Santhyavadanam and Gayathri mantra

[Guest guest]

Respected Devotees,

 

I am member of this forum, who joined very recently(by the very grace of

Sri Emperumaanar). I would like to have a few very long desires of mine

satisfied through this forum. if possible.

 

They are:

 

1. What is meant by Santhyavadanam? Why it is done? What is the exact

ritual to be followed? What are the slokas to be recited?

 

2. What is Gayathri Mantra? Can anyone of you give a text form of it, so

that I can learn.

 

To say the truth, no one revealed me these things as I am a non-brahmin

(allegedly Sudra, at that!). I came from a brahmin dominated school and

I was forsaken from my childhood by many of them who think that the Lord

is a property of themselves alone. Please do not mistake me, as I am

just mentioning the sheer fact and I am not intended to hurt anyone's

feelings. But thanks to the Lord who time to time teach these trivias,

by many events for instance those happened to SRI THIRUPAANAZHVAAR.

 

I hope that I could get a good response to my above queries from this

elited forum, as all members are following the foot prints of SRI

RAMANUJA, who by himself pronounced the(esoteric) mantra of SriMan

Narayanan from a high temple tower. As you may be knowing, he did so

mainly to benefit all people and to emphasize that the Lord is common to

all, from a begger to a king. This arised much of anger among the

brahmins at that time and they even tried to kill our Ilaiyazhvaar.

However they could not succeed as the Lord himself stood by Sri

Ramanuja.

 

Hope to hear from any of you. Sri Mani Varadahrajan, if you are reading

this, please enlighten me.

 

Azhvaar Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

Emperumaanaar Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

Achaaryan Thiruvadigale Saranam

 

Adiyen,

 

Sathyanarayana Ramanujadasan.

 

____

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[Guest guest]

"Sathyanarayanan K" <k_sathya writes:

 

[...]

> I hope that I could get a good response to my above queries

> from this elited forum, as all members are following the foot

> prints of SRI RAMANUJA, who by himself pronounced the(esoteric)

> mantra of SriMan Narayanan from a high temple tower. As you may

> be knowing, he did so mainly to benefit all people and to

> emphasize that the Lord is common to all, from a begger to a

> king. This arised much of anger among the brahmins at that time

> and they even tried to kill our Ilaiyazhvaar. However they

> could not succeed as the Lord himself stood by Sri Ramanuja.

 

Sriya:patayE nama:

 

Contrary to the popular belief, SrI rAmAnujAcArya only spoke about the

glories of the mantra-s to inspire ardent devotees (mumukshu-s) to approach

sadAcArya-s and to get samASrayaNam, kAlakshEpam and prapatti so

SrIman-nArAyaNa would grant them mOksham. (ie complete brahmAnubhavam and

uninterupted eternal service to SrIman-nArAyaNa.)

 

-aDiyEn, Ram

 

> [...]

> Hope to hear from any of you. Sri Mani Varadahrajan, if you

> are reading this, please enlighten me.

> Azhvaar Thiruvadigale Saranam

> Emperumaanaar Thiruvadigale Saranam

> Achaaryan Thiruvadigale Saranam

> Adiyen,

> Sathyanarayana Ramanujadasan.

[Guest guest]

Sri Ram Gopalaswamy wrote:

> "Sathyanarayanan K" <k_sathya writes:

> > I hope that I could get a good response to my above queries

> > from this elited forum, as all members are following the foot

> > prints of SRI RAMANUJA, who by himself pronounced the(esoteric)

> > mantra of SriMan Narayanan from a high temple tower. As you may

> > be knowing, he did so mainly to benefit all people and to

> > emphasize that the Lord is common to all, from a begger to a

> > king.

> Contrary to the popular belief, SrI rAmAnujAcArya only spoke about the

> glories of the mantra-s to inspire ardent devotees (mumukshu-s) to approach

> sadAcArya-s and to get samASrayaNam, kAlakshEpam and prapatti so

> SrIman-nArAyaNa would grant them mOksham.

 

Dear Ram:

 

Actually, Sathya's opinion is closer to Ramanuja's

intent, according to the traditional biographies of

Ramanuja, and acharyas' works that I have heard and

read.

 

While there is no doubt that Sri Ramanuja emphasized

the need of the grace of an acharya and the relevant

samskaaras such as samASrayaNam, etc., Ramanuja's

revolutionary act of broadcasting the secret teaching

of Tirukottiyur Nambi to others was intended to

directly and immediately take them to the highest

of all states. Such was the unbounded compassion of

Ramanuja for the common person.

 

Let me first quote from the oldest biography (13th

century), Pinpazhagiya Perumal Jiyar's "aaraayirappadi"

(6000) guru paramparaa prabhaavam. This passage is so

inspiring that it is worth quoting in full.

 

Ramanuja approached Tirukkottiyur Nambi 18 times to learn

the most esoteric teachings of Sri Vaishnavism. When

Tirukkottiyur Nambi was finally convinced that Ramanuja

was deserving of this teaching, and that Ramanuja would

further keep this teaching in confidence, Jiyar writes:

 

Tirukkottiyur Nambi, out of supreme compassion,

graciously imparted the inner meaning of the

great and most sacred of mantras, which gives

everything good, as described in the verses:

 

praNava (OmkAra) first, "namas" in the middle,

the word "nArAyaNa" at the end -- one should

know this mantra of eight-syllables which confers

all gifts to people.

 

This mantra gives wisdom and liberation, and

should be constantly chanted by those desiring

liberation; it promotes devotion and knowledge

and should be constantly chanted by Vaishnavas.

 

[Prasna Samhita?]

 

This mantra of eight holy letters, consisting of three words,

is recommended for daily meditation by Sri Vaishnavas

who desire liberation because it generates knowledge,

wisdom, and dispassion in them.

 

Ramanuja, having gotten what he desired, went the very

next day to the temple [thiruvOlakkam?] of Terkaazhvaan,

the PerumaaL of that town, and gave that very meaning

of the highest of esoteric mantras to many Sri Vaishnavas.

 

Having heard what Udaiyavar [Ramanuja] had done, Nambi summoned him

and said, "Didn't I tell you to keep the inner meaning

of the highest mantra to yourself, and not to tell a single

soul? I heard that you forgot this instruction of mine

and repeated the meaning to many Sri Vaishnavas."

 

"It is true; keeping Your holy feet in mind, I told

them", replied Udaiyavar.

 

"Wasn't it my order that you not repeat

this to anyone else? What do you think your fate is

for having ignored this and told others?", asked Nambi.

 

"For someone such as myself who ignored the command

of his acharya, Hell alone is the result," replied Ramanuja.

"But will I not be the only one to enter Hell?

* I repeated your teaching to others with your sacred

* feet in mind, and because of that, all these tens of

* millions of individuals will flourish [attain moksha]

* through connection with those sacred feet. This is why I said it."

 

Overjoyed at Ramanuja's compassion for his fellow

beings, Nambi exclaimed, "Oh my, this sort of compassion

I simply do not have! O 'Emberumaanaar' [one greater

that the Lord]! Please come here!" Embracing and

lifting him, Nambi went on, "Are You the Lord Himself?

Until now this system of thought was known as Parama

Vaidika Siddhantam, the Supreme Vedic Philosophy.

From now on, let it be known as the Philosophy of

Emberumaanaar [Ramanuja]." Thus Nambi instructed

everyone.

 

Jiyar goes on to record that Nambi was so impressed with

Ramanuja's unbounded compassion that he taught him the

meaning of the carama sloka (Bhagavad Gita 18.66) as

well.

 

With respect to this, Sri Manavala Mamunigal writes:

 

It is very hard to to find those who are qualified

for [receiving the inner meaning of the carama sloka].

For this reason, and because of the venerable importance

of its meaning, Ramanuja's predecessors had kept it a

secret, without making it public.

 

But Ramanuja's overwhelming compassion made him unable

to bear seeing the distress of those in samsaara. Thus,

regardless of the preciousness of the carama sloka's meaning,

when he saw their suffering, he publicized it.

 

[Translation of the Introduction to

Mamunigal "carama sloka adhikaaram",

Mumukshuppadi, by Patricia Mumme.

Unfortunately, I do not have the

original.]

 

It is clear from the writing of these two acharyas

that Ramanuja wished to broaden the net to encompass

essentially all those within earshot. To say otherwise

would be to undo what he quite clearly did, and make

Ramanuja's legacy no different in this regard from the

acharyas before him.

 

[Note I am not making a comment here on Gayatri or

Sandhavandanam -- that will have to be discussed later

separately.]

 

emberumaanaar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

 

thirukkacci nambi dhaasan

Mani

 

-------------

 

[Original from 6000 guru paramparaa prabhaavam]

 

.... [thirukkOttiyUr nambi] paramakrupaiyaalE

 

praNavAdyam namo madhyam nArAyaNapadAntimam |

mantram ashTAksharam vidyAt sarvasiddhikaram nRNAm ||

 

mumukshUNAm sadA japyam buddhimuktiphalapradam |

vaishNavANAm sadA japyam bhaktijnAna pravartanam ||

 

engiRapadiyE ettuth thiruvaksharamaay padhathrayamaathmakamaay,

jnaanabhakthi vairaagya janakamaakaiyaalE mumukshukkaLaana

SrIvaishNavargaLukku "naaththaazhumpezha sadhaa anusandhEyamaay"

nalantharum collaana periya thirumanthraarththaththai

prasaadhiththaruLinaar. iraamaan^usanum kruthaarththaraay,

adhin maRRainaaL avvUril emberumaanaana theRkaazhvaar

thiruvOlakkaththilE an^Ekam SrIvaishNavargaLukku ap

paramarahasyaarththaththai aruLicceydharuLinaar.

 

icceydhiyai nambi kEttaruLi udaiyavarai azhaiththu,

"indhap paramarahasyaarththaththai vERoruvarkkum collaadhE

koLLum enRanRO naam umakkuc connOm; aththai maRuththu

neer an^Ekam SrIvaishNavargaLukkuc conneerenRu kEttOm"

enRu kEttaruLa,

 

udaiyavarum, "uLLadhu; dhevareer thiruvadigaLai

munnittukkoNdu connEn" enRu viNNappam ceyya,

 

nambiyum, "oruvarkkum collavENdaavenRu niyamiththanRO

connOm; aththai maRuththuc conna umakkup phalam Edhu?"

enRu kEttaruLa,

 

udaiyavarum, "aacaarya niyaman^aththai maRuththa enakku

narakamE phalam" enRu aruLicceyya, iraamaan^usanum "

adiyEn oruvanEyanRo narakam puguvadu? dhEvareer thiruvadigaLai

munnittukkondu collukaiyaalE ivv aathmakOtigaLellaam

dhEvareer thiruvadi sambandhaththaalE ujjIvipparkaL enRu

connEn", enRu viNNappam ceyya

 

nambiyum, "indhap parasamrudhdhi namakkuk koodiRRillaiyE!"

enRu ivar parasamrudhdhikkuppOra ugandharuLi, "emberumaanaarE!

vaarum", enRu eduththu aNaiththukkondu, "avarO neer?" enRu

aruLicceydhu, "idhu varaiyil idh dharSanam paramavaidhika

sidhdhaantham enRirundhadhu; inRu mudhal 'emberumaanaar

dharSanam' ennungoL" enRu ellaarkkum aruLicceydhadhu.

 

--------

[Guest guest]

Mani Varadarajan wrote:

>

>

> With respect to this, Sri Manavala Mamunigal writes:

>

> It is very hard to to find those who are qualified

> for [receiving the inner meaning of the carama sloka].

> For this reason, and because of the venerable importance

> of its meaning, Ramanuja's predecessors had kept it a

> secret, without making it public.

>

> But Ramanuja's overwhelming compassion made him unable

> to bear seeing the distress of those in samsaara. Thus,

> regardless of the preciousness of the carama sloka's meaning,

> when he saw their suffering, he publicized it.

>

> [Translation of the Introduction to

> Mamunigal "carama sloka adhikaaram",

> Mumukshuppadi, by Patricia Mumme.

> Unfortunately, I do not have the

> original.]

>

> It is clear from the writing of these two acharyas

> that Ramanuja wished to broaden the net to encompass

> essentially all those within earshot. To say otherwise

> would be to undo what he quite clearly did, and make

> Ramanuja's legacy no different in this regard from the

> acharyas before him.

 

Thank you, Mani, for clarifying this very important incident from our

community's

rich history. There are three words from above, "... Ramanuja's overwhelming

compassion..." which repeatedly catch my attention. To me, these are words for

constant meditation whenever we look upon a picture or vigrahan of Sri Ramanuja.

I can almost picture our dear emperumAnAr looking at all of us with his

compassionate eyes and feeling for our sufferings. How much better we all would

be if we could only experience a fraction of what emperumAnAr felt for humanity.

 

emperumAnAr thiruvadigalE saranam,

 

Mohan

[Guest guest]

SrI Mani Varadarajan writes:

 

| > Sri Ram Gopalaswamy wrote:

 

| > "Sathyanarayanan K" <k_sathya writes:

 

| >> I hope that I could get a good response to my above

| >> queries from this elited forum, as all members are

| >> following the foot prints of SRI RAMANUJA, who by

| >> himself pronounced the(esoteric) mantra of SriMan

| >> Narayanan from a high temple tower. As you may be

| >> knowing, he did so mainly to benefit all people and to

| >> emphasize that the Lord is common to all, from a begger to

| >> a king.

 

| > Contrary to the popular belief, SrI rAmAnujAcArya only

| > spoke about the glories of the mantra-s to inspire ardent

| > devotees (mumukshu-s) to approach sadAcArya-s and to get

| > samASrayaNam, kAlakshEpam and prapatti so SrIman-nArAyaNa

| > would grant them mOksham.

 

| > Dear Ram:

| [...]

| > Let me first quote from the oldest biography (13th

| > century), Pinpazhagiya Perumal Jiyar's "aaraayirappadi"

| > (6000) guru paramparaa prabhaavam. This passage is so

| > inspiring that it is worth quoting in full.

| [...]

| > Ramanuja, having gotten what he desired, went the very

| > next day to the temple [thiruvOlakkam?] of Terkaazhvaan,

| > the PerumaaL of that town, and gave that very meaning of

| > the highest of esoteric mantras to many Sri Vaishnavas.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

| > Having heard what Udaiyavar [Ramanuja] had done, Nambi

| > summoned him and said, "Didn't I tell you to keep the

| > inner meaning of the highest mantra to yourself, and not

| > to tell a single soul? I heard that you forgot this

| > instruction of mine and repeated the meaning to many Sri Vaishnavas."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

| [...]

| emberumaanaar thiruvadigaLE SaraNam

| thirukkacci nambi dhaasan

| Mani

 

 

Dear Mani:

 

I thought SrI K. Sathyanarayanan ,in his original message, was saying

that SrI rAmAnujAcArya just shouted the rahasya-mantras LITERALLY to

arbitrary people. My reply was based on that assumption.

 

Your quote from SrI Pinpazhagiya Perumal Jiyar's work is interesting.

I am not sure how to understand it.

 

Is the jIyar implying that SrI rAmAnujAcArya revealed _only_ the

inner meanings of the mantra-s, that too to SrI vaishNava-s _only_ ?

(ie to devotees that were already instructed the rahasya-mantra-s by

a sadAcArya through initiation? )

 

In other words, is the jIyar implying that SrI rAmAnujAcArya

did not loudly shout the mantras (literally, in the exact word order)

to non-SrI-vaishNavas ? [ if there is there is a difference beween

saying just the mantra-meaning and loudly saying the mantras literally. ]

 

[btw, is it not also said that SrIman-nArAyaNa Himself instructs

the mantra-traya and their meanings, in the AvESa form of a sadAcArya ?

That means if an ordinary person imitates what SrI rAmAnujAcArya did,

they would be comitting a big offense ? ]

 

 

Thanks for any clarification.

 

- rAmAnuja dAsan, Ram

[Guest guest]

Ram wrote:

> Is the jIyar implying that SrI rAmAnujAcArya revealed _only_ the

> inner meanings of the mantra-s, that too to SrI vaishNava-s _only_ ?

> (ie to devotees that were already instructed the rahasya-mantra-s by

> a sadAcArya through initiation? )

 

The significance of Ramanuja's act was to reveal publicly what

heretofore was a closely guarded secret -- the inner meaning of

the rahasyas. The mantras themselves were comparatively easy

to get. There is not much required to have samASrayaNam. All

that was required even in those days was desire, from what I

understand. But far more significant than the mere words of the

mantras (vAcaka) are the inner meanings (vAcya) of the mantras.

This point is expounded in many acharyas' works -- see Jiyar's

"vaarttaamaalai", Sri Desika's "rahasya traya saaram", and

Maamunigal's "mumukshuppadi vyaakhyaanam".

 

I cannot say for sure whether Ramanuja only revealed these heretofore

secret teachings only to Sri Vaishnavas. The tendency of authors those

days was to refer to all devotees of the Lord as Sri Vaishnavas,

especially those gathered at a temple. I surmise that there may have

been unofficial Sri Vaishnavas in the gathering as well (how can one

check to be sure?) but this is just a guess.

 

The other quote from Maamunigal suggests that Ramanuja publicized

the meaning of the mantras to anyone whom he saw suffering, without

looking at qualifications.

> In other words, is the jIyar implying that SrI rAmAnujAcArya

> did not loudly shout the mantras (literally, in the exact word order)

> to non-SrI-vaishNavas ? [ if there is there is a difference beween

> saying just the mantra-meaning and loudly saying the mantras literally. ]

 

Jiyar clearly says that Ramanuja revealed the "rahasyArtham",

the meaning of the mantras. Nowhere does he say that Ramanuja

shouted out the mantras themselves ("mantram yatnena gopayet").

But once again, the text of the mantra (tirumantra and carama

sloka) were easy to come by and were in vogue among non-Vaishnavas

as well.

 

In any case, as explained, the inner meaning of the mantra was

and is far more important than the mantra itself.

 

tirukkacci nambi daasan

Mani

[Guest guest]

Mani wrote:

> The other quote from Maamunigal suggests that Ramanuja

> publicized the meaning of the mantras to anyone whom he saw

> suffering, without looking at qualifications.

 

Only that much should be understood from the incident, nothing more - that

SrI rAmAnujAcArya is a very compassionate AcArya, who freely

distributed the mercy of SrIman-nArAyaNa to any samsArin, regardless

of their varNa. But the sanAtana varNASrama-dharma SAstric restrictions

are also there.

Since the ashThAkshara is of vEdic origin and contains praNavam,

SrI rAmAnujAcArya would not have probably whimsically shouted it out,

contrary to the popular belief nowadays.

 

According Your other quote from SrI Pinpazhagiya Perumal Jiyar's

"aaraayirappadi" (6000) guru paramparaa prabhaavam, shows that rAmAnujAcArya

spoke only about the mantra-rahasyArtha-s.

That is the point I have been trying to get at.

 

> In any case, as explained, the inner meaning of the mantra was

> and is far more important than the mantra itself.

 

That is obviously true when one performs mantra-japa mentally (to oneself).

But the situation in context is different, where SrI rAmAnujAcArya

is allegedly addressing a crowd .

> tirukkacci nambi daasan Mani

 

 

SrI maNavALa-mAmunigaL tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam,

 

-aDiyEn, Ram

[Guest guest]

In the ashtAkshara, I thought only the Pranavam is Veda Manthram. The rest of

akshara can be recited by any varna. In Divya Prabandam, I see

namo nArAyanA in Thirupallandu, also in "vAdinEn varunthinEn Manathal".

 

dAsan.

Govindarajan.

 

Ram Gopalaswamy wrote:

>Only that much should be understood from the incident, nothing more - that

SrI rAmAnujAcArya is a very compassionate AcArya, who freely

distributed the mercy of SrIman-nArAyaNa to any samsArin, regardless

of their varNa. But the sanAtana varNASrama-dharma SAstric restrictions

are also there.

Since the ashThAkshara is of vEdic origin and contains praNavam,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SrI rAmAnujAcArya would not have probably whimsically shouted it out,

[Guest guest]

> Since the ashThAkshara is of vEdic origin and contains praNavam,

> SrI rAmAnujAcArya would not have probably whimsically shouted it out,

> contrary to the popular belief nowadays.

>

> According Your other quote from SrI Pinpazhagiya Perumal Jiyar's

> "aaraayirappadi" (6000) guru paramparaa prabhaavam, shows that rAmAnujAcArya

> spoke only about the mantra-rahasyArtha-s.

> That is the point I have been trying to get at.

 

With respect to your first point - that may be true. On the other hand, it may

not be

completely true that emperumAnAr did not give the thirumantram to those

"prohibited" to receive the mantram. he may not have shouted out the

thirumantram, but

he did convert a number of people *not* in the male, brahmin varnam to

srIvaishNavam.

Obviously, samAsrayaNam was performed for these people and the thirumantram

was taught to them.

 

Your point is well taken. However, we all should be careful to interpret our

AchAryA's

teachings, especially emperumAnAr's life and teachings in a spirit of inclusion,

*NOT*

exclusion. That is the greatest mistake that we can make.

 

AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE saraNam,

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan,

thirumalai anandAnpiLLai Varadhan

[Guest guest]

Dear Members,

 

I want to apologize for and correct an inadvertent

exaggeration in my previous posting.

 

I had written:

> In any case, as explained, the inner meaning of the mantra was

> and is far more important than the mantra itself.

 

Sri Bharat of Bangalore points out the following important

correction, based primarily on Sri Vedanta Desika's

SaraNAgati gadya bhAshya:

 

In his BhAshya on Sri EmberumAnAr's SaranAgati Gadyam

while explaining the phrase:

" Dvayam-arthAnusandhAnEna saha.."

he says:

"uchhAraNam prAdhAnyEna stOtum, arthAnusandhAne saha Sabdah"

 

When there are two words together ,"saha" is added to the

less important word which will be in the third declension.

Here it is added to "arthAnusandhAna" - hence it is less

important than saying the mantra.So whether you know the

meaning or not mere saying of the mantra has the full

effect.

 

But knowing the meaning and thinking about it

keeps us in the correct wavelength to think about the

Lord.There is a famous description of Sri MaNavALa MAmuni

which states how he would all the time be found sitting

in a corner with closed eyes,with his lips throbbing

with the Dvaya mantra and with his hairs standing on

end with joy as he simultaneously meditated on its

meaning.

 

Sri Bharat continues (the translations are mine):

 

No Acharya has made a comparison and given them relative

values.Both the Mantra and its meaning are considered

equally important.It all depends on the purpose to which

you put them.

 

Otherwise Sri Desikan would not have produced Srimad Rahasya-

traya -sAram. And Sri pillailokAchAriar and Sri MaNavALa Mamunigal

would not have said the following in Mumukshup-padi and its gloss:

 

MM-"TirumantrattinuDaiya SIrmaikku ppOrumbaDi premattODe

pENi anusandhikkavENum."

VY-"ittai anusandhikkumaLavil Sushka-hrudayanA-yirund-anusandhikkai-

yanRikke,idin vailakshaNya-gjAnamaDiyAga idin pakkal tanakkunDAna

prEmattODe...pENikkonD-anusandhikkai."

 

[Rough translation:

 

Sutra: One should reflect on the tirumantra with respect and love

as befits its excellence.

 

Comm: In meditating on it, one should not have an empty heart;

rather, one [should be filled with] respect and love that arises

from the recognition of its unique excellence. ]

 

Also in the next SUtra:

"Mantrattilum,mantrattukku uLLIDAna vastuvilum mantra-pradanAna

AchAryan pakkalilum prEmam ganakka unDAnAl kAryakaramAvadu."

 

[ If one has profound love for the mantra, for that to which

the mantra refers, and for the acharya who imparts the mantra,

it will have effect.

 

["that to which the mantra refers" is the Lord.] ]

 

As to the meaning of the SaranAgati-gadya excerpt I'd given:

The PradhAnatvam of the mantra is because it is complete in

itself (nirapEksha) to do its work ,like fire or a medicine

which will act irrespective of whether you know its composition.

The Artha is dependent on the mantra (sApeksha) and hence

apradhAna.The icing cannot exist without the cake.But when

you have both you have the cake WITH the icing.

 

Otherwise Sri EmberumAnAr in his text could have as easily

said,"dvayArth-AnusandhAnena yAva-chharIra-pAtam".He has used

the words "dvaya-m" and "vaktA" to emphasise the importance

of reciting the mantra itself.

 

These are very important points, and it was my mistake to

have said that the mantra itself was of lesser value.

 

What I wrote was driven by statements extolling the greatness

of the tirumantra's inner meaning, and by the fact that our

acharyas generally did not use the mantra itself as a "sAdhana"

in its own right, in spite of its power. Rather, they

concentrated on reflecting on its meaning and keeping the Lord

always in mind as the means and the goal.

 

adiyEn

tirukkacci nambi daasan

Mani