA prays to the KaruNAmaya NaarAyaNan

>and performs his saraNAgathi at his sacred feet .

>

>The Lord described by the six tAhtparya Linghams

>such as Upakramam , UpasamhAram et al and His

>paramAthma SvarUpam is understood as Shatpadh

>or the One with six legs like the honey bee .

>AchArya prays for that Shatpadh to reside forever

>on the lotus of his face ( Vadhana sarOjE vasathu )(i-e).,

>He prays for this sthOthram to reside forever on

>his lips to grant him the five boons ( Removal

>of avinayam, Mana damanam , vishaya rasa vairAgyam,

>bhUtha dayA and safe journey across the ocean of

>SamsAram on the safe boat of the Lord ).

>

>May we seek these five boons and rededicate our

>Kaimkaryam at the Lotus feet of the Lord of

>Sapthagiri , Sri PadmAvathi samEtha Sri VenaktEsan .

>

>asmath gurubhyO nama :

>Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

>

>

>

>