dhyAna - 2

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Sri :

Srimate Sri Lakshmi Nrusimha Para Brahmane Namaha

Srimate Sri Lakshmi - Nrusimha Divya PAdukA Sevaka -

Srivan Shatagopa Sri NArAyana Yateendra MahAdesikAya Namaha

 

Dear devotees,

Namo NArAyanA . pranAmams.

---- cont ---

 

mAyAvAdIs & ashtAnga yogA : For mAyAvAdIs , a thing called Brahman

which has no attributes whatsoever is the only reality. All other

things are only illusory ie. unreal . So , for them , ultimately ,

there is no one called nArAyanA the supreme Lord with infinite gunAs.

For them there is no God , there is no jIvAtmA , there is no prakruti

(ie. matter ). All these things are only products of illusion.

Brahman which according to them is nirviseshA (attributeless) is the

only reality.

 

But , as long as one doesn't realize these things , he needs to

practise contemplation on nARAyaNA who has infinite kalyAna gunAs &

follow vedAs. Ultimately , vedAs are also illusion for them .

 

SankarAchAryA & his teachings though valid for a while , they also

are ultimately illusory for them . RAmakrishnA , RamanA etc have

their own versions of "mAyAvAdA" & have some changes here & there

on the "advaitA" of SankarA .

 

In other words , if nArAyaNA Himself comes in front of a "mAyAvAdi"

giving the darSan of His most beautiful divya mangaLa vigrahA to him,

& say even speaks with him & say even plays with him , then also the

"mAyAvAdI" somehow convinces himself that it was also an illusion

since anything other than the so called nirvisesha Brahman is only an

illusion . Thats the really pitiful state of mind a "mAyAvAdi"

develops & is in his own world of beliefs. He strains himself to

condition his mind in such a way . Anyway , the prArabdha karmA of a

jIvAtmA makes it undergo all these kind of happenings & makes it

believe in such things .

 

These mAyAvAdIs too write devotional songs, sings & dances , performs

nAma sankeertanam etc . They believe that these things will slowly

lead them to mokshA which according to them is realization of

themselves being that nirvisesha Brahman. They also speak big things

like "one should shed one's ego" , "there should be no identification

of "I etc etc . All these things simply mean that since the

only reality is the nirvisesha Brahman , there is no existence

of "jIvAtmA" => one should shed the ego of thinking that he is a

separate individual.

 

So , according to Sri VaishnavAs , "mAyAvAdIs" fall under the premier

category of persons performing "Bhagavad apachArams" & their

philosophy is worse than athiesm . Atleast an athiest doesn't

care about God . But a "mAyAvAdi" accepts that God is there for a

while & then rejects finally . This doesn't mean that Sri VaishnavAs

deride them etc . No one can change the vidhi (ie. fate) of a jIvAtmA.

It will sail according to its deeds.

( avaravar tama tamadhu aRivaRi vagai vagai ........

avaravar vidhi vazhi adaya ninRanare ) .

 

Lets imagine that two persons are eating something . One can at the

outset describe their way of eating nicely & conclude that both are

doing the same thing . On closer scrutiny one can be seen to eat beef

& the other person eating Bhagavad prasAdam. Similarly ,the

devotional song of a "mAyAvAdI" & that of a parama Sri vaishnava

bhAgavathOthamA may be similar & one can keep eulogizing both to be

of the same cader . Unfortunately , the intention with which the

"mAyAvAdi" has composed it makes the whole song to be unfit for

singing , just like adding a drop of poison into the milk before

eating it .

 

Composing devotional songs is not a big deal. The _real_ "devotional

fervour" is the thing that is important . AzhwArs are those for whom

the divine wisdom has been directly benedicted by Sriman nArAyaNA (

madi nalam aruLiyavan ) & thus each & every letter of their pAsuram

will be highly relished by nArAyaNA. The purity of the pAsurams

shouldn't even be compared with some mundane devotional song of some

"mAyAvAdI" for whom both the seeker & the person to be

sought are same => there is no meaning to "devotion" for him.

 

Be it SankarA ,madhu soodhana saraswati , nArAyana theerthar ,

RAmakrishnA , RamanA , Sai bhAbA & other hosts of "mAyAvAdIs" , for

all of them seeker & the sought are the same => devotional songs are

only non sensical for them in the ultimate reality . Anyway in the

ultimate reality , such devotional songs are also non-existent

for them. Seriously adiyen doesn't know whether to laugh or shed

tears at their philosophy .

 

The member who has raised the above question must have had all these

things in his/her mind & thats why is surprised at the references

to "mAyAvAdIs" by some other members.

 

Anyway , mAyAvAdIs may follow either X yogA or Y yogA , but

their goal is entirely different. They might follow the same angAs

of ashtAnga yogA also in the belief of obtaining mokshA (alias

self-realization for them since there is only one thing called "self"

& all other things are unreal) according to their theory. Just

because mAyAvAdIs are prone to do such meditations , the pure process

of ashtAnga yogA cannot be looked down.

 

The possible reasons for a person to refer to "mAyAvAdIs" might be

as follows. adiyen is obviously not saying that the following are the

reasons for the references made by bhakti list members. Their

reasons might be outside the reasons adiyen is giving .It is entirely

member dependent & he/she will have their own reasons. But we shall

just discuss a possible few reasons in general.

 

a. A person may be a thorough believer in what "mAyAvAdIs" say.

 

b. A person might be unaware of the philosophical intricasies

of the "mAyAvAdIs" (ie. their actual beliefs) & might just

consider them also as great devotees of nArAyaNA just like other

Sri Vaishnava AchAryAs while there is no ultimate meaning to

devotion for mAyAvAdIs.

 

c. A person may have half knowledge in Sri Vaishnavam & half

knowledge in "mAyAvAdism" & is in a confused state as to

what is right & what is wrong , thereby refers to both

Sri Vaishnava AchAryAs & "mAyAvAdIs" .

 

d. A person might want to "show off" his knowledge regarding his

mastery/partial knowledge over "mAyAvAdism" .

 

e. A person who is after fame might think that glorifying mAyAvAdIs &

their instructions might please some other "mAyAvAdIs" , completely

forgetting the central principle of Sri Vaishnavam that it is

one's svaroopam to glorify his poorvAchAryAs & Sriman nArAyaNA &

his existence is merely for the pleasure of Sriman nArAyaNA , for

this is the final essence of vedAs & its actual understanding.

( this doesn't mean that Sri vaishnavAs doesn't glorify mAyAvAdIs

at all. Whatever good deeds they have done needs to be

applauded on a merit basis. This also doesn't mean that a Sri

VaishnavA should indiscriminately make "mAyAvAdIs" on par with

his AchAryAs & keeps glorifying them & in that process

display their ignorance ie. lack of discrimination through

knowledge).

 

f. A person having studied mainly the books of "mAyAvAdIs" can only

quote from there , though at present he is very keen in following

Sri Vaishnavam.

 

g. A person may want to portray himself as a great follower of all

sorts of philosophies like "mAyAvAdism" , Sri vaishnavam etc, by

which he feels that he has risen above everyone while displaying

the fact that he doesn't know either "mAyAvAdism" or "Sri

vaishnavam" properly .

 

There are many many other possibilities .But , with respect to

some of the refernces by the bhakti list members to mAyAvAdIs on

say "prAnAyAmam", they might have felt that "prAnAyAmam" is after

all "prAnAyAmam". Its going to be same whether a "mAyAvAdi" talks

about it or a Sri Vaishnava AchAryA talks about it. In a way its

true. One can extend this idealogy to some of the other things.

When the presented matter is the same irrespective of the

source ,some might feel that there is no harm in referring to

mAyAvAdIs.But the correspondent feels that there is no need to

quote a mAyAvAdi , while one can refer to one's own AchAryA's

words. This is also a genuine question .

 

But , the member may be unaware of such writings of Sri

vaishnava AchAryAs , but in full earnest interest wanted to share

his/her knowledge that will help others ..

 

The books of the mAyAvAdIs in english are in hundreds & almost

everyone somehow reads them on their own since they don't have any

spiritual guidance from a Sri Vaishnava AchAryA . Due to the lack

of AchArya sambandhA , they start developing their own views &

idealogies from various books .This may be leading to various ill

effects which one might not be aware of. Finally it is through the

mercy of a sadAchAryA that Sriman nArAyaNA will bestow His

blessings. It is not one's own sanskrit knowledge or things like

that which is the reason for one's understanding of sAstrAs. It is

Sriman nArAyaNA who is going to reveal it through a sadAchAryA.

Till that dawn of "true divine knowledge" because of the mercy of

a sadAchAryA, one will be wavery in his mind in confusion.

 

Bhagavad dhyAna sopAnam of SwAmi Desikan is there. But ,it is

still for a much superior bhaktAs. Because of various sins,the

attraction for perumAL's divya mangaLa vigrahA won't come easily.

Rather , one would like to avoid them. Without following the Do's

& Dont's of sAstrAs properly , one cannot hope to meditate on

Sriman nARAyaNA's divya mangaLa vigrahA steadily .

 

Neverthless , we have to try to meditate properly . Any

single pAsuram from Divya Prabandham is sufficient to boost our

devotion & be charged in meditating about nArAyaNA's divya mangaLa

vigrahA , qualities etc .

 

Namo NArAyanA

adiyen

anantha PadmanAbha dAsan

Sarvam Sri KrishnArpanamastu